A hundred years ago the concepts of the worldwide web, email and VoIP technology would have seemed incredibly outlandish – impossible feats. To be able to communicate with a loved one in Australia from a boat in the Atlantic instantaneously for example, simply by pressing a few keys, would not have been something anyone would have believed their children would be able to do in their lifetime. Yet here we are connected from pole to pole in that way and dozens more.
Twenty years ago the concept of holograms was much the same, a technology for dreamers, something that humanity would see eventually perhaps but not for generations to come. Objects created by light that we can control, organise and communicate with – this is surely the stuff of 2200. But technology seems to have a pace of its own, and with Microsoft’s launch of Windows 10 this summer, the mainstream consumer now has holograms. Real ones.neously for example, simply by pressing a few keys, would not have been something anyone would have believed their children would be able to do in their lifetime. Yet here we are connected from pole to pole in that way and dozens more.It is called HoloLens, and it is the first fully untethered, see-through holographic computer. It enables high-definition holograms to come to life, seamlessly integrating with our physical places, spaces and things. Microsoft calls the experience mixed reality. We call it amazing. We are about to enter a whole new world with holograms unlocking all new ways to create, communicate, work, and play.
But what exactly is a hologram? A hologram is an object like any other object in the real world, with only one difference: instead of being made of physical matter, a hologram is made entirely of light. Holographic objects can be viewed from different angles and distances, just like physical objects, but they do not offer any physical resistance when touched or pushed because they don’t have any mass. Holograms can be two-dimensional, like a piece of paper or a TV screen, or they can be three-dimensional, just like other physical objects in your real world. The holograms you’ll see with Microsoft HoloLens can appear life-like, and can move, be shaped, and change according to interaction with users or the physical environment in which they are visible.
The real game changer here is Windows 10, because it is the first platform to support holographic computing with APIs that enable gaze, gesture, voice, and environmental understanding on an untethered device. With Windows 10, holograms are Windows universal apps, and all Windows universal apps can be made to work as holograms. There is no requirement for wires, phones or a connection to a PC.
Watch the video here.
As a technology company ourselves, we also are always trying to deliver the future now. VoIP technology IS the basis of future voice communication, we know that. Whether it be a business phone system or your home phone or your laptop, we know for a fact that VoIP (voice over IP) is going to grow and change in ways that no one could have dreamed of a couple generations ago. And the pressure is on – the more we realise what is possible, the more we feel compelled to get there. Whether it is VTSL or another company that develops a break-through VoIP technology app, or transforms the way offices think about their business phone system, we know that the things we previously saw as limits, are really just hurdles. As Microsoft says:
“When you change the way you see the world, you can change the world you see.”
And we tend to agree.