From: LoveLearn <LoveLearn_at_iw.net>
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2003 17:53:24 -0500

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The accuracy of everyone's historical views is limited by information
available to them. Information known by average 10 year olds from 100
years in our future would enable any of them to greatly alter our
history if they could communicate their limited world understanding to
people living today. Without unavailable future information, future
views by even the most informed and enabled people eventually appear
silly as history unfolds revealing how wrong they were. Knowing how
silly this is likely to appear when considered from future perspectives,
here's my current view of

** The Natural Evolutionary Path For Personal Electronic Packages **

Most useful human Input/Output capabilities are limited to:
Listening with 2 ears
Seeing with 2 eyes
Controlling with 2 hands
Speech from 1 mouth

Carrying and simultaneously controlling several personal electronic
packages is difficult, inconvenient, aggravating and inefficient. Many
people currently choose between alternative Personal Electronic Packages
because they don't want to appear silly from carrying the number of
devices currently necessary to provide all functions they want. Even if
that minimum number of devices were carried, trying to simultaneously
control them would occasionally overwhelm user I/O capabilities with
conflicting and competing demands. Managing those overwhelming demands
while performing some common activities like driving would be dangerous.
These separate functional systems belong together because to be
gracefully used together they must be integrated into single packages.

Only one power supply, computer system, amplifier, display panel,
control set and enclosure case are required to serve all functions that
most people want personal electronics packages to perform. Graceful
integration will require an automated control system which assigns
control-priority between competing information flows according to a
pre-considered circumstance-decision-tree rule set. Market demand will
begin shifting from personal electronic devices which provide minimal
functional capabilities as soon as a well integrated product emerges
which widely demonstrates that buyers no longer need to choose which
commonly desired functions their selected device(s) will omit. After a
fully integrated product which simultaneously manages all widely desired
functions begins to capture market share, competitive forces will compel
other Personal Electronic Package makers to begin offering integrated
products which gracefully manage all widely desired functions in a
single package.

An automatic system will assign human I/O interface control based on
demand priority. Competing functions are listed by increasing priority
which is likely to be opposite compared to most frequent usage order.

1) Internally stored and generated information flows (low priority)
2) 1-way receiver information flows (low priority)
3) 2-way I/O transceiver information flows (high priority)
4) Personal environment sensor information flows (top priority)

These functions will be served by the following four IC (integrated
circuit) classes. Each of these will progressively evolve into smaller
universal integrator IC packages with ever-increasing capabilities.
 
1) Digitized A/V/E (Audio/Video/Extended Inputs) record/play IC
packages. Encoding/decoding algorithm capabilities will evolve, becoming
more compact for any reproduction accuracy level. They will add an
extended stream to encode time/date, GPS data flow, impact
accelerations, magnetic readings, and eventually olfactory sensible
data. As data capture/storage costs continually decline, adding all
potentially useful sensor flows will become expected. Police/security
A/V/E captured data flow integrators are already addressing some
extended data streams. MP3 file support is an early step in this
evolution.

2) AM/FM/AB (alternate bands) broadcast receiver IC packages.

3) Transceiver IC packages including cell phones as a subset. Security,
convenience, marketing power and legal requirements may cause GPS
integration into transceiver packages.

4) Combined personal environment monitoring, intrusion detection and
warning circuits are a new emerging IC class mainly used in military,
security and robotic research applications. First generation personal
electronic information systems included no personal environmental space
sensitivities, so their use generally interferes with users' local
environmental space awareness. Personal environment insensitivity will
first be replaced by systems which mimic natural heightened personal
space awareness. Later evolutions will extend sensitivities and
interpretative powers far beyond natural human abilities. They will
continuously monitor and interpret the local environment without
requiring continuous personal attention, quickly reporting potential
threats. These capabilities will be enabled by continually increasing
CPU power applied to data streams from a diverse array of environmental
sensors. Extended frequency range sensors will detect inputs from low
frequency mechanical vibrations through ultra sonics, through electro
magnetic and radio fields, and include emissions below infra reds
through visible light spectrum beyond ultra violets. These sensor arrays
are equivelant to an extended frequency range camera system producing
data streams which increasingly powerful CPUs will process with adaptive
real-time AI software. That processing system will report moving
environmental component speed, direction, position, size, and
classification estimates. Digitized extended range image classifications
of approaching masses will be reported by intuitively understandable
terms like man, woman, child, dog, cat, motorcycle, truck, car, train or
plane.
John "LoveLearn"
******************************************************************
Fred wrote, "I already carry a bag to work with the Archos, the power
supply, the USB cable, the headphones, a Handspring Visor, Springboard
expansion modules for same (memory expansion, GPS, and cell phone),
wireless headset for cell phone module, and spare
batteries. The last thing I need is a dedicated remote control. I want
to consolidate functions, not lug additional devices around."
*****************************************************************
"Michael Lasky, senior editor of PC World, said many more
companies are striving to achieve technology convergence
because consumers want multi-functional products."
http://money.cnn.com/2003/09/16/news/companies/tech_gadgets/index.htm?cnn=yes
"For example, Nokia in August announced a wireless phone -- the Nokia
3300 -- for music lovers. It has a built-in FM radio and MP3 player. The
phone also comes with a keyboard that users can use to send text
messages and e-mail, as well as play games over the Internet."
Received on 2003-09-24