I was a supporter of the original pebble, and I still love it. I feel no need to replace it with anything else because it already does everything I want. Also, it looks like the new one is slightly bigger, which makes me less interested. However, I support the company, and like their general philosophy -- that the watch should supplement, not replace your phone. I like the 7-day battery life, and the ability to read the thing even in direct sunlight.
I don't see a strong need for color, but as long as it looks good, I'll support it. I don't see the microphone as an important feature, but maybe I'd use it, I don't know. So yeah, I don't plan on buying one, but neither would I argue against them.
I like having the ability to control things with my smartphone, but my smartphone is definitely not the primary interface. The only case where I use my phone consistently is to control the thermostat. I'll turn on the heat via my phone as I'm leaving work so the house is warm when I arrive. If I'm hot/cold at night, I can adjust the temperature on my phone without getting out of bed. For most other tasks, however, it's easier to get up and walk to the appropriate switch.
It comes down to automating the tasks that make sense to automate. But as much as I enjoy being able to control my lights and garage remotely, I have to admit it serves little practical purpose, and certainly doesn't make my life any easier.
I have a similar setup, except I live alone. The feature I like the most is being able to control a switch, or group, from another switch. For example, I can double-tap the switch at the front door, or in my bedroom turn off all the lights in the house.
The other feature is to avoid re-wiring things. My living room has two switches. One is in a very convenient and obvious location, but controls a single obscure outlet. The other switch is harder to find, yet controls the ceiling light. Re-wiring these switches so the convenient switch operates the ceiling light would require a lot of work. But with inseson switches in both locations, I can easily tell one switch to turn the other on. Done! The only disadvantage is it takes about a second from the time you press the switch until the light turns on.
Oh, here's a cool one: I run tasker on my phone. It's set to send the signal to open my garage door when the phone is simultaneously connected to my car's bluetooth and my home wifi. Since that only happens when I'm about to leave, or about to enter my house, it saves me from pressing the button on my garage door opener. Worth the expense? No. But it's a fun toy.
I recently test drove a Chevy Volt. I was very excited about this car and its technology. But then I tried to turn on the climate control. Way too much touch screen interaction is required to do anything. If not for the touch screen, I might have bought the car, but now I won't even consider it.
I'd be willing to pay more money for a car without touchscreens. I want to be able to operate the controls by feel, without taking my eyes off the road. Besides that, any significant electronic system in a car will quickly become outdated. If the technology is that important to the driving experience, I'll get a mount for my cell phone.
At no point did you indicate what you might want to do with a smart watch. We might be able to make some guesses if you told us what kinds of things you commonly do on your smart phone. Without that information, any responses here will be less useful than a few minutes of googling.
I absolutely love my Pebble. Its primary purpose is in helping me to determine whether I should remove my phone from my pocket or not. The Pebble will show me who's calling me, or will display a text message, or the first few lines of an e-mail. Based upon that, I may or may not want to take out my phone. In my opinion, watches are not very convenient for data entry, so for any tasks that require actual input, I use my phone.
I'm also having trouble with the term "beyond the gravitational pull". At what point is that? As objects get farther away, the gravitational pull decreases, and although it eventually becomes infinitesimal, it does not reach zero, correct?
Also, I'd imagine that when, for example, Uranus and Neptune are on opposite sides of the sun from each other, there isn't much gravitational pull going on between them.
I didn't watch the 60 minutes segment, but reading the "critique" did not provide me with any useful information. If his intent is to find fault in the segment, he should address specific examples, rather than speaking in generalities as he does.
You don't need a library card to go to a library and read. Additionally, you can go to a bookstore (I think some still exist) and buy any book you'd like without revealing your identity.
I use facebook on my phone, when waiting for something, often in public places, where i don't want to play sound, nor do I want to record a video. I doubt I'm the only one.
People may be posting more videos, but text posts are not going away. Let's look at phones for comparison. Video apps like FaceTime are readily available, but I rarely see them in use. SMS was introduced well after voice calls, yet that somehow has become very popular. Video isn't going away, but it's definitely not replacing other more convenient means of communication.
Can someone in the room next to mine wirelessly hack my door?
Any good locksmith will tell you that the best a lock can do is increase the amount of time it takes someone to break in -- it can't prevent the break in. But a person attempting to pick a lock in a hallway is a lot more conspicuous than a transmitter hidden next door.
My old Nokia could go a week between charges. Yet I have to recharge my Android phone daily. Yup, it's a horrible regression in battery life. And in exchange, all I got are a ton of features that I use all the time. Oh, and my old rotary phone didn't require charging ever. Heck, it didn't even need to be connected to my household power.
Smart watches are no different. They have their pros and their cons.
Rate limiting would help a LOT, but may not be enough if the bad guys rig up a strong transmitter.
Exactly. Even if the guy had to park right next to the car he wants to steal, the fact that he doesn't have to touch the target car means it doesn't look like anything nefarious is happening. So he can walk away, do his grocery shopping, while his tools do their thing, and if all goes well, he'll drive home in a much nicer car.
