This tech isn't new. It's just now coming down to where it isn't clunky and stupid. It will be further refined. I don't want to wear stupid headgear either, but if it was just a pair of sunglasses and a small band you could hide inside any hat... Hooray!
I can imagine where the whole package would one day fit inside standard glasses.
No No No.... "reaction times can be cut by anything up to 60%" I don't care about reaction times. I care about my wrists. Frag gaming, just let me move my mouse for more than an hour without painful twinges and numbness.
Also, these idiots are missing a revolution here. I believe that something like this device coupled with HUD glasses will be a revolution as large as the mouse and GUI were back in the day.
Right now I am coupled to my computer. It got better when I got a laptop. Now my computer comes with me. Still though, I have to take it out, sit down, and while I'm using my computer I'm stuck staring at a screen and using a keyboard/mouse. The "Mobile" in mobile computing only counts when you're not using your computer.
Imagine if you didn't even have to take out your computer.
Leave your computer in your bookbag or pocket. Put on your display glasses so you can see your "screen" hovering in your view. Use a headband (perhaps hidden in your hat) to control the interface (and perhaps one day type). Use speech recognition to type and control.
No more hands. No more being chained to your computer. This frees us as much as the mouse/gui freed us, and will pave the way to opportunities I can't even imagine....
And these idiots are touting it as a gaming gimmick. Not even one mention of UI possibilities. Sigh.
I want my Shadowrun Comlink. The future is staring at us and people aren't even paying attention.
Damn Skippy.... TV is Evil. It sucks out your ambition and your attention to the real world around you. Go get a hobby! Talk to your neighbors! Go for a walk!
Snatch back your brains Zombies... Snatch 'em back and HOLD 'em.
Buying Yahoo won't help them. Why do I use Google? They have a beautiful clean interface with easy to ignore ads. When I want to look something up I don't want to wait for a million ads and scripts to load. MSN is a nightmare to me. Yahoo isn't far behind. Google has no flashing dancing monkeys or half naked women or seizure causing "You may have won a hojillion dollars!" with half the screen real estate devoted to ads I don't care about and text broken up into pages so they can load new ads all over again.
When I do want to spend my money, I hit up google... It's fast, it's relevant, and the ads don't beat me over the head.
When you dump a lot of food into a depressed region, the farmers in that region can't sell a damn thing. They are driven out of their livelihood, further depressing the region.
Giving food keeps people in poverty. If you want to help.... give education. Give a cow. Give seeds. Give time and effort.
I love FreeGeek. Every big city should have something like them. If you're in the Portland area, you should check them out. They give two tours a day! They're a great place to volunteer at and they're full of interesting people. They do good work.
I just wanted to mention that there are Freegeeks in other cities...
If those kids become socially, technically, and linguistically educated enough to run the scam, I'd say the laptop is a success. The kids will have learned english gooder...:D They'll have figured out the wonders of email, not to mention begun a lifetime of tinkering with the backgrounds of things instead of taking what's presented to them, and they'll have savvied up to American culture. They'll be reading more, writing more....
It's jaded and crappy, but how is that not a success still?
And Porn? Well, you could make a case that porn, put in the hands of a kid that doesn't understand that the context, could warp normal sexual relationships. I think the rampant religion has already done that though, so no worries.... Remember, sex is BAD kids! The dinosours died because you touch yourself at night.
... would be to make it cheap enough that I just don't care about stealing it.
Other than that, everyone is used to having to put in keys, and having it check for authenticity before updates is plenty of incentive to have a legit copy.
I would recommend you check out the varied works of Neal Stephenson. He manages to work a geeky subject into every book. His books are always very engaging.
Snow Crash = memes + religion + gripping cyber romp.
Cryptonomicon = Crypto + math + history + computing + gripping story.
Too much EQ tailoring, general computer use, and bad typing habits gave me RSI in the wrists a few years back. It sucks... I can't ride a normal bicycle for too long anymore (I use a recumbent now), I can't use a pen too long, typing can suck, etc etc etc.
