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The Computer of 2010
nostriluu writes "
With the assistance of award-winning firm frogdesign (the geniuses behind the look of the early Apple and many of today's supercomputers and workstations), Forbes ASAP has designed and built (virtually, of course) the computer of 2010."
I don't know why everyone thinks we want to talk to computers. I want to talk to my computer about as bleeping much as I want to talk to my television. I can't talk 100WPM but I can get close to that on a keyboard - and I don't know why you'd want to change that. Even thought recognition would be a pain in the ass. I can type almost without thinking about it - which might explain some of my posts, ha ha, but surely you must know what I mean; Thoughts flow easily to keyboards that might not to voice. Maybe that's conditioning, but writing down thoughts is something that goes back for all of recorded history and I think it's more than just me.
Computers of the future will be optical. They'll run at 100's of Ghz. They'll have stupid huge hard drives. Hell, they might even think. But you won't be talking to them - because it's plain not efficient compared to other input techniques, like computers. Do you know how sore your vocal chords would be after dictating all day?
Arrggh. That's my rant for the day.
..don't panic
At least you didn't say they worked well. Hey, let's look at some input device "theory" shall we?
1. You store information in your brain. It's chemical. It's analog.
2. You want that information in your computer. It's electric. It's digital.
3. Can it possibly be that the best way to bridge these two qualitative gaps is by wiggling physical limbs over hard plastic nubbins?
4. Depressingly, the answer appears to be "yes"...
5. So now it's down to a matter of appendages, nubbins and how you wiggle them (feel free to make porn jokes now)
6. Alternate WAN (wiggling appendages over nubbins) techs have risen and fallen. The mouse is a popular WAN... but the guy who came up with the mouse idea (you know, whats-his-name who worked at SRI) also had this bizarre "chord playing" device for input as well... sorta like using an one-handed accordian.
7. Text. We want text input because we're slaves to alphabetic, pseudo-phoenetic written languages.
8. WAN techs must not only be efficient but be acceptable by people as well...
9. So, we need a WAN. It must be text-oriented, efficient and have a high acceptance rate among people.
10. You're answer to that is the keyboard. I work with a guy who turns blue under the eyes without his stylus.... the bottom line is:
We have WANs now that do the job, but we have seen new WANS (mouse, stylus) come along and there is no reason to think that WAN evolution will stop just because we like our F-keys and Num Lock. In 1983 I would never have imagined a mouse. But it happened.
2 1337 4 u!
I mean, really, why do people want to do away with keyboards?
Keyboards are quick and efficient. This article says that you'll instead use a 3D interface, and simply touch with your hands what you want to do.
Is it me, or does that sound rather slow and clunky? Do I really want to be waving my arms around just to open a damn program?
Face it: keyboards are still around after all these years because THEY WORK. They might not look futuristic or uber-high tech, but THEY WORK.
-[Blaine]- "'Oh dear,' says God, 'I hadn't thought of that,' and promptly vanishes in a puff of logic."
Now, let's talk about the computer of the future I imagine. First of all it will be a half dissasembled box with various optical cables coming out of it and a little bit of dust gathering on the exposed parts. The processor is of course tweaked in some way as to make it 1.5-2 times as fast if occasionally unstable.
The computer is hooked up via a wireless VPN to a bunch of my hacker friends all over the world where we share our thoughts, and our music in secrecy. Of course I've got a high bandwidth Internet connection. It's perfect for serving up movies, music, and games, but it's still not quite enough to handle some of the latest technologies (some things never change).
I've got several of my older computers hooked up on the other end. Sure, they are slow and primitive, but it's fun! Needless to say these are all in a state of semi-disarray, with cables in a giant spaghetti mess on the floor.
Sure, I've got one of those cool mega-displays that display everything in photographic quality in a screen the size of a desk, but I've got some throw backs. I've of course got a keyboard since those virtual keyboards are cludgy at best. I've got a scrolling LED display I found in a junk yard and managed to hook up to my box. If somebody tries to hack my box a bunch it displays a message on the LED to let me know what's happening.
Now, that sounds like my dream computer of the future! Maybe it would be nice to have something portable to go with it, but I want a box I can hack and play with.
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Let's take a little look at this proposed computer of 2010:
SECURITY
The PC will be protected from theft, thanks to an advanced biometric scanner that can recognize your fingerprint.
Now all they need is biometric scanners on screwdrivers too.
INTERFACE
You'll communicate with the PC primarily with your voice...
This should make university computer labs interesting, especially for people writing code. And how about when your friend Bob pops into your office to say hello:
The Desktop as Desk Top
In 2010, a "desktop" will be a desk top ... You won't need a keyboard because files can be opened and closed simply by touching and dragging with your finger.
Be careful when drumming your fingers.
Your Home
The PC of 2010 plugs into your home so your house becomes a smart operating system.
"Open the refrigerator door, HAL." "I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that."