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Microsoft SPOT Watches
Octagon Most writes "PocketPCThoughts has a report from a graphic designer who worked on wristwatches using Microsoft's SPOT. Tons of design images here and a soon-to-ship model from Suunto here. Data plans from MSN Direct will be USD$9.95 per month. This is the coolest vapor from Microsoft in a long time. It's geeky _and_ stylish!" Our older story about the watches also notes that since it's a proprietary service, when the service provider decides to stop providing it, the device becomes useless.
It is very unlikely that MS could track the people wearing these. Have you read any of the articles?
The SPOT watches use FM as the method of data transmission. FM. Like FM Radio. The watches are one way. You can get info on weather, IMs, stocks, etc, but you cannot send any data out. Any perception of "asking" for data is faked- the watch simply filters out data that doesn't apply to it.
Unless you think MS will start including 10kW FM radio transmiters in these watches and GPS recieves. MS SPOT watches: now with a big ass generator in every box!
The only thing close to MS having the ability to track is your geographical region. The MSN Direct stuff sends out data depending on your location; the local radio station will send out weather data for that area. There is a chance that if someone wanted to IM your watch, you would have to select the region first- otherwise, the IM would be sent to every MSN Direct station there is. But then again, there's probably just as much of a chance (or perhaps higher) that they will do that.
Frankly, if MS wanted to know what state I was in, they could've figured that out already by a number of means. I would be uncomfortable with MS or any other company tracking my relatively exact position, GPS or even something more coarse.
Working toward a usable PDA environment in the spirit of Newton OS: Dynapad
when the service provider decides to stop providing it, the device becomes useless.
How is this any different from Windows XP? (I'm specifically thinking of product activation here)
This doesn't seem like a magic nice application top me. I'd have trouble justifying its purchase even if the subscription were free, but $10 a mo?
If I want to walk around with access to stock reports and weather, I'll get a wireless PDA or something.
I mean, how useful can the information be when filtered through a watch? I can't web browse, I can't type or read emails, I can't even tell it what kind of food I want to eat for it to send me to an appropriate restaraunt (assuming it knows where I am).
The whole problem with watches comes down to user input: there isn't one. This make communication decidedly one-way. So with this in mind, the only real input the user has (assuming they're not beaming IR to it from their PDA in which case why not just use a cellular internet connection), is their location in the real world. Context sensitive help has come a long way, but it's not going to let me control a watch by walking down the street in a certain pattern.