I see a lot of stories about people in retirement homes running away without anyone being able to find them. This looks like a decent tool for the job.
Decent GPS trackers are hard to find and recommend.
Microsoft Band
301–310 of 534 posts
Re: Microsoft Band
#302Earlier quoted context omitted.
I completely agree with you, I like the concept of "disappearing technology" because just about anything I want to do is somehow stupidly tied to a device with a screen. It's annoying. With that said, one of the main things I wish I could have during my workouts is something to track what I do without me having to manually input it. So, if it can count the number of reps I do, sweet. If it can count how many steps I…
It looks like you'd have the ability to control/turn off all the notifications you don't want. Why would you assume that wouldn't be the case? http://www.microsoft.com/Microsoft-Band/en-us/support/phone-...
i never assumed it wasn't the case.
Re: Microsoft Band
#303Earlier quoted context omitted.
Couldn't you just look up at the sky to answer this question?
As much as I agree with you the same thing is often said about weather apps. However the really accurate ones (e.g. Dark Sky) that can predict to the minute and give intensity are really useful. For example I was able to plan my lunch break using it yesterday so I was out of the office in the 30 mins of dry weather between rain showers. The the UV sensor you could probably work out what strength suncream you need and…
(Thanks for highlighting Dark Sky, that looks like an interesting app!)
Don't your arguments (and app recommendations) point against a UV measure as being useful? If you want to know whether or not to put on sunscreen now, for a day out, knowing the current UV strength is no use since the conditions will be different later. That's where weather prediction comes in and makes your one little watchband UV datapoint useless. Looking up at the sky and observing weather conditions will always be better than that, and better weather prediction will beat looking up at the sky.
Re: Microsoft Band
#304The battery lasts for two days http://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-band/en-us/support/hardwa...
Up to 48 hours. You can bet that is with everything off. Looks like its going to be a 1 day device with GPS/Heart Rate and moderate usage.
If it can get more than 3 hours with the GPS turned on, I'll be very, very impressed.
Re: Microsoft Band
#305Earlier quoted context omitted.
Just like in the case of Trello if you already have the experience you can probably save money if you use what you already know how to use. In almost all other cases open source stacks are cheaper. Stackoverflow and Trello are always held up as the shining examples of how the Microsoft stack is able to hold its own. That's great, I even know people that insist on running their web servers on Apple hardware. Whatever…
Big names mean nothing. You are not Google, they have very different requirements to you and their scale is much larger than your startup will ever be. Microsoft aren't stupid - the costs they charge for Azure are largely competitive, and the benefits it provides are tangible. Picking what technology will run your business is something that really needs to be done on a case by case basis, based on your knowledge and…
> Picking what technology will run your business is something that really needs to be done on a case by case basis, based on your knowledge and your business.
We're definitely in agreement there. The main criterium is: use what you know how to use. So if you're comfortable using the MS stack then go for it, otherwise, probably better to avoid it.
Re: Microsoft Band
#306Sad. Even from just the website and the logo, you can tell that microsoft never understood the internet.
Re: Microsoft Band
#307Earlier quoted context omitted.
According to the site, "Get a quick read of the UV Index so you can decide to apply sunscreen before you hit the road."
Couldn't you just look up at the sky to answer this question?
In an area that reaches extreme UV indexes I would find it useful to know for a for a given start time in the morning and the afternoon how much time I have before burning for the conditions on the day.
UV forecast graphs take some of the guesswork out of location and time, but I find that it hard to judge how much cloud cover is needed to drop from a high to a low index range. Sunscreen is great but it's not much fun to have to be covered in goop every day. Getting burnt when it's cloudy isn't much fun either. Knowing your exposure would limit the amount of cream.
Re: Microsoft Band
#308Earlier quoted context omitted.
As much as I agree with you the same thing is often said about weather apps. However the really accurate ones (e.g. Dark Sky) that can predict to the minute and give intensity are really useful. For example I was able to plan my lunch break using it yesterday so I was out of the office in the 30 mins of dry weather between rain showers. The the UV sensor you could probably work out what strength suncream you need and…
(Thanks for highlighting Dark Sky, that looks like an interesting app!) Don't your arguments (and app recommendations) point against a UV measure as being useful? If you want to know whether or not to put on sunscreen now, for a day out, knowing the current UV strength is no use since the conditions will be different later. That's where weather prediction comes in and makes your one little watchband UV datapoint usel…
Ah, very good point I didn't think of that. I suppose it could function as a warning system. You're go out in the morning and it's cloudy and suncream isn't required. As the day goes on the UV levels increase and your fitness band can warn you that you should think about applying suncream as the UV levels have increased.
Re: Microsoft Band
#309Earlier quoted context omitted.
It means: try to get companies that otherwise would not go for Microsoft products to give it a try through free product samples, and talking down companies not microsoft. I really wished that companies like Microsoft, Google and so on would not have a 'HN guy' (and would not have non-disclosed HN guys either, Felix is at least above board on that), it can make it a lot harder to figure out what is a genuine user expe…
I assume that these days MS is mostly pitching Azure which pretty happily runs Linux VMs. It feels like any YC team (the guy said he's the "the msft dude for YC" not HN) worth their salt will need to learn how to navigate evaluating vendor promises sooner rather than later anyway (not to mention the mentoring/advice they should be getting from YC if they're not so experienced, or the fact that $50K is what, only 25%…
>> I assume that these days MS is mostly pitching Azure which pretty happily runs Linux VMs.
... for now. :-(
(Remember that people's problems with MS is that they are infamous for monopolist strategies.)
Re: Microsoft Band
#310Earlier quoted context omitted.
To compare Microsoft Band to a FitBit doesn't do the Band justice. FitBit is a toy - counting footsteps isn't "fitness" and a few LEDs isn't feedback. With GPS and an actual display, the Band actually has the ability to compete against Garmin and Suunto and actual fitness watches. My Garmin is bulky, can't lock a signal in a neighborhood with tall buildings and has software reminiscent of an Atari. And it was more ex…
But I think this makes it more difficult for the device to succeed. The market for simple fitbit-style pedometers is fairly small, so the market for more expensive devices must be even smaller?
Presumably this would be able to play in both markets. That said, I can't comprehend this market around wanting to wear an ugly piece of plastic on your wrist all day, every day, just to convince oneself that they're getting more exercise than they actually are.
I think that once a person reaches puberty they should be forced to give up watches with cartoon characters or LCD screens.
I suppose a Quartz is acceptable on the weekends.