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Ask HN: What excites you today (technologically speaking)?

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Re: Ask HN: What excites you today (technologically speaking)?

#21

Post by adfm »

Perhaps you’re feeling like everything has been done before. Consider a particular area and imagine how it could be if only a few things are changed. For example, we know where social media got us. How did it evolve to get to this point? Is there a better alternative? Build a better experience or work with others to cut a new path of least resistance.

You may have enjoyed mining Bitcoin, but there’s more to blockchain technology than that. I’m surprised you didn’t mention NFTs or dapps. Search for Web3 if you’re into playing buzzword bingo.

A part of Oculus may have sewn the seeds of fascism that we recently witnessed and are experiencing the effects of as we attempt to squash it back under the rock it crawled out from, but their corporate overlords still feel strongly enough about it to announce they’re dropping a considerable chunk of cash to swindle everyone into thinking they’ve created a “metaverse” instead of another walled garden. There’s a ton of work happening in the VR/AR/XR space that is approachable. Look beyond gaming to AEC and manufacturing applications.

The new 5G phone books are coming! Get ready for that.

Solar and alternative power is only getting bigger. We’ve experienced some technical difficulties getting a certain segment of the population to transition away from fossil fuels, but if we can get an electric car into space, we can hopefully get one in NASCAR.

And I’m sure you’ve seen all the robots, right? The Roomba folks have a nice platform, but there are many others out there. Add a camera, a laser, and a bit of deep learning into the mix and you’ve got yourself hours of entertainment.

Go back and watch Douglas Engelbart’s mother of all demos and you’ll see that some things have progressed further than others. Why is that?

Find what interests you and dig deeper. Make something that works for you and show others the way.

Re: Ask HN: What excites you today (technologically speaking)?

#22

Post by nostrademons »

huetius wrote: post #10

Something I’ve been thinking about is whether the current technological landscape, through positive and negative pressures, can enable a revival of small-scale production. Basically, making more of what you consume at home, in your neighborhood, etc. I think “human scale” technologies can help mitigate some of the more nightmarish horizons of the technological society we inhabit, though, obviously, neither completely…

I've been thinking along similar lines - I'd term it "the rise of the micromarket". There are a bunch of technology trends that I think may be converging long-term to erase the era of mass production and mass market consumer goods.

One is that advances in personalization on the Internet haven't carried through to physical goods. When I want to curate my Facebook or Reddit feed, I can very tightly control the information I consume so it fits my lifestyle perfectly. When I want to buy a piece of furniture or shelf on Amazon, I get stuck in this uncanny valley where there are millions of products available but none is exactly the size, shape, color, and material that I want. Why can't I say "I want a double corner wall shelf, 23" on one side and 29" on the other, 8" deep, filigreed supports, made out of pine and painted to match my walls"?

Another is that manufacturing is increasingly labor-free and computer-controlled anyway. In a factory, there's going to be a bunch of CNC machines, computer-controlled sawmills, maybe some injection molds, 3D-printers for prototyping, pick-n-place machines, etc. Most of these are computer-controlled anyway, with humans only needed to feed & adjust the machines. Could you computer-control a home or neighborhood machine instead, so that people only need to download a blueprint from the Internet or make it themselves? Why do we need such big production runs, if computers can reconfigure the manufacturing without any human labor? Why not have people buy plastic filament, scrap aluminum, scrap stainless steel, OSB or plywood or 2x4s, and then just feed the machine with a pre-built software blueprint?

A third is improved new manufacturing technologies, particularly 3D printing and pick & place machines. It feels like these are still stuck in existing paradigms, trying to fit into the mass-market industrial production system rather than experimenting with novel combinations on their own. For example, what if instead of P&Ping just electronic components on a circuit board, you used it to assemble individual plastic, metal, and wood parts that had previously been 3D-printed, and then 3D-printed joints to hold them in place? Could you use miniaturized CnC lathes to smooth down the surface of a 3D-printed part, which has traditionally been one of the big problems with 3D-printing?

Then there are environmental problems with supply chains being fragile and globalization potentially unwinding. That could provide an extra kick to hyper-localize manufacturing again.

Micro-manufacturing is the real Amazon killer, potentially. I can't see them being displaced in retail now. But if we just stop buying manufactured products and start making them ourselves, all of their advantages in supply chain management, bargaining, product selection, and logistics go away.

Re: Ask HN: What excites you today (technologically speaking)?

#23

Post by kcartlidge »

filchermcurr wrote: post #17

I'm really excited about things from the past that have managed to bubble to the present. Nothing modern has really excited me in a long time. (I'm hopeful something in this thread will spark that old feeling again!) The Creatures Evolution Engine source code (if anybody remembers the Creatures games / Cyberlife) getting released. Now we'll know exactly what makes those Norns and their world tick, which is fascinatin…

Infocom! ZIL! ZSCII! Z-Machine! Inform!

