well I think adding wireless 802.11 too ipod could have many many uses...including as an extension to a camcorder or still cam to record media onto or back-up in the backround...in toshiba's anouncement for the iPod size disk drive they mentioned it might be used in video camcorders in the future....well that was over a year ago...so the future is now...
as for the video glasses..i've tested an $800 pair and didn't like them...but it's just a matter of technology improving...
as for the video glasses..i've tested an $800 pair and didn't like them...but it's just a matter of technology improving...</strong><hr></blockquote>
if we're talking about Head Mounted Displays (HMD) for virtual reality use, like the pteradactyl arcade systems (running on amigas) or the home console immersion helmet put out a few years back, it was using original Gameboy-sized colour screens and lenses to simulate image up to 6 ft away from less than 320x240
tried a few of them and the problems were many:
limited resolution and poor colour certainly impact on whether you find a sim believable,
but for effective VR, lag is the kiss of vomit, which means update and refresh rate are most important in making the things usable for any period of time.
unless tracking of head movement updates fast enough for the brain to construct and test 3d space, much like most non-stereo-vision snakes or birds bob their heads to 'snapshot' various poses and then compute approximate 3d position, truly convincing 3d simulations in VR are motion sickness inducing as the brain and ear disagree
more development in HMD tends to go into lag and refresh of tracking info than pure resolution, so the optics and rendering power tend not to be about fine detail.
sit down simulators with projections don't suffer head lag because your relative movement in cockpit isn't enough for the brain to expect altered p.o.v., so there the focus is more detail, light and shadow, and other perspective elements that also play major factors in massaging what the brain perceives
if motion tracking is unimportant - not immersive sim, just use as mini-screens, then we're just talking resolution and comfort, and i'd tend to agree we're not there yet... don't see a lot of folks wearing ski goggles full time
except maybe Steve Mann and his wearable computing researchers
if you're talking about the "iGlasses" that are basically blade sunglasses with fiber optic or other projection onto a half-mirror (more akin to military HMD monocle), part of the point is to split your awareness between the "world" eye and the HMD eye (so you don't walk or fly into stuff while preoccupied with display text, for example)
there's a futuristic IBM commercial with a guy on a piazza scrolling his mini-reading glasses display and shouting "Sell, Buy" to broker amidst scattering pigeons. cool, but even in that tomorrowland scenario, the screen wasn't running quake or playing rich graphic content, and if i recall it was one eye only
interestingly, research into chopper pilots with the monocle HMD showed that which eye you wore made a huge difference depending on what info was being provided... maps and visual data worked better in one eye, waypoint text and numerical data worked better in the other eye... more proof of left/right brain talents
so if you're planning on OLED glasses for full immersion VR or the inside lamination of a motorcycle helmet with heads-up gauges and NorthStar Night Vision, the fact this technology accesses any and all pixels in parallel effectively pumps up the refresh far beyond TFT. great news.
if you're planning on OLED glasses to watch Goldmember or Sopranos or just replace your >19inch monitor (no immersion required, but more resolution for Photoshop), wait for next generation
orders of magnitude brighter without backlight means most OLEDs will be for devices that you want to use indoors or out... phones, small screens for GPS
nobody has mentioned dick tracy. could be wrist mounted
MP3's are small right? ogg vorbis or MP4 could effectively strech your music carrying capacity and software is supposed to be an easy upgrade on an iPod. So if you can carry a lot of music, then there isn't much reason to upgrade it, why not make it so the thing can deliver 5-10 years of reliable service. Double the RAM so that there's less HDD access going on, and give it a replaceable battery. I just mention this because a post above made me think about batteries. Consumer devices really should have easily replaceable batteries. My new (old) newton is only usable today because it has a battery cage, the NiMH battery it came with makes a good paper weight, but it doesn't hold any charge. (we discovered this after my neighbor actually accidentally found the charger, works too!) So in a pretty old device, the only thing to go was the battery, which you can at least change (4 AA's at work in there now) when the iPod battery goes, you're up a creek so to speak. Mebbe that's an issue that needs some looking after?
I disagree with the previous post about replacement batteries. If a battery craps out in a short amount of time, it should be covered under warranty. But if you really expect to use your 20 GB iPod in 10 years, I think you are asking too much. I don't think most consumers expect that either. Although I admit it would be 'nice' I don't think it would be in most manufacturers interests to do that. Part of the problem these hardware manufacturers have is that people are holding onto older equipment that 'still works'. I work at Intel and they even have a program here that bombards poeple with propoganda about how we should encourage people to upgrade because it will improve their lives (and coincidentally also we should let people know that another manufacturers processors can't be relied upon). It is desperate.
