1 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:07,840 Speaker 1: Welcome to text Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 3 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:18,119 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland, Diamond executive producer with I Heart Radio and 4 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:21,360 Speaker 1: how the tech are you. You're likely to hear a 5 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:25,320 Speaker 1: similar intro in a little bit with my old tagline 6 00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:29,600 Speaker 1: possibly uh. I am bringing you a rerun because it's 7 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:33,360 Speaker 1: the new year, Happy New Year, and we are off today, 8 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:36,240 Speaker 1: but of course I wanted to send you an episode 9 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:39,680 Speaker 1: your way. So this is an episode that originally published 10 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:44,800 Speaker 1: on January one, so not quite two years old. Now. 11 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:48,320 Speaker 1: It's called the c e S Products That Never Made It. 12 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:53,239 Speaker 1: I decided to rerun this one because this week is 13 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:56,920 Speaker 1: when c e S Tree is taking place. I am, 14 00:00:56,920 --> 00:01:00,600 Speaker 1: of course I'm not there, my old be covering it 15 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:05,679 Speaker 1: from the comforts of my home office, which honestly is 16 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: pretty nice. I do miss seeing all my colleagues at 17 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:11,960 Speaker 1: c e S. That was always the highlight for me. 18 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:14,840 Speaker 1: I mean, it was great seeing tech in person and 19 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:17,840 Speaker 1: occasionally getting hands on experience with it. That was awesome. 20 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:21,240 Speaker 1: I'm not I don't wish to dismiss that is a 21 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:25,440 Speaker 1: really incredible experience, but it's the people who really made 22 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:28,440 Speaker 1: it truly special. So I will miss that, and I've 23 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:31,360 Speaker 1: got friends out there. Hi, Shannon, hope you're having a 24 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:36,199 Speaker 1: great time out there, but yeah, I'm gonna be home anyway. 25 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:40,080 Speaker 1: One of the things about C E S that typically 26 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:44,200 Speaker 1: gets a little frustrating over time is that not everything 27 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:47,400 Speaker 1: you'll see when you're at the show will ever actually 28 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 1: make it to market. Sometimes it's because the thing you're 29 00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:55,120 Speaker 1: looking as a prototype. Sometimes it's because the company that 30 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 1: was going to introduce it doesn't exist anymore later on 31 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:02,480 Speaker 1: in the year. So I thought you would enjoy this 32 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:06,240 Speaker 1: episode from January one the C E S products that 33 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:12,320 Speaker 1: never made it. Now, sometimes we see a product that 34 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:15,760 Speaker 1: isn't bad, it's just ahead of its time. The implementation 35 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:18,600 Speaker 1: of the technology might be a little on the crude side, 36 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:22,040 Speaker 1: and the price tag might be a lot on the 37 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:25,000 Speaker 1: high side, and so an idea, while a good one, 38 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 1: might not go very far. That might be why the 39 00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:33,840 Speaker 1: robot called Genus never really had a chance. Genus that's 40 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:38,000 Speaker 1: g E n U S debuted at c S N. 41 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:43,359 Speaker 1: The robot looks a little bit like a pedestal on wheels, 42 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:46,440 Speaker 1: kind of similar to some of the robots that Samsung 43 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:50,320 Speaker 1: showed off at the c E S T one like uh, 44 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:55,600 Speaker 1: like the the bot Handy robot. However, the Genus robot 45 00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:58,679 Speaker 1: is a little more angular. It's not quite so smooth 46 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:02,880 Speaker 1: and round as the other robots are. It's also quintessentially 47 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:05,600 Speaker 1: eighties in style, so I recommend you check it out. 48 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:10,440 Speaker 1: The promotional pamphlet for Genus said it is quote fully 49 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:15,760 Speaker 1: programmed for beginners, yet is programmable for advanced users end quote. 50 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:20,160 Speaker 1: Now clearly, the Robotics International Corporation, which was the company 51 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 1: behind Genus, saw how personal computers were beginning to take 52 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:27,480 Speaker 1: off in the consumer market, and they knew that they 53 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:30,520 Speaker 1: would need to remove some of the barriers of entry 54 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: for the average person, that is, the average wealthy person. 55 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:38,800 Speaker 1: Because this robot, depending on the options you picked, could 56 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 1: cost upwards of twelve thousand dollars in ninety three, and 57 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:48,120 Speaker 1: when we adjust that for inflation, that's more than thirty 58 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:52,560 Speaker 1: thousand bucks today, a princely s I mean you could 59 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:56,440 Speaker 1: buy a car for that. Anyway, Genus was to have 60 00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:59,800 Speaker 1: a lot of cool features that we would later m 61 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:04,040 Speaker 1: much later seeing products like the Roomba. It was supposed 62 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:06,360 Speaker 1: to be able to learn your home and map out 63 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:09,560 Speaker 1: the environment and learn where obstacles were, so it could 64 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 1: avoid bumping into things and maneuver around. It could return 65 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:16,279 Speaker 1: to its charging station on its own when its batteries 66 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:19,240 Speaker 1: got got really low. Uh. It could even be equipped 67 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:22,000 Speaker 1: with a vacuum. So gosh, I mean it was a roomba. 68 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:24,840 Speaker 1: I mean not really. It wasn't like an official roomba, 69 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:27,800 Speaker 1: but you get what I mean. The technology behind this 70 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 1: was pretty impressive for the day. It included stuff like 71 00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:35,120 Speaker 1: a computer system with at least forty eight whole killer 72 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:39,960 Speaker 1: bytes of memory. Yalza, had a CRT display, had an 73 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:43,080 Speaker 1: optional keyboard so you could program it if you wanted to, 74 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:49,159 Speaker 1: had passive smoke detectors, motion detectors, and more. But Genus 75 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:52,719 Speaker 1: never got much further than its debut at CES and 76 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:59,000 Speaker 1: Robotics International Corporation would dissolve sometime in nine. Well, I 77 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:01,960 Speaker 1: think the product was far too ambitious for the time. 78 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:05,440 Speaker 1: It was certainly an indicator of where things would eventually 79 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:07,880 Speaker 1: end up, although it would take a couple of decades, 80 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:12,080 Speaker 1: and we're still seeing companies like the aforementioned Samsung introduced 81 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:16,560 Speaker 1: large robots at c E S, so that trend continues 82 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:18,919 Speaker 1: as well. We don't tend to see those large robots 83 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:22,240 Speaker 1: actually getting adopted into the consumer market. But we see 84 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:25,080 Speaker 1: a lot of that technology kind of trickled down into 85 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:30,440 Speaker 1: other implementations like roombot. Speaking of Samsung and robots, we're 86 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:33,760 Speaker 1: still waiting on BALI, that's the spherical robot that the 87 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:37,599 Speaker 1: company showed off at c E S. For that matter, 88 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:42,640 Speaker 1: we're still waiting on scout About. What's scout about? You ask, Well, 89 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:46,920 Speaker 1: it's about always being prepared if I remember correctly. Huh, 90 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:51,479 Speaker 1: how's a joke. No, really, The scout About was the 91 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:54,680 Speaker 1: name of a line of robots Samsung showed off at 92 00:05:54,720 --> 00:06:00,000 Speaker 1: c E S. The scout About robots look like little 93 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:03,599 Speaker 1: old domes on wheels. I read one review that said 94 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:06,400 Speaker 1: it looked like little motorcycle helmets that were scooting around. 