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The Internet of Things - What is a Spime?

CoolVibe writes "From the abstract in the talk: "World-renowned Science Fiction writer and futurist Bruce Sterling will outline his ideas for SPIMES, a form of ubiquitous computing that gives smarts and 'searchabiliity' to even the most mundane of physical products. Imagine losing your car keys and being able to search for them with Google Earth." It's a very interesting lecture given by Bruce Sterling about something we might see in the near future. The lecture can be viewed here on Google Video."

14 of 141 comments (clear)

  1. What are car keys? by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 5, Insightful

    By the time any of this technology could ship we'd probably have thought controlled car locks. No need for keys then.

    --
    Engineering is the art of compromise.
    1. Re:What are car keys? by ozmanjusri · · Score: 4, Funny
      Three meters is fifteen feet? You wanna check that math again?

      Good to see a rocket scientist who can get unit conversion right...

      --
      "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
  2. Utopian privacy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "Imagine losing your car keys and being able to search for them with Google Earth."

    Imagine a thief doing the same?

  3. Reverse by students · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Imagine letting anyone who wants to steal your car be able to search for your keys on Google Earth.

  4. "my fucking keys" by G27+Radio · · Score: 4, Funny


    Imagine losing your car keys and being able to search for them with Google Earth.

    http://static.flickr.com/108/261905722_d2912c0465. jpg?v=0

    Still waiting for them to add it to Earth.

  5. google 2084 anyone? by wizardforce · · Score: 4, Funny
    --
    Sigs are too short to say anything truly profound so read the above post instead.
  6. Very fascinating by palladiate · · Score: 4, Insightful
    We might as well still hope for flying cars though. Sure, multi-linking normal objects is cool, but there are probably much easier and simpler solutions we haven't though of yet. Futurism is fun, I remember the old Futureland at Disney world. It was a ghost town, and the animatronics were creepy, but it was fun as a giant walk-in time capsule.

    But, all I could think about the whole time is about those darn car keys. I kept hearing in my head my parents calling me: "Son, I need you to come look at the computer. Google keeps telling me my car keys are in the house, but I've looked all over for them. I think Google is broken again."

  7. I'm all for it by Rude+Turnip · · Score: 5, Funny

    As long as you can reticulate them, of course.

  8. SPIME = Exploit, phishing, & surveillence heav by G4from128k · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Imagine losing your car keys and having someone else find them with Google Earth. Imagine someone without a warrant keeping track of your car keys.

    I don't usually wear a tin-foil hat, but this idea has exploit written all over it.

    --
    Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
  9. Appropriate name by CrazyJim1 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Spi Me. If you can find your carkeys on Google, then so can Google. And if Google can, the government you're under can find your carkeys too. Normally you're near where your carkeys are, or maybe your cellphone, or maybe the governmental id card.

  10. Alarmists can fuck off, k by Lord+Bitman · · Score: 3, Insightful

    There is nothing about being able to use Google Earth to find your keys which implies by its very nature the ability for Google itself to find your keys, any more than the ability for Google Desktop to find your pr0n implies by its very nature the ability for Google itself to find your pr0n.

    I want my home computer to be able to have disconnected local extensions enabling me to perform searches on things which Google itself doesn't consider relevant.

    If I really wanted to, I could (right now!) go out to radioshack and get everything required to set up a Home Positioning System- like a GPS, but with less G. I could then interface the data from that with Google Earth using its existing extension mechanisms and- without Google knowing a thing about it get Google Earth to tell me where my keys are.

    --
    -- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
  11. Besides... by sczimme · · Score: 4, Funny


    Imagine losing your car keys and being able to search for them with Google Earth
    ...
    By the time any of this technology could ship we'd probably have thought controlled car locks. No need for keys then.

    If I end up so far from my car keys that I need GOOGLE EARTH to find them, I have failed miserably...

    Or had a really good time. I suppose it could go either way (or both).

    --
    I want to drag this out as long as possible. Bring me my protractor.
    1. Re:Besides... by Caffeinate · · Score: 3, Funny

      Or had a really good time. I suppose it could go either way . . . To: The World
      Fr: Caffeinate

      This is the only time that the phrases "go either way" and "good time" are to ever be combined.

      That is all.
      --
      Godless heathen.
    2. Re:Besides... by IthnkImParanoid · · Score: 3, Funny

      Perhaps if you were more open minded, you'd have more good times....

      --
      It's nothing but crumpled porno and Ayn Rand.