NationStates Jolt Archive

We had a fascinating talk today with a representative from Cellcom (Israeli phone technology company). The entire time was nothing more than an advert for Cellcom, and I deeply resent having products shoved down my throat, but that isn't the point. Cellcoms motto is "The future is here", and some of the products he showed us managed to seriously scare me.
A fridge that you can program to know what you usually have in it, and if somethings missing it will tell you. (Not by a message on a screen, but actually talk to you)
Shoes that can sense the ground beneath them and raise or lower themselves accordingly. (I have no wish to become a centimetre taller because thats what my shoes wanted)
Sunglasses with any or all of the following incorporated into them. MP3, camera, TV, phone, a VR set (where you see what you would normally see, except you also see yellow circles, like in a pacman game and you get points for walking into them) and others. (if I want a camera, I'll buy a damn camera, same way as if I want sunglasses, I'll buy them. I'm capable of buying things seperately, and of keeping track of more than one item at once. This one really pissed me off.)
Computers, that instead of a password to enter them, you give a thumbprint, or retina scan. Also they have voice-activated computers. (This could be useful, where instead of writing a ten thousand word essay or whatever, I could say it and it would type by itself.)

My point in most of these is, if this is the future, I want to stay in the past. I'm not into talking fridges, sunglasses that play music, or shoes with adjustable ride height. What is your view on these products, or similar ones?

i think its just more stuff that can break. i dont like enhanced products, they add expense to do things done better and more cheaply by something else (if i even want the service at all)

i want my fridge to keep food from spoiling. i can tell whats in it all by myself. i dont need it to show me TV. i dont need to access it from the road. i just want it to be COLD. i dont even want it to make and crush ice for me.

i want my phone to make phone calls. i dont need to play games on it; i dont need to take photos with it; i dont need to surf the net on it. its amazing enough that i can be anywhere in the country and it still works.

and i certainly dont want my appliances to nag at me "you need milk!" "time to clean the oven!"

Those VR sunglasses sound pretty sweet...

What ever happened to supporting progress?

People generally have a way of underestimating what life will be like in 5-10 years but tend to get a little over imaginative concerning 100+ years. The world is changing, fast, keep up or get trampled. Simple as that.

As for me, I would love sunglasses with a multifunction Heads up Display (HUD) and a built in cellphone, etc, etc. Also, my "dream home" is incredibly high tech and apparently it's a hell of a lot closer to reality then even I would have imagined 2-3 years ago.

Basically, I look forward to the future.

I couldn't agree more Ashmoria. Frankly, my fridge should keep food cold, my phone should be able to call people, and even send texts, my sunglasses should stop me from being blinded by the sun etc....
If I want to listen to music on the way somewhere, I'll take a discman, if I want to check email, I'll use a laptop or computer. If I want to take pictures, I'll use a camera, and frankly, I'm happy enough with my RL life that I don't need to go into VR.

I'd set my appliances to "abusive".
my sink would be all "oh hell no. fuck you. you are not putting that shit down me. you have a trashcan for a reason." then it would run it's garbage disposal menacingly. Meanwhile my fridge would be constantly shouting, and spitting crushed ice everywhere. "hey, you lazy fuck! clean me! i need some damn milk, and would it really kill you to eat a littl protein?"

Where's the really important stuff?
A toaster that also makes eggs and bacon for example.

As soon as I can have a Direct Neural Interface or a full cyborged body, I'm going to get it.

Screw Cyberbrain Sclerosis and fear of progress!

Typos, typos...

We had a fascinating talk today with a representative from Cellcom (Israeli phone technology company). The entire time was nothing more than an advert for Cellcom, and I deeply resent having products shoved down my throat, but that isn't the point. Cellcoms motto is "The future is here", and some of the products he showed us managed to seriously scare me.
A fridge that you can program to know what you usually have in it, and if somethings missing it will tell you. (Not by a message on a screen, but actually talk to you) man... while I can see that for the Health nut or the dieter... for large families that can get so annoying so quickly...
Shoes that can sense the ground beneath them and raise or lower themselves accordingly. (I have no wish to become a centimetre taller because thats what my shoes wanted) :D so if you fall from a cliff... how far do these things streatch? then again, imagine being raised up and hitting a low beam!
Sunglasses with any or all of the following incorporated into them. MP3, camera, TV, phone, a VR set (where you see what you would normally see, except you also see yellow circles, like in a pacman game and you get points for walking into them) and others. (if I want a camera, I'll buy a damn camera, same way as if I want sunglasses, I'll buy them. I'm capable of buying things seperately, and of keeping track of more than one item at once. This one really pissed me off.)why do I see more Pedestrian Collisions with this one... "I was 3 dots shy of the high score officer, I had to run into traffic to get them!"
Computers, that instead of a password to enter them, you give a thumbprint, or retina scan. Also they have voice-activated computers. (This could be useful, where instead of writing a ten thousand word essay or whatever, I could say it and it would type by itself.)so when dictating, and you spill coffee on your lap..."and so, in conclusion, in order to save our company, we all must SHIT! OW! GOD DAMMIT! OH FUCK! I DIDN'T MEAN... STOP TYPING YOU STUPID COMPUTER! Shit how do you turn this off. damit stop typing! you stupid piece of crap! oh to hell with this. Hello? Tech support. my stuipid computer is acting up again. how do I stop it from typing every word I say? no, I don't want to delete" (command word spoken, document deleted.)

