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Surfing on a Surfboard
JamesD_UK writes "The BBC is running an article about a surfboard developed by Intel with an embedded, solar powered, wifi capable, laptop with web cam attached. It features a 1.7GHz processor and a 80GB hard drive. The camera is able to create videos and transmit them through an access point located on the beach. Jools Matthews of Gulfstream surfboards designed the board itself and pro surfer Duncan Scot helped with the design of the board to make sure that the board still performed well with the extra weight. The board debuts at the Gold Coast Ocean Festival 2004 from 18 to 20 June at Croyde beach in North Devon."
while bouncing up and down in the waves, endless ocean in front of me, waiting for a big(ger) one... the last thing i would want is a laptop in front of me... but apart from that, there is other limitations that make this not just pointless, but actually stupid:
1) it will be impossible to do anything while riding out in the waves. as any surfer knows, the waves, well, go up and down, and the surfboard is not exactly a stable surface. it would be impossible to see anything on the screen, let alone move a mouse pointer etc
2) if i slam into the coral the centrino will be a goner
3) if the centrino slams into my head and breaks while i surf, i will be suing intel (if i ever had one, that is, which i won't).
the best application of this technology is to put it in your room, or in a surfer hangout cafe, as some kind of geeky, not-that-funny prop.
can anybody think of a more useless location for a wireless laptop than inside a surfboard? what are your ideas?