''Starfire'' was a
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Sun for short) was an American technology company that sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services and created the Java programming language, the Solaris operating system, ZFS, the ...
promotional video filmed in 1994, demonstrating
Bruce Tognazzini
Bruce "Tog" Tognazzini (born 1945) is an American usability consultant and designer. He is a partner in the Nielsen Norman Group, which specializes in human-computer interaction. He was with Apple Computer for fourteen years, then with Sun Micro ...
's ideas for a 21st-century computer
user interface. Inspired in part by
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...
's
Knowledge Navigator film from 1987, Tognazzini and his team at
SunSoft sought to create a more realistic look at how computer technology and interfaces would improve. The project drew together the talents of more than 100 engineers, designers, futurists, and filmmakers in an effort to both predict and guide the future of computing.
The film is set in the year 2004 and features a protagonist interacting by voice, mouse, and stylus with a . The story concerns an executive at an auto-maker who must make a compelling presentation for her design.
In the video's boardroom scene, it predicts the rise of a new technology similar to what is now known as the
World Wide Web.
Popular Science Magazine reported, in March 2009, that Microsoft had just produced a new video showing life in the year 2019: "The 2019 Microsoft details with this video is almost identical to the 2004 predicted in this video produced by Sun Microsystems in 1992."
In addition to the film, the project also produced:
*
Tog on Software Design, which not only covers the film in intimate detail, but lays out several more equally thought-provoking scenarios, even if they were not enshrined in
celluloid.
*
Starfire, the Paper, published in the
CHI Proceedings
Chi or CHI may refer to:
Greek
*Chi (letter), the Greek letter (uppercase Χ, lowercase χ);
Chinese
* ''Chi'' (length) (尺), a traditional unit of length, about ⅓ meter
* Chi (mythology) (螭), a dragon
* Chi (surname) (池, pinyin: ''chí ...
, outlining the rules followed in attempting to build a scientifically legitimate video prototype, as opposed to simply confabulating a fanciful, but non-implementable, vision.
The film was released as the Starfire video, in
NTSC format, and later made available as part of a collection of
human-computer interaction videos.
Similar
*
Corning's 2011 A Day Made of Glass
A Day Made of Glass
/ref> promotional video has similar elements
References
External links
��a review of Starfire in Wired Magazine issue
Popular Science Article on Starfire vs. Microsoft3.09—Street Cred section
1994 films
Sun Microsystems
User interfaces
Films set in 2004
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