P3D Re: my answer to Ziff-Davis

[Gavin Stokes <gstokes@xxxxxxx>]

I was so annoyed by the "Worst of Comdex" article that I wrote this answer
and sent it to Ziff-Davis.
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I noticed the "Worst of Comdex" on the Ziff-Davis homepage today, and it
lambasted a 3-D product from VRex.  If this product purports to turn 2-D
images into 3-D, then I agree that it's without merit.  But at least its
hardware apparently provides the physical potential for 3-D.

Why don't you also criticize the multitude of products that claim to be
"3-D" but aren't?  No game, for example, is 3-D if it doesn't support
liquid-crystal shutter glasses.  Without the "bulky headset" you complained
about, or at least a pair of shutter glasses, you don't have 3-D on a
computer or television.

3-D requires a different image for each of your eyes.  Yes, you can do 3-D
modeling on a computer, but the display still isn't 3-D.  Shading and
perspective do not equal 3-D.  If they did, you'd have to call a great many
artworks by elementary-schoolers "3-D".  A program may store depth
information, but viewing it on a regular monitor is like listening to
stereo recordings on one speaker: It's mono.

Gavin Stokes


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