Will Windows Power the Living Room?

[baracooda]

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.

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. After
all these decades, one still have to use a finger to take a picture
one by one?

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.

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. No machine can replace an actual vacation, at least not
yet.
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.

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.

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.







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.


(e-mail address removed) (baracooda) wrote in message



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/2004/05/27/news_6099472.html

(e-mail address removed) (baracooda) wrote in message



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?

(e-mail address removed) (baracooda) wrote in message



Microsoft's "ultimate" PC will be a robotic PC that look like....
http://funkycoldamoeba.blogspot.com





[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/0,aid,115977,tk,dn050404X,00.asp


==
"Guys are like dogs. They keep coming back. Ladies
are like cats. Yell at a cat one time... they're gone."
-- Lenny Bruce

 

[baracooda]

So this isn't actually a robotic PC, but rather the stereotypical

robot, which of course is a computer(s). There are robots
already, of course, just not evolved enough to be your personal
servant yet. You do still keep ignoring the obvious, that having
this "thing" bring you comm devices or other features is a waste,
since you must already be in contact with it, and as such, you
already have potential comm with the rest of the world. The key
being that the goal is not computers that move themselves but
small enough, light enough, and energy conservative enough that
it's already with you or integral to the environment you're in.

Robotic PC is a product with multiple personality. But, I don't expect
it to be a helpful personal servant any time soon. Perhaps Honda think
otherwise. Unless it is marketed successfully as a toy, even then I
doubt there is a high demand for a personal delivery robot, maybe the
nursing homes.

 

[David Maynard]

So this isn't actually a robotic PC, but rather the stereotypical
robot, which of course is a computer(s). There are robots
already, of course, just not evolved enough to be your personal
servant yet. You do still keep ignoring the obvious, that having
this "thing" bring you comm devices or other features is a waste,
since you must already be in contact with it, and as such, you
already have potential comm with the rest of the world. The key
being that the goal is not computers that move themselves but
small enough, light enough, and energy conservative enough that
it's already with you or integral to the environment you're in.

Quite right.

And if people want to fantasize about mobile robots then the first thing
they need to solve is some way it can actually be agile enough to 'be with
you', or go a reasonable number of places without having to build wheel
ramps for the silly things. Once they get that far one can then start
thinking about useful applications.

A 'rolling desk' just ain't real mobile in the real world.

 

[David Maynard]

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.

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'.

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'.)

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.









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.


(e-mail address removed) (baracooda) wrote in message




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/2004/05/27/news_6099472.html

(e-mail address removed) (baracooda) wrote in message




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?

(e-mail address removed) (baracooda) wrote in message




Microsoft's "ultimate" PC will be a robotic PC that look like....
http://funkycoldamoeba.blogspot.com






[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/0,aid,115977,tk,dn050404X,00.asp


==
"Guys are like dogs. They keep coming back. Ladies
are like cats. Yell at a cat one time... they're gone."
-- Lenny Bruce

 

[David Maynard]

Robotic PC is a product with multiple personality. But, I don't expect
it to be a helpful personal servant any time soon. Perhaps Honda think
otherwise. Unless it is marketed successfully as a toy, even then I
doubt there is a high demand for a personal delivery robot, maybe the
nursing homes.

Ironically enough, wheeled 'delivery' robots is one of the few applications
where they actually work because it is a controlled, known (hence easily
programmed, relatively speaking), environment and 'helper' devices, such as
in-laid floor guides, can be utilized.

Even then it isn't entirely trivial because you have the problem of people
getting in the way.

 

[David Maynard]

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.

with

forth

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that

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for a

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them.

a 'TV'

want a

note

desk


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knows what

in

into a

evolve


with

surface.

Y

don't you

like....

[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.

developers

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0.asp

 

[baracooda]

When comes to deliverying college course or any courses, there are
more than one way to skin a cat. In certain aspect, some ways are
better than the others. But to take college courses from the living
room and still be able to interact not only with the teacher but with
every students in that class in real time(when needed). That is in the
realm of telepresence. Other mode of remote learning often require
advance equipment preparations. In practice, one can convert an
ordinary class into a remote learning class by having a robotic PC
with in the room. Also, please note that providing remote learning
isn't the sole task of this robotic PC.

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.

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.

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 <[email protected]> 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.


(e-mail address removed) (baracooda) wrote in message

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/2004/05/27/news_6099472.html

(e-mail address removed) (baracooda) wrote in message

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?

(e-mail address removed) (baracooda) wrote in message

Microsoft's "ultimate" PC will be a robotic PC that look like....
http://funkycoldamoeba.blogspot.com

Ablang <[email protected]> wrote

[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/0,aid,115977,tk,dn050404X,0 0.asp


==
"Guys are like dogs. They keep coming back. Ladies
are like cats. Yell at a cat one time... they're gone."
-- Lenny Bruce

 

[baracooda]

So does a camera and a TV set. PBS has been doing it for decades, and
without a roving robo-desk I might add.

Such broadcast version provides little or no real time interaction
before during or after the class. Which is a very important part of
the learning process.

Watch the Travel Channel if you don't want to 'go there'.

There are many ways to find out any particular location of interest.
Unless you are the owner of that travel channel. The odds are against
you finding exactly the information that you need.

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'.

There are already toilet seats that spray water right where it is
needed. Quiet common in Japan and rest of the Far East.

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'.)

Agree, new way aren't necessary the better way.

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!"

