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Leatherneck
09-05-2008, 03:16 PM
Do we have any inventors among us? Has anyone ever tried too come up with a product or invention that might of seemed crazy or even practical. May be even something you have thought of, and a while later someone already invented it.

I used too install a lot of kitchens so I wanted too come up with a hoist type lift too install the upper cabinets. Instead of having another person hold them or using other methods that get the job done but may be not quite so efficiently. Any way not long after I was thinking about it I saw some thing in a equipment and tool catalog that someone had already invented.

Some times we wonder if there is anything left too be invented but there will always be something. I'm sure of that.

cbscreative
09-05-2008, 04:37 PM
I don't consider myself an inventor, but I do come up with ideas often enough. They are usually ones where the technology is either not available or very expensive, so I never pursue the R&D. One idea I had years ago is a moisture sensitive windshield wiper. You know those annoying rainstorms where it rains a little, quits, rains, quits... So you have to keep toggling the wipers or adjusting the speed. I've heard some cars now have these.

I also thought about how a virtual reality windshield could help with poor driving conditions like fog, rain, and even night driving. The ultimate would be something that is capable of creating an image using your windshield as a movie screen so you can see everything perfectly. Several years ago, I saw the Cadillac commercial which has a crude VR that alerts you to things like deer at night that you can't see with your headlights.

Evan
09-05-2008, 07:22 PM
One idea I had years ago is a moisture sensitive windshield wiper. You know those annoying rainstorms where it rains a little, quits, rains, quits... So you have to keep toggling the wipers or adjusting the speed. I've heard some cars now have these.

I have one of those on my car. It is a nice added feature so I don't have to constantly adjust the wipers. Not that it's that big of a hassle! :D

KristineS
09-05-2008, 07:42 PM
I think of ideas occasionally. When I was in my late teens and a bit of a research and library geek, I had the idea of a company that other companies could hire to do their research for them. If you had a big project or needed to know the history of something or needed a lot of information compiled you would hire my company and we'd do the grunt work for you.

Of course, then someone invented the Internet and Google and made my idea kind of obsolete.

orion_joel
09-05-2008, 10:17 PM
Steve, i think that also some of the car companies have included some things like infra red alongside the headlights and then the windshield actually can be toggled to show at night making use of the infra red.

Kristine, that is still not a bad idea, there are many many companies that use or would like this type of service. While the internet and google have made it a lot easier for you to find information, there are still companies that could not be bothered doing the work themselves, and actually want independently verified information, such as may not be readily available on the internet without double or triple the work to verify the accuracy.

KristineS
09-05-2008, 10:27 PM
Kristine, that is still not a bad idea, there are many many companies that use or would like this type of service. While the internet and google have made it a lot easier for you to find information, there are still companies that could not be bothered doing the work themselves, and actually want independently verified information, such as may not be readily available on the internet without double or triple the work to verify the accuracy.

You might be right Joel, and since I'm still kind of a research geek I still think about it. Even with the Internet there are still people who don't want to take the time to sort through the search results. I still might start that company one day.

vangogh
09-05-2008, 11:16 PM
Kristine there are definitely companies that are hired out just for research purposes. I used to see ads here for them hiring researchers when I was still looking for jobs. The internet makes it easier to find things, but not everyone wants to look or is even good at searching.

Paul Elliott
09-07-2008, 11:26 PM
You might be right Joel, and since I'm still kind of a research geek I still think about it. Even with the Internet there are still people who don't want to take the time to sort through the search results. I still might start that company one day.

Kristine, when I was practicing medicine, I had to give specialized talks with some degree of frequency. I found a woman with a PhD in virology who no longer wanted to practice virology and was an expert at technical research.

I would tell her what I needed to talk about and what I was looking for in the way of documentation.

I paid her handsomely to do the research, give me all the reprints, an executive summary with the talking points, and a speech outline. She could do all this in about 48 hours.

She understood all the technical terminology and how to find the research literature. She also understood how to give it to me for easy presentation.

Her service was so good all I had to do was review it before I stood up to talk. It was worth every penny.

So, you can do this for a niche where the users don't have the staff or time to do the work--just like most other things in this world. :D

Paul

orion_joel
09-09-2008, 04:59 AM
I think the other key point in researching information is to ensure the accuracy. Yes of course searching the internet yields some quick and easy results. But in all honesty who wants to rely on maybe landing on an answer from yahoo answers, or someone school project about a topic that may not have properly researched information.

While the internet provides quick access to information, it also provides even quicker access to information that may not be entirely accurate.

KristineS
09-09-2008, 08:29 AM
You guys have given me a lot to think about. While I love writing, I also love research. I may have to consider this idea in more detail.

