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Offline danbeaver

Re: Apple Watch, lol
« Reply #59 from previous page: March 13, 2015, 12:50:45 PM »
"ageist?"

Against?
 

Offline Duce

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Re: Apple Watch, lol
« Reply #60 on: March 13, 2015, 01:08:04 PM »
You're failing to look at the devkits, read the docs, and just get past your own, well - nonsense, lol.  Failing to even look at what the devices offer, be it Apple, Moto, Fitbit, Garmin - to people that may otherwise not have a bit of care for their wellness.

The least you could do is educate yourself on what these devices, be it Apple, Garmin, Fitbit, etc can do.  Really.  A lot of people that may otherwise be neglecting their health entirely may "connect" better with one of these newfangled devices and it might actually improve their health.  

I can tell you what I've seen first hand.  My father had a very mild stroke late last year.  He did the usual doctors visits, the tests, bought the $150 digital BP tester which only annoyed the hell out of him, etc.  Nothing made sense to him.  He couldn't be bothered to even check his BP the 3 times daily the doctors were asking him to.  He literally couldn't be buggered to open that box, take the monitor out, strap on the cuff, wait, write down his stats on a crusty old piece of paper.  He simply quit doing it, citing "I've got enough paperwork to do at work" or "I'm too busy".  I got him a Fitbit, and despite not being at all a tech gearhead, he took to it like stink on a monkey once I got the app on his phone.  He makes an effort to try and out-do the goals he had yesterday on the damned thing, to walk more than he did last week this week.  He is also back monitoring his BP, and more importantly, is more engaged in his own health.  It's a bit more "fun" for him with the Fitbit, and if that gets his ass into the doctors with solid BP reports as the doctor wants them, which my father was not doing before the Fitbit, well - my father might just live a few years longer, and that's all good to me.  He wears it as much as his 20 year old Casio watch, except the little Fitbit band has instilled a bit of accountability and pride in his own health.  You see no merit in that?  I do.  I see a man that's bothered to monitor his own health, which has improved, simply because I gave him a $100 shiny bracelet that makes the process a bit more fun and engaging.

You're failing to see the basics.  If these devices, any of them, be it Apple or otherwise - assist people in becoming more healthy and accountable, help doctors maintain relationships with patients to better patient care, all good by me.  Had most of you chiming in about how it's a $17,000 pulse monitor had bothered to look at what these things will actually do in regards to health and wellness actually do, you might even see some rev. 1 value in it.  Maybe not.  I'm not buying one, so it's moot to me.  No one is billing it as a Device of Eternal Life, but anyone not seeing positive effects of the focus on health with *any* of these wearables is a fool.

If you are looking for the Apple Watch to keep your heart beating, it won't do it.  It's an expansion of Healthkit, ResearchKit and similar that's been in the i devices for some time.  The healthcare aspects of the Apple Watch are far beyond what the other devices offer.  None of these are a replacement for doctors care, and they aren't being billed as such.

Best quote I think I've ever read here, or anywhere, really - "who needs this other than diabetics and binge drinkers".  Yeah, curse those pesky diabetics...  God forbid they be overwhelmed by "old medicine" twice weekly doctors visits and they find one of these devices as a motivator to be more careful of their diets, exercise regimes, and actually see their conditions improve.  God forbid such a device makes them feel more accountable for their illness and actually make them consciously try and improve their health, lol.  Maybe such a device will chide Mr. or Mrs. Type II into putting down that slice of cake or a cookie, or maybe go for a walk.  If it does, it's worth its weight in gold, puns about the gold Apple Watch aside :)

Welp, if such devices help even one diabetic, in a world where there's 382 diabetics worldwide, if it assists them in managing their illness better than they were doing (which many sufferers neglect the illness/treatment outright) without such a high priced electronic nick nack, I do consider that gold.  If a goofy little wrist strap gets people with illnesses a little more interested in their own health, Godspeed...

I'll say what I said to begin with.  If you don't see the health and wellness focus that all of these wearable devices offer as a bigger picture, you must have your eyelids sewn shut.

Or you're in the health care industry yourselves and have job security concerns :)

None of them are replacements for solid, professional medical care - but if they provide motivation, reminders or even remotely accurate/regular monitoring of health issues in people that may otherwise have just said "to hell with it" in regards to ignoring their health concerns under the traditional paper and pencil scheme of things, I see tremendous value in that.
« Last Edit: March 13, 2015, 01:12:40 PM by Duce »
 

Offline danbeaver

Re: Apple Watch, lol
« Reply #61 on: March 13, 2015, 02:01:40 PM »
So you are saying that a pedometer will cure what exactly, a lack of motivation to walk?  

Would not a change of life-style, regular routine check ups, and a more sincere effort to eat healthy prior to the hemorrhagic, or was it embolic, stroke have prevented this in the first place?  A gram of prevention is woth a kilo of cure.

Type II diabetics take their family genetics and then for laughs, outstrip their insulin production by overeating, under exercising and being flipping lazy at changing their life-style, checking their blood glucose levels and taking their insulin on time. A watch that monitored their blood sugar will not change either their genetics or poor choices in life.  All the insulin micro pumps using QID regular insulin will not change a style of over eating and under caring.  As oppose to the OCD of people with autoimmune disorders (as in Type I diabetics), who can manage their HbA1C to a decimal point, the Type II diabetic just doesn't care.  Beside the sweat analysis used in my prior example hasn't reached Level 1 trials.
 