(Yes, they excite me too! Have an upvote!)

Edit: Oh, and having 2,916 front-end frameworks to choose from. Yay.

Re: Ask HN: What excites you today (technologically speaking)?

#25

Post by nottaylorswift »

botolo wrote: post #19
laxmin wrote: post #12

Among other things, Virtual Reality... specifically 3D stereoscopic interactive imagery makes things very life-like and I am stroked by its possibilities for recreation as well as for training. The present day headsets are still bulky, but am sure they will become lighter and even more better. The interface will also improve. In oculus we can already use fingers to navigate and interface with the OS. This will only i…

This intrigues me. What would be the best device to explore VR now? Oculus Quest 2? Any new model coming out soon?

For $300 the Quest 2 is the product of the decade. Buy one, seriously, just buy one. I paid 2200 for an iPad pro M1, but I haven't spent an hour with it since I got it 3 months ago. The oculus has 100% of my attention. I watch YouTube, browse the web, online shop, socialize, work, play games with it. I have the extended battery and run 2x 5 hour charges down a day. You want to see the future ^ it's for sale.

Re: Ask HN: What excites you today (technologically speaking)?

#26

Post by nottaylorswift »

nottaylorswift wrote: post #25
botolo wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This intrigues me. What would be the best device to explore VR now? Oculus Quest 2? Any new model coming out soon?

For $300 the Quest 2 is the product of the decade. Buy one, seriously, just buy one. I paid 2200 for an iPad pro M1, but I haven't spent an hour with it since I got it 3 months ago. The oculus has 100% of my attention. I watch YouTube, browse the web, online shop, socialize, work, play games with it. I have the extended battery and run 2x 5 hour charges down a day. You want to see the future ^ it's for sale.

And the porn, is very different. That's all I'm going to say. (Wow)

Re: Ask HN: What excites you today (technologically speaking)?

#27

Post by dTal »

nottaylorswift wrote: post #25
botolo wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This intrigues me. What would be the best device to explore VR now? Oculus Quest 2? Any new model coming out soon?

For $300 the Quest 2 is the product of the decade. Buy one, seriously, just buy one. I paid 2200 for an iPad pro M1, but I haven't spent an hour with it since I got it 3 months ago. The oculus has 100% of my attention. I watch YouTube, browse the web, online shop, socialize, work, play games with it. I have the extended battery and run 2x 5 hour charges down a day. You want to see the future ^ it's for sale.

It requires a Facebook account and an internet connection, no? All the Quests were bricks for the duration of the Facebook outage.

I bought an Oculus Rift CV1 and it was an insulting experience. Huge amounts of enforced updates, internet connection abuse, and general Facebook shenanigans. Fool me once... I will buy one when it's an open platform or standalone peripheral. Not before.

Re: Ask HN: What excites you today (technologically speaking)?

#28

Post by WhisperingShiba »

h2odragon wrote: post #16

The fall of Intel. For my entire life (born in 1972, same timescale) Intel has managed to keep a leash on what personal computers could be. The few times it's slipped have led to exciting advances, but they got them under control again quickly. The explosion of held up potential that will happen when they shatter should (I hope) make the AT&T breakup look small.

I didnt realize that people felt this way. In what way do you imagine personal computing would change if intel was broken up? I can't even imagine what vision you have in this regard.

Re: Ask HN: What excites you today (technologically speaking)?

#29

Post by taylorswifts »

dTal wrote: post #27
nottaylorswift wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For $300 the Quest 2 is the product of the decade. Buy one, seriously, just buy one. I paid 2200 for an iPad pro M1, but I haven't spent an hour with it since I got it 3 months ago. The oculus has 100% of my attention. I watch YouTube, browse the web, online shop, socialize, work, play games with it. I have the extended battery and run 2x 5 hour charges down a day. You want to see the future ^ it's for sale.

It requires a Facebook account and an internet connection, no? All the Quests were bricks for the duration of the Facebook outage. I bought an Oculus Rift CV1 and it was an insulting experience. Huge amounts of enforced updates, internet connection abuse, and general Facebook shenanigans. Fool me once... I will buy one when it's an open platform or standalone peripheral. Not before.

Well all the software on the iPhone was closed source too. If it insults you to use technology you didn't invent and don't control go find a cave and invent something bigger than the microprocessor. Just hold your breath for that open platform.

Re: Ask HN: What excites you today (technologically speaking)?

#30

Post by arduinomancer »

After trying Half Life: Alyx on a quest 2 I am absolutely convinced that VR is going to be huge for the general public in the future.

I saw a comment that said it feels like a game from 5 years in the future and I agree.

VR/AR in general feels like a young field with lots of room for innovation.

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