Slashdot Mirror
Date Pagers
Structured Audio writes: "Found this in Dvorak's Forbes column. These
are hip in Japan,
China,
and Germany.
See those links for details, but it's essentially a pager-like
device that you program with details about who you'd like to
date. When it detects you're near someone who also is wearing
one of these, and your profiles match, it gets the two of you
into a conversation. Wow!" These frighten me.
2) Here is the source code for a program to hack it
3) Blah Blah Blah.. grits
4) Blah Blah Blah.. first post
5) Blah Blah Blah.. read my cool sig
Ok...I'm done being sarcastic.
Seriously. We have to look at what exactly dertirmines "who is your perfect match". Personally, I have a really great girlfriend, and if I had a date-buddy.. or what ever the hell these things are called and it said "likes linux, programming, reads slashdot, etc." I don't think it would have EVER matched me up with her.
I'm going to echo other people's sentiments here. You can't have a machine tell you who is right for you. You have to get out there and "press the flesh" as I like to call it :) Just go out, have fun, meet some women/men (whatever your preference is), and then see where it goes. But having a little machine start beeping when you get close to a "match" just won't really do it.. heck, I can think of situations when that beeping may get you in a lot of trouble.. hehe
Steve
As my old man used to say: "Laziness is the mother of invention." -AC, 'necessity' my ass
Please someone moderate that up. heh heh heh
I'd only use one to find out which girls were into anal fisting, golden showers, and group sex. A bleep would be more polite than asking them in front of their friends.
>I wouldn't want to see one of these fall into the hands of drunken/violent homophobes with baseball bats.
Do you think they'd know how to work the thing?!
Have any of you ever been to a matchmaking singles dance? That's where you use them. Everyone goes to these dances expecting to fill out some kind of form. Instead of handing everyone back a card which has the ID numbers of "compatible" dates on it, you give them a (cheap clone) of this flirty/gety thing. Probably make it out of polyacetylene based electronics with a 2 hour battery. Probably use a frequency that is easily attenuated by the human body, so that the things are somewhat directional (they only see what is in front of the person).
There are very few things as perminant as the piramids of Ejypt. ??? ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I think your are as inbred as the fucking moderators matey.....
You'd need local tranmitters in particular venues that would temporarily add new "check boxes" to the devices allowing people to share their opinions of the special event they're at. Otherwise if you just have user-definable check boxes there's no chance whatsoever that anyone will ever match up. Unless there's a popular web-site that specifies the format of each check-box so that everyone can play on an even field. Sounds like a laugh to me. Just gives you that tiny excuse to break the ice and start your balls rolling. *parp*
Sad [x] Virgin [X] Spotty [X] Twat [X]
ICP used to own. I went to three shows they did. But what the hell happened in the last two albums? Stupid commercial shit. Carnival of Carnage and Ringmaster are the best of the jokers cards.
I could swear your a french cunt.....
Yea, I get it all right...having a device that alerts me when a blue-eyed fox that has a twenty node network that uses a sparc box to serve her mail is looming about...It would make things alot easier meeting people especially in large places like M.I.T. :)
I fail to see how asking for a filesystem check is a good pickup line.
Damn, this was on friggin Comedy Central weeks ago. I liked the little dance the kid did, though.
[X] DRESSES IN COSTUME SO AS TO MAKE PEOPLE THINK IS A MEMBER OF INSANE CLOWN POSSE
Exactly.
I always browse at -1. Most of the drivel that is moderated up is just cut-n-pasted from the site, mirrored links, pseudo-intelligent commentary, or karma-whores.
The truly funny posts are all at the -1 threshhold, which brings me to request something from Slashdot.
A "Lowest Score First" option. I'm sick of having to scroll all the way down when chosing the nearest option, "High Score First". If this was an option, it would make mine, and I'm sure many other Slashdot readers, experience more enjoyable.
Thank you.
>If they take the call right there in front of
> you, you instantly know that they believe either
> they or their associate are
>
> more important than you are as a potential
> romantic interest. Make your getaway as fast as
> possible.
You'd feel really bad if you made that getaway and then found out the conversation was something like:
your_potential_mate: yo
voice: hey suzanne i hate to bother you but our link to mae east is down
y_p_m:
Since when is finland settled in america?
Obviously, you are not using Linux...
No, the general lack of care to not repeat stories is a sign that cmdrtaco etc dont care about the quality of slashdot and dont appear to even read it anymore. As of late we have all seen stories repeated mere days later. If they did care they would be embarressed, but apparently they are not.
They rely on a strong user base here to do everything for slashdot. Submit the stories, moderate the comments, the least they can do is read it and not repeat stories. They have like 100 user submitted stories a day, they can choose new stories. Slashdot is becoming more and more like M$ everyday. They made a name for themselves and have a huge user base, but feel they no longer have to work for our appreciation.
Well hack my pager to find my secret to find out if we're cut out for each other.
Two words. Natalie Portman. One kick arse body. Could someone please send her one of these? Hehehe. Maybe then I could get my chance.
I can see the attraction for geeks (guys) but not girls... they have them in supermarkets in the u.k. Beep Beep!! Fat unwashed greasy bad-dieted guy who needs to get out more at 9 o`clock! You could probably tell they were single from looking at the stuff they were buying. Loads of `meals for one` and litres of coke. Sorry, diet-coke. That`ll do it. Half the world doesnt even have basic sanitation - good to see people working on the important things - helping the clueless to breed.
I guess once you've conquered, you then grow bored and move on to the next chase. You are one sick puppy.
I'll wager than most of us *hate* this type of environment. And if we hate clubs/bars so much, would meeting someone else who went to such a place likely the type of person we like? Nope.
Sounds incredibly dull. Why would you expect any responses with that kind of profile?
WTF is a "Computer Dance"? Just wondering. We *never* had such a thing at school...
Date pagers're old, OLD news. I first read about these on Adam Engst's list nearly five years ago. Sad to see Linux geeks this far behind Mac OS non-geeks.
Nope, but her boyfriend does.
Ditto! Pokkecons! Sterling! A good Old Fashioned Future! Seriously, folks, Sterling already covered the overly wired, the scared-to-be-wired, and the why-wired. This is the guy who in 1993, issued The Hacker Crackdown on the net! In order to talk intelligently about this issue without repeating ourselves, do us all a favor, and read the book first!
One of the Palm Computing commericals featured a guy beaming his business card through the window of one train into the Pilot of a girl in a nearby train at the train station. Seems to me, all you need to do is add a field with Friends, Chat, Go-Out, etc in it to your business card and you have yourself a "flirty." Btw, has anyone gotten Palm Computing support to assist you when your unable to beam from one train to another? They have always told me that they can't help me unless the Palms where withen a couple inches of each other and the commerical's use of the device definately exceeded a couple inches. I wish someone would point out to Palm Computing that conducting false advertizing is a bad thing. If the range of the IR was as far as the Palm Computing advertizing would like to make it out to be then it would open the device up to some pritty neat applications.
So the big follow-up question is:
Are you looking for
a) horny drunk males
or
b) females with, usually, little self-respect and no purpose other than to make a quick buck, by any means possible?
I'm assuming the latter, but hey, who knows.
I hang out at NANPA too, www.nanpa.com. I'm such a geek that I'd rather download area code maps than try to get a date!
actually, humourously enough, they're called "gaydar" to play on the long-famous 6th sense they all seem to have :)
kinda funny really.
:)
Jeeze why don't you just go out and talk to women. If you actually did that you might A. Meet a New Friend B. Meet a love interest In the likely case of A. A. can hook you up with B. Get out there. omg you are hurtin.
Not only is it the default, but it's hardwired in ROM. Why bother using them in the first place then? Just sell t-shirts with the appropriate social label or descriptive phrase printed on them. Like "rich geek", "lamebrain poser", "brainy cow", "dumbass model", and so on. What kinda scares me is that if this product really took off, what's to stop sleazy corporate types from placing logging devices around town and collecting personal data about the public -- a la RealJukeBox? Answer: nothing.
How's that any different from just getting your email address silkscreened on a shirt or something, other than hardly anybody recognizing it?
Chicks with great personality, but looks.......
So he can distribute them at the local playground....
WILL U DO ME..LIKE YOU DID BEFORE
If you've gotten to the point where you're naked, I don't think you need it anymore.
Thoink Pulp Fiction, think watch...mmmm the joy ..
Could someone please explain how this is offtopic?
probably off topic, but this strongly reminds me of a game called "The Stone" where supposedly each rune bracelet (or was it a necklace) was unique, and solving the puzzles for the stone was supposedly eventually to lead you to your mate, which would inevitably be the person with the other stone...
- goon(ty)
Fucking Liar [x] Hamster Lover[x]
Great! I wonder if they have the ultimate hack of a pimp pager. Guys would go walking down the street and hit a button every time a hot girl passed him. Then it would generate a profile just to match that girl. Awww...
I think you've got the gist of it. Most communications advances are coopted for further domination, or created with the express purpose of domination in the first place while also sometimes serving a useful function. Most unfortunate, but in this world it is to be expected.
> There already is just the machine your talking abuot.
Lemme guess... you're Canadian... *snicker*
..
I've got two feet and eight inches for ya, big boy
What if it's her fuckin' BOSS calling? should she still voicemail him? I would rate that as a negative. Now if she puts me on hold to talk to an ex-boyfriend, that's a different situation altogether.
And finding a date would be easy! Just look for someone running Linux on their pager.
