-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Billie Walsh wrote:
<snip> >> And will fail miserably in a the real-world, where people do >> things like put coffee-cups, magazines, and other assorted >> items on their tables. > > Luddite! > > It's intended to have things put on it. It's a completely interactive > surface. Put your keys on the table. Someone else puts down a couple > magazines. You move things around to get your music going. Now your keys > are under a magazine. Next morning you can't find your keys. The house > computer knows they are on the coffee table under the November QST. Why? > Because it recognizes the magazine and your keys and can keep track of > whats where. Can't find yopur cheaters? The house computer knows you > left them on your desk under that manual you printed out last night. > Taken to another extreme. You put down your coffee cup and the "surface" > recognizes the need and heats the surface where the cup is sitting. Take > off you coffee cup and put down a glass of iced tea and it now cools > that spot. > Will it do toast :-D Right that would be OK for coffee, but not so much use if you put your beer down (unless you are drinking gluh bier ...).. :-) On a more serious note, the kind of AI to this kind of thing is still a a very long way away, and we are not talking a few years, more like a few decades..... a) To do this you need good pattern recognition. Neural net based applications a still more than a bit limited in accuracy, reliability and range of usage. Finger scanning yes, facial recognition not yet by a long way. b) The cognitive A.I. to deal with the semantics, intent, and action interpretation of human activity does not exist outside the lab. >>> I'm sure such things are still a few years in the future >> but............ >> >> It's a ridiculously stupid idea to think that this sort >> of thing will be in a coffee-table in every one's home While I would not call it stupid, I think something like holographic keyboards and displays are likely to be more cost effective (and you would not need a special table).... This kind of stuff is not new or original .... <snip> > Never count out technology. About a hundred years ago todays world would > have been completely inconceivable to most people. When Star Trek came > out it was beyond cutting edge. I now have a communicator laying on my > desk that is smaller and has more power and features that Kirk's > communicator. It's called a Motorola Razor. My car has more raw Umm.. I have heard it reported that the Scandinavians were inspired by the Star Trek communicator in their early mobile phone designs... <snip> > People said the Wright brothers were "ridiculous" but Boing is getting > ready to unveil a one thousand (1000) passenger airliner. People said > that going to the moon was "ridiculous" but we have been there and could > be there to stay if the will was there. People used to say it was > "ridiculous" to think anyone would want/need a computer in their home. > How many do you have. We have five that run pretty much 24/7 and have > had as high as eight or ten at any given time. People also were saying that we would be have an active base on the Moon by 2000, and we have not been back for 20 years or so.... If you look some of the futurogist predictions from the 1950, 1960 and 1970 of what we would have and be doing now and compare them to what we actually have the incongruences can be startling. <snip> >> >>> Then there's the Star Trek computer. Well.............maybe not quite >>> THAT computer but voice interface. I've never actually tried working >>> with it but I have seen demos of voice recognition software that were <snip> >>> THEN, there's something that is still pretty much in the toy phase, but >>> looks like a REALLY neat toy. It's looks like an ink pen. You write on >>> paper then plug it into the computer and it puts what you wrote in a >>> document. I've seen it at Wal Mart at Christmas time. Sells for about >>> $80US. Name is "Fly...... " [ something ]. >> They've been on the market for several years now. That's an idea >> that's actually useful and innovative. > > I just can't quite turn loose with $80US for an "ink pen". No matter how > neat a toy it is. > Old hat! been around for more than five years but people only buy the things as a gimmick.... I think it a bit interesting how some technology that some technophiles think is really cool never quite make it in the rest of the world... >>> I wouldn't count out the keyboard just yet but there are technologies >>> out there that could go a long way towards moving it to the back of the >>> desk. Also wouldn't say that the keyboard will ever go completely away. >>> When the high tech stuff breaks the keyboard will still work. >> And more than that, among someone who is skilled, it's >> far more reliable than voice recognition ever will be. >> Fingers don't have drawls, twangs, or other vocal accents. I still remember trying to train Via Voice when it was set to train from an American accent... the training slightly self destructed on the occasional outbursts of hysterical laughter caused by some of the more ridiculous interpretations of what was being said... UK english was only marginally better (or worse depending on viewpoint..) >> >> > Voice recognition software is still very much in it's infancy. For > people that work with it every day it can be VERY effective. The trick > right now is that you have to be one person and one computer every time. > BUT, that doesn't mean that it would be impossible to improve it to the > point where anyone could use it on any computer. Just that there hasn't > been any "need" to do the work to get it there. Right now it's kind of a > niche software. The problem with voice recognition and computer control is not only has the computer got correctly identify what has been said but also correctly interpret what has been said. (There was interesting blooper this year By microsoft when they seemed to have cloned Santa with Eliza and got a Santa which gave some rather inappropriate responses). On the interpretation element an English speaking human would have problems with the following statement... "She killed the man with the knife" which has two meanings. Poor dumb computer has no chance with this one at the moment.... ( and of course you have got to take into account the bright spark who shouts delete all over your shoulder ... :-) ).... - -- ============================================================================== I have always wished that my computer would be as easy to use as my telephone. My wish has come true. I no longer know how to use my telephone. Bjarne Stroustrup ============================================================================== -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.5 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with SUSE - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFHhQA0asN0sSnLmgIRAstIAJ9e91o5BdyWTiVLiKEitrLdHLl7MACg4uOw F/vTHMz+5m6qcpCZ54DlgK8= =0rTC -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
