Topic: Holy Crap! *New Tech/Gadget Thread*

[Ceric]

I be interest to see that myself.  What do I see?  What does my mind find important enough to remember.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Soon they'll be able to just plug you up to a machine and just play back all the events, including those sick thoughts you had that about that certain someone/thing, right there on the screen for you to watch all over again.

It only works if there's brain activity, so first they'd have to find a way to make you think about the events. (That is assuming that they can get a good enough signal in the first place -- active visual images are much easier than other signals).

That's how it works right now, but that's why I said "soon".

"Soon" we'll be living in minority report and I will get arrested just because I thought about robbing the bank down the street from my house even though I don't think I will ever be desperate or stupid enough to actually attempt it.

Right now they are reconstructing imagery based on what you are looking at right now. Soon, who knows how they will progress the technology.
Maybe one day they will have these things at the airport and random screening won't need to be so random anymore as they will see who has bad intentions as they pass through the check point.

[ThePerm]

hollywood blockbusters of the future!
As an artist, im always pissed that what i see in my head just can't be put on paper. I'm an artist, but i hate my work as most artists do. Even if this is still limited technology, it would be good for a pitch. And also id love to be able to record my dreams and edit them into movies. Inception......sort of

[BranDonk Kong]

I don't know if this counts, but Amazon announced the Kindle Fire today...at $199 it's kind of hard to find a reason not to buy one. Dual core 1Ghz OMAP, 7" Gorilla Glass, 8GB on-board storage with free "cloud storage." WiFi only, but for $199 it's a pretty impressive device. Also of note, it only has a power button, and no microphone, so you can't make video calls (no camera either) and volume is controlled through the status bar/settings.

[MegaByte]

it's kind of hard to find a reason not to buy one.

Reason: Already jumped on the HP firesale.

[TJ Spyke]

If I didn't have a iPad, I would consider buying one. Hard to justify getting it though, especially when it some ways it is inferior to what I have (I have the 16GB iPad, 3G but don't use it, and I like the size of the iPad screen). I don't have the iPad 2 though, so no camera either.

[nickmitch]

The Kindle Fire is more of a suped-up e-reader than a tablet. It's a pretty cool device though, especially at that price.

[Morari]

Hardly an e-reader, as it is not e-ink. Just like the Nook Color makes for a poor reader, whereas the Nook Classic and Nook Touch are both excellent. The Kindle Fire is just another tablet.

[BranDonk Kong]

It's much more of a bare bones tablet than it is a souped up e-reader. The processor is pretty badass though, I'm pretty shocked they went with such a beast, and also pissed that cell phones cost so much without a contract.

[ThePerm]

lol E readers

[Adrock]

If I were to get a tablet, the Kindle Fire is the one I'd consider. It's set at a decent price. Always a good thing. It does away with a lot of the extras I'd never use anyway (i.e. camera, microphone). I'd use it as an e-reader first and foremost. Occasionally, I could see myself using it for the browser and some apps.

I'm assuming that, despite Amazon downplaying Android, that it has access to the Android marketplace. Being tied so closely to Amazon's store/media smorgasbord is sure to offer numerous benefits as well. Since I would mainly be use it as an e-reader, the Kindle Touch may be a better choice but for an extra $100, I think what the Kindle Fire offers is worth it.

It's about time a company decided not to try to out-iPad the iPad. I think it's going to succeed where other Android tablets haven't for that reason alone.

[BranDonk Kong]

Right out of the box it doesn't have access to the full Android Market, it has the Amazon App Store, which is basically slowly turning into a complete clone of the Market. You can also sideload apps onto it via USB (so you can get just about anything you want onto it), possibly even gApps which will put the Android Market on it. Expect this thing to be rooted and running custom ROMs before it's even released.

[MaryJane]

I'm just glad someone has finally made a mass market tablet. Hooray for technology!

[Plugabugz]

And the Kindle Fire is not available outside the US. Failchops.

will have to grab one when i'm in NYC next.

[Ceric]

*shrug*
They just recreated Barnes and Nobles Nook lineup without the Awesome Nook Classic I guess is what its called now.  Love my Nook.  Fast nav with the LCD and easy reading on the e-Ink.  Seriously if your just getting a Fire to be a value-added eReader.  Do your eyes a favor and just get an e-ink version.

