Technology named as greatest shaper of our world

In a millennium-end poll of American journalists, science has emerged as the dominant theme in the top 100 news stories of the 20th Century. Most of these focus on technological developments, many of them found in the products and processes we now take for granted.

As if lining up for top position in the next century's poll, Japanese camera maker Olympus and IBM have just unveiled the prototype of a 'wearable' PC.

The unit consists of a 100 gram headset that projects images onto a ten-inch virtual screen. The headset connects to a 380 gram CPU that incorporates a Pentium processor running Windows 98. The whole thing is powered by a battery pack that will last up to three hours.

There is no keyboard yet, but that may follow given sufficient demand.

The wearable PC is due for launch next year. What will the H&S specialists make of that?

Elliott Chase