Dev Null

Dev Null was an animated virtual reality character created in 1996 by Leo Laporte for MSNBC's computer and technology TV series The Site.

Laporte was awarded a 1997 Northern California Emmy for his nightly performances as cyber character Dev Null.

When O'Brien sat at the espresso bar to read email from viewers, Dev flirted with her while answering her computer questions.

"[3] While O'Brien looked at a piece of tape on the wall indicating Dev's virtual position, the VR suit captured Laporte's actions, and a computer program translated his body movements to create the character, while other human operators controlled facial expressions and accentuated movements of his hair.

Laporte recalled arriving at NBC with a 90-page treatment: Producer David Bohrman remembered, "She would do real-time Q&A with this cartoon character who was the smartest person in the world when it came to technology issues.