Moderately Confused wrote:
"David Maynard" wrote in message
...
baracooda wrote:
One of the problems with your 'explanations' is you incoherently jump
all
over the place at random. LAST message you were talking about in the
"living room" and now you're roving "college courses" for some unknown
reason.
Robotic PC will enable you to take college courses from the comfort of
your living room, provided that you have a robotic PC on both end. It
is another way of interacting with people and things in this world. In
this case robotic PC=two way mobile videoconference machine.
So does a camera and a TV set. PBS has been doing it for decades, and
without a roving robo-desk I might add.
Most colleges already have that, called distance learning... You sit in
front of your computer, be it on the toilet or in bed, and you can take all
of your college courses.
Yeah.
Actually, I rather sympathize with his desire to make a (general purpose)
'robot' as I've been itching to make one for decades. But then that
irritating question "of what use is it?" always crops up.
The fact of the matter is, for what most 'normal' people use a camera
for
it's just fine to hold it in your cute little fingers and take the
pictures: no 'robot' needed.
With robotic PC as a camera server, user can login to this server and
take pictures from miles away with out any travel time. There are
certain spots in this world where such service might be welcome.
Watch the Travel Channel if you don't want to 'go there'.
After
all these decades, one still have to use a finger to take a picture
one by one?
Because it's convenient, cheap, and does precisely the job I want. And
you've not provided any benefit to doing it another way; just that it
'could be done' another way.
And I don't need a robot to wipe my butt either just to be your version of
'modern' vs the 'decades old way'.
Because it is a 'solution' looking for a problem and in the finest Rube
Goldberg tradition (especially your obsession with 'a desk'): "Look mom,
I
made a 10 grand 'roving desk' to carry my 200 buck camera." And I
imagine
the typical reply would be "what on earth FOR?"
I have disclosed this idea to many others before. The responses ranges
from one end of the spectrum to "I wish to remain an Amish". A few
begins to explore the possibility even beyond my imagination.
Basically, what I trying to say is that the whole is greater than sum
of its parts. This machine has the potential to do many new things
that can't be (easily) done before.
You seem to miss the point: Just doing things a 'new way' isn't a goal, in
and of itself, nor necessarily desirable. There must be some BENEFIT to
doing it the 'new way', and it must be practical (which includes cost), or
else it ends up in a TV show about "crazy ideas that never made it." (all
of which were 'new ways', 'modern', and 'did things'.)
To which you list off supposed 'features' (what it 'could do') but no
benefits. E.g. Why would someone want "a prolific picture capturing
machine" when what most people want are 'good pictures' of specific
things
(not to mention their own creative input in taking the picture), not
simply
a million of them? Why would someone want to sit in a room navigating
the
'roving desk' to "tourist destinations" when the point of taking
'tourist
pictures' is to show where THEY'VE been and what THEY saw? (otherwise,
stay
home and watch the Travel Channel.)
Robotic PC will be a good way to help you choose your next travel
destination.
A 10 grand robot, plus airfare for it, to replace a free travel brochure?
And don't bother with descriptions of how much 'better' than a travel
brochure it is because I can hear the average person's reply right now
"hell, for THAT price I could GO there mySELF!"
No machine can replace an actual vacation, at least not
yet.
Not yet? WHY in god's name would ANYone EVER want it to 'replace' their
vacation?
A travel channel only shows what the producer wants you to see or what
the camera man happens to point the camera in that particular
direction. With the robotic PC, you are in control of the camera, and
interact with whom ever in the picture in real time. Sort of like your
own personal live broadcast system.
'Interact' with? Bloody well GO THERE if you want to 'see', 'interact',
and
have your vacation.
Given the current state of the art, the kinds of 'features' you're talking
about are pretty much useful only for places humans CAN'T (at least
easily)
go to, like Mars or the core of a live volcano.
On the other hand, exploring a live volcano core with a robot HAS
benefits:
you don't risk human lives. But there's not much reason to send a DESK
with
it, unless you expect to see some Star Trekian 'lava creature' spring
forth
and you want a convenient spot for him to send email from.
The "desk" feature of this Robotic PC design is only dominant when you
use this robot as an ordinary PC. When using this robotic PC as a
probe in a remote location, the desk collapsed to make the whole thing
more compact, nimble and ready to mingle.
Why not give deskoid robotic PC a thought, it might not be so
"gibberish"
I didn't say a thing about 'robots'. It was your claim that desks are
"a
must" for 'PeeCees' that I disputed, with examples provided. And then
that
your follow-up argument, to presumably support the claim, was
gibberish.
Sorry for the confusion, but what is "PeeCees"?
It's the (slang) 'phonetic' of PC: PeeCee(s, for plural) and
distinguishes
it from Politically Correct.
Than again that sounds
like a minor detail. Why don't we just let it slide?
Frankly, it sounds like gibberish.
The fact is, while many people use them on desks, it is not 'a must'
for a
'PeeCee', with laptops/notebooks being just one obvious example.
And, no,
they don't need a 'motorized wheel-desk' to be mobile, nor to use
them.
In addition to notebooks, I already have a VCR sized HTPC, run with
a 'TV'
style remote, similar to that mentioned in the article and I don't
want a
'desk' built into that one either.
