by , 8:00 AM EST, March 17th, 2003
One of the few requirements of being a Mac owner is that you must, at some point in your Mac owning career, dream up some device you'd like to see Apple release. It's expected of you; if you own a Mac you have to have a dream device knocking around somewhere in your cranium, and you have to tell others about it.
That's not to say that non-Mac users don't harbor a wish-list they'd like to give to Steve Jobs. We know that PC-people panted and longed for a chance to own an iPod and, something that finally come true for them. Still, prognosticating about future goodies from 1 Infinite Loop is a pastime we Mac lovers love to indulge.
Apparently we are not the only ones; Wired News has published a really interesting list of devices it believes we may see circa 2013, which is not so far from now. The first on their list of technological tidbits from tomorrow is a device they believe will come from Apple: the iPhone (Wired doesn't mention that Apple owns the trademark for iPhone). Here's the description:
Talk This Way
Apple redefined the desktop, laptop, and MP3 player. The next insanely great thing: an LCD arm cuff that includes a PDA, wireless Internet, a mini iPod, and, of course, a phone. The iPhone bracelet's motion sensor allows you to scroll through apps and files with the flick of a wrist; its clasp holds a digicam for use during video calls; and its wireless ear clip lets you listen and speak to callers. And everything can be done via voice recognition or touchscreen. Talk about the right call.
The rest of the article details other drool inducing devices such as noise selective earplugs that eliminates only the sounds you want. Check out the article, Future Fetish, at Wired News.
Seriously, we'd love to see all of the devices on Wired's list, with special emphasis on the iPhone, of course. We're also sure that we could come up with a few cool digital doodads on our own. For instance, we'd like to see a set of ear plugs that look a like the plugs in the Wired article, except our plugs could translate spoken words from one language to another on the fly, or amplify certain voices as per your direction, or provide a direct aural link to your Mac. They would be sort of like a PDA in your ear, feed your address info and e-mail to you while you are on the run, remind you of appointments and special events, and even give you directions to whatever destination you may be en-route to. We call our device iBirdie because it will tell you stuff you need to know.
OK, we showed you ours, now show us yours. What digital neatness would you like someone, most of all, Apple, to make?