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> Beyond 2000 was my favorite growing up. I so miss that program. Always
> liked the opening sequence, too. The title music was catchy.
I remember the opening sequence being *very* futuristic. I don't
remember the music though.
>> Another week, they had a plastic key with a microprocessor inside it.
>> When you stick it in the lock, it transmits a code to the computer in
>> the lock, which makes the door unlock. [Actually, it didn't. The key
>> snapped off in the lock, leaving the presenter to tell us all how
>> wonderful it is, and how this is only a prototype.] It seemed pretty
>> stupid to me, but today electronic locks are all over the place. They
>> just don't make them shaped like mechanical keys any more - because
>> that's silly.
>
> Yep. My FIL's Toyota pretty much has a transceiver in the fob and a
> button you push to start the engine. No key involved. The fob stays in
> your pocket the whole time.
My car is the same.
I still maintain that making a mechanical key out of plastic is a stupid
idea. ;-)
> I wonder how far someone could get, though
> if say, they hopped in your car while you were standing near and took
> off. (Would the car keep running even though it was out of range of the
> fob?)
Given that the batteries in the fob eventually die, it would be a safety
issue if the car just suddenly stopped when that happened. (Or when you
drive past something that emits too much interference.) So I believe
that once the engine is running, anybody that wants to can drive off
with the car.
My car beeps at you if you try to shut the door with the keys outside
the car. It also refuses to lock the doors if the keys are inside. It's
surprising how many times I've put the keys in my bag, pressed the
button, the doors didn't lock, and 2 hours later my car is still there.
I guess people don't go around actually /trying/ to get into cars just
in case they're unlocked. ;-)
>> Unfortunately, towards the end of the show, every invention they
>> featured was "hey, somebody took [random household object] and put a
>> small computer inside it, allowing it to do [list of largely useless
>> functions]". I guess that's why they eventually cancelled it; they just
>> couldn't find genuinely interesting inventions any more.
>
> Yeah, that and the title "Beyond 2000" seems kind of silly for a show
> about futuristic inventions when we're, you know, beyond 2000 already ;)
I think we all knew that flying cars really weren't just around the
corner. ;-)
>> Similarly, cassette was
>> killed not so much by MiniDisk but by a combination of CD-R and
>> ubiquitous MP3 players, not to mention the Internet.
>
> Once people could duplicate a CD, and MP3 went mainstream, yep.
It was possible to make a portable solid-state music player for quite
some time. But with (say) 64MB of flash, why would you bother? That
would be, like, 6 minutes of music.
MP3 is what made it feasible. Now 64MB is nearer an hour of music...
> Cassette
> died. The only way it could survive is if you have an old car radio, but
> I suspect people just simply replace those with something that can play
> CD's full of MP3's anyway.
I wish my car could play compressed CDs. Or even if it just had a CD
changer like the salesman claimed it had... Or, hell, even just a way to
plug in an external sound source.
> I have a feeling the CD is a dying species. Soon everything will either
> be on a high-density ROM or flash chip.
I don't see CD dying anytime soon.
>> I remember seeing the first automatic speed cameras, and thinking this
>> was a neat idea. Oh how wrong I was... ;-)
>
> Terrible, terrible idea.
It's a simple idea, but in practise it doesn't work like it's supposed to.
>> So if this technology is the future... where is it? How come it's
>> completely vanished off the face of existence?
>>
>> There seemed to be some suggesting that the entire IC might work by
>> processing light instead of electricity. I'm sceptical about whether
>> that could work. I'm not aware of any light-based switching technology.
>
> Seems like I saw that Intel was playing with this very thing. Only, as
> you mentioned using light as a replacement for the copper traces, rather
> than the actual switching. And even more interesting, one trace can
> contain several signals by transmitting different wavelengths down one
> path.
The advantage of light is that signals can pass straight through each
other, significantly shortening signal paths. Plus I gather there are
power savings, and a lack of capacitance to worry about.
Then again, if this stuff is so great, where is it?
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On 12/04/2011 21:24, nemesis wrote:
> see, your blog would be much more active if you reserved such texts for
> it. ;)
No, if I put this on my blog, I would have just got no responses at all.
:-P Nobody actually reads my blog. (Well, except me of course...)
> You know you're in the future when you have your telephone, stereo, book
> library, TV set, bank account and games right with you all the time in
> your pocket. And Space Invaders looks better than Star Wars.
