How about a program that requires fingerprint identification using a USB encrypted scanner. It scans your fingerprint to allow you into the program instead of asking for a password. Can be portable and just plug it in as needed to get into a program.
OK I don't know about everyone else but i have major problems pulling myself away from computer games to do work, I easily rack up 3 hours on a game when i tell myself I'm only going to play for 15 mins or something.So my idea is to have a computer program running that prevents me from opening a game. Sounds simple enough but as it stands anyone with a brain cell can work out how to get around it. There's one key element to this program: When you install it on your PC, you choose 3 (could be more, this is all hypothetical) passwords, I'll come back to this later. Then the installer scans your hard disks, and finds programs identifiable as games (presumably by looking up the program launchers on a website like theigdb.com or similar). The program then encrypts these launchers, or moves them to an encrypted directory, or edits the launch parameters to stop the program executing normally.Now comes the exciting bit. You will also edit these parameters in the installer. The game files that the program locked earlier only become available every (again, hypothetically) 30 minutes. When the 30 minutes is up, you can try opening the program. When you do, you will be presented with a password box. The password to open the game will be one of the 3 passwords you chose earlier. If you get it wrong, it's back to work for another 30 minutes.To sum up, this program gives you a 1 in 3 chance every half hour of escaping from work to have a quick session wasting time on your favourite game. Obviously you could change all these settings, but this would also require 1 of the 3 passwords from earlier. You would also need the password to uninstall the program!Reward: productivity- lol
This idea would require a simple computer program that displayed a screen asking 3 questions -1. What equation/formula are you interested in?2. What constant do you want replaced?3. How many degrees of separation do you want?After you answer the questions the program would search a database that had been pre-loaded with as many standard equations / formulae as possible (engineering books are full of them) looking for ones that said the chosen constant equaled something else. The first equation it found would then be used as a replacement value in the formula you chose. This is the first degree of separation. Next, each constant in the replacement value would be substituted with equivalent equations found for them. The second degree of separation. The process would continue until you got the number of degrees of separation you asked for and then the result would be displayed. Some new and surprising connections will be sure to come up because the program will be acting like a divergent thinker (someone who can take two ideas from seemingly unconnected disciplines to form a new idea).The following two rules would have to be enforced in order to make this program work -1. Each constant must always mean the same thing: m=mass, c=speed of light, etc.2. No replacement formula could have a constant that was used in a previous formula (to prevent recursive logic).
A system that allows you to phone home to your video recorder to tape television programs you may have forgotten to time or program in. Phone menu allows you to pick what channel you want and start recording... that is how simple it needs to be... anymore complicated than that and you lose most of the public who cannot even program their videos in the first place. Especially a good idea for new generation dvd recorders.Reward: at least half a dozen of these units to give to family and friends.
How about a very interactive/fun website that teaches people how to program or make websites? Here's how it would work:- Someone creates an account on the website. The account creation process would figure out where the person should go/start in the midst of all of these interactive tutorials. The same account could be used to add or edit existing tutorials (an approval system would be made). They can do as little as adding on a sentence to someone else's tutorial or create a flash application that would enhance how to create x with language y.- There would be all kinds of interactive/fun tutorials ranging from HTML, Java, C++, web design, Photoshop, and so on. It would help people who think they don't have what it takes to make a good website or have what it takes to program. This will be the site's main purpose: to get more and more people better at this stuff seeing as how so many people are in need/desire of a website but in so many cases have to get other people to help them make it.- There would be some kind of incentive to making tutorials or even going through the tutorials. That I don't know yet.- The tutorials could contain mini games (whether they were simple text-based or bigger flash applications) that help introduce an idea or whatever.Reward: I dunno.