My point in most of these is, if this is the future, I want to stay in the past. I'm not into talking fridges, sunglasses that play music, or shoes with adjustable ride height. What is your view on these products, or similar ones?for one thing, when a person is now talking to themselves, are they crazy... or just really ahead of their time?

You could just imagine one of those low doorways with a sign *Careful, low doorway* being replaced with *Those with adjustable shoes, please remove them as we don't wish for you to smack your head against this low doorway when your shoes decide to raise themselves for no apparent reason*

"The press, the machine, the railway, the telegraph are premises whose thousand-year conclusion no one has yet dared to draw."

The Wanderer and His Shadow , 1844-1900, (1880)

And I'm sure at one point someone said the same thing about the wheel. Technology is and always has been a double edged sword.

You could just imagine one of those low doorways with a sign *Careful, low doorway* being replaced with *Those with adjustable shoes, please remove them as we don't wish for you to smack your head against this low doorway when your shoes decide to raise themselves for no apparent reason*LOL I got an image in my head of a person crouching to go through a small door... for every inch he ducks, the shoes raise him an inch...

Well, you could just crawl through the doorway. Personally, I think technology, as Lascivious Maximus, is a double edged sword. However, when I get a home to myself, I'd love an abusive sink and a fridge to prompt me on my dietary issues:

"Hey you fat s**t, go out and buy some cabbages and fruit! I'm filled up on expired german chocolate here! Ahh! The milk's gone stale! Aww f**k! You left one open, it STINKS! You sonuvabi*ch! When I get those arm addons, I'm gonna strangle you! Hey! Get back here, you s**t!" *starts rocking*

Of course, I'd love to have a fold out computer, like one that opens up when some water comes into contact (or whatever stimuli you program). Although, in Britain, I'd be buggered:

*Rain pours down. I put a newspaper over my head, and then a car drives by, splashing water all over my trousers.*

"Oh crap..."

*A ripping noise can be heard, followed by a smashing and shattering. My trousers fall down, split in the middle, and my computer is in bits over the floor*

Or perhaps a voice controlled car, although, if you're looking at the map with your partner...:

"LEFT!"

*screech*

"Nono! It's right, and onto the M2!"

*screech*

"No, we're supposed to go LEFT!"

*screech....smash*

Although, I'd love a camera intergrated into my glasses, along with a sunglasses and a see-thru clothes option :P, like in James Bond.

The true purpose of cellphones,
So people can walk around muttering to themeselves and not get tossed in a rubber room
And they don't give you brain cancer that way... though the radio from the cia in your teeth might

*Rain pours down. I put a newspaper over my head, and then a car drives by, splashing water all over my trousers.*

"Oh crap..."

*A ripping noise can be heard, followed by a smashing and shattering. My trousers fall down, split in the middle, and my computer is in bits over the floor*



They are already working on nano-technologically enhanced clothing that has features such as instant drying, temperature regulation, stain resisting, etc, etc. Yes, one day your pants will be smarter then you!

Apologies to anyone who is already in this position.

Another point, is that whenever any of the people present decided to bring up the matters of radiation or cost of such things, he avoided it like the plague.

Another point, is that whenever any of the people present decided to bring up the matters of radiation or cost of such things, he avoided it like the plague.
Well Sanc, in my humble opinon, I sometimes feel that we humans might have been better off never having left the cave. In the very least, I am certain that the earth and it's other more noble inhabitants would have fared and would still be faring far better had we never gotten to where we are.

A lot of these people are talking utter rubbish. Someone from BT compiled an honest report saying that we'd have The Matrix by 2050 and be able to download our brains onto computers by 2100. He basically cut out bits of paper with inventions out of science-fiction programmes written on them, threw them at a timeline and copied down where they landed.

