Slashdot Mirror
Tom's Hardware: Microsoft Smartband Coming In October With 11 Sensors
New submitter TuxHiggs (2691251) writes "Last month, Forbes wrote that Microsoft was preparing a cross-platform smartwatch with the ability to continuously track your heart rate and sync the data to your devices. A trusted source with knowledge of the development has verified some of that information and provided Tom's Hardware with additional details about the device. The source confirmed previous rumors that the device is cross-platform compatible, and added there would be open APIs as well. The source also confirmed that the display is on the inside of the wrist as opposed to the outside. Design-wise, Microsoft has gone with a slim band design that is said to resemble a thinner, flatter version of the Nike Fuelband. While details about the hardware are scant, the source did reveal that there are 11 sensors under the hood and a mix of chips, including some from TI and Atmel. Finally, the release for this device is apparently set for October."
Will they be sending a refund to all the Android device buyers?
And an apology for their patent troll licensing scheme?
You know, the one where a fee is demanded for *unspecified* patents.
will be smartest dick around. hope BSOD doesn't come too early, reboot takes long.
Why the fuck?
This may sound funny to some, but please hear me out, and realize that this is a real neeed that I'm describing. As an obese man, like many of my fellow Americans, I'm not particularly athletic. I don't jog, I don't work out, and I don't really have a need for a headband like this. What I do have a problem with, however, is locating my genitalia. Like I said earlier, please don't laugh. A lot of us do suffer from what's commonly called "buried penis" syndrome. I personally haven't seen my penis in over 25 years. But if I could get a digital band put around it that could make sure that my penis and scrotum are in a reasonable condition, then I would consider buying such a medical device. Suffering from buried penis syndrome, I can't always clean myself properly, so a device like this could go a long way toward making sure that my genitalia do not start to stagnate.
Smartwatch: "It looks like your heart has stopped. Would you like me to:"
- stop recording to save power?
- use a backup?
This is not the sig you're looking for.
Because Microsoft's management team operates like a group of toddlers.
"Apple's watch has 8 sensors! Oh yeah?! Well OURS has ELEVEN."
*throws together a bunch of chips from companies they ran out of business into a bulky, ugly box that straps to your wrist and has a 2 hour battery life*
Six months later:
YOU GUYS AREN'T PLAYING FAIR I'M TELLING THE SEC
Patent trolling lawsuits go.
Tom's Hardware has a decent reputation, unlike most of the rumor-mills that run their detritus through this place. That bit of credibility is an important detail of this story.
You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
I'm skeptical about the claim of "cross-platform compatible". As I remember it, when Microsoft had announced .Net and C#, they said those technologies were "cross-platform"... they worked on *all* Microsoft Windows versions. Ditto silverlight.
I can't help but wonder if this is not just vaporware, because they don't have anything to compete with Google's products which are real and are coming out this fall.
Time and time again these Apple-inspired technologies have proven to just be temporary fads.
When it comes to Apple, their success is never about the devices themselves. Their success derives from the fact that they're basically a modern-day religion for a lot of people. Apple's customers buy Apple products as a status symbol, rather than something that's actually useful to them.
The personal audio player fad went bust. The large form factor tablet fad went bust. The small form factor tablet fad went bust. The netbook fad went bust. The media center fad went bust.
This "fitness monitoring device" fad will go bust, too.
Google, Samsung and Microsoft would all be better off avoiding these fads. They don't have the quasi-religious status that Apple has, and it'll save them the time and money wasted on producing one-generation-only products that end up failing in the marketplace because they're damn near useless for anyone who isn't buying them just for a fruit-shaped logo on the back.
They'll all fail because there simply is no mass need to drive sales.
Son, you've got it all wrong. Republicans today aren't conservatives in any sense of the word. They can't, by definition, be considered "conservative" when it comes to forcing new monitoring technology on people. There is no status quo to conserve; they're pushing for something totally new. The label often used to describe this behavior is "progressive liberalism". The "progressive" part refers to their goal being a step beyond what currently exists. The "liberalism" part refers to their desire to free all limitations imposed upon the state, so that it may do whatever it likes to individuals in order to achieve its goals. Conservatism is all about limiting the power of the state, and favoring the power of the individual. A conservative inherently cannot support the widespread use of monitoring technology; doing so contradicts the basic definition of what "conservatism" is.