95 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:10,160 Speaker 1: They could roam autonomously around your home, and the purpose 96 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:12,960 Speaker 1: of the scout About was to monitor your home for 97 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:16,520 Speaker 1: the purposes of safety. It was to have ultrasonic sensors 98 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:19,520 Speaker 1: as well as a passive infrared system, and it would 99 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:23,919 Speaker 1: let the robot sense everything from sounds to the presence 100 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:27,160 Speaker 1: of smoke. And it also had a temperature sensor if 101 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:30,440 Speaker 1: it were to detect a danger like a fire or 102 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:33,159 Speaker 1: someone breaking a window to gain entry to a house, 103 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:36,080 Speaker 1: it could sound an alarm and phone home to a 104 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:40,760 Speaker 1: security service, which then could coordinate with authorities. Samsung said 105 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:43,320 Speaker 1: the plan was for the robots to hit the market 106 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:47,640 Speaker 1: by early spring of nineteen, with a price of somewhere 107 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:51,480 Speaker 1: between a thousand and fifteen hundred dollars. So again, this 108 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:55,760 Speaker 1: is n that would be somewhere between eighteen hundred and 109 00:06:55,760 --> 00:07:00,200 Speaker 1: twenty seven dollars today. However, the scout about never it 110 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:03,760 Speaker 1: came out. Now, I'm not saying that last year's Bali 111 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:07,440 Speaker 1: robot will also never come out, Nor am I saying 112 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:11,560 Speaker 1: that Samsung's bought Handy robot demonstrated this year's virtual c 113 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:16,880 Speaker 1: e s will never come out. But I wouldn't hold 114 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:20,640 Speaker 1: my breath. All that being said, I think it's only 115 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:23,120 Speaker 1: fair I point out that, at least in some cases, 116 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:27,280 Speaker 1: it's not so much about a specific product, but rather 117 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:33,320 Speaker 1: the advancement of the technologies that power that prototype or concept. So, 118 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:36,680 Speaker 1: in other words, the bot Handy, which Samsung showed off 119 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:39,320 Speaker 1: picking up a bottle of wine and pouring a glass 120 00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:43,080 Speaker 1: of wine for somebody, or another video where it showed 121 00:07:43,120 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 1: the robot filling up a dishwasher. It's not really necessarily 122 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:49,880 Speaker 1: about the robot. It's showing off something that actually is 123 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:53,200 Speaker 1: pretty darn cool, and that's the fact that the AI 124 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:57,400 Speaker 1: guiding this robot gives the robot guidance on how hard 125 00:07:57,520 --> 00:07:59,960 Speaker 1: or soft the robot's grip should be whenever it picked 126 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:03,360 Speaker 1: up something. You know, we humans get a pretty intuitive 127 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:06,000 Speaker 1: grasp on that kind of stuff to use a pun, 128 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:11,400 Speaker 1: but for robots it's different. A robot doesn't innately know 129 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:15,240 Speaker 1: how tightly it needs to grip something, and so it 130 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:18,960 Speaker 1: might approach a cinder block or a breeze block for 131 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:22,680 Speaker 1: you folks in the UK, and a delicate champagne glass 132 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:26,400 Speaker 1: with the same amount of gripping force. That would probably 133 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:28,800 Speaker 1: not work out so well. It would either be two 134 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:30,560 Speaker 1: week a grip for the center block and so it 135 00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:32,800 Speaker 1: wouldn't be able to pick it up, or it would 136 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:37,440 Speaker 1: crush the glass and it's mighty robotic hand. Either way, 137 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:41,040 Speaker 1: not exactly the result you're looking for now. All that 138 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:44,080 Speaker 1: being said, the scout about was being demonstrated as if 139 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:47,079 Speaker 1: it were actually about to go on the market, so 140 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:50,400 Speaker 1: that particular example doesn't really fit into the hole. This 141 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:53,480 Speaker 1: is more about showing off a technology than making an 142 00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:57,600 Speaker 1: actual product kind of thing. So maybe that was Samsung 143 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:01,480 Speaker 1: learning its lesson. Some times the stuff we see at 144 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:04,120 Speaker 1: C E S is really just meant to grab our 145 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:08,559 Speaker 1: attention period and doesn't indicate a sincere desire to bring 146 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:11,560 Speaker 1: a product to market. I'm pretty sure that was the 147 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:14,920 Speaker 1: thinking that went into the twenty twenty robot marketed by 148 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:18,800 Speaker 1: Sherman that is, the toilet paper company, and it was 149 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:24,920 Speaker 1: called robot because that's genius, but not genus anyway. The 150 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:28,040 Speaker 1: company had a booth set up complete with a toilet 151 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:31,280 Speaker 1: where you could test out this robot, though you were 152 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:35,720 Speaker 1: encouraged to, you know, not actually use the toilet. The 153 00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:40,200 Speaker 1: things you learn after experience. So you would sit on 154 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:42,800 Speaker 1: the throne and you would call out for precious t 155 00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:46,720 Speaker 1: P allegedly by using an app on your smartphone, and 156 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:50,680 Speaker 1: a little two wheeled self balancing robot with a face 157 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:53,680 Speaker 1: plate that looked kind of like a a semi abstract 158 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:57,160 Speaker 1: bear face, you know, very like like children's drawing kind 159 00:09:57,160 --> 00:09:59,640 Speaker 1: of bare face. The robot also had little ears on 160 00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:02,280 Speaker 1: top of that that the toilet paper roll would sit between, 161 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:05,040 Speaker 1: and it would wheel out with that roll of toilet 162 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:08,320 Speaker 1: paper on balanced on top of its head, uh, you know, 163 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:11,800 Speaker 1: flat side down obviously, otherwise it just roll all over 164 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:14,079 Speaker 1: the place. And there was no way to see how 165 00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:17,160 Speaker 1: the robot, which had no arms, is just the wheels 166 00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:19,319 Speaker 1: and a box, and the toilet paper roll would be 167 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:21,280 Speaker 1: on top of the box. There's no way to see 168 00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:24,320 Speaker 1: how the robot would get the roll of toilet paper 169 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:27,240 Speaker 1: balanced on its head in the first place. I'm pretty 170 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:30,840 Speaker 1: sure there's just some poor booth attendee behind the scenes 171 00:10:30,840 --> 00:10:33,920 Speaker 1: whose job it was to place rolls of toilet paper 172 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:36,520 Speaker 1: on the self balancing robot before it would wheel out 173 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:39,360 Speaker 1: of its alcove to the rescue. Again, this was never 174 00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:41,959 Speaker 1: really meant to come across as a real product. It 175 00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:45,440 Speaker 1: was more of a marketing gimmick. It is too bad, however, 176 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:49,040 Speaker 1: because as we saw in getting hold of toilet paper 177 00:10:49,160 --> 00:10:51,480 Speaker 1: was sometimes a challenge, and it would be really useful 178 00:10:51,520 --> 00:10:54,400 Speaker 1: to have a robot bear do battle