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Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Tech All the Technology You Never Knew You Didn't Need

Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, Jan 8, 2013 at 10:56 AM

The Consumer Electronics Show is happening right now in Las Vegas. It's the convention that maps out the upcoming year in technology, with the very important caveat that most of the big dogs of tech—Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft—don't take part in the show. So what are our early adopters going to be buying this year?

The Nvidia Shield, a portable Android-based gaming system:

And Samsung announced a whole bunch of products, including an "almost human" TV:

Like a beefed -up version of the iPhone's Siri functionality, the F8000's S-Recommendation system can understand questions from viewers and offers responses to their inquiries. For example, Baxter asked the television, “Anything good on today?" and was greeted with a sampling of programming choices that evolve based on not only the type of programming he normally views but also the actual time he views it.

Similar to the Xbox's Kinect camera system, the F8000 also makes use of hand -gesture functionality; instead of using a remote control, users move their hands to change TV channels or record a movie.

Samsung will also have TVs that will allow two people to watch two different TV shows in full screen on the same set at the same time, using special glasses with built-in ear buds. They announced ovens that can cook at two different temperatures at the same time, and a refrigerator that can turn regular fridge space into extra freezer space. Also, their refrigerators will have touch screens and apps, in case you really needed to get Twitter on your fridge. And! Cameras that can film in 3D, in case you didn't hate 3D technology enough already.

(Thanks to Slog tipper Greg for the links.)

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Comments (14) RSS

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Trade shows belong to the days of Mad Men. This is a dying vestige of days gone by, massive marketing budgets, thousands of dipshits on a free Las Vegas holiday. Been there, done that. Barf-O-Rama. Just cut this shit out, and take a few bucks off the price of the gizmos.

Posted by Karlheinz Arschbomber

on January 8, 2013 at 11:15 AM

Did you mean an oven that can work two different temperatures at the same time? That would be awesome. But stoves already do that!

Posted by lizlemon on January 8, 2013 at 11:22 AM

How about a new gaming platform that is actually new, instead of pre-crippled?

Posted by Will in Seattle

on January 8, 2013 at 11:51 AM

@2 - Nonsense. My stove works only at room temperature. Sometimes, I can get a pot of water boiling if I light a small fire on the stovetop, but all the cordwood I have to stack on there leaves little room under the hood for a pot.

Posted by MacCrocodile

on January 8, 2013 at 12:15 PM

An oven that can cook at two different temperatures at the same time? Wow, talk about forward to the past. Double ovens were common in the 1950's and 60's.

Fridge with a touch screen and twitter? Really? Having it on your phone isn't enough?

A lot of solutions looking for problems.

Posted by Charlie Mas on January 8, 2013 at 12:29 PM

@3 depending on what you see as crippled - Steambox will come out this year (its Bigscreen mode has been tested on the Steam for Linux betatesters and it seems it will be running Linux too).
The theres Ouya, now that is a bit of a wildcard since everyone is kinda thinking on whether it will even sail - and if it does how good will it be (seems like an old Nintendo Cube).
Oh and Gamestick another open source thing.

Beyond that I only got allot of Linux-stuff.

Posted by JensR

on January 8, 2013 at 12:34 PM

So what are our early adopters going to be buying this year?

None of these things.

This is the sort of nonsense that used to get displayed in the tertiary exhibit halls at CES and Comdex: unwanted products produced by desperate companies, solving no possible problem ever had by a customer. Now it's all that the show has left: even Samsung (hands-down the biggest player still bothering to attend) doesn't bother to introduce its flagship products there any more. Instead it's all unsellable "concept car" products and demos.

It's time to pack it in.

Posted by Doctor Memory

on January 8, 2013 at 12:43 PM

I imagine that the TV would make watching shows like The Walking Dead unbearable:

"What?! They just said they had to conserve ammo, and yet they're shooting all these penned-in zombies?! Why the hell would you do that when you can easily just stab them through the fence?!"

"Well, Knat, my search confirms that distance is the most important factor in dealing with with a zomb--"

"SHUT UP, TV! I WASN'T ASKING YOU!"

Posted by Knat on January 8, 2013 at 12:46 PM

fuck! imagine that on a Bushmaster inside a movie theater...

Posted by south downtown on January 8, 2013 at 2:09 PM

I used to have to go to these shows. I remember seeing a lot of things that were almost ready for prime time... an audio player that could play 4GB of music! Too big to carry around. An internet centered tablet! But it had to be plugged in. Bluetooth! Before there was anything that you could connect to it.
All of these ideas were eventually refined and tweaked to become the things we can't live without today, but at the time they were all clearly doomed.
The connected fridge will be common in a decade when we'll all wonder how we ever lived without being able to check our fridge's contents while at the supermarket. 3D TV at 4k resolution will be standard once they perfect 3D without glasses. The Siri type of interface will frustratingly be everywhere soon. Hand gestures for computers are right around the corner too.
Ten years ago hardly anyone had an HDTV, now even the anarchists and hippies have 'em. It's all coming whether you like it or not.

Posted by SPG on January 8, 2013 at 2:25 PM

When do we get those guitars that are, like, double-guitars?

http://www.hftf.co.uk/wp-content/uploads…

Posted by Urgutha Forka on January 8, 2013 at 2:57 PM

The TV that two people can watch at the same time is the stupidest thing I have ever heard of. If glasses are required, why not put the screen in the damn glasses?

And, yes, while technologies we all have were introduced and possibly even ridiculed years ago at CES, they are releasing something like 10,000 products. Of those there are a lot of stinkers that are never going to sell.

Posted by fletc3her on January 8, 2013 at 3:43 PM

Your missing out on the 27" Table PC from Lenovo. Pricey at $1700+ but still cool to see.

Posted by Simone on January 8, 2013 at 4:16 PM

@6 for the non-obvious win. Boring year so far, best thing I've heard of.

Besides, we already have tech to do brain-controlled TVs so I don't care if it's the size of a Beluga Whale with 3D Surround Sound. Still old tech done bigger.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on January 8, 2013 at 4:37 PM