• Hello and welcome to MSFC. We are a small and close knitted community who specialises in modding the game Star Trek Armada 2 and the Fleet Operations modification, however we have an open field for discussing a number of topics including movies, real life events and everything in-between.

    Being such a close community, we do have some restrictions, including all users required to be registered before being able to post as well as all members requiring to have participated in the community for sometime before being able to download our modding files to name the main ones. This is done for both the protection of our members and to encourage new members to get involved with the community. We also require all new registrations to first be authorised by an Administrator and to also have an active and confirmed email account.

    We have a policy of fairness and a non harassment environment, with the staff quick to act on the rare occasion of when this policy is breached. Feel free to register and join our community.

Star Trek communicator has arrived

Majestic

Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
Seraphim Build Team
Joined
17 Apr 2006
Messages
18,274
Age
39
This is pretty cool and useful!

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/06/onbeep-onyx-star-trek-communicator-has-arrived

Star Trek’s futuristic vision of talking with friends through a small communicator badge on your jacket is about to become a reality, according to a startup in San Francisco.

The Onyx is small button with a speaker that clips to clothing and connects via Bluetooth to a smartphone with a data connection.

Pressing the button connects directly to other Onyx units in a pre-defined group allowing hands-free real-time communication anywhere with an internet connection, either via a built-in speaker or a pair of headphones.

Jesse Robbins, chief executive and founder of OnBeep, said a blog post that Onyx would “enhance the way people communicate, delivering effortless, group collaboration, using the power of your voice”.

Robbins and co-founder Greg Albrecht are both volunteers for emergency services in the US and came up with the idea while out attending an emergency situation.

‘Communicate with the rest of the team without losing focus’
“During an incident, an emergency responder needs to be able to communicate with the rest of the team without losing focus. The last thing you want is to have your attention pulled away from the scene in an emergency,” explained Robbins. “To make that possible, we rely on two-way radios. They’re bulky, ungainly and cumbersome, but they’re reliable — and that’s what matters when you’re working in life-or-death situations.”

OnBeep claims to provide instant, one-touch communication without the bulk of a radio or walkie-talkie, using the global network of smartphones as its backbone.

Other Bluetooth devices have allowed people to talk hands-free for years, normally attached to the ear, while push-to-talk functions that turn mobile phones into unlimited range walkie-talkies have been popular in the US since the 1990s. But none have offered the ability to manage groups of users across different networks and locations without having to purchase special mobile phone contracts.

The small round button is 60mm in diameter, weighs 46g and attaches to bags and clothing with a clip. A smartphone app for Android and iPhone allows users to manage groups and share locations in real-time.

Onyx has been in development for the last year, the product of a startup group of 24 designers, engineers and artists, and is available for pre-order for $99 (£62) in the US, shipping before Christmas. Now’s your chance to live the Star Trek dream and issue the command “three to beam up”.
 

Rifraf

I know just enough to be a danger to myself
Joined
25 Aug 2013
Messages
1,206
Age
51
This is pretty sweet. Though I can just picture everyone around me tapping their chest and seemingly talking to no one. :lol2: Will take a bit of getting used to. Great post
 

Hellkite

Lord of Death
Staff member
Administrator
Seraphim Build Team
Star Fighter
Joined
23 Apr 2006
Messages
7,636
Cool! Star trek leads the way again :clap:
But here I am sometime annoyed at Bluetooth ear peaces and how rude people can be with them
 

Majestic

Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
Seraphim Build Team
Joined
17 Apr 2006
Messages
18,274
Age
39
Cool! Star trek leads the way again :clap:
But here I am sometime annoyed at Bluetooth ear peaces and how rude people can be with them

Same can be said with those who have their faces in their phones, texting, on facebook etc. Rude individuals. Had that a lot in Newcastle, out here pretty rarely. Good old small country towns.
 

Zelph

Elder
Blue lantern corps
Joined
18 Feb 2011
Messages
978
Age
34
Got to love the small country towns. I kind of live in one now, albeit one with a university.

This is fantastic though, methinks I might have found an investment for meself in the near future.
 
Top