Until we can fight microsoft's drones by sending them all to sleep the same time.
with 1M unsold Zunes and a pipe bender.
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
The source also confirmed that the display is on the inside of the wrist as opposed to the outside.
Who pays for the surgery to implant it?
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
Just the sort of thing the NSA would love. So monitors all elemental emotional state levels much like a lie detector when ever your wear it. Reports you location and incorporates a bug er microphone into the device. Hell the NSA would have wet dreams about making it compulsory. The soft sell would be, but it means you don't have to carry a drivers licence when police wrongly demand ID they just be able to lock onto your watch and get all the information they want 24/7/365. Hmmm, who will be watching whom, will your be watching your watch or will your watch be watching you.
Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
It's just more shit for the tip (dump).
Halo? Microsoft? Where is liber8????
So that there is one for each flavor of ice cream in Baskin Robbins.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
Amen to that, brother!
Smartband sounds like the HALO project on the TV show Continuum and things aren't turning out so well for anyone involved there...
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
The source confirmed previous rumors that the device is cross-platform compatible, and added there would be open APIs as well
At least, on the beginning. It would be surprising that Microsoft do not act as being Microsoft. Perhaps they start open becausethere is no existing standard to embrace and (proprietary) extend?
So what happens if people put the display on the outside of the wrist? My wrist is the approximation of an oval, I can't see how you could force people to put the display on the inside of the wrist. Plus, there are plenty of people that put the watch face on the inside of the wrist, it's just personal preference.
Interviewer [Hacking into yet another security-flawed MS Smartband product.]: "Thank you for coming. Could you tell me why you left your last employ?"
Job Candidate: "I was ... asked to perform duties that were beyond the scope of my employment contract."
Interviewer [Noting elevated heart rate of interviewee]: "What did these duties consists of?"
Job Candidate: "I am not at liberty to discuss them."
Interviewer [Seeing Smartband perspiration levels soar.]: "Was there a problem with your performance?"
Job Candidate: "None whatsoever."
Interviewer [Running lie detector against heartbeat data.]: "I am afraid that this interview is over."
Job Candidate: "But I was being sexually molested and am involved in a court case that I cannot discuss!!"
Interviewer [Noting extreme blood pressure levels.] "SECURITY!!"
*** Don't be dull.***
As a potential user/developer i want fncking thousands of sensors, cram em in, on-board chemical lab anyone?, biological system monitor, light spectrum,radio, external environment and positioning, emitters,slap it all in, more the merrier, see what kind of amazing things can be created beyond "a heart beat monitor" or "fitness tracker"
and they will have an medical disability lawsuit on there hands.
Subscribing to a possible diagnosis that has been censored by doctors but just takes this weird trick to fix might save your life!
These things would be great adhoc lie detectors... or stress monitors or void comp machines or whatever.
If you're measuring everything then you can probably use it for more then health statistics. And if they're wireless... that means you might be able to hack them... or listen in on them or something... which means if people run around wearing these things you might be able to get a feed into your google glass or whatever to stare at their vitals while you ask if they've been screwing the maid.
I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
But long gone are the days where an announcement by Microsoft (or a proxy) would kill a competitor's product before it even launches. Don't know why MS even bother these days, that old playbook really needs revised.
don't be a spelling loser
I guess they're going to fuck-up this industry the same as they've done ever-one-else ..
Like every other smartwatch in recorded history, after a year or two the OEM will decide it isn't making enough money, and they will suddenly stop the data feed or whatever, and if you're lucky, the thing will still function as a wristwatch.
Lets see - shipped and would not work correctly with Windows NT, claimed the API would become aviable, and was big and bulky.
Why should people think THIS version is going to work better?