[Adrock]

E-ink is closer to reading an actual book but I don't mind reading off of an LCD screen.

[Ceric]

Please explain. If someone wanted the extra value/additional features that the Fire provides, why would he/she get the e-ink version? I don't get it.

If you are getting it primarily to be an e-Reader but, like just having the extra features knowing you'll probably never use, then just get the e-ink version.  LCD screens contribute to Eye Fatigue while e-Ink doesn't.  I know a lot of us spends are day staring at a monitor to do whatever.

[Adrock]

I re-read your original post and edited my post accordingly but you quoted me before I finished editing. My bad. I didn't get what you meant at first. I still think an extra $100 is a good deal for the additional functions the Fire provides. I'd definitely use the browser and media functions. Amazon cut a lot of the things in tablets I wouldn't use like the camera and the mic.

[BlackNMild2k1]

That color eInk is just taking too long it seems.

I've heard about it coming soon, but has an affordable Color eInk tablet come to market yet?

[Ceric]

I can't believe they have a true margin on the Fire.  It seems very close to cost.

On Color eInk, I think its running into the problems that the flat screen tech that was pretty much a CRT per pixel did.  The other technology kept going till the difference wasn't really that great but the cost never really got close.

One day Color eInk will cross the threshold.  It be great to have some that can change fast enough to be a monitor that only wrote the parts that it needed.

[UltimatePartyBear]

the flat screen tech that was pretty much a CRT per pixel

Wow, I had completely forgotten about that.  Surface-conduction electron-emitter display, which was called SED instead of SCEED for some reason.  I remember that I was really looking forward to that once upon a time.

I don't think eInk is ever going to be fast enough to use for a regular monitor.  Maybe it would be used for special cases where fast updates aren't necessary, like status screens on some devices, but old fashioned LCDs are probably going to remain cheaper for that.

[Morari]

*shrug*
They just recreated Barnes and Nobles Nook lineup without the Awesome Nook Classic I guess is what its called now.  Love my Nook.  Fast nav with the LCD and easy reading on the e-Ink.  Seriously if your just getting a Fire to be a value-added eReader.  Do your eyes a favor and just get an e-ink version.

I'm with you 100%. I use my Nook Classic just about every day. It was better than the Kindle when I got it, and still is, even despite the Pearl screen. It's sad that they've phased it out, but the Nook "Simple Touch" looks to be a worthy successor. It doesn't have the bottom LCD, instead opting to make the entire e-ink display touch sensitive. It makes me think of some of the more recent Sony e-readers in that regard.

I have no use for a tablet, at all. I almost immediately rooted my Nook Classic, but don't really use any of the additional apps. Instead it made it much more pleasant to use side-loaded content. However, I do have five bookcases crammed full of dead tree books. It's nice to be able to consolidate that somewhat. I still buy books, I'll probably never stop doing that. I don't trust their electronic equivalents enough, nor agree with the pricing on most. Still, it's a helluva lot more convenient to lounge around at home (or travel!) with my Nook than it is with a big hardback.

[Ceric]

Here is an article where Siri comes from.

The Darpa roots are interesting and if it was as smart as the instructional Video would indicate that would be cool.

[King of Twitch]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-india-computer-tablet-20111006,0,1592428.story
India unveils world's cheapest tablet computer

The 13-ounce touch-screen device can handle basic computing, including email, social networking, Web surfing, online banking, instant messaging and multimedia. The stripped-down system uses Google's Android 2.2 operating system and comes with headphones, WiFi access, two USB slots, 256 megabytes of internal memory and a 7-inch screen. It's not considered on the same level as the more advanced tablets available.

"I'm not against computers, but it needs to be thought through," said Aruna Sankaranarayanan, director of Prayatna, a civic group focused on education. "Most rural schools aren't even equipped with toilets or teachers. Just giving computers [doesn't] guarantee computer literacy. There are more crying needs."

 

"I'll probably use it mostly for Facebook," Ravi Banshiwal, 22, a commerce student from Delhi, said with a laugh. "So we need to thank the minister for that. We'll send him a tweet first thing."

Facepalm

[King of Twitch]

Dude, these people made a ball that's made out of cameras. it's like... google earth in a ball that you throw. you can throw google earth

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/futuresport/201110/throwable-ball-camera-may-revolutionize-how-we-watch-sports