Design and Tech Ideas That Were or Are No-Brainers Yet Took/Are Taking Years

[NorCal]

For example Apple's first iMac, the one in color. When it came out people creamed themselves over the idea of having color computers (as in the body, not the monitor). It also put Apple back on the map. But has there ever been a more obvious idea?

Along the same line, why the **** are there not USB ports on my car stereo, and a built in (or better yet, removable) SSD drive? And how about having a simple wi-fi dongle attached so I can pull it up front of my house and load it from my lap top. Or better yet, load it from any cloud service through the same satellite service the XM Radio uses. OR through 3G. OR through an attachment from a smart phone.
I know Ford is adding some Wi-Fi to their cars and that's a start. . . but come on.

You could also use it to store movies for the entertainment system.
All the tech is here now, and considering the cost of a car, would add very little to the overall sticker price.

Post your frustrations.

 

[Pilot]

Although not factory, I believe Kenwood has made head units with some type of storage drive in them for years.

Higher end cars have USB connections, I know Jags and BMW do off the top of my head.

What frustrates me is that all car manufacturers decided that an AUX INPUT was completely unnecessary until about 2007. Now I think just about every car has one.


But I completely agree with in car entertainment/audio. Just seems like we should be way more advanced than we are in that department.


As far as things that bug me, UPS, Fedex, DHL, etc.. should all be able to ship stuff overnight (assuming you're in the same country) without charging ridiculous fees. There really isn't much reason a shirt i buy should take 7 days to get to me if it is coming from 2 states over. I just feel we shouldn't even have the option of slower shipping on certain items. Everyone wants their stuff ASAP.

 

[steviecakes]

Youtube was launched in 2005. In 2000, I was in the fifth grade and browsing newgrounds when I thought "why the **** doesn't anyone have a site where anyone can upload/view miscellaneous videos?"

 

[Reggs]

Remote or timed heating and cooling of homes. Most everyone has a 9-5 weekday schedule and would like to come home to a pre-heated/cooled home, but it's still a rarity.

Online Uniqlo USA e-store.

The progression of 3D tech seems sluggish since it was "the next big thing" since the 1980s.

Male contraception options. Hasn't our pill been "2 years around the corner" for the past 15 years?

 

[Ambulance Chaser]

A smartphone app that would enable you to pay your restaurant bill and leave instead of having to flag down your waiter and wait for him to run your card.

 

[bha]

An easy online way to get rid of your crap (Craigslist, eBay). Seriously, why did these simple technologies take so long? I remember banking online and buying airline tickets online more than 5 years before being able to sell something online. What took so long?

One phone number to reach me at any time (yes, I know Google Voice exists). Seriously, can't cell companies and home phone companies get it together and realize that most people want their home AND cell phones to ring at the same time? If you are out and your cell rings and you don't answer it, your home VM should take a message. Vonage had this many many years ago... is it so hard for all the big telcos to provide it as a free feature?

Cars that don't break down and that use standard parts. Every manufacturer insists on reworking the entire design of an engine (or changing it just enough that parts aren't similar) every model year. And thereby gaining 1-2hp at most. Big deal... I'd rather have a car that uses the same parts as the last 10 years, so used parts are cheap and new parts are available aftermarket since there are millions of them around. Look at any 80's Mercedes car... interchangeable parts between model years (and even between different models!) and parts are plentiful and cheap. And they weren't exactly outdated by carrying the same part over from one year to the next. Car parts don't improve every 6 months.. the major breakthroughs come in 5-10 years cycles. I haven't driven a car with the "optional air suspension" or "optional hydraulic suspension" that meant anything more than $1k repair bills when it breaks. And the base model suspension on that same car is perfectly good, even for spirited driving. Unless you are driving a Corvette on a racetrack, it won't make a difference.

Better roofing systems. Seriously, we have been putting plywood on roofs, covered with asphalt shingles for what seems like 100 years. Has to be replaced every x years, and causes all kinds of problems if you don't fix it. They can make metal roof shings, and they can make gutters out of a roll (they make them right on your driveway on a truck, in any length you want). Can we seriously not roll out some sort of sheet steel and glue/nail it down? It would be totally waterproof for many many years and not break down with the sun. Ice wouldn't affect it all. Plywood rots and metal doesn't.

Washing machine supply hoses that don't burst. Just bought a set that says check every year and replace every 5 years. I have a rubber hose on my car that is almost 20 years old, and it is subjected daily to freezing/boiling temperatures, vibration/harshness, and lots of flexing/movement. And it hasn't burst yet.... why does garden-hose like supply hose of my washing machine threaten me with dumping water and flooding my entire house when I'm on vacation when it has become older than 5 years? The steel braided hoses are no better. Can't someone come up with a Pex (plastic) or metal alternative? The hose is indoors, not subjected to UV rays, never has a temperature change except when in use, and is only used once a week and under reasonable amounts of water pressure

OK I'm done now

 

[tesseract]



Youtube was launched in 2005. In 2000, I was in the fifth grade and browsing newgrounds when I thought "why the **** doesn't anyone have a site where anyone can upload/view miscellaneous videos?"

I told my dad about how cool a video game where you could make a character, give them a house and a job and live their life. That was in 1996, we were eating lunch at Shagwongs in Montauk.

 

[Joffrey]



Remote or timed heating and cooling of homes. Most everyone has a 9-5 weekday schedule and would like to come home to a pre-heated/cooled home, but it's still a rarity.

http://www.homedepot.com/Building-M...6340|programmable thermostat||S|e|17343492941

A smartphone app that would enable you to pay your restaurant bill and leave instead of having to flag down your waiter and wait for him to run your card.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/8577384/iPhone-app-to-pay-the-restaurant-bill.html

My 11 cents: I remember when I was 8 or something (early 90s) asking my dad why they couldn't create mechanical artificial limbs with electrical charges to go to the brain that could affect movement: http://www.technewsworld.com/story/67934.html

 

[Bhowie]

Minivans with dual sliding doors and trucks with more than 2 doors.

 

[scientific]

basically the answer is less than 1% of 1% of the workforce generates all the value in the economy for the other 99.99%. most people are very, very stupid.

 

[Find Finn]

Non black tv's
Traffic lights that switch automatically at night, when no ones around. (they have them in sweden)

Mini coopers had usb and ixxx integration as the first manufacture, I believe the first year of the new cooper had it (05/06), or something like that.


IHC can help you with timed everything in your house.

 

[NorCal]

Car alarms that are customizable/unique.

 

[steviecakes]



Non black tv's

I think a white TV bezel would be pretty irritating to notice while watching if you ask me

 

[Find Finn]



I think a white TV bezel would be pretty irritating to notice while watching if you ask me

I'm talking about ze frame.

 

[Sanguis Mortuum]



Remote or timed heating and cooling of homes. Most everyone has a 9-5 weekday schedule and would like to come home to a pre-heated/cooled home, but it's still a rarity.

Really? What country(/century) do you live in? I don't think I've ever lived in a house which doesn't have a timer attached to the thermostat...