This idea is something different. Rather than an idea for an invention or organization it is an idea for a plot to a movie.
There is not a whole lot to the idea. It may seem similar to other movies. Its not incredibly different from many other ideas. But that is part of its strength. It's different enough to make money, but safe enough to not be a risk.
The basic concept is that a husband and wife have grown to hate one another. They have recently received a divorce. However, as they put their house on the market so they can split the sales they both loose their jobs. Their mutual friend, their incompetent real estate agent, then informs then that the house will not sell for some time.
So as a result they end up stuck living together still in their home as neither can afford to move out. However, as time goes on the rediscover why they got married in the first place and reconcile in a heart warming moment. Then their friend informs them that the house has just sold.
The End
As I said not much too it, but a lot of people could probably sympathies with the premise.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
DVR Profiles
My family has a digital 'cable' service that includes a Digital Video Recorder.
The problem though, is that the recorder has a limited capacity. When the DVR becomes filled it begins to delete old stuff automatically to make room for new items.
Of course this can cause strife in the family if it is felt that certain family members have recorded a large amount of things that they are not watching.
A solution to this could be to allow for recording profiles. Each profile would be for one member of the family and would be given a percentage of the DVR's hard drive.
This way one person would be unable to take up the whole DVR. It would also discourage the 'recording but then not watching' that even I am guilty of.
The only real issue is how to select which profile something would be recorded under. Ultimately this would likely need new buttons on the remote to not be cumbersome.
The problem though, is that the recorder has a limited capacity. When the DVR becomes filled it begins to delete old stuff automatically to make room for new items.
Of course this can cause strife in the family if it is felt that certain family members have recorded a large amount of things that they are not watching.
A solution to this could be to allow for recording profiles. Each profile would be for one member of the family and would be given a percentage of the DVR's hard drive.
This way one person would be unable to take up the whole DVR. It would also discourage the 'recording but then not watching' that even I am guilty of.
The only real issue is how to select which profile something would be recorded under. Ultimately this would likely need new buttons on the remote to not be cumbersome.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Pick your Fast Food Franchise
An entrepreneur, lets say Mr. Smith, wants to open up a fast food restaurant. He has already picked out a location and decided he wants to go with a franchise. However, our hypothetical investor is not married to any given franchise but has narrowed it down to three selections.
The location is in a high traffic area and near a traffic light that tends to have long reds. So Mr. Smith rents out the location two months early. He won't be opening up early but will be launching a clever campaign. Luckily he has the starting capital to afford the rent. The reason he is renting the building early is because of the sign he is going to post out in front.
The sign would read simply:
"
Text (XXX) XXX-XXXX with your pick of franchise
Franchise A, Franchise B, Franchise C
"
If properly promoted it could generate a fair degree of opening day hype. Hopefully the process would choose a franchise that would be more likely to appeal to the local customers. The people who would be texting in would be the people that would be more likely to be regular customers.
Now, if Mr. Smith was feeling adventurous he could even charge people to text. Some people (I would guess more teenagers, who go to school near the location, than other demographics) might be willing to pay to select the franchise.
Now, if Mr. Smith was feeling adventurous he could even charge people to text. Some people (I would guess more teenagers, who go to school near the location, than other demographics) might be willing to pay to select the franchise.
Now I will admit that Mr. Smith would be taking a major gamble with the entire endeavor. Most people will not care. Mr. Smith doesn't need a lot of people to care, but he does need enough people to be interested. If interest did not pass a critical mass Mr. Smith would be just throwing his rent money away.
However, I have never heard of this being done before, and if Mr. Smith was the gambling type it might be worth the risk.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Parking Radar
I am going to preface this post by saying that it is unlikely to be implemented in existing cities due to expense.
However, I do think it is worthwhile to consider because parking in the city can really suck.
A lot of cities are using or considering WiMax or similar systems (essentially city wide WiFi). However, this could serve as a backbone for the city to serve up lots of information about local conditions (as I write this traffic information comes to mind first).
Sensors built into road curbs, on posts next to parking spaces, or in the road itself could detect if a car is currently parked in a particular spot. The way that these sensors would work depends on where exactly it is installed (in the road vs next to it) but is more of a technical discussion. The information gathered by the sensors could then be made available over a WiMax network.
A GPS system in a person's car could be capable of taping into the WiMax network and finding out where the nearest available parking spot is located. If the system was really
So basically GPS systems could tell you where to find parking spots to let people avoid playing the 'search for a spot' game.
Of course it doesn't have to be a GPS. A small radar that shows direction and distance to the nearest location using the network could be made as well.
There are three major issues with such a system:
1) There would be significant cost associated with installing the system, especially in an already existing infrastructure.