for you in 179 00:10:54,559 --> 00:10:58,240 Speaker 1: grocery stores to get t P. But that was not 180 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:03,959 Speaker 1: meant to be Moving on. In five two years after 181 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:08,600 Speaker 1: Genus rolled around at CS Commodore, the computer company that 182 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:11,320 Speaker 1: had been a real contender in the early days of 183 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:15,520 Speaker 1: home computers, revealed a portable computer and what's amazing is 184 00:11:15,559 --> 00:11:18,719 Speaker 1: that this one did not weigh a ton. A lot 185 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:22,800 Speaker 1: of the early portable laptops were portable in name only. 186 00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:26,600 Speaker 1: They typically had a handle like a briefcase, and it 187 00:11:26,679 --> 00:11:30,000 Speaker 1: required a strong back to lug around places. But the 188 00:11:30,040 --> 00:11:33,160 Speaker 1: Commodore l c D tipped the scales and a smelt 189 00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:37,720 Speaker 1: five pounds or about two point three kilograms. The Commodore 190 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:40,679 Speaker 1: l c D looked a bit like a truncated laptop, 191 00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:44,640 Speaker 1: or maybe like a typewriter connected to a small flip 192 00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:48,120 Speaker 1: up l c D screen. That screen could display up 193 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:51,240 Speaker 1: to sixteen lines of text, and it could run a 194 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:54,960 Speaker 1: subset of software that was programmed for Commodore computers, but 195 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:57,720 Speaker 1: the l c D was not fully compatible with the 196 00:11:57,720 --> 00:12:02,160 Speaker 1: Commodore desktop line. Had a Rockwell sixty five C one 197 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:06,080 Speaker 1: O two processor running at a blistering one mega hurts 198 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:09,680 Speaker 1: clock speed. It boasted thirty two kilobytes of memory, but 199 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:13,640 Speaker 1: it was expandable up to sixty four kilobytes. Now. While 200 00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:16,800 Speaker 1: the company didn't announce a price for the planned product, 201 00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:20,760 Speaker 1: analysts estimated that it would have likely retailed for around 202 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:26,040 Speaker 1: six hundred dollars, and in that would be let's see 203 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:30,560 Speaker 1: for today's money about one thousand, one forty bucks. This 204 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:34,880 Speaker 1: project became the victim of internal politics at Commodore, or 205 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:37,920 Speaker 1: so the story goes. So the way the story works 206 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:42,000 Speaker 1: is that the CEO of Commodore, Marshall Smith, was talking 207 00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:46,480 Speaker 1: to John Roach, the CEO of Tandy, another company that 208 00:12:46,559 --> 00:12:50,640 Speaker 1: was selling home computers, and during that conversation, Roach told 209 00:12:50,679 --> 00:12:55,880 Speaker 1: Smith that l c D s were going nowhere fast baby. Subsequently, 210 00:12:55,920 --> 00:12:59,120 Speaker 1: Smith decided to cancel the Commodore l c D project, 211 00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:02,760 Speaker 1: along with all other l c D related projects at Commodore, 212 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:06,600 Speaker 1: and legend says that only five prototypes of the Commodore 213 00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:09,480 Speaker 1: l c D were ever made, but only two of 214 00:13:09,520 --> 00:13:13,440 Speaker 1: them have ever been officially verified. Let's jump around in 215 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:16,520 Speaker 1: time a bit and more and head up to I 216 00:13:16,559 --> 00:13:20,320 Speaker 1: was actually at that ce S. One of the ways 217 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:22,720 Speaker 1: that companies will try to stand out from the crowd 218 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:26,679 Speaker 1: is to tap celebrities to announce or endorse products. I 219 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:30,360 Speaker 1: was not the celebrity. I'm not a celebrity at all. 220 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:34,600 Speaker 1: But these celebrities, these real celebrities, will make an appearance 221 00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:37,080 Speaker 1: at ce S for what I believe could be described 222 00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:40,000 Speaker 1: as here let me check my notes. Um, yeah, a 223 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:43,920 Speaker 1: truckload of money at least I assume so. I mean, 224 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:46,360 Speaker 1: I have no idea how much Slash was paid to 225 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:48,720 Speaker 1: come on stage in two thousand and eight to play 226 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:51,560 Speaker 1: the opening riff of Welcome to the Jungle for Bill 227 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:54,600 Speaker 1: Gates and then just disappear and smoke. But I bet 228 00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:59,400 Speaker 1: he was paid way more than I made that entire year. Anyway, 229 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:03,080 Speaker 1: in twenty eleven, a different celebrity showed off a product 230 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:08,240 Speaker 1: to all her little monsters. Yep, Lady Gaga was at 231 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:12,280 Speaker 1: c E s in. I'm actually really upset I didn't 232 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:15,400 Speaker 1: get to go to the event where she announced this. 233 00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:18,840 Speaker 1: I really wanted to see it. I wasn't terribly familiar 234 00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:21,840 Speaker 1: with Lady Gaga, but I knew spectacle when I heard it, 235 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:25,960 Speaker 1: but unfortunately I was elsewhere. Anyway, she was partnering with 236 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:30,800 Speaker 1: Polaroid to allegedly design and then unveil the g L 237 00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:36,080 Speaker 1: twenty glasses, a pair of very boxy looking sunglasses with 238 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:39,240 Speaker 1: a built in camera and a digital display that was 239 00:14:39,280 --> 00:14:43,000 Speaker 1: also built into the frames. And I guess that with these, 240 00:14:43,280 --> 00:14:51,560 Speaker 1: Lady Gaga could become the Papa Rozzie oh Lah poker face. There. 241 00:14:51,560 --> 00:14:56,240 Speaker 1: I've exhausted my Lady Gaga knowledge. Anyway, while Lady Gaga 242 00:14:56,280 --> 00:15:00,520 Speaker 1: could wear the glasses and look fashionably weird, I most 243 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:04,400 Speaker 1: of us would just look weird wearing them. But it 244 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:06,960 Speaker 1: wouldn't matter, because a year later there were still no 245 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:10,520 Speaker 1: g L twenty glasses on the market. Polaroid claimed to 246 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:13,640 Speaker 1: still be planning a rollout, but another year went by, 247 00:15:13,920 --> 00:15:17,960 Speaker 1: and another, and by fourteen, Lady Gaga had bid au 248 00:15:18,040 --> 00:15:22,160 Speaker 1: revoir to Polaroid and the two had parted ways, still 249 00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:26,440 Speaker 1: no glasses. Lady Gaga's involvement with the project definitely got 250 00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:29,320 Speaker 1: a lot of attention, but in the end, there didn't 251 00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:31,920 Speaker 1: seem to be much of a payoff, and depending upon 252 00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:34,280 Speaker 1: the terms of that partnership, it may have been a 253 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:36,760 Speaker 1: big loss for Polaroid, which I think is a shame 254 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:40,720 Speaker 1: because I still have a soft spot for Polaroid cameras. 255 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:43,880 Speaker 1: We've got more gadgets that never made it to prime 256 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:47,680 Speaker 1: time coming up, but first let's take a quick break 257 00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:59,160 Speaker 1: and now for the that Smells funny category for c 258 00:15:59,760 --> 00:16:03,920 Speaker 1: S gadgets that never went anywhere. And I'm being literal 259 00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:06,720 Speaker 1: here because I want to chat about the I smell 260 00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:10,960 Speaker 1: from the company digit Sense. Yeah, this was a real thing. 261 00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:13,840 Speaker 1: I think of this as sort of the Internet generation 262 00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:17,640 Speaker 1: version of Smellow Vision. This one made the news back 263 00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:20,320 Speaker 1: in two thousand one, so this was way before I 264 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:22,920 Speaker 1: ever went to c E S. And I'm sorry about that, 265 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:25,720 Speaker 1: because I wish I could have seen it in action. 