Are handhelds obsolete?

[mike wightman]

Another thing to consider.

How many TV's do you have?

Now imagine them in 10 years - smart TV's with gesture and voice recognition that learn about you every time you interact with them.

You will end up talking to your house as if it is a person...

goodness knows what a TL15 house will be like

 

[Ben W Bell]

Another thing to consider.

How many TV's do you have?

Now imagine them in 10 years - smart TV's with gesture and voice recognition that learn about you every time you interact with them.

I know you're thinking future, but the scary thing is the current gen Smart TVs already do this. Your future is actually present past

Personally I expect to buy one more television as we define it now, and the next time will be a plastic paper type substance I put on the wall and I can program every wall surface to show what I want.

 

[mike wightman]

I know what you mean. A friend of mine just got a smart TV.

What I am imagining is a smart TV with full gesture and voice recognition, an AI superior to SIRI so it learns about you faster, and each TV, radio, electronic device being networked within the home.

10 years is probably too conservative an estimate

 

[coliver988]

Google glasses. They expect consumer versions by the end of the year. They've already got 'bionic' eyes in testing, giving sight to blind people under certain circumstances. So things will get smaller or displaced. I fully expect that within a few more years your PC will be your phone that you drop into a station for better IO. There already are a few versions of this now, but I expect full PC power by the end of this decade.

Things are moving really, really fast technology-wise. I'm reading and writing this on a tablet I can take anyplace (well, anyplace with WiFi) and at least consume stuff.

The downside of technological portability is loss or theft. Much easier to lose your computer in the sofa cushions or have it stolen. Check on NYC and theft rates...

 

[HG_B]

I fully expect that within a few more years your PC will be your phone that you drop into a station for better IO. There already are a few versions of this now, but I expect full PC power by the end of this decade.

Current and near future hardware advances don't support that contention.

 

[aramis]

I know you're thinking future, but the scary thing is the current gen Smart TVs already do this. Your future is actually present past

Personally I expect to buy one more television as we define it now, and the next time will be a plastic paper type substance I put on the wall and I can program every wall surface to show what I want.

Only the top end do this, and many people lack the infrastructual supports for it (like high speed networking).

So it's still "future" for it to be anything resembling "normal".

 

[Jame]

How about rephrasing to: Do you think hand held computers and comms will be uncommon by TL8+ Traveller??

I predict that we'll eventually develop subdermacomps like in 2300AD.



That I'd go for - I have even less interest in google glasses than I do in smartphones. Give me a computer that isn't a phone or glasses!

 

[SpaceBadger]

I predict that we'll eventually develop subdermacomps like in 2300AD.

I dunno, maybe I'm just not a good candidate for cyberware, but the stuff about subdermacomps and subdermacalcs just made me queasy. Why implant that stuff under my skin when I could just wear it on my wrist or my belt or in my pocket? (Especially the subdermacalc - who the heck would have that kind of surgery just to have a calculator always available?)

 

[Dragoner]

I dunno, maybe I'm just not a good candidate for cyberware, but the stuff about subdermacomps and subdermacalcs just made me queasy. Why implant that stuff under my skin when I could just wear it on my wrist or my belt or in my pocket? (Especially the subdermacalc - who the heck would have that kind of surgery just to have a calculator always available?)

The tv show continuum has an interesting take on the subject, she has contacts and other overlays.

 

[Fritz_Brown]

I dunno, maybe I'm just not a good candidate for cyberware, but the stuff about subdermacomps and subdermacalcs just made me queasy. Why implant that stuff under my skin when I could just wear it on my wrist or my belt or in my pocket? (Especially the subdermacalc - who the heck would have that kind of surgery just to have a calculator always available?)

I agree with this. One of the "big things" for vacations nowadays is someplace that is literally out of cell phone range and has no available wi-fi; or you have to leave your phone and computer at a check-in point. Because people are constantly connected - how do you get away? If you have this stuff actually built-in, how do you ever unplug?

