Personal Views: Cups & Sleeves

I approached everything chronologically and felt kind of similar to the wheel argument. You can't quite re-invent the wheel, but you can improve, find better uses, different ways to make the wheel, ect. To best sum this up, I quote a high school teacher of mine: "No Changes, Just Improvements" 

That's kind of how I felt looking at these cups & sleeves. In the end, they're just cups & sleeves and I don't really take notice of them (I didn't think there were so many of them to possibly examine!). But, looking through the diagrams, reading the pages of the inventions, I do stand by what I explained in my last video. I think we just have a natural tendency to want to improve and build on what makes our lives better and easier. If a better improvement comes along, we'll use it. 

I don't think the changes are so obvious or predictable, so much as you don't really think it's a necessity until you think of it. I didn't even think that cold and hot drinks needed separate sleeves for better function, I always just used what was provided at my local coffee shop. 

NOTE: I apologize for the background noise, I'm not sure why there's so much of it...

Cups & Sleeves

I decided to approach these patents very linearly through a chronological timeline. I am choosing to address everything this way because I feel as though we as people have a natural progression to improve inventions and technologies over time. 

1. Thermal Coffee Cup (July 20, 1948) 
1. Focusing on serving hot beverages at public gatherings, disposable container 
2. Container + Cap (which can be ripped away) 
3. Container Jacket - similar to sleeve, for advertisements 
2. Sleeve Construction for Improved Paperboard Cup Insulation (May 3, 1999) 
1. Construction of paperboard cups, low-melt glue dots to improve insulation 
2. Improvement on the past sleeve because of lightweight material, good price for economy 
3. Insulating Sleeve (May 4, 2000) 
1. One part of sleeve spaced away from cup, improvement of insulation 
2. Functionality for hot and cold beverages 
3. Wings allow for storage of condiments (milk, creamer) 
4. Insulator Sleeve for a Beverage Container (March 1, 2007) 
1. Frusto-Conic Sleeves (one inner, one outer) 
2. Saving cardboard due to double capping, more environmentally friendly 
3. Reusable beverage sleeve 
5. Beverage Cup Sleeving System and Method (August 23, 2007) 
1. Insulating system; compromised of many different layers 
2. Usable when wet, good for hot and cold; reusable and easy to manufacture
3. improving the system 
6. Temperature-Inducing Sleeve and Related Container (December 14, 2007)
1. An indicator on the outside sleeve to show the temperature of your beverage 
2. Difficult for the consumer to know if the beverage is at a good temperature for consumption
7. Protective Sleeve (July 21, 2009) 
1. Archlike sleeve; reduce costs, paper to make sleeves 
2. Decrease heat transfer; adapting to cup shape 
8. Hot and Cold Cup Sleeve (February 6, 2014)
1. Disposable sleeve for hot and cold beverages 
2. Three layer sleeve (water-absorbent lining, laminate film layer binding lining to outer layer, outer layer - easy to gip & water repellent)

Claim #1

Now, before trying to answer, I want to note 3 things directly from the patent: 

1. "There is a need for more efficient, user-friendly procedures for unlocking such devices, touch screens, and/or applications" 
2. For "transitioning such devices, touch screens, and/or applications between user interface stages"
3.  "There is a need for sensory feedback to the user regarding progress towards the satisfaction of a user input condition that is required for the transition to occur" 

I took all of these to basically claim that their main objective is to have a smooth transition on the device that is user friendly and greatly helps revisit the use of the interface. These are what I will refer to as the patent's "objective"

Let's revisit the claim... 
1. A method of unlocking a hand-held electronic device, the device including a touch-sensitive display, the method comprising:

detecting a contact with the touch-sensitive display at a first predefined location corresponding to an unlock image;

continuously moving the unlock image on the touch-sensitive display in accordance with movement of the contact while continuous contact with the touch screen is maintained, wherein the unlock image is a graphical, interactive user-interface object with which a user interacts in order to unlock the device; and

unlocking the hand-held electronic device if the moving the unlock image on the touch-sensitive display results in movement of the unlock image from the first predefined location to a predefined unlock region on the touch-sensitive display.

The goal of the claim is to get to the objective! 

1. For user friendly procedures: 
1. "detecting a contact with the touch-sensitive display" 
• This is explains the context and makes it user friendly in the sense that they can understand it and directly how to use it. 
2. "interactive user-interfact object with which a user interacts in order to unlock the device" 
• This explains the purpose and what the user is going to be doing. 
2. For transitioning between user interface stages: 
1. "results in movement of the unlock image from the first predefined location to a predefined unlock region" 
• This explains the procedure in which you can transition between the "locked" and "unlocked" stages. 
3. For sensory feedback:
1. "continuously moving the unlock image on the touch-sensitive display in accordance with movement of the contact while continuous contact on the touch screen is maintained" 
• This explains instructions on how to unlock and use the device. 

Shockingly Bad...

Because I love Buzzfeed, I immediately turned to their articles thinking that someone would have made a predictions page. Of course, someone had. The images below are taken directly from the site, full credits to them with a little bit of my commentary. There is no particular order. Similar to my other post, these are based on what I thought was absurd/ridiculous sounding.

