Strange Days At iBIZ

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://smartmobileassets.com/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl/Blah.pl?,v=display,b=news,m=1088058068' target='_blank'>http://smartmobileassets.com/cgi-bi...ws,m=1088058068</a><br /><br /></div>Robert from SmartMobileAssets has some interesting, if disturbing information, about iBIZ and their <a href="http://store.yahoo.com/ibizpda/vike.html">Virtual Keyboard</a>.<br /><br /><i>"It seems, according to the suit, that certain individuals, key figures in several behind-the-scenes PDA product companies, approached iBiz with the Virtual Keyboard product and sold them on the idea. After a long process they agreed to supply this technology to iBiz and iBiz began promoting the hell out of the concept in trade journals, web sites and old-style media, up to and including a New York Times review. Then came the news, quickly hushed, that deliveries were being delayed because no one had bothered to get FCC approval for the Laser!"</i><br /><br />Things only get stranger from there, so take a look at the article and see what you think. I think it's fairly safe to say we're not going to see this available in the immediate future. (We previously posted on the delay <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=27907">here</a>).

[dean_shan]

:rofl: Maybe they should have held back on the marketing a bit, now this seems like vaporware.

[Scott R]

FCC approval for the laser? Does a red laser beam really need FCC approval? If so, does that mean that all of those now-ultra-cheap laser pointers require FCC approval, too? This seems hard to believe.

FWIW, though, I personally think this laser-beam keyboard is an awful idea. I guess it's OK for hunt-and-peckers, but as a touch-typist, I definitely need the tactile feedback of a real keyboard.

Scott

[bjornkeizers]

FCC approval for the laser? Does a red laser beam really need FCC approval? If so, does that mean that all of those now-ultra-cheap laser pointers require FCC approval, too? This seems hard to believe.


Don't underestimate how stupid some people can be. In this case, they're a bunch of flaming retards, obviously.


FWIW, though, I personally think this laser-beam keyboard is an awful idea. I guess it's OK for hunt-and-peckers, but as a touch-typist, I definitely need the tactile feedback of a real keyboard.

Scott

Yeah while a *dr evil air quotes* "La-ser" might sound cool, it's not exactly practical. It's totally unusable for touch typists like myself, or anyone who can type at any speed above granny.

[Pat Logsdon]

FCC approval for the laser? Does a red laser beam really need FCC approval? If so, does that mean that all of those now-ultra-cheap laser pointers require FCC approval, too? This seems hard to believe.
I don't think it needs "approval", but it does have to be verified. Basically, anything that radiates energy and could cause interference to transmitters has to be looked at:

Verification is the easiest approval to obtain. It is reserved for most unintentional radiators. An unintentional radiator is a device not specifically designed to radiate radio frequency (RF) energy; the RF energy is parasitic to the device's operation. Examples of products that require verification are lasers, blenders, vaccum cleaners, etc.

Once a product has been verified as being compliant to the requirements of CFR47, a label attesting to this shall be affixed to the product and reproduced in the product literature. The manufacturer shall keep the test report on file for the life of the product. The report shall be surrendered to the FCC upon request.

-From CFR47, Part 2.902, 10/1/98, 2.952 - 2.953

[djdj]

I thought the FDA regulated lasers in the U.S. (Strange, I know, but I remember reading that somewhere.)

[torok]

I thought the FDA regulated lasers in the U.S. (Strange, I know, but I remember reading that somewhere.)

The Food and Drug Association???

[djdj]

The Food and Drug Association???
The one and only.

Look it up using your favorite search engine. Surprising, isn't it.

[gorkon280]

The Food and Drug Association???
The one and only.

Look it up using your favorite search engine. Surprising, isn't it.

FDA is NOT Food and Drug Association

FDA=Food and Drug Administration

ALSO, FDA would not regulate the laser itself, but the way it is used relating to food. Even if they did, it would do so poorly hearing how they manage bottled water(bacterium, arsenic.....yes all in yummy bottled water.....).

The whole device has to go before the FCC for type acceptance similarly to the PDA's containing Bluetooth and WiFi. Why you may ask? A laser is a form of EM radiation just like RF is. The wavelength of a laser is on the low end of the visible spectrum usually but it does not have to be. You can have lasers that produce no light, but they would have to produce light here. Whether it is visible or not, it would have to be type accepted...no question. Type acceptance can be a long and drawn out process. I bet though, that the whole thing has to be a scam period.

[Kacey Green]

Verification is the easiest approval to obtain. It is reserved for most unintentional radiators. An unintentional radiator is a device not specifically designed to radiate radio frequency (RF) energy; the RF energy is parasitic to the device's operation. Examples of products that require verification are lasers, blenders, vaccum cleaners, etc.

