A bit dystopian turning people into a taxi-like system where you need an indicator to tell if they are vacant or not.
Regardless, I'm struggling to know the audience here. Is it an employee in the office? If that’s the case, it won’t solve any problem because most of the disturbances happen from your boss either calling about something or asking you to join another useless meeting. Your boss won’t care about your status simply because they won’t be collocated in the same office as you most of the time (not that they care about your online status anyway). For colleagues, after the first month or so, everyone will pretty much find the best way to approach others. If you still need a device for that, then there’s a problem in communication that you need a persistent device all the time. At home, you won’t need such a thing. So I don’t know who will find it useful; it looks gimmicky.
What’s next, a hat that will turn a green light telling people you are approachable or in the chatting mode, and red when you are not?!
After reading the page, it seems clear it is akin to a recording studio busy signal, well-trodden territory predating computers, and marketed for video conferencing. Neither without target audience, nor a sigil of the fall of interhuman cooperation and communication :)
You have not said what the market is. Recording studios have a solution. And probably don't use pomedero. And the reason for the indicator I assume is to stop people barging in and stop people saying silly stuff thinking their off air so it needs to be inside and outside the room.
Hmm, you sure? I checked OP, it says "marketed for video conferencing"
> Recording studios have a solution.
Okay.
> And probably don't use pomedero.
*pomodoro
> And the reason for the indicator I assume is to stop people barging in and stop people saying silly stuff thinking their off air so it needs to be inside and outside the room.
Okay.
> So who is this device for again?
Video conferencing, ex. the above scenario you laid out
> I'm curious, I'm not just rushing through an attempt to correct something that doesn't need correction. How do they envision it in use?
Here's a link to the site, it has marketing material re: this. https://busy.bar/
For context, we are replying to a comment putting that marketing into question. Therefore the "RTFA" card is not in your deck to play. (I say with a tongue in cheek tone: no flamewar intended!)
In particular GP said:
> For colleagues, after the first month or so, everyone will pretty much find the best way to approach others. If you still need a device for that, then there’s a problem in communication that you need a persistent device all the time.
I think I agree. Back in 2003 my boss said "when my headset is on I am busy". He had to remind everyone a few times. But that worked.
Reductio ad absurdum: If its for recording studios, fine. If not, get off my lawn, its just reinventing having a conversation.
It's telling that both obstinate refusals to not understand what its for end up on unrelated stories about bosses. Let's call it PHB derangement syndrome.
It never seemed likely it was that confusing, it's pretty hard to have been alive from 2020-2024 and claim that there's never any reason for anyone to know anyone else is on a video call. I guess I'm lucky I can take out my Monday scaries via pointing out the obvious, it'd suck to be on the other side and have to pretend I'm stupid.
You're thinking grandiosely. It's pretty simple situation thats different from that one.
No one's trying to lay claim to if this individual product "becomes Dropbox", and you're not saying you can build it in a weekend, which is the comment you're referring to.
I think you may be swapping in a bailey of "oh we're arguing about whether this will be "successful"" because the motte of "what is this for, it can't work!?" was obviously stupid, as you've ceded.
The original ftp dropbox comment was about usefulness rather than success IMO. They were saying why is this needed.
With the conraption here. It is not useless, sure, but that is not a high enough bar to use resources to manufacture it or for there to be a market for it. Other than someone mentioned geek consumerism.
Yes, it's so horrible, just like the on air signs in audio recording rooms from the 1920s are very dystopian, so bad. It's not like everyone is working from home now.
It should supplement and facilitate improved office dynamics and less interruptions rather than supplant interaction with proscribed, transactionalized objectification of people. Not everything more efficient should or has to be dystopian.
Regardless, I'm struggling to know the audience here. Is it an employee in the office? If that’s the case, it won’t solve any problem because most of the disturbances happen from your boss either calling about something or asking you to join another useless meeting. Your boss won’t care about your status simply because they won’t be collocated in the same office as you most of the time (not that they care about your online status anyway). For colleagues, after the first month or so, everyone will pretty much find the best way to approach others. If you still need a device for that, then there’s a problem in communication that you need a persistent device all the time. At home, you won’t need such a thing. So I don’t know who will find it useful; it looks gimmicky. What’s next, a hat that will turn a green light telling people you are approachable or in the chatting mode, and red when you are not?!