Upgrade Your Dog 296
ptorrone writes "Engadget has glimpse in to the future, a future where your dog has a cell phone, webcam and electronic tag, and maybe even talks to you. Maybe. Some of this dog-tech isn't available yet, and some of it is (in Japan, of course). The overview includes some interesting iterations of pet technology, and they even made their own version of a dog webcam along with the first ever canine photographer's photo gallery." I'd rather see more of these things applied to infants.
Which distro? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Which distro? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Which distro? (Score:4, Funny)
If you think about it, dogs are basically just interrupt handlers with the ability to respond to a few simple commands.
Re:Which distro? (Score:2)
--Joey
Disposible (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Disposible (Score:2)
In Soviet Russia, cat owns you! (Just like in Ascension Island, Andorra, UAE, Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, ...goslavia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe )
Re:Disposible (Score:5, Funny)
Imagine a beowulf cluster of yellow dogs?
Well, think about it....
What's wrong with normal pets? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:What's wrong with normal pets? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:What's wrong with normal pets? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:What's wrong with normal pets? (Score:2)
That always makes me laugh! Try Guide Dog.
So is a Guard dog a biting mouth dog then?
Re:What's wrong with normal pets? (Score:5, Informative)
Apparently, Japanese women agree with you. [bbc.co.uk]
Well, I can't (Score:3, Interesting)
I don't know, maybe some people like the artifficial affection of a species altered and reprogrammed to _need_ a master. No matter how smart it may be, it's just hard-wired to come obey the MASTER.
(Though I've yet to see any dog displaying anything even vaguely resembling intelligence. I'll have to take it on faith that smart dogs exist, j
Re:Well, I can't (Score:4, Insightful)
You have to remember that dogs have been living with humans for at least 10000 years, ever since the wolves came down out of the mountains to investigate the strange two-legged creatures that were wandering about on the plains below -- and if they didn't like it, they would have gone back a long time ago. We humans have done a bit of evolving in that time -- we have invented things like civilisation, written languages, agriculture, and had the Industrial and Information Revolutions. Throughout all this, Man's Best Friend has stood loyally by his side -- you can't tell me that the dogs haven't been [mostly] enjoying it.
Actually there are striking similarities between the behaviour of a pack of wolves / dogs, and office politics. Including the way that domesticated dogs and wolves spectacularly don't get on with one another -- and I think we've all met people who are "too like me for me to like"!
Re:Well, I can't (Score:2)
And, as fate would have it, I've also seen a dog-against-human leadership challenge that you mention. Our german shepherd against my brother. You can say it again it's not going to get pretty. Let's just say my brother got a hole through his hand like he was Jesus.
(And if it makes any difference, I think the dog was better leadership material in that "pack";)
Still, you see, it's this blind sticking to a hard-coded "The Way
Re:Well, I can't (Score:2)
Re:Well, I can't (Score:2)
> with their pack leader -- whether two- or four-legged -- then
> it all makes sense.
That was a really good post.
It's very difficult to interpret the behavior of an animal that can't talk. Many of us would like to perform a Turing test on the person in the cube next to us, so how could we expect to easily answer the question of whether dogs are intelligent?
People who like dogs are going to interpret their intelligent-seeming behaviors posi
What a whiney little post. (Score:3, Insightful)
a species which was originally hard-coded into hunting in groups, obeying the strongest in the group, and marking and defending its hunting territory
A cat doesn't have a master. It might see you as a friend if you're nice to it. Or merely a roommate
I had to laugh when I ran into these two sentenc
Re:Well, I can't (Score:2)
I'll just say you don't know much about cats, then.
They do mark their territory, true. That's what male cats do when they pee on stuff. If your cat peed on you, _that_ is marking territory.
Chances are it never did, though. You know why? Because no goddamn animal is so dumb as to try to mark another animal as _territory
Hmm... lets see (Score:4, Funny)
Oops, I promised the producer I wouldn't say anything.
Re:Hmm... lets see (Score:5, Funny)
So *you're* that guy...
There's this guy who drinks at a local bar every night. One night, he came in and ordered only coffee. The bartender was curious and asked him why he wasn't buying beer.
The man replied, "I don't drink anymore... last night, I blew chunks."
"Oh that's nothing", the bartender replies. "Everyone gets a little sick after drinking too much at times."
"No, no", the man replies. "You don't understand. Chunks is my dog!"
Re:Hmm... lets see (Score:3, Funny)
Just what I need,... the ability to watch my dog lick his balls via webcam.
UGA Cam (Score:4, Informative)
Re:UGA Cam (Score:2, Insightful)
umm (Score:4, Funny)
Re:umm (Score:3, Funny)
Lemme guess his name...
BillGates?
