# Floaty Etherial Computer Screens From Movies--In the Cards or No? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 12, 2018, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/floaty-etherial-computer-screens-from-movies-in-the-cards-or-no/806473 "2018-01-12T18:00:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/floaty-etherial-computer-screens-from-movies-in-the-cards-or-no/806473/21 "2018-01-13T17:29:49Z")
Yes. I saw on in that Prisoner knockoff staring Sir Ian McClellan and I said, “Oohh. I want one.” Than I saw that’s how the Captain Mercer’s laptop works on The Orville, and I thought – everyone can see what he’s working on. What if he were browsing pr0n? Just a bad idea. I often wonder if we could get semiconductors transparent enough. We probably will before we develop direct brain interfaces. But maybe not too much sooner., ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/floaty-etherial-computer-screens-from-movies-in-the-cards-or-no/806473/22 "2018-01-13T19:07:53Z")
Pretty sure AR will be the way things will be done in the near future. Eliminate the need for large physical screens and privacy is fantastic; the image need only be broadcast to yourself and others of your choosing. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/floaty-etherial-computer-screens-from-movies-in-the-cards-or-no/806473/23 "2018-01-13T19:08:23Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > May I add another observation? Why do movie and TV people think that it is so high-tech to reach up (or down) on these “screens” and move things around? People are always moving a virtual folder or image from one side to the other, usually at least a couple feet, with their entire arm. Movies and TVs are a visual medium, having an actor make large motions with their arm on an imaginary display that also lets their face and it’s expressions be in the shot makes for a much better image than an actor making tiny motions on a screen that’s buried in a panel or only showing on the actor’s glasses. Successful movies and TV shows generally don’t try to accurately predict the most useful way to use new technology, they give a good story and good visuals. It’s like cocking the slide on a pistol or pumping a pump shotgun for emphasis - with real firearms, it means you’re an idiot who either just wasted a bullet/shell or wasn’t actually able to fire earlier, but when watching a show it works. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/floaty-etherial-computer-screens-from-movies-in-the-cards-or-no/806473/24 "2018-01-14T22:22:47Z")
> [@brossa](#): > > Femtosecond focused laser pulses can create displays of dots in mid-air. The dots are bluish-white from air ionization, and are accompanied by a buzzing crackle as the plasma balls form and collapse. As of 2015, they were even touch-interactive! [Youtube promo video.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoWi10YVmfE) > > Now, a roomful of these things buzzing and glaring and ozonating would be a nightmare, but still. Floating in-air 3D images! Also, you probably don’t want to be in line of sight of those lasers - of course they’re only tightly focused on one point in space and usually they’re pointing straight up, but it’s probably still going to be a bad day if you end up with one in your eye. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2018, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/floaty-etherial-computer-screens-from-movies-in-the-cards-or-no/806473/25 "2018-01-24T19:24:28Z")
Just ran across a [Phys.org](http://Phys.org) [report](https://phys.org/news/2018-01-holograms-d-thin-air.html) of a recent publication on this subject. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2018, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/floaty-etherial-computer-screens-from-movies-in-the-cards-or-no/806473/26 "2018-01-24T20:34:01Z")
1. Broadcast a signal for images and locations via WiFi. 2. Detect signal via a subcutaneous receiver. 3. Perform permissions check and spam filtering. 4. Adjust signals from the eyes to the brain, to include the images in the desired locations. This requires either implanted technology or sufficient technology to induce the growth of biological hardware through some unknown means (shot, pill, etc.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/floaty-etherial-computer-screens-from-movies-in-the-cards-or-no/806473.md?page=1)