SlashGear Japan
We’ve come so far these days in the world of personal technology but in some ways, we’re still missing the mark. Sure it’s the middle of summer but here are five things I’d like to see on the market this (or any) holiday season:
All day battery life – You’d think at this point this would be a no-brainer. I want my laptop to have the same battery attributes as my phone. Namely, I want it to get to through my longest and hardest working day or two days of casual use. I also want it to do so without the need of an battery the size of something that belongs in my car and doesn’t totally ruin the whole aesthetics of the laptop. Is this that hard? Note, I want real world use. That means the screen lit up brightly, wireless options on and someone actually using the machine. No faux benchmarking tests that don’t bear any resemblance to real world use please.
A Great Star Trek game – Come one. How hard could this be? Star Trek and PCs should have yielded something by now. Why are there no great Star Trek games? Sure, we’ve come close a few times, most notably with the late, great, Bridge Commander but why is it so hard to create a faithful simulation of commanding the Starship Enterprise?
Updated versions of X-Wing and Tie Fighter – Lest you think I’m some kind of Trekkie fanboi, I also want the return of LucasArts’ X-Wing and Tie Fighter. Unlike the Trek franchise, these were fantastic titles that totally captured the spirit and feel of the movies and were some of the best games of all time. Except try to play one under one of today’s “modern” operating systems. It’s time for updated versions that can use today’s PC horsepower and graphics; that could take amazing game play and make it indistinguishable from the movie. Red Five is standing by.
Alternative OS to Mac OS/Windows/Linux – I want something more than what we currently have, which are all essentially derivatives of the stuff that was designed more than thirty years ago at Xerox PARC. It’s all the same metaphor of Windows/Mice/Icons and hierarchical storage that does its best to replicate the old file cabinets I have stored in the basement. Newton OS was truly different from anything that had come along prior, but never had the chance to mature. After all these years, can’t we possibly do something a little better and a bit more interesting and functional? Note, Google’s Chrome OS isn’t what I’m looking for. Conceptually, that’s a step backward as far as I’m concerned to the green screen architecture of the 1970s.
A Really Cool digital watch – Digital watches are great. They’re far more accurate than any analog watch. (the cheapest Timex will keep better time than the most expensive Rolex) but somewhere along the line digital watches got really boring. We used to see amazing, cool designs from companies like Seiko and even Casio. Sadly, choices today are limited to the most basic utilitarian stuff at the low end of the line or a bunch of boring versions of models that haven’t changed in their functionality since 1980. There were a lot of cool experiments with watch technology from Microsoft with their Smart Personal Object Technology and Fossil with their late, great Palm watch. It’s time for something cool to strap on my wrist once more that can do more than just tell time. Two-Way Wrist TV and Phone anyone?
That’s my tech wish list. What are the five things you’d most like to see?
Michael Gartenberg is vice president of strategy and analysis at Interpret, LLC. His weblog can be found at gartenblog.net. Contact him at Gartenberg AT gmail DOT com Views expressed here are his own.
5 Responses to “Five tech things I want”
bardog July 22, 2009
I only have one wish, that is for high speed internet to be cheaper and available in all areas in the world! Yes, in the world.
100Mbps fiber optics for 39.99 and Unlimited 7.2Mbps mobile broadband for 19.99! that’s all I’m asking for, but I know it won’t happen
+4reddog093 July 22, 2009
I don’t see all day laptops coming until more we reach new breakthroughs in power consumption. Although we are getting there with cpus and OLED screens. I think that, as cell phones and netbooks mature, the power saving technology will spread upward more into laptops.
I can’t wait for another good Tie Fighter game (Plus it’ll give me a good reason to break out my old Joystick!). X-Wing Alliance was a rather good up to date version, but nowadays we can take the game so much further.
I don’t know if I agree with the new OS option. Windows has kept up to date very well. Direct X is a proven technology that games rely on to run. The learning curve and lack of software compatibility with a new operating system don’t seem worth it to me. I’ve been enjoying Windows 7, but I’d really like to see Linux become more mainstream.
Watches – Digitals have lost their coolness. Although, Samsung has just come out with a new watch cell phone that looks pretty awesome. Maybe we’re due for a comeback?!
+1devinsblog July 22, 2009
I totally agree with the new OS one – it’s my favorite on the list. To dive into that topic a little more…
In daily conversation and, for example, this post, the use of the word OS is tied heavily to the interactions and interface that the OS has. For example, Windows has a certain UI and interaction scheme for keeping track of your open windows by using the start bar, and OS X accomplished this with expose and the dashboard. These are what we typically define the OS as.
Technically though, these features are not what the OS is. The OS is what runs your machine, and is very much coupled to the hardware.
Your comment about the Windows/Mouse/Icons is separate from the architecture that makes an OS an OS. These are simply interactions that could be implemented in any OS.
It sounds like what you are really looking for is just a different metaphor for computer usage, not necessarily a new Operating System. I’m glad you added that to the list though – it’s good to see people not “settling for less”
Neutraljaxon August 4, 2009
Jolicloud OS? What are you looking for exactly, Michael?
And watches have become something of a redundant item imo with clocks on computers and phones everywhere. Have you seen some of the fashion watches that display hours and minutes in a series of LED lights? very cool
Neutralbaldwinart August 5, 2009
I’ld like to address my tech wishlist in terms of ideas-where the ideas may not be a technical breakthrough-but would require a technical breakthrough:
1) Ecology: An outdoor paint that on warm days gets light and on cold days gets dark. Would create a huge impact on household heating/cooling.
2) Healthcare: A national system where you could check your file 24/7. And where one can access many practitioners online at far cheaper costs. Where you would keep healthcare papers so in case of an emergency, it can be found.
3) Internet: Your cell becomes your computer-you pay one price for blazingly fast service, and when you need it, you hook it up to a larger screen. The “spinning ball” as we know it has become a legend-as the net would be instant on. When you need a keyboard, you would use a hologram created one.
3) Prisons: Bring the incarceration system up to the 21st century. Install or have devices on a low risk prisoner so he/she can live at home and work but still be incarcerated and tracked. This is done now but very infrequently and at big cost.
4) Have easy to install bike “generators available-you would hook it up to watch TV or play video games-or if one just bikes-it goes into a bank for your use later.
5) A small combo projector, DVD with LOUD speakers to use outdoors for movie nights that’s under $600 :-)
Neutral