 

[atpollard]

Do you think hand held computers and comms will be uncommon compared to hands free portable(*1) systems by TL8+ Traveller?

I agree that keyboards will eventually join 'mechanical typewriters' as museum displays.

The smart phone/PDA/handcomp is already leaning more and more to voice recognition and the same technology is showing up in automobiles with ever increasing frequency. People do prefer text messages, but the people that I know who use such technology are all happy to exchange the tiny touch screen keyboard for talking to the device (they just wish that the voice recognition was a little better).

I think that the laptop computer's size is closely tied to the required size for the physical keyboard and screen. IF (a giant assumption) some other interface replaces looking at a flat screen and touching a QWERTY keyboard, then the form of a 'laptop' will dramatically change to something closer to a small box that will fit in an over-sized pocket on your hip ... a large handcomp. A thin film holographic projector (already exists) that you set out on any flat surface or a netbook sized box with the holo-projector mounted on one side could functionally replace the computer screen ... add on an IR sensor to allow the hologram to accept physical input and you can kiss the keyboard and mouse goodbye as well.

For those desiring 'privacy' while they work (like on the train), a pair of eyeglass micro screens and a small microphone could allow discreet operation.

Of course most of the holographic interfaces are Traveller TL 13, so conventional screens and keyboards will set a lower limit on size for many Traveller TLs to come.

One other thought, at some point well before TL 13, broadcast power may render batteries obsolete for personal electronics ... a 5 minute battery life just to get you over some small power glitches like entering or leaving a building or walking past a local dead spot.

 

[HG_B]

One other thought, at some point well before TL 13, broadcast power may render batteries obsolete for personal electronics ... a 5 minute battery life just to get you over some small power glitches like entering or leaving a building or walking past a local dead spot.

IMTU that happens by the end of TL 8 (for urban areas & shipboard).

 

[Fritz_Brown]

For those desiring 'privacy' while they work (like on the train), a pair of eyeglass micro screens and a small microphone could allow discreet operation.

If your lips are moving - and particularly if there's sound coming out of them - it isn't discreet enough. Besides, "5,286,547.7639" is a LOT faster/easier to type than it is to say "five million, two hundred eighty six thousand, five hundred and forty seven, point, seven six three nine". (And, you don't type the thousands separators in most applications.)

 

[atpollard]

If your lips are moving - and particularly if there's sound coming out of them - it isn't discreet enough. Besides, "5,286,547.7639" is a LOT faster/easier to type than it is to say "five million, two hundred eighty six thousand, five hundred and forty seven, point, seven six three nine". (And, you don't type the thousands separators in most applications.)

Heck, the citizens of the Imperium appear to have no problem wearing a helmet just-in-case some psion is trying to read their minds, so a "psi-helmet" seems a reasonable o: option if you really need THAT much privacy while riding on the shuttle and talking to your handcomp.

To your second point, FASTER I admit to, but EASIER I have some doubts about. In general, I see more of a trend towards voice recognition and spoken commands than I see a push for full-size ergonomic keyboards for iPads, iPods, iPhones, tablets and smart electronics (like cars). If you really wanted a keyboard interface, one option is to just buy a keyboard and use it rather than the voice command ... sort of like leaving the TV remote in a draw and changing the channel manually. A second option is gloves that track finger movements and glasses that HUD a virtual keyboard that only you can see (which offers the advantages of a keyboard without the bulk).

Since this is all about fantasy and sci-fi, a cyberpunk staple is the goggles or 'jack' to replace the current computer screens and the console-jockey's favorite keyboard (with a motherboard built in) slung across his back. So keyboards should maintain a loyal niche market in Traveller even if the world in general goes to talking computers.

 

[savage]

qwerty?

Handhelds probably will exist in one form or another...the QWERTY keyboard may be an optional touch screen forever but with googles really be the end game for technology. No, I'm not a fan of animal testing but this is pretty amazing science:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain–computer_interface