Ask HN: What tech is under the radar with all attention on ChatGPT etc.? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What tech is under the radar with all attention on ChatGPT etc.?

#121

Post by runnerup » Wed, May 03, 2023, 5:09 PM UTC

dionysus_jon wrote: post #60

All the private fusion companies making very interesting progress. https://www.helionenergy.com/ https://cfs.energy/ https://www.tokamakenergy.co.uk/ https://tae.com/ Insert below; jokes about its being 25 years away, and comments about how it will never work etc

I'm very bullish on fusion given the new magnet breakthroughs, detailed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkpqA8yG9T4 The SPARC reactor is still on-schedule to be completed and operational in 2025. It's expected to generate net-positive electricity, on the order of 140MW pulses. A larger version to supply energy to the grid is planned for the 2030's.

My concerns have moved to "okay, what is the cost of things even if energy is 'free'?". For example, desalination -- currently the majority of the cost of desalination is in the energy used, but even if the energy is free, the materials cost and capital expense is currently about 40% of the cost.

Will the cost of the inputs also go down dramatically as a result of fusion? Or will desalination still be cost prohibitive for most developing areas due to materials? If desalination price falls 99.9% -- what environmental costs will be associated with the extraction/transportation of necessary materials as well as the warm & highly saline effluent that will be dumped into surface waters?

With unlimited clean energy, some ridiculously inefficient schemes can become practical, such as removing CO2 from the atmosphere.

Re: Ask HN: What tech is under the radar with all attention on ChatGPT etc.?

#122

Post by ipaddr » Wed, May 03, 2023, 6:44 PM UTC

arein3 wrote: post #108

josephpmay wrote: post #25

We've all pretty much forgotten about AR/VR But Apple's going to be launching their headset next month

Apple should remove the screen from the next iphone and force users to buy the headset to be able to see the display. Similar to how they removed the 3.5mm jack.

The next iphone will be invisible and weigh nothing. People will lineup for days to be the first who gets an empty box.

Re: Ask HN: What tech is under the radar with all attention on ChatGPT etc.?

#123

Post by FireInsight » Wed, May 03, 2023, 7:47 PM UTC

rcme wrote: post #109

robinwassen wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Roblox are doing steady incremental progress to their platform/engine. Epic released Unreal Engine for Fortnite about one month ago. Meta have some interesting stuff in their pipe. I think that especially Roblox will shift how the younger generation view games, with more emphasis on social. It is their MMOs.

Is Roblox really considered the metaverse? I feel like it's just an MMO with a game editor. Not that different than many other games with custom game editors. It feels like a stretch to call this a paradigm shift.

Well, Roblox is almost as metaverse as any metaverse. Metaverse is just a buzzword for MMO's with level editors, that are also supposedly selling land that's worth something, a good place for a corporate themepark and having business meetings with uncanny 3D avatars that sound like your colleagues.

Re: Ask HN: What tech is under the radar with all attention on ChatGPT etc.?

#124

Post by FireInsight » Wed, May 03, 2023, 7:55 PM UTC

kyleyeats wrote: post #84

rado wrote: post #31

HTML

I've recently realized that nobody under 30 has any idea what to do with an index.html file.

Well, I know for a fact that atleast two people over the age of 30 are actively teaching groups of high schoolers to write html files in notepad in a programming course.

Re: Ask HN: What tech is under the radar with all attention on ChatGPT etc.?

#125

Post by rcme » Wed, May 03, 2023, 9:05 PM UTC

FireInsight wrote: post #123

rcme wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is Roblox really considered the metaverse? I feel like it's just an MMO with a game editor. Not that different than many other games with custom game editors. It feels like a stretch to call this a paradigm shift.

Well, Roblox is almost as metaverse as any metaverse. Metaverse is just a buzzword for MMO's with level editors, that are also supposedly selling land that's worth something, a good place for a corporate themepark and having business meetings with uncanny 3D avatars that sound like your colleagues.

At least my understanding was that popular definitions of metaverse include some type of “reality-based” technology like AR or VR.

Re: Ask HN: What tech is under the radar with all attention on ChatGPT etc.?

#126

Post by detaro » Wed, May 03, 2023, 9:06 PM UTC

rcme wrote: post #125

FireInsight wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, Roblox is almost as metaverse as any metaverse. Metaverse is just a buzzword for MMO's with level editors, that are also supposedly selling land that's worth something, a good place for a corporate themepark and having business meetings with uncanny 3D avatars that sound like your colleagues.

At least my understanding was that popular definitions of metaverse include some type of “reality-based” technology like AR or VR.

Roblox supports VR.

Re: Ask HN: What tech is under the radar with all attention on ChatGPT etc.?

#127

Post by juve1996 » Thu, May 04, 2023, 12:01 AM UTC

hammyhavoc wrote: post #103

I'm excited about Windows 95, the world wide web, the potential of the world wide web for e-commerce, CD-ROM-based games like Myst, PDAs, digital cameras, 3D graphics and animation. Sorry, I'm hallucinating.

Is there a way I can hallucinate to this time as well? :)

Re: Ask HN: What tech is under the radar with all attention on ChatGPT etc.?

#128

Post by earthling8118 » Thu, May 04, 2023, 1:22 AM UTC

kyleyeats wrote: post #84

rado wrote: post #31

HTML

I've recently realized that nobody under 30 has any idea what to do with an index.html file.

Odd. I'm under 30 and I've been writing HTML for around 15 years. Meanwhile, within the past year or so, I met a frontend dev at work that didn't even know what an HTTP request was. They were over 30 years old.

I think your attitude about the matter could use some adjustment. There is more to it than age.

Re: Ask HN: What tech is under the radar with all attention on ChatGPT etc.?

#129

Post by dmbche » Thu, May 04, 2023, 2:32 AM UTC

samelawrence wrote: post #110

tarikjn wrote: post #79

1. lots of innovation in ICE engines is getting close to production. Cleaner, more efficient etc. This is important even while the industry is moving to EVs. 2. Bambu Labs leapfrogged prosumer 3D printing by 5-10 years. Their printers are becoming the de-facto standard. This will enable all sorts of startups for the next decade. 3. Most iPhones now have a 3D scanner + AI-aided software to accurately scan your body an…

Can you name some of the innovation happening in ICE vehicles? Just some terms I can search for would be appreciated. Thanks!

South Ameria has been using bio ethanol as a fuel for a while now, it's cheaper and uses crops, there are projects to bring that to North Amerixa and the rest of the world!

Re: Ask HN: What tech is under the radar with all attention on ChatGPT etc.?

#130

Post by sandwichbop » Thu, May 04, 2023, 2:33 AM UTC

echelon wrote: post #89

CyberDildonics wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other hand, no they won't. People with nothing to write about talked about games and movies converging for years and they never even came close. The closest you could say was games have a narrative woven in. Movies are passive and everything is intentional. Games are fundamentally about interactivity. They are practically opposite forms of entertainment. I don't even know what you mean by 'social will converge…

Oh hey! You're the person who was telling me half a year ago that AI porn wouldn't be a thing [1, 2]. I'm wholly confident you're just as wrong about this, and I'd even put my money on it [3]. Here's my prediction: - Stories, narratives, characters, and game loops will become generative. Their capacity to generate new unseen and unwritten content will be heralded as revolutionary. - The quality of games and GenAI wil…

would love if you could share a bit about your previous $400k/yr job. What market/sector niche/role was it if anything you can share about it, really curious!