from the show-me-the-way-to-go-home dept.
"Wizard of Oz" heroine Dorothy only had to click her ruby red slippers together and they would spirit her home to Kansas.
Now, an Indian high-tech start-up ( http://www.duceretech.com/ ) is promising to do the same in real life with a new, GPS-enabled smart sports shoe that vibrates to give the wearer directions.
The fiery red sneakers, which will also count the number of steps taken, distance travelled and calories burned, will go on sale in September under the name LeChal, which means "take me along" in Hindi.
The shoes come with a detachable Bluetooth transceiver that links to a smartphone app to direct the wearer using Google maps, sending a vibrating signal to indicate a left or right turn.
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/indian-start-up-launches-shoes-that-show-you-the-way-584446
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 02 2014, @08:33AM
Wake me when this gimmicky crap can teleport me to Kansas. When my shoes start to vibrate, that's when I know to throw them in the trash and get new shoes.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 02 2014, @08:58AM
She's a rich girl
She don't try to hide it
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes
People say she's crazy
She got diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Well that's one way to lose these
Walking blues
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes
(Score: 5, Funny) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Tuesday September 02 2014, @10:05AM
Lister: Sometimes, I think it's cruel giving machines a personality. My mate Petersen once bought a pair of shoes with Artificial Intelligence. 'Smart Shoes' they were called. It was a neat idea. No matter how blind drunk you were, they could always get you home. But he got rattled one night in Oslo and woke up the next morning in Burma. You see, his shoes got bored going from his local to his flat. They wanted to see the world, you know. He had a hell of a job getting rid of them. No matter who he sold them to, they'd show up again the next day. He tried to shut them out, but they just kicked the door down.
Rimmer: Is this true?
Lister: Yeah. The last thing I heard, they sort of... robbed a car and drove it into a canal. They couldn't steer, you see.
Rimmer: Really?
Lister: Yeah. Petersen was really, really blown away about it. He went to see a priest. The priest told him... he said it was alright and all that, the shoes were happy because they'd got into heaven. You see, it turns out shoes have soles.
Rimmer: Ah, what a sad story. Wait a minute.
Rimmer: How did they open the car door?
(Score: 1) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 02 2014, @10:42AM
The car was a convertible.
(Score: 2) by SpallsHurgenson on Tuesday September 02 2014, @01:03PM
Damn, I came here /solely/ to post that joke.
Oh well. How about a reasonable question instead: how are these things powered? Does this mean now I have to plug my SHOES into an outlet when I get home? If so, I think I'll pass. I have enough things that need juicing up at the end of the day.
Not that's the only reason I'd pass on this gadget. Its about as pointless a gimmick as any Ron Popeil invention and probably attracts the same sort of customer (so they will probably make billions)
(Score: 2) by Geezer on Tuesday September 02 2014, @10:26AM
Sure, women love shoes, but I'm betting there's more demand for vibrating underwear.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 02 2014, @10:46AM
An old woman walks into a sex shop, shaking.
"Sir," she asks in a shaky voice, "do you sell vibrators?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"And are they this big around and this long?" she asks in a shaky voice.
"Yes, ma'am."
"And they're $22.95?" she asks in a shaky voice.
"Yes, ma'am."
"How do you turn them off?"
(Score: 1) by pkrasimirov on Tuesday September 02 2014, @01:26PM
We were going on vacation the other day and the car GPS made us going circles for a while. I wonder how retarded once could behave on foot with that tech. "On your right, jump into the river. Bzzt, bzzt, did you feel what I just told you? Jump!"