Whedonesque : Comments on 21801 : Virtual Echo program is up at the official Dollhouse site.

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September 26 2009

Virtual Echo program is up at the official Dollhouse site. The long promoted promotional app is now online.

To some extent it is interesting to see Dushku try to get some of the personalities across only through body language but a lot of them mostly default to "sexy." As a result some also cross into "awkward."

Considering how they actually hyped this up a little bit, I sort of expected a bit more from it. It seems to be like those standard desktop companions except it's not as cute or interactive as the little sheep one I remember from many a year back...

However, this one also has a novel sounding "augumented reality" aspect for anyone with a web cam. Though I'm pretty sure the phrase "digital hologram" doesn't really mean anything. This also might serve as a newsfeed for all things officially Dollhouse but I don't seem to see much of that yet.

orangewaxlion | Dollhouse | 03:57 CET | 23 comments total | tags: virtual echo

Hey, my email claimed that by signing up to be notified first I was getting an exclusive download. Liars!

Jobo | September 26, 05:57 CET

So, only two personas? Eleanor Penn and Matrix Echo? That's it?

The One True b!X | September 26, 07:25 CET

You can download more with the "Get more personas" option. It doesn't really do anything though and I'm not sure why you'd want this running all the time unless you want to randomly have Eliza dancing on your screen or shooting you. Ah well.

hacksaway | September 26, 09:35 CET

This all seems more than slightly reminiscent of those advertisements for virtual strippers that I can't avoid when I visit my webcomics. I do not want to have this reminiscence in my brain.

Mercenary | September 26, 09:50 CET

Eh anyone having trouble downloading it? I've got a mac and i'm in europe...any of that cause concern?

BlueSkies | September 26, 13:43 CET

It works on my UK Mac.

That said... I'm not sure why Fox spent money on this.

gossi | September 26, 13:47 CET

Thanks gossi...just wondering did you use safari or firefox?

BlueSkies | September 26, 13:51 CET

There's a Michael Jackson opus coming out that touts "brand new technology" and claims it's the first time this kind of technology has been utilized...

Said technology is the print out card you can use to interact with echo on a webcam. Nothing new at all. Kind of gimmicky too.

iwearthecheese | September 26, 14:01 CET

Haven't downloaded it yet but I got one of the postcards at Comic Con which will allow me to see the hologram. If it is well done, it can be rather awesome.

Lioness | September 26, 14:21 CET

OK, downloaded it but I think mine might be broken. I've turned my monitor upside down but her clothes still don't fall off, what am I doing wrong ?

(actually that's not fair to those "novelty" pens because at least with those you also had a working pen)

I've seen a couple of those augmented reality things on mates' phones and they can be quite cool. No printer at home though so that'll have to wait until Monday.

Saje | September 26, 14:36 CET

Is it just the monitor or your complete computer, Saje? That might be the problem.

Lioness | September 26, 14:40 CET

Good thinking Lioness, i'll try the entire PC next. Failing that maybe inverting the local gravitational field will do it.

Saje | September 26, 14:54 CET

Please give us a little advanced warning if you plan to turn Britain upside down. Some of us are wearing clothes too.

skittledog | September 26, 16:27 CET

Has anyone tried the webcam bit? Don't have one, so can't tell what happens.

Being able to stop an animation once it begins would be good; the champagne party girl takes too long. Although it looks a lot better on a black background, like, say, Whedonesque...

C. A. Bridges | September 26, 16:40 CET

Again with the persecution of us two-monitor people! Virtual Echo only appears on my left hand monitor! No fair!

zz9 | September 26, 16:55 CET

Fox should probably pay you some sort of cracker subsidy.

Saje | September 26, 17:10 CET

It's strange because I remember seeing Rupert Murdoch in his LA office and he had a three-monitor setup! So I can imagine that Rupert had downloaded Echo and is now making furious phone calls to his IT people demanding to know why she doesn't appear on two of his monitors.

Come on Rupert. Make that call.....

zz9 | September 26, 17:31 CET

And for virtual weirdness, check this out. Upload any picture from your PC, of anyone looking at the camera, and see them animated. And then make them a furry.
Very unsettling.

zz9 | September 26, 17:33 CET

God damn zz9 you weren't kidding! I had a portrait picture I tried and good lord, that was spooky as i returned to the page!
Yikes.

And regarding the virtual echo stuff, on the PC if you go into %appdata& then the dollhouse folder, then local store/video the animations are there are flash files.

Hunted | September 26, 17:56 CET

The webcam bit is funnier if instead of printing the pdf and holding that up, you just call up the pdf on your iPhone and hold that up. At least then the "hologram" is coming out of a device.

The One True b!X | September 26, 18:09 CET

That is alarming.

I like the virtual Echo thing, but it worries me. What if she interrupts me playing WoW? Dang it woman!

xMadxScientistx | September 26, 23:16 CET

Can she interrupt you playing WoW? (Can she grind gold? ;)

Hunted | September 27, 02:39 CET

There should probably be one in a WoW outfit so she blends in. You have Glocks in WoW right ?

Saje | September 27, 08:39 CET

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