Paul Elliott
09-09-2008, 05:02 PM
You guys have given me a lot to think about. While I love writing, I also love research. I may have to consider this idea in more detail.

You may find that consultants who do a lot of public speaking will be a lucrative and active market for you.

You may already have some specialized knowledge in a field. With your research interest you can approach people in that particular market.

Another example--

I know of another woman who has specialized experience in the petroleum production industry. When there is a natural disaster (hurricane), an intrusion of some sort (Russia into Georgia), or some bombing of facilities (Iraq), top national/international oil company executives come to her in minutes for up-to-date news, industry analyses, etc., which they can use for meetings, talks, and news interviews.

She charges very well for her services, but of course, they could care less what she charges. They simply needed the best information that could be trusted AND fast.

Consider how you might duplicate this model.

Paul

KristineS
09-09-2008, 05:29 PM
That's a very good idea Paul. I will certainly take that into consideration. Who knows what might happen.

orion_joel
09-10-2008, 07:20 AM
Absolutely Kristine, While there are big companies that do it with teams of people, it is easily something that you could start on a small scale and build to something boutique, especially if you focus on a certain kinds of information. Which could allow you to reuse some research, it would probably depend on the type of client though. I would say it could be a good first project to research your idea. ;)

Blessed
09-10-2008, 08:26 AM
Kristine, I think your idea is an awesome one that you could do well and could start while you still have the security of a "regular" job. Go for it!

KristineS
09-10-2008, 08:40 AM
I just threw this out there as an example, but the more I think about it, the more the idea retains it's appeal. I'll just have to figure out how to go about getting things rolling.

vangogh
09-10-2008, 10:57 AM
Why not set up a new site for start. You have your blogs, but why not a business specific site offering research and writing services. Seems like the natural thing to do.

cbscreative
09-10-2008, 11:16 AM
Once you have your specialty picked out, there are resources out there you can subscribe to. Sure they cost money, but you have access to information not otherwise available.

KristineS
09-10-2008, 12:27 PM
Why not set up a new site for start. You have your blogs, but why not a business specific site offering research and writing services. Seems like the natural thing to do.

Gee, do you know anyone who might want to help me with that? :D

We may have to talk.

ParisCreative
09-10-2008, 04:41 PM
I had thought of a concept (in the Pet market) that it seems there are three already granted patents that would prevent me from creating that product. I have not seen them come to market yet so it makes me wonder if they were ever become real, or if they are predator patent companies waiting to profit from one's efforts.

Paul Elliott
09-10-2008, 11:57 PM
I just threw this out there as an example, but the more I think about it, the more the idea retains it's appeal. I'll just have to figure out how to go about getting things rolling.

Kristine, what is your background? What do you really want to do in the research areas?

Paul

vangogh
09-11-2008, 12:07 AM
Gee, do you know anyone who might want to help me with that?

Sorry, I'm not familiar with this internet thing :)

Just let me know what you want whenever you're ready.

Dust Mite Man
09-11-2008, 01:28 AM
When texting first came out me and a friend came up with the idea called txtmaniac, my partner actually wrote the software and I had to sell it to the bar scene, we had a fully functioning working system. The idea is basically a chat room in a pub on the big screen were you text to a number and the message is displayed. We overlaid the text messages on the bottom of the screen when the sports were on so people could support there team. Also we were going to join different pups using the internet so we could run massive quiz nights. The ideas were endless, exploding letters, dancing letters and the like. We did do some live demos but the bars couldn’t see the future so we had to let it slide. Shame I liked that idea.

Kristine go for it.

vangogh
09-11-2008, 02:11 AM
Interesting idea. In some bars I've hung out in I don't think the system would really work, but I can see it working in others. Maybe not so much in a sports bar since I would think people wouldn't want to be distracted from the game, but I'm thinking of the bars that play the trivia games so people are already interacting with the tv.

I'll be honest it's hard to know how successful the idea would be, but it is interesting.

orion_joel
09-13-2008, 08:20 AM
I had thought i had seen something similar to that with a heavy focus on dating in some way. The only downfall that i could see to it really is in some clubs just the volume of txt's that would be getting sent, it could have the text moving to fast for anyone to really keep a good conversation going.

That is if while under the influence you could actually txt a comprehensive conversation anyway. Most likely a screen full of people txting "lol i'm so drunk" "lol i know" "lol"

KristineS
09-13-2008, 09:36 AM
That is if while under the influence you could actually txt a comprehensive conversation anyway. Most likely a screen full of people txting "lol i'm so drunk" "lol i know" "lol"

That's true, Joel and very funny.

orion_joel
09-13-2008, 10:06 PM
I do however think that it is a pretty good idea, could be used quite well to run some sort of contest's, or for people to make announcement's, like birthday's engagements ect. A lot of clubs are making use of txting to take music request as well.