What is this crazy cool thing from sony?

[FoxFour]

Tools like this may be sort of gimmicky now, but may have useful applications in the near future when the technology is fully de-bugged. With advances in miniature hard-drive technology, this could very well be the next gen laptop.

[RC45]

Originally Posted by Overmind well, it does look cool, but how is it better than an ordinary touch screen display? And having so many specialized panels?

Imagine a doctor at your bedside - he would be constrained by the applications that the system with the touch screen attached had available.

This could be a Citrix based solution with all the medical apps the hospital has, available at his finger tips --- but only the appls preinstalled, configured and deployed over a long period of time involving very expensive complex projects.

Far from ideal.

Now imagine the same doctor with a "tile pc".

The final version might involve the doctor taking out his"tile" - and placing it on your chart, uploading the info, inlcuding XRays.

He takes his pen pages through, zooms and edits a portion of the image, places his cell phone on it, to send it to his collegue for a second opinion and prescribes a medication.

He allows you to order the medication from your pharmacy by letting you drag the prescription from his "tile" to yours.



You place your insurance card ontop and prepay the medication order, which you then send with your cell phone.

This stuff is great!!!

[Yablokov]

wow that looks cool. but it lacks in practicality.

[Toronto]

^^^ if you think that storing all those tiles is not practical,
then I guess you think books are bad too :roll:

[RC45]

^^^ I should imagine the final product would be the super-smart-card.

[DeMoN]

Awesome machine, but imagine paying $$$$ for it and later dropping one of those "modules" lol then your whole machine is fukd up!

[Global Warming]

Originally Posted by Toronto ^^^ if you think that storing all those tiles is not practical, then I guess you think books are bad too :roll:

Well e-books or reading books on a PDA is SOOO much nicer than real books. You can have dozens on one little device, you never have to turn pages, etc. I have read several books on my iPAQ. The problem is an iPAQ is several hundred dollars and a paper back book is just a few dollars. If PDA devices were as cheap as books you would never see another book again.

[Overmind]

RC45: I might be wrong, but I think this is just a visualisation/interface system. I also doubt that each of those panels carries a CPU... I think those are just little cool looking thouch screen displays which are then plugged on a PC controlled panel.

Also in your doctor example I think you are mixing the interface with the cumbersome and heavy hospital IS app . Or do you think switching to the cool panels will get rid of it?

I also suggest you consider how proprietary Sony's systems usualy are .

[RC45]

Originally Posted by Overmind RC45: I might be wrong, but I think this is just a visualisation/interface system. I also doubt that each of those panels carries a CPU... I think those are just little cool looking thouch screen displays which are then plugged on a PC controlled panel.

I doubt that is the ultimate goal - as the particular item displayed on the tile appears to be tied to the tile itself.

The idea of having individual pprocess capable devices is not so far fetched.

Originally Posted by Overmind Also in your doctor example I think you are mixing the interface with the cumbersome and heavy hospital IS app .

Not at all- having worked with a number of such systems - I am stating that having such a simple interface to access the systems and bring continuity to such solutions will make them more functional than they are today.

Originally Posted by Overmind Or do you think switching to the cool panels will get rid of it?

Not at all- this would be the simplification of the interface to already existing solutions - just imagine the new ones it makes possible

Originally Posted by Overmind I also suggest you consider how proprietary Sony's systems usualy are .

Doesn't matter how proprietary their systems are - they have broken new ground in so man fields that later became daily accepted use items.

You would not have an iPod today had Mr "Sony" not asked to have his engineers think of a way to let him take his music with him - giving the world the Walkman.

[Global Warming]

I thought it was VERY cool. But don’t really see the advantage. We have been able to open a weather window, stock window, email window, etc and drag info between them for 10 years. And on all OSs, PC, Mac, Linux, etc.

What is the advantage of taking the virtual windows off of a virtual desktop and making them physical windows on a physical desktop? I don’t really see the application for it….

