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IBM launching wearable PC
ari{Dal} writes "New IBM wearable PCs with eraser sized mice should be released by the end of the next year.
" With viewable-equivalent 14" screens, speech-recognition software and probable cost of 2000$, I think my carry-on bags for flying just dropped by another one.
>Maybe I'm missing the point, but are we so
:)
>wrapped up in technology that we can't walk down
>the street without bringing our computer with us?
The whole point is that we now have a *choice*. Same thing with cellphones or pagers. If I don't want to be disturbed, I turn them off or leave them home. Simple.
Years ago, in the days before itegrated circuits, if your car broke down on the highway, a hundred miles from Nowheresville, you had to wait for someone to stop and help you out. Nowadays, folks can call a tow-truck company instantly. Believe you me, that's important to someone who has to drive 160km per weekday in an 8 year old car.
>Can we no longer survive two hours without
>e-mail, the Net, our cellphone or Fax?
I know I can, but constant Net access isn't important to my studies. Cellphones and daily email, however, are.
>People are getting so addicted and dependant on
>technology and information that I wonder where
>family values will be in a few years.
Warning: "Family values" speech detected. Interest level decreasing... interest level now at zero.
Seriously, I don't think this is a problem. We'll adjust, just like we always have in the past. Have a little faith in humanity, friend. We're more adapable than we realize.
>What about sports?
Being a lazy couch potato, my initial reaction is to say that sports can take a flying leap up my ass. But that would be rude. So I'll say instead that sports can take a flying leap up my butt.
>What about nature? Until we put CPU's in
>birds, I guess birdwatching will lose it's
>appeal. Oh I forgot, some animals _do_ have CPUs >in them.
You just reminded me... I really want an Aibo. But not a Furby. I don't trust Furbys. They look like Gremlins. Except Furby don't have exploding gas tanks. Wow. That got offtopic fast. Need... caffeine... now...
Truly portable computers don't really change anything. Humans have always been dependant on technology of some kind, whether it's a hunting spear or a water treatment plant. The only real difference is the degree of sophistication.
Plus, it's just *too* cool a gadget to pass up.
Likewise, we all want our technical toys to be smaller, so "pioneers" building very expensive wearable computers don't impress me that much--they are doing what is natural. But a company that figures out how to produce them competitively and at a price I can afford, that's the real innovation to me.
Uhhh, from the IBM product website:
"Our wearable computers will bring user interaction to new heights. For example, when email is received the user is automatically notified by the unit which sticks a pin in their eye."
Hotnutz.com
Think how many hotties are going to be turned off by someone constantly wearing one of these, even if you explain how you have the entire illustrated Kama Sutra available, as well as links to four different chat rooms where you can ask real time advice when having sex.
A-and even if a computer wearing geek gets a hottie in bed, what happens when you get a BSOD?
"That felt good, why did you stop?"
"My OS crashed, I don't know what to do next."
And soon enough, we'll have web pages like www.nakedgirlsnextdoorwearingcomputers.com .
I kind of agree with Stephenson here, people who end up using these things constantly and in social environments are going to be rude, boring and shunned, gargoyles indeed.
Count me out of society based on wearables, if you please. Just because I can change a tire doesn't mean I'm going to walk around with a jack hanging from my belt, just because I like music doesn't mean I always have a walkman/discman on, and just because I like computers doesn't mean I want to wear one all the time.
George
If you're a wearable computing fan, you're probably thinking: "So what?"
I completely agree that IBM producing a wearable unit without any major technical innovation is largly duplicating the work of other companies. The difference is that this legitimizes the industry in the minds of many industry executives and normal users. Just as the news that Microsoft has heavily invested in some obscure technology sparks curiosity, the IBM announcement, like the IBM version of the Palm Pilot, will get wearables in to many corporate settings through the front door.
I personally have concerns about the social effects of wearables. Just as I don't carry a pager or cell phone, I'm not sure that I want the office constantly projected on a monitor centimeters from my eyes. I certainly don't want an employer requiring that I do so. But, I do want a wearable for personal use.
I'm glad to see IBM getting involved. This should attract considerable publicity and spur competition in the wearable market.
Given one hour to live, the student replied: "I'd spend it with professor FP who can make an hour seem like a lifetime."