# Geekiest thing that doesn't exist **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 27, 2007, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekiest-thing-that-doesnt-exist/431339 "2007-12-27T01:19:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekiest-thing-that-doesnt-exist/431339/21 "2007-12-27T18:46:55Z")
[QUOTE=riker1384] This isn’t something I’d actually buy unless I was rich and I’d bought everything else first, but I’ve wondered why nobody has made a working cellphone that looks just like a communicator from the original Star Trek. I mean, cellphones have voice dialing nowadays so it could even work like one. [/QUOTE] Shoot, I’d be happy with a clamshell that gave the Star Trek Communicator Tweet ™ when I flipped it open. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekiest-thing-that-doesnt-exist/431339/22 "2007-12-27T18:53:36Z")
I kinda thought the interface computer hand-thingy in _Minority Report_ was pretty cool. I also want one of those cellphones from _24_. You know the ones that get downloads of huge files, like building master plans, in seconds, never lose their charge, get reception everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekiest-thing-that-doesnt-exist/431339/23 "2007-12-27T19:10:35Z")
My husband has been looking for a Soundwave transformer toy, but hasn’t had much luck. Personally, I think a Soundwave (or heck, Frenzy) mp3 player would be pretty neat. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekiest-thing-that-doesnt-exist/431339/24 "2007-12-27T19:18:56Z")
[QUOTE=Raguleader] Now, what is also interesting is this Geek/Nerd compartmentalization thing. Some people self-identify as geeks, others as nerds. [/QUOTE] In my perception (FWTW): Geeks are doers, joiners, trend-setters or -followers, people who live in the present or future. Nerds are dreamers, loners, ignore or abhor trends, and live in the past or in their own worlds. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekiest-thing-that-doesnt-exist/431339/25 "2007-12-27T19:41:10Z")
[QUOTE=Yllaria] Shoot, I’d be happy with a clamshell that gave the Star Trek Communicator Tweet ™ when I flipped it open. [/QUOTE] I have a communicator that looks and sounds like the prop. And then there is this: > **[Bluetooth Star Trek Communicator On eBay (Again!): Science Fiction in the News](http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=260)** > > Bluetooth Star Trek Communicator On eBay (Again!) re: Gene Roddenberry on 8/1/2005: Science Fiction in the News ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekiest-thing-that-doesnt-exist/431339/26 "2007-12-27T19:41:43Z")
[QUOTE=lobstermobster] I don’t like this whole geek/nerd pride movement. Why would anyone want to deliberately label themselves as uncool is just strange to me. [/QUOTE] Uncool? That’s just about the last definition that springs to mind when I hear “geek” lately. Intelligent, interested in stuff, up with the latest technology… these are the things I think of when I think of a geek. Since the whole world now has a computer addiction, the “uncool” label seems less relevant than it did a decade or two ago. ---
**Author:** ![Noelq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noelq/32/16438_2.png) [@Noelq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noelq)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekiest-thing-that-doesnt-exist/431339/27 "2007-12-27T19:46:40Z")
Dagnabit, I want a cell phone that I can strap to my wrist like a watch! Put a digital readout for time on it, a nice band, whatever – I’d even settle for a gauntlet-type. I always wear a watch, no matter what. I carry a cell phone most of the time, but I do forget to take it on the mornings that I’m moving by auto-pilot. Give me my cell-phone in a watch format! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekiest-thing-that-doesnt-exist/431339/28 "2007-12-27T19:50:00Z")
A Cenobite Cube (as long as it doesn’t actually summon Cenobites 😃 ) A glass and brass replica of Josephine’s music box from Dark Shadows. (Not that cheap plastic replica that came out a few years back) ---
**Author:** ![lobstermobster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobstermobster/32/10033_2.png) [@lobstermobster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobstermobster)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekiest-thing-that-doesnt-exist/431339/29 "2007-12-27T20:03:51Z")
[QUOTE=Cazzle] Uncool? That’s just about the last definition that springs to mind when I hear “geek” lately. Intelligent, interested in stuff, up with the latest technology… these are the things I think of when I think of a geek. Since the whole world now has a computer addiction, the “uncool” label seems less relevant than it did a decade or two ago. [/QUOTE] yeah I’m just bitter. I’m so sick of hanging out with engineers and web 2.0 people. I love being on the interwebs when its just me but when I’m out with friends I do NOT want to talk about computer garbage. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekiest-thing-that-doesnt-exist/431339/30 "2007-12-27T20:12:56Z")
[QUOTE=Gangster Octopus] I kinda thought the interface computer hand-thingy in _Minority Report_ was pretty cool. [/QUOTE] You can make it with a [Wii remote](http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/projects/wii/). ---