[RC45]

Originally Posted by Global Hemisphere I thought it was VERY cool. But don’t really see the advantage. We have been able to open a weather window, stock window, email window, etc and drag info between them for 10 years. And on all OSs, PC, Mac, Linux, etc. What is the advantage of taking the virtual windows off of a virtual desktop and making them physical windows on a physical desktop? I don’t really see the application for it….

You are being far too literal and lack creativity and vision.

You also totally miss what I have said.

*whoooooosh*

What I had qualified was that in the displayed form it is not practical and is nothing more than a "glass" version of "windowed"apps.

This I identified and qualified a number of times.

What I then went on the discuss was that if the funtionality could be implanted into a SINGLE component that was not dependant on the substrate it was plugged into - then the vision of the above story is good and desirable.

Take "the tile" and place it on the patient chart - uploading the data.

Edit manipulate and perhaps send the data by placing the cell phone on "the tile".

Pay for the medicine by placing card on "the tile".

I guess reading all those ebooks you forgot to concentrate on comprehension.

[Global Warming]

Originally Posted by RC45 Originally Posted by Global Hemisphere I thought it was VERY cool. But don’t really see the advantage. We have been able to open a weather window, stock window, email window, etc and drag info between them for 10 years. And on all OSs, PC, Mac, Linux, etc. What is the advantage of taking the virtual windows off of a virtual desktop and making them physical windows on a physical desktop? I don’t really see the application for it…. You totally miss what I have said. *whoooooosh* What I had qualified was that in the displayed form it is not practical and is nothing more than a "glass" version of "windowed"apps. This I identified and qualified a number of times. What I then went on the discuss was that if the funtionality could be implanted into a SINGLE component that was not dependant on the substrate it was plugged into - then the vision of the above story is good and desirable. Take "the tile" and place it on the patient chart - uploading the data. Edit manipulate and perhaps send the data by placing the cell phone on "the tile". Pay for the medicine by placing card on "the tile". I guess reading all those ebooks you forgot to concentrate on comprehension.

If it’s that high tech why would you need to place your cell phone on it? It should be able to send it wirelessly by itself. I mean what if you forgot your phone or it was out of power, you mean to tell me these high tech tiles wouldn’t have there own wireless capability? It has to have WAN (or “Bluetooth”) to even work like it’s shown.

And why would you need to place the tile on the patients chart??? The cart is already on the network and the tile has full access to the network.... Why can’t the doctor just open the chart on the tile without putting it on anything? And pay? We can already do that at the pump and toll booths wirelessly and we don’t have to place anything on anything...

[RC45]

Originally Posted by Global Hemisphere Originally Posted by RC45 Originally Posted by Global Hemisphere I thought it was VERY cool. But don’t really see the advantage. We have been able to open a weather window, stock window, email window, etc and drag info between them for 10 years. And on all OSs, PC, Mac, Linux, etc. What is the advantage of taking the virtual windows off of a virtual desktop and making them physical windows on a physical desktop? I don’t really see the application for it…. You totally miss what I have said. *whoooooosh* What I had qualified was that in the displayed form it is not practical and is nothing more than a "glass" version of "windowed"apps. This I identified and qualified a number of times. What I then went on the discuss was that if the funtionality could be implanted into a SINGLE component that was not dependant on the substrate it was plugged into - then the vision of the above story is good and desirable. Take "the tile" and place it on the patient chart - uploading the data. Edit manipulate and perhaps send the data by placing the cell phone on "the tile". Pay for the medicine by placing card on "the tile". I guess reading all those ebooks you forgot to concentrate on comprehension. If it’s that high tech why would you need to place your cell phone on it? It should be able to send it wirelessly by itself. I mean what if you forgot your phone or it was out of power, you mean to tell me these high tech tiles wouldn’t have there own wireless capability? It has to have WAN (or “Bluetooth”) to even work like it’s shown. And why would you need to place the tile on the patients chart??? The cart is already on the network and the tile has full access to the network.... Why can’t the doctor just open her chart on the tile without putting it on anything? And pay? We can already do that at the pump and toll booths wirelessly and we don’t have to place anything on anything...

Besides the fact that many wards of the hospital cannot be bombarded with masses of radio waves - who said the chart, even if electronic ,was connected or even on the same network as the cell phone and or "tile".

