You know you're in the future when...

[efaardvark]

How about augmented reality built into a contact lens?

 

[Animedragon]

7 hours ago, efaardvark said:

How about augmented reality built into a contact lens?

 

The whole idea of wearing contact lenses really creeps me out.

And as for Augmented Reality I have enough trouble with Ordinary Reality.

[efaardvark]

8 hours ago, Animedragon said:

The whole idea of wearing contact lenses really creeps me out

Yeah, I’ll also be skipping this particular bit of kit.  Hopefully by the time my original Mark-1 eyes go completely they’ll have fully bionic replacements because contacts give me the creeps as well.

[efaardvark]

Tesla Semis?  Robot AI?

 

[Animedragon]

7 hours ago, efaardvark said:

Tesla Semis?  Robot AI?

 

I wouldn't like to meet one of those on a dark night, they don't look at all friendly. 

[efaardvark]

1 hour ago, Animedragon said:

I wouldn't like to meet one of those on a dark night, they don't look at all friendly. 

No, they're not friendly at all... at least not the ones controlled by VIKI.

 

Edited November 28, 2022 by efaardvark

[Clayton]

We've had cloning for decades. 

 

 

[efaardvark]

Update on Neuralink.  Warning: 2-hr stream..  deep dive and a lot of technical details!

[Neb]

With how quickly virtual reality is developing and how popular VR headsets are nowadays, I expect them to eventually become a mainstream form of entertainment, at least for the next generation. I imagine it'll be like how the internet is now. Many older people in the future who didn't grow up with it won't know how to fully use the tech and just not use it. I imagine a refusal or inability to fully use VR will likely be a gen Z and millennial stereotype for the upcoming generation that will grow up with it. Virtual reality films, TV shows, games, and voice chat will become more common and the non-VR entertainment that exists now will have VR "remasters" that incorporate a fake depth of field effect. The screen resolutions will likely be better, but vary depending on the price of the headset. I've tried a higher end VR headset at a VR café and have my own budget headset and both have been equally blurry. That's because the current technology just doesn't have high enough resolutions to compensate for how close you have to be to the screen. Once 8k and eventually 16k become widespread, I imagine that blurriness will be less noticeable. 

At the same time I don't think VR will completely replace traditional computer screens or TVs. In the same way that radio still exists despite being dated, I think there will still be plenty of people in the future who will rely on traditional tech. I have always had an eye condition that gives me double vision. As a result I'm more vulnerable to headaches and eye strain. When I wear VR headsets I have to take it off every 30 minutes or else I get a killer headache and my vision splits in two. I imagine people with similar conditions that are worse will not be able to use VR at all. For the sake of those people traditional screens will always have a place.

[efaardvark]

I'm not sure about the age angle.  I'm 56 so I predate both the home computer and the Internet but I'm actually part of a small group of people at work who are actively trying to get VR/AR gear into the operations area of our NOC as a standard tool for visualization and monitoring of realtime data flows, up-to-the-minute documentation, diagnostics, etc.  I think if anything my age group is more likely to take on bits of technology that fulfill a real need since we've been around long enough to know where the bedrock-bottom of it all is.  (Granted it might be different for younger generations who came in somewhere in the middle and don't have that grounding, or who were there but weren't computer nerds who grew up living and breathing the tech as it evolved.)

I do think that one product that Apple, Samsung, and the "PC" players like ASUS, MSI, AMD, Intel, and the rest of the personal computing industry really, really needs to hash out is an interface standard for a compute brick that has all the CPU and networking functions of a computer on the brick itself but none of the user interface.  That would be provided by a separate headset-like device could do the head/eye/hand tracking necessary for the UI in an AR/VR way.  Desktop computers are already most of the way there but cellphones and tablets need to figure it out.  Physically separating the two sets of functions would help the computing industry a lot in terms of finding a new path forward.  I'd like to see VR-era user-interface gear become as simple to use and as commonplace for future computers as the keyboard-mouse-monitor idiom is for computers now.  My personal preference would be an inside-out 6df AR/VR headset capable of hand/head/eye tracking for the UI but there could be others.

[efaardvark]

Will Smith/USR parallels notwithstanding, I think Tesla has another hit on their hands with the Tesla Semi.  If the specs on the new Tesla semi are to be believed then they're going to be extremely popular. With ranges up to 800km/500mi and a capacity of up to 81,000lbs they're appropriate for more than the fringes of the trucking space. Given NO diesel maintenance requirements - not even a gearbox! In a semi!  let that sink in - they'll pay for themselves in just a couple years of use so they're a no-brainer for a lot of transport situations. They'll certainly be a big hit with logistics and accounting departments but looking at the cockpit design, the ease of operation, and the performance I'll bet they're also going  to be popular with the drivers themselves.  (I'd seriously be interested in any thoughts from professional drivers on this video.)  I can see Tesla selling as many of these as they can make and still not meeting demand. Mercedes/Penske and the rest of the recent entrants to the market are outclassed by at least 5 years on the R&D front too, so Tesla basically has the market to themselves.  I can see why a number of them have retreated from the market now that Tesla's entry is here.  Even if the others catch up on the R&D front, Tesla still has the battery supply wrapped up. Barring a repeat of the production problems with their Tesla cars, their semi line is going to be another money-printing machine for the company.
 

