I remember a comic in one of the old Infocom newsletters showing a guy at his PC, with the devil standing next to him. The devil is holding a contract in one hand, and he says "Still haven't gotten the bable fish, eh?"
This is being investigated, but with over 14,000 items and locations in the current database, RFID might be a little cost prohibitive.
Dealing with an inventory system, in which all 4 planes (walls, ceilings, floors) are usable stowage locations presents many unique challenges... The Russian resistance to RF communications within their modules is another interesting one...
In order for this sort of thing to actually do the things it's described as being able to do, it's going to have to work and play well with the other systems onboard.
One of the tools indicated on this device is an inventory scanner. Whomever is working on this project has yet to contact anyone in the inventory department about interfacing with the inventory software IMS (Inventory Management System) which uses its own barcode readers.
This still has a long way to go before anyone sees them floating around any of the orbiting vehicles.
FitSense has a watch that keeps track of speed/pace/distance/calories/heart data/etc... All wirelessly. A device on your foot transmits data to the watch, as does a wireless heart monitor on the chest.
Transmit it all back to the pc at home wirelessly to get charts and more data than you can shake a stick at.
Great stuff. Go running with a mini wireless lan on your body.:D
The users want a PDA, so they pack in every feature they can think of and bump the price through the roof...
If the iPod is a good product as just an MP3 player, then if we jam in a video player, word processor, fishing tackle box, and dog whistle, then it's got to be a better product...
*EVERY* OS has had/comes with/includes a media player. It is a functional part of the OS to support the playback of audio/video sounds in everything from user-interface, alters, notifications and theme support.
I don't recall the name of the MSDOS 5 media player. What was it again?
If I had money to waste on such a thing, I'd love to have a tablet pc for wireless web surfing on the couch while watching TV or playing games... Being able to look stuff up without having to go to the PC and print it out would be rather nice...
A tablet would be less bulky than a full blown laptop, and a bit more appropriate for this.
I know several people who have spent the past few years writing software to greatly improve the control that shuttle astronauts would have over the HST while docked with it... Now it's scrapped.
How sad.
After using HST as a proving ground, this software would have been used to interface with many different hardware payloads... I don't know what will happen to their project now...
I so desperately want a Tivo that can do HDTV. I finally broke down and bought a Tivo before going on a 7 week trip (hopefully it's catching my shows while I'm gone), but I'm missing all the HDTV versions of some of the shows.
When will we see a Tivo type device that supports this?
Hmmm... I don't need that many computers to forecast many SCO lawsuits in their future.
Re:No freezers?
on
Eating in Space
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
They have heaters as well.
Freeze-dried foods are often prepared with hot water.
Heat is actually readily available on the station; as a by-product of running the equipment and computers, as well as the solar panels collecting power and storing it in the batteries.
Large radiators constantly bleed off heat from the vehicle.
On the Shuttle, the payload bay doors double as giant radiators. On arrival into orbit, the doors are opened almost immediately, even if there are no space walks planned or items to deploy, etc...
The vehicle generates so much heat, that if the doors can't be immediately opened, the mission would be scrubbed, and the crew would be forced to return home.
I guess they didn't want to mention the Enhanced Gaseous Nitrogen Dewar system, which keeps samples frozen at -321 degrees Fahrenheit...
Or perhaps the ARCTIC freezer system, with 38 liters of -20C degree cold stowage...
ISS Fact Sheets
Slashdot Mirror
Excellent links!
Looks like the comic was from this one:
http://infodoc.plover.net/nzt/NZT7.3.pdf
Haven't seen those newsletters in 16 years... Wow.
I remember a comic in one of the old Infocom newsletters showing a guy at his PC, with the devil standing next to him.
The devil is holding a contract in one hand, and he says "Still haven't gotten the bable fish, eh?"
Greetings, Starfighter.
You have been recruited by the Star League to defend the frontier against Xur and the Ko-Dan Armada...
This is supposed to be a happy occasion. Let's not bicker and argue about who killed who.