Soko
Re:umm (Score:5, Informative)
Two weeks now and he still shits and pisses on my computer...
It's probably because he has pissed on it before that he continues to do so. Once they mark a spot with pee, they continue to use that spot because it has been marked with a scent, even if you clean it up well. I think there are pet products that you can use that counteract that smell. If not, vinegar and water [doggiedoor.com] might do the trick. There are other tips [homestead.com] online about training puppies.
Then again maybe he's telling you to get a better computer.
Re:umm (Score:2)
Re:umm (Score:2)
Trust me: acid + computer = not good.
I guess then just wipe down the computer case with it, and don't use a spray on it. However, the area around the computer needs to be deodorised well, especially if it has carpeting. Dog pee + computer = not good either, especially if other dogs compete with marking the territory by peeing on the same spot, which happens when an area is marked with a scent. Kind of like fire hydrants.
Re:umm (Score:5, Informative)
With both of my puppies, I took them outside whenever they would need to go. That's not so hard to figure out. A puppy will need to pee:
1. Within a few minutes of waking up from ANY duration of sleep.
2. Within a few minutes of drinking ANY water.
3. After playing for a little bit, and after they stop playing.
They'll have to poop within 10 to 20 minutes after eating any amount of food, and after waking up from sleeping.
At those times, take the puppy outside. Wait until he goes. IMMEDIATELY (within 1 second) give him a reward.
If it goes in the house, make a noise to interrupt it, pick it up, take it outside, let it finish, and when it does, IMMEDIATELY reward it. Don't hit it, swat it, rub it's nose in it, or anything else.
I can't tell you how many puppies I've seen that work like a MIRACLE for - but only if YOU are consistent.
Dogs instinctively won't go in their "den". The trick is that you need to help the dog realize that the entire house is a den.
I've also seen people trying to crate-train that achieved near instant success the day after they started letting the puppies sleep on the bed - that just helped the puppy learn that the house was the den, not the crate.
steve
Re:umm (Score:2, Funny)
It? Stop switching pronouns. For a while there I thought you were talking about the turd!
Re:umm (Score:3, Informative)
This was covered in conferece by a Vet specializing in psychological rehab and training for dogs (especially for dogs who have been taken to a pool/shelter).
I do community work at a local animal shelter, this was a series of conferences to help the people to better work with the dogs and the people who wanted to adopt them.
There are some signals/behaviours that could confuse the dog idea of
Wasn't this covered... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Wasn't this covered... (Score:2)
Your kid first (Score:5, Funny)
I'd rather see more of these things applied to infants.
Let us know how it works out.
maybe even talks to you.
Thet do that normally after a while. Be patient.
Re:Your kid first (Score:2)
I would love to be able to track a kid, especially a rather young one, say 4-14.
I know the civil liberties / big brother complaints. These days, your cell has GPS, your car has GPS, and the gubermit probably has enough KH sats to watch you whenever you go outside if they want.
Was it McNeely at Sun that said something like "Americans have no privacy, they need to get over it." Scary, but true.
I still want to know where my kids are and have some notification when they break boundaries or curfew.
Re:Your kid first (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Your kid first (Score:4, Interesting)
Are they obeying those boundraies because you're taught them it's the right thing to do, or because they know dad is tracking them? Big difference. Curfew is a non-issue. Either they're home or they're not.
And yes, I have teenagers.
Wish I hadn't posted already :) (Score:4, Insightful)
I find it sad that people basically want to shut their kids off and never have to talk to them. The kid is something that should be put on a leash, or at least stay the fsck out of the way, while the parent is busy watching football or the 15'th soap opera for today.
And when the kid learns something awfully wrong, and the parent never was there for them to teach them otherwise, the parent promptly goes looking for a scapegoat. Nosiree, bob. It wasn't me who's to blame, guv'nor. I never taught him to do drugs and beat other kids up. (Never taught him that it's wrong to do that either, though.) It was those evil game companies and TV companies. Let's sue those.
Dunno, makes me think of Peter's Principle. Just because they have genitals, people are elligible to be "promoted" to parent. Too bad that half of them are utterly incompetent for that job.
Re:Wish I hadn't posted already :) (Score:2)
Being mighty generous today, aren't we
Heck, half of them can't even stay married...and they got to choose that person.
Re:Your kid first (Score:2)
People have managed to track their kids for a million years (depending what you count as people:-)). Should be a solved problem by now, no need for high tech.
As for curfew, if you don't know if the kid is in the house you have a remarkably quiet and undemanding child.
babies too? (Score:4, Insightful)
As a parent, I can honestly say that I would NEVER EVER put an electronic leash on my 3month old. Who are these paranoid fuckwad parents who are lining up to chip their pets and unwilling children in the name perceived orwellian safety?