This is like comparing the price of an automobile with the price of a
single bus ticket. No one buys a car for any particular trip. And
nobody buys a general purpose robot for just one single purpose. In
practice, if a robotic PC can indeed provide a real time active travel
brochure, the resort of that particular travel destination will likely
to provide such robot.

Not yet? WHY in god's name would ANYone EVER want it to 'replace' their
vacation?


'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.

Once proliferated, robotic PC will give human the power of virtual
omnipresence. Not too sure about if there is a demand to see live
volcano super up-close.

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.









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.


(e-mail address removed) (baracooda) wrote in message




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/2004/05/27/news_6099472.html

(e-mail address removed) (baracooda) wrote in message




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?

(e-mail address removed) (baracooda) wrote in message




Microsoft's "ultimate" PC will be a robotic PC that look like....
http://funkycoldamoeba.blogspot.com






[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/0,aid,115977,tk,dn050404X,00.asp


==
"Guys are like dogs. They keep coming back. Ladies
are like cats. Yell at a cat one time... they're gone."
-- Lenny Bruce

 

[David Maynard]

When comes to deliverying college course or any courses, there are
more than one way to skin a cat. In certain aspect, some ways are
better than the others. But to take college courses from the living
room and still be able to interact not only with the teacher but with
every students in that class in real time(when needed). That is in the
realm of telepresence. Other mode of remote learning often require
advance equipment preparations. In practice, one can convert an
ordinary class into a remote learning class by having a robotic PC
with in the room. Also, please note that providing remote learning
isn't the sole task of this robotic PC.

Good luck

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.

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.

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 <[email protected]> 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.


(e-mail address removed) (baracooda) wrote in message

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/2004/05/27/news_6099472.html

(e-mail address removed) (baracooda) wrote in message

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?

(e-mail address removed) (baracooda) wrote in message

Microsoft's "ultimate" PC will be a robotic PC that look
like....

http://funkycoldamoeba.blogspot.com

Ablang <[email protected]> wrote

[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/0,aid,115977,tk,dn050404X,0
0.asp


==
"Guys are like dogs. They keep coming back. Ladies
are like cats. Yell at a cat one time... they're gone."
-- Lenny Bruce

 

[David Maynard]

Such broadcast version provides little or no real time interaction
before during or after the class. Which is a very important part of
the learning process.

Then show UP for class.

There are many ways to find out any particular location of interest.
Unless you are the owner of that travel channel. The odds are against
you finding exactly the information that you need.

The fact of the matter is, no one is going to buy a robot and pay travel
fare for it to go and 'check out' a vacation spot.

There are already toilet seats that spray water right where it is
needed. Quiet common in Japan and rest of the Far East.

It ain't a robot, must less a roving desk.

Agree, new way aren't necessary the better way.



This is like comparing the price of an automobile with the price of a
single bus ticket. No one buys a car for any particular trip. And
nobody buys a general purpose robot for just one single purpose. In
practice, if a robotic PC can indeed provide a real time active travel
brochure, the resort of that particular travel destination will likely
to provide such robot.

Why? When all they need provide is what they're already providing.

Once proliferated, robotic PC will give human the power of virtual
omnipresence.

Nice buzz word but with no practical meaning.

Not too sure about if there is a demand to see live
volcano super up-close.

Since they've already made some for that specific purpose I'd say you've
underestimated the need.

<snip of old stuff>

 

[baracooda]

Then show UP for class.



The fact of the matter is, no one is going to buy a robot and pay travel
fare for it to go and 'check out' a vacation spot.

Mars isn't a vacation spot, yet, but NASA did purchase a few rovers.

It ain't a robot, must less a roving desk.

It operates with a tiny robotic arm that squirts water...

Why? When all they need provide is what they're already providing.

Not so sure about that.

Nice buzz word but with no practical meaning.

If you can make visual and audio contact/interaction with any
things/people in any location in this world, isn't that practically an
omnipresence?

Since they've already made some for that specific purpose I'd say you've
underestimated the need.

few days ago, on history or discovery channel, somebody did try to
send an legged robot down to a volcano.
http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/vw_news/dante.html

 

[David Maynard]

Mars isn't a vacation spot, yet, but NASA did purchase a few rovers.

That's right, it isn't. It's one of those places I mentioned as a practical
use for one: places where humans either can't go or it's too dangerous to go.

It operates with a tiny robotic arm that squirts water...

You're stretching things to the ridiculous and it has no bearing on your
'roving desk'.

Not so sure about that.

You can, of course, make some and try to sell them. I wish you luck.

If you can make visual and audio contact/interaction with any
things/people in any location in this world, isn't that practically an
omnipresence?

Might as well ask if I can be every place in the universe isn't that
omnipresence because, since the premise is unobtainable, the question has
no usefulness.

The fact of the matter is the robot could only be one place at a time and
if you want a semblence of being 'everywhere' you'd come closer to it by
fast channel changing the cable TV while roving the radio shortwave bands.
Not to mention a human can't handle the information from being
'onmipresent' in the first place, 'virtual' or otherwise.

Want two way 'interaction'? Pick up a telephone. The point is, there are
easier ways to do what you claim for the robot.

And don't tell me one of it's features will be to go where there aren't
phone lines because they haven't mastered getting up a curb yet, much less
roving around the country side. Not to mention needing a recharge every 1/2
mile or so, or one heck of a long extension cord.

few days ago, on history or discovery channel, somebody did try to
send an legged robot down to a volcano.
http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/vw_news/dante.html

Yup. That was a rerun. Seen it.