Edited December 5, 2022 by efaardvark

[KaiyaSaysHaiya]

you know you're in the future when all the 10 year old boys are moaning and screaming "can I get a hoya"

the future is a scary place

[Animedragon]

1 hour ago, KaiyaSaysHaiya said:

you know you're in the future when all the 10 year old boys are moaning and screaming "can I get a hoya"

the future is a scary place

You know you're in the past when you have to ask "what's a hoya?".

The only hoya I know is the manufacturer filters for cameras.

[KaiyaSaysHaiya]

28 minutes ago, Animedragon said:

You know you're in the past when you have to ask "what's a hoya?".

The only hoya I know is the manufacturer filters for cameras.

I'm not really sure lol

I think it means 'can I get a oh yeah'

I dunno, people are weird (myself included but we don't talk about that)

[Animedragon]

3 hours ago, KaiyaSaysHaiya said:

I dunno, people are weird (myself included but we don't talk about that)

Some people tell me I'm weird. I just tell them I march to the beat of a different drummer.

[efaardvark]

6 hours ago, KaiyaSaysHaiya said:

I'm not really sure lol

I think it means 'can I get a oh yeah'

I dunno, people are weird (myself included but we don't talk about that)

It was one of those social fad things from a number of years back.  (I believe it originated on Vine, which might give you some idea of the era I'm talking about here.)  Somebody says, "can I get a hoya" and the response would be a "hi" or "hey", or some other sort of - hopefully enthusiastic - response.  I'd thought it was long gone but it seems to have recently (re)invaded TikToc however, according to my tiktoc-junkie SIL.

[Clayton]

Keep in mind they have a lot of tech that used to be science fiction. They just don't release it to the public. 

 

I mean look how many people are killed daily by texting. You think they want to give us flying cars?

 

https://www.facebook.com/backtothefutureturkiye/videos/doc-brown-saves-the-world/940154066337966/

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 6, 2022 by Clayton

[Animedragon]

11 hours ago, Clayton said:

Keep in mind they have a lot of tech that used to be science fiction. They just don't release it to the public. 

 

I mean look how many people are killed daily by texting. You think they want to give us flying cars?

 

https://www.facebook.com/backtothefutureturkiye/videos/doc-brown-saves-the-world/940154066337966/

 

 

 

I can assure you that the photocopier cartoon is very real, photocopiers are a sentient species and definitely have it in for us humans.

[Clayton]

They're closing down the last video rental store in town... but here's an example of the near future

 

Edited December 12, 2022 by Clayton

[efaardvark]

3 hours ago, Clayton said:

They're closing down the last video rental store in town... but here's an example of the near future

 

 

I remember Blockbuster.  It was in a strip mall that I used to swing through on my way home from school every day.  Walking of course.

Some days I'd take an alternate way home and stop by the library instead to pick up a couple books or take advantage of the quiet to do homework.


 

Edited December 13, 2022 by efaardvark

[Animedragon]

20 hours ago, efaardvark said:

I remember Blockbuster.  It was in a strip mall that I used to swing through on my way home from school every day.  Walking of course.

Some days I'd take an alternate way home and stop by the library instead to pick up a couple books or take advantage of the quiet to do homework.


 

I remember Blockbuster too. They had a shop in a small shopping arcade that I passed through each morning on my way to work, I sometimes looked in but never actually rented anything. It always amused me that even after they changed from VHS tapes to DVDs the boxes still had the same label with said "Please rewind this tape before returning it".  I've still not worked out how to rewind a DVD.

[efaardvark]

Artemis-1's Orion capsule reentered the Earth's atmosphere at nearly 40,000 kph, or 24,500 mph.  Artemis-2 will follow essentially the same flight plan as Artemis-1.  Artemis-1 was uncrewed but the plan is for Artemis-2 to be carrying astronauts.  That would make those astronauts who ride Orion back down the fastest humans ever.  Period.

I really don't care how fast your car can go. 

Edited December 17, 2022 by efaardvark

[Clayton]

I went to see Sonic 2 in theaters and was the only one to get the video gam  references since nobody else there has seen a Sega Genesis. 

 

Here's the math. In 1990 the Oldies Station played songs from the 50s, 60s, and 70s.

 

That means today N'Sync, Britney Spears, and the Backstreet Boys should be on the Oldies Station. 

Edited December 21, 2022 by Clayton

[efaardvark]

When it has to be there within 60 minutes, Amazon Prime's drone delivery service has you covered.  At least if you're in Lockeford, Calif. or College Station, Texas.  Presumably they'll expand their delivery territory over time.

[efaardvark]

YKYITFW the Earthlings send 184 rockets of 37 different designs from 9 different launch complexes to orbit.  In one year.  That's over 3 launches per week.  All but 8 launches successfully delivered their payloads. It's even more amazing when you realize that most of them were multi-payload launches. Every Starlink launch carried at least 41 satellites for example. Also, several F9 launches were Dragon / CRS missions, 2 of which were Crew Dragons 4 and 5 carrying people as well as cargo to/from the ISS.

This doesn't include any of the sub-orbital rollercoaster joyrides from Virgin Galactic or Blue Origin.  We also have SpaceX's Starship prototype's first orbital launch attempt coming up in "a couple months" (Elon time) to look forward to.  Largest rocket ever, over twice the thrust of the Saturn V, capable of getting 100 tons to orbit in a single launch, and totally reusable.

We're not living in the Apollo era anymore, that's for sure.