2) The system would need to be installed city wide for it to really catch on in popularity. If it was only installed in particular neighborhoods or along certain streets people could not be certain that it would be giving them the nearest spot and it would become unreliable. If drivers are going to trust a Parking Radar, more of the city (at least the areas where parking is an issue) must be supported than unspotted.
3) Unless a standard was decided on (there are methods of large area wireless networking other than WiMax for example) it could quickly become problematic if every city had a slightly different system. Either it would increase the cost of the GPS or some systems would be Chicago compatible while others may be 'New York' compatible. Now this issue is not necessarily a major road block. Several states have their own types of automated highway toll payment systems and for the most part its fine. People spend most of their time in the state they live and people spend most of their time in the city that they live (or are near).
If there are cities close to one another they could work to make sure their systems interoperate just as neighboring states have done with their toll systems.
Now issue number 1 is the big one. This cost is made even worse if a wide area wireless network does not already exist in the city. Of course it is not necessary to use a wireless network. There may be better technical solutions (such as delivering the information over cell networks). But even still, the cost of just the sensors alone would likely be pricey.
Now this cost could be mitigated in several ways. The city could charge for the use of the Parking Radar Service. Basically they would sell permission to use the data available on the Parking Radar Network. If they wanted to maximize profit they could charge differing fees based on a person's address. For example people in the suburbs could be charged less than people who live downtown because they would not be using it as frequently. Of course pricing is an entirely different issue.
By charging for the use of the service they could reduce or perhaps even eliminate the installation and upkeep cost for the system. In fact, depending on demand, I could actually conceive of a city making a profit on such a system.
However, I do think it is worthwhile to consider because parking in the city can really suck.
A lot of cities are using or considering WiMax or similar systems (essentially city wide WiFi). However, this could serve as a backbone for the city to serve up lots of information about local conditions (as I write this traffic information comes to mind first).
Sensors built into road curbs, on posts next to parking spaces, or in the road itself could detect if a car is currently parked in a particular spot. The way that these sensors would work depends on where exactly it is installed (in the road vs next to it) but is more of a technical discussion. The information gathered by the sensors could then be made available over a WiMax network.
A GPS system in a person's car could be capable of taping into the WiMax network and finding out where the nearest available parking spot is located. If the system was really
So basically GPS systems could tell you where to find parking spots to let people avoid playing the 'search for a spot' game.
Of course it doesn't have to be a GPS. A small radar that shows direction and distance to the nearest location using the network could be made as well.
There are three major issues with such a system:
1) There would be significant cost associated with installing the system, especially in an already existing infrastructure.
2) The system would need to be installed city wide for it to really catch on in popularity. If it was only installed in particular neighborhoods or along certain streets people could not be certain that it would be giving them the nearest spot and it would become unreliable. If drivers are going to trust a Parking Radar, more of the city (at least the areas where parking is an issue) must be supported than unspotted.
3) Unless a standard was decided on (there are methods of large area wireless networking other than WiMax for example) it could quickly become problematic if every city had a slightly different system. Either it would increase the cost of the GPS or some systems would be Chicago compatible while others may be 'New York' compatible. Now this issue is not necessarily a major road block. Several states have their own types of automated highway toll payment systems and for the most part its fine. People spend most of their time in the state they live and people spend most of their time in the city that they live (or are near).
If there are cities close to one another they could work to make sure their systems interoperate just as neighboring states have done with their toll systems.
Now issue number 1 is the big one. This cost is made even worse if a wide area wireless network does not already exist in the city. Of course it is not necessary to use a wireless network. There may be better technical solutions (such as delivering the information over cell networks). But even still, the cost of just the sensors alone would likely be pricey.
Now this cost could be mitigated in several ways. The city could charge for the use of the Parking Radar Service. Basically they would sell permission to use the data available on the Parking Radar Network. If they wanted to maximize profit they could charge differing fees based on a person's address. For example people in the suburbs could be charged less than people who live downtown because they would not be using it as frequently. Of course pricing is an entirely different issue.
By charging for the use of the service they could reduce or perhaps even eliminate the installation and upkeep cost for the system. In fact, depending on demand, I could actually conceive of a city making a profit on such a system.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Hand Pump Liquid Deodorant
This is another idea related to the gym.
Frequently I forget to bring a stick of deodorant with me to the gym. So I need to wait until I get home to apply it. Now health club changing rooms often offer a lot of amenities. However, they can't really offer deodorant to their members. People don't want to use a stick that someone else was just using.
Now Axe. and other spray deodorants can be a solution to this, but many people don't like spray deodorants. They can fill the air with an unpleasant scent.