I've never been a fan of the keyless car design. But if I wanted a new car, I had little choice. And I knew I'd have no chance convincing car manufacturers to make a keyed version. All this time, I should have been making a fuss to the insurance industry instead.
Thank you insurance industry for making a sensible decision. Unfortunately, that may suck for anyone who owns such vehicles.
Taking good material, and making a movie isn't how the industry works. Instead, they see what's already been done, and do it again. And again. And again.
When Tesla recently announced their certified used program, people were asking, "What would someone trading in a Model S buy? Another Model S?" Now we have an answer to that question.
The Volt isn't an electric car. It's maximum range on batteries is 38 miles. So, as an electric vehicle, it's 19 miles going, 19 miles return, and if you need headlights and wipers be prepared to get out and push it at the end.
Apples and Oranges...
The Volt isn't an electric car. It's a different type of an electric car than a Telsa, so yes, apples and oranges. If you're pushing a Volt because it ran out of battery charge, you've entirely missed the point of the Volt's ICE. The Volt's target customer is someone with a ~20 mile or shorter one-way daily commute. By charging it daily, they'll run on battery most of the time. The ICE means they can opt for longer trips without advanced planning (researching charging station locations, or getting a rental).
It's not for everyone. But for those (fringe?) customers, it's ideal. I think I could say the same about a Tesla.
Speculation is fine, but do we really need more articles attempting to predict the cost of a car that doesn't yet exist? I might even consider buying one, but before I can take one for a test drive, and see the actual price.
Seriously though, watches should be 90% voice/sound interactive.
"No" times a million! I like being able to look at my watch to know things. I don't want people around me to hear me using my watch. Also, I think Pebble and the like have done a great thing by replacing the traditional "beep" with a vibrate. Now even my alarm is (relatively) quiet.
It would be trivial for Apple, Samsung, etc. to program their phones so that distracting features such as texting could be disabled once the motion detector in the phone detects that the owner is traveling at a given speed. When the car comes to a stop, it's all working again.
So in other words, I wouldn't be able to text while riding the train to work?
Slashdot Mirror
For that matter a gay baker shouldn't have to bake a cake for a real marriage.
A "real marriage"? Which marriages are real, and which are fake?
Have you ever tried using iTunes (to sync your iPod) on a PC?
Thats an Apples to Oranges comparison. I was talking about what Apples ships on a new computer.
But no, I haven't.
Ok, then how about getting a Mac without iTunes?
I "currently" see no value in a smartwatch over my smartphone
I agree completely. I also have and love my current (Pebble) smartwatch. It's an accessory, not a replacement.
I also currently see no value in a bluetooth headset over my smartphone, but I've got one of those too.
I was a supporter of the original pebble, and I still love it. I feel no need to replace it with anything else because it already does everything I want. Also, it looks like the new one is slightly bigger, which makes me less interested. However, I support the company, and like their general philosophy -- that the watch should supplement, not replace your phone. I like the 7-day battery life, and the ability to read the thing even in direct sunlight.
I don't see a strong need for color, but as long as it looks good, I'll support it. I don't see the microphone as an important feature, but maybe I'd use it, I don't know. So yeah, I don't plan on buying one, but neither would I argue against them.
I like having the ability to control things with my smartphone, but my smartphone is definitely not the primary interface. The only case where I use my phone consistently is to control the thermostat. I'll turn on the heat via my phone as I'm leaving work so the house is warm when I arrive. If I'm hot/cold at night, I can adjust the temperature on my phone without getting out of bed. For most other tasks, however, it's easier to get up and walk to the appropriate switch.
It comes down to automating the tasks that make sense to automate. But as much as I enjoy being able to control my lights and garage remotely, I have to admit it serves little practical purpose, and certainly doesn't make my life any easier.
I have a similar setup, except I live alone. The feature I like the most is being able to control a switch, or group, from another switch. For example, I can double-tap the switch at the front door, or in my bedroom turn off all the lights in the house.
The other feature is to avoid re-wiring things. My living room has two switches. One is in a very convenient and obvious location, but controls a single obscure outlet. The other switch is harder to find, yet controls the ceiling light. Re-wiring these switches so the convenient switch operates the ceiling light would require a lot of work. But with inseson switches in both locations, I can easily tell one switch to turn the other on. Done! The only disadvantage is it takes about a second from the time you press the switch until the light turns on.
Oh, here's a cool one: I run tasker on my phone. It's set to send the signal to open my garage door when the phone is simultaneously connected to my car's bluetooth and my home wifi. Since that only happens when I'm about to leave, or about to enter my house, it saves me from pressing the button on my garage door opener. Worth the expense? No. But it's a fun toy.
Yeah, at first the idea of Lucas's script not being used sounds great. But then you have to just remember how awful JJ's Star Trek movies were.
Those were Star Trek movies? All this time I thought I was watching Star Wars. That explains why Sulu's light saber was made out of metal.
I recently test drove a Chevy Volt. I was very excited about this car and its technology. But then I tried to turn on the climate control. Way too much touch screen interaction is required to do anything. If not for the touch screen, I might have bought the car, but now I won't even consider it.