Nor, btw, do I want a 'desk built in' my desk lamp, Mont Blanc pen,
note
pad, telephone, or anything else that I 'traditionally use' on my
desk
because there's no benefit in doing so but plenty of drawbacks.
David Maynard wrote in message
...
baracooda wrote:
Traditionally, PC is design to be use with a desk. This is more a
must
than an option. So, why not built PC with a desk built-in.
You just wiped out the entire notebook/laptop industry, plus who
knows what
others.
This is
sort like the coffee table book about coffee table that is also
in
itself a coffee table.
(baracooda) wrote in message
. com...
I heard that Microsoft is looking for ideas to transform Xbox
into a
more PC like machine. Perhaps it would be ideal for Xbox to
evolve
further into a photo robotic PC in the living room.
http://funkycoldamoeba.blogspot.com
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/05...s_6099472.html
(baracooda) wrote in message
om...
Technological advances in PC-based/Windows-based robotics goes
with
their own drum beats.
But, I hope things are indeed brewing underneath the quiet
surface.
PC do have the potential to become more robotic, just add X and
Y
components...
Non-robotic PC in the living room just aren't that exciting,
don't you
think?
(baracooda) wrote in message
om...
Microsoft's "ultimate" PC will be a robotic PC that look
like....
http://funkycoldamoeba.blogspot.com
Ablang wrote
in message . ..
[Ed. The PC could well be on it's way out.]
Will Windows Power the Living Room?
Microsoft's Home Concept PC combines video recorder, CD
player, phone, and more.
Joris Evers, IDG News Service
Tuesday, May 04, 2004
SEATTLE -- Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard are showing off at a
developers
conference here some Windows XP concept devices intended to
replace a consumer's
video recorder, CD player, answering machine, and telephone.
The Windows Home Concept is expected to make its debut in the
opening talk by
Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates at
the annual Windows
Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) this week.
The hub of the Windows Home Concept is the Home Center PC,
which looks more like
a fancy video recorder than a PC. Unlike today's Windows
systems, the device can
turn on and off instantly and operate silently. Also, it does
not need a mouse
or keyboard; all access is through an intelligent remote
control that features a
color screen, fingerprint reader, microphone, and speaker,
according to
Microsoft and HP.
The Windows Home Concept is an evolution of Windows XP Media
Center Edition,
says Greg Sullivan, lead product manager for Windows.
"The improvements in Windows combined with new hardware will
enable devices that
we will be happy to put in our living room," Sullivan says.
Media Center PCs
allow users to use a remote control to provide access via TV
to photos, video,
and music stored on their PC, as well as selected Internet
services such as
movie downloads.
Multitasking Device
Microsoft has a grand vision for the Windows Home Concept.
Through the
fingerprint reader on the remote, the Home Center PC will
automatically show an
individual user's favorite TV shows and computer games. The
screen on the remote
will let users to select shows to record, even while the PC
is doing something
else.
When connected to a phone line, the Home Center PC can
display caller
information on the TV when a call comes in. The user can then
decide whether to
take the call, with the remote acting as a speaker phone, or
have the PC answer
the call. TV can be paused while a call is answered, using
the system's digital
video recording features.
The HP concept Home Center PC boasts a DVD burner,
high-capacity hard disk
drive, and other features, says Ameer Karim, HP's director of
worldwide product
marketing. It also has a display on the front, much like
traditional consumer
electronics devices.
"Think of this as replacing your DVD recorder, VCR, CD
player, TiVo, and
potentially your AV receiver in the future," he says. "This
is the PC turned
into an entertainment device." For a separate den room as
well as the office, HP
will continue to make and sell regular PCs, he says.
The Home Center PC will also function as a wireless access
point for other PCs
in the home to access data and to share its broadband
Internet connection. Aside
from the Home Center PC, the Windows Home Concept also
includes a Home Tablet PC
that will come with a docking station and can synchronize
with the Home Center
PC.
The vision for the Home Tablet PC is similar to that of the
Smart Display, the
wireless PC displays that Microsoft dropped in December, only
a year after the
first Smart Displays shipped.
"The Home Tablet PC is a more compelling scenario," Sullivan
says. "There is a
notion that the ability to take my content with me and it
still be usable when I
am away from my home network is an important feature." The
comments echo the
broad criticism of Smart Displays, which were found to be
overpriced, dumb
mobile terminals.
Just a Peek
Just as with concept cars at auto shows, the Windows Home
Concept devices won't
be found at retailers soon, Sullivan says.
"This is not a product announcement; it is a demonstration of
a concept," he
says. "Over the next 12 to 18 months you will see many of the
technologies that
we are showing here shipping in PCs. The full end-to-end
scenario of the
concept, we're thinking is kind of a 2006 scenario."
A step closer to the vision will be reality later this year.
Several hardware
makers, including HP, plan release Windows Media Center
Extenders before the
December holiday shopping season. The Windows Media Center
Extender removes the
need to physically connect the TV to a Media Center PC or
even have it in the
same room.
At WinHEC, Microsoft tells hardware makers where it is headed
with Windows and
related software products so they can allocate resources
accordingly.
In addition to the Windows Home Concept, Microsoft plans to
provide details
about Web services for devices such as printers and digital
cameras as well as
its plans for products including Windows Media Digital Rights
Management,
Windows XP 64-Bit Edition, and Longhorn, the successor to
Windows XP.
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/...tk,dn050404X,0
0.asp
==
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