Geek Tested:

Release Notes: Screw Heat Vision, I Want Google

Posted 07/13/09 at 11:00:41 AM by Will Smith

As I write this, I’m sitting in seat 17F. My air speed is about 517mph, and I’m 35,146 feet above Limon, Colorado. Last year, this would have been a boring five-hour plane ride. This year, my hours in the air feel no different than kicking back at home on a rainy Sunday afternoon. I’m on a computer, farting around on the Internet. And while that’s undoubtedly nice, I really want—no, that’s not right—I need more.

You know the question everyone always asks: “If you could choose one superpower, what would it be?” The unimaginative types say they want an adamantium skeleton or X-ray vision, but I’m not interested in “classic” superpowers. I want instant brain-level access to the Internet. I want to know everything there is to know about everything—or at least have that information available at the speed of Google*. And I want all the relevant info at any given time displayed in a context-rich overlay on top of whatever I’m actually looking at. That’s not too much, is it?

Sure, I can approximate that experience today by whipping out my trusty iPhone and hitting the net, but that still takes too long. I’ve got to extricate the phone from my pocket, turn it on, open the browser, then type my query. Taking a few minutes to get the answer to a simple Google query is too long for me. The funny thing is the problem isn’t bandwidth, it’s the formfactor. The hardware needed to make this happen is here, but it’s not been combined, Voltron-style, into the perfect device.

In the meantime, there’s got to be a better formfactor for mobile Internet devices. While I love having Internet functionality integrated in a phone, maintaining a balance between portability and utility is tricky—the device needs to be small enough to fit in a jeans pocket but still include a big, Internet-friendly screen. Much-maligned display glasses could help close the gap, but there’s probably even better tech than that waiting in the wings.

I’ll keep my eyes peeled for new hardware, but until it arrives, how do you cope?

*The speed of Google is roughly one query every 0.18 seconds, or roughly 20,000 queries an hour.

COMMENTS:11

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bose headphones
Submitted by bose2009 on Tue, 07/14/2009 - 5:42pm

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Stream of Consciousness
Submitted by mesiah on Mon, 07/13/2009 - 9:37pm

Be careful what you wish for >.> This reminds me of an old episode of outer limits (the newer version) from season 3 called stream of consciousness. Everyone was outfitted with a device that would allow them access to all the worlds information with nothing but a thought. A few people were not compatible with the technology and were seen as outcasts. Those that could use it became so dependent on it that they didn't even know how to read. They had endless knowledge, but without their data stream they were totally helpless. It was actually a decent episode. Anyone interested in viewing it, the hulu link is below ;)

http://www.hulu.com/watch/67554/outer-limits-stream-of-consciousness#x-0,vepisode,1

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That is what I keep asking my car..
Submitted by JohnP on Mon, 07/13/2009 - 3:55pm

I will settle for a little bit less. Talking to God Google. Y'know, like a little Blue tooth earpiece except that it ties into Google. "Google, what time will the sun set tonight and is it going to rain?" That kind of thing. I amuse my kids by asking questions like this while we are driving and the car topic crys out for a Google search. "Google, what are the major baryon groups?" or "Google, what was Argentina's GDP in comparison to other countries in 1900?"

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Deja Vu
Submitted by EpicEyes on Mon, 07/13/2009 - 9:59am

Either I'm having a serious case of Deja Vu or i've read this post somewhere before. Here, the mag, some other site. Not real sure but I've definitely read it before.

Edit: It's taken from the May issue... i knew i'd read it before.

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hey me too
Submitted by robotsneedhugs2 on Mon, 07/13/2009 - 10:41am

hey me too

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Nah. I've got the superpower
Submitted by neo1piv14 on Mon, 07/13/2009 - 9:39am

Nah. I've got the superpower to top all others. Everytime you're at the store, or for that matter, buying anything...you can always reach in your pocket and pull out exact change. Oh yeah. I want that.

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You can
Submitted by 010000100110010... on Mon, 07/13/2009 - 11:14am

You can...it's called a credit card. ---The past is the past. It's time to focus on the present...---

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if only we had Saijin
Submitted by nekollx on Mon, 07/13/2009 - 8:37am

if only we had Saijin Scouters with Wifi....

------------------------------
Coming soon to Lulu.com --Tokusatsu Heroes--
Five teenagers, one alien ghost, a robot, and the fate of the world.

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Déjà vu?
Submitted by the_river on Mon, 07/13/2009 - 8:15am

Sorry Will. I think you stole this one from Stargate's 'The Link' interface on P3X-289.

No I had to Bing that one. It just reminded me of that episode. Cool idea though and I would probably have to agree that would be nice to have personally. Then again, I think I'd rather be able to fly to avoid long lines at security at the airport, and even better, avoid traffic in the morning.

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Heroes
Submitted by 010000100110010... on Mon, 07/13/2009 - 9:34am

More like he got this from Heroes. http://heroeswiki.com/Digital_communication ---The past is the past. It's time to focus on the present...---

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Sorry Will, you can't have
Submitted by DBsantos77 on Mon, 07/13/2009 - 8:09am

Sorry Will, you can't have everything in life..

TRY AGAIN LATER!

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