Although saying that, I have seen computers with thumbprints instead of passwords (which I think is good - more secure) and there's no reason you can't put an MP3 player into sunglasses etc... on the other hand will people really buy this stuff? If people don't want these gizmos then they will sink without trace. It's happened plenty of times before.

I don't care for the integrated sunglasses, but the rest of the stuff sound cool. A fridge that can keep it's own inventory.....I could use that.

I would like it if my mobile phone could talk to my fridge, ask the fridge what was in it so if I end up at Woolworths wondering if I need milk, bread, cheese or something else, like butter I could text my fridge and it would text me back saying what I already have.

or the fridge could have an internet connection and a wifi connection to your printer. and whenever you got a bunch of stuff out it owuld give you the option of having it suggest some recipes, and print them out, using the ingredients you removed.

or the fridge could have an internet connection and a wifi connection to your printer. and whenever you got a bunch of stuff out it owuld give you the option of having it suggest some recipes, and print them out, using the ingredients you removed.GREAT! :rolleyes:
people can play NS while sitting infront of the Fridge eating... hey waitaminute... place that fridge in the bathroom... and NS almost 24hours a day... WHOOHOOOO!

GREAT! :rolleyes:
people can play NS while sitting infront of the Fridge eating... hey waitaminute... place that fridge in the bathroom... and NS almost 24hours a day... WHOOHOOOO!
nah, just make a comp mattress, with an integrated toilet and fridge. maybe a phone for when you run out of food. and then of course a wheelchair for when your muscles all atrophy and you get morbidly obese. we are the fuckin future. hellz ya!

What is your view on these products, or similar ones?

These products are utterly valueless, ephemeral geegaws, from the way you've desribed them. Just further refinements on ways for people to spend disposable income on disposable consumer goods. Nothing new here.

I've had a cell phone with a camera and internet capability for over two years, and it was an older model. It doesn't have any games, but the one I had before that did. I don't surf on it because it's expensive, but I do use the camera and the texting pretty often.

And here's the smart fridge: http://www.lexicle.com/smartfridge/

Other smart appliances are available (vacuum cleaners and washer/dryers, for example), but still too expensive. Plus certain other technologies (RFID tags in particular) have to catch up. These, just like any other appliances are time savers.

If you don't like it, fine. Enjoy doing what you want by hand. :D

I do like New Sancrosanctia's abuive settings.
Imagine a little Roomba Vaccum (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1649760,00.asp) telling you to move your fat ass so it can work.

Pranks could be fun as well. Imagine hacking your "friend's" smart washer so their non-color-fast red T-shirt goes in with the whites....

I do like New Sancrosanctia's abuive settings.
Imagine a little Roomba Vaccum (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1649760,00.asp) telling you to move your fat ass so it can work.
Ever see the movie "i'm gonna git you sucka!"

"The Door is ajar"
"The Door is ajar"
"The Door is ajar"
"Hey... Asshole, you deaf? Close the F*$king DOOR!"

Ever see the movie "i'm gonna git you sucka!"

"The Door is ajar"
"The Door is ajar"
"The Door is ajar"
"Hey... Asshole, you deaf? Close the F*$king DOOR!"

Yep. :D

I remember when I first rode in my Uncle Bob's new car that did that, when I was a kid. I had now end of fun arguing with it, "No, it's a door, not a jar!"

A fridge that you can program to know what you usually have in it, and if somethings missing it will tell you. (Not by a message on a screen, but actually talk to you)

So some visual recognition programming and pre-recorded sounds getting dished out at you instead of text on a screen. I really don't see what’s special about the thing "talking to you" when all that’s just a message being sent to you via a speaker rather than a screen.

Shoes that can sense the ground beneath them and raise or lower themselves accordingly. (I have no wish to become a centimetre taller because thats what my shoes wanted)

I honestly don't see the point of that? What are the benefits?

Sunglasses with any or all of the following incorporated into them. MP3, camera, TV, phone, a VR set (where you see what you would normally see, except you also see yellow circles, like in a pacman game and you get points for walking into them) and others. (if I want a camera, I'll buy a damn camera, same way as if I want sunglasses, I'll buy them. I'm capable of buying things seperately, and of keeping track of more than one item at once. This one really pissed me off.)

They make 'VR' sets for PCs already. Rather spiffy in racing games. As for the multiple combination of things, eh. I like my MP3 watch. Though incorporating an MP3 player, camera, phone and 'VR' set into one item that gets lost as easily as sunglasses is um, yeah.

Computers, that instead of a password to enter them, you give a thumbprint, or retina scan. Also they have voice-activated computers. (This could be useful, where instead of writing a ten thousand word essay or whatever, I could say it and it would type by itself.)

