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Ask HN: What tech were you convinced would take the world by storm but didn't?

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Re: Ask HN: What tech were you convinced would take the world by storm but didn't?

#311

Post by kowdermeister »

secura wrote: post #258
hvidgaard wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My friggin circa 1984 Mac Plus felt faster on most stuff than the generic desktop PC You do have some merit to the argument, but your 1984 Mac didn't have half as "pretty" UI, and that matters to some people. It didn't do dynamic language processing to figure out if you've made a grammatical error. It did not have to continuously scan every data stream for malware. It did not have to use a significantly restricted…

So why have a full pretty UI at the cost of latency? If the latency begins to cross a threshold and begins to be inconvenient or distracting, it is time to step and think that may be the pretty UI is too ahead of its time, and we should stop making the UI prettier than it can be at this time.

Because some people (including me) loves it. I don't care about a few extra ms for having an interface that's satisfying to watch / use for 12 hours per day.

I have to add that most computer I see of my friends are extremely snappy, I don't really see what you are talking about.

Re: Ask HN: What tech were you convinced would take the world by storm but didn't?

#312

Post by PeachPlum »

tnitsche wrote: post #123

Mobile/Micro payments. There is still no friction free solution, where I would be sure, my mother could use it.

Contactless payments with either a card or your phone is widespread in the UK from big chain supermarkets to small local stores.

I can buy coffee at a vending machine in my Uni computer lab without cash money by waving my NFC enabled phone at it.

Re: Ask HN: What tech were you convinced would take the world by storm but didn't?

#313

Post by dopkew »

johan_larson wrote: post #148

I'm disappointed none of the various constructed "universal" languages (like Esperanto) ever took off. Having a single common language spoken by everyone would be enormously useful. As it is, the closest we have is English, but it's a natural language and therefore complicated and difficult to learn.

For me it is Lojban. But I haven't gotten around to learning it.

Re: Ask HN: What tech were you convinced would take the world by storm but didn't?

#315

Post by api »

Simulacra wrote: post #175

Google Glass. I thought this would become standard, miniaturized, and used in all aspects of life. Perhaps I read Daemon too much, but I was sure Glass would fly

The problem is it was a portable surveillance eye for an ad company. The idea itself is viable.

Re: Ask HN: What tech were you convinced would take the world by storm but didn't?

#317

Post by gempir »

b0rsuk wrote: post #284

Separate screen for touching on the back of the mobile device. I forgot how the device was called, but there was a Blackberry or similar device that didn't have your oily fingers smearing the very screen you're trying to interact with. You didn't obscure the display with fingers. Instead, the touch-sensitive rectangle was on the back of the device, and cursor was displayed on front side, in the spot corresponding to…

I like the trend of adding this functionality to the fingerprint sensor.

I have a pixel 2 and I can swipe down the notifications by swiping down on the fingerprint sensor.

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