DescentBB

No sure if E&C would have been better.. Anyway I don't exactly know how I'm feeling about this:

Patent #6,754,472 -- Method and apparatus for transmitting power and data using the human body

"Methods and apparatus for distributing power and data to devices coupled to the human body are described. The human body is used as a conductive medium, e.g., a bus, over which power and/or data is distributed. Power is distributed by coupling a power source to the human body via a first set of electrodes. One or more devise to be powered, e.g., peripheral devices, are also coupled to the human body via additional sets of electrodes. The devices may be, e.g., a speaker, display, watch, keyboard, etc. A pulsed DC signal or AC signal may be used as the power source. By using multiple power supply signals of differing frequencies, different devices can be selectively powered. Digital data and/or other information signals, e.g., audio signals, can be modulated on the power signal using frequency and/or amplitude modulation techniques.

Assignee: Microsoft Corporation (Redmond, WA)"

Edit: @ MD. Here's another one -- IBM's PAN (Personal Area Network -- wonder how you plug in.. )

Knowing MS, a BSOD would actually deliver a lethal electrical shock.

"Windows has performed an internal error and must be shut down"...ZAP!

you have got to be kidding me?? using human bodies to transmit data?!?!?!?!?

AceCombat wrote: using human bodies to transmit data?!?!?!?!?

Imagine shaking hands with somebody at a business gathering and having both of your electronic business cards automatically transfered to each person's respective PDA for later keeping. Or having a debit card attached to your thumb so you only have to touch a metal plate on a vending machine to get something out of it.

LMAO!! nice avatar Kitty DJ

Oh no, Ace sees your cat Tetrad, hide it quick!

amazing! grendel how did you find this?

serious guys, this could work right now, we already have inline ARTERY electical generators.

it's just... wow. i'd never thought of it before, i guess it was inspired by the technolgy in those toys that you can turn on/off by completing the circuit with your body (ie: you can get 2 seperate lines of ppl, the end of each line respectively touching each electrode, and then when the other end of the 2 lines of ppl touch hands, it completes the circuit and turns the toy on. kids love it).

hehe, we'd have to reduce the power appetite of our curent PC parts to integrate them. i don't want install a new videocard into my eyes and unwittingly administer myself electroshock treatment.

i dont want my brain to be ntfs partioned and formated, nor do i want scandisk to take care of my memorys

anyway, using the human body as "wire" to transmitting data and energy isnt new, and it isnt that difficult.

i have more problems with the software-patent discussion going on in europe, you in the usa already have that and we in europe will pretty soon get that. the only reason for this law is to protect giant companys with money and power, + kill all small independent software developer in the same step. hey you want a "progress-bar" in your software, flash or whatever? pay a liscense-fee for the bar to a huge company.

So what happens when you run out of bandwidth...?

And if you get infected with a virus......well, I don't think we want to go there now do we?