Offline Duce

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Re: Apple Watch, lol
« Reply #62 on: March 13, 2015, 03:08:49 PM »
Please look into what else these devices do, Dan.  Please, even something like the rather rudimentary Fitbit or Garmins.  It's really as easy as a Google search, and while these devices are by no means "Doctors in a Wristband", they have merit as a whole and a lot more functionality than being a $250 pedometer.  They do work for a large number of people - 3.3 million of them were sold in one year, Q1 2013 - Q1 2014.  Some of the more basic devices require add on apps or modules to really run the gamut, but the concept that the Apple Watch is a $17,000 pedometer is a laugh riot.  Good Lord, just look into functionality of some of these things.  Claiming that people are paying $17,000 for a gold pedometer has people reading this literally slapping their knees in laughter.

They do a lot more than just act as a pedometer.  These aren't promises, rumors, or whispers in the wind.  All of the major wearables offer far more function than just a pedometer.

I get the drift, though,  People just griping that we shouldn't even consider new technology to help people, to perhaps give a new aspect into how people monitor their health in detail, because all diabetics are cupcake eating lost causes, eh?  That's how it's coming off, anyways.

Or that my father, a guy in otherwise good shape for being 64 years old, who suffered a mild stroke and could never wrap his head around the whole traditional medical care aspect afterwards regarding treatment; that there's no merit in a simple wristband that would keep tabs on his BP and other stats, software and hardware combined, making goals for a patient and a challenge in regards to improving his health goals.  I'm sure it's easy to say "well, if a guy like that can't get his head around some clunky BP monitor that takes up his entire glovebox in his truck", it's easier to say "well, maybe he wasn't all that serious about his health to begin with" and write them off.  If that's the case, I'm glad you folks aren't my health care provider.  I'm also overjoyed that the devices he's been trying have got him more interested in tracking all aspects of his health, and his cholesterol is now half of what it was 6 months ago when the Doctors sent him home with some clunky BP monitor and a bag full of pills that gave him side effects so badly he couldn't take them.  I consider the whole deal a bit of a win for what the little wristband cost us, and his Doctor was overjoyed that my Dad found something that worked for him.  There were no warning signs with my Dad.  None.  He has full routine medicals every 6 months.  No warning signs at all - NONE. Not overweight, doesn't smoke, rarely drinks, gets more exercise than most 25 year olds.

All I know, man - some people that don't "click" with traditional health monitoring and treatment really do click with something as simple as a mildly smart wristband/watch device like a Fitbit, MS Band, Android Wear or iOS device.

I'm not trying to "sell" anyone on any of these, much less the Apple Watch.  In fact, if I had to recommend one, the Apple Watch, at least in V.1 form would be the absolute last one I'd recommend.  But the concept that such devices garbage, and are nothing more than pedometers and universally useless to people just flummoxes me.  A very high number of people find the devices helpful, regardless of brand or maker, to have had very significant effects in their health.

Bu I guess we could just "cull" the infirm and ill and we'd never have a need for anything like this to begin with :)  But then there's that job security angle, eh..
« Last Edit: March 13, 2015, 03:11:19 PM by Duce »
 

Offline danbeaver

Re: Apple Watch, lol
« Reply #63 on: March 13, 2015, 03:36:48 PM »
Well, I am sorry you used a loved one as an example because you struck a nerve that Smart Watches "can monitor one's health."  To me this is a just silly.  If an electronic device helps your dad, that is great, but he still represents in statistics, an "N of 1" or one data point that has no bearing on measured outcomes.

As an augmented Smart Watch-Phone (accessory at this point), they will someday have value when they can be worn 24/7, are water proof, usable by a generation that requires bifocals, and not just a novelty.  They will not measure blood pressure without an inflatable wristband, measure pulse ox without a skin fold, determine an ECG without at least 3 limb leads, or check blood chemistry without years more in research.

A GPS enabled pedometer has a motivational value in exercise, but just doesn't quite make it to the panacea level of living a healthy life-style.

The technology will get there in 7 to 10 years as will the advertising hyperbole of the Super Smart Watch.
 

Offline Lurch

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Re: Apple Watch, lol
« Reply #64 on: March 13, 2015, 07:47:04 PM »
Quote from: som99;786233
Yepp Lens :)



Got the camera grip/holder, nice with the extra battery built in also :)

the 1320 is a nice phone also :) I will probably buy a WP phone the next time also.


They're great, but as we've said a shame more people don't try them. Just lending my phone to a couple of people was enough for them to change :-)

So the product is great.
-=[LurcH]=-
A500 Plus Black 030@40MHz 128MB | A1200T 060@80MHz 320MB | Pegasos II G4@1GHz 1GB  | Amiga Future Sub
 

Offline Duce

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Re: Apple Watch, lol
« Reply #65 on: March 14, 2015, 12:35:59 AM »
You know, the sad thing about Windows Phone is the sheer lack of promotion they get.  Go into get a new cel phone, you'll never have carrier staff pushing a WP device on you.  Was so bad with Verizon, Microsoft even offered in store employees incentive programs to suggest them more often to the consumer, and it didn't get them very far, sadly.

Looking forward to the next high end WP phone - currently have an Alcatel Idol X+ that I'm not terrifically happy with and hoping by the time it keels over there will be a high end Nokia WP out.

The lack of a good Audible books app for WP has kept me away from WP thus far, so I hope Amazon get a decent version churned out for WP soon.

The new "Denim" software update for the Nokia phones makes the camera just absolutely mindblowing - there's literally no delay when taking pics.