It's a joke? dammit. Really?
These things aren't even popular in japan anymore. I've known about lovegetty for about 4 years now (before it was released). Slashdot seems to be behind the times with a lot of articles, but most stories I see here first, so I guess you can't win all the time.
JonKatz, no one likes an AC. But I agree. I would love to put one up your ass.
Hey, it's not frightening at all. Since everyone is taught up with ideas (eg. from society, from media, from parents) like "sex is the forbidden fruit", then it becomes a taboo. You can see this with the dimwits who are trying to get everyone else from seeing porn just because they don't like it for some reason.
I say devices which help people get together and break a few stupid taboos are great. I want this kind of thing for my cell phone!!
I'm sure that as soon as it gets shipped to the US it'll get hacked instantly.
;-)
Everyone knows that only Americans can hack.
All those Europeon and Russian hackers are just script kiddies.
Incase your stupid - I'm being sarcastic.
Foreign hackers rule! Russian and german in particular
hell no! I'd program mine:
Insane, intelligent weirdo seeks intelligent, good-looking female who smokes and does lots of drugs. obsession with unix and whipped cream a must.
You moderators will probably moderate this down and prove my point.
What that you're a loser?
'nuff said.
i remember hearing about a simeler device about two years ago.
The only programeble thing about it was a male/female option.
I think this was done be using two radio freqenties.
Ofcourse when your despirate this one is more usefull,
you might try to hack it to rebroadcast any detected preferences, likes and and dislikes.
Interesting to know they are *hip* in Germany. I am living here and never heard of this stuff, nor of anyone using it. Strange idea anyway.
And in both casses worth dating with ;-)
That's what we really need. Find out if he/she is a psycho bastard/bitch before you invest any time.
depends where you live. English Pubs tend to have a fair gender mix. Australian and New-Zealand pubs tend to be almost totally male.
In terms of my own experiences, coffee shops ( cafe's ) are generally a better bet. The main problem with pubs is that alchohol improves confidence but reduces sexual and social performance.
It also helps if you have some kind if a hobby that women find interesting. In this regard, local art classes in your residential area are a safe bet - most art groups tend to have a much higher propertion of females to males, so a bit of artistic flair will take you a lot furthur than the latest technical details of your new computer.
In addition to this, 'arty' types have an established sub-culture of bohemian attitudes. It goes with the territory ( but watch out for the hard core theatre and fashion types - those women can be super bitchy.
So no - I generally wouldn't recommend a pub.
I heard it's being hyped in gay communities in San Fransisco and New York. The big joke is that now there really is such a thing as Gay-dar. :)
Nothing good ever came out of the The Cesspool called europe. They are a bunch of pigfuckers and faggots. They are almost as bad as their putrid little spawns the Americans & Australians.
All are countries full of inbreds.
*shudder*
Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage
These things have been around for several years and I think Slashdot has done this story before.
Insightful? :-)
OK, Underrated, I can imagine. Interesting, maybe. Funny? Absoulutely.
Insightful, though???
mmmmm. . . pubs.
I had a really good burger at a pub today.
;)
&#npsb
duh....thats the default setting.
If you really want to send of somebodys alarm you shold have a pager that changes your personality every 1 second. Eventually you will end up with a personality that matches. that would be fun
and then she sees u and kicks u in the balls?
To quote Anthrax, "The Devil lives in California".
Californians are evil hypocrites. There are three major populations in California: Homosexuals ("Gays"), Vegans, and Mexicans. Let's discuss each one, and how they contribute to the hypocrisy that is "California".
Homosexuals love California. Hell, it's got "fornicate" right in the name! Well, sort of. Anyway, Californians battle for gay rights, which pretty much means the right to bugger your fellow man, then stick your tongue up his ass and lick out the semen.
Vegans are yuppies that wish they were hippies that wish they had jobs. They fight to keep animals (which eat other animals) from being eaten by an animal, called the human being.
Mexicans come from Mexico, a heathen nation to our south. They are part of a communist plot to take jobs away from good heterosexual, meat-eating Americans.
Now let's talk about the hypocrisy. Vegans are allied with the Gays. Vegans say that people shouldn't eat meat, but also say that Gays should be able to stick their meat wherever they like. Ahem. Gays eat meat on a regular basis, but there are Vegan Gays! It starts to get confusing. It's the hypocrisy, stupid.
I'm not sure where the Mexicans fit in exactly, but I do know that Gay Mexicans fit into each other quite nicely.
When I am elected President, I will hit the Calfornia state line with enough nukes so that the wasteland of Gay Vegan Mexicans breaks off and floats out into the Pacific. We will tow Hawaii over and staple it in California's place. Don't worry, folks; although similar in appearance to a Mexican, the Hawaiian is actually a cross-breed Asian, guaranteed to fuel America's much needed Technical and Convenience Store industries! And as demonstrated by the tradtional "luau", Hawaiians love to eat meat. So it all works out in the end!
Thanks for your time.
God Bless,
Al Gore
Inventor of the Internet
God Bless,
Al Gore
Inventor of the Internet
Father of our Country
I am the Lord.
I am the Lord.
God Hates Moderators.
Another problem we have is the emphasis on the other person being "cute." Maybe that's why so many relationships fail today. When your s/o no longer looks good enough or you can find someone who looks better, you dump them. Sad.
Moderate this down to (Score:-1,Troll)
Trollz rool.
Why yes, yes i do. Especially if im petrified at the time.
Thank you for asking.
Having problems finding Grits? Not any longer ... we NOW offer mail order Grits ! Get your Grits from Falls Mill! Falls Mill was built near Belvidere, Tennessee in 1873 and operates a Water-Powered Stone-Ground Grist Mill. These are REAL Grits! Tour the mill, visit the country store or stay over night at the Log Cabin Bed and Breakfast. Visit Falls Mill Website!
--trollbastard
I want a pager that will let me find people that have hot grits down their pants!
--trollbastard
One of the main things that constantly arise in my mind as a fairly big issue would be the issue of gay bashers. There was a story on CNN awhile ago covering these things as well but were setup for gay males to be able to find each other. Certainly if you have a device that plain out states your sexual orientation you might run into some problems with people who do not support your lifestyle.
Look out for the ones with - 1. banner ads, 2. "must be 21 to enter", or 3. "sign up for free trial now!" -----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK----- y**>$ ------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------
There is no way in hell any of that filthy software is going to touch any machine I use! And I don't want my kids to know about it either!
It's Windows software ... that is so sick!
> Does this seem like a ridiculous idea to anyone but me?
...? that's kinda scary. I got a kernel to compile.
you mean like going out and stuff
Actually here in Japan, there are these known places where people
between 16-24 years old go; it's called NANPA. The girls are
there, waiting for the guys to invite them to go to the
karaoke, have a drink, etc. The idea is to know the person
before talking, and then do the approach.
A shame, really.
I expect to be moderated down heavily for this.
- A.P.
--
"One World, one Web, one Program" - Microsoft promotional ad
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
In particular, is up to date on Geek Code 2000?
"Flame away, I wear asbestos underwear"
This story is nearly identical to the Daily Show's story about the English lad who made similiar devices to help with "discreet hookups".
Just fabulous. I suppose this beats the old
"I'm available for humping" stickers I normally wear...
I hadn't seen that, but I was reading News of the Weird this morning, and they mentioned that Gaydar thing. Check it out att ml, and search for cliche.
http://www.newsoftheweird.com/archive/index.h
Trying-to-be-fucking liar [X]
is truer.
--
__
Men with no respect for life must never be allowed to control the ultimate instruments of death.
GW Bu
This Is Pretty/Very Old But Anyway...
i have seen this stuff more than THREE years ago on Canal+ , a french channel...
--
BeDevId 15453
Download BeOS R5 Lite free!
"Science will win because it works." - Stephen Hawking
Call me clueless, I don't know...what's inherently frightening about this? It's not supplanting human social interaction; it's adding to it. Or so it seems to me, anyway. What kind of "frightening" scenarios (other than the funny one about multiple pagers going off) do y'all envision?
"How many light bulbs does it take to change a person?" --BMcC-->
Knowing a few gay men, I bet some of the more adventurous ones would appreciate having the unassigned bit used for "gay searching for lay" -- it'd solve certain social problems. Nobody I've talked to *likes* hanging around looking to make that critical prolonged eye contact; it's uncomfortable and even dangerous, given the level of homophobia in the US.
"How many light bulbs does it take to change a person?" --BMcC-->
If you wear a Beuwolf cluster of these things, will you be a super-stud?
You mean...kind of like a Beatles movie?
Well, I mean it's one thing to know someone exists and to know that the two of you are compatible. Plus, if a girl I'm interested in had one of these and it went off, I'd be more than willing to talk to her. It would break the ice and gives you a reason to speak up.
Or, you could just go hang out at the type of place where people that hold your same interests do... or even better, DO some of your interests that necessitate other people (such as a club or something), so that you'll already be around people with the same interests as you...You still have the problem of finding a reason to talk to that person; and even when you do find some reason to talk it will not reveal your interest. My take on this device is that it manages to make public the mutual attraction so that neither of you feel like you're trying to hide your true feelings. It would make it feel natural and easy.
You mean that wasn't the first thing that came to your mind? I don't know what's becoming of geeks these days...
I have seen those on sale here in Paris/France and quite frankly I wasn't impressed!
