Video: Comptometer does broadcast controls the steampunk way
By Vladislav Savov 
posted Oct 1st 2009 7:04AM
posted Oct 1st 2009 7:04AM
[Via TechnaBob]
Please note: If you're a current Engadget commenter, you do not need to re-register. Simply login and you will be prompted to select a username.
Alright, the word "Steampunk" has officially lost all meaning.
There are two elements in steampunk - "steam" (as in the era) and "punk" (as in punk). I see the steam era here, but where's the punk?
"Steampunk" isn't just another word for "retro".
Future technology + steam era-old technology? That's what I see it as, at least. :)
Those handles are clearly designed after a steam ship.
Plus the copper pipe also hints at the steam period.
Finally! A real time machine!
lulz
Wow, it looks so awesome in operation that after watching the video I still have no idea what the hell it does.... :)
It's the new and improved L. Ron Hubbard type E-Meter. Grab hold, throw back a shot of C.I.A. quality B.Z. and you'll soon be trippin' to the beat of Tom Cruise in his underwear.
"It's very sensitive to touch indeed."
"So am I."
Hah!
sweet!
but seriously, what does it do? :)
it's the front end for a broadcast playout and record server - like an Omneon. I've got the controller this thing is based on sitting on the desk next to me. It doesn't look anything like it (although i wish it did!) but the buttons are all in the same place and the software is the same.
yeah.... but... whats it do??!
@Daniel and Aaron
Basically, it's a switchboard and it goes in a control room at a TV station, and it's how things get on the air. Buttons pick the source, and it puts out whats on that monitor. That's what it does.
@everyone else
why not have the speed controller be a T-Shift for transitions and not device speed?
@Mike B--
It's not a switcher, it's a slo-mo controller for sports broadcasts, etc.
http://hitechsys.co.uk/html/disk_products/sports_controller.html
Some parts are powered by a fairy dust dispenser from a fairy dust reservoir made of unicorn's horn and will be used to broadcast the next "One more thing", where Steve Jobs will announce the Apple Tablet.
Yey!
STOP WITH ALL THE MOUTH NOISES, DON'T DO A DEMO IF YOU IF YOU HAVE A HABIT OF MOUTH SMACKING! EITHER SWALLOW OR GET A GOD DAMN DRINK OF WATER!!!!
(Sorry for the all caps my pet peeve got the best of me.)
But does it have copy and paste??
There's an App for that ~
Not if Steve doesn't bless it there isn't.
Actually it's a gas turbine powered hardware addon =P
As a broadcaster, I LOLed when he mentioned the "Moss" (MOS) interface. M O S = Media Object Server--A standard used for interconnecting and sharing metadata between various broadcast systems.
Get this on Warehouse 13, pronto
Allison Scagliotti is hot as hell, but that show just sucks.
The writing is so bad, the characters are so poorly conceived, shallow and stereotypical that even when the writers try to put them in peril or add interesting background elements to get people to from an emotional attachment for them it comes off as silly.
Neat idea for a show with lots of potential, but the actual show is trash
That network (I will never speak it's name) is not for science fiction fans, that network MAKES FUN OF science fiction fans.
Granted, Warehouse 13, The Sanctuary, Primeval, and even Fringe are at their cores based on basic scifi themes. For that matter, so are Heroes and 4400. And so are most scifi shows. Doctor Who and Torchwood get a little more creative, but the core is still similar.
What makes a show interesting are the characters, their motivations and personalities, and their interactions.
After all, good Stargate or Star Trek series are few and far between. Unique concepts ("conceits") are getting rare. Farscape and Firefly were two of these rarities - they used extremely unique situations, and combined them with excellent characters.
Hopefully tomorrow's premier of Stargate Universe will be good, but it has a high standard to meet and many are unsure whether it can meet it.
I was a bit negative about another stargate since that show was a bit lame in its core, but when I saw the new cast I got more optimistic, I just hope it will be less oriented towards the very young and less repetitive than the previous stargate incarnations, and hope they don't make it all too bland.
Ah, Stargate Universe... now that's got some steampunk-like influences too :D All I've heard about it sounds that it should fit what Wwhat wants.
Well, now that I've caught up on the new Engadget posts, it's back to Gateworld for me...
This machine kicks asses!