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Wifi Cat (weatherby.net)
26 points by Oompa on Feb 19, 2009 | hide | past | favorite | 20 comments



Can someone post a summary? I couldn't understand more than about 30% of what he said - terrible sound quality.

Is this something about tracking a feline with WiFi?

I sort of got the idea at the end that it was actually a joke?

I could barely understand/hear what he was saying. Is it just me?



Wifi Cat is the world’s first WiFi repeater integrated into a cat collar. It uses patent pending energy harvesting, the cat's movement recharges battery the battery. It spread's WiFi throughout your home and enable you to track your cat using your browser in real time.


That could make sense if cats weren't the type of pets who absolutely need to be on your lap when you're trying to use your laptop. Not a good location for a repeater.


I know it's a joke - but how would that work anyway? You can't track something via WiFi - WiFi antennas provide no directional information (angle) so you can't triangulate, and I really doubt it's accurate enough to locate it by measuring distance via the speed of light.

A good joke should be realistic, well at least if it's directed at engineers.


It spreads WiFi throughout your neighbourhood - as long as they mesh network enable it.

Assuming it existed, that is.


They picked one hell of a lazy animal. I doubt most cats move enough to charge the battery...


I smell a rat, not a cat :)


This company has been built up for months in Atlanta, operating in stealth mode. They announced their product at Startup Riot, and it was revealed the whole thing is a joke. A lot of people have had a lot of fun in the ATL Startup community over this. Hopefully a few people even believed it.

That being said...I'd actually buy one of these things.


Let them please return to stealth mode. Indefinitely.


No, it's not just you. As I couldn't understand what he was saying other than that it was some guy trying to sound like a comedian by making fun of his wife, my attention drifted towards how bad his jacket looked (perhaps these things are related) Then I came here to read the comments.


The most promising startup pitched at Atlanta's StartupRiot! Every second of this presentation taught me something :)


Only at a great event like Startup Riot will you see great deals like WiFi Cat. :-)


agreed. more startup riot coverage - http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=486925


It's a bit reddity to see the joke presentation so high on the front page while an actually informative coverage of the even is in obscurity.

When I browse Slashdot I turn funny posts off. If you turn them on, you'll see +5 funny all over the place, and they are indeed funny, I would just rather get information then jokes.


I can haz WiFi? It actually sounds like a good idea to me. Is there a reason this is a joke instead of a legitimate business idea?


The buildup on this company was absolutely EPIC.


At this point it's all about execution.


Wifi Cat is wiiiiiiiifi.


Voted up




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