Slashdot Mirror
Trekkie Communicators Now a Reality
SolFire writes "Forbes is carrying an article about Vocera Communications and their little internal communication system that they have working at their office that functions like the badge communicators from ST:TNG. The employees wear the system as a badge and touch it to start the connection. Then they speak the name of the person they want to talk to and the system connects them using VOIP for one-on-one communication." We mentioned these in 2002.
but does it make the classic "deet deet" sound?
Data: Data to Lt Worf.
No real delay
Worf (over comms): Go ahead Data.
The delay is only enough for Worf to open his mouth and talk. It is not long enough to replay "Data to Lt Worf." I freely admit I'm crazy.
Scotty at work is really going to hate me...
... might help prevent all the double posts we get regarding VOIP articles.
...everyone answers to "Nerd".
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
...is just gonna look like a homeless wacko saying "can you hear me now?" just staring into the sky...
Shatner uses these to dictate his albums to his secretary...
The next logical step after "walk-talkie" would be true two-way communication. Full duplex is so much better. The Nextel thing is only about looking cool. The other day I thought, "Why is that driver holding his cell phone in front of his face? Oh, Nextel. What a dork."
Someone will have had it modded in no time.
Fire one of them? :-P
"Dr. Johnson, please finish your business and get back to Ward 3"
Sometimes you need a little peace and quiet.
Under capitalism man exploits man. Under communism it's the other way around.
There is no way I will ever be able to talk my wife into letting me have one of these setups. Darn!
Imagine how cool when you forgot your hand over your badge and start saying things you shouldn't be saying :)
You've never been married, have you?
It'd look a little odd to see someone walking down the road, repeatedly tapping their chest, saying "Robert! *smack* Ro-bert! *smack* Robbberrrtt! *smack* "
use your turn signal! you people act like it's divulging information to the enemy
Yeah, it won't take long before Linux is ported to them and we see roving Beowulf clusters chirping all over the place.
Thank you. Drive through.
Maybe it uses the NASA technology to know what your going to say b4 you say it SlashDot -Auger
On a more serious note, the badge, if you stick on your breast pocket, will have one heck of a time picking up your voice, especially in a noisy enviroment. Otherwise you will have to bow your head and pull your shirt up. Looks quite odd.
Indefinitely Detained US Citizen
BlueTooth neural implants
3 am Tech support calls take on a whole new dimention. "Man, I was dreaming that the server kept going down last night."
The title should be updated. A Trekkie communicator brings to mind Captain Kirk flipping open a palm-held device. A Trekker communicator indicates a lappel-pinned badge. Please be more diligent when posts involve Star Trek sub-cultures.
... now, should I post this anonymously, or openly attach my geek-code
If only we Trekkies had someone to talk to...
Like James T. Kirk?
"Worf, how many times do I have to tell you "Hailing Frequencies Open" and "Fire Photon Torpedos" are NOT the same thing!"
There is something to be said for a little piece of plastic held up to the ear . . .
beep. was that my cellphone? or...my email?..or IM?..or my cellphone walkie-talkie? or my pager?.or my badge?
At least this is an ST technology that works. Once on the set of the original Trek in 1967, an executive for a tech company saw the automatic doors. You just walk up to them and *whoosh* they open. No big sensor doormat, no nothing. He offered a million dollars for the technology.
The "technology" turned out to be two stagehands who yanked them open JIT.
We mentioned these in 2002.
And you will again in 2005.
-kgj
-kgj
Right could you imagine it.
*Taps badge* "Scotty the shredder is full!"
Though if you were running alerting sofware it would be easy to incorporate this into your system.
Imagine if you could recieve a "comm" from your server telling you *Dave, my resources are getting low.*
I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
Congratulations, you have just asked the exact same question that someone else already asked earlier in the thread, in addition to ignoring even the short description of the article.
-- Christopher Schmidt YouTube Quality of Experience
enterprise ready
You missed a pun opportunity, too.
www.wavefront-av.com
"picking up words that havent been spoken yet"
Like "Blathering Blatherskite.... i am GIZMO DUCK"
my start trek wishlist:
..
...
1) Faster than light travel
2) Shuttles that levitate
3) Replicators
4) Teleportation
9,472,381,478,471,832,741,592,158) Communicators
What Star Trek doesn't show you, is the many hours each day that the Ship's Counselor has to spend working with the comm. system just to get it to want to work. Apparently the system suffers some of sort of depression. I don't understand it.
And when one of these badges freezes up, you can reset it by tapping the button twice and shouting "REBOOT!"
One of them is awarded a red shirt.
And then we will be done.
...is this going to get left on accidentally. People will be getting fired left and right.
Or will people learn real quickly not to say "stupid (*&*(&" as soon as they hang up the phone.
If moderation could change anything, it would be illegal.
"What I want is a blue tooth hands free kit that's small and comfortable enough to keep in your ear (and doesn't make you look like a 'tard, figuratively and literally) that has a very easy way to dock it seamlessly into your phone"
I would like to add that it HAS to look like Uhura's ear piece, otherwise I'm not buying it.
Who cares about a stupid badge communicator? WHERE THE HELL ARE OUR PHASERS GODDAMMIT!!! Looks like the research community needs to focus on the important things.
> I always wanted to say, "Open channel D,"
> into my fountain pen.
I'm sorry, but exactly what is stopping you?
Norman Cook's Ode to Sl
In a few years we will all be taping our shirts to answer our phones
I can see it now:
Bob the IT Guy: *Gives female coworkers breast a good squeeze*
Female Coworker: *Gives Bob the most savage beating of his life*
Bob the IT Guy (barely conscious): "I was just trying to answer your phone for you, I swear!"
This technology is evil... it's just going to get geeks hurt!
- The auditors said to secure the server... hand me that duct-tape -
"One study by the First Consulting Group, a healthcare consultancy based in Long Beach, Calif., found that when the 300-bed St. Agnes Healthcare facility in Baltimore deployed the Vocera system, its nurses saved more than 1,100 hours a year, while the entire organization saved some 3,400 hours."
They only have three nurses?
Ha! When these come in, my call name's going to be "Supreme Commander of the Universe."
"Butthead to Supreme Commander of the Universe, it's not funny anymore, change my name back."
"Derp de derp."
My what a big link you have!
"Computer, locate Dr. Vidal!"
Dr. Vidal is taking a dump in the third floor men's lavatory.
--Rob
Towards the Singularity.
...this planet sucks.
...now beam up my clothes.
Do you still help them when they come to your desk? If so, when someone comes up to you desk you should not look at them, extend your arm towards them, palm out, fingers out, and say "talk to the email", and otherwise ignore them.
It'd be cool if the system was set up such that you can ask it where someone is, and have them located via GPS on the badge.
Picard: "Computer, where is Commander Laforge?"
Computer: "Commander Laforge is in the 10 Forward restroom, Stall 3."
wbs.
Huh?