I'm only 28! Hey all you young'ins... USE A TRACKBALL. NOW. You'll regret it later if you don't. It takes some getting used to, but it's better than your wrists always twinging in pain when you're doing stupid things you used to take for granted.
Remember, all this computer stuff came out BEFORE ergonomics. We carry a lot of old holdovers from the Elder Geeks that suck. This stuff has only now been around long enough for long term effects to be seen.
My wrists are manageable now, but only because I gave up mousing completely, stopped playing computer games, am anal about my typing posture, and got rid of my nice bicycle (Ok, so I got a nicer bicycle, but still, it sucked.) My wrists still hurt mind you, it's just a low grade hurt that I live with.
If your wrists are bothering you, STOP using a computer for a week. Ice and cold your wrists. Get a trackball. I mean it about that computer use!
Ok.... I'm done. I hope someone sees this and heeds my warning.
Yes, that's it, buy more disposable crud. We've got lots of landfill space, and putting a keyboard in the dishwasher is such a chore... We shouldn't have to be bothered with these petty details.
I did it with a keyboard I picked up for $4. It was a logitech keyboard with all the media keys and such. It was a filthy mess.
It got it all squeaky clean after I ran it through the dishwasher. It was beautiful... and it didn't work, even after setting it over a heater vent for a day. I thought my impatience had fried it... but several days later tried it again just out of curiousity.
It worked great! It's now my main keyboard.
One note, I used only water for that load. I don't recommend trying this with soap.
-T
It's a funny thing, people everywhere always have the idea that technology will come along and save us. Some future tech will make it all better....
Bah Humbug. We have everything we need right now.
solar power can be put on new homes. It just isn't. small and quiet wind generators exist. They could be put in everyones back yard. They just aren't. We have efficient vehicles. They're just not popular. Most people live within 10 miles of their work. They could bike. They just don't. We've had the tech to clean water using plants for 40 years. It's just not used. We have the tech to build efficient homes. Instead we slap up quick and crappy ones...... Etc.
We have the tech. Tech is not the problem. The only thing holding us back now is the culture and will to do what we can already do.
Don't go looking for a miracle solution. They exist, lazy people just don't use them.
...... We fought the war on drugs with skill?
Anyway... Look, the CD is dead. It seems to me that as a business owner, you should realize that the CD is a dying thing and adjust your business accordingly. Frankly, you seem no better than the media companies, complaining instead of adjusting to the market.
Yes, stealing music is illegal. Yes it's wrong. If people want free music, they should pick up an instrument and make their own... Still this doesn't change the way the world works.
Adjust or die. Them's the rules. So, ARE you doing the best for your family and your business? It doesn't seem so. Seems that you're out of touch with your customers. That's not good whatever business you're in.
Err... Someone thought uploading christian music would be Leet? Uh..... Riiiiight. Snicker.
-T
p.s. I really hope that entire post was satire.
One can do anything with enough patience and a good reference.
Ok, lets forget starving children.... Lets take me for example. I want to raise vege's in my back yard. It's not as simple as walking out back and throwing seeds at the dirt. I have to know how to create nutritious soil. I have to know when to plant what seeds. I have to know how to care for them as they grow. Etc etc etc. I wasn't born with this knowledge. I got it from people around me and a whole lotta good books.
What the OLPC is aiming to give people is access to their neighbors and access to a damn fine set of references.
Now the "starving children" can look up irrigation methodology, planting times, seed info.... They can read about composting and replacing soil nutrients. They can talk to people in other places to get market prices and conditions.
OLPC cannot give them patience, but they can give them a good reference. This will allow them to raise THEMSELVES out of the conditions they are in. Knowledge is power. It's hokey, but true.
Why are we continuing to push the idea that we need a distribution system?
We lose a lot of energy pushing electrons around the stupid grid.
