__/ [ The Ghost In The Machine ] on Thursday 04 January 2007 16:22 \__
> In comp.os.linux.advocacy, Roy Schestowitz
> <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> wrote
> on Thu, 04 Jan 2007 07:53:24 +0000
> <5772909.VGEfx5fSG5@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
>> A Robot in Every Home
>
> Hmph. Somebody's not been reading their Asimov. :-)
>
> http://www.irobot.com/
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Robots
>
>>
>> ,----[ Quote ]
>> | Although a few of the domestic robots of tomorrow may resemble
>> | the anthropomorphic machines of science fiction, a greater number
>> | are likely to be mobile peripheral devices that perform
>> | ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>> | specific household tasks.
>> | ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>> `----
>>
>>
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=9312A198-E7F2-99DF-31DA639D6C4BA567&ref=sciam
>>
>> Only in a 6-bedroom house in Seattle. How is that kettle with Wi-Fi that
>> delivers people the weather coming along? Are people in rural India buying
>> it like cupcakes yet? The man remains out of touch with the world's needs
>> and dangers.
>
> Personally, I for one think that the most likely
> application will be a computer control system somewhere
> in the basement. This system would interact with the
> Internet, control lighting, power, phone usage, and media,
> and generally be the "nerve center" of the home.
>
> Things like Roomba(tm)s might also be used for multiple
> purposes; the Roomba is after all a floor cleaner, but
> it can also act as a sentinel (though a set of fixed
> cameras might be slightly cheaper). The main problem is
> battery life.
>
>>
>>
>> Related:
>>
>> Gates: Why I Hate Spam
>>
>> ,----[ Quote ]
>> | But spam is worse than irritating. It is a drain on business
>> | productivity, an increasingly costly waste of time and resources that
>> | clogs corporate networks and distracts workers...
>> `----
>>
>> http://tinyurl.com/8ne8o (Microsoft.com, from WSJ)
I think my opinion was taken out of context. I was trying to suggest that, to
Bill Gates, the world is that wealthy little bubble in Seattle. Making
statements about car accidents ending, for example, is unrealistic, unless
of course you're looking generations ahead. Besides, the world has much
greater problems to cope with. The Japanese and American niche for robotics
is not representative of all.
I'm all for automation and my apartment is quite 'digital', but I don't think
you can transform everything into a personal vision. Gates has been trying
(for many years in fact) to inject that Tablet PC concept, very
unsuccessfully. Forcefeeding of Vista with its hefty hardware requirement
(cost) is proving hard enough already... while at the same time Gates admit
that DRM---the main 'feature' is Vista---is an utter PITA. Look at US
businesses. Many of them still run Windows 2000... if only it was less Swiss
a cheese, I'm sure even fewer would be inclined to upgrade... Microsoft
backward compatibility 'pinch/squeeze' aside...
--
~~ Best wishes for the new year!
Roy S. Schestowitz | "Double your drive space - delete Windows"
http://Schestowitz.com | GNU/Linux | PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
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