Star Wars. How apt. The originals were made at a time when technology
could barely do anything, and they're brilliant. The new ones were made
in a modern age of technical excellence, and they're awful...
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On 18/04/2011 2:59 PM, Invisible wrote:
> I wish my car could play compressed CDs. Or even if it just had a CD
> changer like the salesman claimed it had... Or, hell, even just a way to
> plug in an external sound source.
You could buy something like an iTrip which connects to your MP3 player
and transmits the audio output as an FM radio signal, which is picked up
by your car radio.
--
Regards
Stephen
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On Mon, 18 Apr 2011 15:01:29 +0100, Invisible wrote:
> On 12/04/2011 21:24, nemesis wrote:
>> see, your blog would be much more active if you reserved such texts for
>> it. ;)
>
> No, if I put this on my blog, I would have just got no responses at all.
> :-P Nobody actually reads my blog. (Well, except me of course...)
Again, not true; I have it set up on an RSS feed, so every time you post,
I see it. I may not comment, but that doesn't mean I'm not reading it.
I've told you this before, maybe it'll stick this time. ;)
Jim
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On 4/18/2011 5:31, Mike Raiford wrote:
> (Would the car
> keep running even though it was out of range of the fob?)
And, crossing over from another thread, it's clear that even when someone
provides an owner's manual for something as complex as a car, and there are
features in the car that are completely new to the user, it's obvious that
the user *still* doesn't read the owner's manual. ;-)
The car won't shut off just because the key leaves. The dashboard screams, tho.
--
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
"Coding without comments is like
driving without turn signals."
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Invisible escreveu:
> On 12/04/2011 21:24, nemesis wrote:
>> see, your blog would be much more active if you reserved such texts for
>> it. ;)
>
> No, if I put this on my blog, I would have just got no responses at all.
> :-P Nobody actually reads my blog. (Well, except me of course...)
nobody reads because you keep blogging about dancing instead of
interesting stuff like this? ;)
>> You know you're in the future when you have your telephone, stereo, book
>> library, TV set, bank account and games right with you all the time in
>> your pocket. And Space Invaders looks better than Star Wars.
>
> Star Wars. How apt. The originals were made at a time when technology
> could barely do anything, and they're brilliant. The new ones were made
> in a modern age of technical excellence, and they're awful...
isn't it the same for everything else? Like... music?
They are awful, but still technically excelent.
my point is even games these days look better than Star Wars back
then... :-)
--
a game sig: http://tinyurl.com/d3rxz9
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On Mon, 18 Apr 2011 09:19:12 -0700, Darren New wrote:
> On 4/18/2011 5:31, Mike Raiford wrote:
>> (Would the car
>> keep running even though it was out of range of the fob?)
>
> And, crossing over from another thread, it's clear that even when
> someone provides an owner's manual for something as complex as a car,
> and there are features in the car that are completely new to the user,
> it's obvious that the user *still* doesn't read the owner's manual. ;-)
>
> The car won't shut off just because the key leaves. The dashboard
> screams, tho.
We rented a Prius for our recent vacation, and I wondered about this
myself - but not enough to throw the fobs out the window while going down
the freeway. ;)
I also thought it was funny (and always have) that the rental agencies
put both keys (or fobs, in the case of the Prius) on the same keyring and
you can't take either off the ring.
"If only I had a spare key - oh, I do, and it's locked inside the car
with the other one". ;)
Jim
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On 18/04/2011 16:58, Stephen wrote:
> On 18/04/2011 2:59 PM, Invisible wrote:
>> I wish my car could play compressed CDs. Or even if it just had a CD
>> changer like the salesman claimed it had... Or, hell, even just a way to
>> plug in an external sound source.
>
> You could buy something like an iTrip which connects to your MP3 player
> and transmits the audio output as an FM radio signal, which is picked up
> by your car radio.
Wouldn't that mean that everybody within a 30-meter radius of my car can
illegally pick up the same signals?
Also, would the fact that my car's aerial is missing be a problem?
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On 19/04/2011 8:59 AM, Invisible wrote:
> On 18/04/2011 16:58, Stephen wrote:
>> On 18/04/2011 2:59 PM, Invisible wrote:
>>> I wish my car could play compressed CDs. Or even if it just had a CD
>>> changer like the salesman claimed it had... Or, hell, even just a way to
>>> plug in an external sound source.
