News HP makes wireless rice

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2006/07/17/HP_makes_wireless_rice/

 

Wow, I wondered what wireless rice was when I read the title. Those things must be tiny. Have to be careful you dont drop one, you'll never find it again!

 

Wow, pretty cool... its funny what small things can do these days. And yea, i couldent resist finding out what that title meant

 

/me thinks of warwalking

 

go UK go UK wooo GO TEAM!

 

sorry to be dim, but how are they powered?

 

cool , next stop, inteligent wireless documents.

 

What an awesome development, about time something like this came along. Can't wait to see it in products.

 

but it's wi-fi, which implies distance.. no good for induction then.. it must be powered.

 

short-range wireless transmission capability =/= wi-fi

 

Wow... think of all the rainforests which could be saved. I can just picture myself carrying one of these to class instead of a notebook . Probably not anytime soon, though.

-ed out

 

I foresee paperback books to come with the digital counterpart included right in the book.

At a hugeley inflated price ofcourse.

 

i see this replacing some rfid apps. like an implanted medical history, or something along that line.

 

I forsee the same trouble as is happening/will soon be happening with RFID - lack of security (not due to lack of possibility of security, just people not bothering), and people being able to misuse or change the information when they shouldn't be.

But I'm a cynic.

 

do you recon that they could implant one im my hand for me

 

Another interesting application could be replacing barcodes on shop products.

They obviously wouldn't need to store 100 pages of information, 1kB would be more than enough. Especially if the cost was on a scale...
512kB = $1
256kB = $0.55
128kB = $0.30
1kB = $0.01 (if that)
(Completely fiction numbers made up by me)
If they were mass-produced on this kind of scale and "built" into packaging, it could potentially cost even less .

Imagine doing a weekly family shop. Trolley full of food, walk it through a scanner, pay for it, and you're done. No huge line, no waiting for every item to be scanned individually (except fresh fruit and vegetables though I guess).

It would suck for teenagers though , because shops wouldn't require as many "check-out-chicks", only two, maybe three would be required in an average supermarket .

 

There could be some interesting applications here but it will probably be plagued with the same security and privacy issues.

The memory isn't the only part of the chip tho, even at an optimistic guess of it costing half of the chip cost you would get
512 = $1
256 = $0.80
128 = $0.65
1 = $0.51
Just going from your numbers

 

even if you do, it doesn't really matter at that price lol

 

Man, I am all over that. Imagine never having to sign or enter your PIN to make a purchase; imagine an integrated reader in your mouse so that your PC logged on instantly when you touched it; imagine your passport was integrated into it. That would be awesome - just wave your hand to buy stuff, go on a flight, get through the turnstiles at underground stations.

However, the fun police won't allow it because they'll somehow scaremonger the whole thing into being a violation of human rights (even if it's optional) and an erosion of privacy (even if it's optional).

 

Rice huh?

$1 each?!?!?! Dam, ate a whole bowl full last night


Enough of the spam, it looks a promising technology - but like alot of these things, will believe it when it's released.