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| Universal Bodywear Device 
I think the convienience of personal handheld devices is hindered by the fact that one must carry so many different types of personal devices to handle all of the tasks required for living in the information age.A modern business professional may carry a notebook computer, a cell phone that can send and receive email, a watch with a chronometer, a pager, a personal data assistant, a compass, a portable CD/DVD player, a radio, a Global Positioning system, and a swiss army knife.All of these devices could be built into a single accessory with voice recognition controls and voice synthesithizing capacity to read your emails out loud. The basic unit could fit in a comfortable, fashionable hipsack that lets you carry a water bottle and the swiss army knife. A wireless connection to the wrist accessory gives you a keypad for "quick" controls, such as cell phone redial or making the audio playback of an email go mute. An optional head accessory could facilitate listening and spoken communication to and through the device like a telephone operator's headset. For fashion, the head accessory could be compatible with optional, detachable features like a motorcycle helmet, bicycle helmet, sunvisor, built-in light-sensitive extra-durable perscription sunglasses, ear muffs, culturally significant headwear for Indian-American women, et cetera. The wrist unit will also take your pulse and summon paramedics if you have a heart atack. The hip sack unit will measure the slight shock of your footsteps and estimate your aerobic burn when running office errands for your boss. The personal data assistant will merge with your office computer's information netowrk and your home computer's information system so that you get all of those reminders about everything from the Boss's big meeting to the children's soccar practice to the personal schedule commitments like wedding anniversaries and red-hot business contacts. The wrist unit will connect to anyone else's by infared to share data files and coordinate schedules.All together, the system should emphasize portability because all of the devices will run off of a lightweight rechargable battery kept in the hip sack. The device should maximize what it can do for its user like the devices we dream of in science fiction and coordinate with any kind of clothing choices we choose, whether we dress business casual, corporate, bullet proof vest, or recreational at the beach in a bathing suit while telecommuting through our universal device.In summary, I think every kind of personal device should be combined into the "Universal Bodywear" system that wires a human like a cyborg for serious business in the information age. We don't need specific devices for each and every little function - we need a system that does everything, looks trendy when wear it, and has things we don't normally use to help take our electronic gadgetry skills to the next higher level.Reward: I would be rewarded to see people use a Universal Bodywear device like I've described. It seems like science fiction which really could be true! 
There are 6 replies to this idea
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| Academic Papers Database
I propose that the national government expend public funds to sponsor scientific research by creating a comprehensive Academic Papers Database. Many journals and data warehouses exist to contain academic papers, but a central data repository would have numerous advantages.1) Undergraduate students who produce papers for college could have their papers permanantly inducted into the database when submitted for grading in electronic form. Thereafter, University Professors all over the country could execute a text comparison search against papaers already in the database to detect plagarism.2) Graduate researchers and specialists could search a single Internet source for their research rather than many.3) The data warehouse would serve as a repository of human knowledge that could be easily archived in permanant (optical) form as a time capsule of the 21st century.4) We could better share work with other nations and between scientists with a central resource.5) The government may need to restrict access to certain types of information in order to protect from terrorist attacks. A central warehouse for information can be made secure, but uncontrolled stockpiles of information on nuclear physics, bio-terrorism, explosive chemistry, et cetera could be exploited by the wrong people.6) Centralized data containment can become a source of public revenue by charging for access time to the database. Naturally, the price would be kept low due to the efficiency of centralized management. Rather than belong to 10 scholarly journals that impose high fees, a researcher can use the comprehensive Academic Papers Archive for one low price.7) Library science can grow to its fullest potential only when all of the information in human civilization is availible for review by a single administrative organization. The science of classification to facilitate searches requires the broadest possible flexibility to permit interdisciplinary sciences to emerge and grow.8) Outdated information that is no longer current or valid can be rejected when all the data for a given subject is under central review. Modern research proceeds as fast as individuals can get information about the subject and how it changes ; if the turn around time for experimental ideas improves, science will discover new knoweldge faster. 9) The paper volume of scientific information doubles every decade. To slow this explosion of scholarly effort, we must ensure that people can know what is currently open for investigation all over the world in all fields. That way duplicated effort will be done to verify or disprove results, but never "overdone" by more researchers than are necessary to complete a given task.10) Textbooks about the subjects of knoweldge can be written once the database gets formed ; a comprehensive database could lead to text books that are the most comprehensive, balanced, and fair treatments of the subjects that can be made.Reward: I'ld like to be able to surf the Academic Papers Archive to read the latest research in all fields of interest!
There are 8 replies to this idea
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