The fans could still be used to orient the device. Spin a fan one direction, the device rotates in the other direction.
This kind of gyroscopic attitude control has been used for years in zero-gravity environments.
This is being investigated, but with over 14,000 items and locations in the current database, RFID might be a little cost prohibitive.
Dealing with an inventory system, in which all 4 planes (walls, ceilings, floors) are usable stowage locations presents many unique challenges... The Russian resistance to RF communications within their modules is another interesting one...
In order for this sort of thing to actually do the things it's described as being able to do, it's going to have to work and play well with the other systems onboard.
One of the tools indicated on this device is an inventory scanner. Whomever is working on this project has yet to contact anyone in the inventory department about interfacing with the inventory software IMS (Inventory Management System) which uses its own barcode readers.
This still has a long way to go before anyone sees them floating around any of the orbiting vehicles.
A device on your foot transmits data to the watch, as does a wireless heart monitor on the chest.
Transmit it all back to the pc at home wirelessly to get charts and more data than you can shake a stick at.
Great stuff. Go running with a mini wireless lan on your body. :D
"enormous Swiss Cheese" reference now satisfied.
That's the first thing I noticed - the complete lack of decals...
If I were going to get this bike, (yeah, right) I'd demand stickers like in the movie.
I'd try it just to have the 'coffe-counter-o'matic' appear with a 'ding' every time I drank a cup...
The users want a PDA, so they pack in every feature they can think of and bump the price through the roof...
If the iPod is a good product as just an MP3 player, then if we jam in a video player, word processor, fishing tackle box, and dog whistle, then it's got to be a better product...
Such Deja Vu from the PDA wars...
*EVERY* OS has had/comes with/includes a media player. It is a functional part of the OS to support the playback of audio/video sounds in everything from user-interface, alters, notifications and theme support.
I don't recall the name of the MSDOS 5 media player. What was it again?
Add on robotic arms, and we'll be ready to fight off alien queens and throw them out airlocks.
If I had money to waste on such a thing, I'd love to have a tablet pc for wireless web surfing on the couch while watching TV or playing games... Being able to look stuff up without having to go to the PC and print it out would be rather nice...
A tablet would be less bulky than a full blown laptop, and a bit more appropriate for this.
I know several people who have spent the past few years writing software to greatly improve the control that shuttle astronauts would have over the HST while docked with it...
Now it's scrapped.
How sad.
After using HST as a proving ground, this software would have been used to interface with many different hardware payloads... I don't know what will happen to their project now...
A thought-controlled browser? Sign me up!!
They thought it couldn't be bypassed?
Never underestimate the power of politically motivated stubborness.
I so desperately want a Tivo that can do HDTV. I finally broke down and bought a Tivo before going on a 7 week trip (hopefully it's catching my shows while I'm gone), but I'm missing all the HDTV versions of some of the shows.
When will we see a Tivo type device that supports this?
Hmmm... I don't need that many computers to forecast many SCO lawsuits in their future.
They have heaters as well. Freeze-dried foods are often prepared with hot water. Heat is actually readily available on the station; as a by-product of running the equipment and computers, as well as the solar panels collecting power and storing it in the batteries. Large radiators constantly bleed off heat from the vehicle. On the Shuttle, the payload bay doors double as giant radiators. On arrival into orbit, the doors are opened almost immediately, even if there are no space walks planned or items to deploy, etc... The vehicle generates so much heat, that if the doors can't be immediately opened, the mission would be scrubbed, and the crew would be forced to return home.
I guess they didn't want to mention the Enhanced Gaseous Nitrogen Dewar system, which keeps samples frozen at -321 degrees Fahrenheit...
Or perhaps the ARCTIC freezer system, with 38 liters of -20C degree cold stowage...
ISS Fact Sheets
Bah. As with all new technologies, bring 'em on... Worry about the silly 'implications' later.
If only it would integrate itself into my OS, my handheld, my car, my toothbrush, my toaster, and my TV Dinners.
I'm not sure I could cope with an Office suite that didn't...