Live data from Hacker News

The Apple Watch

daringfireball.net

151–160 of 300 posts

Re: The Apple Watch

#151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm going to take your ∞ FPS comment on go on a wild tangent because physics is fun :-D: Nothing can be infinity FPS because it would be limited by the frequency of the light that we use to see the watch hand. In the case of the visual spectrum, it caps out around 668 THz with blue light (red light is lowest at 400 THz). This would make it "only" ~4.7E12 times better than 144 Hz ;-).

Brilliant! With that said, though, I believe that the movement of the actual atoms making up the mechanical hands is still happening in an "infinitely smooth" sense, although the way we measure and observe that movement (via reflections of light or perhaps some other type of electromagnetic radiation) may be limited.

Assuming movement is continuous and not in discrete units.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planck_length

Re: The Apple Watch

#154
post #140
post #13

“You’ll still be able to do with Apple Watch what you do with your current watch: tell the time (and if you want, the date) at a glance and trust that it’s accurate.” ...if you return your watch to a charging station daily. He goes on: That said, compared to a traditional watch, daily charging is terrible. Before entering into the smartphone market, I charged my cellphone less than 100 times per year. Now, I have to…

Doesn't it seem a little weird that you adapt your life around your gadgets rather than vice versa?

No? If the relative benefit is greater than the relative cost, it would make sense to adapt. It would be like going from a horse and buggy to a car and complaining about having to (gasp) stop in the middle of your journey to fill your tank up with gas. Sure, that one little piece of it is annoying, but owning a car is much more advantageous for transportation than a horse.

Re: The Apple Watch

#155

This is a very interesting article, and I like how it's written in the perspective of a functional watch user instead of being about fashion or watch collecting. I couldn't help but laugh at this part: > Also, though it sounds trivial, I enjoy the perfect 60 FPS smoothness of Apple Watch’s second hand — a smoothness no mechanical watch could ever match. Isn't a mechanical watch hand ∞ FPS by definition? Real life has…

I'm going to take your ∞ FPS comment on go on a wild tangent because physics is fun :-D: Nothing can be infinity FPS because it would be limited by the frequency of the light that we use to see the watch hand. In the case of the visual spectrum, it caps out around 668 THz with blue light (red light is lowest at 400 THz). This would make it "only" ~4.7E12 times better than 144 Hz ;-).

To further complicate the issue, the human eye cannot see 668 quadrillion 'frames per second'. Under the best possible conditions, for parts of the eye, 1000 'fps' is the best we can do, though generally it's much, much lower.

Re: The Apple Watch

#156
post #68
post #61

Designing a 2015 smartwatch to fit the expectations of dumb-watches feels more and more to me like designing a 2007 smartphone to fit the expectations of the blackberry crowd (physical keyboard, removable battery). The digital crown looks like one such mistake. Swipe-to-scroll is so natural, particularly at this point, that moving back to an indirect method of scrolling seems just wrong . And doing so on a device tha…

"No wireless. Less space than a Nomad. Lame." --Rob Malda, on the iPod at its release in 2001

The iPod didn't take off until 2004.

Re: The Apple Watch

#157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm going to take your ∞ FPS comment on go on a wild tangent because physics is fun :-D: Nothing can be infinity FPS because it would be limited by the frequency of the light that we use to see the watch hand. In the case of the visual spectrum, it caps out around 668 THz with blue light (red light is lowest at 400 THz). This would make it "only" ~4.7E12 times better than 144 Hz ;-).

Brilliant! With that said, though, I believe that the movement of the actual atoms making up the mechanical hands is still happening in an "infinitely smooth" sense, although the way we measure and observe that movement (via reflections of light or perhaps some other type of electromagnetic radiation) may be limited.

If time or space are quantized, then "infinitely smooth" would be impossible. I guess no one knows.

Re: The Apple Watch

#158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Two high school kids each with a $400 watch. It may be poignant[1], but it won't be common. [1]It could also be eye-roll-worthy bourgeois douchebaggery depending on your socio-economic perspective.

How many high school kids have iPhones? Isn't it millions? I would not be surprised that huge numbers will have a $400 (or more) Apple Watch. Now if that happens, it might be a sad commentary on the allocation of resources in our society - globally. But if the Apple Watch is successful, I would be surprised if it isn't common (>20% adoption) in thousands of USA high schools and lots of other high schools around the g…

Iphones and smartphones in general are subsidized , Apple Watches are not.

Re: The Apple Watch

#159
A bit of sidelined, but still...

> You simply hold the connector near the back of the watch, where magnets cause it to snap into place automatically.

I would instantly buy a phone without a traditional connector port for headphone and USB - just metal pads flush with the surface (maybe laid in rubber to be watertight) and kept aligned by magnets.

Seriously, the amount of devices failed due to either bent (e.g. during gaming) or rusted/dust-damaged Micro USB connectors (and don't forget the headphone connectors, where even the tiniest damage can be heard) is ridiculous.

The only real option is to buy one of CATs smartphones or (iirc) one of the Galaxy series with protectors over the connectors - but again, the protectors start to annoy after a while. Too bad Apple holds a patent over MagSafe - and then doesn't even employ it in their phones!

Re: The Apple Watch

#160
post #46
post #22

It actually kind of saddens me to read his summary of how touch will be "awesome". A teenager is afraid to talk to a girl he likes so he sends her what amounts to a text on his watch? It feels like humans keep building more and more barriers to ACTUAL communication. I can't help but think at some point it will have serious negative effects on the human race. Part of growing up and maturing is learning to deal with di…

I was the typical nerdy, shy, socially inept teenager who read the z80 instruction set documentation alone at the cafeteria during lunch. In the 10th grade there was this girl I really liked, but my complete lack of social skills prevented me from acting upon it. I forget how, but I eventually found a way to add her on MSN messenger, where we spent many evenings and weekends chatting. This allowed me to get over my i…

...But in this case, you'll first have to work up the guts to go ask her for her phone number, so that you can go back to your desk and send her your heartbeat.
Post reply on HN