You only have about 4-6 programmable variables such as "preferable music: 5 options", "prefered activity such as reading books and sports, 5 options", etc ...
There is no way you can choose your own options to program into the device.
--
Why pay for drugs when you can get Linux for free ?
echo '[q]sa[ln0=aln80~Psnlbx]16isb572CCB9AE9DB03273snlbxq' |dc
If you like our Date Pager(tm) you are going to love the PLEASURE PAGER 6000! When the girl of your dreams walks by, the PLEASURE PAGER 6000 will start to violently VIBRATE and give you the MOST PLEASURE you have ever felt! Quantities are limited so order your PLEASURE PAGER 6000 today!
On CNN a coupla weeks ago- some guy had modified versions of this thing called 'Gaydar' and was selling them on the net in the US. They had the obligatory interviews with some gay people in SF, and the obligatory 'But...What if a gaybasher gets hold of one of these things? Won't someone please think of the Gaybashers!' ... But I think it's cute and I've been trying to get my company to sell them.
I work in the BDSM toy industry, and I always thought it would be neat to have a palm pilot fetish matchmaker program. Two people meet, aim their palms at each other, and find out what perversions they have in common.
chris
Surfing the net and other cliches...
Surfing the net and other cliches...
(Who Meta-Meta-Moderates the Meta-Moderators?)
Is that what they mean with "Love Machine?"
GCS/MU d- s+: a- C++$ USH++$ P- L+> E W++$ N o-- K- W++@ O-- M- !V PS Y+ PGP- t+ 5(+) X- R tv? b++++ y++(+++)
No, the first and finest hack of these will involve someone tumbling the preferences output. At any given nano-second you are the most desireable man in the world according to your pager.
Or get a display for it, so you can see the preferences of all the people around you. Could be interesting wheter you want them or not. And if someone truly interesting comes up, push a button to generate an instant match. I like to do selection myself, I wouldn't leave that to a device. Seems it can be useful for getting her attention though.
The intended purpose of it is a failure though. Might become a fad, and then disappear. There are so much affecting the choice that isn't easily expressible in logic. Such as looks. And there are too much significant data for anybody to enter into it too.
hmmm.... i see advertizers with these... Soon, i'm driving down the highway, and as a approach each billboard, they turn from whatever random ad to ads for things that interest me... the latest sci-fi flick, the latest creative labs video card, etc. now that would be scary....
Understandable. I just lucked out meeting my wife. It's not always that easy for some of us. Time helps, though. I'm in my thirties and she's in her fourties. We'd have been way to shy to speak to each other in our twenties, at least about stuff that mattered. These could help some people. And as far as the art thing goes, I even went to art school for a year. Yeah, they're geeks too, but a different type. Didn't match up. Systems Analysts are cool, though.
I drank what? -- Socrates
After all, once you find the girl of your dreams you are going to have to talk to her...
-BW
So, in the spirit on the NCAA tournament, let's take bets on how long it will be until Katz writes an article about these pagers. I'm putting the line at 3 days..
:)
Bonus points if you can guess the number of words, and just like the Price is Right, closest without going over.
Seriously though.. I don't think these will catch on. Those who wear these in the US will be ridiculed, ostracized, etc.. it's just not an acceptable means of meeting people here in the states, and I don't think it will be for some time. In a way I wish it was.. I'm a pretty shy type, and am not one to engage random people in conversation.. but I'd rather have to work on my personal skills and such rather than have a device do half my work for me.
BilldaCat
There already is just the machine your talking abuot. Well, I think its a joke, but take a look. here
I remember seeing something similar in a love boat episode (the new ones). No, I don't regularly watch it...but I saw that one for some reason. They something like if you just wanted a night of sex, you pager would beep if someone in the area has the same setting. Same thing if you were gay, or if you wanted a long lasting relationship. It was both an intersting concept and weird (they made a big deal out of the fay thing...)
I think you're missing the fact that "weak-minded pushover type" women would also have to program their pagers to respond to those characteristics.
How would they identify "potential victims of rape and abduction"? Like some woman is going to program hers to say "I'm a victim, abuse me, I have no self-esteem. I don't like sex but if you force me I won't fight." Please. Give women some credit.
The idea behind the post, obviously, was that this particular troll would be ecstatic if he could find a mate who shared his excitement when he pours hot grits down his pants. This goal, combined with his obvious Natalie Portman fetish, is a rather common topic on slashdot.
Unfortunately finding this troll a mate isn't the topic of this article.
Wistfully, he/she posted "I wonder...if Natalie Portman likes pouring hot grits down her pants, too!" Now consider what would happen if this poster, equipped with one of the devices the story references, were to run into Miss Portman, and discovered that she did, indeed, like hot grits down her pants? I think, and I can imagine you all agree, that he would be both on-topic, and scored +5/interesting.
The topic also isn't whether or not Miss Portman likes hot grits poured down her pants. Nor is it related to any specific behaviours enjoyed by users of the pager, it's about the use of the pager in general. Plus Natalie Portman doesn't live in Japan and doesn't have one of the pagers so the point is moot. If he/she had wondered if Sarah Michelle Gellar liked it up the ass or if Cameron Diaz spit or swallowed, would this also be on-topic? Do you see where I'm going with this? Any number of people could post questions whether or not some person or other liked this or that. And they'd all be off-topic and trolling. I do assume you were kidding though, but I just had to let it out.
These have been around for quite some time in Japan, although they were pretty feature-poor, from what I gather. Its interesting that these things are catching on outside of Japan, though. I'd think somthing like that would be pretty usefull.
ReadThe ReflectionEngine, a cyberpunk style n
The MIT Flea...!
Egad, this is gonna' be a good year. =)
.02
My
Quux26
My
Quux26
www.crashspace.net
Wireless "geek codes" with an shalow drop in to conversation mode? Jesus, why didn't I think of this? Why not just make it a module for a Visor? You can whack my big toe with a ball-peen hammer if these don't get as big as Tomagotchi, 'cept with the 12-20 crowd.
.02
My
Quux26
My
Quux26
www.crashspace.net
Don't you get it?? This starts the chase. I'm a bit of a social amorphism, I have no problem talking to just about anyone. But even then, I'd love to have something that clued me in to a girl within 50m with a Sparc that serves her mail! [grin] Imagine the doors that this opens for people a little more reserved. Dare I say one or two Slashdot readers?
.02
My
Quux26
My
Quux26
www.crashspace.net
this is great :) .. you step into a crowded subway, your pager goes off .. looking round, you put out the call "oh, ah .. anyone round here into pantie fetishes?"
I can see it now
Swiss national radio reported on the gaydar a couple of days ago. They probably took it from CNN, which has an article on it.
Are you certain it was a pun?
I strongly believe that trying to be clever is detrimental to your health. -- Linus Torvalds
Yeah, until they caught you and proceeded to beat the snot out of your and your palmpilot...
Who do you think you are, Stef Murky?? :)
James
I'd put something like:
Looking for a warm, sensitive, caring man. Knowledge in Unix/Perl a plus.
Ballerinas have fins that you'll never find
What if it went off while you were on a date?
At least for the german "Flirty" it won't be a problem when you cannot talk to the other person right now. The Flirty exchanges name and phone-number so you can call him/her later.
/.ed.
The chinese "Lovegetter" isn't so sophisticated though. For the japanese one I don't know. The site returned me an error. Possibly
--- If OS were buildings, then the first woodpecker to come around would erase 95 % of civilization.
Yes, but will they run linux?
--
Ty
alSeen@narnia.net
I wish every single person were equiped with one of these, then it'd make my Friday/Saturday nights a lot easier. I mean think about it, everyone always wants to meet someone who shares the same interests, and everyone is too scared to talk to find out who has the same interests, now we have a machine that says "hey this person has the same interests as me, and you know what? they're cute." so lets get the nerds swinging.
Check out Bruce Sterling's short story "Maneki Neko" in A Good Old Fashioned Future. Takes these toys to the next level...
If a company from U.S. or the rest of the world can make a date pager product, what kind of functions would they have that the products from China, Japan, and Germany did not have?
Should the date pager information be vague ("I'm a computer hobbyist"), or specific ("RH Linux 6.1, 2.2.14 kernel, bla, bla, bla, Windows users need not apply.")?
[Imagine me walking into an electronics store, holding a date pager and asking a salesman for an exchange.]
Me: I want to send back this date pager. It's defective.
Salesman: What do you mean?
Me: I turned it on, made the appropriate settings, and it still doesn't ring.
Salesman: Okay, I'll take a look. (salesman takes out a date pager tester, and the date pager rings.) Well, it rings when the tester's on. May I look into your settings?
Me: Sure. (The salesman hands me the date pager, and I typed in a passcode to reveal the settings.) Here, you asked for it.
Salesman: (reads the display, and laughs...) I can't believe it!
Me: What happened?
Salesman: You've cranked it up to "Heterosexual male computer user/Linux user/occasional FPS gamer (Q3A and UT)/musicals-enjoying theatregoer' in search for a 'Tall, leggy, multi-talented woman with similar interests and is a fan of Ute Lemper.'" I don't even know this thing had these settings! You should try turning down most, if not all, of the settings so it can ring more often...
--
Is it me, or is it obvious, at least in the United States that only one type of person would carry this? A desperate one, thats who!
This also reminds me of "Gaydar", if anyone else saw that on "The Daily Show". It is scary, but it is not all that different.
