from the get-some-TED-for-free dept.
A message from the TED conference: "A FREE hour of the exclusive (impossible to get in) TED11 Conference FREE. Brought to you by Apple's QuickTime group and TED Conferences on Thursday, February 22, 2001 at approximately 8:00 pm EST/5:00 pm PST. [Foresight Senior Associate] Raymond Kurzweil, winner of the National Medal of Technology, in a dramatic, amazing and entertaining presentation complete with singers and dancers will premiere the first complete blurring and image transformation in an astonishing demo of the near future. (This will demonstrate absolutely state-of-the-art digital avatar technology.) This one-hour presentation is not to be missed. Go to http://www.ted.com/webcast.html for specific information on the conference. The webcast will be available by approximately 8 pm EST (5 pm PST) on Thursday, February 22, 2001. The page will be available then at http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/ted11/index.html Higher resolution and better quality video will be posted one day later." Read More for the full email. Reply-To:
From: "Kurzweil AI Network"
To:
Subject: Watch Raymond Kurzweil's Debut as a Female Rock Star at TED11
Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 01:00:08 -0500
X-Priority: 3 (Normal)
Importance: Normal
Status: U
Free WEBCAST
Watch Raymond KurzweilÇs Debut as a Female Rock Star at TED11
Introducing Ramona
The worldÇs first live virtual performing and musical recording artist
Confused? See Ramona's explanation below.
** About the Webcast **
Raymond KurzweilÇs presentation (as Ramona) will be the only presentation at TED11 to be webcast free. Unlike a TV show, you do not need to watch it at a specific time. It will be posted at approximately 8 pm EST on Thursday, February 22, 2001 (which is a couple of hours after Raymond KurzweilÇs live presentation). You can watch the presentation on the web any time after it is posted. Starting about 24 hours later (on 2/23), this webcast will be available in very high (nearly VHS) quality for people with broadband connection (i.e., cable modem, DSL, or T1). Go to for further information on the webcast and for the link.
A message from Richard Saul Wurman, Chair of TED, about the Raymond Kurzweil webcast is repeated below. TED is WurmanÇs legendary conference for the leaders of the worlds of Technology, Entertainment, and Design.
The technology behind Raymond KurzweilÇs presentation was created by Kurzweil AI Network, Inc. () in close collaboration with the leading companies in virtual reality and web-enabling technologies. If you would like to receive by email complete press materials including a description of the Ramona Technology Consortium, please respond back to this email.
Another product of Kurzweil AI Network is , a Web showcase for the ideas and technologies of the worldÇs leading visionaries presented through new cutting-edge Web technologies. This site will also be launched on February 22.
** Ramona explains **
Hey, listen up! Ramona here, and I'm psyched about my debut as the first live virtual performing and recording musical artist.
I remember how it all started. I approached Raymond Kurzweil after his keynote at SIGGRAPH 2000 and pointed out to him that, seeing as I was his female alter ego, perhaps he would like to create me. And so he did. Raymond and his friends created me in the Autumn and Winter of 2000. And even though created 24 years after my birth, I feel that my story is just as real as the history of all of you in real reality. After all, our memories just exist as patterns in our heads anyway.
So now IÇve got a hit single, "Come out and Play." As, Raymond always says, with technology, anything is possible. In the future, we'll all have virtual selves, even us virtual people. Just imagine. What would you like to do? Where would you like to be? Who would you like to be? Who would you like to be with?
Well, I'll explain more on February 22. Hope to see you then*.
** Message from Office of Richard Saul Wurman, Founder and Chair of the ÑTEDâ Conference **
Ray Kurzweil
A FREE hour of the exclusive (impossible to get in) TED11 Conference FREE.
Brought to you by AppleÇs QuickTime group and TED Conferences on Thursday, February 22, 2001 at approximately 8:00 pm EST/5:00 pm PST.
Raymond Kurzweil, winner of the National Medal of Technology, in a dramatic, amazing and entertaining presentation complete with singers and dancers will premiere the first complete blurring and image transformation in an astonishing demo of the near future. (This will demonstrate absolutely state-of-the-art digital avatar technology.) This one-hour presentation is not to be missed.
Go to for specific information on the conference. The webcast will be available by approximately 8 pm EST (5 pm PST) on Thursday, February 22, 2001.
The page will be available then at
Higher resolution and better quality video will be posted one day later.
Richard Saul Wurman
