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Tech that needs to die.

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  • I mean, you can text an email already, and we have VOIP. That probably wouldn't be that far off.
  • Why replace phone numbers? With numbers you have an infinite number of possible addresses that are easy to remember when properly formatted. Even the interwebs uses numbers (IP address) with text (domains) being translated for resolution.
  • Why replace phone numbers? With numbers you have an infinite number of possible addresses that are easy to remember when properly formatted. Even the interwebs uses numbers (IP address) with text (domains) being translated for resolution.
    1. Not an infinite number.
    2. No intrinsic meaning: 100% arbitrary

    Phone numbers are an archaic routing and identity mechanism that have no place in the modern world. We use DNS, rather than IP addresses, for a reason.


  • Numbers are not infinite?
  • edited April 2013
    Only if you're allowed to have as many digits as you want.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.164
    Post edited by lackofcheese on
  • I personally hate that we're still using physical keys that need to be keep tracked off.
  • phpbb
    Yeah phpbb blows, as does vBulletin (or it used to anyway, maybe it has improved?) I'm really excited about Discourse, though.
  • I personally hate that we're still using physical keys that need to be keep tracked off.
    UniKey agrees.
  • I personally hate that we're still using physical keys that need to be keep tracked off.
    UniKey agrees.
    I can see potential for abuse there...
  • As much as I'd like good wireless headphones to be ubiquitous , I'd be happy if most headphones just had user-replaceable cables. Other than some skullcandies where the earbud came apart, pretty much all of the headphones that I've had died from the cable fucking up. I wish at least the full-size headphones would have a standard 3.5mm stereo jack instead of being hardwired.
  • As much as I'd like good wireless headphones to be ubiquitous , I'd be happy if most headphones just had user-replaceable cables. Other than some skullcandies where the earbud came apart, pretty much all of the headphones that I've had died from the cable fucking up. I wish at least the full-size headphones would have a standard 3.5mm stereo jack instead of being hardwired.
    Someone needs to Kickstart that shit!
  • Bose handles their headphones like that.
  • I personally hate that we're still using physical keys that need to be keep tracked off.
    UniKey agrees.
    I can see potential for abuse there...
    Yes, there's all kinds of potential for security flaws, but I'd wager they've already thought of most of the problems that have popped into your head. The founder/president is a security and access control expert, and it's pretty damn critical to the company's success that their shit doesn't break.
  • That looks great, but frankly, I don't think it's going to be implemented as anything more than a cool lock on geek-owned houses. It's not going into any mid-to-high security places, and anyone who does is an idiot.
  • Yes, there's all kinds of potential for security flaws, but I'd wager they've already thought of most of the problems that have popped into your head. The founder/president is a security and access control expert, and it's pretty damn critical to the company's success that their shit doesn't break.
    Even the mightiest wall can crumble. It doesn't matter who's in charge of that company and how well-versed they are in any security field; a tiny chink in the code is all you need to cause a PSN-esque fiasco.

    I think I'll stick with normal locks and keys.
  • That looks great, but frankly, I don't think it's going to be implemented as anything more than a cool lock on geek-owned houses. It's not going into any mid-to-high security places, and anyone who does is an idiot.
    First thing that I thought of when I first heard about it is hotel rooms. You could cut costs on the absolutely insecure key card system, keep better track of staff, and have a nice wowee factor for hotel guests.
  • That looks great, but frankly, I don't think it's going to be implemented as anything more than a cool lock on geek-owned houses. It's not going into any mid-to-high security places, and anyone who does is an idiot.
    First thing that I thought of when I first heard about it is hotel rooms. You could cut costs on the absolutely insecure key card system, keep better track of staff, and have a nice wowee factor for hotel guests.
    Maybe, if they have a suitable system. The reason that the insecure key card system is still in place is that it's SUPER expensive to replace, and because it's - I'm sorry to say - one of the best if not the best commercially available solution to the problem right now.
  • Non-HD webcams
  • Wired headphones. We need people to make wireless ones cheaper, because the amount of cord untangling the average person has to do is becoming ludicrous.
    How cheap do you want them? I paid $20 for mine, although they're nothing special, they do the job fine while at the gym or out walking the dog.

  • My employer uses a keycard system for building access (unlocks doors and logs who comes through the door). The one problem we have is that it uses the Internet to access remote servers for authentication. While the local building has a box in it which stores the access information for the people who use the building regularly at least once a year that box gets corrupted and none of the doors work.

    That is when a physical key is required to get in and reset/reload the box.
  • I've never had an issue with corded headphones or mice, and continue to use them in order to avoid issues with interference or batteries.
  • I agree about mice. I just want wireless headphones for my portable music players.
  • yea a corded mouse means at some point my mouse just doesn't die in the middle of a game randomly,...
  • Well the mobile networks in America need to get with the 2000s. Unlimited data and calls that don't drop in cities for about £20/mo sim only was what I had back home, though I had about 5hrs worth of calls and 100 texts with it.
    20 Pounds a month is about $40.
  • I've never had an issue with corded headphones or mice, and continue to use them in order to avoid issues with interference or batteries.
    Most of my issues are idiosyncratic, but I spend a lot of time crawling through telecomms, kneeling to look at jacks at the bottom of racks, and going through fucking doors with their shitty door handles that yank your earbuds right out of your ear, so I can see the benefit of a wireless pair. I don't know a lot about them, so I'd like to know if the sound quality just drops off and is shit (which I assume it is, listening to music over a bluetooth headset).

  • Oh, Dave, if I were still doing that (I used to manage data centers), I would use wireless earbuds in a heartbeat.
  • Most of my issues are idiosyncratic, but I spend a lot of time crawling through telecomms, kneeling to look at jacks at the bottom of racks, and going through fucking doors with their shitty door handles that yank your earbuds right out of your ear, so I can see the benefit of a wireless pair. I don't know a lot about them, so I'd like to know if the sound quality just drops off and is shit (which I assume it is, listening to music over a bluetooth headset).

    My experience with a $20 bluetooth headset is that the sound quality is good enough. It's certainly comparable to a $20 pair of wired headphones of a similar size at the very least. They're not going to be as good as a top-of-the-line model, but hey, as I said, they do the job when I'm at the gym or walking the dog. When I'm not out and about, I usually use either a $20 pair of Sennheiser over-the-ear wired headphones at home or a $70 pair of Sennheiser noise cancelling headphones when I'm on a plane or something.
  • I went shopping today and thought of this thread.

    I was picking up some hardware to replace a broken computer part and thought I'd browse the options they have for desktops. Can someone please explain to me why VGA cables are still a "thing?" Shouldn't they be phased out in favor of DVI and HDMI by now? Every newfangled monitor and tower still has VGA ports drilled into the back of them.
  • I am happy for that as my desktop is an old pile of bits that only has a DVI and VGA port.

    I need (want) to upgrade. ;___;
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