February 28 2002 Hitachi will sell a device, which it seems has been developed especially for those, who always was jealous of Terminator’s red eye. It’s called WIA-100NB, where WIA stands for Wearable Internet Appliance, a portable apparatus for mobile computing and internet access.

    The most “sensational” part of the WIA – is the futuristic goggles, which are worn not on the ears and eyes, but slightly above them. One eye remains untouched, while another one gets partially blocked by a miniature LCD display, which looks like a floating 13 inch monitor, floating two feet [half a meter] away from the user’s face. If you wont close the unblocked eye, the display will simply partially block with the surrounding environment – blocking it by about 50 percent of opacity – and nearly doesn’t affect person’s orientation in the surrounding environment. You can leave your real glasses on while using this as well.

    The actual computer, which weights 500 grams is obviously not located directly on the eye but rather stored away in a pocket. Inside, WIA has a 32-bit RISC Hitachi CPU running at 128 MHz, 32 MB RAM, 32 MB ROM, and 2 MB of video memory. Outside – display out, Compact Flash Time II slot, one USB port, audio out and cell phone interface. Moreover, a computer has a mouse-like pointing device – something like a backlit blue laptop touchpad. The batteries are rechargeable. Each charge will last you about 2 hours of intense work.

    Of course, WIA doesn’t have to be used strictly for internet browsing. Within many possible applications are aid in repairing of complex mechanisms – with a logic or electronic board layout available right in front of you, as well as reading books at night before going to sleep – while lying in bed. I can also think of several other ways to use such device: To make yourself look excited and interested during a boring class, you can use WIA to look at porn pictures online. Or you can mount a USB web-cam on the back of your head and therefore have a rear-view mirror.

    The price is not yet available, but something tells me the Japanese will throw it into the mid-triple digit range.

    I always wonder why the manufacturers always come up with devices that make computer nerds look even geekier, therefore effectively putting their breeding, or even dating, chances into the flat zero area...