Technically accurate. But again, it's an important distinction that you don't need a DNI, or even cyberware at all, to experience ASIST-enabled experiences. Sorry if I'm beating a dead horse. =)

Which is the basic requirement to make any cyberware that provides feedback to the user.
IIRC, M&M even states that...

This is not correct... at least not in fourth edition. =) I'll have to check M&M later to see what the precedent was in SR3 unless you have a copy handy.

Simply put, the ability of an electronic device to communicate with and relay information to the brain is not dependent upon ASIST. A cyberlimb, for example, talks directly to the nervous system and the nervous system then talks to the brain. No ASIST there. A cybereye talks to the nervous system and the nervous systen than talks to the brain. No ASIST there, either. =) ASIST is only used in applications where direct sensory override is required.

In all seriousness, I'd happily retract these assertions if appropriate documentation is shown to the contrary. =)

Well, you're right - ASIST was just developed before DNI .

and the reason for that is that ASIST is a high level protocol.
http (the protocol that runs the web) is mostly deliverd on top of tcp/ip, but can in theory be deliverd on top of a whole lot of other protocols.

first there was matrix 1.0
on top of that was virtual realitys 1.0

here asist is the virtual realitys layer, not the matrix layer.
VR1.0 was the fuchi "standard". ie, the version with the dungeon like CPU,SPU and SANs.

then came VR2.0, allowing for sculpted systems as standard.
this is a new version of ASIST.

now we have matrix 2.0, a new version of the infrastructure tech.
and most likely on top of that we have VR3.0, now with AR support

this version most likely include the transmission of real world data, so that a compatible device can calculate where the arrow should be placed in real space. while other signals do not transmitt posision data (like say a im message) and is therefor placed into a window like area.

and to jump onto something slighty diffrent; it looks like a datajack only provide a DNI connection, the most low level way of interfacing electronics and the brain. simsense builds on top of DNI, therefor a simsense module can allso produce custom SNI signals.

therefor you can access a knowsoft or linguasoft via a simsense module and trodes. and by the looks of it, the limitations on linugasoft performance is now gone. alltho, it looks as if the linguasoft cant realy reach native level (it still have a rating rather then a N), it can get allmost as close as real life training can get (linguasoft max out at R5, real training at R6).

my guess is that the reasoning for this is that language is as much about culture as pure understanding. thats why lingos show up, they are modifications on a base language to "better" fit the users culture only a native speaker will have little or no trouble with lingos as he will get the cultural refrences hidden in the lingo.

trying to pack something as living and mutating as a culture onto a chip will be a task not worth the effort.

so maybe the latest version of the linguasofts can perform naturaly, so that you can read poetry and similar based on it. its still not something i would rely on when trying to make a street punk in a diffrent contry think im one of them