Notion Ink's Riddle Explained - "-D5720A80″ Bonus Feature

After many hours of discussion and debate it seems the Bonus Features could be an IR Sensor. A commenter by the name of "wtff" explains on the Notion Ink Blog

Linking the riddle to the Hex number:

"Concerning the riddle about the hex number (“-D5720A80″:

There seems to be a quite some speculation about it going on, despite the fact that it has been pointed out, that – interpreted as a unix timestamp – the number resolves to Tesla’s birthday.
First of all: congratulation to those who resolved the riddle or took a part in it. Good work!
I meant to add that to my mind, we can all rest assured that the timestamp interpretation is the correct one. The fact that the timestamp resolves into a GMT date ending in 00:00:00 is already evidence enough for the hex number being a nix timestamp. The additional fact that this timestamp coincides with Teslas birthday just casts this theory into bronze.
Further speculations about FCC codes seem reasonable to me only under the assumption that a grantee can choose his own EPC code but I don’t think this is possible.

So, Tesla it is then."

Possible use cases:

"There is a lot to be had for little money from a simple set of IR emitter/receiver:

- as you decribed: infrared imaging at night, or the fotographic effect of altering daylight images by incorporating the infrared spectrum

- a universal remote control for TV / hifi equipment

- measuring distances
a ) for supplication of camery images with depth information, in order to achieve kinect-like game control
b) for actual distance measurement between a reference point on the adam and an object

all this and more can be realized by one and the same set of equipment and the price for that is LOW! Just an IR diode and a webcam that is there anyway. (It is usual for photographic sensors to be sensitive to the IR spectrum and one could employ a small extra budget to get components that do specifically well in that regard. )"

In various Videos Rohan's hints at the possibilities made available to the team by the hardware present in the Adam such as the 12mp Camera.

I am inclined to agree with wtff's observations and justification.

The second possibility seems to be that the code is the second half of an FCC related code. Greg (a Notion Ink Blog Commenter) explains: "FCC assigns the grantee code (Y2G in this case) and Notion Ink designates the EPC. So the resulting FCC ID for the adam will eventually be Y2G-D5720A80."

This theory does seem plausible but does not lend itself to solve Rohan's riddle, Therefore creating some doubt. It could be that both observations are indeed true.

Microsoft Courier: Another iPad alternative could enter the mix....manufactured by ASUS?

The Microsoft Courier provides similar functionality to a tablet/e-book but with a unique hardware configuration. It looks similar to a real book with dual screens, best described as the digital version of a journal. Could this be the ASUS device mentioned here by an ASUS exec? Where he hints at two devices, one for the google OS and the other for Microsoft.

The Microsoft's Courier seems to be signalling a change in Microsoft approach to defining the user experience. In a welcome move by Microsoft, the Courier is to run on the Zune OS rather than Windows 7, which is definitely a good choice by Microsoft. The design considerations behind the Zune OS were probably completely different to Windows 7, Windows 7 wasn't built from the ground up as an OS for the new generation of touch screen devices and the pen and touch based UI concepts explored in the demo are extremely creative for a Microsoft offering. The question which comes to mind however is, Where does the Courier really fit in? the answer? It seems to be a device aimed at students, writers, designers or busy executives.

Microsoft have a good opportunity to learn from a number of projects, which have delivered innovation in User Interaction Concepts and Interface design (Metro UI, Windows Phone 7, Zune, Windows 7) and combine the best to bring consumers something fresh, will this be another success story for Microsoft? Only time will tell.

With a launch date around Q3/Q4 or no launch at all, will the courier remain a concept? if it does enter the consumer market then it definitely has the potential to be a strong contender!

Source: Engagdet.com