1. Time Magazine, 1968

With the development of how far the internet has come, this one made me giggle a little bit. "Remote shopping" has definitely become a thing, may it be Cyber Monday, sales or just the urge to shop, it's succeeding quite well. Even Border had failed because they couldn't compete in the online department. 

2. Surgeon General of the United States William H. Stewart, speaking to the U.S. Congress in 1969. 

Of course we can. With all the epidemic scares, including Swine Flu, H1N1, other influenzas and other diseases, it's clear that the Surgeon General had it wrong. While that would be nice, it unfortunately isn't true. 

3. Robert Metcalfe, inventor of Ethernet, in InfoWorld magazine, in December 1995 

The supernova, known as the internet, has yet to collapse. As evidenced by not only our class' Top 10, but also through daily usage, as of this moment, it doesn't seem to be spiraling towards collapse. 

4. Charlie Chaplin in 1916, two years into his big-screen acting career. The rest of the quote: "It's canned drama. What audiences really want to see is flesh and blood on the stage" 

As an intern for Lionsgate Films, I definitely find this one ridiculous. Films, cinema and their soundtracks are thriving. People are able to make big money in this industry and it definitely is outing flesh and blood on stage; there are more people watching movies than plays (what I feel personally). 

5. Popular Mechanics, 1949 

Clearly, we can see everyone putting their 1.5 ton computers onto their desks. And if not, they leave them plugged in at home and stationed to move. I thought this was funny because so much has changed since 1949. 

My Top 5/25 that WRONG

My logic behind ranking these (in no particular order this time) stems on the amount of shock/absurdity I felt when reading some of these quotes/ideas. They stand as my top simply on the basis of standing out and therefore being memorable to me.

1. This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no values to us." - Western Union Internal Memo, 1976 
• This one stood out for two reasons: 1) Telephone is a vital part of communication in modern day, I find myself using it daily for calls across distances. 2) It ended up rather ironic to me because they do allow people to call in to send money across distances, so it did in the end instill a type of value.
2. The Americans have need of the telephone, but we do not. We have plenty of messenger boys." - Sir William Preece, Chief Engineer British Post Office, 1878 
• I just thought this one was funny because of the arrogant tone of the speaker. However, he is clearly wrong because in modern day, there are the iconic red telephone boxes that everyone seems to take pictures of. And clearly, there are cell phone users everywhere in the world. 
3. "If excessive smoking actually plays a role in the production of lung cancer, it seems to be a minor one." -W.C. Heuper, National Cancer Institute, 1954 
• This one I understand from a marketing standpoint, but to claim "a minor one" just seems ridiculous to me. If there's no actual proof, why claim something is minor? And of course, there is an association in the end. 
4. I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." - Thomas Watson, Chairman of IBM, 1943 
• I had to scoff at this one. We definitely use computers. I'm using one right now and our campus especially seems to flourish with 13.3 inch Apple MacBooks. 
5. "There will never be a bigger plane built." -A Boeing Engineer, after the first flight of the 247, a twin engine plane that holds ten people. 
• The word "never" seems so final, so it's easy to see why he was proven wrong. I can't imagine a plane from Oakland to San Diego carrying only 10 passengers (considering I make the flight VERY often). 

Top 10 Inventions Part II

Initially, I had examined technological advances as a means to interconnect the world through globalization. However, the second time around, while selecting these inventions, I decided to take the approach of ones that I think are essential to one's DAILY life. I chose this route as a smaller scale to contrast the larger one I had created initially. The order I've chosen is just a personal preference of how these items have influenced my daily life.

1. Electricity 
• Interestingly enough, this is the number one invention in both of my lists because of the implications behind its use. Without electricity, we would be limited to a natural world, dependent on natural light and natural resources instead of the devices that we enjoy today. 
2. Sewage System 
• This one definitely hit my list after class. The sewage system serves ensures safety through treating water, sanitizing it and helping to conserve the environment through doing so. 
3. Refrigerator 
• Prior to the refrigerator, salts and spices were used. This allowed food preservation to escalate to new heights and served as more reliable method against spoilage and bacteria. 
4. Wheel 
• The wheel is the basis for many inventions we have today, many everyday mechanisms, including automobiles, chairs, bikes and parts in devices use wheels.  
5. Penicillin 
• It is an antibiotic drug that helped increase the lifespan and likelihood of survival against diseases that were otherwise fatal. Again, as mentioned in class, many children were dying before the age of 12 and many women died in labor, this simple antibiotic helped greatly reduced those risks. 
6. Language 
• Without language, there is no possible way for understanding. Prior to oral or written language, it was difficult to communicate feelings, desires or even understand instructions. 
7. Internet 
• This is significant in the sense that we rely on the internet greatly for functioning in daily lives - may it be through social media, research, ect., the internet serves as a readily available source of information. 
8. Currency 
• Without currency, we would literally be holding the value of $20 in gold in our wallets. Initially, currency/money served as a means of trade and value against spoilage in goods, but serves today as a way for us to pay for commodities/services through the value of gold. 
9. Automobiles 
• This is self explanatory I feel for taking one place to place. While I used this more at home than in Berkeley, this allows for traveling of greater distances than man or muscle power. 
10. Glass
• It has countless uses in the preservation of food, beverage consumption, use in windows, mirrors, glasses, ect.