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Bleeding Edge

by Mike Masnick

Thu, Dec 15th 2005 12:44pm





When The Super Market Aisle Starts Looking Like Times Square

from the buy-me!--buy-me! dept

We've been hearing promises about e-paper for years, so forgive us if we're skeptical about the latest claims from Siemens that their technology really works this time. Eventually someone may get there, but just having a company announce something in the field is clearly no indication of whether or not it'll ever really hit the market. What's odd, though, is that Siemens seems to be pitching this technology as being useful for packaging, suggesting a scenario where the cereal aisle at your nearest super market blinks and flashes at you as you try to decide just how much sugar is needed to make the various cereals taste good. Of course, what they don't explain is how they would ever make the stuff nearly as cheap as the current cardboard boxes -- which seems like it might keep most cereal makers away for now.

5 Comments | Leave a Comment..


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  1.  

    No Subject Given

    identicon
    Minus, Dec 15th, 2005 @ 1:57pm

    It's Minority Report All over again. I wonder if you would be able to re-use the screens to produce your own?

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  2.  

    Re: No Subject Given

    icon
    Mike (profile), Dec 15th, 2005 @ 1:59pm

    It's Minority Report All over again. I wonder if you would be able to re-use the screens to produce your own?

    They'd probably say that was a DMCA violation, knowing how things work these days.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  3.  

    Kellogg's Waiting

    identicon
    Jimmy, Dec 15th, 2005 @ 3:05pm

    Cereal is one of the highest margin items in the grocery store (which is why Target and Wal-Mart now carry it.) Kellogg will be one of the first to use this in packaging when it becomes available.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  4.  

    No Subject Given

    identicon
    sharp, Dec 16th, 2005 @ 6:06am

    so their gonna put strobe lights in my supermarket? becuase to be honest i would like to go blind looking for some cerial. maybe for milk they will have a continous moo sound.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  5.  

    I See Law Suits

    identicon
    Michael "TheZorch" Haney, Dec 16th, 2005 @ 12:56pm

    Flashing lights can induce epileptic seizures in some people. About 10% of the population suffer from this. Flashing ambulance lights, strob lights, and even videogame screens can trigger debilitating and even fatal seizures.

    Yeah, the lawyers can't wait. I can see them drooling over this already.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]


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