Fed II Star newsletter - masthead The weekly newsletter for the Fed II game by ibgames

EARTHDATE: March 26, 2006

OFFICIAL NEWS
Page 10

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REAL LIFE NEWS: REMOTE DRINKING MADE FUN

In Fed II, you can drink with your friends using the 'BUY ROUND' command, and if you match that with taking a swig of a real drink, you get the feeling you really are drinking with your friends - even if they are on the other side of the world! Now researchers from Boston's MIT Media Lab have come up with a way to let anybody - not just Fed players - do the same thing.

The trick is to use special wine glasses which glow and have a Wi-Fi connection. When you and your partner both raise the glasses they will glow warmly, no matter how far apart you are, thus giving you a feeling of togetherness and shared experience. Awwwww!

The glasses have a variety of colored LEDs, liquid sensors and wireless links, and come in a matched pair. When either person picks up a glass, red LEDs on their partner's glass glow gently. And when either puts the glass to their lips, sensors make white LEDs on the rim of the other glass glow brightly, so you can tell when your beloved takes a sip.

The technology has less frivolous uses, too. Staff in a hospital could use it to check that patients are drinking enough water.

The glasses, dubbed lover's cups - how sweet! - will be displayed at a conference on computer-human interaction next month in Montreal.


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