<strong>I disagree with the previous post about replacement batteries. If a battery craps out in a short amount of time, it should be covered under warranty. But if you really expect to use your 20 GB iPod in 10 years, I think you are asking too much. I don't think most consumers expect that either. Although I admit it would be 'nice' I don't think it would be in most manufacturers interests to do that. Part of the problem these hardware manufacturers have is that people are holding onto older equipment that 'still works'. I work at Intel and they even have a program here that bombards poeple with propoganda about how we should encourage people to upgrade because it will improve their lives (and coincidentally also we should let people know that another manufacturers processors can't be relied upon). It is desperate.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Sounds like the modivating factor some OS company tries to code into their OS to get people to upgrade.
if you're still using your 20GB iPod in 10 years, that is...
remember how big hard drives were in 1992? 1982? acceptable now?
or cell phones? seen anybody packing those bricks lately?
how about the hapless tourists with 14 pound early VHS "camcorders" that look like broadcast gear
where's Mr. T. when you need a "Pity de Foo!"
a near-exponential technological progress curve such as the one we're riding would increment into Terabytes (1024Gb) within 4-5 years,
quite possibly all solid state or RAM within 7-8 years,
potentially superconductive (far less power/battery required) but perhaps an "Eco-drive" or gyro-mechanically recharging iPod for joggers will solve top up needs
hell, even a Baygen windup iPod charger would be cool if a pessimistic 10 years put you post-Apocalyptic
but purely from a storage/mass standpoint, the iPod of today is a weighty pack of cards, when proportionately, 10 years from now, devices orders of magnitude more powerful could be the size of dice.
Plenty of people out there use 10 year old stereos, cameras, walkmen, voice recorders, VCR's, watches, and as far as I know, plenty of Newtons over 5 years old are still in service. I just give ten years as a round figure. I'm sure that in ten years many many people will feel the need to replace the device, but if it works, a few thousand songs are still a few thousand songs. Do you throw out your CD's because they're 10 years old? My home computer is 6 years old and it still plugs away like a champ; shit, the sound card in it is almost 10 years old and it still works too! iPod isn't a device that's going to be asked to run new demanding applications (like a computer) there's no reason why it shouldn't run reliably for the better part of a decade. Technology obsoletes itself, granted, but through consumer desires not engineered obsolescence.
Also, iPod isn't anything like those ridiculous VHS Camcorders. It's already quite small, and while it could get smaller, it's at that point where diminishing returns kicks in. I already lose my converter on a nightly basis, imagine a die sized iPod? It fits in a pocket, and pockets won't be much different in 10 years, though I don't recomment wearing the same pants for that stretch of time. <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
Is that some semi-soft sarcasm? Man, I remember making "tapes" for the car up untill not long ago. Road trip music, weekend mixes, cruising mixes, parking mood music... The "parking" tapes are still in surprisingly good condition
Yeah, and I was agreeing with you (duck, it's a flying pig!) on the old tech thing. My Walkman and tapes still work... and I actually still used them - a fair bit, actually.
I just found a couple boxes of LPs yesterday too. I said to my buddy "dude, look how big CDs used to be!" heh heh
I never made that many tapes untill I bought a CD player, then all hell broke loose making mixes for the car, the cottage, etc etc... Haven't made too many tapes recently, CD players everywhere now.
I'm not too young for records but there was a time when I couldn't really afford them, so I missed that boat. I'm kinda glad I missed it too, they seem like so much work. Still, there's something romantic about a record player and a room full of records. Then again, I look at how much room these CD's take up and think how much more room I'd need if they were all LP's :eek:
A replaceable battery is a must. It's annoying as hell that I have to leave my iPod at home when I go on a trip because the battery is going to go out. It makes the machine less useful and less desireable. Many asian MiniDisc and Cassette players have detachable battery packs that screw into the outside of the device and can hold a AA battery or two. These are perfect because you don't have to have it attached for every day use but it can be added when you're going to be away from a wall for a while (or if your internal battery dies.)
Comments
<strong>Last I read OLEDs have a lifespan of 2000 hours.
In other words they're useless.</strong><hr></blockquote>
if you read the article, it says 10,000 hours. i think the battery (as some people have reported) will fade before then.
not quite useless...
<strong>10,000 hours for red pixels. Sorry if I don't trust CNN for being technologically savvy.</strong><hr></blockquote>
fair enough.
A wireless colour iPod recieving movies being broadcasted straight from your camcorder connected to your Mac, woooh.
This would be more controversial than the Sony night vision I.R. mode... on the other hand they might just sell quite a lot.
<img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
as for the video glasses..i've tested an $800 pair and didn't like them...but it's just a matter of technology improving...
<strong>
as for the video glasses..i've tested an $800 pair and didn't like them...but it's just a matter of technology improving...</strong><hr></blockquote>
if we're talking about Head Mounted Displays (HMD) for virtual reality use, like the pteradactyl arcade systems (running on amigas) or the home console immersion helmet put out a few years back, it was using original Gameboy-sized colour screens and lenses to simulate image up to 6 ft away from less than 320x240
tried a few of them and the problems were many:
limited resolution and poor colour certainly impact on whether you find a sim believable,
but for effective VR, lag is the kiss of vomit, which means update and refresh rate are most important in making the things usable for any period of time.