It's they who are to blame for the starting the slide down the slippery slope. "Oh, but this RFID comes with a cute camera and a crude baby-to-human universal translator! ahhh! how cute! and SAFE too!" Die you braindead soccermom fucks. Get some personal responsibility and learn to live with the fact that shit happens despite your best efforts to nerf the world.
Re:babies too? (Score:2, Informative)
I'm not a parent, but I can say from experience that after you've actually seen a loved one in severe pain or even watched them die, the above poster's attitude comes across not as insightful but inexperienced/immature/ignorant. It's a lot easier to sneer "shit happens" when you haven't had that shit happen to you.
Re:babies too? (Score:2, Insightful)
The fact that there is such a thing in the US as parenting classes because people haven't got a clue anymore is bad enough allready.
This and the fact that US citizens are getting fatter everyday are causing the rest of the world not to take the US serious anymore. They can't even take care of themselves...
And Bush doesn't help either..
Re:babies too? (Score:2)
I agree.
If you don't get the electronic leash on them by the time they are one month old, you might as well just give up the kid for adoption.
Re:babies too? (Score:3, Insightful)
Of course you wouldn't put a leash on your three month old. You don't have to worry about getting separated from your 3 month old unless you put the infant carrier down and walk away.
Children ARE foolish, and parents are NOT perfect. As careful as I am with my 2 year old, I wouldn't hesitate to slap a gps wristwatch/pager on my kid if I took here to a place where she had any possibility of getting lost. No matter ho
Whoa, settle down (Score:3, Insightful)
Um, I took the comment "I'd rather see more of these things applied to infants" as a joke that the person would like to have an infantCam view of the world...especially during feeding times..wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more.
Look for the humor in everything first. You'll live longer.
GPS (Score:5, Interesting)
Similar idea didn't work out (Score:3, Funny)
When Dog came back two hours later, the pager was not to be found.
No upgrades needed (Score:4, Funny)
That's right, Rolfie. Come to papa with his brandy.
Interesting web sites from doggy cam.... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Interesting web sites from doggy cam.... (Score:2)
This is Slashdot.. you must be new around here
Re:Interesting web sites from doggy cam.... (Score:5, Funny)
watching you have sex.....
Re:Interesting web sites from doggy cam.... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Interesting web sites from doggy cam.... (Score:2)
Say Cheese (Score:2)
Nerds demand real results? (Score:5, Funny)
And then I read this. And I think to myself... is there more than one definition for "nerd"?
Re:Nerds demand real results? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Nerds demand real results? (Score:2)
And as a bonified nerd, I say that with all the disdain possible....
Re:Nerds demand real results? (Score:2)
I'm being terribly unfair - especially since your response is really quite nice and all
But, "bonified" would be the result of taking the root word "bone", and converting it to "bonify", meaning "to make into or resemble bone", and then make it past tense.
As in: "He was bonified when he drank too much of that calcium powder".
So, I get this weird picture of a nerd with big, nasty bones sticking out all over his face!
Yeah, grammar na
Re:Nerds demand real results? (Score:2)
If not, I wonder which I am.
Re:Nerds demand real results? (Score:2)
Now, technology is hip. I mean look its small cute hip. Chick hip.
Nerds will continue to build and design the things geeks covet.
dogs (Score:2)
I vote for dogs.
Bad Marketing (Score:3, Interesting)
I had better not come home... (Score:4, Funny)
Dear Timothy (Score:5, Funny)
I'm a proud parent of a newborn young girl. The first thing I did after getting her home from the natural birthing center was to install a subdermal electronic tag so she can't escape. Second, since I'm a good dad, I bought her a cell phone (an N-Gage even!) with a 700 minutes/month plan. Third, I enrolled her in ESL classes, cause she sure damn can't speak English yet. I don't understand a word she says!
Until later,!
Letter
Technology and animals don't mix (Score:2)
Not again... (Score:5, Funny)
I already get tons of e-mails telling me they can upgrade my "dog" by adding a few extra inches.
Infants? (Score:3, Insightful)
If you're a good parent, you don't need this stuff.
Someone should send social services over to Timothy's house to see how many lost infants he's got in his garage.
sheesh. It might be neat on dogs, it's just dehumanizing on people.
Just What I needed (Score:4, Funny)
Competing against dogs for DBA jobs.
It's better than Elephants (Score:2)
Infants!? (Score:4, Interesting)
In a world where billions don't have enough to eat, we are now giving our dogs cell phones.
Truly sick.
Re:Infants!? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Infants!? (Score:2)
Re:Infants!? (Score:2, Flamebait)
To put it bluntly, to think as the parent did one would have to consider giving instead of "having". Fuck those who can't make it as well as the person next to me.
