Yes, I was a geek.
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 ...
besides fitness purposes I see absolutely no value to this trend. We just spent two generation moving away from wearing a wristwatch. I don’t see the mass potential to return.
Agree. Watches are dead.
Not interested at all.
I’m still a fairly young guy, can’t pry my smartphone out of my cold dead hands, but this watch thing, or the Google glass. Just looks silly and cumbersome.
Putting your smart phone in your pocket isn’t the answer. Putting it in a pouch clipped to your belt isn’t the answer.
Maybe strapped to your wrist is the answer?
Someone come up with the answer is going to make someone a lot of money.
Announcer: Someday, everyone will own a watch like this. Now, it is available only for the privileged few. The Mogasaki Corproration of Tokyo is honored to announce... Kromega III. [ lightning strikes ] A watch so complex, it takes two people to make it work. One hand wears the watch. The other hand presses the buttons that activate the 100% solid state multi-function digital quartz crystal micro-computer unit. And now, you’re ready for the third hand to trigger the light-luminating dial to give you an alphanumeric readout accurate to within 9 a year. It’s that simple.
KROMEGA III. Command-crafted in impact-resistant crushed chrome. It’s no wonder that professional skiiers prefer Kromega III over any ordinary timepiece.
Woman’s Voice: And I love Lady Kromega III. The sleek, space-age styling compliments any outfit. [ Woman’s other hand presses one of the buttons ] And the clearly displayed perpetual calendar helps me to remember my many appointments. Would you mind? [ other person brings in a spare hand to operate the Lady Kromega III ] Thank you.
Announcer: Kromega III. It’s like asking a stranger for the time.
They may be but I have worn a wristwatch since high school and I don’t plan on stopping.
I don’t even have a smartphone and I don’t see the need of one.
RE: I don’t even have a smartphone
How about a basic cell phone?
Read a review of Android Wear/Galaxy Gear Live last night.
In the author’s opinion the new OS, while being a considerable leap forward, will not be enough to drive sales in the general market.
Perhaps if they start resembling actual watches....
Silicon Valley is about trying out new ideas and concepts.
Most fail.
Google Glasses and Smartwatches will fail.
The technology to make these portable devices really small will succeed.
Maybe for the younger generations.
I suspect that I will always have an ironman on my wrist.
As for smartwatches, ehh. I can’t see a market aside from the same people who wear google glass.
I could see the NSA sponsoring a giveaway so that every citizen can have one.
Then comes the embedded chips under the skin.
Yes, I was a geek.
I was a Pebble kickstarter backer. Once you have one, you never know how you lived without one.
don’t have a cell phone - figure I save ‘bout $600.00-$1,000.00 per year as a result.
(Of course, no one likes me, so I don’t exactly miss the calls either.)
My everyday Submariner won’t be replaced with one of these.
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