Digital Domain of Los Angeles has perfected virtual humans for crowd scenes in movies. They have even created realistic facial expressions.

A entire web server has been compressed to fit on a chip the same size as a modem. It is currently the world’s smallest web server. The chip includes an AMD 486-SX 66MHz processor, 16Mb of memory, and uses the Linux operating system. If you would like to connect to it you can go to Stanford University’s Wearable Computing Laboratory at http://wearables.stanford.edu

In an earlier newsletter I reported that New Jersey would put a computer chip on drivers’ licenses that would contain the person’s driving record. New Jersey has opted not to do that. Instead they will use a magnetic strip like the one on a credit card that will contain only the information printed on the card.

The latest roller coaster design is a floorless coaster. The floor is put in place at the loading platform so riders can get on and off easily and then is removed when the coaster leaves the platform. The roller coaster, Medusa, will debut at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ.

Sega and Sony are both planning new game systems. Both feature a 128-bit processor. Sony’s PlayStation 2 will debut in 2000 and Sega plans to have Dreamcast in stores in September.

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