"15 Things We Wish Someone Would Invent" by Forbes

[boinky 0]

1. Teleporter
The problem: Everyone wants to get where they're going, faster, with less time in airplanes and security lines.

The solution: Make like Spock and beam yourself there.

Ten-year odds: Vanishingly small. Yes, scientists have managed to teleport information using the principles of quantum physics. These techniques could one day transform communications, but they won't transport a human.

Idea courtesy of Yanki Margalit, CEO of Aladdin Knowledge Systems, and others.

2. A Go-Anywhere Phone
The problem: Dropped calls. Lack of network coverage. Incompatible systems from country to country.

The solution: A phone that works everywhere.

Ten-year odds: Very high. If you have the bucks, you can already use satellite phones pretty much anywhere you can see the sky--but good luck in the London tube or downtown Manhattan. The closest thing currently in existence is probably Thuraya's combination satellite/GMS mobile phone, which roles over from one system to the other depending on your location. But so far, its service doesn't extend to the Americas, East Asia or Australia.

Idea courtesy of Dipchand Nishar, director, Google, and many others.

3. Electronic Paper
The problem: Paper, paper, everywhere--but you can't download the news (or search the Web) on it.

The solution: Electronic paper as light, readable and flexible as regular paper, but with the capabilities of a computer.

Ten-year odds: Fair. Companies including Xerox, E-Ink, Philips, and Apple are rumored to be working on it. Then again, companies have supposedly been "working on it" for more than decade now.

Idea courtesy of Craig Federighi, CTO of Ariba, and others.

4. A Household Chores Robot
The problem: No one wants to clean house.

The solution: Robots.

Ten-year odds: High. There's already the Roomba, iRobot's automatic vacuum cleaner. So how hard can it be to invent one that also makes the bed, does the dishes and scrubs the toilet?

Idea courtesy of Bernard Louvat, CEO of InQ, and others.

5. The Universal Gadget
The problem: Too many gadgets to juggle.

The solution: One that does it all.

Ten-year odds: Very high. Apple's new iPhone, for one, promises to roll a music and video player, e-mailer, telephone, Web browser and camera into one.

Idea courtesy of Peter Young, vice president of MedImmune, and many others.

6. Smart Head Implants
The problem: Our brains may be creative, but they lack the power and speed of computers.

The solution: Implant chips in your brain.

Ten-year odds: Very low. Scientists have implanted chips in rat brains, but we are very far from "jacking into the net" like the cyber-punks of science fiction.

Idea courtesy of Richard Gingras, CEO of Goodmail Systems.

7. The Bubble
The problem: The noise, dirt and hassle of daily life.

The solution: Travel in a protective bubble.

Ten-year odds: Low. Try combining a Segway, a rain poncho and a set of Bose noise-cancelling headphones instead.

Idea courtesy of Carl Wilson, CIO of Marriott International.

8. A Universal Language Translator
The problem: You're in Beijing this week and Berlin the next--and you just haven't had time to master both Mandarin and German.

The solution: A simultaneous, all-language text and sound translator.

Ten-year odds: Middling. Translation programs exist, and they are getting better, but we are still a very long way from an electronic version of the Babel Fish, the critter from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy that sits in your ear and makes foreign words instantly understandable.

Idea courtesy of Atefeh Riazi, CIO of Ogilvy, and others.

9. A Convenient And Inexpensive Water Desalinator
The problem: One in five humans has no access to safe drinking water.

The solution: Turn the oceans into clean drinking water using desalination techniques. Desalination exists, but it is expensive and energy-intensive. A cheaper method could hydrate vastly more people and crops.

Ten-year odds: Middling. The science is advancing year by year.

Idea courtesy of Bob Beauchamp, CEO of BMC Software.

10. Advanced Autopilot For Cars
The problem: Paying attention to the road can be so dull and time-consuming.

The solution: Sophisticated autopilot. Tell the car your destination and it handles the rest--while you nap, read or answer e-mails.

Ten-year odds: Depends on what you mean. Cars are getting more automated, spurred in part by competitions like the DARPA Urban Challenge, which is drawing university robotics teams. For ordinary consumers, door-to-door driverless service is a distant dream, but we may soon have cars that can communicate with other vehicles or pilot themselves along stretches of sensor-equipped "smart highways."

Idea courtesy of Kenneth Auman, CIO of The Hartford, and others.

11. A Physical Search Engine
The problem: You lose stuff.

The solution: A "physical" search engine.

Ten-year odds: Low. It could work if everything you owned had a chip installed (perhaps RFID). But the technical hurdles are huge. Plus, how much would you really pay to be reminded that your car keys are under the sofa cushions--again?

Idea courtesy of Cameron Forbes, CIO of Channell Commercial, and others.

12. A Time Machine
The problem: You made an egregious mistake yesterday.

The solution: Go back in time and redo the day without the blooper.