Once a product has been verified as being compliant to the requirements of CFR47, a label attesting to this shall be affixed to the product and reproduced in the product literature. The manufacturer shall keep the test report on file for the life of the product. The report shall be surrendered to the FCC upon request.

-From CFR47, Part 2.902, 10/1/98, 2.952 - 2.953

Is this the FCC part 15 "must not create interferance, must accept interfearance"?

[felixdd]

An unintentional radiator is a device not specifically designed to radiate radio frequency (RF) energy.... Examples of products that require verification are ... blenders....
-From CFR47, Part 2.902, 10/1/98, 2.952 - 2.953

:?

[djdj]

ALSO, FDA would not regulate the laser itself, but the way it is used relating to food.
If you look around on the Internet, the FDA has a hand in lasers that do NOT relate to food or healthcare. For example, police laser speed detection devices.

Doesn't make sense, but it appears to be true.

[gry]

What's sad here is another reminder that we are so crazy for these innovations that these scummy companies can market this "wine before it's time" technology and get enough of us to buy that it's real.

Marketing is king and we're the suckers.

[gorkon280]

ALSO, FDA would not regulate the laser itself, but the way it is used relating to food.
If you look around on the Internet, the FDA has a hand in lasers that do NOT relate to food or healthcare. For example, police laser speed detection devices.

Doesn't make sense, but it appears to be true.

http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/consumer/laserfacts.html

Straight from the horses mouth. These are the medical things but I think where your steering is that the FDA has indicated that Lidar (Police Laser Speed Detection and uses like the mapping of Ground Zero) are safe when used in this manner...ie if your window is shot with one of these and it happens to hit your eye, you won't go blind. That is the extent of their regulation.

Do a search in the following URL and you will find someone's post regarding this.

http://forums.realpolice.net/showthread.php?t=2774&page=2

The rest would fall under FCC....probably a Part 15 device (most are either Part 15 or Part 97).

The part of the FDA that regulates lasers is the CDRH..Center for Devices and Radiological Health. They maintain and enforce the safety regs on lasers as well as other radiological devices like XRay machines, MRI....etc. That's really only part of it as the FCC would also need to be involved. In short, your right and I am right. The FCC has to make sure that this keyboard vaporware isn't going to cause grandma's tv to freak out and grandma's tv also was checked out before sold so it won't cause the laser to freakout. It's all part of bringing a new device to market. Everyone THINKS that the FCC only needs to check out devices that produce RF as a main function (such as FRS radios, WiFi Cards, Bluetooth....etc etc). Because of the nature of electronics, even devices like your bread maker and your toaster may have the ability to spew RF interference and the FCC has to make sure that it's OK! That's why iBIZ must have FCC approval. That's NOT to say that this keybaor dwould not cause interference or never be interfered with, but that it meets the FCC limit. That is all. Some folks, including myself, think that the FCC should be better with this. I should not cause my boombox to buzz with my Ham Radio but it does eveytime...at least when I am in the same room. Better AC line filter and better filters throughout would cure 90 percent of that noise. In any case, electronic devices, even simple ones, can cause all kinds of havoc if there is no regulation. The FCC is there for that. They are nto there to solve ALL of your problems, but there to solve the major ones (like hopefully rejecting BPL).

[Sven Johannsen]

What's sad here is another reminder that we are so crazy for these innovations that these scummy companies can market this "wine before it's time" technology and get enough of us to buy that it's real.

Marketing is king and we're the suckers.

I don't think that is the case here. I have seen a significant number indications, videos, reports from electronics shows, beta indications, that I believe this thing is really there. I can easily believe that someone forgot to cross the t's and dot the i's in permissions that don't seem obvious you would need.

I, for one, hope it does overcome the hurdle. I am anxious to give it a go. I'm not especially a touch typist, so I don't think I'll have the issues that many bring up. I am looking at it more as an accessory to my slate Tablet PC than to a PPC, but I wanted to try with both. I've already queried the company if I could get a second interface cable and they replied affirmatively. That was before the current certification issue.

[Pony99CA]

:rofl: Maybe they should have held back on the marketing a bit, now this seems like vaporware.
Perhaps we have our first candidate for the proposed Rumor/Vaporware category. :lol:

Steve

[Kacey Green]

many cash registers are part 15 hmmm... does the Govt' want our cash in ways other than taxes?

[Pony99CA]

I've been doing some more research, and have found some interesting details.

First, as mentioned, iBiz did not develop the VKB technology. The developers are VKB, Inc. (http://www.vkb-tech.com/default.asp), and they have an R&D center in Israel.

Second, iBiz isn't the only company to have announced the keyboard early. Check out this press release (http://w4.siemens.de/en2/html/press/newsdesk_archive/2002/end02232.html) from Siemens dated May 2002.

Steve