For David Stotts, computing needs a new face: yours. He'd like to hook you up to a partner miles or continents away, pipe live video of each of you onto the same computer desktop, and let you hash out your ideas, pointing to work on the screen, hearing each other's voices, and watching each other react....

...The key is transparency, which is wired into today's high-performance graphics hardware. By tapping that capacity and the human brain's ability to organize visual patterns, Stotts and his team found a way to let you peer through transparent images of yourself and your partner at the same time you're watching your work on the screen. (If you've ever looked through your reflection in a pond and noticed a fish swimming under the surface, you'll have the idea.)