The beauty of solar panels and windmill driven generators is that you can put them on every rooftop, in every back yard. We could make every home generate it's own electricity.
This would make people watch their own meters. This would make them more aware of wasteful usage. The problem won't get better unless we have a cultural shift and making each home responsible for it's own electrical generation would help with that.
On the technical side we are not wasting energy in distribution any more. We could use the existing grid as a power backup for emergencies.
But of course, we can't have people be independent. No! They must suck at the teat of some large company or another... My gods, if people did this, next they might start growing their own food in their back yards. What Havoc that would portend! Then, they might learn to sew. Think of the fashion industry! Next... independent thought! No no... better not to start down this road at all... People of the Earth, you must buy everything. Consume... That's nice...
Whoops, I ranted. Sorry, that slipped out. My insane grudges aside, it's still a fine idea.
Slashdot Mirror
This tech isn't new. It's just now coming down to where it isn't clunky and stupid. It will be further refined. I don't want to wear stupid headgear either, but if it was just a pair of sunglasses and a small band you could hide inside any hat... Hooray!
I can imagine where the whole package would one day fit inside standard glasses.
-T
Heh, one of the "fixes" for my RSI was to take up gardening.
No No No.... "reaction times can be cut by anything up to 60%" I don't care about reaction times. I care about my wrists. Frag gaming, just let me move my mouse for more than an hour without painful twinges and numbness.
Also, these idiots are missing a revolution here. I believe that something like this device coupled with HUD glasses will be a revolution as large as the mouse and GUI were back in the day.
Right now I am coupled to my computer. It got better when I got a laptop. Now my computer comes with me. Still though, I have to take it out, sit down, and while I'm using my computer I'm stuck staring at a screen and using a keyboard/mouse. The "Mobile" in mobile computing only counts when you're not using your computer.
Imagine if you didn't even have to take out your computer.
Leave your computer in your bookbag or pocket. Put on your display glasses so you can see your "screen" hovering in your view. Use a headband (perhaps hidden in your hat) to control the interface (and perhaps one day type). Use speech recognition to type and control.
No more hands. No more being chained to your computer. This frees us as much as the mouse/gui freed us, and will pave the way to opportunities I can't even imagine....
And these idiots are touting it as a gaming gimmick. Not even one mention of UI possibilities. Sigh.
I want my Shadowrun Comlink. The future is staring at us and people aren't even paying attention.
-Tony
Damn Skippy.... TV is Evil. It sucks out your ambition and your attention to the real world around you. Go get a hobby! Talk to your neighbors! Go for a walk!
Snatch back your brains Zombies... Snatch 'em back and HOLD 'em.
-T
Huh...
Buying Yahoo won't help them. Why do I use Google? They have a beautiful clean interface with easy to ignore ads. When I want to look something up I don't want to wait for a million ads and scripts to load. MSN is a nightmare to me. Yahoo isn't far behind. Google has no flashing dancing monkeys or half naked women or seizure causing "You may have won a hojillion dollars!" with half the screen real estate devoted to ads I don't care about and text broken up into pages so they can load new ads all over again.
When I do want to spend my money, I hit up google... It's fast, it's relevant, and the ads don't beat me over the head.
Simple is Beautiful.
-Tony
I hear this "give food" talk a lot.
When you dump a lot of food into a depressed region, the farmers in that region can't sell a damn thing. They are driven out of their livelihood, further depressing the region.
Giving food keeps people in poverty. If you want to help.... give education. Give a cow. Give seeds. Give time and effort.
Dumping food on the poor doesn't help anyone.
-T
You know, if this was a group of senators I'd be excited. But it's not. It's some blogger with no power to pass laws. Big. Woopdee. Doo.
I agree wholeheartedly. Still, this amounts to pretty much nothing.
-Tony
................... Wow.
This is the most blatant bit of racism I have ever seen. I live a charmed life, I'll agree. Still... Wow...