266 00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:30,280 Speaker 1: The device looked like a little pod with a shark 267 00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:34,560 Speaker 1: fin like protrusion, and it had vents through which SENSE 268 00:16:34,720 --> 00:16:37,480 Speaker 1: could pump. The ideas that you would load this thing 269 00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:41,080 Speaker 1: up with some cartridges filled with scented oils, and the 270 00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:45,200 Speaker 1: device would heat up specific oils before using a fan 271 00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:48,720 Speaker 1: to blow the smell out of the vents. By heating 272 00:16:48,720 --> 00:16:52,440 Speaker 1: different combinations of those oils, it could produce different SENSE 273 00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:56,920 Speaker 1: and it would connect via USB to a computer. Now, 274 00:16:57,280 --> 00:17:01,360 Speaker 1: just imagine the possibilities. You're on your computer, you're checking 275 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:05,520 Speaker 1: out possible vacation destinations online, and you're looking at a 276 00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:08,560 Speaker 1: beach in Hawaii, and then your nostrils detect the scent 277 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:11,600 Speaker 1: of an ocean breeze. Maybe there's even a hint of 278 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:15,000 Speaker 1: coconut there. Or maybe you're playing a video game and 279 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:18,040 Speaker 1: you're rushing through a burning building and you can actually 280 00:17:18,080 --> 00:17:21,800 Speaker 1: smell something that resembles would smoke, Or maybe you're looking 281 00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:25,480 Speaker 1: at an ad for cookies and you smell, I mean cookies. 282 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:29,119 Speaker 1: You know, it definitely falls on the gimmicky side, but 283 00:17:29,119 --> 00:17:30,880 Speaker 1: at the same time you can kind of see how 284 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:34,919 Speaker 1: incorporating smells into other computer activities could really increase a 285 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:38,600 Speaker 1: sense of immersion. The team behind the I Smell included 286 00:17:38,760 --> 00:17:42,400 Speaker 1: Joel Lloyd Bellinson and Dexter Smith, both of whom had 287 00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:47,239 Speaker 1: backgrounds in business. They envisioned a database of smells with 288 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:50,320 Speaker 1: an algorithm that would best match sense to whatever it 289 00:17:50,359 --> 00:17:54,440 Speaker 1: was the computer was, you know, encountering, so that way 290 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:59,240 Speaker 1: you would have a relevant smell, so you wouldn't just have, oh, 291 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:01,720 Speaker 1: that smells like and rubber while I'm looking at Daisies. 292 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:03,920 Speaker 1: That would make no sense now, I'm sure. They also 293 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:06,360 Speaker 1: envisioned a world in which people would need to purchase 294 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:10,199 Speaker 1: refills for those scented oil cartridges, kind of similar to 295 00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:13,960 Speaker 1: how printer companies really count on you having to order 296 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:18,320 Speaker 1: lots of new printer toner cartridges. But unfortunately for the team, 297 00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:22,080 Speaker 1: the idea received a little more than ridicule, even for 298 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:25,680 Speaker 1: the name I Smell. Now, keep in mind they were 299 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:29,000 Speaker 1: launching this or trying to in two thousand one. That 300 00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:32,280 Speaker 1: was two years before Apple had even launched the iPod, 301 00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:37,440 Speaker 1: so they were actually anticipating the eye trend. The company 302 00:18:37,480 --> 00:18:40,560 Speaker 1: failed to release anything to market due to a distinct 303 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:44,199 Speaker 1: lack of consumer interest, and it faded away, and it 304 00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:48,000 Speaker 1: really stinks. How about another category now, This one could 305 00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:51,080 Speaker 1: be called the old bait and switch, or in this case, 306 00:18:51,119 --> 00:18:55,200 Speaker 1: the belt and switch. And I'm talking about Belty, which 307 00:18:55,240 --> 00:18:57,720 Speaker 1: was one of those weird gadgets that gets a lot 308 00:18:57,760 --> 00:19:00,520 Speaker 1: of buzz because you know, it's not another or big 309 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:03,720 Speaker 1: screen TV or fitness tracker. That's one of the reasons 310 00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:06,119 Speaker 1: a lot of these gadgets get a lot of coverage. 311 00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:08,479 Speaker 1: It's not just that they're weird, it is that they 312 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:12,479 Speaker 1: stand out because it's not yet another version of something 313 00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:16,679 Speaker 1: that we see all the time. BELTI appeared in and 314 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:20,480 Speaker 1: it was a smart belt. Yeah, like the thing that 315 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:23,440 Speaker 1: holds up your trousers. BELTI was supposed to be able 316 00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:27,119 Speaker 1: to make automatic adjustments all on its own, tightening or 317 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:30,399 Speaker 1: loosening as the occasion demands, such as when you go 318 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:33,919 Speaker 1: from sitting down to standing up or vice versa. Small 319 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:37,760 Speaker 1: motors inside the buckle would activate and increase or decrease 320 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:41,560 Speaker 1: the tension on the belt. Accompanying the smart belt was 321 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:45,240 Speaker 1: of course an app, and together belt and app would 322 00:19:45,240 --> 00:19:48,440 Speaker 1: track activity and give you a running tab on your waistline, 323 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:50,879 Speaker 1: just in case you were worried that you were starting 324 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:53,879 Speaker 1: to feel a little too good about yourself. And it 325 00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:57,880 Speaker 1: was going to market for around four hundred bucks. This 326 00:19:58,040 --> 00:20:02,159 Speaker 1: version of BELTI, however, failed to materialize beyond the demo 327 00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:05,520 Speaker 1: models that shows like c S. It was supposed to 328 00:20:05,520 --> 00:20:09,720 Speaker 1: go to market later in and instead the Belty that 329 00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:13,600 Speaker 1: would ultimately come out was a very different device. You 330 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:16,400 Speaker 1: can buy a Belty today, but it is a ratchet 331 00:20:16,480 --> 00:20:19,600 Speaker 1: style belt, so you can make minor adjustments, but you 332 00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:23,760 Speaker 1: have to do so manually. There's no motorized buckle doing 333 00:20:23,800 --> 00:20:27,359 Speaker 1: it for you. The smart part of the belt, the 334 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:30,920 Speaker 1: current Belty, is that it has a built in battery recharger, 335 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:36,400 Speaker 1: so you can charge your phone on your belt and 336 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:39,399 Speaker 1: plug your devices directly into the belt buckle. I guess 337 00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:42,040 Speaker 1: to give them more juice. Now, my guess is that 338 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:45,520 Speaker 1: this recharging battery and the belt is itself a lithium 339 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:49,760 Speaker 1: ion battery, and knowing how those can sometimes be a 340 00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:52,800 Speaker 1: little dodgy, I'd be a bit hesitant to strap one 341 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:58,160 Speaker 1: right up against my pants. I mean, it's probably Okay, right, 342 00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:02,199 Speaker 1: I mean phones don't usually spawn taneously combust unless it's 343 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:06,200 Speaker 1: the Samsung Galaxy Notes seven and a yeah, I'm gonna 344 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:11,640 Speaker 1: skip BELTI but hey, Jonathan, I hear you ask. Yes, 345 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:15,280 Speaker 1: that's right, I can hear you. How about you talk 346 00:21:15,359 --> 00:21:19,280 Speaker 1: about a product that was demonstrably a bad idea and 347 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:23,760 Speaker 1: that is why it never came to market. Okay, I 348 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:28,760 Speaker 1: guess I will. Let's talk about the Mattel Aristotle because 349 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:33,040 Speaker 1: who boy? Was that a bad idea and the reaction 350 00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:36,520 Speaker 1: to it would ultimately lead Mattel to cancel launch plans 351 00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:40,520 Speaker 1: for this device. Mattel unveiled the gadget at c E 352 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:44,960 Speaker 1: S And if you really want an easy way to 353 00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:47,480 Speaker 1: describe this thing, all you have to do is say 354 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:51,879 Speaker 1: it's Alexa, but you know, for kids, shout out to 355 00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:55,119 Speaker 1: the Hudsucker proxy for that one. Anyway, it was a 356 00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:59,320 Speaker 1: smart home assistant similar to Amazon Echo or Google Home. 357 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:03,600 Speaker 1: Bundled with the smart speaker device was a camera, and 358 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:06,680 Speaker 1: the whole package was supposed to retail for three dollars. 