OTOH during Spring Break, there would be no place to carry this unless there is a waterproof version that takes alot of abuse. Then again, if you are naked, there is no place to keep it. he he he
Alas gallinaceas de urbe bovis volo
Do you know what album that is from? I know this will probably hurt my geek factor a lot, but when I was younger I loved Ray Stevens. I just thought he was the funniest. Anyway, I amassed quite a collection of his tapes, and I've never even heard of that song. But that sounds exactly like the sort of song he would do, though! So I'm very curious about where to find it. If you know, please respond to my e-mail address ( cawitt at iname dot com ) in addition to here, thanks!
If you believed that, you clearly have no business watching the daily show :). That episode was a clear pun on the lovegetty. "gaydar". it was a pretty funny episode though.
How long until it gets hacked and someone puts Linux on it?
/. with Lynx. And you get the date thing on top of all this. I think I'm in heaven
And how long until they upgrade the transmitter things to be repeaters? Then, when enough people have them, there will be a continuous net across the country: free wireless internet! You could
"Did anyone else see the Daily Show with Jon Stewart in which they interviewed this kid who invented basically the same thing mentioned in the article, only for gay people? He called it Gaydar. "
Actually CNN did a story on that, it's at http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/02/29/gaydar/
OK, there's two places I can immediately recall that this has popped up before. One was a short SF story by either William Gibson or Bruce Sterling - based off of the Japanese models, probably. The one before that was an X-Minus One episode, dealing with a "little speaker" that people had attached to themselves to tell them what to do to meet their perfect mate. Also, just remembered this one, there was another SF story in one of "The Year's Best Science Fiction" books from a few years back - people have helpers installed, and this guy petitions to have a switch on his turned off.
This is not new by any means.
Whatever you do... don't read this.
That is great, mod up. Funny.
Gimmicks.. can live without 'em, can't get enough of 'em.
- mipe -
Dope-finder
The "Factoid" from Compaq' Western Research Labs has some similarities in the "what can you do with really cheap minimal messaging? space.
It's been mentioned in Slashdot before.
The main web page is
http://research.compaq.com/wrl/projects/Factoid
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
Do you mean no life whatsoever?
I'll do it for cheesy poofs.
Of course, if they left their cell-phone at home or turn it off completely, you know you've got someone who's down-to-earth enough to realize that communication isn't just about talking to people who aren't in the room with you.
n t when you were in the same place with someone. Check every traditional holiday celebration. Check the fact that people freak out that IRC is replacing the phone or the local restaurant. I mean let's face it: If you live in a shithole of a town are you going to want to be involved with someone local if all you want to do is leave?
...busy...
okay lemme parse this...
isn't just
often used when contrasting to some relative or absolute (eeek, social norm) frame of reference.
about talking to people who aren't in the room with you.
Last I checked it was considered a communication/togetherness/relationship/involveme
So taking the above and putting 2+2 together, I would say that statement was twisted to be more persuasive in the techology is a social no-no sense.
Cell phones are perfectly acceptable. It's no different than someone calling on the phone during an otherwise private night. Course the cell phone is a no-no if say you're
I say it's fine otherwise and frankly what I'd like to see is people carrying speaker cell phones so you could have a meeting over IP during lunch.
I personally don't like the idea of cell phones used to keep tabs on people. If a partner's going to call every other hour to check up on you, then the relationship is over. Contrasting to the above post, I believe cell phones intended to put people in the same accessible space at the same time and you get rid of the cell phone freak because that person doesn't understand that communication isn't just about being in the same place at the same time which is what a cell phone allows you to do. Talking to people in different places is a superficial interpretation of what it does.
It's like saying roses are red... is a stupid poem talking about roses. The second abstracted layer (2nd and 3rd lines) is what's important.
This is the kind of confusion we create when we look at only the details instead of the functions of how reality works and it only leads to poor attempts at making reality fit shallow models like the poster above tries to do.
The message on the other side of this sig is false.
In Germany they are sometimes considered to be the ultimate way to get to know someone, especially for the youngsters. Since the "normal" young people do not know how to start a conversation with someone they see (!) in a disco or a bar/pub/party (whatever), they need some kind of device that tells them to go ahead and have a chat.
:-)
These youngsters fear they might get disappointed or might blame themselves when talking to someone they do not know.
Since the LoveGetty (heard it somewhere) tells them exactly whether the other person is a match they dare to have a chat.
You should have seen the TV-ads, they were aiming straight at kids and they told those kids that using these pager devices would be sooo much fun.
I do not think it is a really good thing, since everyone should communicate whenever he/she wants to and not when a machine tells them to.
On the other hand, I have not heard a lot about those things lately (speaking of TV-ads or Radio-commercials), thus I think they sort of died a silent death
- Holger
News of the Weird recently had an article about this. Aparently, a British company wanyts to market these as a way for gay men to meet discreetly in public. The name- Gaydar
Put my clarinet beneath your bed 'till I get back in town.
I have an older lovegetty and I took to wearing it around malls just for fun (my girlfriend has one as well -- we would sneak up on each other with them). Sooner or later i would find my Lovegetty going beep-beep while some old japanese man with a cane and another Lovegetty grinned and laughed at me.
I think alot of people see them as a way to meet teenage girls. because, really, besides people like us, who buys them? teenage girls.
\\ Where's my giant foam cowboy hat and airhorn?
so theoretically, i can use this to program my most superficial characteristics into this device and wear it around to pick up a trophy girlfriend? Sounds like fun.
I don't understand why everyone complains. 3 days after they hit the market, someone will have a site up where they took it apart and the pictures of the insides. After that, more sites will come up with the protocol for communication, and how to make one out of an AM radio and some tin foil. Then finally after 2 weeks, the news will get a hold of it and it will slowly disappear into the likes of tamogatchi and every other pet rock fad. Let it come...and let it go.
xavii aka bob
Of course, it was leap day.
Kean de Lacy
http://home.san.rr.com/dlacey
This very well-written article on the same subject appeared last friday on FEED. The author reports from Hong Kong.
"All the things one has forgotten scream for help in dreams". Elias Canetti
Flea markets...:)
Reality is an Illusion created by sleep depravation
That's why I browse at -1, sure I get the "MOO FUCKAZ" posts, but I also get the funny ones at the bottom. And let's face it, a lot of +5 posts are full of waffle - I know I've had +5 posts that were just something I'd thought of off the top of my head.
The sheer amount of humourless zealots on /. is why I've trolled as well. It's so easy and you can guarantee a response to almost any topic - Linux, open source, patents - the list goes on :)
-Legion
-Legion
How about:
;-)
"Let's Just Do It!"(tm) [x]
Dating is for wimps
- Steeltoe
http://www.debunkingskeptics.com/
That's a great idea! You should be able to program whatever you want into this thing, and be able to turn the features on and off whenever you feel like it. Would be great!
Friends:
Wants to play Quake 3 Arena [x]
Wants to play Unreal Tournament [ ]
Wants to go out drinking and check out chicks [x]
Girlfriends:
Wants to stay over for just one night [x]
Help:
Need help with the car [x]
I'm dying here (arrghh) [x]
And of course the gizmos should do all the talking for you, no need to worry about social dysfunctionality anymore!
- Steeltoe
http://www.debunkingskeptics.com/
>These frighten me.
it's luddite comments like this one that make me not read slashdot anymore.
If it hadn't been for these marvelous love beepers I wouldn't have met my last three wives.
The idea may be cool or not but the Lovegety has exactly 2.5 bits of info
bit 0: 0 = girl, 1 = boy
bits 1-2: 0 = looking for friend
1 = looking for relationship
2 = looking for sex
3 = unused
That's it. If bit 0 doesn't match and bits 1-2 do match and you are within like 15 feet of each other the two lovegetys beep. At that point you shriek at how un-interested you are in that other person.
And even though they claim 1.5 million units sold in Japan the odds of it actually going off are surprisingly small at least going by the people interviewed that have them.
A better idea would be to have them basically have a text profile and if you walk near somebody that has one your profiles are swapped. Then you'd (a) know they are "in the market" and know a little bit about them.
-gregg
-Little Sister
"The future masters of technology must be light-hearted and intelligent. The machine easily masters the grim and the
http://www.cliqueme.com
When 2 people of the same profile meet on the same web site with the cliqume software, the software buzz like the data pager.
But you can just guess phone numbers, or read them from a phone book, and you can also stalk anyone that you see on the street. I don't see how this gizmo would make serial rape any eaiser. It doesn't give you any information you can't get from other sources. It just filters it for you. -Jared
I know these have been released before but quite apparently without success as there has been no widespread use of them that I know of. Are we really so busy with our lives that we can't spend a few minutes to get to know a person?
"Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world; unreasonable people persist in trying to adapt the world to themselves
If nothing else, these things should make it easier to start a conversation with a stranger (I assume, as I've never worn one).
Which, IMO, is a Good Thing.
Okay. So now I get to pay some type of monthly subscription fee, so that I can wear an extra pager around (which I hate), so that I can go to a movie theater to find out someone two rows in front of me also likes kayaking, even though I won't be able to talk to them because the movie's playing, and I'm there already with friends or a date anyway; or go to a dance club where I can go talk to anyone in the first place; or when I go to a party and am too afraid to introduce myself to anyone (wait - that never happens), or I can get a date with my hygeinist or my Albertson's cashier!!! All right, count me in! This thing is too good to be true!
