

Lasers Engaged: Anybots Are Now Shipping - thankuz
http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/01/lasers-engaged-anybots-are-now-shipping/

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draz
i find it demeaning and Big-Brother like. Imagine your boss' robot going up
and down the corridor checking to see whether you're working. I think there
have been plenty of discussions here about how looking busy doesn't mean that
you're necessarily productive. If my boss really cares about taking to me,
s/he can either speak to me face to face, or on the phone. I'd appreciate it a
lot more if I got a phone call to my desk asking me how I was doing or if
there are any problem on the project he can help with (besides, is the boss
expected to remote control the thing the whole day? Doesn't s/he have other
stuff to do than play with the joystick all day?) At most, I think it's a nice
gadget to have for pranks at companies that can afford the $15K price tag
(Google?)

(edit: sp)

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thankuz
The 'Undercover Boss' approach would work a lot better in my opinion (but, the
exec still has to show up). Maybe some type of secret EXEC program, kinda like
secret shoppers. I know, no cool gadgets, just people. Which is a good thing.

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notintokyo
I was considering putting up a kickstarter project to get one, let it roll
around outside and allocate usage time among the participants. But at $15000
it would be quite costly for the contributors, around $6 to get a weekly
control minute allocated to you.

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bioh42_2
Yes, at $15000 I am afraid the market for it will be quite small. I had to
read that a few times to make sure there wasn't an extra zero.

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zck
They're marketing it to businesses as a replacement for traveling somewhere --
$15,000 isn't a lot to pay for that. If it lets one executive skip one trip,
it's paid for itself.

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corin_
$15k to avoid travelling places isn't a bad price... unless there's another
option in which you use computers, webcams, headsets and phones.

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beoba
What does this thing do that makes it worth as much as a mid-range Ford
Fiesta?

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maeon3
Did you buy a computer back in the 1960's?