359 00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:09,879 Speaker 1: The back end of the system included stuff like image 360 00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:15,040 Speaker 1: recognition algorithms that could recognize specific things within a child's room. 361 00:22:15,119 --> 00:22:18,720 Speaker 1: Those specific things. I'm sure we'll surprise no one could 362 00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:23,280 Speaker 1: include other Mattel toys. I'm gonna paint a picture for you. 363 00:22:23,359 --> 00:22:26,199 Speaker 1: Not the Mattel ever said this, But this is just 364 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:29,720 Speaker 1: something that I imagined when I was reading up on it. 365 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:32,400 Speaker 1: So think for a moment that you're a little kid 366 00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:35,240 Speaker 1: and you're in your room, and then suddenly the smart 367 00:22:35,359 --> 00:22:38,760 Speaker 1: robot that lives in a speaker says to you, Hey, 368 00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:42,040 Speaker 1: little so and so, how about you go pick up 369 00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:45,399 Speaker 1: that Hot Wheels car and play with it? Room room. 370 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:48,320 Speaker 1: That sure is fun, isn't it. Man? You know what 371 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:50,960 Speaker 1: helps would be fun if you had the super Ultra 372 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:55,480 Speaker 1: Deluxe Stunt Spectacular Hot Wheels set. Then that car would 373 00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:58,520 Speaker 1: go really fast and you would be the most super 374 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:02,399 Speaker 1: awesome cool kid in the universe. Hey, how about we 375 00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:05,399 Speaker 1: ask Santa for that this year? Yeah, that's a great 376 00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:09,879 Speaker 1: idea you had, so and so. All right, So I'm 377 00:23:09,880 --> 00:23:12,640 Speaker 1: definitely taking some major poetic license here, but you get 378 00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:15,720 Speaker 1: to where I'm going right, The idea being this could 379 00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:19,199 Speaker 1: easily become a tool that Mattel could have used to 380 00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:23,399 Speaker 1: try and convince kids to get more Mattel toys. Numerous 381 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:26,800 Speaker 1: critics also pointed out the other very glaring problems with 382 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:31,639 Speaker 1: privacy that a connected device complete with webcam would represent 383 00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:35,199 Speaker 1: for parents. And the fact is, Mattel did plan for 384 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:37,399 Speaker 1: the smart device to allow you to do stuff like 385 00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:41,919 Speaker 1: place orders for things like diapers, for example, because Aristotle 386 00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:44,800 Speaker 1: could switch from child mode, where it would play with kids, 387 00:23:45,080 --> 00:23:50,640 Speaker 1: to adult mode and then tap into Amazon's Alexa assistant. Now, 388 00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:54,439 Speaker 1: I found all of this particularly surprising, not because the 389 00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:57,399 Speaker 1: company would try to tap into that market that I 390 00:23:57,440 --> 00:24:01,200 Speaker 1: think was inevitable, but rather because Tell had already been 391 00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:05,400 Speaker 1: burned pretty badly with a Barbie doll called Hello Barbie 392 00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:10,159 Speaker 1: from earlier on. This WiFi connected doll was vulnerable to 393 00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:14,440 Speaker 1: being hijacked. According to a security researcher named Matt Jakubowski, 394 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:18,800 Speaker 1: they could turn into a surveillance tool and spy on kids. 395 00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:22,919 Speaker 1: And that is beyond terrifying and so, faced with some 396 00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:28,000 Speaker 1: very tough questions, including some coming from politicians, Mattel decided 397 00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:32,920 Speaker 1: to scuttle the plans for Aristotle later in Alright, I've 398 00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:37,040 Speaker 1: talked about failed products, marketing, gimmicks, and stuff that falls 399 00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:42,000 Speaker 1: somewhere in between, But how about something that was called 400 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:45,080 Speaker 1: a scam? I mean, that's what some people said the 401 00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:48,560 Speaker 1: Phantom console was all about. And I've talked about the 402 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:52,399 Speaker 1: Phantom and other episodes recently when I talked about Google Stadia. 403 00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:55,720 Speaker 1: In two thousand four, the company behind the Phantom in 404 00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:59,639 Speaker 1: Phinium Labs, showed off the Phantom at c e S 405 00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:05,359 Speaker 1: at Windows Embedded Devices stand only it wasn't switched on 406 00:25:05,560 --> 00:25:09,119 Speaker 1: or connected to anything. It was really, you know, a box. 407 00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:12,320 Speaker 1: At this point, there was already speculation online that in 408 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:15,800 Speaker 1: Phinium Labs wasn't totally on the up and up. There 409 00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:18,879 Speaker 1: were message boards filled with threads by users who claimed 410 00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:22,480 Speaker 1: to have visited the listed office address for the company 411 00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:27,600 Speaker 1: only to find unoccupied space. There were investigations into the 412 00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:31,080 Speaker 1: people behind the company, but the fact that the company 413 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:34,840 Speaker 1: was part of c E S and associated with Microsoft 414 00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:38,760 Speaker 1: made people wonder if perhaps it was legit. Despite those 415 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:42,480 Speaker 1: early misgivings. At c e S two thousand five, in 416 00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:46,280 Speaker 1: Phinium Labs would appear at the Nvidio booth. Visitors to 417 00:25:46,280 --> 00:25:48,840 Speaker 1: the booth had a chance to actually play games on 418 00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:52,760 Speaker 1: the console, but those games had already been installed on 419 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:55,400 Speaker 1: the device, which meant no one could see how long 420 00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:58,600 Speaker 1: it would take to download a full game to the Phantom. 421 00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:01,320 Speaker 1: That's what the Phantom was meant be. It had no 422 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:04,840 Speaker 1: optical drive, you were to download over a broadband connection 423 00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:07,119 Speaker 1: all the games you wanted to play on it. It 424 00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:09,480 Speaker 1: also meant that people would point out that this made 425 00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:13,080 Speaker 1: the Phantom no different from any other kind of computer, 426 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:16,280 Speaker 1: because there are already computers that run the games that 427 00:26:16,280 --> 00:26:19,640 Speaker 1: were running on the Phantom. So, as far as anyone knew, 428 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:23,720 Speaker 1: the Phantom so far consisted of a fabricated case that 429 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:28,240 Speaker 1: could be around an otherwise mundane collection of PC parts. 430 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:32,919 Speaker 1: The Phantom missed launch date after launch date, and eventually 431 00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:35,320 Speaker 1: it was clear that it was never going to come 432 00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:38,280 Speaker 1: out at all. Whether it was all a hoax from 433 00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:41,639 Speaker 1: the beginning or it was just a case of a 434 00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:46,320 Speaker 1: product languishing in development remains an open question. I'd like 435 00:26:46,359 --> 00:26:49,200 Speaker 1: to think that the team working on the Phantom were 436 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:52,439 Speaker 1: sincere in their efforts. I have suspicions about some of 437 00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:55,879 Speaker 1: the business leaders, but I also suspect that the engineers 438 00:26:55,920 --> 00:26:59,119 Speaker 1: at in Phinium Labs were really trying to make a good, 439 00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:04,080 Speaker 1: robust system. In Vidium Labs would eventually produce actual products, 440 00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:07,040 Speaker 1: but they fell into categories like keyboards and stuff, not 441 00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:11,119 Speaker 1: actual consoles. One thing I've seen at numerous c e 442 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:14,440 Speaker 1: S shows are devices that claim to read your brain 443 00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:17,880 Speaker 1: waves and generate a response based on them. That response 444 00:27:17,880 --> 00:27:20,960 Speaker 1: could be anything from an app encouraging you to relax 445 00:27:21,359 --> 00:27:24,000 Speaker 1: if it senses that you know you're being really tense 446 00:27:24,080 --> 00:27:26,760 Speaker 1: and anxious, or it could be a game where your 447 00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:30,840 