As far as I can tell, OLED's are not the right tech. Oughta look into E-Ink type displays-- refresh rate is slower, but quite livable since you wouldn't switch layouts all that often. Also, current needs only be applied when changing the image, so even when the system was offline you'd have labelled keys.
Hrm... how cool would it be to have peoples' keyboards unexpectedly start spelling "All your bases are..." throughout the company...
I'm working on building a replica of a medieval diptych... not the booklet style painting, but the medieval version of the PDA.
Folded in half, these were often apparently the size of a palmtop. Using a string as a "gnomon" they make a pretty fair sundial too. With wax on the inside, suddenly they make a handy place to write important notes, etc.
Given the properties of sundials, it's possible to approximate the date if you hold the thing level... and there are any number of games you can play with a pen and paper, stylus and wax work for them too.
So, in short, a diptych (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diptych) is definitely the sort of thing a medieval geek would have to have... I can see the articles now: "Tic-tac-toe, the next killer app?"
If someone comes up with a workable solution, there are probably any number of solar power enthusiasts who would pay $$$ for a working product that would allow them to wire a circuit their house with DC of a fixed voltage which could then be converted for each device.
Wall warts (and many other transformers) leak current due to their design (and usually also to their generally cheap components). This is a parasitic load- it does nothing for you and is using power even when the wall wart is disconnected.
So, those of you who have the right background and ideas, consider this:
A single, ultra-high efficiency transformer that generates,say, a clean 24 VDC with a stable ground. Low resistance (say 10-gauge?) wiring throughout the house with special outlets. Universal adapters (similar to RV or Car adapters) that plug in to these special outlets, then into the appliance.
These could be quite small, because there would be no need for a lossy/bulky step-down transformer.
Something to think about, anyway...
This is Slashdot. Asimov was a remarkable man who wrote wonderful books on physics, chemestry, biochemistry, etc. It's kind of amazing how profific he was (see obligatory wikipedia article)
He even wrote a rather nice (and fairly exhaustive) book about the Bible and Shakespeare with some extremely good insights. However, pure geekiness is best satisfied by his work in the Robots series, which he also linked to the Foundation series later.
He once lamented in a foreward that he would be most remembered for having invented the term robotics, rather than for all the other wonderful things he did- and that it was unfortunate that he would be remembered for Foundation and the "Three Laws of Robotics" more than for the rest of his work.
That having been said, what does the Geek on the Street want to hear about? Robotics trumps Shakespeare, I'm thinkin':)
While I don't necessarilly think that they're a good thing, I do believe that eventually nearly every public venue will be monitored via video 24/7.
However, it is EXTREMELY important, IMHO, that the feeds be made public. The possibilities are intriguing- and not at all alarming- when you realize that there are already private webcams on such areas with feeds to the world at large.
If you need to hide from the authorities, you will need to avoid public places anyway. Those who are concerned about their anonymity could employ cloak-and-dagger techniques like sunglasses, hats, and trenchcoats.
What the authorities get out of this, I guess, would be the ability to see when/where a bomb or other suspicious object is placed in that public area- Gas terminals, transformer stations, ports, sporting arenas, any target could benefit. Common criminals will just move to non-protected areas.
The public would get the ability to check on important parts of their cities and virtually "visit" from afar when homesickness strikes. An amusing side effect might be the surge in popularity of street performance that might result. If "Sidewalk Slim" performs every night at 8 on Seattle Public Camera 134, people who appreciate his work would be able to watch it world-wide, increasing Slim's audience and, who knows, maybe getting him "discovered".
When I was younger, I found I was drawn more to games that minimized chance or at least where performance in the game was less due to chance than to skill.
Chess, for example, would always be preferable to Yahtzee. In a less black and white model (yes, I know, and I meant to do it, durnit!) Scrabble vs. Poker might have been a harder call, each having
As I grow older and (maybe) wiser, I've found that status and "winning" have become less important to me and the experience of playing has become more important... so chance plays a more important role (roll?:) in the games I enjoy.
Of course, it might also be that a purely random game gives my young daughters a chance to win once in a while, and durn they're cute when they're proud.
Yeah, looks pretty bogus, but later on they have different links and some possibly workable images... plus a handy link to a site selling surplus projector lenses.:)
Isn't that where Miller Lite comes from in the first place? I just figured an enzymatic non-fermentation method would do nothing but improve the quality...:)
...may never come. These would be quite interesting in other applications, but it seems to me intelligent signs using E-Paper technology could convey information in a more intuitive manner than color-changing reflective studs.
Cars, too, are being designed with more and more impressive technology, many are capable of noticing that you are tailgating, some may even begin to slow the car automatically soon (a system I'd be quick to disable... having the car take over unexpectedly would quickly cause me to froth at the mouth).
If the studs were ever cheap enough per-unit, though, I can imagine all kinds of other uses for them... an array of 'em would make things disappear nicely to a casual glance if they merely changed color to match their surroundings...
