Fun_People Archive
10 Apr
Smell-o-rama & a mystery

Date: Mon, 10 Apr 95 23:23:25 PDT
From: Peter Langston <psl>
To: Fun_People
Subject: Smell-o-rama & a mystery

Excerpted-from: Desperado #20  tompar@world.std.com (Tom Parmenter)

Forwarded-by: Jonathan Ostrowsky <jo@odi.com>

The clones beat Apple to the punch yet again.

From: Guy Hillyer <guy>

Idaho Computing (Orofino, Idaho) has taken multimedia one step further
with the introduction of the ScentMaster, a PC add-in board that uses
chemicals to generate scents. Referred to by the company as the
olfactory or "olaf" board, the $199 ScentMaster consists of a 16-bit
board, three external chemical vials, and a small spray-emitter
module. The chemicals last up to six months and refills are $5.99
each.

The scent board functions as a sound card, interpreting files with an
OLF extension. Instead of playing sounds, however, the ScentMaster
mixes three chemicals (primary scents) to produce the desired
effect. Users can chose from 36 included smells such as "roses," "new
car," "roasted coffee," and "dead animal in wall."

Additional scent software and a Macintosh version are planned by the
end of the year. "We are trying to appeal to all sorts of tastes,"
said Idaho Computing president Jennifer Zimmer. For more information,
send e-mail to idaho@netaxis.com.
_____________________________________________________________________________

From: jo@odi.com
Subject: Um, doing what?

After landing the lead in the long-delayed movie version of "Evita,"
Madonna confided to reporters that she'd "been on her knees for five
years to get the part."

© 1995 Peter Langston