Your pay for gas and toll through the air examples are very specific closed systems that share little with other devices.

The smartcard credit cards demoed that allow pay-swiping simply up and download account information and don't logically process anything.

BTW - does one of your ebooks have a dictionary? Look up warranty.

[Global Warming]

Originally Posted by RC45 Originally Posted by Global Hemisphere Originally Posted by RC45 Originally Posted by Global Hemisphere I thought it was VERY cool. But don’t really see the advantage. We have been able to open a weather window, stock window, email window, etc and drag info between them for 10 years. And on all OSs, PC, Mac, Linux, etc. What is the advantage of taking the virtual windows off of a virtual desktop and making them physical windows on a physical desktop? I don’t really see the application for it…. You totally miss what I have said. *whoooooosh* What I had qualified was that in the displayed form it is not practical and is nothing more than a "glass" version of "windowed"apps. This I identified and qualified a number of times. What I then went on the discuss was that if the funtionality could be implanted into a SINGLE component that was not dependant on the substrate it was plugged into - then the vision of the above story is good and desirable. Take "the tile" and place it on the patient chart - uploading the data. Edit manipulate and perhaps send the data by placing the cell phone on "the tile". Pay for the medicine by placing card on "the tile". I guess reading all those ebooks you forgot to concentrate on comprehension. If it’s that high tech why would you need to place your cell phone on it? It should be able to send it wirelessly by itself. I mean what if you forgot your phone or it was out of power, you mean to tell me these high tech tiles wouldn’t have there own wireless capability? It has to have WAN (or “Bluetooth”) to even work like it’s shown. And why would you need to place the tile on the patients chart??? The cart is already on the network and the tile has full access to the network.... Why can’t the doctor just open her chart on the tile without putting it on anything? And pay? We can already do that at the pump and toll booths wirelessly and we don’t have to place anything on anything... Besides the fact that many wards of the hospital cannot be bombarded with masses of radio waves - who said the chart, even if electronic ,was connected or even on the same network as the cell phone and or "tile". Your pay for gas and toll through the air examples are very specific closed systems that share little with other devices. The smartcard credit cards demoed that allow pay-swiping simply up and download account information and don't logically process anything. BTW - does one of your ebooks have a dictionary? Look up warranty.

Well I hate to disappoint you but this technology will be using some kind of wireless radio waves no mater how it’s used so it would create “masses of radio waves” all over the hospital anyway. As far as the toll booths, which are on a closed system… Have you heard of a credit/debit card? How is sliding it in and out of a slot to pay for your gas or whatever more difficult than putting a tile ageist the booth/pump? Is the very same thing. Both are just going to send and verify your account #.

As for the tile and your cell phone not being on the same network I would hope not. The tile should have secure wireless/bluetooth access to what ever networks it need, with or without being placed on anything. That should be totally independent. Using your cell phone to send the info would just be a waist of money and an unnecessary security risk. I could point my iPaq I bought in 1999 at my 1999 Nokia phones's IR port and get internet acces way back then. This is hardly new.

The logic just doesn’t work out on this… I mean we already have everything this represents.. they are called wireless PDAs.

As for sharing info between two tiles with no network access or WAN access available. That also has been a part of PDA for 8 years or so. You could send data between Palm Pilots via IR way back on the first one.

[RC45]

^^ you are aware that the point of contact in smart card transactions is to limit the transmission to a small distance so people can't "scan" you CC info from your pocket.

So - in order to use a non-magnetic strip smartcard you have to maintain close proximity until the data is read/transfered.

IR type coms is the same - you need to maintain line of site comms until the tranfer is complete.

Wireless would require "in range" comms be maintained until the transfer is complete.

Seems the task of placing one device against the other is the simplest and easiest way to expedite this maintained connection.

Oh - and antoher thing - wireless PDA's have been out for an aweful long time, and are still the toys of a few - they didn't exactly conquer the world as they were supposed to - they are still too wieldy, clumsy and offer nothing more or better than any other existing technology..

I mean if they can do the job of the laptop and cell phon e- why haven't they displaced them.