Speaker 1: concentration affects what's going on. I'm reminded of a game 448 00:27:30,880 --> 00:27:33,159 Speaker 1: called mind Flex that I saw at C E S 449 00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:35,879 Speaker 1: one year. This one actually came out, so this is 450 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:38,320 Speaker 1: something that did make it to market. This was a 451 00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:42,479 Speaker 1: toy from Mattel, or at least you know, distributed by Mattel, 452 00:27:43,119 --> 00:27:45,920 Speaker 1: that used a column of air to suspend a ping 453 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:49,760 Speaker 1: pong ball as if the ball were levitating. A fan 454 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:53,160 Speaker 1: inside the game's base would provide the column of air, 455 00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:56,959 Speaker 1: and you would wear a headset and by focusing, you 456 00:27:57,000 --> 00:27:59,920 Speaker 1: could cause that column of air to raise or lower 457 00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:03,080 Speaker 1: the ball. Essentially, what you're doing is changing the RPM 458 00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:07,119 Speaker 1: speed of the fan that's generating the column of air. Meanwhile, 459 00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:12,080 Speaker 1: a rotating playing field would introduce various obstacles, and only 460 00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:15,160 Speaker 1: by making the ball move to the correct height would 461 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:18,199 Speaker 1: you be able to get through all the obstacles. The 462 00:28:18,240 --> 00:28:21,560 Speaker 1: headset relies on e G. Readings of brain waves, or 463 00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:24,760 Speaker 1: at least that's the claim. Now there's some disagreement about 464 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:27,439 Speaker 1: whether or not it really works the way they claim 465 00:28:27,480 --> 00:28:30,840 Speaker 1: it does, or if it just presents the illusion of control. 466 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:33,920 Speaker 1: But I don't see why it wouldn't be at least 467 00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:39,600 Speaker 1: theoretically possible, assuming you had decent sensors because e G s, 468 00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:42,120 Speaker 1: you know, picking up e G signals through the skull. 469 00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:45,440 Speaker 1: That's a little tricky. But anyway, let's get back to 470 00:28:45,480 --> 00:28:47,840 Speaker 1: what I really wanted to cover, and that's the Atari 471 00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:51,960 Speaker 1: mind Blink, which in some ways sounds similar like the 472 00:28:52,040 --> 00:28:55,280 Speaker 1: mind flex. This was a device that had a wearable 473 00:28:55,360 --> 00:28:58,200 Speaker 1: component to it. You would put on what looked like 474 00:28:58,280 --> 00:29:01,360 Speaker 1: a plastic headband had a wire attached to it that 475 00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:05,960 Speaker 1: would lead to an Atari console and you try to 476 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:10,160 Speaker 1: control a video game using not your thoughts. Despite the 477 00:29:10,240 --> 00:29:13,680 Speaker 1: name mind link, you weren't, you know, focusing. Instead, you 478 00:29:13,720 --> 00:29:17,000 Speaker 1: were using the muscles in your forehead. The band had 479 00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:20,480 Speaker 1: infrared sensors that would pick up the movement of those muscles, 480 00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:23,600 Speaker 1: so by tensing or relaxing your forehead, you could send 481 00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:27,600 Speaker 1: commands as if you were holding some sort of controller. Uh, 482 00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:29,880 Speaker 1: it wouldn't work with just any game. It's not like 483 00:29:29,920 --> 00:29:33,200 Speaker 1: you could hook this up to an to play any title. 484 00:29:33,640 --> 00:29:38,000 Speaker 1: They had specific titles made for this device in particular. Uh, 485 00:29:38,040 --> 00:29:41,000 Speaker 1: the inputs are pretty primitive, so they were more like 486 00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:43,120 Speaker 1: the type of controls you would have with a paddle 487 00:29:43,240 --> 00:29:46,600 Speaker 1: based game like Breakout or Pong or something like that. 488 00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:50,440 Speaker 1: The mind Link was supposed to come out in four 489 00:29:50,840 --> 00:29:54,080 Speaker 1: but you know it didn't now. At the time, Atari 490 00:29:54,200 --> 00:29:56,960 Speaker 1: was also dealing with the total collapse of the home 491 00:29:57,080 --> 00:30:00,560 Speaker 1: video game market because the industry had suffered a autostrophic 492 00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:05,720 Speaker 1: failure in nineteen three due to many different factors, including 493 00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:10,040 Speaker 1: a saturation of the market and some supremely bad business decisions, 494 00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:13,560 Speaker 1: along with a lot of just garbage systems and games. 495 00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:17,840 Speaker 1: And no one was coming out of this sparkling clean. 496 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:21,719 Speaker 1: Everybody had made some dumb decisions leading up to this, 497 00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:25,640 Speaker 1: and so the mind Link was never actually meant to be. Besides, 498 00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:27,880 Speaker 1: I hear a lot of users would actually get really 499 00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:30,520 Speaker 1: tired after using it for just a couple of minutes 500 00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:33,160 Speaker 1: because they were scrunching up their foreheads like crazy just 501 00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:37,160 Speaker 1: to get through a game, which doesn't sound like much fun. Okay, 502 00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:39,400 Speaker 1: we've got some more examples to chat about in a bit, 503 00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:51,160 Speaker 1: but first let's take another quick break. Of course, not 504 00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:55,160 Speaker 1: every gadget that fails to make it to market debuts 505 00:30:55,240 --> 00:30:58,720 Speaker 1: at c S. In fact, some companies preferred to announce 506 00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:02,680 Speaker 1: their latest innovation well outside the c e S trade 507 00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:06,280 Speaker 1: show window because it can be pretty hard to get 508 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:09,760 Speaker 1: noticed in all the hoopla at c e S. And 509 00:31:09,760 --> 00:31:12,400 Speaker 1: there are a few examples of concepts and prototypes that 510 00:31:12,440 --> 00:31:16,120 Speaker 1: we learned about elsewhere that likewise never became a product 511 00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:18,440 Speaker 1: that you could actually buy. So I thought it would 512 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:21,600 Speaker 1: cover a couple of the more notable ones we learned 513 00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:24,840 Speaker 1: about these examples outside the c e S show floor. 514 00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:27,640 Speaker 1: And sometimes the stuff we see announced is coming out 515 00:31:27,640 --> 00:31:30,680 Speaker 1: of a company that is going through a tumultuous time, 516 00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:33,240 Speaker 1: and the reason that the gadget never makes it beyond 517 00:31:33,280 --> 00:31:36,920 Speaker 1: the showroom floor is because of big changes inside the 518 00:31:36,920 --> 00:31:40,000 Speaker 1: company in an effort for it to remain relevant. That's 519 00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:42,200 Speaker 1: kind of what happened to the Commodore l c D, 520 00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:44,960 Speaker 1: It's kind of what happened to the Atari mind Link, 521 00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:48,920 Speaker 1: and it's also kind of what happened to the Palm Folio, 522 00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:51,400 Speaker 1: which I thought was a genuinely neat idea. Back in 523 00:31:51,440 --> 00:31:54,760 Speaker 1: the day, as the name tells you, the device came 524 00:31:54,840 --> 00:31:58,400 Speaker 1: from Palm Incorporated. Palm was known for being a leader 525 00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:01,760 Speaker 1: in personal digital assist stints back in the day, and 526 00:32:01,840 --> 00:32:05,440 Speaker 1: for those young uns among you, a personal digital assistant 527 00:32:05,520 --> 00:32:09,120 Speaker 1: in those days was kind of like a primitive smartphone, 528 00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:12,800 Speaker 1: only without the phone part. You would use one to 529 00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:17,040 Speaker 1: manage your contacts, take notes, keep your calendar, that kind 530 00:32:17,040 --> 00:32:21,000 Speaker 1: of thing, and typically you would physically connect these early 531 00:32:21,120 --> 00:32:25,160 Speaker 1: PDAs to a computer, usually using some sort of proprietary 532 00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:29,320 Speaker 1: cable or cradle, and you would synchronize data from a 533 00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:33,240 Speaker 1: computer program to your p d A. But by two 534 00:32:33,320 --> 00:32:37,480 Speaker 1: thousand seven, when Palm announced the Folio, Palm had progressed 535 00:32:37,600 --> 00:32:40,600 Speaker 1: from the simple PDAs of the past and was not 536 00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:45,040 Speaker 1: making smartphones like the Trio. Now, these smartphones catered more 537 00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:49,560 Speaker 1: to working professionals than to the mainstream crowd, kind of 538 00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:52,760 Speaker 1: like BlackBerry. Palm was a brand used mostly by white 539 00:32:52,760 --> 00:32:56,960 Speaker 1: collar executive types plus some nerdy tech journalist types that 540 00:32:57,040 --> 00:33:01,680 Speaker 1: I know, though there was some adoption beyond that niche market. 