P.S. Language is a beautiful thing. What geek would disagree? What is this person doing on Slashdot?
I love FreeGeek. Every big city should have something like them. If you're in the Portland area, you should check them out. They give two tours a day! They're a great place to volunteer at and they're full of interesting people. They do good work.
I just wanted to mention that there are Freegeeks in other cities...
http://www.freegeek.org/family.php
Yay FreeGeek!
-Tony
Ha!
:D They'll have figured out the wonders of email, not to mention begun a lifetime of tinkering with the backgrounds of things instead of taking what's presented to them, and they'll have savvied up to American culture. They'll be reading more, writing more....
If those kids become socially, technically, and linguistically educated enough to run the scam, I'd say the laptop is a success. The kids will have learned english gooder...
It's jaded and crappy, but how is that not a success still?
And Porn? Well, you could make a case that porn, put in the hands of a kid that doesn't understand that the context, could warp normal sexual relationships. I think the rampant religion has already done that though, so no worries.... Remember, sex is BAD kids! The dinosours died because you touch yourself at night.
There never were any. Ever. I doubt they're coming either. :D
Errr....
Yes, with a computer they might look up crop prices, or read online articles about their vocation, get gardening hints, etc etc etc.
It's not a laptop project, it's an education project. That's why it doesn't matter that it's not a powerful laptop.
... would be to make it cheap enough that I just don't care about stealing it.
Other than that, everyone is used to having to put in keys, and having it check for authenticity before updates is plenty of incentive to have a legit copy.
-T
I would recommend you check out the varied works of Neal Stephenson. He manages to work a geeky subject into every book. His books are always very engaging.
Snow Crash = memes + religion + gripping cyber romp.
Cryptonomicon = Crypto + math + history + computing + gripping story.
Zodiac = environmental issues + chemistry + neat eco thriller.
System of the Worlf = LOTS of history + monetary systems + damn good story.
Etc.... He's an amazing writer, and I'm ashamed of all of Slashdot because he didn't get into the first couple of posts.... Shame on you all!
I use a trackball
I'm not in graphic arts
Too much EQ tailoring, general computer use, and bad typing habits gave me RSI in the wrists a few years back. It sucks... I can't ride a normal bicycle for too long anymore (I use a recumbent now), I can't use a pen too long, typing can suck, etc etc etc.
I'm only 28! Hey all you young'ins... USE A TRACKBALL. NOW. You'll regret it later if you don't. It takes some getting used to, but it's better than your wrists always twinging in pain when you're doing stupid things you used to take for granted.
Remember, all this computer stuff came out BEFORE ergonomics. We carry a lot of old holdovers from the Elder Geeks that suck. This stuff has only now been around long enough for long term effects to be seen.
My wrists are manageable now, but only because I gave up mousing completely, stopped playing computer games, am anal about my typing posture, and got rid of my nice bicycle (Ok, so I got a nicer bicycle, but still, it sucked.) My wrists still hurt mind you, it's just a low grade hurt that I live with.
If your wrists are bothering you, STOP using a computer for a week. Ice and cold your wrists. Get a trackball. I mean it about that computer use!
Ok.... I'm done. I hope someone sees this and heeds my warning.
-Tony
Yes, that's it, buy more disposable crud. We've got lots of landfill space, and putting a keyboard in the dishwasher is such a chore... We shouldn't have to be bothered with these petty details.
Consume...
Consume...
Consume...
Ass
-T
I did it with a keyboard I picked up for $4. It was a logitech keyboard with all the media keys and such. It was a filthy mess. It got it all squeaky clean after I ran it through the dishwasher. It was beautiful... and it didn't work, even after setting it over a heater vent for a day. I thought my impatience had fried it... but several days later tried it again just out of curiousity. It worked great! It's now my main keyboard. One note, I used only water for that load. I don't recommend trying this with soap. -T
uhm... I think a lot of people missed the point here... This isn't about the little myspace thing. This is about NBC thinking they own the debates. http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/04/ 28/0646215
Sheesh..... Way to hijack.