Ten-year odds: Zero. Backward time-travel is impossible according to our current understanding of physics.

Idea courtesy of Zach Nelson, CEO, NetSuite.

13. Automatic Weight-Loss Belt
The problem: Losing weight takes so much dieting and exercise.

The solution: Jiggle it off while you watch television or work.

Ten-year odds: Poor. The closest thing we have to "automatic" is plastic surgery.

Idea courtesy of Sam Starr, CEO of Sterling Commerce.

14. Perfect Vision Correction
The problem: As your eyes get old, they play tricks on you, and trifocals are no fun.

The solution: A corrective procedure that restores your eyes to 20-20 vision.

Ten-year odds: Middling. LASIK surgery can already correct basic near- and far-sightedness, but surgeons can't yet solve all problems related to aging eyes.

Idea courtesy of Tom Bishop, CTO, BMC

15. Youth Pill
The problem: Your youth and beauty are fading fast.

The solution: Take a pill and stay young forever.

Ten-year odds: Vanishingly small. There are plenty of ways to fake it cosmetically, but that's not really the same thing. Look on the bright side: Life expectancy is getting longer.

Idea courtesy of Robert Davidson, CIO of Tiffany and Co.

Nina

Are we called "DAWGs" because we stick our noses up people's butts? (RIP Buzz)
Yep, you're a postwhore-billyvance

[Mark24688m 0]

good stuff! just add a physical ctrl+z to that list. ;)

[Stumpy 256]

I like the list from The Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy - i.e. the two impossible things.....

A fly that can fly through the open half of a half open window

AND

An off switch for children.

Never try to eat more than you can lift

[bazelos 0]

What about a lift to space? With a middle floor section so we can jump off of it

He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man.

[boinky 0]

I LIKE the "off" switch for children!

Nina

Are we called "DAWGs" because we stick our noses up people's butts? (RIP Buzz)
Yep, you're a postwhore-billyvance

[SpeedRacer 1]

a beer belly converter.

It converts the fat back into the beer that it came from.

Speed Racer
--------------------------------------------------

[nigel99 150]

Number 4 is already here.

http://www.plasticlogic.com/products.php I recently met on of their executives and they are in the process of building a factory for mass production.

Interestingly for the plastic content they can (or possibly do) use recycled plastics.

Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

[kallend 1,648]

Apple announced today that it has developed a breast implant that can store
and play music. The iTit will cost $499 or $599 depending on cup size.

This has been hailed as a major sociological breakthrough because women are always
complaining about men staring at their breasts and not listening to them.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[RkyMtnHigh 0]

You're so creative with your arts and crafts, you could be a gazillionaire!

_________________________________________

[normiss 622]

that would be almost as "handy" as this accessory:
Buzz


edit: someone just pointed this one out to me:
Oh Mibod

[unlucky1 0]

How about a woman without vocal cords???

[boinky 0]

First off, I'm shocked this thread has resurfaced. But mostly, I'm wondering what my arts and crafts have to do with invented things. I don't think my little creative cutesy things would help the world out in any way.

Nina

Are we called "DAWGs" because we stick our noses up people's butts? (RIP Buzz)
Yep, you're a postwhore-billyvance

[MikeJD 0]

Number one, Teleporter. As I (probably mis-)understand it, even when they can transport human beings what they'll actually be doing is destroying you and creating a perfect physical copy at the new location.

So maybe there are added benefits - can the new you actually be held accountable for what the old you did just a few seconds earlier? Or was that actually someone else who did those things?

[boinky 0]

I'm not sure about all of that. (brain hurts now)

Going along with your train of thought, though, MY question would be, if they're going to technically recreate you anyway, can you choose your new "pefect" body?

Nina

Are we called "DAWGs" because we stick our noses up people's butts? (RIP Buzz)
Yep, you're a postwhore-billyvance

[normiss 622]

those would be service packs or hot fixes!
enhancements to the existing data!

although if they are purchased through Microsoft...

[happythoughts 0]

Quote

Number one, Teleporter. As I (probably mis-)understand it, even when they can transport human beings what they'll actually be doing is destroying you and creating a perfect physical copy at the new location.

So maybe there are added benefits - can the new you actually be held accountable for what the old you did just a few seconds earlier? Or was that actually someone else who did those things?

Wouldn't do any good. People would just whine about it. Expectations would rise.

"Get off your cell phone and teleport! I need to be on Mars in 6 seconds and you have spent 2.5 seconds chatting. Hang up!"

"I've got 8 business meetings to attend today. I hate the travel aspect of my job. I will be out of the country for 93 minutes today. Milan 9:04, Singapore 9:23, London 9:41..."

"I took the HOV teleport and had to wait on the "late" arrival. I was nearly 1.3 seconds late because of that snoozer. I haven't got all day!"