unless tracking of head movement updates fast enough for the brain to construct and test 3d space, much like most non-stereo-vision snakes or birds bob their heads to 'snapshot' various poses and then compute approximate 3d position, truly convincing 3d simulations in VR are motion sickness inducing as the brain and ear disagree
more development in HMD tends to go into lag and refresh of tracking info than pure resolution, so the optics and rendering power tend not to be about fine detail.
sit down simulators with projections don't suffer head lag because your relative movement in cockpit isn't enough for the brain to expect altered p.o.v., so there the focus is more detail, light and shadow, and other perspective elements that also play major factors in massaging what the brain perceives
if motion tracking is unimportant - not immersive sim, just use as mini-screens, then we're just talking resolution and comfort, and i'd tend to agree we're not there yet... don't see a lot of folks wearing ski goggles full time
except maybe Steve Mann and his wearable computing researchers
if you're talking about the "iGlasses" that are basically blade sunglasses with fiber optic or other projection onto a half-mirror (more akin to military HMD monocle), part of the point is to split your awareness between the "world" eye and the HMD eye (so you don't walk or fly into stuff while preoccupied with display text, for example)
there's a futuristic IBM commercial with a guy on a piazza scrolling his mini-reading glasses display and shouting "Sell, Buy" to broker amidst scattering pigeons. cool, but even in that tomorrowland scenario, the screen wasn't running quake or playing rich graphic content, and if i recall it was one eye only
interestingly, research into chopper pilots with the monocle HMD showed that which eye you wore made a huge difference depending on what info was being provided... maps and visual data worked better in one eye, waypoint text and numerical data worked better in the other eye... more proof of left/right brain talents
so if you're planning on OLED glasses for full immersion VR or the inside lamination of a motorcycle helmet with heads-up gauges and NorthStar Night Vision, the fact this technology accesses any and all pixels in parallel effectively pumps up the refresh far beyond TFT. great news.
if you're planning on OLED glasses to watch Goldmember or Sopranos or just replace your >19inch monitor (no immersion required, but more resolution for Photoshop), wait for next generation
orders of magnitude brighter without backlight means most OLEDs will be for devices that you want to use indoors or out... phones, small screens for GPS
nobody has mentioned dick tracy. could be wrist mounted
<strong>I disagree with the previous post about replacement batteries. If a battery craps out in a short amount of time, it should be covered under warranty. But if you really expect to use your 20 GB iPod in 10 years, I think you are asking too much. I don't think most consumers expect that either. Although I admit it would be 'nice' I don't think it would be in most manufacturers interests to do that. Part of the problem these hardware manufacturers have is that people are holding onto older equipment that 'still works'. I work at Intel and they even have a program here that bombards poeple with propoganda about how we should encourage people to upgrade because it will improve their lives (and coincidentally also we should let people know that another manufacturers processors can't be relied upon). It is desperate.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Sounds like the modivating factor some OS company tries to code into their OS to get people to upgrade.
remember how big hard drives were in 1992? 1982? acceptable now?
or cell phones? seen anybody packing those bricks lately?
how about the hapless tourists with 14 pound early VHS "camcorders" that look like broadcast gear
where's Mr. T. when you need a "Pity de Foo!"
a near-exponential technological progress curve such as the one we're riding would increment into Terabytes (1024Gb) within 4-5 years,
quite possibly all solid state or RAM within 7-8 years,
potentially superconductive (far less power/battery required) but perhaps an "Eco-drive" or gyro-mechanically recharging iPod for joggers will solve top up needs
hell, even a Baygen windup iPod charger would be cool if a pessimistic 10 years put you post-Apocalyptic
but purely from a storage/mass standpoint, the iPod of today is a weighty pack of cards, when proportionately, 10 years from now, devices orders of magnitude more powerful could be the size of dice.
dibs on the dicePod™
Also, iPod isn't anything like those ridiculous VHS Camcorders. It's already quite small, and while it could get smaller, it's at that point where diminishing returns kicks in. I already lose my converter on a nightly basis, imagine a die sized iPod? It fits in a pocket, and pockets won't be much different in 10 years, though I don't recomment wearing the same pants for that stretch of time. <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
You should try tapes man, they're awesome. Kind of like a CD-RW... you can erase and tape over them. Really cool.
[ 12-19-2002: Message edited by: murbot ]</p>
<strong>Until a few weeks ago when I bought my iPod, I still used my 14 year old Sony Walkman a few times a week. Bastard still works great.
You should try tapes man, they're awesome. Kind of like a CD-RW... you can erase and tape over them. Really cool.
[ 12-19-2002: Message edited by: murbot ]</strong><hr></blockquote>
well you are from canada
PS: trust me to read 'moderator' AFTER posting <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
[ 12-19-2002: Message edited by: lungaretta ]</p>
I just found a couple boxes of LPs yesterday too. I said to my buddy "dude, look how big CDs used to be!" heh heh
And yes, the records still kick ass.
I'm not too young for records but there was a time when I couldn't really afford them, so I missed that boat. I'm kinda glad I missed it too, they seem like so much work. Still, there's something romantic about a record player and a room full of records. Then again, I look at how much room these CD's take up and think how much more room I'd need if they were all LP's :eek: