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What's Your Least Favorite High-Tech Device? — Parallax Forums

What's Your Least Favorite High-Tech Device?

ercoerco Posts: 20,256
edited 2013-07-21 00:00 in General Discussion
First Chumby, now this: http://cgi.ebay.com/Pandigital-WikiReader-Handheld-Wikipedia-Portal/220910497098?_trksid=p1468660.m2000037

Lots of people out there are desperately trying (and failing) to create the next "must have" device. What's your favorite high-tech "FAIL" ? Roomba & Scooba both make my top ten, just because their batteries always die after two months or so, as do the replacements iRobot sends under protest.
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Comments

  • bsnutbsnut Posts: 521
    edited 2011-12-10 23:16
    I can't agree with you more. Why in the hack would somebody waste their money on this useless device.
  • mindrobotsmindrobots Posts: 6,506
    edited 2011-12-10 23:44
    Why get one? Same reason as the Chumby....TO HACK IT!
  • zoopydogsitzoopydogsit Posts: 174
    edited 2011-12-11 00:14
    Actually the Telephone/mobile phone. They used to be our friends, now telemarketers, political organizations and charities seem to abuse what was once a useful communications tool. An invasion of mental space.

    I'd have to disagree on the Roomba, we have 2 dogs and a cat and hardwood floors, our Roomba has great WAF (Wife Approval Factor) when out old discovery got sick (as she called it) she insisted we get a newer model (530). We find that it's far more effective at clearing up the animal hair than any amount of sweeping/cleaning. Our discovery ran every day for 5 years, it went through a battery each year, but from eBay we could get those for about $50. The 530 seems to be working well. We resently got a broken Scooba for the bathroom from eBay, the fault turned out to be a blocked nozzle (easy fix) and new battery. Runs fine, with white vinegar and a few hours it does a better job than my wife (or I) with a scrubbing brush. Agreed these are not ideal technologies, but certainly better than a vaccum cleaner (noisy, you have to do the work and it hurts your back) and no I have nothing to do with iRobot other than being a customer. Maybe there will be better battery technologies over time, but so far if my wife is happy, then I'm happy.

    I do agree on all of the "next best thing" technologies. Though I must admit I like my iPod touch my wife got me last year, a very good consumer device, and easy Skype interface for friends.
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2011-12-11 02:41
    ATMs, I don't even have a card to use one. This is where all those downsized banks shed jobs. And it is where panhandlers love to prey on the weak and fearful. The worst of it is I had a sibling and her child that fraudulently removed over six figures of USD from our mother's estate and the bank would do nothing about it.

    Banking and all cash transactions should be a face-to-face affair in order to have a witness on each side of the transaction - but somehow we have let that rather core accounting principle go.

    Of course, there are others - such as telephone queue systems that let me hang on the line for 20 or more minutes when I am called long-distance from Taiwan and need to talk directly to someone in the USA. Again, there once was an entry-level job for some earnest youth, but now there is nothing.
  • sylvie369sylvie369 Posts: 1,622
    edited 2011-12-11 05:25
    zoopydogsit wrote: »
    Actually the Telephone/mobile phone. They used to be our friends, now telemarketers, political organizations and charities seem to abuse what was once a useful communications tool. An invasion of mental space.

    I have to chime in with my standard rant on this. In my opinion, telemarketers rendered the home phone completely unusable. I got rid of mine because it had become little more than a bell on my wall for people to ring when they wanted to sell me something. I had to leave mine unplugged most of the time - and still I paid for the "privilege" of having one.
  • Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
    edited 2011-12-11 05:49
    The Chumby is a WiFi enable Linux single board computer development environment masquerading as a consumer electronics product.

    This thing seems like a future paper weight.
  • graffixgraffix Posts: 389
    edited 2011-12-11 05:53
    Isn't it for autistic kids?
  • bomberbomber Posts: 297
    edited 2011-12-11 07:18
    ALL APPLE COMPUTERS! I really hate Apple Computers. I am the go-to guy when something breaks, or someone needs help with a compuuter. One time, an Apple laptop would not turn on, just a seemingly frozen loading symbol continuously looping and an almost dead battery. if it was a PC, I would have immediatley seen what was happening and what to do. Sadly, on that occasion, i just handed the laptop back to the dismayed teacher (in truth, I suspected this was a hardware problem, probably with the charging battery circitry ).
  • bill190bill190 Posts: 769
    edited 2011-12-11 07:41
    Cell phones and texting...

    I picture a future President of the United States addressing Congress starting with something like this...

    Mr. speakA, Mr. Vice prez, membRs of Congress, n fellow yanks: 2nite we mEt @ an urgent tym 4 r country. We contu 2 face an econmc crsis dat hs lft millions of r nAbors jobless, n a political crsis that’s md fings worse. dis past wk, reporters av bn askN, “What wl dis spEch mean 4t prez? w@ wl it mean 4 Congress ...
  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2011-12-11 07:49
    Anything harboring Windows software.
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,451
    edited 2011-12-11 08:14
    I think I will actually order a wikireader. It's a very cheap pad with very long battery life -- a really good combination -- and it's open source and hackable. If it can host a keyboard it could finally be a realistic answer to the TRS-80 Model 100. Like the Chumby it's a general purpose device masquerading as a consumer product, but its goals are different. I've been arguing for years that there is a need for devices that favor battery life over performance. Amazon finally figured that out with the Kindle, but e-readers are walled gardens unless you risk bricking them to root them. When they were introduced at $100 it was a bit steep but for $20, well, a QuickStart is $20 and it doesn't have a display or case.

    Edit: Order placed.
  • GordonMcCombGordonMcComb Posts: 3,366
    edited 2011-12-11 08:14
    On the WikiReader, don't look at it like an American with full-time Internet access and wifi. Much the world doesn't have this. Pandigital is one of those Chinese outfits making low-cost LCD-based readers for the third-world -- a huge market. This particular product comes pre-loaded with Wikipedia for sale in English-speaking countries, but the content could be anything, including school books, medical volumes for those in sub-Sahara Africa, whatever.

    I'm not saying it's a great product, but too often we color what we think is useful based on our own preconceived notions. Wasn't it Time Magazine that said the Antares Auto-tune was one of the top 50 worst inventions? That may be true, but where would Glee be without it?

    As for my least fav high-tech device, it's my iPhone. I have the iPhone from hell, and I'll be damned if I'm going to reward Apple by buying a replacement. I'm spiting myself to spite them! :tongue:

    -- Gordon
  • prof_brainoprof_braino Posts: 4,313
    edited 2011-12-11 09:08
    hand-me-down iPhone 1. Battery won't hold a charge for a 20 minute phone call. Bleuetooth earphone automatically turns itself off when you answer a call. Locks up if an app is open when a call comes in. Very few user changable defaults (that would be useful to a user). Yuk!
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2011-12-11 09:15
    Windows Automatic Update.
  • Ron CzapalaRon Czapala Posts: 2,418
    edited 2011-12-11 09:15
    bill190 wrote: »
    Cell phones and texting...

    I picture a future President of the United States addressing Congress starting with something like this...

    Mr. speakA, Mr. Vice prez, membRs of Congress, n fellow yanks: 2nite we mEt @ an urgent tym 4 r country. We contu 2 face an econmc crsis dat hs lft millions of r nAbors jobless, n a political crsis that’s md fings worse. dis past wk, reporters av bn askN, “What wl dis spEch mean 4t prez? w@ wl it mean 4 Congress ...

    I agree! I have a pay-as-you-go cell phone for emergencies but never turn it on.

    I am so tired of hearing/seeing people walking/driving with a cell phone stuck to the side of their head. I've seen many people run stop lights and stop signs because they are not paying attention to driving.

    Wonder how many lives have been lost because of the cell phone (and texting) obsession...
  • Duane DegnDuane Degn Posts: 10,588
    edited 2011-12-11 09:22
    Microwaveable chicken pot pies. The old metal pie tins were much better.
    (I like my Roomba though.)
  • nrsmacnrsmac Posts: 42
    edited 2011-12-11 09:32
    I have to disagree with you bomber. I think Apple has something that Windows does't have. Quality. and Simplicity. Honestly. it takes over 2 hours to get a Windows machine set up. A mac? you take it out of the box, fill in some info. and Voila. You have a usable computer. Another thing microsoft doesn't have Self-innovation. Their company, consists of a bunch of technologies bought from other companies. I also, think Windows 8 is my least favourite tech product on the market. Most computers, are keyboard and mouse. Apparently. Microsoft thinks that all computers, have a multitouch monitor, better than the smooth multitouch screen on the iPad 2, that is huge enough for buttons 3X3 inches. The Zune is also another fail. It's useless.
  • PJAllenPJAllen Banned Posts: 5,065
    edited 2011-12-11 09:34
    least favourite high-tech device: cell-phone (and its spawn)
  • doggiedocdoggiedoc Posts: 2,243
    edited 2011-12-11 10:27
    Publison wrote: »
    Windows Automatic Update.
    I just snorted Mountain Dew out of my nose on that one!!

    I sincerely dislike (not a fan of the H word) those little Blue-tooth ear pieces that people with the above mentioned cell phone obsessions walk around in public talking (loudly I might add) to someone I can neither see nor hear. That is my least favorite technology at the moment.

    Paul
  • TymkrsTymkrs Posts: 539
    edited 2011-12-11 11:33
    Duane Degn wrote: »
    Microwaveable chicken pot pies. The old metal pie tins were much better.
    (I like my Roomba though.)

    L.O.L! And I don't know if this is my least favorite, but I'm seconding doggiedoc's wireless bluetooth earpieces. Especially when people wear it when they're not actually talking to someone. Really? Do ya sleep with it on? Just take it out already!
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2011-12-11 13:11
    This thing. I had great hopes for this object of techno-lust. But the only use I ever found for it was playing Minesweeper while waiting for the Seattle ferry.

    -Phil
  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2011-12-11 13:23
    Those fancy new breath-freshner devices some people like to use on Wall Street. And elsewhere.

    bxd3x.jpg
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2011-12-11 14:01
    How about the MUSIC BULLET, as seen on TV! https://www.musicbullettv.com/?refcode=MBTV17 Kickin' bass! You see that massive subwoofer bumpin'? (What is that, a motor moving that slowly?) We'll DOUBLE the offer! Two for $19.99, just pay seperate handling!

    And where's ROBOMOP, the revolutionary "robot" floor cleaner which is a Weasel Ball randomly pushing a swiffer pad on a top hat? http://www.robomop.net/ It even got Wiki'd: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RoboMop
    bullet.jpg
    320 x 470 - 52K
    Robomop.jpg
    500 x 447 - 53K
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,451
    edited 2011-12-11 14:10
    Getting back to the Wikireader ... a bit of GOOG reveals that, especially at the current price, this is one heck of a nifty device. There is an internal header with a 3v3 serial port (and power), it comes out of the box ready to program in FORTH, and there are a couple of development systems and a PC Forth simulator out there. I'm starting to get excited that this is really going to end up being the low-power, extreme battery life note taking device I've been looking for and occasionally trying to build for years.

    I have spent over $1,000 on parts for projects that didn't work out or I never finished going in this direction. All I need with the WR is a 3v3 RS232 keyboard (propellerize my now unused TI keyboard maybe?) and write a basic word processor if nobody else has yet.

    It's designed so you can repurpose it with no risk of bricking; the operating system is on the SD card. New apps can be added as files and run from an alternate start menu or you can just change it out for a whole different boot system.

    I now remember seeing the releases when it was introduced at $99, which is really a bit steep when a Kindle is cheaper than that. But at $20 I couldn't buy the parts to build one. Could even make an interesting Propeller peripheral -- let it handle the SD filesystem, display, and touchscreen with only two pins to the Propeller doing the real application.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2011-12-11 14:15
    @localroger: Did I mock too soon? :) It includes a 4 GB micro SD card, that's worth $5 alone...
  • MicrocontrolledMicrocontrolled Posts: 2,461
    edited 2011-12-11 14:57
    @Phil: I have the later version of that, the Palm T|X. It was sold brand new until 2 years ago, and I bought it 3 months before it was discontinued. I can easily say it was one of the most frustrating pieces of tech I have owned. For $299, you got a 4" resistive touchscreen, an SD card slot, Bluetooth (that seemed to work with nothing) and WiFi + web browser (that only loaded text and pictures). Yet, for some reason, I used it heavily until I got an iPod touch last year for Christmas. I even bought some apps for it, which cost 10X as much as the ones for apple devices. I actually bought it new for $199 thinking I was getting a bargain, and yes, the iPod WAS out at this time for the same price.
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,451
    edited 2011-12-11 15:16
    Yes Erco I'm actually somewhat excited about this thing. You get the uSD as you mentioned, plus just the LCD would be at least $10 from one of the usual suppliers. Yeah there's no backlight but that's because of the battery power priority. And it's all in a case with a battery holder and regulated power supply. Which just happens to be the 3v3 required by our beloved Propeller. If this thing ends up being half of what I think it is, I'll probably order ten of them to keep around for projects.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2011-12-11 15:27
    Well at least some good came out my sad little attempt to denigrate this otherwise fine product by calling it to your attention! :)

    Now, what shall I mock next in hopes of inadvertently bringing about more good for all mankind. Free energy? Global warming? World hunger? Perpetual motion? International peace and goodwill towards men? Occupy Parallax?
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,451
    edited 2011-12-11 15:52
    Definitely OCCUPY PARALLAX. Especially if UPEW isn't AT Parallax.

    In fairness, when WikiReader was introduced at $99 it was mock (and even cringe) worthy. But just looking at the amount of interfacing and software that comes with it for the (few) peripherals it has -- file system, LCD and touchscreen interfaces -- and that's all soldering you don't have to do an code you don't have to write.

    I have two TRS-80 Model 100 clones I bought to propellerize; that was getting expensive and complicated and I don't have time to do the software. I have three PET 702 DVD players, the LCD mod I did before I did the photo frame, one of which I ruined and one of which is half-modded, and I'll probably just give the last one away some day because even if the propmod worked, it would only last a day or so on batteries. I have the TI-83 which I creatively case modded and TI keyboard; the TI keyboard is beautiful but the NoteFolio software loses keystrokes so annoyingly often it's unusable. I know it's a software problem because the same app *doesn't* lose keystrokes when it's "busy" doing a garbage collection; it's the display drivers not breaking out often enough to service the keyboard interface. But I can't fix it because it's a closed app and walled garden ecosystem. And what else was there?

    I got the cheap flytouch Android pad but it has worse battery life than almost anything else and I've never used it except as a novelty, and probably never will unless it's a fixed application where AC power is available.

    My wife just got a Kindle for Xmas from one of our mutual friends. It's neat but even if rooted has no way to connect a keyboard.

    WikiReader was well targeted a spot that might not have much of a US market, but is really vacant and really useful in places that don't have reliable electricity. You might not regularly visit such places but my bird-watching wife and I do, and this is just the thing.

    Come to think of it, with the SD card it could be the perfect thing for recording sightings in the field for birdwatchers. I once got the wife an app for that based on a Palm device, but when she let the battery go flat it lost all its data including the app. The WikiReader, having an SD, would not have that problem.

    Mind racing ... must stop ...
  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2011-12-11 18:51
    Thumbdrive-feline hybridizations:

    6a00e55225079e88340120a767238e970b-pi.jpg
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