The Margi Presenter-to-Go for Palm devices is now available for pre-orders for $199, with delivery expected in mid-June. This SD version works on all of the m series Palms, but not the earlier ones or the Sony Clies.

I haven't actually used one so I can't endorse it, but I will say that it looked pretty darn cool when Lori used it for her demo a few weeks ago. The other great thing Lori mentioned is that you can do actual demos of software using this technique. At their upcoming PDA conference, she and her colleagues plan to set up two Handsprings, both using Margis. One will run the presentation, while the other will demonstrate the software in action.

It would be totally cool if I could walk into my presentations and use my Clie to display them! In fact, I guess you could use such a tool with the new Clie PEG-NR70V to display pictures and videos on the screen.

If anyone at Margi is reading this, I'm officially volunteering to beta test the Sony Clie version (assuming they're going to make one)!

Porsche Racing Team Utilizes Wearable Computers

"The Alex Job Racing team is using Xybernaut Corp.'s (NASDAQ:XYBR) Mobile Assistant V wearable computers for computing and communications for the Porsche team competing in the 2002 American Le Mans Series (ALMS). Alex Job Racing, which has a Porsche factory relationship and is co-sponsored by Xybernaut, runs in the GT class of the ALMS.

So far during this season, Alex Job Racing team has taken first-place in both ALMS races: the 12 Hours of Sebring held on March 16 and the Grand Prix of Sonoma held this past weekend on May 19.

'Xybernaut's MA V computers are primarily worn and used by team members to centralize vast quantities of data and make split second decisions during each race,' said Alex Job, owner of the racing team. 'The average margin of victory for the teams racing in our category often comes down to a tenth of a second. Access to critical data is the lifeblood of our success. Xybernaut's wearable computers allow our team members to gather and share data more efficiently to make the best decisions at the most appropriate times.' " [allNetDevices Wireless News]

Through the Looking Glass of Heads-Up Displays

"MicroOptical's display eyewear features a patented combination of optics, electronics, and micro-displays and allows users to put text, graphics, and video images continuously in their field of view. In contrast to conventional heavy and bulky head-mounted displays, the virtual, 'floating' 12-inch image created by MicroOptical's display eyewear appears with no obstruction to vision on any side of the image. The non-immersive displays allow the performance of tasks without the need to stop work to glance at a distant monitor.

MicroOptical is developing three versions of displays that mount on and in eyewear for viewing output from a variety of portable electronic devices such as cell phones, DVD players, PDAs, PCs and cameras. The first version, a monocular viewer, attaches to the temple piece of a pair of eyeglasses and is designed for multi-tasking work. This version, which is currently available to OEMs and customers through MicroOptical and authorized resellers, has many commercial and industrial applications, including medical (viewing endoscopic images), test and measurement (viewing oscilloscope waveforms, electrical test measurements, boroscopic images), mobile communications (data and images relayed by cell phone), mobile data and web access (through wireless PDAs), and military applications (night vision, tactical and navigation data). The second version, a binocular viewer, looks like a pair of eyeglasses and will typically be used in consumer applications like portable DVD viewing. In the third version, MicroOptical has integrated the display directly into a conventional eyeglass frame and lens.

MicroOptical will showcase several applications of its display eyewear at SID, including:

• The monocular viewer plugged into a wearable computer will demonstrate how technicians and utility workers can access important schematics without having to stop to look at hard copy reference materials.
• The monocular viewer plugged into a video inspection system will show how law enforcement and military personnel can use this hands-free technology for remote inspection.
• The binocular version plugged into a DVD player will demonstrate how consumers can create a hands-free, personal and portable entertainment system.
• The integrated eyeglass display linked with a cellular phone will show how users can view Internet information delivered wirelessly in a hands-free environment without their vision being obstructed.

'MicroOptical's eyewear displays are revolutionary,' said Mark Spitzer, CEO of MicroOptical. 'As electronic devices get smaller, unfortunately so too do their displays, making it increasingly more difficult to read the screens. What is needed is a display that provides a large image in a small package. Eyewear displays solve this problem using optics to create an image like a heads-up display in your glasses. SID allows us to showcase our latest developments and demonstrate the benefits of our eyewear displays to OEMs, businesses and consumers.' " [allNetDevices Wireless News]

Another future technology I forgot to mention last night (along with voice recognition and voice input).