The Next Killer App

The day when wireless will actually mean wireless and net connection will be available everywhere and anywhere I go is the day i'll be happy.

And when someone releases a car stereo than can tune into these wireless signals and pick up net radio stations such as di.fm for me on the move, well, that's when I'll be truly satisfied with the net.

I wouldn't call Email or a Web Browser a killer app. They were developed when there was a need for them. A killer app to me is something that drives new technology rather than something that uses old technology. 123 was a killer app in that no one had the ability to do what they could do. People had to have it and they had to have faster and faster machines to run it. The same was true for Doom. People had to have it, see it and again faster and faster machines to use it. Industries were built around apps like these.

The other thing about killer apps is that they are almost impossible to predict. I have heard so many different things called killer apps, but none were.

A wireless, always on, always available no matter where you are, would be killer but it is a pipe dream.

How about instant messaging? I'm not sure it's driven technology, but it does seem to be something that everyone needs. ICQ was started in 1996 and now has millions of users.

Quote: Originally posted by Mark Hensler
How about instant messaging? I'm not sure it's driven technology, but it does seem to be something that everyone needs. ICQ was started in 1996 and now has millions of users.

I'm not a large fan of ICQ , I mean it's a great program and all. It's just the whole number's thing...makes me think like it's communist. I'd rather IRC any day.

As for a killer app...I'd like to see some appliance computer intergration. As in I can cook my dinner while in my backyard with my laptop. It'd make things a hell of a lot easier.

I would say that the last killer app was Napster or the PTP start. People had to have faster connections, burners, mp3 players all because of this. That is the mark of a killer app. It drives the whole industry. ICQ while a great tool really doesn't drive the industry, since faster connections and faster computers don't matter that much.

That's a good one. I guess a side question to this thread could be defining what a killer app is anyway. What about word processing? Pretty powerful for regular people to be able to store their files, go back and make changes, manipulate them however they wanted... What were they all doing with punch cards back in the old days? I used to use my mom's old ones from university for craft projects when I was a kid but I never really understand what they were for. (storing data... what kind of data??). Yes... embarassing to not know that :blush:

Quote: Originally posted by Pro Ninja
I'd like to see some appliance computer intergration.

I've got a picture of myself playing with one of them refrigerators with an LCD screen in the door. Those things can go online, watch television, and play the radio. The computer can also monitor the foods inside and their expiration date. If you run out of something, scan the barcode and it will order more from an online grocer.

they are doing something like that with the whole kitchen, trying to network the whole kitchen so it is wholly automated to the greatest degree...

i saw this one thing on Tech-TV (yes, i know...) where the guy spent an insane amount of money and automated his HOUSE...the shades opened at a certain time of day, closed a certain time...lights came on, brightened and dimmed, according to programming...he had a "command center" where he could control everything...the networked kitchen...laundry was automated (sort-of...lol)...a whole ton of stuff, i can't even remember it all...

I would like to see net communication taken to the next level, that would be nice. video/webcam linking that would be built in ect.

I think the next thing will be a 3D holagraphic disk dvd that not only gets read from the serface but can be read on variouse levels throughout the disk say 100 levels so you could have your whole film collection on one disk or software collection all on one disk....

or what about 3 dimentional brousers that you can design like a house so that you could have all your communication software in the telephone or faverate clothing stores in your 3D wardrobe etc as the elderly and most of us are famillier with that sort of enviroment, you could build and design your dream 3 Dimentional home as a web brouser that you can walk through and for quick reference have a flore plan section to navigate quickly......

Multilayer DVDs already exist...
http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/dvd2.htm

I didn't understand that second post, but 3D environments have also been around for years. Ever hear of Doom, Quake, Half-Life, or Unreal? How about CADKey, AutoCAD, or 3D Studio Max?

Communications software in telephones? That exists too. The company my dad works for uses Voice Over IP for all their telephons. The computers actually plug into the telephones, which plug into the network using your average RJ-45 jack.

I think the next thing is device that has a camera, phone, watch, palm, radio, mp3 player and gaming utility (and more?).

2 libertynewmedia: 3D-browsers exists for about 3 years or so. But most of them failed, because their interface was not quite intuïtive.

Hey Jack, just for you..
Nokia 9290 Communicator or Toshiba 2032

Neither of these have cameras (but camera phones exist), but both phones run a version of windows. This allows for a slew of features, including playing MP3s, checking email, managing a calendar, browse the web, etc. The radio is a twist: streaming audio. Gaming utility? Does solitaire count? All this and more on a TFT screen.

My boss has a Communicator, really a cool thing, but it's so big.
That toshiba looks great. Unfortunately they don't sell them (yet?)here in the Netherlands.

Solitaire... hmmm I actually meant a gaming device like the GameCube or that new nokia N-Gage.

Ah.. you want a cell phone with USB ports to plug controllers in and a DVI so you can hook it up to your plasma display?

Party's at Jacks!

That's me! I want it all!

How about this one for a start:

http://www.nokia.com/let_yourself_go/launch.html

The next killer app/device I reckon will be something that monitors your health. Good health is becoming more and more popular these days. New drugs, operating practices, etc.

Something that can monitor your health on a day-to-day basis would be huge. A device that can tell you that you've contracted a disease (which one) and how to deal with it (whether to consult your doctor, go immediately to the hospital, etc). One that tells you that your colesterol is too high, or that one of your organs is in bad nick!

Quote: Originally posted by KeithMcL
The next killer app/device I reckon will be something that monitors your health. Good health is becoming more and more popular these days. New drugs, operating practices, etc.

Something that can monitor your health on a day-to-day basis would be huge. A device that can tell you that you've contracted a disease (which one) and how to deal with it (whether to consult your doctor, go immediately to the hospital, etc). One that tells you that your colesterol is too high, or that one of your organs is in bad nick!

This could get a little dangerous if we get too dependent on technology in crucial roles as these at this stage in the development of said technology... after all, you would want to have other options for when your health monitor suffers a fatal error.

Quote: Originally posted by Abhishek Reddy
This could get a little dangerous if we get too dependent on technology in crucial roles as these at this stage in the development of said technology... after all, you would want to have other options for when your health monitor suffers a [b]fatal error. [/B]

Just make sure the technology is not based on the Windows OS

Quote: Just make sure the technology is not based on the Windows OS

That gets one thinking... perhaps the next "killer app" will not so much be the rise of a new application, but instead the demise of some other existing one.

No, actually, that would be a killed app.

Actually, it's got me thinking too. Maybe it won't be anything along the lines of someone []inew[/i], but rather something old, just made better. Maybe someone will design a faster, more reliable OS or a faster processor, smaller hard drive or faster internet connection.