Maybe this is an oversight on my part, but how does one interact with the Matrix via AR and VR. Are the actions purely mental (I assume so since initiative is calculated differently)? I wonder, then, with AR, what your limit of mental functions are: if a sixteen restaurants send are showing menus in your view, can you flip through all of them simultaneously? Not read them, but simply interact. Is this based on your OS? Or do you have to, in AR, do it "manually," needing some sort of input device linked to where your hands are. Or are all these options available with various technologies and cyberwares?

In my understanding, AR is most commonly displayed as an 'overlay' on your image linked visual objects (glasses, goggles, cybereyes)...

This means you can see pretty much as many things as you want, say all 16 restaurant menus, but this would distract you something awful as it goes over your normal field of view (See Spam Zones in the rule book). Interacting with more then one would be almost impossible unless you possess the 'Multi Tasking' Adept quality (Street Magic, page unknown). From my understanding interaction is done in many ways, from a DNI (if you have one) to VR gloves allowing you to type or use the matrix objects in the real world as a 'touch screen', to Virtual or Roll-Up keyboards if you prefer...

VR is the traditional full body experience, where your mind fully emerges on the matrix, and your body is (normally) left lifeless wherever you jacked in. Whilst this is purely mental (hence the modified inititive ONLY applicable in full VR (I think)) it shows itself in a sensory manner determined by the Node (or the Hacker) you are. It could apprear as a traditional glowing green-lined cube, SR4 suggests a medieval castle, or anything you choose from a sun-bathed beach to the inner workings of a clockwork machine. information presents itself in a form appropriate to the enviroment, the example castle has programmes as serfs...ect... Once again, how many/much you can interact with is determined by human capacity-you can get 50 pages of info per second but couldn't possibly proccess this much...

These are my interpretations...I think it kinda varies from GM to GM, but from what I can tell, you are always limited by your humanity before technology...

I'm also of the opinion that anything with image link is sophisticated enough to track your eyes and map that to AROs in your field of view, so that you can do almost anything "mouse-like". Just use a couple buttons, a wheel, touchpad, or "nipple" (ie. IBM laptops, Apple's Mighty Mouse, etc) on your commlink to select, navigate popup menus, etc. Just as good as AR gloves "manipulating" AROs, but some folks may prefer that tactile feedback.

According to the book, you can use AR via Simsense. Makes no sense to buy AR gloves, etc, when trode nets are so cheap.

Well you also need to buy a sim-module as well, but that is something that everyone should have anyways.

The real problem with using 'trodes as a matter of course is that a hacker half-way across the world can take control of your comlink, for you into full VR, and beat your persona to death with a Black Hammer.

Only if you are stupid enough to be using Hot Sim of course and leave your commlink undefended.

*Edit*

But yeah, there is an slightly increased risk for the vastly increased convincence (Not to mention being able to make used of DNI commands to your gear in the heat of battle, most notably your Smartlink.) which seems like a theme in Fourth.