>>
>> You could buy something like an iTrip which connects to your MP3 player
>> and transmits the audio output as an FM radio signal, which is picked up
>> by your car radio.
>
> Wouldn't that mean that everybody within a 30-meter radius of my car can
> illegally pick up the same signals?
>
Only if they are tuned to the frequency.
> Also, would the fact that my car's aerial is missing be a problem?
Probably not.
--
Regards
Stephen
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On 4/18/2011 8:59 AM, Invisible wrote:
>> Beyond 2000 was my favorite growing up. I so miss that program. Always
>> liked the opening sequence, too. The title music was catchy.
>
> I remember the opening sequence being *very* futuristic. I don't
> remember the music though.
>
I'm sure it could be found on Youtube. ;)
I remember it started out with the voyager probe, and went from there, I
forget how it all tied together.
>> Yep. My FIL's Toyota pretty much has a transceiver in the fob and a
>> button you push to start the engine. No key involved. The fob stays in
>> your pocket the whole time.
>
> My car is the same.
>
Mine still has the old-fashioned steel (or whatever metal its made out
of, I'm sure it some sort of alloy) key. ;)
> I still maintain that making a mechanical key out of plastic is a stupid
> idea. ;-)
Well, yeah...
>
> Given that the batteries in the fob eventually die, it would be a safety
> issue if the car just suddenly stopped when that happened. (Or when you
> drive past something that emits too much interference.) So I believe
> that once the engine is running, anybody that wants to can drive off
> with the car.
>
Hmm.. Good point, but would make auto theft rather easy. Not much the
owner could do if the car thief jumps in, presses start and takes off
while the owner is distracted.
> My car beeps at you if you try to shut the door with the keys outside
> the car. It also refuses to lock the doors if the keys are inside. It's
> surprising how many times I've put the keys in my bag, pressed the
> button, the doors didn't lock, and 2 hours later my car is still there.
> I guess people don't go around actually /trying/ to get into cars just
> in case they're unlocked. ;-)
Oh, it can tell if the key is inside or outside the car?
>
> I think we all knew that flying cars really weren't just around the
> corner. ;-)
>
Flying cars are impractical. the FAA would never allow it ;) (Sorry,
this is from a USA perspective, but... you get the point, hopefully)
> It was possible to make a portable solid-state music player for quite
> some time. But with (say) 64MB of flash, why would you bother? That
> would be, like, 6 minutes of music.
>
> MP3 is what made it feasible. Now 64MB is nearer an hour of music...
>
Right... Remember when MP3 came out, computing power wasn't really up to
task, either. I remember it took hours to encode a single song.
> I wish my car could play compressed CDs. Or even if it just had a CD
> changer like the salesman claimed it had... Or, hell, even just a way to
> plug in an external sound source.
Mine plays MP3's and has an AUX jack.... I mostly use my Zune, nowadays,
mostly because it's a PITA to burn new CD's when my musical whim
changes. I wish it had an SD or CF port. Also, it tends to be a bit
finicky when it comes to playing MP3's that have been ID3 tagged in a
weird way.
>
> I don't see CD dying anytime soon.
>
Maybe ... Though it will continue on more as CD-R than as pressed CD's.
DVD and Blu-Ray will continue, though.
>>> I remember seeing the first automatic speed cameras, and thinking this
>>> was a neat idea. Oh how wrong I was... ;-)
>>
>> Terrible, terrible idea.
>
> It's a simple idea, but in practise it doesn't work like it's supposed to.
>
Right. I don't like the idea of a machine determining whether I get a
ticket or not. The machine can't weigh the circumstances, or let a
first-time offender slide. The machine treats everyone exactly the same,
regardless of their situation or offense record.
Now, you could say that's fairness in the most absolute sense, but,
sometimes its best to allow a human being to intervene.
> The advantage of light is that signals can pass straight through each
> other, significantly shortening signal paths. Plus I gather there are
> power savings, and a lack of capacitance to worry about.
>
> Then again, if this stuff is so great, where is it?
Well, we now have laser diodes that can work at several wavelengths now,
so ... we're not far off. Before it just wasn't feasible. But yes, the
beams can cross, and signals can be multiplexed by wavelength.
--
~Mike
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