**Author:** ![ASAKMOTSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@ASAKMOTSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASAKMOTSD)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekiest-thing-that-doesnt-exist/431339/31 "2007-12-27T20:19:21Z")
[QUOTE=Yllaria] Shoot, I’d be happy with a clamshell that gave the Star Trek Communicator Tweet ™ when I flipped it open. [/QUOTE] On Boston Legal, Denny Crane’s cellphone makes that sound when he flips it open. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekiest-thing-that-doesnt-exist/431339/32 "2007-12-27T21:34:11Z")
Anymore, “geek” and “nerd” mean “uncool loser” to roughly the same extent “gay” means “stupid”: It’s a usage that tells you far more about the person speaking than the person being spoken about. There is no difference in meaning between “geek” and “nerd”, to the extent everyone seems to know what it is but no two people can even agree on the basics. Language is about communication and words that mean something different to each individual communicate nothing. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingCowOfDoom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyingcowofdoom/32/21776_2.png) [@FlyingCowOfDoom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingCowOfDoom)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekiest-thing-that-doesnt-exist/431339/33 "2007-12-27T21:34:22Z")
As far as Star Trek communicators go, this company has a system that’s pretty close for use in hospitals: [Vocera](http://www.vocera.com/products/products.aspx) Pretty friggin’ sweet! –FCOD ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekiest-thing-that-doesnt-exist/431339/34 "2007-12-27T21:49:32Z")
[An earlier attempt](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=434800) at finding the truth of geeks and nerds. Consensus seems to be that geeks are interested in trivia and stuff with little real-world application, like Star Wars and D&D and that kind of thing. Nerds are interested in things with more application, such as natural or computer sciences. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekiest-thing-that-doesnt-exist/431339/35 "2007-12-27T21:53:24Z")
[QUOTE=Yllaria] Shoot, I’d be happy with a clamshell that gave the Star Trek Communicator Tweet ™ when I flipped it open. [/QUOTE] You can get it as a ringtone, among other trek ringtones. [http://startrek.forfones.com/startrek/intro](http://startrek.forfones.com/startrek/intro) but I’m not yet able to find it as an ‘open channels’ tone ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekiest-thing-that-doesnt-exist/431339/36 "2007-12-27T22:12:41Z")
[QUOTE=Jayn\_Newell] My husband has been looking for a Soundwave transformer toy, but hasn’t had much luck. Personally, I think a Soundwave (or heck, Frenzy) mp3 player would be pretty neat. [/QUOTE] Toys R Us reissued Soundwave six months ago. It’s quite possible to get one. There exists, as of last year, a japanese Soundwave MP3 player that takes Micro-SD chips. Frenzy and Rumble are the earphones. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekiest-thing-that-doesnt-exist/431339/37 "2007-12-27T22:15:08Z")
I should think a holodeck would top any geek’s wish list. > [@Scott Adams](#): > > For those of you who only watched the ‘old’ Star Trek, the holodeck can create simulated worlds that look and feel just like the real thing. The characters on Star Trek use the holodeck for recreation during breaks from work. This is somewhat unrealistic. If I had a holodeck, I’d close the door and never come out until I died of exhaustion. It would be hard to convince me I should be anywhere but in the holodeck, getting my oil massage from Cindy Crawford and her simulated twin sister. > > Holodecks would be very addicting. If there weren’t enough holodecks to go around, I’d get the names of all the people who had reservations ahead of me and beam them into concrete walls. I’d feel tense about it, but that’s exactly why I’d need a massage. > > I’m afraid the holodeck will be society’s last invention. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekiest-thing-that-doesnt-exist/431339/38 "2007-12-27T22:39:33Z")
[QUOTE=FlyingCowOfDoom] As far as Star Trek communicators go, this company has a system that’s pretty close for use in hospitals: [Vocera](http://www.vocera.com/products/products.aspx) Pretty friggin’ sweet! –FCOD [/QUOTE] Don’t even MENTION that. There’s a rumor the Powers that Be might decide we need that in the library. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekiest-thing-that-doesnt-exist/431339/39 "2007-12-27T23:03:08Z")
[QUOTE=E-Sabbath] Toys R Us reissued Soundwave six months ago. It’s quite possible to get one. [/QUOTE] We know it’s out there, it’s just never in stock when we go to the store. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekiest-thing-that-doesnt-exist/431339/40 "2007-12-28T00:22:53Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] I should think a holodeck would top any geek’s wish list. [/QUOTE] Actually, right along with Mr. Adams’ concerns about the holodeck, “Holodiction” is a psychological concern in ST:TNG and the later series, where a person’s ability (or inclination) to interact with real people in the real world atrophies due to the addictive qualities of the Holodeck (see Lieutenant Barclay). Supposedly, you can get so addicted to the Holodeck, that you may fail to realize that you AREN’T in real life anymore. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekiest-thing-that-doesnt-exist/431339.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geekiest-thing-that-doesnt-exist/431339.md?page=3)