I read about these in Business Week around two years ago. Of course, it's a story about dating, and this is supposed to be news for us nerds, so maybe it's appropriate that we are a bit behind in this area :-)
Unless there's a popular web-site that specifies the format of each check-box so that everyone can play on an even field.
Why wouldn't the service provider ("Geeklife.com" or something :) simply put up a website?
The more I think about this, the more I like it...God, what I wouldn't give for 100k US "angel money" and 3-4 key knowledge workers right now!
Any sufficiently well-organized community is indistinguishable from Government.
Am i lazy because i don't build the apartments i live in or chop my own firewood? Technology is supposed to be about efficiency. Sloths are just on civilization's coattails.
I've thought a lot about what complete connectivity will mean in public in the future. Will i get a voicemail from the person sitting across the restaurant telling me i have food on my face? Will i get videomail of the guy behind me giving me the bird because i just cut him off on the freeway? We're going to need a lot of filters, but connectivity can be useful as well. If you meet someone at a party and you've already seen each others' profiles, you don't have to waste time on banal small talk.
Laziness comes from within, not from too many tools.
Time for me to go to sleep!
HoopyFrood
A butcher from Butte bought a bottled boat and bet a boy a bat wouldn't bite a boot as bait. But in his bout he was beat
The question is can you really run an Apache web server under Caldera on this thing? Or do you need a cluster of flirties in order to have your website going. Hard to imagine the hack value of such an experiment.
You can't handle the truth.
I wonder if these things can be programmed to upload your complete profile information to some central database much like the one "doubleclick" maintains. That would be really scary.
Imagine these sort of monitoring stations strategically placed which download your profile automatically when you come within a certain range of them. They then all talk to each other since they are all networked and build a profile of you keeping track of exactly where you were and when you were there. I mean these things could track your every move. Watch out for "Big Brother".
Actually, these things could be really useful in some applications, but I doubt that many people would agree to carry one around.
Ok, this is even better. The little device stores all your like, dislikes and preferences, so as soon as you enter a store the interactive advertisments could adapt to your likings. In fact, you could sit down at a restarant and the overhead lighting could self adjust, the waiter would already know that you don't like mustard on your hamburger and the seats could change to your favorite color.
I think I'm getting somewhere with this. Let me know if I'm taking this too far...
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson
NPS Internet Solutions, LLC
www.npsis.com
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson
www.haidacarver.com
(or should that be pessemist ;p) But exactly what would you do if you walked down the street and TWO pagers started beeping? Whoa...
Hey, this thing is PERFECT for the homophobic gay basher in you! Not only can you know right away if another person is gay, you know if they are compatable and therefore threatening to your own sexuality. Don't just beat anyone, beat those that might want to hit on you!
-matthew
"THERE IS NO JUSTICE, THERE IS ONLY ME." -Death
Scares the heck out of me!
Strange women coming up to me in the street...
Gives me the willies just thinking about it
(Looks down)
I can't say that I have been having much problems finding companionship lately... I do have one particular girl that I would like to fix things with... But heck, this could be fun!
Eh...
--
--
We have fought the AC's, and they have won.
iceburn .sig: No such file or directory
cat:
A sphincter says what?
you walk in with a palm...
Hmmm, who needs to buy something extra? Can't we all just use our palm pilots for this? I may have to upgrade to a "sleeker" version now ;-)
This device makes it possible to catch flea's at mit flea. yippe!
Indiscriminately broadcasting stuff like that is a little too trusting.
It can't be all about sex. Wouldn't it be cool if you just happen to bump into someone with his/her /. variable toggled to "yes"? You don't have to get married, but it would make the subway ride more pleasant. You're into geneology, too? Great, exchange census indices. And yes, Quake III Arena buddies, not necessarily bed buddies. Go for it.
Let's face it, this is only a step away from making acquaintances on Usenet newsgroups -- but on Usenet noone can tell you're having a bad hair day.
Obsessive /. Reader [X] Leaves computer on at night [X] Reads Userfriendly [X]
Desperation is a stinky cologne
You have to program the "cutie"'s unit not to react to anybody's pager except yours. Either that, or you just fry her unit so that it does not trigger (or is not triggered by) another other unit.
I wonder how many of the people here reprogrammed the computer in school to alway match you with the good lookers at the computer dance in school?
Fight Spammers!
Since we had a "Computer Science" program, they came up with the idea of a computer dance.
What that was is that everyone going fills out a "matching form" which was entered into the computer. The computer would spit out a list of matches for each person. They would get numbers, not names. Then at the dance, everyone would have a numbered tag.
I did the programming for it, and of course, skewed the results for myself.
Fight Spammers!
Wow, helluva newsflash, people are lazy. Hasn't this been the driving force throughout most of invention? We invent things to make our lives *easier* (at least in theory -- I'd never have to spend any time bitching at my cable company if I didn't have a TV). I agree, these devices are rather odd and perhaps have some... interesting things to say about modern culture, but if you meet someone that makes you happy through them, what's the harm? I don't see how it's any worse than a dating service or a blind date or something similar. People who are using these things obviously aren't anti-social: they're *trying* to find others. That's certainly not a bad thing, is it?
There is also a comic about a criminal organisation that is robbing a lot of banks, the British intelligence use Clif(f?)ton (the name of the Hero IIRC) to infiltrate them, he is trained... but end up seeing that everybody except the two bosses are infitrated agents from the CIA, MI5, DST, KGB,...
Quite a good comic.
"The obvious mathematical breakthrough would be development of an easy way to factor large prime numbers." Bill Gates,
And how exactly would the profiles match? I might program mine to look for "women". I'd hit every one of these things I passed. I always thought A much better tool would be a LED display implanted in your forehead that gave a symbolized, color coded readout of your status, tention and preference. I suppose the guys could get the cheaper model that just reads out green lights all the time. -Effendi
-Effendi
Well I didn't mean to imply that simply because they exist everybody will begin using them in lieu of having a real life. However it should be a wake up call that there is a wildly growing section of society that would find these useful and use it as a means by which to be even more lazy.
I just don't think it should be fed upon, and as a result, condoned.
This reminds me of the song "Jones and Smith" by the usually excruciatingly hokey but occasionally entertaining Ray Stevens. Basically two law enforcement officers attempt to impersonate a flasher in order to bust him, end up naked attempting to bust each other, and catch a citizen's arrest from the real flasher. Peotic justice, you might say.
"It's better to spend money like there's no tomorrow, than to spend tonight like there's no money" - P.J. O'Rourke
I expect that if these things get introduced in the USA, a short time later, it will be hacked by someone, to set off the pagers of all of the opposite sex within range. Talk about instant charisima!
"Open code, in other words, can be a check on state power." -Lawrence Lessig
I actually just heard about a similar device this week, from a friend of mine in Houston. He said these devices, which are being marketed as "gaydars," simply recognized each other. The guys would wear them to the mixed clubs and whatnot in order to tell if the person they'd been checking out all night played for their team. The problem he presented was interesting, and applies here as well: If 2 guys are wearing these things in public, and they go off, is there a danger of some angry redneck beating the crap out of them? In addition, would some angry redneck buy one just to identify victims of his sexually repressed rage (perhaps similar to the earlier suggestion of finding women who are candidates for abuse, only this would be totally involuntary)?
And the car battery thing is genius.. i'd love some kinda thingy that i could use to inform people in the area that i could use a jump, need some phone change, or have locked my keys in my car and need a coathanger.
With all these ideas for basic be-nice-to-one-another applications, this is starting to feel more and more like Bruce Sterling's "Maneki Neko." Which I consider a Good Thing -- that story presents a near-future I wouldn't mind living in.
("Maneki Neko" is a must-read for anyone who thinks technology can make for a better society. And for anyone why denies this. It appears in Sterling's collection A Good Old-Fashioned Future.)
- - - -
The real Tetsujin 28 is a giant robot.
Try explaining this to a white guy(no! I'm not racist...it's just the culture gap). I tried explaining why such a marriage would work to a couple of friends, but it was beyond their realm of comprehension. Interestingly, among the couples I know, those who had "arranged" marriages tend to have happier relationships, probably because the superficiality of dating relationships,in which seeming attractive is the top priority, is not present.
Moderate this down to (Score:-1,Troll)
Trollz rool.
When you talk about the potential for praying on a vulnerable subset of the population through this technology, don`t forget that it happens anyway, with or without tech aid. To be honest, I think people are less likely to be prayed upon because the inherent lack of trust in technology would increase the lack of trust placed in an individual contacted through it. If that makes sense. And in response to the idea that the chase IS the fun. Don`t forget that people take a much more transaction oriented approach to relationships these days. There are less social pressures to form *and* maintain bonds with a parnter. Besides why is the 'chase' fun, should the pleasure not be had in an exchange of minds, ideas and potentially fluids?
/dev/getlovve
Primary Use
Perfect She/he finder & beeper, i mean no clumsy intros and you get to find someone who is interested in geek toys *YAY*
SECONDARY & BY FAR MORE IMPORTANT USE!
A tiny part of a beowulf cluster, with little links to the main machine on street corners, i mean imagine the worlds "fastest supercomputer" made up of all the lonely ppl in the world.
*REJOICE*
Do the following really mean anything? SCSA MCP CCSA CCNA
--I'm not actually after an answer!
I saw a story on the Daily Show about an inventor who made this for gay couples in the states. Same sort of idea. Makes meeting men easier I guess. The interviewer really ripped up the inventor on his sexuality; not that there's anything wrong with that.
