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Thought: This could bring back phone booths. If this tech turns out to be too expensive (for normal people) we could still use it on a pay-per-use basis, like
by spurgu 5y ago
Thought: This could bring back phone booths.
If this tech turns out to be too expensive (for normal people) we could still use it on a pay-per-use basis, like with a "video conferencing booth". You'd schedule your call and reserve a local booth for both participants through an app. And most companies should be able to afford having one of these in the office.
- agumonkey 5y agoTotally unrelated but on the radio there was a company talking about making internet pods to be able to communicate without being in the open like in starbucks. It seems we're seeing a second coming of distributed private comms.
- tiagod 5y agoI agree with you, I'm also imagining these in public libraries, retirement homes, small village community centres. I just hope we don't end up with a bunch of incompatible, proprietary appliances that can't talk to each other.
- paxys 5y agoIt would have to be really futuristic to convince people to coordinate timings, reserve a slot, pay and drive to some location for a video call. FaceTime/WhatsApp are still good enough for most. The office use case is probably more realistic, but some other related products (Surface Hub, Jamboard) haven't become as ubiquitous as originally imagined.
- bitcoinmoney 5y agoRemote job interviews.
- wraptile 5y agoNo way anyone cares about visual detail for job interviews.
- dgudkov 5y agoThis could bring fax machines back too. Draw something on a piece of paper, put it into the receptacle, and voila - it's instantly printed on the other side.
- ExtraE 5y agoOr, I mean, live synced drawing tablets. Why paper? (Unless you like the feeling of writing on paper like me but I bet money they’ll replicate that sooner rather than later).
- interestica 5y agoI hate to say it but my first impression of this was that it looked like a visiting area for a prison. (Something about the bleak colour palette and minimalist display). But, I think that presents a similar long-distance use-case as the 'phone booth.' I wouldn't be surprised to see this as a pay-per-use option for prisoners/families. It's probably only a matter of time before the 'Echo Shows' capitalize on it.
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- whymauri 5y agoit would certainly sit comfortably in a black mirror episode, lol.
- sangnoir 5y agoA fantastic twist would be a reveal showing that the other person (no longer) exists in the real world and is digital construct... or some forbidden knowledge is secretly interdicted and censored by big brother, body-snatching peoples avatars in real time.
- hyko 5y agoPlot twist: the person behind the screen is actually sat there, everything else turns out to be a hologram!
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- nmfisher 5y agoThat’s exactly the thought I have. I have a feeling it would be truly bizarre to sit down and talk to my mum or dad through this.
- jspaetzel 5y agoI'd pay something for this but I bet there's more of a business market.
- nickkell 5y agoThat's just reminded me that phone booths were usually filled with advertisements for "escort services". I'm sure it wouldn't take long for this to come back in this brave new world
- randomsearch 5y agoGreat idea. I’d first go with an Internet cafe style booth booking. Book an hour slot and get your coffee included. Setup cafes in major cities and I think people would use this - could imagine setting a meet with a friend in another country. Parents showing off their new babies. Etc.
- benhurmarcel 5y ago> And most companies should be able to afford having one of these in the office. Most companies don't give decent webcams already, I doubt they'd consider paying thousands for such a system.
- ByteWelder 5y agoI doubt that very much. Consider these scenarios: 1. Call for free from home/couch with a regular camera in the privacy of my home. 2. Go to some location and pay a third party to do a less private call, and have a better visual experience. The most obvious choice would be number 1 in 99.9% of all cases. In theory, privacy can be increased by creating a sound-proofed environment for your call, but in practice, that would easily become very expensive.
- spurgu 5y agoThe main thing here is the radically improved UX (as advertised). With this kind of tech I might actually hook up with some remote friends with whom I currently just text (I don't really use video calls for anything other than work). Edit: And even 0.01% of the video call market would be quite large. Naturally this idea wouldn't work if something like 10% of all video calls were replaced with these booths, they would be fully booked for weeks forward. ;) Edit2: And we already know most people don't care that much about their privacy since they already use services like Google Meet and Zoom and whatnot.
- evrenesat 5y agoI would like to see this as a franchised service for cafes and bars. It would be nice to be able to treat drinks and the 3d chat experience to a friend who lives in another country. And you know, some conversations are done better at a place other than family home.