[LINK] Pogue: Best Tech Ideas of the Year
Karl Auer
kauer at biplane.com.au
Sat Jan 1 12:03:21 AEDT 2011
On Fri, 2010-12-31 at 01:54 +0000, stephen at melbpc.org.au wrote:
> State of the Art
> The Pogies: Best Tech Ideas of the Year
> WINDOWS PHONE 7 CAMERA BUTTON Microsoft Windows Phone 7 is a rival to the
> iPhone and Android phones, but with a genuinely fresh, smart design. One
> example: You can use the phones camera even when the phone itself is
> turned off. Just hold down the shutter button to turn on only the
> camera side. You spend less time fussing, waiting and missing photo
> ops.
Because, of course, most people walk around with their mobile phones
switched off. Pffff. Is this the best example of "fresh, smart design",
that this device embodies?
> Not anymore. This $20 wall plate includes two regular three-prong power
> outlets and two standard U.S.B. jacks. Now you can plug gadgets
> directly into the wall to recharge, no computer needed.
Instead of a piece of kit that has to be wired into the house but will
be out of date in a few years, how about a fit-over plate? All the
benefits, none of the downsides, and the market now includes existing
houses, not just new ones.
> camera to your computer, you probably hunt for the U.S.B. cable. The
> masterstroke here: this camera has a flip-out U.S.B. jack, just like the
> Flip camcorder. So you never need to pack or find a cable or a card
> reader when you want to transfer pictures; the camera connects right to
> the computer.
So you now have a heavy camera applying force to a tiny plug. When it
breaks - as it inevitably will - you need to get the camera repaired (or
more likely replaced). If the camera came with a pull out length of
cable (even just a few centimetres would do) *that* would be a cool
idea.
> Any customer of Chase Bank (and some customers of USAA, which had the
> idea first) can deposit a check just by taking a picture of it with an
> iPhone or Android phone. Thats right: sign the back, use the app to
> photograph the front and back, type the amount, and tap send.
>
> Youve just made a fully legitimate deposit; at this point, you can
> actually rip up the check.
Might be an idea to hold onto the cheque until it appears on your
statement...
Bah! Humbug!
:-)
Regards, K.
--
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Karl Auer (kauer at biplane.com.au) +61-2-64957160 (h)
http://www.biplane.com.au/kauer/ +61-428-957160 (mob)
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