Wikipedia Search Results combined with an AI Query and Data-mining Engine integrated with a High Quality Text-to-Speech; can help people hear Answers to Questions they ask. Optional pictures and video on a concealed LCD Screen, Packed into a Feather Bag called "Dolly the Know-all Dodo". A witty, impertinent, extra-smart Bird-Bot. (2009 - Ideas of delabs)
Idea from Polly -
Make a AI Robot in the form of a Cartoon Parakeet. Something like polly the techno parrot below. When you ask a question or a unique term like "Solar Energy" or "Vitamin C" it can use its AI - Artificial Intelligence to read out a Wikipedia Page and if not Satisfied browse the web internally and suggest alternative pages to read out. It can have a Dockable Tablet Interface too for Visualizing its AI and Articles.
The Objective - When your Bot has outgrown your Arduino, it wants to talk, an urge to communicate and Network. A larger brain over the smaller control system is the need. Then a Networked Drove of Bots ! is possible.
Hobby DIY Electronics - Do it Yourself, The World Over.
Use the Arduino for emulating the role of the Spine and a Linux System for the Big Networked brain. You can hack a Linux Laptop to make your Robot an Einstein.
Now for Simulating the Soul, which even the most Advanced Robotic Scientist is unaware of; All you need is Cloud.
Dockables and Convertibles that means Tablets that transform into Laptops and Desktops. Then the Abominable Laptop Hinge or Lid failure will not bother you.

Tablets, Nettops, Netbooks and Notebooks are the future. Low power consumption, wireless, light, modular, low voltage.
If you are still fanatic about Desktop Computers, here are the ways you can move in the right direction, from legacy to Futuristic !
- Make the internals of a Desktop computer, Dust Free. 50 Microns particle, not any larger.
- Make the Desktop Computer SMPS and design Earth Free, Two Wire Only, No Y caps.
- Let it work on a 12-24 V DC Bus/Grid Standard, With External Connectors. Adapter Outside.
- No Fan should be used, No moving or Rotating parts inside, No Wires, good connectors.
- Modular Plugin, Stackable System to be used for External CDROM/DVD and HDD Drives.
- Flash Integration Internal for main OS Firmware and External Flash like HDD Stackable.
- DVD, HDD, Flash Expansion on USB Removable or SATA Stackable like Building Blocks.
- For a Whooping One Grand, People deserve a Backplane Plugin Architecture in the Desktop.
- Box, LCD/LED Monitor, HDD, Wi-Fi must not consume more than a Maximum of 50 Watts.
- All Internal and External Modules and Devices should go to quiescent state, non-obtrusively.
Data Interface - Printer Port, Virtual Instrumentation.
Present Day Work Time Utilization of man using Desktop Computing. -
- 30% Updates and Installation of The Operating System, Safety Issues.
- 20% System Admin, Networking, Application Installation and Updates.
- 10% Hardware Problems, Interfacing, Sharing, Wire and Port Issues.
- 10% Physical and Mental Fatigue and Stress Caused by above, plus Coffee.
- 30% Productive Work Done. Means work done in a Job or Profession.
A software and External Hardware, Interfacing on LAN or USB or even
WiGig when it comes. The hardware contains HDD/Flash, RAM and RAW
Processing power. This is not like Hyper Threading or multi-core cpu,
but addresses same issue.
The
Software sees resources load on PC and when it feels RAM, CPU or HDD is
getting stressed; it moves some work to the external box which is on
standby consuming low power. Like playing music is lesser priority then
say checking email.
The Software Resource manager moves the Music Player
and dependencies open in RAM to the Resource outside via USB and makes a
Glitch-less switch. This can be remembered as a setting and used
whenever the external resource is plugged in. Like RAID but for
Home/Small Office users to use redundant capacities. Hardware scales
up/down with needs and does not hog electrical power.
A
lot of Processing Power and other resources go waste, consuming
valuable energy in the present desktops. How faster things can be if all
peripherals were on TCP/IP and Wireless (optical). This way an external
resource box can directly play the speakers or print too without taking
Main CPU time.
delabs - 2009
Wish we could Stop making Desktop Computers that are Energy Guzzlers
by 2020. The Laptop/Notebook Electronics Design Architecture could be
Ported to the Desktop Computer Physical Framework.
This
makes Battery Operated Lean Desktops that can always be on Float
Charge. Temporary mobility and convertibles are also possible. Power
Failure proof.
A flexi ferrite table cover to wireless
charge mouse, printer and keyboard batteries. An additional Lan with
Wi-fi to network with all the Peripherals. This gets rid of the Cable
Clutter and Device Drivers for Peripherals.
Device Interface
Wireless
USB has not still been adopted as a standard for peripheral interface.
(not to be confused with Wi-Fi USB sticks). BlueTooth is good but does
not completely address Easy Peripheral Interface in terms of usability
etc. This may help the Desktop Comp.
Nettops use less
power and are the Desktops of Tomorrow, with cloud computing and
wireless storage these are the essential devices to go to Green
Computing and the Client-Server Architecture with the Cloud in mind. We
need both Intranet-Cloud and Internet-Cloud.
Each PC
should have Two Wi-Fi. One for Device Networking and the other is for
Web and Networking. Device Networking means adding Smart Peripherals
without Drivers. Example Wi-Fi External HDD and Wi-Fi Printer.
HardDisk
Rapid
on off Power can Damage Hardisk. Transport of PC over rumbling Terrain,
PC or Notebook drop on Hard Surface, Impulsive Jerks of Table on which
Desktop Comp is placed; can mean, that your data and device is a goner.
Maybe Desktops should use the more mobile Notebook Drives or external
portable drives (technology), as these consume less power and are more
robust.
old and new notes of mine since 2007 - delabs