-T
It's a funny thing, people everywhere always have the idea that technology will come along and save us. Some future tech will make it all better....
.....
Bah Humbug. We have everything we need right now.
solar power can be put on new homes. It just isn't.
small and quiet wind generators exist. They could be put in everyones back yard. They just aren't.
We have efficient vehicles. They're just not popular.
Most people live within 10 miles of their work. They could bike. They just don't.
We've had the tech to clean water using plants for 40 years. It's just not used.
We have the tech to build efficient homes. Instead we slap up quick and crappy ones.
Etc.
We have the tech. Tech is not the problem. The only thing holding us back now is the culture and will to do what we can already do.
Don't go looking for a miracle solution. They exist, lazy people just don't use them.
-T
P.S. I hate you all.
...... We fought the war on drugs with skill? Anyway... Look, the CD is dead. It seems to me that as a business owner, you should realize that the CD is a dying thing and adjust your business accordingly. Frankly, you seem no better than the media companies, complaining instead of adjusting to the market. Yes, stealing music is illegal. Yes it's wrong. If people want free music, they should pick up an instrument and make their own... Still this doesn't change the way the world works. Adjust or die. Them's the rules. So, ARE you doing the best for your family and your business? It doesn't seem so. Seems that you're out of touch with your customers. That's not good whatever business you're in. Err... Someone thought uploading christian music would be Leet? Uh..... Riiiiight. Snicker. -T p.s. I really hope that entire post was satire.
One can do anything with enough patience and a good reference.
Ok, lets forget starving children.... Lets take me for example. I want to raise vege's in my back yard. It's not as simple as walking out back and throwing seeds at the dirt. I have to know how to create nutritious soil. I have to know when to plant what seeds. I have to know how to care for them as they grow. Etc etc etc. I wasn't born with this knowledge. I got it from people around me and a whole lotta good books.
What the OLPC is aiming to give people is access to their neighbors and access to a damn fine set of references.
Now the "starving children" can look up irrigation methodology, planting times, seed info.... They can read about composting and replacing soil nutrients. They can talk to people in other places to get market prices and conditions.
OLPC cannot give them patience, but they can give them a good reference. This will allow them to raise THEMSELVES out of the conditions they are in. Knowledge is power. It's hokey, but true.
-T
Food not lawns!!!
Why are we continuing to push the idea that we need a distribution system?
We lose a lot of energy pushing electrons around the stupid grid.
The beauty of solar panels and windmill driven generators is that you can put them on every rooftop, in every back yard. We could make every home generate it's own electricity.
This would make people watch their own meters. This would make them more aware of wasteful usage. The problem won't get better unless we have a cultural shift and making each home responsible for it's own electrical generation would help with that.
On the technical side we are not wasting energy in distribution any more. We could use the existing grid as a power backup for emergencies.
But of course, we can't have people be independent. No! They must suck at the teat of some large company or another... My gods, if people did this, next they might start growing their own food in their back yards. What Havoc that would portend! Then, they might learn to sew. Think of the fashion industry! Next... independent thought! No no... better not to start down this road at all... People of the Earth, you must buy everything. Consume... That's nice...
Whoops, I ranted. Sorry, that slipped out. My insane grudges aside, it's still a fine idea.
-T
I mean it, that was beautiful. I wish more people were like this....
I might not be as bitter about the whole religion thing if people were.
Sigh....
Woos? It's not crazy people on the fringes. You really are sadly uncommon as far as I can tell....
What I need to increase my productivity is a datajack, an image link, an audio link, perhaps an implanted comlink and lets throw in a smartgun link. :D
Hurry up Shadowrun!
-T
Hey!
You scoundrel!
I haven't gotten in yet, I'll I've heard is the news... How are folks taking it? Any suspected morons?
-T