For those who wonder why no/. cache...
on
HDD Assault Cannon
·
· Score: 4, Informative
It's not out of small-mindedness or forgetfulness after all. Hrm... maybe we should cut the editors a small break once in a while? Nah, 'twould spoil the fun!:)
O'course, why a google cache couldn't be erected is another story...
*sigh* I was ok with the fashion of the princess in the first one and some claimed it was the only redeeming feature, although it in no way made up for the rest of the movie.
The second one was almost redeemed by Yoda's show of force.
Extrapolating from this, there will probably be one interesting thing about the third movie...
So, is Darth's costume the one interesting thing about the next film? Or will we have more than that? It's almost worth watching the film to find out...
(+1, Pithy)
Type: DC (at the end, I'm assuming high-freq AC in transit)
Voltage: Between 3 and 10 volts, the curcuite is pretty flexible.
Current: In the milliamp category, basically just charging one tiny NiMH battery in a waterproof enclosure that I'd prefer for ease of use/durability to have no insertion points.
Ok, now we've had the paranoia-fest. Now how 'bout some applications?
Obviously, some kind of system like this would be mandatory for automated transport, for example 100+mph autopilot lanes on the freeways, etc. RFID may not help here, but certainly rather a lot of the infrastructure mentioned in the article would be key. These systems would be very useful in building skylanes, too, for those oft-vaunted flying cars.;)
Now the real fun will be in building an OSS solution for tracking all that information in real time while driving, rather than relying on your car's internal filters. Hrm...
Wow... you mean we could cover our naughty bits with bits?
Seriously, though, I can think of at least eleventy one uses for this stuff. Someone already mentioned solar cells, I'm currently wondering if it can be sprayed a-la inkjet like several other plastics... this could be the start of something seriously cool. How 'bout your own custom fab lab in your computer room? Things just don't get much geekier than that...:)
How 'bout an option to ADD naughty bits and inject random obscenities? That could really spice up those annual barbershop quartet convention videos...
I'm not at all convinced the technology would work very well as they've designed it... but I'd actually buy one of these to see how it works if I had some spare $$$. Should be some interesting signal processing going on.
Do I smell an open-source alternative brewing? The signal analysis code alone would be worth its weight in censored naughty-bit pics...
My favorite thing about the B-52 is that they just plain work. Damned fine (and lucky) engineering there. Unlike computers, once you've got a stable airframe there's really not much need to change it. Perhaps some smaller company will aquire licenses to build this thing... it would be wonderful if places like NASA and collections of major universities, etc. could obtain one.
Probably unfeasible, though... and the durned things are certainly not sexy enough for marketting...
Slashdot Mirror
Post a link to the scans in a wikipedia article... it will be found! http://www.wikipedia.org/
Hrm... how cool would it be to have peoples' keyboards unexpectedly start spelling "All your bases are..." throughout the company...
I'm working on building a replica of a medieval diptych... not the booklet style painting, but the medieval version of the PDA. Folded in half, these were often apparently the size of a palmtop. Using a string as a "gnomon" they make a pretty fair sundial too. With wax on the inside, suddenly they make a handy place to write important notes, etc. Given the properties of sundials, it's possible to approximate the date if you hold the thing level... and there are any number of games you can play with a pen and paper, stylus and wax work for them too. So, in short, a diptych (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diptych) is definitely the sort of thing a medieval geek would have to have... I can see the articles now: "Tic-tac-toe, the next killer app?"
If someone comes up with a workable solution, there are probably any number of solar power enthusiasts who would pay $$$ for a working product that would allow them to wire a circuit their house with DC of a fixed voltage which could then be converted for each device. Wall warts (and many other transformers) leak current due to their design (and usually also to their generally cheap components). This is a parasitic load- it does nothing for you and is using power even when the wall wart is disconnected. So, those of you who have the right background and ideas, consider this: A single, ultra-high efficiency transformer that generates,say, a clean 24 VDC with a stable ground. Low resistance (say 10-gauge?) wiring throughout the house with special outlets. Universal adapters (similar to RV or Car adapters) that plug in to these special outlets, then into the appliance. These could be quite small, because there would be no need for a lossy/bulky step-down transformer. Something to think about, anyway...
He even wrote a rather nice (and fairly exhaustive) book about the Bible and Shakespeare with some extremely good insights. However, pure geekiness is best satisfied by his work in the Robots series, which he also linked to the Foundation series later.
He once lamented in a foreward that he would be most remembered for having invented the term robotics, rather than for all the other wonderful things he did- and that it was unfortunate that he would be remembered for Foundation and the "Three Laws of Robotics" more than for the rest of his work.
That having been said, what does the Geek on the Street want to hear about? Robotics trumps Shakespeare, I'm thinkin' :)
A cup full of fiber supplement each day sure increased my bandwidth, that's for sure!