Why invade Sudan which has for the last decade exsperienced genocide after genocide? What do they have to offer me? Nada! Let them die for all I care, they deserve whatever they get.
I whole-heartedly support our presidents decision to invade Iraq. Our grand conquest will fuels both our SUV's and our national "surplus" of oil
Re:Infants!? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Infants!? (Score:2)
As a geek toy? Yeah, go for it. I have no beef with fitting a dog with a webcam, mobile phone, GPS, or whatever for a bit of fun.
Suggesting, on the other hand, that this sort of technology might be useful as a substitute for actual supervision of a pet, or worse yet, a child - well, that's just pure negligence!
Re:Infants!? (Score:2)
Of course; the larger your waistline, the more gadgets you can wear round it- better get more pizzas and Coke in.
Re:Infants!? (Score:3, Insightful)
Which is a shame, because that cell phone directly took the food from a photogenic orphan's mouth.
I just bought some grass seed for my lawn - instead of sending the money to a starving kid.
I recently paid for another 3 months of DSL service - instead of sending the money to a starving kid.
Next week I'll pay my daughter's tuition - instead of sending the money to a starving kid.
This morning you logged onto an
From the best department ever (Score:5, Insightful)
'Nuff said
*Ducks!
Re:From the best department ever (Score:3)
Dogs > Cats.
obligatory "a boy and his dog" quote (Score:2)
From the no-cat-will... (Score:5, Funny)
from the cats-are-superior dept.
ahem
Perhaps you meant "from the no-cat-will-ever-drag-your-sorry-ass-out-of-a-burn ing-building dept."
You misunderstand... (Score:2)
Indeed. (Score:2)
So would I, though I still think a dog would be more useful.
Go preFetch, Boy! (Score:2)
And with that extra stick of DDR RAM, you can teach an old dog new tricks...
Ya know... (Score:2, Interesting)
Saddens me to say, but is this the harbinger of the end of
I mean, if
Re:Ya know... (Score:2)
I don't think Slashdot has ever written their own stories(insert thinkgeek jab here)
I don't know what illusion you have been under.
What people come here for is the hot grit^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Heerr stimulating conversation.
Re:Ya know... (Score:2)
I have engadget.com bookmarked because the stories show up there faster. So tell me, do the corps send press releases to them directly and do they even have a press core? No.
They are no different from
My point which I willl try to make as clear as day is: Why does
Maybe
Re:Ya know... (Score:2)
Start a site that competes with slashdot? Perhaps one where the editors can master the basics of grammar and are willing to use a spell-checker? One that posts news articles in a timely fashion, rather than days, weeks, months, or sometimes even *years* later? And one where karma-bombers and folks with vendettas aren't rewarded for their childish behavior?
Call it something like "No Signal". Oooh, I like that! Copyright! Copyright!
Max
Re:Ya know... (Score:2)
IMHO I think that
Maybe that is the root of the problem.
Re:Ya know... (Score:2)
YES.
Maybe that is the root of the problem.
I think the root of the problem is that slashdot doesn't have any real competition. There are other sites like it but those sites don't have the same appeal. Clone and improve slashdot and I'm willing to bet people will jump to the new site the same way they jumped from older search engines to Google.
Then Slashdot would have to improve itself in order to compete. Sounds good to me.
After all, we're always yammering on here about the evils of monopoly an
Re:Ya know... (Score:2)
I like Engadget for its news of new gadgets coming to market and such, but to the do-it-yourself junk (yes...junk), I say, "meh."
Greeeeaaaat. (Score:2)
The really, really scary part.... (Score:2)
I can picture this (Score:3, Funny)
MED SHOT on COMPUTER GEEK and his DOG answering the door to his apartment. The dog is wearing a RED ELECTRONIC GIZMO on his collar.
Geek opens door.
CAMERA REVEALS NANCY an attractive girl in a skirt.
GEEK: Uh.. hi Nancy, come on in.
Nancy smiles, and start to enter. SUDDENLY the DOG grabs NANCY'S LEG and starts HUMPING MADLY.
DOG TRANSLATOR: I LOVE YOU
DOG TRANSLATOR: I AM HAPPY
DOG TRANSLATOR: DO YOU SEE MY BONE?
DOG TRANSLATOR: YOU ARE MY BITCH
DOG TRANSLATOR: I SMELL TREATS
DOG TRANSLATOR: MARRY ME
dog upgrade question (Score:2)
Of course all it says is 'hey' (Score:2)
Re:Obligatory references in the spirit of FARK.COM (Score:2)
Re:Things Applied To Dogs and Infants (Score:2)
It just might be a bit dangerous to put electricity through an area containing a nerve which can stop a person's heart