HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- Eric White believes the future of sex technology lies in a 16" red-and-black cylindrical device that he sells for $439.69 from his office in rural Pennsylvania.
White's device is aimed at men and, to put it delicately, is designed to provide pleasure through an ingenious combination of a vacuum pump, a back-and-forth motor, and a stimulator at the business end that he says "adds a little extra zing."
Eric White holds his 'Virtual Sex Machine,' which is controlled by Windows software. Optional goggles can provide a more immersive VR environment than a computer screen.
(Credit: Declan McCullagh)Similar devices have been around for years -- there's the perennial gag of an inflatable sheep, of course, and the non-programmable Venus 2000 from Sybian.com sells for $815. What makes White's contraption different is that it's arguably the most technologically advanced to date.
That's because his so-called Virtual Sex Machine comes with Windows software that controls the VSM through the PC's parallel data port. It can simulate different sorts of intimate activities by, as White puts it, "varying the vacuum." (In truth it's more configurable than that, but good taste forbids us from elaborating.)
What that means is that it's possible to craft an adult video with synchronized instructions sent through the data port to the VSM. As the action on the screen progresses, the electronic manipulations of the VSM's silicone-like interior varies as well.
White doesn't want to be in the business of creating adult videos, though. He showed up at the Internext conference here organized by adult trade publisher AVN Media Network to try to persuade the companies that own or produce videos to insert VSM data tracks. (The resulting disc sells for $40, a hefty premium over traditional adult DVDs.)
He has four porn stars signed up so far for custom discs -- kind of a virtual woman-at-your-command -- including a cheerleader-turned-amateur actress who runs the sammy4u.com Web site. Dozens more compilation discs with data tracks are available through White's vrinnovations.com site.
"It adds another level of marketing ability to (an adult movie) star," White said. "When you're done with her, you put it back on the shelf and close the door. You don't have to take her out to dinner."
Next steps include a sensor-equipped version of the VSM marketed at women (or men, for that matter) who operate pay-per-minute Web cams at sites like cams.com and camz.com. The idea is that their customers will pay extra for the 'cammer to manipulate the remote VSM in certain, ah, specific ways that will be detected by the local Windows software, communicated over the Internet, and output to the male-oriented VSM connected to the remote customer.
After that, of course, might come VSMs with medical applications, VSMs designed for couples in long distance relationships, VSMs with a software interface that allows hacking, and so on, although expansion plans may have to wait until Pennsylvania authorities stop harassing White over building permits. He had the bad fortune to place his factory in Amish country, which apparently is less than happy about being a birthplace of the world's teledildonics movement.
For his part, White views himself as a kind of Thomas Edison of the industry: "I want to be the guy who invented virtual sex."
HOLLYWOOD, Fla.--In the long ago heyday of adult magazines, Screw publisher Al Goldstein was one of the undisputed porn kings.
Now the onetime multimillionaire and foul-mouthed sex celeb has turned his talents to hawking Booble.com here at the Internext conference organized by adult trade publisher AVN Media Network.
Former Screw publisher Al Goldstein presents a $5,000 check to this year's 'Booble Girl.'
(Credit: Declan McCullagh/CNET News.com)Booble, which features some topless photos and isn't entirely safe for work, is an adult search engine and "sex search directory." It also features a "Booble Porn Minute" and the ability to search by porn star name and by sex-cam name.
During a lunch break at Internext, a cursing, cussing Goldstein presented a check for $5,000 to the naturally well-endowed porn actress Lisa Sparxxx who bested 175 other contestants to become "Booble Girl of the Year." The work seems somewhat less than arduous: a few minutes later she was spotted over at the Booble booth signing small plastic breasts.
Once a towering figure in the smut businesses, the 71-year old Goldstein practically lost it all in the last few years when, in quick succession, cheap Internet porn put his notoriously ribald magazine out of business, he filed for bankruptcy, and he got slapped with harassment charges. A 2004 article reported that Goldstein was reduced to selling salami, gefilte fish and beef brisket at a Manhattan deli.
Now Goldstein is on something of a comeback. He's got a new book out called I, Goldstein: My Screwed Life and a blog at Booble. He's also, of course, running for president at Goldstein08.com as the "dirty old candidate" with a slogan of "Removing the 'o' from country."
In case you're wondering how Booble got away with the similarity to Google under U.S. trademark law, by the way, there was a spat complete with a nastygram from Google back in 2004. But J.T. Ortiz, who works in marketing at Booble's parent company, said Friday that everything settled amicably, not least because Booble considers itself a parody of its far better known cousin.
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