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Wireless Wearable Linux Media Computer
Number Five writes "Art+Com announces UrbanJunglePack, a wearable Linux computer designed for jounalists that uses a camcorder and microphone to record photos, sound, text, and video, which can then be transmitted back to a base station using a built-in wireless phone. " It's ready for testing-I'm willing to test.
Here's a real application for a cheaper version of this device: I want to wear a recording device that captures voice-quality audio and basic b/w video, all day, every day at work. I want every event and conversation I have to be recorded and transmitted offsite, say, to a recorder in my car. 8-10 hours of recording a day at relatively low quality ought to be do-able, resulting in a couple of CD's a week. A flat-panel microphone & ccd camera (periscoped to look like a pen), battery and transmitter ought to fit in my pocket just like a pack of smokes.
With the proliferation of monitoring technology being deployed throughout the corporate world, it only makes sense that the individual have a method of leveling the playing field. Imagine sitting in a project meeting when some inept program manager starts blamestorming you for something s/he screwed up. You say "Hold on a minute. Let's listen to what you told me 6 weeks ago at lunch about something else being a higher priority..." And just imagine the instant reduction or justified rise in sexual harassment claims -- load the mpeg file for that day, hit playback and watch the actual events.
Paranoid, yes. But I can think of half a dozen instances last year off the top of my head when I would have loved to be able to correct someone else's rather liberal interpretation of reality. In some cases, it might be the only thing that would save someone's job. My employer watches and records me (email, phone, video of the premises, etc); why can't I watch and record them?
Oh, fancy that. Corporate security's knocking on the window.
I think not...(*poof*)
Oh, yeah. That too. :)
But you have to admit. It CAN be an issue and will be an issue in the future for other people for very interesting niche projects. (The 'matchbox' web server comes to mind)..
Linux is embedded in the device, not the user interface (which is JUST A PROGRAM). The UI would be more appliance-like, not a console.
You know, I'm suprised at the number of people who equate Bourne shell==Unix! (or X==Unix for that matter). In systems like this, the OS is just there to handle the dog work of memory management, buffering, provide an environment for the UI, and communications.
jf
Anyone planning on doing any kind of long term research on these reporters to see what happens to their brain while wearing these :-)
I can see it now, surgeon generals warning: discontinue use when your head starts to feel warm.
Spyky
Although I believe that this is a great idea, I don't know how easy it would be to use. Unless everything comes pre-configured with an easy to understand interface it might not do so well. Linux itself, I have to admit, is not intended for the occasional computer user, most people find it difficult to use the first time around (especially if you have been shielded inside Windows all your life and have never been in a console environment). Most people prefer to use a easier OS like Windows. If they did start making these portable computers they would have to take that into account before they would become popular.
"Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality." -Jules de Gautier
This is a great example of what I have been seeing as the true destiny of computer systems.
Here you have an advanced system developed by a reletively underfunded organization. They apparently have hardware experience, and some development experience, but needed an OS for their system. Licensing a commerical OS for this would be very expensive for development and the limited number of systems they want to build. The cost per unit would probably have to be almost half again what they are currently asking just to pay for the the embedded OS and break even. Using an embedded version of Linux, however, severely reduces the development and manufacturing costs, and makes this possible.
Linux, Open Source, and free software allow people and companies to do this. It makes the OS a very inexpensive commodity and enables development for things that would not be economicly possible otherwise.
Ain't world domination grand?
jf
Posted by Mike@ABC:
This could be pretty cool, but they could stand to do a little miniaturization on it. If I walked up to someone wearing that behemoth and started asking questions, they'd probably call a cop.
Seriously, though, getting data to and from a person in the field is damn tough, especially audio and video. These folks could be on to something. If they could just build off of Via or Xybernaut's tech, though, they might save some space. Gotta keep the Linux, though...Windows boot up time is a drag when you've got breaking news.