Voice recognition will replace keyboards when it reaches the level of Star Trek interaction.
Posted on 07/14/2014 7:32:33 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
In the past week, I’ve been called “Inspector Gadget” twice, had a near-calamitous accident involving spray-on sunblock, and felt my arm vibrate so often I started treating it as a phantom limb.
All because I’m part of the latest tech trend, a bona fide phenomenon in Silicon Valley that is inspiring the kind of pants-wetting excitement usually reserved for new iPhones and Grand Theft Auto games. I’m talking about smartwatches—the tech world’s quixotic attempt to mount minicomputers on your wrist. I’ve been wearing two smartwatches for several days apiece, and so far, it’s been an enlightening experience. Though not necessarily a hopeful one.
First, some context: Viewed from a certain distance, today’s tech industry resembles a group of aging, hyperambitious tycoons not entirely sure where to direct their massive piles of cash. Google, once a mere search engine, has decided it wants to invest in same-day-delivery trucks and connected home appliances. Amazon, which used to be content with e-commerce, is making phones and experimental drones. Facebook recently spent $2 billion on a maker of virtual-reality headsets. And Apple is trying to fix health-care data while it works on the iPhone 6. The competition between tech companies has never been more fierce, but the players themselves seem to be peering at the future through very different sets of binoculars.
And then there’s the smartwatch—the gadget nearly every big tech company is betting on in unison. Google’s new operating system for watches, Android Wear, was the star of this year’s developer conference.
(Excerpt) Read more at nymag.com ...
$100 to change a battery is pretty steep. I would have it changed at a jewelry store and not worry about the gas (which is probably just dry nitrogen).
Whatever it is, you will slap your forehead and go “Why didn’t I think of it!”.
While the segway may not have ever taken off like Dean hoped, the technology developed for it was later put to use in wheel chairs that allows handicapped folks to get up and down stairs. I think it’s call the iBot or something like that.
Many of these tech companies are flush with cash from their primary product and just like a gov’t agency they flush cash away on useless projects like “smart watch” and “google glasses”.
Yes I do, but most of the time it is off.
I use it for emergencies and when I go shopping so that I can call home and ask the all important question if we have enough red onions.
I didn't want one. After carrying one for work for too long, and taking entirely too many 2am "emergency" work calls .... I didn't want one. Frankly, there aren't that many people I particularly want to talk with, anyway.
However, I wanted the convenience. Handy to have one when I'm travelling, and so on. So, I got a "pay as you go" deal thru AT&T. Just a phone, nothing else (no email, web browser, games, etc etc etc), that I can talk on for 10c / min. I pay $25 every three months, and the money rolls over, so it's not a use it or lose it type deal. There are other plans, too. The 25 dollar one is just the most convenient for me.
To me, that 8 bucks and change a month is worth it, like when my kid broke his arm, and I needed to co-ordinate which hospital to go to on the fly with my wife. Handy as heck, paid for itself for the year, right there.
Your mileage may vary. But I thought it was worth mentioning.
And you're absolutely right on the cost. My sister-in-law pays $100+ / month for hers. She says "My entire life is on it" ... but to me, it just looks like an expensive toy. Especially, since I've not missed all of the whizbangs that my old cell phone had, not one bit.
Before answering that question I would like to know, how’s lunch at Del Taco?
Before answering that question I would like to know, how’s lunch at Del Taco?
++++
Try a Crunchtada. It’s a tostada on a thick, crunchy corn tortilla. Yummy.
Audiobooks, news, freerepublic and GPS. Other than that I could do without a phone.
RE: and just like a gov’t agency they flush cash away on useless projects like “smart watch” and “google glasses”.
One huge difference — If their project does not contribute to the bottom line ( i.e. FAILS to sell ), they SHELVE the product. Sometimes, the one responsible for the product fiasco gets fired.
Government will always demand more money. The one responsible for the fiasco usually gets moved to a different department or even gets PROMOTED ( see Susan Rice ).
Voice recognition will replace keyboards when it reaches the level of Star Trek interaction.
I don’t keep up with all the tech toys stuff like a lot of young people do.
Is there an app or software program that will turn my tablet or laptop into a ‘smartphone’ by connecting to the internet thru wi-fi and allowing a conversation and maybe video as well?..................
Yes.
I think my kids use skype but there are others available.
He has the Forest Gump model cellphone : )
It smells of chocolates.
Everyone’s focusing on HealthKit with the rumored Apple iWatch (or whatever), and that will clearly be a major element, but I’m also looking at HomeKit. If you’re going to have a “connected” home automation system, it’d make sense to have immediate access to the system at all times, instead of fishing a cell phone out of your pocket (or heaven forbid, even off charging somewhere!). I think this will wind up being a major case of the whole being bigger than the sum of its parts.
That said, first and foremost, any such device has to be comfortable to wear and not butt ugly. Google’s and Samsung’s offerings (along with most “smartwatches”) to date don’t pass those tests.
As they sit right now, basically a second interface for your smartphone, I don’t see much market for them. If they tweak them into actually being scaled smartphones on your wrist there’s potential there.
Yes, there are many. I prefer Skype.
If the food is so yummy at Del Taco, I don’t see a reason to browse FR.
I like to browse FR, but I also have a life without it.
That’s what amazed me about Android 4.x. No training required, yet a truly remarkable level of accuracy.
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