Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Microsoft Band

microsoft.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

221–230 of 534 posts

Re: Microsoft Band

#221

Post by bofh69 »

rplnt wrote: post #205
suprgeek wrote: post #27

Got a nice package of on board sensors: Optical heart rate sensor 3-axis accelerometer/gyro GPS Ambient light sensor Skin temperature sensor UV sensor Microphone Haptic vibration motor The 2 day battery life is the one turn off for me. Otherwise this is actually quite nice for $199 cross platform fitness wearable

Just curious, what is UV sensor good for? And I'd really like altimeter for this kind of device.

This was the first MS product that I ever wanted to buy. Seems to have everything I want in a fitness tracker/smart watch, except the barometer and water resistance. I'll hold on to my Suunto watch for a while longer.

Re: Microsoft Band

#222

Post by darthg0d »

darklajid wrote: post #215

- Click on 'Buy' - See 'you need a store to find out the right size' (reasonable) - Click on 'Find store' - Notice 'Only available in the US' - Close tab. Fail.

There is an order online link just below the 'Find Store'. Check it out.

Re: Microsoft Band

#223

Post by simi_ »

guylhem wrote: post #35

All the sensors + apparently a very lightweight OS + small form factor = I like it. The killing feature is the integrated GPS. As mentionned on the website, you can go without your phone. That alone could make it a buy if it supports wireless charging (I don't want to bother with wires in 2014) Also, it is multiplatform, which is a big plus. I do not want an android watch or an iwatch, but something that will work re…

It's ugly, but if I were in the market for a smartwatch/fitness tracker this might be the only one I'd bother with.

As I find myself saying more and more, I love this new Microsoft. It's insane how much harm a single man can do.

Re: Microsoft Band

#224

Post by stbtrax »

rplnt wrote: post #205
suprgeek wrote: post #27

Got a nice package of on board sensors: Optical heart rate sensor 3-axis accelerometer/gyro GPS Ambient light sensor Skin temperature sensor UV sensor Microphone Haptic vibration motor The 2 day battery life is the one turn off for me. Otherwise this is actually quite nice for $199 cross platform fitness wearable

Just curious, what is UV sensor good for? And I'd really like altimeter for this kind of device.

presumably to also calculate your UV exposure for the day

Re: Microsoft Band

#225

Post by skc »

jacquesm wrote: post #220
rjbwork wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Person scaling with Azure here. It's pretty awesome and easy. But dear god, the XML! They've started making more and more stuff code-configurable though, so that's good.

> Person scaling with Azure here. It's pretty awesome and easy. And it's pretty expensive. Now, if your competitor is on an open stack and on real computers they will eventually run rings around you because they get more control and lower costs. The initial boost you're experiencing will turn into a straightjacket with a hefty pricetag over the longer term.

> And it's pretty expensive.

Nice blanket statement there. How can you claim it's expensive when you have no idea what or how he uses it?

Re: Microsoft Band

#226

Post by CmonDev »

guylhem wrote: post #35

All the sensors + apparently a very lightweight OS + small form factor = I like it. The killing feature is the integrated GPS. As mentionned on the website, you can go without your phone. That alone could make it a buy if it supports wireless charging (I don't want to bother with wires in 2014) Also, it is multiplatform, which is a big plus. I do not want an android watch or an iwatch, but something that will work re…

No barometer/altitude sensor though?

Re: Microsoft Band

#227

Post by CmonDev »

felixrieseberg wrote: post #64
guylhem wrote: post #35

All the sensors + apparently a very lightweight OS + small form factor = I like it. The killing feature is the integrated GPS. As mentionned on the website, you can go without your phone. That alone could make it a buy if it supports wireless charging (I don't want to bother with wires in 2014) Also, it is multiplatform, which is a big plus. I do not want an android watch or an iwatch, but something that will work re…

Hey, I'm an Open Source Engineer with MSFT (and the msft dude for YC) - there isn't anything out yet, but we have always released SDKs for pretty much anything we build.

Please give a link to a basic C# tutorial for MS Health.

Re: Microsoft Band

#228

Post by Corrado »

harshreality wrote: post #210
com2kid wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi! Dev lead here. Obviously not an official MS response! We are using a single threaded lightweight runtime based around call backs. We are completely non-blocking on all IO (including all sensors), and our CPU spends the majority of its time in a very low power mode. Every microsecond of CPU time is accounted for and justified! I cannot wait until people look at our battery size in mAh.

That sounds cool! Can you disclose/admit what language it was written in? I'm very tempted to try this out instead of getting a fitbit (not at all impressed with the Apple or Android watches so far).

> single threaded lightweight runtime based around call backs

Sounds like Javascript to me, or maybe something like Erlang. I wonder if we'll be able to install apps on the device or just build external apps for cell phones. What about hooking it up to your desktop/laptop for notifications and stuff? I'm thinking there could be some cool features there.

Re: Microsoft Band

#230

Post by nullz »

As a comparison, worth noting that the watch does not have GPS without the paired phone. So if you wanted to go out for a run and track the course, you would need to bring the phone.
Post reply on HN