Even the samurai
have teddy bears,
and even the teddy bears
get drunk
If I went into a Star Wars conventions, mine would explode. Lots o' Love -- Natalie
> can we have machines have sex for us too?
I assume this pager has a "no-beep" function to create a vibrating sensation...?
Get your money's worth.
Not only is it the default, but it's hardwired in ROM. Therefore, if you find a female who has changed the setting, rest assured that she is either (1) a technologically able person to hack the device or (2) a person with the funds available to hire the services of such a person.
:-D
While I'd have to say that anything that stimulates conversation is good (and not necessarily just for potential dates...not every member of the opposite sex you meet is good for nothing but a potential date), it's based on the rather dubious assumption that the people you'd most like to meet are those with similar interests to your own. I personally find that many of my closest friends really don't have many of the same interests, which is what makes it more interesting - we each get exposed to new things we wouldn't normally do.
Maybe if people were just more friendly and honest these wouldn't be necessary...
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
Look at it in horror. "Where did this come from? May I borrow your shoe?"
And when she hands you the shoe (with a rather confused & concerned look), use the heel to smash it into tiny bits of silicon and plastic (ignoring the toxic waste that leaks from the fractured battery).
Suavely return the shoe, and continue the conversation mid-sentence.
:)
Last night, as cell phone after cell phone went off, it occurred to me: restaruants and the loke should have jammers . . .
The important mistaken impressions people tend to have are the stereotypes of child brides and trading cows for people, and wives thrown onto the funeral pyre.
Some of which probably still occurs appallingly often...
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
This is a joke, right? I mean, this is really out there. No-one would pay $500 for this, would they? Then again, with all the IPOs, there's a lot of lonely geeks out there...
> <i>I fail to see how asking for a filesystem check is a good pickup line.</i>
you're new here, aren't you?
Skim.com have a system where you buy a peice of clothing, or similar, and it comes with a large unique six-digit serial number on it, and a password. You then have an e-mail account on their server. Anyone that spots you and notices your code can send you a message using the Skim system. I've been trying to get hold of anything that gives me an account on their servers, but it's very european and almost impossible to get down here in Perth, Australia...
--
Remember that slogan: "Half the fun is getting t her e " ?
--
If you're not so lazy, why aren't you out there, banging the rocks together instead of banging your keyboard???
--
Another thing that could benefit if these things were more widespread is prostitution.
His interests: chicks that like money.
Her interests: guys with money that like chicks.
It might reduce the number of tarts hanging around on the street and kerb-crawlers from harrassing innocent girls who are only waiting for their ride to come and pick them up.
Consciousness is not what it thinks it is
Thought exists only as an abstraction
True, the *applications* of technology have generally been marketed at the couch potato. However, this isn't going to kill the social exercise that most of us enjoy.
Look at the links (I know, a non-slashdot thing to do). Who do you think these things are being targeted at? Certainly not adults with some sort of social experience. They're just another attempt to create a teen craze.
In environments where being in a clique is everything (i.e. school), these will be another weapon in the war of the snobs. All some particular cult (deliberate choice of word) has to do is program their gadgets so that only members will recognise each other - everyone else is left in the cold.
The point is, it's all about excluding those who aren't the same - who cares about the rest.
The idea, btw, is pretty old. The problem is mainly that you need a critical mass of this kind of device to make it work. If they get it down to a couple of dollars, make it credit-card sized, and can hand it out with a drink at a nightclub, perhaps they'll catch on more.
To program a device not to react to persons with exactly the same, but at least and at most a bit different, should not be impossible.
Anyway, that would be a good way to make friends - "Oh, sorry, I don't think I will fall in love with you, but would you mind to play a good game of quake with me an my friends this sunday?"...
--The knowledge that you are an idiot, is what distinguishes you from one.
--The knowledge that you are an idiot, is what distinguishes you from one.
Is that how it works? I've never actually hung out in a pub.
The device itself is another tool, and I don't try to defend that it works or will work. Myself, I don't know how to meet enough women. It's not the interacting with them; it's the where do I spend my time in the first place to actually meet them, that's giving me problems.
Do women go to pubs? I don't know that I could say that men go do this, and women go do that, and that there are things that both sexes participate in where they mingle.
-AS
-AS
*Pikachu*
They'll probably keep refining these things until they go cellular.
I drank what? -- Socrates
This product is phenomenally lame. One site suggests that this would be good for parties or large gatherings even though the device is activated when a match is within 100m. Obviously, in a crowded room with tons of people who all have one, it's going to be nearly impossible to figure out who your match is.
But wait, there's more! If you can't find the person making you beep, then you've got their phone number and description at your fingertips.
Well that's just peachy, seeing as how I'm a serial rapist. I think I'll carry around a backpack full of the damn things, each with different settings and proceed to stalk every female that passes within 100m of me who happens to match any one of my "date pagers."
It doesn't get much better than this.
No.
This is why we have Caller ID! If the call is important enough (as indicated by the Caller ID), you explain why you need to take the call, and you take it. What if that call is your father calling to tell you your mother's just been in a car accident? If you shunt that call the voicemail, how's that make you look now? What if it's the office, and they're calling because all hell is breaking loose and they need you NOW to fix something? Ignore that one, and not only do you jeopardize your job, but you appear irresponsible to the person you were talking/flirting with.
I don't think this can be called news.
The TV-series 'Love Boat' had a similar device at least 15 years ago. There were two variations: one for men and one for women. It had only 3 settings too: friendship, relationship or sex. Which is all you basically need.
----------------------------------------------
the pun is mightier than the sword
Movie theatres (hope it vibrates). Dance clubs. The subway. Waiting in line to fill out some form at the DMV. A concert in the park. Parties where you don't know everyone. Parties where you don't know anyone. At your dentists office. Grocery shopping. Raves. Bertucci's.
Need I continue? =P
.02
My
Quux26
My
Quux26
www.crashspace.net
"These are hip in Japan, China..."
Well, apparently they work.
I agree. I wouldn't use it to find a date because, well, one i already have a girlfriend and two, i don't think i'd want to date a person' who's idea of romance is a pager.. but it'd defenitly be great as a way to find people to talk to and/or hang out with for a while.
There are dozens of ways to pick up women out there, from walking up to random females and saying "Nice shoes, wanna fsck?" to video dating services, but there are hardly any ways to find a new friend. Just walking up to people randomly would weird them out (i know it'd weird Me out anyway) and while talking to people you meet online is great, it's hard to go catch a movie or hit the mall or whatever your choice of friend-activities is, with people who live halfway across the continent.
And the car battery thing is genius.. i'd love some kinda thingy that i could use to inform people in the area that i could use a jump, need some phone change, or have locked my keys in my car and need a coathanger. Especially if your car dies out on the highway.. in a parking lot it's just inconvenient to ask people for help, but i've had cops cruise past me broke down on the side of the road without even slowing down.
So yeah, this is a bit weird and stupid as a date-finding application, but could work pretty well as a way to just meet new people.
Dreamweaver
"If a man hasn't discovered something he will die for, he isn't fit to live" -- MLK, Jr.
http://www.forbes.com/columnists/dvorak/
And here's a link to a Wired story on the same subject.
http://www.wired.com/news/n ews/culture/story/12899.html
All the creatures will die, And all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai. (Jubai, 1605)
Nah.. I was thinking of clustering the things though...
//rdj
No one can understand the truth until he drinks of coffee's frothy goodness.
--Sheikh Abd-Al-Kadir, 1587
Mating dynamics in "The New Economy" are completely out of whack. As a more extreme example: A couple of years back I ran across a CEO of a hundred million dollar initial capitalization startup who would do things like bake and deliver Thanksgiving dinner to his wife, an executive at a fortune 500 firm. He was was hospitalized after she went into a tantrum and broke his ribs. No charges filed but at least he had the good sense to divorce her. I'm sure if people were honest with themselves, they could think of plenty of less extreme examples of similar market inefficiencies in places like Silicon Valley that are just begging to be exploited.
The real initial successes for these devices will come when they are used to "short out" mating/money potentials between geek/money saturated places like Silicon Valley and Seattle, and concubine/fertility saturated places like Washington D.C., NYC and LA.
The rapidly increasing population of high income geeks is making some sort of exploitation of these potentials inevitable, and computer intermediation for geeks is a natural for all sorts of reasons:
Geeks think they understand the technical issues.
Geeks actually do understand the technical issues.
Geeks are motivated by the motivation of all motivators: Evolution.
Geeks are motivated by the motivation of all civilizations: Money.
Geeks are decreasingly willing to inhibit their thinking as their status increases.
Geeks trust computers more than they trust people -- often with good reason.
There are some other problems involving authentication and security to manage, as well as legal liability, but most of these problems are already being addressed as part of the general movement toward high-value transactions in electronic commerce.
Seastead this.
..until somone hacks one of these things.
a bunch of hackers walking around with units that match all profiles sounds entertaining.
larva
-- gunzip-howto.tar.gz
When I first heard of these devices being used in Japan, it was shortly after the Tamagotchi craze. It was just another extension to that concept; something to do while taking the commuter trains.
People here have been saying it's incredibly lame, because they can't see why someone would run into new people all the time, or why they couldn't just say "Hi" to new people without prompting.
While I can't say how reasonable the argument is, or how popular the pagers really were, it sounded more plausible when it considered the differences in society. The Japanese society is more closed-lipped about a lot of things. They prefer to be introduced than to offer a greeting on their own. And commuter trains put you near LOTS of new people daily without much incentive to talk to any of them.
