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Looks cool, but I don't know anything about this market so I can't really comment directly on utility or prospects. But, to take a tangent: I think there's a s

by netcan 11y ago

Looks cool, but I don't know anything about this market so I can't really comment directly on utility or prospects. But, to take a tangent: I think there's a shift that hardware oriented entrepreneurs might mine for some ideas. Around web 2.0 time there was a shift where people got more comfortable with the internet. They used real names, and pictures without expecting this would inevitably lead to serial killers at the door. Facebook worked because people agreed to tell the internet their name. Online dating went mainstream. Twitter, Linkedin, all sorts of sharing become common. The interesting part is that the technological trends like were only part of the picture. Cultural shifts were just as important. Tech is cool now, that's the new trend. Where a calculator watch in the 90s would get an 8 year old beat up, todays equivalents are status symbols. Interestingly, glasses became cool in recent years. So, ideas might be found by looking over old technology that is uncool and seeing if it can be re-imagined as 2015 tech. A regular electric wheelchair is uncool. This segway thing is cool. One real obvious device to think about Apple-ising is hearing aides. Hearing aids are so uncool 80 year olds don't want to be seen with one. They are all about being small, flesh colored and "invisible." I think there's a decent chance a bright green large ear piece might be cool. And speaking of hearing aids… Can hearing aids improve the hearing of non impaired people. Can you get better than normal hearing from a hearing aid?

randlet 11y ago
As a hearing aid wearer, I can probably think of a couple of ways hearing aids could be used to improve hearing of non-impaired[1] but you definitely don't want just "broad spectrum amplification" (hearing every small click, clack & whir gets old fast). Think more along the lines of decrease of external noise in a cafe so you can focus on a conversation, a tunable amplification of quiet sounds, as replacements for blue tooth headphones etc (sound quality is not great currently) stuff along that lines. > Hearing aids are so uncool 80 year olds don't want to be seen with one. They are all about being small, flesh colored and "invisible." This might be true for older populations but kids can get brightly coloured hearing aids and moulds[2]! When I was first being fitted for HA's (at age 32) my audiologist assumed I would want the least visible model possible but I opted for larger more visible behind the ear models...I want people who I interact with to be able to see that I have hearing loss. People tend to get annoyed if you ask them over and over to repeat themselves but are generally much more patient if they know you are hard of hearing. [1] Just FYI The term hearing-impaired is somewhat offensive to some people (not me) who prefer hard-of-hearing or deaf, or Deaf [2] https://www.google.ca/search?q=kids+hearing+aids&num=30&source=lnms&tbm=isch https://www.google.ca/search?q=kids+hearing+aids&num=30&sour...
- jessaustin 11y ago
  I appreciate your healthy outlook toward your hearing loss. With my family background, it seems inevitable that my hearing will continue to get worse than it already is. I want to take your attitude as an inspiration rather than the less healthy attitudes that I often see.
  - netcan 11y ago
    It's interesting that glasses, sitting in the middle of your face are seen as less of an issue than hearing aids. It's really just a random whim of fashion. I think this may change soon. It will almost certainly change if a device targeting non-impaired gets any traction.
    - stegosaurus 11y ago
      I'm not so sure that it's a simple matter of fashion. Wearing glasses is, for lack of a better term, 'normal'. I don't know the statistics but probably a quarter of the population has impaired sight (I'm one of them). Additionally in the majority of cases it presents no handicap at all once corrected - often it results in acuity above the average.

by netcan 11y ago

randlet 11y ago

As a hearing aid wearer, I can probably think of a couple of ways hearing aids could be used to improve hearing of non-impaired[1] but you definitely don't want just "broad spectrum amplification" (hearing every small click, clack & whir gets old fast). Think more along the lines of decrease of external noise in a cafe so you can focus on a conversation, a tunable amplification of quiet sounds, as replacements for blue tooth headphones etc (sound quality is not great currently) stuff along that lines. > Hearing aids are so uncool 80 year olds don't want to be seen with one. They are all about being small, flesh colored and "invisible." This might be true for older populations but kids can get brightly coloured hearing aids and moulds[2]! When I was first being fitted for HA's (at age 32) my audiologist assumed I would want the least visible model possible but I opted for larger more visible behind the ear models...I want people who I interact with to be able to see that I have hearing loss. People tend to get annoyed if you ask them over and over to repeat themselves but are generally much more patient if they know you are hard of hearing. [1] Just FYI The term hearing-impaired is somewhat offensive to some people (not me) who prefer hard-of-hearing or deaf, or Deaf [2] https://www.google.ca/search?q=kids+hearing+aids&num=30&source=lnms&tbm=isch https://www.google.ca/search?q=kids+hearing+aids&num=30&sour...

jessaustin 11y ago
I appreciate your healthy outlook toward your hearing loss. With my family background, it seems inevitable that my hearing will continue to get worse than it already is. I want to take your attitude as an inspiration rather than the less healthy attitudes that I often see.
- netcan 11y ago
  It's interesting that glasses, sitting in the middle of your face are seen as less of an issue than hearing aids. It's really just a random whim of fashion. I think this may change soon. It will almost certainly change if a device targeting non-impaired gets any traction.
  - stegosaurus 11y ago
    I'm not so sure that it's a simple matter of fashion. Wearing glasses is, for lack of a better term, 'normal'. I don't know the statistics but probably a quarter of the population has impaired sight (I'm one of them). Additionally in the majority of cases it presents no handicap at all once corrected - often it results in acuity above the average.