I'd be willing to pay more money for a car without touchscreens. I want to be able to operate the controls by feel, without taking my eyes off the road. Besides that, any significant electronic system in a car will quickly become outdated. If the technology is that important to the driving experience, I'll get a mount for my cell phone.
At no point did you indicate what you might want to do with a smart watch. We might be able to make some guesses if you told us what kinds of things you commonly do on your smart phone. Without that information, any responses here will be less useful than a few minutes of googling.
I absolutely love my Pebble. Its primary purpose is in helping me to determine whether I should remove my phone from my pocket or not. The Pebble will show me who's calling me, or will display a text message, or the first few lines of an e-mail. Based upon that, I may or may not want to take out my phone. In my opinion, watches are not very convenient for data entry, so for any tasks that require actual input, I use my phone.
I'm also having trouble with the term "beyond the gravitational pull". At what point is that? As objects get farther away, the gravitational pull decreases, and although it eventually becomes infinitesimal, it does not reach zero, correct?
Also, I'd imagine that when, for example, Uranus and Neptune are on opposite sides of the sun from each other, there isn't much gravitational pull going on between them.
I didn't watch the 60 minutes segment, but reading the "critique" did not provide me with any useful information. If his intent is to find fault in the segment, he should address specific examples, rather than speaking in generalities as he does.
You don't need a library card to go to a library and read. Additionally, you can go to a bookstore (I think some still exist) and buy any book you'd like without revealing your identity.
I use facebook on my phone, when waiting for something, often in public places, where i don't want to play sound, nor do I want to record a video. I doubt I'm the only one.
People may be posting more videos, but text posts are not going away. Let's look at phones for comparison. Video apps like FaceTime are readily available, but I rarely see them in use. SMS was introduced well after voice calls, yet that somehow has become very popular. Video isn't going away, but it's definitely not replacing other more convenient means of communication.
Can someone in the room next to mine wirelessly hack my door?
Any good locksmith will tell you that the best a lock can do is increase the amount of time it takes someone to break in -- it can't prevent the break in. But a person attempting to pick a lock in a hallway is a lot more conspicuous than a transmitter hidden next door.
My old Nokia could go a week between charges. Yet I have to recharge my Android phone daily. Yup, it's a horrible regression in battery life. And in exchange, all I got are a ton of features that I use all the time. Oh, and my old rotary phone didn't require charging ever. Heck, it didn't even need to be connected to my household power.
Smart watches are no different. They have their pros and their cons.
Rate limiting would help a LOT, but may not be enough if the bad guys rig up a strong transmitter.
Exactly. Even if the guy had to park right next to the car he wants to steal, the fact that he doesn't have to touch the target car means it doesn't look like anything nefarious is happening. So he can walk away, do his grocery shopping, while his tools do their thing, and if all goes well, he'll drive home in a much nicer car.
I've never been a fan of the keyless car design. But if I wanted a new car, I had little choice. And I knew I'd have no chance convincing car manufacturers to make a keyed version. All this time, I should have been making a fuss to the insurance industry instead.
Thank you insurance industry for making a sensible decision. Unfortunately, that may suck for anyone who owns such vehicles.
Taking good material, and making a movie isn't how the industry works. Instead, they see what's already been done, and do it again. And again. And again.
Seriously - bring a package of cookies for the flight crew.
Don't flight attendants already have access to cookies? Should I bring a Big Mac to a Burger King cashier and expect better service?
When Tesla recently announced their certified used program, people were asking, "What would someone trading in a Model S buy? Another Model S?" Now we have an answer to that question.
The Volt isn't an electric car. It's maximum range on batteries is 38 miles. So, as an electric vehicle, it's 19 miles going, 19 miles return, and if you need headlights and wipers be prepared to get out and push it at the end.
Apples and Oranges ...
The Volt isn't an electric car. It's a different type of an electric car than a Telsa, so yes, apples and oranges. If you're pushing a Volt because it ran out of battery charge, you've entirely missed the point of the Volt's ICE. The Volt's target customer is someone with a ~20 mile or shorter one-way daily commute. By charging it daily, they'll run on battery most of the time. The ICE means they can opt for longer trips without advanced planning (researching charging station locations, or getting a rental).
It's not for everyone. But for those (fringe?) customers, it's ideal. I think I could say the same about a Tesla.
Speculation is fine, but do we really need more articles attempting to predict the cost of a car that doesn't yet exist? I might even consider buying one, but before I can take one for a test drive, and see the actual price.
There's an app for that!
Seriously though, watches should be 90% voice/sound interactive.
"No" times a million! I like being able to look at my watch to know things. I don't want people around me to hear me using my watch. Also, I think Pebble and the like have done a great thing by replacing the traditional "beep" with a vibrate. Now even my alarm is (relatively) quiet.
It would be trivial for Apple, Samsung, etc. to program their phones so that distracting features such as texting could be disabled once the motion detector in the phone detects that the owner is traveling at a given speed. When the car comes to a stop, it's all working again.
So in other words, I wouldn't be able to text while riding the train to work?