These have too many shortcomings to work effectively in any USA venue; women are very dis-incented to talking to any strange man when not around friends, men with these items would appear geek not chic (sorry, Katz), nobody commutes with strangers here, and nobody believes in computerized matchmaking.
(Introductions are in order... =anagram> Nice it is, or, or, or redundant.)[
Not exactly what I meant. Assuming that a woman enters all the info honestly, there could be a way of statistically determining what combination of her own personality traits and of what she looks for in a man constitutes an easily victimized woman. Much like the women who have a tendency to get into one bad, abusive relationship after another, even though they most likely don't enjoy getting beat up by some drunken redneck.
---
Let me guess what everyone would program this to:
Sensitive, intelligent, good-looking M/F seeks sensitive, intelligent, good-looking F/M. Doesn't smoke or drink, no vices whatsoever. Enjoys the outdoors as well as quiet, intellectual moments.
That thing came out years ago. The site referenced hasn't been updated since 1998. Maybe somebody is trying to unload a supply of the things they bought cheap.
These pagers could be a marketer's dream!
Just have the users give out their mailing address when they register for the service, then mail back a card to confirm activation (and to confirm that they were honest when they gave their address!).
Also, when they register, you, the hypothetical evil marketer, program their pager units based on the details they have mailed to you!
They want to ensure the best matches, so they'll be compelled to answer your questionaire truthfully, and the only reason you wouldn't let them directly program their own units would be to make sure they send you several pages of detailed personal information.
Then, as they merrily go about their now-slightly-less-lonely-than-before lives, you (still the hypothetical marketing scum) use their mailing address and their extremely detailed private information to send highly targeted ads to them in order to aggressively market even more of your products.
Or, if you're even lazier and less scrupulous than that, then you can simply sell off their mailing addresses and their personal info to other companies, making a pretty penny in the process!
So, what consumer privacy safeguards exist in Japan? Is there any way that the people who buy these pager-things can be sure that the company will respect their personal information?
--
Stay up hacking each weekend. Sleep is for the week.
Whee! Just what the world needs, intimacy without social interaction. This is great, can we have machines have sex for us too? For the enjoyment of it? Part of the fun IS the chase.
Technology is developed an awful lot around letting people become more and more lazy; because that's what people seem to want to be when they're not at work 9 to 5. They want tools to make their job easier, to make their life easier, to make everything easier. Microwavable dinners. Food that's prepared for you out of the box. Software that tries to anticipate what you're up to.
;)
I think it's pretty sad when we've hit the level that going out to a social outing, or heck, even a pub and approaching new people to make new friends gets on that list. I know a lot of people who are in wonderful relationships with nothing directly in common -- opposites attract -- how does this device work in those cases? It can't.
I think the statement made about them being frightening is an understatement. It's a pretty bleak reflection on people in general, that somebody could make them and sell them in large quantities.
Why get a life, when you can buy one!
All I need now is an external transceiver for my palmpilot... mwhahahaaha... Have it send every possible signal. Then the whole building will be after me... And out of a large crowd of women running towards me, *one* of them have gotta want me. doesn't matter anyway, i'm great with my current situation, but it would be *so* much fun to get a whole restaurant of single women chasing me!
First, I feel that any post, in any thread, on any story, that is about me is quite on-topic.
Secondly, do you know for a fact that I don't have one of these pagers? I, in fact, will be taking a trip to Japan in the near future and I have ordered one for my stay there. It's always nice to be able to meet fellow hot grits lovers without the hassle of asking every person you meet. This will simplify matters for me greatly.
How can anyone not love hot grits?
-- Natalie
I had a friend get me a pair of Lovegetys from Japan when they came out two years ago, and I immediately thought they were an interesting idea.
... a grade-school kid. (I assume he decided not to pursue, but who knows?) There were also some geek info on wiring up a cell-phone type vibrator to them.
Here's the lowdown: First of all, they are _very_ simple. I don't know what kind of "programmability" is claimed in Dvorak's article, but the ones I have, the original Lovegetys, can only be set to one of three modes: OHANASHI (chat), KARAOKE (as in "let's go sing"), and TOMODACHI (friends). The TOMODACHI mode was originally called GET (as in "come get me" or "let's get in on"), but apparently that was too blatant so they changed it. The way it works is there are two models, the men's model (white) and lady's (pink, of course). If two Lovegetys of opposite sex come within five meters of each other regardless of mode, they beep and the small "FIND" lamp flashes. But if both are set to the same mode, the beeping is faster and the larger "GET" lamp flashes. That's all there is to it. Also, the lady's model's beep is a little higher-pitched. And you can turn off the beeper and just have the lamps flash.
They are also very cheaply made. They cost 3000 yen (under $30US), consist of a very simple-looking circuit board with five LED indicators, and the body parts are injection-molded plastic. They have auto power-off, but it doesn't work at all -- both of mine will suck up the batteries (AAA x 2) if left in overnight.
So how popular were they? Well, I understand they initially sold a lot of units in Japan, but the boom has definitely died down. The manufacturer's website, http://www.interland.co.jp (printed on the back of the units), no longer has any mention of the products; apparently the company has moved on and gone into the real estate business. When they first came out, their website supported a bulletin board, and most of the postings were, as might be expected, from guys complaining that they'd been trying them out but still weren't meeting any chicks. I remember one hilarious posting from a guy who said that after weeks of no luck, he finally got a bite while walking around town. He looked around excitedly, and found his to-be-sweetheart, with her flashing Lovegetty, was
It doesn't surprise me that the websites mentioned are in (besides Japan) China and Germany. There is no way these will ever become popular in the United States. The only place with even a remote chance is New York City, since it's the only place which has public pedestrian crowds like those in Tokyo and Hong Kong. In Japanese cities, everyone gets around by train, and the stations are the commercial hubs where thousands of people, from office workers to teenage girls, mill about and hang out, and that's the environment (also the overcrowded trains themselves) required. I suppose an American shopping mall might work, but then teenagers who hang out at malls probably don't need these to meet partners.
One interesting application that I thought of, though, was for drug dealers. It's anonymous, discreet, and just like with mates, you can advertise what you have and what you're looking for. Of course the downside is the undercover cop who's got one.
Eventually, cell-phones or similar devices will probably gain Lovegety-like functionality. And you can bet they'll be coming from Japan. Heck, they've had Tamagotchi-on-your-cell-phone ("Tamapitchi") for a few years already (and your Tamapitchi can call your friend's Tamapitchi!) Oh boy.
Sound like you've not spent much time in clubs (whether Tokyo or elsewhere). Quiet conversation is impossible. Hell, some places any conversation is impossible. Appearance and "style" rule--they often are the only possible way to choose what new people to meet. A more intelligent reason for going off to a corner and having a (probably shouted) conversation with someone is a Good Thing.
"Intimacy without social interaction" is an oxymoron. Social interaction needs an initiator, especially in large groups in noisy environments. This device can provide that initiator. At that point, as always, you're on your own.
We already have a wonderful radio-controlled device for eliminating potential mates: it's called a cell phone.
If you're flirting with someone and their cell-phone goes off, you learn one of three things by their response.
If they shunt the call into voicemail to continue their conversation with you, you know they are busy, but well balenced individuals who know how to seperate their leisure time.
If they shunt the call, but have to check the caller-id first, they have a little more difficulty seperating leisure time, but at least they know where their social priorities are.
If they take the call right there in front of you, you instantly know that they believe either they or their associate are more important than you are as a potential romantic interest. Make your getaway as fast as possible. Optionally suppliment their digital communication with a digit of your own if their snub was blatant enough.
Of course, if they left their cell-phone at home or turn it off completely, you know you've got someone who's down-to-earth enough to realize that communication isn't just about talking to people who aren't in the room with you.
--
Rob Carlson
Uhm, being a German geek who likes to check out any new gizmo and who lives in Hamburg where there are a lot of technology-gadget shops, I'd like to mention that I have never seen these devices anywhere.
Ok, so this is a gadget I *wouldn't* buy.*
But nevertheless, the only time I ever saw these things mentioned anywhere was in a newspaper article about a singles party event where they issued these things to the visitors as a gimmick. But that's it.
(* Yes I know, you don't believe me, anyway.)
P.S.: Note the German web page. It is dated 1998.
------------------
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You may like my a cappella music
The feds could track the pager transmissions, and effectively study the social metrics of dating and mating with a whole new level of efficiency. Just imagine, getting a tip from the CIA, that the girl in apt 4b might just have what you are looking for. Nothing like Big Brother trying to find you a date on Friday night, hell they need to get you out of your apartment so they can search it. Might as well kill to birds with one stone :) Hmmm, maybe I shouldn't stay up this late, does weird things to the mind
-Master Switch, one more element in the machine
There was a story at CNN about the gaydar device. However, I think people had better watch out where they choose to wear it, what they program into it, and so on.
Frankly, I wouldn't want to see one of these fall into the hands of drunken/violent homophobes with baseball bats.
----------
"If children weren't copyrighted, no one would have babies." -- Alex Eulenberg
The date pager is not meant to dictate your personal appearance kind of taste. It can't do anything about that. Your eyes and such are the only tools that can help; in that way, the date pager, then, can only help you find someone that's more than a skin-deep attraction.