They've had voice dictation software for years now... wrote a few of my highschool essays using one. Found it more to be a bit of pain than anything else really. Novelty wore off very quickly. And as far as voice-activated computers go... you really need to stop by a Mercedes dealer and take a look at the stuff that exists in the market as is... And you can get thumb print security hardware/software already….

My point in most of these is, if this is the future, I want to stay in the past. I'm not into talking fridges, sunglasses that play music, or shoes with adjustable ride height. What is your view on these products, or similar ones?

I suggest you go back in time, cause most of the stuff you've said is already out there.

But most of these (read: all) are not yet common household items.

http://www.adidas-salomon.com/en/bizmedia/toolkits/one/adidas_1_lat.jpg

Thats the shoe, I think its ugly as hell, but then again, beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess.

Its merits are supposed to be that if you're walking on hard ground, it raises itself as a cushion, and vice versa for soft ground.

Frankly, I can really see ten years from now, people with VR sunglasses, kids for example. They wake up in the morning, switch the whatever in their sunglasses, and they're sitting in a classroom learning. Couple of hours later they switch again and are playing games. You can go whole days without leaving your bed. If you think kids are obese now, wait ten years.

Those VR sunglasses sound pretty sweet...

I was thinking the same thing too.

I bet cars on the street would be Ghosts, so that you don't let them catch you. If not your DEAD.

I have a friend who spent £180 on a shaver that (supposedly) has the ability to detect the moistness of your skin. It also has a little screen on it that say "Hello [name]". Thats what I call a waste of money.

But most of these (read: all) are not yet common household items.

You can buy some dictation software for less than $50 bucks. Talking appliances were, IIRC, tried in the past and people didn't like it. Not only do 100k+ Mercedes have computers that react to your voice but my 2 year old cell phone does as well. And IIRC one the Japanese auto manufacturers has put voice recognition into their NAV units. Basicaly the things are common enough. They work fine and don't have some horrible curse of technology.

Its merits are supposed to be that if you're walking on hard ground, it raises itself as a cushion, and vice versa for soft ground.

So its more comfortable. What’s wrong with that?

Frankly, I can really see ten years from now, people with VR sunglasses, kids for example. They wake up in the morning, switch the whatever in their sunglasses, and they're sitting in a classroom learning. Couple of hours later they switch again and are playing games. You can go whole days without leaving your bed. If you think kids are obese now, wait ten years.

Frankly, you're dead wrong. Virtual Reality Sunglasses is a misnomer. HUD Sunglasses is a more accurate term. No smell and no touch = no VR. But basically your little fantasy up there is, well, yeah. You might want to add a 0 to it and change the 1 to a 2 or a 3 and it becomes remotely possible. However I don't see any government sanctioning that kind of education as viable exclusive education for the k-12 years.

We had a fascinating talk today with a representative from Cellcom (Israeli phone technology company). The entire time was nothing more than an advert for Cellcom, and I deeply resent having products shoved down my throat, but that isn't the point. Cellcoms motto is "The future is here", and some of the products he showed us managed to seriously scare me.
A fridge that you can program to know what you usually have in it, and if somethings missing it will tell you. (Not by a message on a screen, but actually talk to you)
Shoes that can sense the ground beneath them and raise or lower themselves accordingly. (I have no wish to become a centimetre taller because thats what my shoes wanted)
Sunglasses with any or all of the following incorporated into them. MP3, camera, TV, phone, a VR set (where you see what you would normally see, except you also see yellow circles, like in a pacman game and you get points for walking into them) and others. (if I want a camera, I'll buy a damn camera, same way as if I want sunglasses, I'll buy them. I'm capable of buying things seperately, and of keeping track of more than one item at once. This one really pissed me off.)
Computers, that instead of a password to enter them, you give a thumbprint, or retina scan. Also they have voice-activated computers. (This could be useful, where instead of writing a ten thousand word essay or whatever, I could say it and it would type by itself.)

My point in most of these is, if this is the future, I want to stay in the past. I'm not into talking fridges, sunglasses that play music, or shoes with adjustable ride height. What is your view on these products, or similar ones?

It's just consumerism gone rampant. Being quite communist-minded myself, I view it with distaste, but it's not the end of the world. I'd be more worried when that sunglass camera or the fridge start transmitting their information to the NRO or NSA. Or even just back to the corporation that made them, like some Microsoft products´.

<snip>
My point in most of these is, if this is the future, I want to stay in the past.
Luddite! Luddite! Luddite! :)

There are already goods that have small tracking devices attached. I believe Tesco were attacked over having some sort of tracker on their goods...

Demented Hamsters..... Luddite?