541 00:33:02,320 --> 00:33:04,680 Speaker 1: One such line of smartphones from Palm, as I mentioned, 542 00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:07,320 Speaker 1: was the Trio line of devices, and the Folio was 543 00:33:07,360 --> 00:33:11,760 Speaker 1: meant as a companion for handsets like the Trio. The 544 00:33:11,840 --> 00:33:17,400 Speaker 1: Folio was a very small laptop, categorized as a sub notebook. 545 00:33:17,800 --> 00:33:19,400 Speaker 1: In fact, if it had just come out a couple 546 00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:23,360 Speaker 1: of years later, we probably would have called it a netbook. 547 00:33:23,840 --> 00:33:27,480 Speaker 1: The computer didn't have super hefty specs. It was meant 548 00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:31,440 Speaker 1: to be a versatile, lightweight device that had a long 549 00:33:31,480 --> 00:33:35,520 Speaker 1: battery life. It used Lennox as its operating system. It 550 00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:38,840 Speaker 1: had two hundred fifty six megabytes of memory, a four 551 00:33:38,880 --> 00:33:43,520 Speaker 1: hundred sixteen mega Hurts processor, and an lc D display. 552 00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:46,200 Speaker 1: It was meant to be paired with a smartphone. It 553 00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:50,440 Speaker 1: had WiFi, but functions like email would work in concert 554 00:33:50,520 --> 00:33:53,880 Speaker 1: with the phone, rather than going from the Folio to 555 00:33:53,880 --> 00:33:56,520 Speaker 1: the WiFi network directly. It was a bit of an 556 00:33:56,520 --> 00:34:00,240 Speaker 1: odd duck in that regard. Palm marketed the device as 557 00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:04,000 Speaker 1: an alternative to heavier laptop computers, and pointed out that 558 00:34:04,120 --> 00:34:07,280 Speaker 1: pairing it with a smartphone would give users Internet access 559 00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:10,720 Speaker 1: even if there were no WiFi networks available in their area. 560 00:34:11,440 --> 00:34:14,920 Speaker 1: The pitch was really toward business users who travel a lot, 561 00:34:15,280 --> 00:34:18,400 Speaker 1: as the device suspects didn't fill many people with confidence 562 00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:20,680 Speaker 1: that you could use it to do other stuff like, 563 00:34:21,160 --> 00:34:24,440 Speaker 1: you know, watch videos or anything along those lines. But 564 00:34:24,560 --> 00:34:28,000 Speaker 1: then that's not the purpose that Palm was pushing it for. 565 00:34:28,600 --> 00:34:32,160 Speaker 1: The Folio never made it two stores. Palm actually canceled it, 566 00:34:32,239 --> 00:34:36,920 Speaker 1: choosing instead to focus on refreshing its smartphone technologies. Palm 567 00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:39,440 Speaker 1: was in a bit of an existential crisis at the time, 568 00:34:39,800 --> 00:34:43,080 Speaker 1: with analysts suspecting that the company would either go out 569 00:34:43,080 --> 00:34:46,680 Speaker 1: of business or accept some other companies offered to buy 570 00:34:46,719 --> 00:34:49,840 Speaker 1: it out. In two thousand eight, Palm showed off the 571 00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:54,239 Speaker 1: web Os operating system that's web Os and introduced the 572 00:34:54,320 --> 00:34:57,680 Speaker 1: Palm Pre smartphone at that year's ce S. That's the 573 00:34:57,680 --> 00:35:00,440 Speaker 1: product that actually did make it to market, but the 574 00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:03,319 Speaker 1: Pre failed to gain much traction in a market that 575 00:35:03,400 --> 00:35:06,680 Speaker 1: was already being dominated by Apple and the iPhone. And 576 00:35:06,760 --> 00:35:09,640 Speaker 1: it didn't help that Palm had signed an exclusive deal 577 00:35:09,800 --> 00:35:14,240 Speaker 1: with Sprint as the mobile carrier that limited the amount 578 00:35:14,400 --> 00:35:17,680 Speaker 1: of people that Palm could reach because it was only 579 00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:21,880 Speaker 1: for Sprint customers. In Hewlett Packard announced it was acquiring 580 00:35:21,880 --> 00:35:24,919 Speaker 1: Palm for one point to billion dollars in an all 581 00:35:24,960 --> 00:35:28,720 Speaker 1: cash deal. HP would later end all support for Palm 582 00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:31,880 Speaker 1: and web Os devices, and it seemed like Palm was 583 00:35:31,920 --> 00:35:35,719 Speaker 1: well and truly dead, but in a company called t 584 00:35:35,920 --> 00:35:39,160 Speaker 1: c L revealed it had acquired the Palm brand name, 585 00:35:39,719 --> 00:35:42,359 Speaker 1: and so the name lives on, though you could make 586 00:35:42,360 --> 00:35:45,440 Speaker 1: an argument that there's very little connective tissue to the 587 00:35:45,480 --> 00:35:49,600 Speaker 1: old Palm company. T c L, by the way, was 588 00:35:49,680 --> 00:35:52,120 Speaker 1: one of the companies that this past c E S 589 00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:55,839 Speaker 1: showing off concept smartphones with expanding oh LED screens, kind 590 00:35:55,840 --> 00:35:58,960 Speaker 1: of similar to the l G rollable. While we're on 591 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:03,040 Speaker 1: the subject of innovative portable computing devices, let's talk about 592 00:36:03,080 --> 00:36:06,720 Speaker 1: the Microsoft Courier. Like the Folio, this was a concept 593 00:36:06,840 --> 00:36:10,000 Speaker 1: that we learned about outside of c S, with most 594 00:36:10,040 --> 00:36:13,680 Speaker 1: reports about the prototype device appearing in late two thousand nine. 595 00:36:14,280 --> 00:36:17,759 Speaker 1: This predated Apple's launch of the iPad, which makes it 596 00:36:17,840 --> 00:36:21,160 Speaker 1: even more impressive. Really, the idea was for a dual 597 00:36:21,200 --> 00:36:26,080 Speaker 1: screen portable computer device similar to a tablet, but really 598 00:36:26,120 --> 00:36:29,279 Speaker 1: more of a booklet. The device could fold into a 599 00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:32,800 Speaker 1: closed position like a book, with the two screens facing 600 00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:36,080 Speaker 1: one another. The device included a touch screen that users 601 00:36:36,120 --> 00:36:39,399 Speaker 1: could interact with using either their finger or a stylus. 602 00:36:39,960 --> 00:36:42,600 Speaker 1: The pitch for Courier was that this was meant to 603 00:36:42,600 --> 00:36:46,000 Speaker 1: be a device to allow for content creation. It was 604 00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:48,880 Speaker 1: meant for creatives who had less of an emphasis on 605 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:53,560 Speaker 1: traditional productivity applications, and that set it as distinct from 606 00:36:53,560 --> 00:36:58,680 Speaker 1: Microsoft's mainstream strategy. It ran on a modified version of Windows, 607 00:36:58,719 --> 00:37:02,000 Speaker 1: and ultimately the act that it didn't fall right in 608 00:37:02,080 --> 00:37:06,520 Speaker 1: line with Microsoft product strategy kind of doomed the courier. Also, 609 00:37:06,600 --> 00:37:09,680 Speaker 1: a different team inside Microsoft was working to develop a 610 00:37:09,719 --> 00:37:13,840 Speaker 1: Windows variant for tablet computers, which would represent a forked 611 00:37:13,920 --> 00:37:16,879 Speaker 1: development path, and that in general is a bad thing 612 00:37:16,920 --> 00:37:20,920 Speaker 1: if you want a cohesive strategy. By Microsoft had killed 613 00:37:20,960 --> 00:37:24,840 Speaker 1: the project. Now I mentioned Razor and it's Project Hazel, 614 00:37:24,880 --> 00:37:29,480 Speaker 1: which is a smart mask within certification that we don't 615 00:37:29,560 --> 00:37:33,760 Speaker 1: really expect to see come to market. There's also Project Brooklyn, 616 00:37:33,960 --> 00:37:38,239 Speaker 1: the smart gaming chair concept that has a rollable display 617 00:37:38,280 --> 00:37:40,880 Speaker 1: that extends from the back of the chair over the 618 00:37:40,920 --> 00:37:42,920 Speaker 1: head of the person who's sitting in the chair. Then 619 00:37:42,920 --> 00:37:45,080 Speaker 1: it stretches the screen out right in front of them 620 00:37:45,080 --> 00:37:47,439 Speaker 1: at head level. I don't think we're going to see 621 00:37:47,440 --> 00:37:49,880 Speaker 1: either of those in the real world, at least not 622 00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:54,000 Speaker 1: in those forms. But Razor has a history of doing this, 623 00:37:54,480 --> 00:37:56,560 Speaker 1: not that I think the company is trying to pull 624 00:37:56,600 --> 00:37:59,520 Speaker 1: a fast one or anything. It's often using some pretty 625 00:37:59,520 --> 00:38:03,640 Speaker 1: ambitious designs to help push the general industry forward or 626 00:38:03,719 --> 00:38:07,279 Speaker 1: to propose alternatives to how things are traditionally done. The 627 00:38:07,280 --> 00:38:09,920 Speaker 1: fact that these projects might not ever hit the consumer 628 00:38:09,960 --> 00:38:13,400 Speaker 1: market is kind of a drag. But in the process 629 00:38:13,440 --> 00:38:17,279 Speaker 1: of creating these projects, Razor is pushing designers and engineers 630 00:38:17,280 --> 00:38:20,319 Speaker 1: to think beyond their normal parameters, and that can often 631 00:38:20,400 --> 00:38:23,400 Speaker 1: lead to technologies we actually will see out in the wild, 632 00:38:23,840 --> 00:38:27,560 Speaker 1: although they often do not resemble the audacious projects that 633 00:38:27,680 --> 00:38:32,920 Speaker 1: spawned those technologies. Take Project Christine, for example. This was 634 00:38:32,960 --> 00:38:37,080 Speaker 1: a really cool idea that Razor floated in two thousand fourteen. 635 00:38:37,560 --> 00:38:41,680 Speaker 1: It was a PC design with an incredibly modular approach. 636 00:38:42,160 --> 00:38:46,320 Speaker 1: So imagine a stand. This is your base computer unit, 637 00:38:46,880 --> 00:38:50,799 Speaker 1: and in the stand you could plug various modules, like 638 00:38:50,960 --> 00:38:53,799 Speaker 1: a module that has a CPU in it, or one 639 00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:57,000 Speaker 1: that has a specific GPU, or maybe it's a power 640 00:38:57,080 --> 00:39:01,160 Speaker 1: supply module or a memory module or it's storage. You 641 00:39:01,200 --> 00:39:04,240 Speaker 1: can mix and match. You could create a customized PC 642 00:39:04,280 --> 00:39:06,880 Speaker 1: to your liking, and you wouldn't have to worry about 643 00:39:07,160 --> 00:39:09,640 Speaker 1: stuff that otherwise is a big part of building your 644 00:39:09,680 --> 00:39:13,839 Speaker 1: own PC, like is this processor compatible with this motherboard? 