I don't think attraction based on appearance is slimy. I don't think it's correct, either. Attraction, I think, is undefineable; it's appearance, it's behavior, it's pheromones, it's fate. Whatever the reason, it happens. At least, I've not been limited to one type of woman ^^
But I agree on your other posts, about differences. Variety is nice
On the other hand, I don't think I can know myself enough to actually be able to program a date pager to choose more accurately than my own intuition...
-AS
-AS
*Pikachu*
I'm a'gonna bitchslap the first person that wonders out loud if they can port *nix to this device. A swift kick goes to the one who calls for a boycott if it's not open sourced.
.02
My
Quux26
My
Quux26
www.crashspace.net
No, the first and finest hack of these will involve someone tumbling the preferences output. At any given nano-second you are the most desireable man in the world according to your pager.
All things to all people? Technology doesn't lie!
-john smallberries
.sig Karma out the wazoo, better to spend points elsewhere if this is above 2 or below 0
I'm sorry, but you seem to have lost yours. Yes this particular thread doesn't typify Slashdot's "mission" but over the years hot grits have become part of what /. is about. Like any good thing there are long-running jokes and themes which provide continuity and a sense of community.
And obviously it was a joke. We are allowed to make jokes, and we even get moderated up for them - that's why one of the moderation options is the Funny tag. Without humour this site would be sterile and boring, and a much worse place to visit.
Really, what are the chances of this actually working? Is anyone really walking by tons of new people every day at work, or don't they already know pretty much everyone there? Maybe you're just randomly walking around downtown... Then you have to assume that when you actually meet someone, you'll both actually have time to stop to talk instead of getting to wherever you happen to be gonig.
Or, you could just go hang out at the type of place where people that hold your same interests do... or even better, DO some of your interests that necessitate other people (such as a club or something), so that you'll already be around people with the same interests as you...
Does this seem like a ridiculous idea to anyone but me?
Ryan Kirk
Topflight Productions
I wonder if they could be D.O.S.'d... I mean, you walk in to a room with a hand-held c.b. radio that is set to the "pager" frequency, and hold down the button. Many of them are up to 4 watts, so you'd cover the whole range with white noise.
On another note, imagine the privacy implications, you walk in with a palm - equipped with a radio card, and reprogram it to pick up the signals from this thing... you could spoof details, and get and _log_ information on anyone you liked...
spooky...
Desperation is a stinky cologne
Thank you valient sir for the defense of such a great admirer of mine. Because of your gracious gesture i will gladly poor hot grits down your pants anytime you wish. If you aren't into hot grits, don't fret, for my sole purpose in life is pleasing my fans, and I would be willing to please you in anyway you wished.
With much love, Natalie
The process, at least in this case, appears rather less bizarre than everyone seems to assume is the case for "arranged" marriages.
To the point, a year ago, there was an exchange of "resumes" that bore a striking resemblance to that which you might use to find an employer. (There's also a story about a "brother's boss's niece, but that's another story...)
In thinking about it, this really isn't particularly bizarre at all.
If all you're after is a sex partner for the evening, then probably an exchange of "medical resumes" would be in order, verifying that nobody's going to get an extra STD.
On the other hand, if a more "permanent" relationship is intended, an exchange of "personal resumes" and references can cut through a lot of the posturing and other dishonesty that happens as we pretend to be more attractive than we really are.
I mentioned the process to one of my married coworkers, and he at first thought arranged marriage to be a very peculiar thing, but then thought it might have been useful to have "character references."
Long and short is that these "tools" aren't necessarily any worse predictors of success than the "dating scene" that, with the divorce rates these days, are obviously not terribly good predictors of "relational success."
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
Ok I admit this thing sounds potentially lame, I'd heard about them a year ago or so. However underneath the flashy, wireless technology this is just _another_ way to meet people. If your goal it meet people - it gives you something in common with someone or at least a conversation starter, how many date-oriented conversations started with "Hey, nice cell phone". It's not a technology that's going to make people hide in dark rooms typing on computers waiting for someone they match with to walk by. It's a technology you use to start conversations and interact with real people instead of just ignoring everyone.
It's like going to a dance club or bar, but being in contact with the 'dating scene' all day instead of only a few hours in an ear-thumping club or local bar pounding drinks. It's a chance to meet someone in a more 'normal' environment.
Ok think about it people. If you want to gay bash or stalk women or whatever, you don't need one of these gadgets to tell who you want to hurt. There are (unfortunately) lots of hate crimes now, without such gadgets. There will most likely be hate crimes with such gadgets. I don't think it's the technology that is the issue in that debate.
__ No registration required to read this message. They did it in the Matrix.
On slashdot, it's quite obvious that the standard dictionary doesn't apply. Try the New Hackers' Dictionary (The jargon file, eh?):
troll v.,n.
2. An individual who chronically trolls in sense 1; regularly posts specious arguments, flames or personal attacks to a newsgroup,
discussion list, or in email for no other purpose than to annoy someone or disrupt a discussion. Trolls are recognizable by the fact that the have no real
interest in learning about the topic at hand - they simply want to utter flame bait. Like the ugly creatures they are named after, they exhibit no
redeeming characteristics, and as such, they are recognized as a lower form of life on the net, as in, "Oh, ignore him, he's just a troll."
Ya just gotta use the right tool for the job.
HAND.
-Ed
this
Think about it, you are walking down the street.. your "date pager" goes off... you look around for the other person, only to find that he/she is not exactly what you are looking for in a person "physically" speaking. I tend to go for more of a dark haired 5 feet 8 inches type of woman.
What will happen when you have to say, "We both like Quake, Slashdot, Linux, and GCC. But I'm still not going to date you".
I know what you people are going to say, "It's not the looks that matters, but the personality". You are right, but we as humans are shallow slime. I would be ther first person to admit that I speak to members of the opposite sex b/c they are good looking. I met my current girlfriend that way. It just kind of worked out that we had a lot in common.
Its also nice to have differences too. I would get really bored waking up every morning to coffee and a conversation of the finer points of TCP/IP.
My girlfriend likes to go outside. I like to play on my computer. I have introduced her to the fine art of deathmatching, and she introduced me to a bright shining star that hangs above my house for 10 hours a day (the sun).
All I'm saying is that you will find better relationships with people that don't have the exact same opinions that you do.
The only good thing that I can see out if this is finding more Quake III Arena buddies.
I can see it now....
Male Lovegety profile:
Good sense of humour [x]
Caring [x]
Obsessive [ ]
Large Income [x]
Ex-wife [ ]
Children [ ]
Romantic [x]
Large penis [x]
Cheers,
SuperG
I wouldn't get one of these devices myself, but hey! Supposing two violent homophobes with baseball bats get the same idea...
--
Xenu loves you!
I wonder...
...if Natalie Portman likes pouring hot grits down her pants, too!
by Anonymous Coward on Tue March 14, 12:13 AM CST (#5)
It appears some of the moderators didn't understand this post. It was both on-topic and not a troll. Allow me a moment to explain.
The idea behind the post, obviously, was that this particular troll would be ecstatic if he could find a mate who shared his excitement when he pours hot grits down his pants. This goal, combined with his obvious Natalie Portman fetish, is a rather common topic on slashdot.
Now to the on-topic part. This "troll", if you prefer to call them that (I don't, it doesn't match the proper definition of "troll"), looked at this particular article, and, suddenly, saw a possibility for all his dreams to come true at once!
Wistfully, he/she posted "I wonder...if Natalie Portman likes pouring hot grits down her pants, too!" Now consider what would happen if this poster, equipped with one of the devices the story references, were to run into Miss Portman, and discovered that she did, indeed, like hot grits down her pants? I think, and I can imagine you all agree, that he would be both on-topic, and scored +5/interesting.
But, it appears, the moderation system has failed yet again, and an obviously on-topic post has been moderated down as a "Troll". I metamoderate frequently, and believe me, "Troll" is not a valid definition in most cases. Indeed, I'm under the opinion that "Troll" should be, often, a bonus. True trolls catch those of us who post before thinking in a tight spot.
My guess is that some of these moderators have been caught by true trolls, and now associate "Troll" with any post they don't like. If the above post were to be moderated down, it should obviously be moderated down for "Overrated" since Offtopic and "Troll" don't apply here.
Moderators, use a dictionary.
-Ed
this
...to totally overlook the possibilities:
You walk into a pub and spot a total cutie. You bring out your hacked DatePager, point it at hers/his, and WHOAH... all of a sudden her/his DatePager goes off, identifying your sexy self as being a perfect match.
Dishonest, yes, but all's fair in love and war.
-- I can't think of anything witty to put here. Sorry.
Scary indeed.
And even aside from these nefarious uses, would you ever trust a person to program those things *honestly*? What woman's going to program hers with "nagging b*tch who only wants men for their money"
---
The real thing here is to be able to list not just optimal "dating configurations" but configs for other things as well:
2-Hour layover? No worries! You'll be automatically notified if any Linux-minded persons enter your area!
Comdex sucks rocks this year? Link up with everyone else who agrees with you, and go get tanked somewhere fun!
Car battery died? Let everyone in the parking lot know that you could use a jump, without having to raise your voice!
Okay, I probably made the whole thing look even stupider, but there's a lot of networking potential here. Society (and population density in some areas) gets in the way of getting to know our neighbors--with the right application this system could introduce us to the true "neighbors" we might never otherwise become aware of.
But that's just my own spur-of-the-moment, ill-considered .02gp
Any sufficiently well-organized community is indistinguishable from Government.