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DataStickies: USB drives as sticky notes

datastickies.com

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Re: DataStickies: USB drives as sticky notes

#72
post #44

Not to poke holes in the implementation but even one-wire requires two connection, [1]Data/Power [2] Ground. Even with their optical mumbo jumbo how the hell can they actually transfer data? On one hand they talk about optical things, and then on the other hand they're talking about 'conductive'. Seriously? Regardless, you do not bypass the laws of physics. You need atleast a complete circuit for it to be powered. An…

if the surface you stick it on is actually full of (conductive) dots: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and your sticky thing has two panels for data/ground with dimensions larger than the width between the dots then wherever you stick it you can be guaranteed of two separate connections

More like two connections plus a ton of short circuits...

Re: DataStickies: USB drives as sticky notes

#73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

if the surface you stick it on is actually full of (conductive) dots: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and your sticky thing has two panels for data/ground with dimensions larger than the width between the dots then wherever you stick it you can be guaranteed of two separate connections

More like two connections plus a ton of short circuits...

I was anticipating a very smart connecting board that can determine two working connections and disable the others. I wasn't arguing it's completely viable but simply that it's not beyond the laws of physics as OP suggested :)

Re: DataStickies: USB drives as sticky notes

#74
post #53

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Apparently adverts for products which don't exist and never will exist are also nearly indistinguishable from adverts for advanced technology.

i do not understand the negativity in here. literally the very first line of their copy is > dataSTICKIES: A design concept conceptualised as graphene-based flash drives that replace USB data drives. i see this as an appealing visualisation of "if technology gave us storage materials of this form, how might we design a product based around it?", in much the same way that science fiction extrapolates tech advances and…

I don't think there's anything misleading here, but there's still something irritating about it. These people spend loads of time and money designing futuristic stuff and giving each other awards for it. In the meantime, we mere mortal engineers are wallowing in the pits of reality, solving actual problems like the plebs we were born to be. I know it sounds horribly bitter, but I really do sympathise with the negative responses to things like this.

Re: DataStickies: USB drives as sticky notes

#76
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i do not understand the negativity in here. literally the very first line of their copy is > dataSTICKIES: A design concept conceptualised as graphene-based flash drives that replace USB data drives. i see this as an appealing visualisation of "if technology gave us storage materials of this form, how might we design a product based around it?", in much the same way that science fiction extrapolates tech advances and…

I don't think there's anything misleading here, but there's still something irritating about it. These people spend loads of time and money designing futuristic stuff and giving each other awards for it. In the meantime, we mere mortal engineers are wallowing in the pits of reality, solving actual problems like the plebs we were born to be. I know it sounds horribly bitter, but I really do sympathise with the negativ…

"I don't think there's anything misleading here, but there's still something irritating about it. These authors spend loads of time and money writing stories about the future, and giving each other awards for it. In the meantime, we mere mortal engineers are wallowing in the pits of reality, solving actual problems like the plebs we were born to be. I know it sounds horribly bitter, but I really do sympathise with the negative responses to things like this."

Re: DataStickies: USB drives as sticky notes

#77
post #24

anyone who finds usb sticks cumbersome must have the motor skills of a walrus

It's not that they are cumbersome, it's the cost. Currently you would be hard pressed to find USB sticks in bulk for less than $1, $1.50. Retail is much more. They are not disposable yet. It's too bad this product is vaporware. 2 gb (even 512 mb) disposable USB's would be great.

Great for what?

Re: DataStickies: USB drives as sticky notes

#78
Wow, this honestly seems like a terrible idea. Not only do I really not want to get glue everywhere (and also have them loose stickiness over time) but also they look very breakable? I don't understand why I would need that many flash drives either? Generally even now I only use one USB stick for my general stuff. I don't think I could write everything that was on my usb stick on a label like that.

They complain that usb ports are hard to get and instead we should add a sticky surface the transfers data to the bottom of our monitors? Why not just buy a monitor with a few usb ports on it if you really want that? It already exists and is far more useful as it can be used with the wide range of usb products that already exist (phone charger, mouse etc). I can see no advantages that this has over buying a usb stick (unless I'm missing something big?).

Here's my equally pointless take on modern data transfer. We all have phone that store our data. They connect via bluetooth when near to a computer (Much like wifi the first time it pairs with a computer you must enter a pin). It then acts like a usb data storage. And huzzah, never again will you have to reach down and plug something into a usb port! Huzzah, never again will you have all those issues with usb ports wearing out or your usb stick getting knocked out while you were in the middle of a presentation! Never again will you struggle with not knowing which way around a usb stick should go! (This is actually kind of useful I guess?). If they don't have bluetooth then you can just connect your phone with a usb wire (as you will be doing 99% of the time). I'm not sure if it's clear here but my point is that they seem to be solving a problem (and using magic to do so) but no one actually has that problem.

Re: DataStickies: USB drives as sticky notes

#79

Wow, this honestly seems like a terrible idea. Not only do I really not want to get glue everywhere (and also have them loose stickiness over time) but also they look very breakable? I don't understand why I would need that many flash drives either? Generally even now I only use one USB stick for my general stuff. I don't think I could write everything that was on my usb stick on a label like that. They complain that…

phones have seriously limited space. 16 or 32 gigabytes won't even hold one uncompressed movie that you need for work. With everything moving to remote servers, streaming etc, I don't see that changing sadly.

Re: DataStickies: USB drives as sticky notes

#80

Why are so many people naysaying this? We have NFC, we have super slim (and super thin) consumer-accessible memory cards. The magnetism bit might be a little tricky (getting the object to stick to the data reading surface), but why is this so far-fetched? What they say aside (it seems that they are designers, not really engineers) -- saying this could never exist is an over-step

I agree. I really don't understand the negativity here, and it reminds me of the immature and close-minded lambasting that the 3Doodler received. It's very disappointing to see the HN community act this way.

The majority of the negativity seems to stem from it not being an existing product, which is a silly thing to be indignant about, especially considering the first two words on the page clearly state "design concept". Even if the optical transfer strip isn't feasible, there are certainly other options to transfer data in a similar fashion. To see such a large group of knowledgeable people completely disregard an idea for no legitimate reason is.. baffling, to say the least.

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