Basically I am envisioning a pump bottle like the ones used by hand soap. However, instead it dispenses some type of liquid designed to be rubbed into the armpits.
People would probably need to wash their hands afterwards (otherwise their hands would be covered in deodorant). However, it would be a way for another 'consumable' amenity to be offered at the gym.
Frequently I forget to bring a stick of deodorant with me to the gym. So I need to wait until I get home to apply it. Now health club changing rooms often offer a lot of amenities. However, they can't really offer deodorant to their members. People don't want to use a stick that someone else was just using.
Now Axe. and other spray deodorants can be a solution to this, but many people don't like spray deodorants. They can fill the air with an unpleasant scent.
Basically I am envisioning a pump bottle like the ones used by hand soap. However, instead it dispenses some type of liquid designed to be rubbed into the armpits.
People would probably need to wash their hands afterwards (otherwise their hands would be covered in deodorant). However, it would be a way for another 'consumable' amenity to be offered at the gym.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Temperature Sensitive Dyes
There are ways to make surfaces sensitive to temperature such that their color will change. The most common example is probably a child's toy that changes color when exposed to hot or cold water.
I would be interested to see if this basic concept could be used to make temperature sensitive dyes.
It could be neat to have a shirt that is white if it is hot out, but then changes color to black when it is cool. The practical benefit is that white reflects light and keeps you cool, where as black absorbs light and gets warmer.
A shirt could also be designed to change color based on what temperature it was washed in
Ultimately the practicality is limited. However, the same applies to a lot of fashion, and as a gimmick I think it would be a neat one.
I would be interested to see if this basic concept could be used to make temperature sensitive dyes.
It could be neat to have a shirt that is white if it is hot out, but then changes color to black when it is cool. The practical benefit is that white reflects light and keeps you cool, where as black absorbs light and gets warmer.
A shirt could also be designed to change color based on what temperature it was washed in
Ultimately the practicality is limited. However, the same applies to a lot of fashion, and as a gimmick I think it would be a neat one.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Streaming Shower Radio
I like to listen to music in the shower.
But after all of my searching come away disappointed in the solutions. The choices available are devices that can play CDs in the radio or play FM/AM radio. Now the moisture eventually ruins the CDs and the radio is inevitably going to get less than ideal reception in many showers. But even if it received decent reception none of them even use digital radio. It' all tuning knob based.
I want a solution that lets me play music from my computer. The best I have seen was a shower radio that came with a low power FM transmitter. So I could listen to my music this way. However, its not a good solution. The transmitter is not very good so the signal is noisy. And to top things off, you have no control over whats playing. And of course, if you forget to start up music and to plug in the transmitter before you get in the shower you are out luck.
I have also seen waterproof IPod cases. Those of course require you to have and IPod and to bring it in.
What I want is a waterproof device that can connect to my home network over wifi. A server program on my PC could then stream music to the 'radio.' Because it is being streamed over wifi the radio can send commands back to the PC server. That means you could have play/pause controls and a method to browser your music collection from the shower.
With an internet connection it could even stream music from online radio services like Pandora.
This is not complicated technology. Devices like this exist in other non-waterproof forms (like fancy alarm clocks). There is nothing standing in the way of a company manufacturing and selling a device like this. It would be significantly more expensive than the low quality shower radios currently on the market, but I can not imagine I am the only person who has a desire for something like this.
But after all of my searching come away disappointed in the solutions. The choices available are devices that can play CDs in the radio or play FM/AM radio. Now the moisture eventually ruins the CDs and the radio is inevitably going to get less than ideal reception in many showers. But even if it received decent reception none of them even use digital radio. It' all tuning knob based.
I want a solution that lets me play music from my computer. The best I have seen was a shower radio that came with a low power FM transmitter. So I could listen to my music this way. However, its not a good solution. The transmitter is not very good so the signal is noisy. And to top things off, you have no control over whats playing. And of course, if you forget to start up music and to plug in the transmitter before you get in the shower you are out luck.
I have also seen waterproof IPod cases. Those of course require you to have and IPod and to bring it in.
What I want is a waterproof device that can connect to my home network over wifi. A server program on my PC could then stream music to the 'radio.' Because it is being streamed over wifi the radio can send commands back to the PC server. That means you could have play/pause controls and a method to browser your music collection from the shower.
With an internet connection it could even stream music from online radio services like Pandora.
This is not complicated technology. Devices like this exist in other non-waterproof forms (like fancy alarm clocks). There is nothing standing in the way of a company manufacturing and selling a device like this. It would be significantly more expensive than the low quality shower radios currently on the market, but I can not imagine I am the only person who has a desire for something like this.
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