645 00:39:14,160 --> 00:39:16,799 Speaker 1: All that would be taken care of for you, and 646 00:39:16,800 --> 00:39:19,920 Speaker 1: the modular design means it would be easy to swap 647 00:39:19,960 --> 00:39:23,280 Speaker 1: out components. So let's say your graphics card is getting 648 00:39:23,280 --> 00:39:26,080 Speaker 1: a little bit long in the tooth. You could unplug 649 00:39:26,320 --> 00:39:28,840 Speaker 1: that module from your base tower and swap in a 650 00:39:28,920 --> 00:39:33,160 Speaker 1: new GPU module or maybe multiple GPUs, and each module 651 00:39:33,160 --> 00:39:36,080 Speaker 1: would have its own cooling system. According to Razor, it 652 00:39:36,200 --> 00:39:39,799 Speaker 1: was active liquid cooling, and it also had noise cancelation, 653 00:39:39,880 --> 00:39:43,160 Speaker 1: so it would run quietly. What it did not have 654 00:39:43,520 --> 00:39:46,720 Speaker 1: is a release date. And again this isn't to really 655 00:39:46,840 --> 00:39:50,839 Speaker 1: lay fault at Razor's feet. A project as ambitious as 656 00:39:50,920 --> 00:39:54,959 Speaker 1: Christine would require buy in from more than just consumers. 657 00:39:55,360 --> 00:39:57,880 Speaker 1: Razor would have to partner with the various companies that 658 00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:01,960 Speaker 1: were making GPUs and epus and memory cards and power 659 00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:04,840 Speaker 1: supplies and all that other stuff. There would need to 660 00:40:04,880 --> 00:40:08,319 Speaker 1: be a coordinated effort to build out modules that were 661 00:40:08,360 --> 00:40:12,280 Speaker 1: compatible with the system. And you know that just didn't happen, 662 00:40:12,760 --> 00:40:15,120 Speaker 1: and there's a lot of inertia to overcome in the 663 00:40:15,160 --> 00:40:19,120 Speaker 1: PC space to make something like Christine a reality. I 664 00:40:19,160 --> 00:40:22,520 Speaker 1: think it was a really interesting idea, one that could 665 00:40:22,560 --> 00:40:26,520 Speaker 1: be transformational if enough companies agreed to make components that 666 00:40:26,520 --> 00:40:30,440 Speaker 1: would fit the modular standard. But I'm also not surprised 667 00:40:30,719 --> 00:40:32,840 Speaker 1: that there wasn't a lot of buy in on that front, 668 00:40:32,880 --> 00:40:35,799 Speaker 1: because pretty much everyone wants to be the one to 669 00:40:35,920 --> 00:40:38,600 Speaker 1: define the standard rather than the one who has to 670 00:40:38,640 --> 00:40:41,440 Speaker 1: conform to the standards that were made by somebody else. 671 00:40:42,239 --> 00:40:46,320 Speaker 1: Another Razor project that wild crowds but did not transition 672 00:40:46,360 --> 00:40:50,799 Speaker 1: to a consumer product was project Ariana, a projector. This 673 00:40:50,840 --> 00:40:54,200 Speaker 1: one was really wild. So this projector had two three 674 00:40:54,280 --> 00:40:57,319 Speaker 1: D cameras that would actually be used to scan the 675 00:40:57,400 --> 00:40:59,839 Speaker 1: room you had it in, so that way it would 676 00:41:00,239 --> 00:41:03,919 Speaker 1: the perfect projection. And then when it was time for you, to, say, 677 00:41:03,960 --> 00:41:08,160 Speaker 1: play a game, the projector would communicate with that game 678 00:41:08,320 --> 00:41:13,040 Speaker 1: and effectively extend your viewing area beyond the borders of 679 00:41:13,080 --> 00:41:15,719 Speaker 1: your display. So you're still playing your game on your 680 00:41:15,719 --> 00:41:20,440 Speaker 1: computer looking at your computer screen, but the projector extends 681 00:41:20,800 --> 00:41:24,160 Speaker 1: that view beyond what you see on the screen, so 682 00:41:24,239 --> 00:41:27,000 Speaker 1: you can kind of see, you know, beyond the edges 683 00:41:27,040 --> 00:41:30,400 Speaker 1: of the frame. It is really an interesting notion. The 684 00:41:30,400 --> 00:41:34,080 Speaker 1: projector would also create interesting lighting effects to coordinate with 685 00:41:34,160 --> 00:41:37,399 Speaker 1: the game and enhance your experience. It really did sound 686 00:41:37,440 --> 00:41:40,120 Speaker 1: super nifty. I'm sad this one never really made it 687 00:41:40,120 --> 00:41:44,360 Speaker 1: beyond the conceptual stage because it sounds truly immersive. Uh, 688 00:41:44,560 --> 00:41:47,440 Speaker 1: maybe it would also be a little on the unfair side. 689 00:41:47,440 --> 00:41:50,120 Speaker 1: I mean, if you're able to extend your view beyond 690 00:41:50,239 --> 00:41:53,560 Speaker 1: what most people can see, maybe then you could, if 691 00:41:53,600 --> 00:41:57,319 Speaker 1: you're playing a competitive game, see players before they could 692 00:41:57,440 --> 00:42:00,840 Speaker 1: put possibly see you. I s. That might be a 693 00:42:00,960 --> 00:42:04,440 Speaker 1: thing that could be an issue. But how about Project Valerie. 694 00:42:04,640 --> 00:42:07,680 Speaker 1: This was a Razor concept laptop that featured not one, 695 00:42:08,280 --> 00:42:12,840 Speaker 1: not two, but three screens. The screens would sit in 696 00:42:12,880 --> 00:42:15,760 Speaker 1: a stack, so you could use it as a single 697 00:42:15,800 --> 00:42:19,719 Speaker 1: screen laptop, or folding arms could extend a pair of 698 00:42:19,880 --> 00:42:23,120 Speaker 1: extra displays, one to either side of the central screen. 699 00:42:23,800 --> 00:42:26,480 Speaker 1: Razor called it a way to create surround view with 700 00:42:26,560 --> 00:42:31,400 Speaker 1: a resolution of eleven thousand, five twenty by two thousand sixty. 701 00:42:31,680 --> 00:42:34,600 Speaker 1: That's a crazy resolution. They also called it twelve K 702 00:42:34,760 --> 00:42:36,520 Speaker 1: because it would be a four K screen. Of four 703 00:42:36,600 --> 00:42:39,520 Speaker 1: K screen and a four K screen. You could get 704 00:42:39,520 --> 00:42:42,360 Speaker 1: a real panoramic view of a game this way, or 705 00:42:42,440 --> 00:42:44,440 Speaker 1: maybe you could use it so that you're playing a 706 00:42:44,560 --> 00:42:48,120 Speaker 1: game on one screen, you're looking at oh B S 707 00:42:48,280 --> 00:42:50,600 Speaker 1: over at Twitch on a second screen, and then you're 708 00:42:50,640 --> 00:42:53,759 Speaker 1: monitoring chat on your third screen, which would make this 709 00:42:53,840 --> 00:42:58,440 Speaker 1: laptop the portable video game streamer rig of Dreams and Wonders. 710 00:42:59,239 --> 00:43:03,719 Speaker 1: But Valerie also never came to market. There are some 711 00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:07,399 Speaker 1: multi screen laptops out there these days, but they tend 712 00:43:07,440 --> 00:43:10,200 Speaker 1: to be in a very different form factor than what 713 00:43:10,280 --> 00:43:14,279 Speaker 1: we saw with the Valorie concept. For example, the Asus 714 00:43:14,719 --> 00:43:18,640 Speaker 1: r O g SZI Furious Duo fifteen, which has a 715 00:43:18,800 --> 00:43:23,160 Speaker 1: main display and then just mounted above where the keyboard is, 716 00:43:23,680 --> 00:43:26,640 Speaker 1: there's a little hinged system that tilts up a bit 717 00:43:26,680 --> 00:43:29,720 Speaker 1: where you have a touch screen display. That touch screen 718 00:43:29,840 --> 00:43:32,480 Speaker 1: is very wide, but it's also very short, so it's 719 00:43:32,480 --> 00:43:35,200 Speaker 1: not like a true it's not a second screen that 720 00:43:35,200 --> 00:43:39,480 Speaker 1: that mirrors the size of your primary screen. It's uh 721 00:43:39,520 --> 00:43:43,919 Speaker 1: an additional workspace, really a touch screen workspace. I don't 722 00:43:43,960 --> 00:43:46,080 Speaker 1: know how useful it is. I don't know how well 723 00:43:46,120 --> 00:43:48,719 Speaker 1: it works as an extension of your main screen, but 724 00:43:48,800 --> 00:43:51,640 Speaker 1: it is interesting that we're seeing some actual consumer product 725 00:43:51,760 --> 00:43:54,720 Speaker 1: versions of a laptop that has more than one screen. 726 00:43:55,360 --> 00:43:57,759 Speaker 1: It might not be the enormous beast that Valerie was, 727 00:43:58,200 --> 00:44:01,080 Speaker 1: but it's a step in that direction. And that's all 728 00:44:01,120 --> 00:44:05,160 Speaker 1: I've got for today's episode. Clearly, there are countless other 729 00:44:05,239 --> 00:44:08,799 Speaker 1: examples of products that were announced at one point, but 730 00:44:09,040 --> 00:44:12,880 Speaker 1: never ever made it to the consumer market. They're probably 731 00:44:12,920 --> 00:44:15,520 Speaker 1: a lot more failures out there than successes. In fact, 732 00:44:15,600 --> 00:44:18,520 Speaker 1: I'm sure there's tons that we never heard of, and 733 00:44:18,560 --> 00:44:21,319 Speaker 1: that's just the nature of things. If you're trying something new, 734 00:44:21,440 --> 00:44:25,000 Speaker 1: it's not always gonna work. But I do like the 735 00:44:25,040 --> 00:44:28,960 Speaker 1: spirit of innovation. I like the creativity. I like the 736 00:44:29,000 --> 00:44:33,480 Speaker 1: audacity of some of these projects that uh never made it. 737 00:44:33,920 --> 00:44:36,560 Speaker 1: I'm very curious what what the world would be like 738 00:44:37,000 --> 00:44:40,879 Speaker 1: if the I smell had really taken off. I hate 739 00:44:40,880 --> 00:44:42,879 Speaker 1: to think of what some of my favorite websites would 740 00:44:42,880 --> 00:44:45,920 Speaker 1: smell like. I guess I don't have to worry about that. 741 00:44:47,000 --> 00:44:50,160 Speaker 1: I hope you enjoyed that classic episode of tech Stuff. 742 00:44:50,480 --> 00:44:53,319 Speaker 1: I guess not classic. It's only like two years old, right, 743 00:44:53,360 --> 00:44:56,439 Speaker 1: not even but I hope you enjoyed it. We will 744 00:44:56,480 --> 00:44:59,360 Speaker 1: be back tomorrow with brand new episodes of tech Stuff. 745 00:44:59,800 --> 00:45:04,279 Speaker 1: We are going to have an incredible twenty three I'm 746 00:45:04,320 --> 00:45:06,520 Speaker 1: just I'm putting that out in the universe. I don't 747 00:45:06,600 --> 00:45:09,880 Speaker 1: believe in the wish or any of those things, but 748 00:45:10,080 --> 00:45:12,359 Speaker 1: I you know what, I'll take whatever I can get 749 00:45:12,800 --> 00:45:17,160 Speaker 1: because I think I think we need a good, solid, 750 00:45:17,840 --> 00:45:20,680 Speaker 1: positive year I'm not sure we're going to get it, 751 00:45:21,080 --> 00:45:23,600 Speaker 1: but I'm gonna do my best, and I'm sure all 752 00:45:23,600 --> 00:45:25,880 Speaker 1: of you out there will. We'll try your best to 753 00:45:26,360 --> 00:45:29,400 Speaker 1: Hope you're well, hope you had a wonderful New Year celebration, 754 00:45:30,040 --> 00:45:34,279 Speaker 1: and I will talk to you again really soon. Y 755 00:45:38,960 --> 00:45:42,120 Speaker 1: Tech Stuff is an I Heart Radio production. For more 756 00:45:42,200 --> 00:45:45,600 Speaker 1: podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the i Heart Radio app, 757 00:45:45,719 --> 00:45:48,880 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.