Rotbart, please explain how an MT has any bearing on AR and VR outside of all three being a possible and exclusive type of communication?

Also, MTs can work in Matrix dead zones, but you need two to talk ot each other. They are Matrix independent. Think about it, it makes sense. They are a glorified walkie talkie.

I think there's a misunderstanding (Shocking, I know).

The commlink works, but can't connect to anything if there is nothing there to connect to or if it's being jammed, natch. Dead zone, no friends, you're stuck playing solitaire till the plane arrives. Read Snow Crash if you want a better description.

You can talk in VR. You need a Datajack/trodenet, commlink and SIM to use VR so the transducer is in there somewhere. An MT doesn't allow VR, it is an old style analog radio. No transducer needed to talk, it gets vocal communication from your vocal cords, not directly from your brain. QED, MTs have nothing to do with AR or VR.

MTs work just fine in dead zones, the exact same way commlinks do. You can talk on your MT, broadcasting, and hope someone else is in range and hears you. You can send requests to connect from your commlink and hope someone is in range and accepts. If theres someone in range of your MT, they can hear you, and you can hear them when they talk back (provided you're in range of them). If theres someone in range of your commlink, they can connect to you (provided you're in their signal range as well) and you two can communicate just fine also.

Just a note, I'd argue MTs are just as succeptible to jamming as a commlink is.

...I never disagreed about this. That was why in older editions they had a base ECM rating of 1 which could be improved by spending more .

Thirded.

So, KK, you are from the late 1800's? I would imagine the invention of the automotivacar and the magic box with all the wolrds knowledge inside(aka computer) were both very frightening.


Chris

For DNI to translate thoughts into voice would require a specialized piece of software on the caliber of a limited Persona program, one custom tailored to a single voice. I don't see any rules for anything like that, especially rules that let you customize a "single sense-only" Persona program.

Your brain doesn't transmit your voice telepathically to people, nor does it control how that voice sounds. Your throat and mouth do. You need a device or program that does the same thing. Pretty "duh" statement, but the heart of this part of the discussion.

On the subject of DNI transducers, I believe the datajack does that job by itself. The evidence is that the text for the good ol' DJ is that if someone strings a cable between two 'jacked people, they can have a totally secure conversation. As Funk pointed out, he figures it'd be better/more sensible for them to be sending text messages.

The problem with that is that text messages would require an image link or image-link capable device. These aren't mentioned in the text, so we have to assume that a datajack is ALL that's required for that. What's more, any device connected to the datajack for such text messaging is by default going to be connected wirelessly, rather than otherwise. As such, that conversation cannot be, as the text says, secure from any eavesdropping attempt.

Ergo, the datajack must have a thought-to-something ('something' being defined as whatever travels across the cable) capablity internal to itself. Otherwise the entire statement in the BBB is nonsensical or in error.

Note: trodes do not, and never have had, this ability.

Hell, voice is related to properties of your body. How hard can it be for either the doc to scan these and feed it to the jack at time of implant and have it calculate the correct sounding voice, or have the jack read said info of your neural system as you do some talking as part of the day to day activity. In other words, where is the importance of knowing the smallest details of a imagined piece of tech? This is starting to sound like star trek...

Because it's dumpshock, and we bore easily, I would wager.

I'm going to refer all of you to Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash and to Juanita's prescient quote: "Condensing fact from the vapor of nuance." There will be a market for converting not just your voice, but your facial mannerisms to your VR icon. Otherwise the matrix is meaningless for business meets.

That, again, would be related to a Persona program. A program with its own unique voice, look, and everything else. Even if you buy your Persona so that it mimics your natural voice, it's still a completely separate and individual program.

The Persona is the synthesis of many programs... what you mean is the Icon - and many devices come with default Icons.

Your persona Icon can talk in VR. You can go VR with trodes. Wizkids and Catalyst made a new game system that is simpler and more intuitive than the last one. As such they rolled a bunch of stuff into more simplified 'ware so we don't have to buy router ports anymore.

For that, thank you.

MTs are radios, headsets with analog (or digital voice only) radios.

Any other questions? I have plenty of free time to kill too, but this thread is getting out of hand. If we're going to bitch about transducers we should at least start a new tread.

well i just want to say that when kyoto kid brought up the transducer i guessed that (iirc) she wanted it to hook it into the microtranceiver so that one could talk without making any sound at all. a throat mike still needs to pick up sound to be effective...

Then turn wireless on on your microtranceiver (or jack in in directly) to your datajack/trodenet/commlink and relay the information mentally to it that way.

have i argued anything else?

Sounds reasonable, there's nothing stopping someone from pluggin the MT into their commlink or directly into their datajack/trodenet to talk without making a sound. It's a clever idea and doesn't draw the attention that an implanted mic does.

In fact my hacker might have to keep an MT on hand and plugged into his commlink just to facilitate such communication. If the team starts communicating over MT it's less of a hacking risk, but no more cool BattleTac type features.