Does bill Gates know something we do not know about Six Flags amusement parks? No probably not, but anyone as smart as he, certainly understands the future of Virtual Reality. Look at the new X-Box 360-degree system? Obviously Microsoft gets it and their research teams may have entered the Virtual Reality Realm a little late, but they certainly understand gaming. Mr. Gate’s increased his holding in the company from 8% to 10%. There can only be one reason in my opinion, Virtual Reality is coming to a theme park near you. This probably makes a bit of sense and also a rebounding economy tends to really bolster Theme Parks. In GA actually in Six Flags over Georgia, where actually they are still arguing over one particular flag some interesting things are happening;
http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/1998/06/01/story1.html
Lots of spending and upgrading, however I believe that Bill is smart enough to understand the next wave of technology in Theme Parks will be VR-Virtual Reality and boy has it come a long way these days, Science and computers are moving at an incredible pace, almost unheard of in this arena. Think I am wrong?
http://www.abacon.com/vitanza/cyber/Gates.html
[http://www.monitor.ca/monitor/issues/vol3iss11/feature4.html]
[http://www.thebee.com/bweb/iinfo58.htm]
[http://www.goldenessays.com/alphabetic/2/computers/]
http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/Tate.VR.html
[http://net.info.nl/vr.html]
Even the Pentagon is into this shit with their newest Net-Centric War-fare designs where each unit works as a whole but instant information puts pieces together during ops. It does not take a genius after ready one of the latest Clancy books to figure out where all this is going does it?
[http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0708/web-trans-07-10-02.asp] .
You see even if Bill Gates does not have time to read all the books I do, by Arthur C Clarke, Ben Bova, Tom Clancy and Michael Creighton etc. he understands the technologies commercial value and as MIT scrambles to find buyers for all their newest codes, algorithms and ingenious inventions, so to is the US Government, and Microsoft Research looking at ways to enhance the coming technologies. From fiction to reality, Virtually and forever, here we go. And it should replace the drug problems in the US too. Where better than to test and use these newest machines and perfect them than a theme park or even in Las Vegas on the strip. I guarantee you this is going to be awesome. So before anyone claims that they know why Bill Gates is betting on the future shouldn’t you be wise enough to read some of his predictions for the future and watch some of the movies that his former partner and his newest associates are making and which screen plays are selling and who is writing those movie scripts books and audio tapes and video games? Don’t be naive. Your great Grandparents did not have cars and lived to see airplanes. Your grandparents saw airplanes turn into space ships. We watched TV turn into the Internet and we will see reality turn into what ever you want in the virtual world.
First it will cost a lot in theme parks, then someday you buy a hat and some programs from Wal-Mart for $250.00 hook it to your computer and relive that last NASCAR race, F-18 Smart guided bomb run or help the President negotiate with the Saudis over an oil deal. Think it won’t happen? You will be able to make love to your favorite actress, learn to fly, go visit the fossils in the Gobe Desert, Cross the icy Delaware with George Washington, discuss philosophy with Aristotle, sit on a rock during the Sermond on the Mound with Jesus or take a tour of the Space Station for less than the 20 million current fee all for a program costing $39.95 from Microsoft running on XP on sale at Wal-Mart for the next years National 9-11 holiday sale. Bet me!?.
Gate’s is no dummy and he may be ahead of the game by a few years, but remember he has the connections and the technology exists now to make the whole thing come to a complete Matrix Movie in the VR world. Face it folks the future is here. I hope you humans are smart enough to see that? Think about it, it will come to you.