However, it is EXTREMELY important, IMHO, that the feeds be made public. The possibilities are intriguing- and not at all alarming- when you realize that there are already private webcams on such areas with feeds to the world at large.
If you need to hide from the authorities, you will need to avoid public places anyway. Those who are concerned about their anonymity could employ cloak-and-dagger techniques like sunglasses, hats, and trenchcoats.
What the authorities get out of this, I guess, would be the ability to see when/where a bomb or other suspicious object is placed in that public area- Gas terminals, transformer stations, ports, sporting arenas, any target could benefit. Common criminals will just move to non-protected areas.
The public would get the ability to check on important parts of their cities and virtually "visit" from afar when homesickness strikes. An amusing side effect might be the surge in popularity of street performance that might result. If "Sidewalk Slim" performs every night at 8 on Seattle Public Camera 134, people who appreciate his work would be able to watch it world-wide, increasing Slim's audience and, who knows, maybe getting him "discovered".
Chess, for example, would always be preferable to Yahtzee. In a less black and white model (yes, I know, and I meant to do it, durnit!) Scrabble vs. Poker might have been a harder call, each having
As I grow older and (maybe) wiser, I've found that status and "winning" have become less important to me and the experience of playing has become more important... so chance plays a more important role (roll? :) in the games I enjoy.
Of course, it might also be that a purely random game gives my young daughters a chance to win once in a while, and durn they're cute when they're proud.
Yeah, looks pretty bogus, but later on they have different links and some possibly workable images... plus a handy link to a site selling surplus projector lenses. :)
Anybody have an alternate site? I found this one on google.
Isn't that where Miller Lite comes from in the first place? I just figured an enzymatic non-fermentation method would do nothing but improve the quality... :)
Silly people with your namby-pamby ideas of a brighter future through green, efficient energy.
Oh, wait...
And, of course, for student drivers the automatics could be engaged by default (different key, license rfid, whatever)...
Sorry, old joke, I know, but couldn't resist...
Ok, so help me out... how the heck was my post "Redundant?" M2, anyone? :P
Cars, too, are being designed with more and more impressive technology, many are capable of noticing that you are tailgating, some may even begin to slow the car automatically soon (a system I'd be quick to disable... having the car take over unexpectedly would quickly cause me to froth at the mouth).
If the studs were ever cheap enough per-unit, though, I can imagine all kinds of other uses for them... an array of 'em would make things disappear nicely to a casual glance if they merely changed color to match their surroundings...
It's not out of small-mindedness or forgetfulness after all. Hrm... maybe we should cut the editors a small break once in a while? Nah, 'twould spoil the fun! :)
O'course, why a google cache couldn't be erected is another story...
Ok, now back to our normally law-abiding citizen...
*sigh* I was ok with the fashion of the princess in the first one and some claimed it was the only redeeming feature, although it in no way made up for the rest of the movie. The second one was almost redeemed by Yoda's show of force. Extrapolating from this, there will probably be one interesting thing about the third movie... So, is Darth's costume the one interesting thing about the next film? Or will we have more than that? It's almost worth watching the film to find out... (+1, Pithy)
Details:
Type: DC (at the end, I'm assuming high-freq AC in transit)
Voltage: Between 3 and 10 volts, the curcuite is pretty flexible.
Current: In the milliamp category, basically just charging one tiny NiMH battery in a waterproof enclosure that I'd prefer for ease of use/durability to have no insertion points.
Thanks!
Obviously, some kind of system like this would be mandatory for automated transport, for example 100+mph autopilot lanes on the freeways, etc. RFID may not help here, but certainly rather a lot of the infrastructure mentioned in the article would be key. These systems would be very useful in building skylanes, too, for those oft-vaunted flying cars. ;)
Now the real fun will be in building an OSS solution for tracking all that information in real time while driving, rather than relying on your car's internal filters. Hrm...
We should run a pool on how long it will be before the first Starbucks pops up...
Seriously, though, I can think of at least eleventy one uses for this stuff. Someone already mentioned solar cells, I'm currently wondering if it can be sprayed a-la inkjet like several other plastics... this could be the start of something seriously cool. How 'bout your own custom fab lab in your computer room? Things just don't get much geekier than that... :)
I'm not at all convinced the technology would work very well as they've designed it... but I'd actually buy one of these to see how it works if I had some spare $$$. Should be some interesting signal processing going on.
Do I smell an open-source alternative brewing? The signal analysis code alone would be worth its weight in censored naughty-bit pics...
My favorite thing about the B-52 is that they just plain work. Damned fine (and lucky) engineering there. Unlike computers, once you've got a stable airframe there's really not much need to change it. Perhaps some smaller company will aquire licenses to build this thing... it would be wonderful if places like NASA and collections of major universities, etc. could obtain one.
Probably unfeasible, though... and the durned things are certainly not sexy enough for marketting...