Toilet gaming technology targets urinal boredom

Gerald · 11-28-11, 02:48 PM

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15923438

Note: 28 November 2011 Last updated at 14:47 GMT

Buddahaid · 11-28-11, 03:01 PM

All right. Just how big of a bladder do you need to get bored. And are those touch screens?

vienna · 11-28-11, 03:22 PM

Years ago, there used to be urinal cakes (sanitizers) with targets imprinted on/in them. Personally, when I'm in the bog, I just want to be done and gone and I certainly don't wish to "tweet" about my lavatory "achievemnts". This smacks of those overhead displays at check-out lines tried out years ago in supermarkets; they seem to have vanished from the scene, for the most part. I suspect this will also, if it ever really gets off the ground. Marketers and ad agencies seem to believe there cannot be any moment of our time in which we should not be exposed to their adverts. I am usually of the mind that if I feel imposed upon by unwanted adverts, I make a mental note not to buy the advertised product or service. In the case of this "advance", I may be tempted, if I am alone, to alter my aim and see if I can't short the damned thing out...

Jimbuna · 11-28-11, 04:06 PM

Aw come on...dredging for posts now

frau kaleun · 11-28-11, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vienna

Marketers and ad agencies seem to believe there cannot be any moment of our time in which we should not be exposed to their adverts. I am usually of the mind that if I feel imposed upon by unwanted adverts, I make a mental note not to buy the advertised product or service. In the case of this "advance", I may be tempted, if I am alone, to alter my aim and see if I can't short the damned thing out...

Well I don't know about you, but nothing makes me want to buy a product more than the continual unconscious association of it with all the sights, sounds, and... er... let's just call it "ambience" of the typical public restroom.

Seriously though I'm not of the opinion either that "any publicity is good publicity" when it comes to getting a brand name "out there" with advertising. I've heard the saying that even an awful ad is good if it's awful enough in some way to get enough people talking about it, but frankly there are a couple places whose doorways I've never darkened because they once ran ad campaigns that I absolutely hated and which were apparently ubiquitous and therefore unavoidable. Long after the ads changed, I still associate the brand with how much I hated those ads.

Jimbuna · 11-28-11, 04:15 PM

Toilet Humour....at best

vienna · 11-28-11, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Seriously though I'm not of the opinion either that "any publicity is good publicity" when it comes to getting a brand name "out there" with advertising. I've heard the saying that even an awful ad is good if it's awful enough in some way to get enough people talking about it, but frankly there are a couple places whose doorways I've never darkened because they once ran ad campaigns that I absolutely hated and which were apparently ubiquitous and therefore unavoidable. Long after the ads changed, I still associate the brand with how much I hated those ads.

Sometimes it makes one wonder if the advertisers are really even aware at how off putting their ad campaigns can be to the audience at large. There is a local mattress store chain that continually puts out what they seem to believe are clever ads. Not only are the ads the same tired jokes over and over gain, the stores' owner (who appers in the ads) is of the school that volume equals quality; the most jarring annoyance is to be watching a serious program or listening to good music on the radio, only to have the mood broken by some clown raving at top volume. Add to this his screeching tag line ("We'll beat anyone's price or your mattres is FREEEEEE!!!!") and the fact the ads are on day and night and often (I actually heard the same ad repeated 4 times in the span of 1 hour on a local station recently) and I not only will not buy from him, I will go out of my way to avoid his stores. It is so bad, in a front page story about annoyances in the Los Angeles Times a few years back, the writer singled out the ads as one of his pet peeves...

the_tyrant · 11-28-11, 05:55 PM

I just bring my laptop in there, problem solved

vienna · 11-28-11, 06:08 PM

Quote:

I just bring my laptop in there, problem solved

Good lord, is there an app for "that"??...

kraznyi_oktjabr · 11-28-11, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the_tyrant

I just bring my laptop in there, problem solved

Man standing in front of urinal bowl with laptop reading SUBSIM.com Radioroom Forums. Priceless.

CaptainMattJ. · 11-28-11, 06:48 PM

the amount of disgusting bacteria that would accumulate on the screen would be a complete put off already.

Then again, they did think of hands free wireless.

I dont see the appeal though. I mean you only get 20 seconds of gameplay for whats sure to be an expensive system.

and the whole "Customers experience will be monitored closely" thing makes me think they have a camera recording you drain the main vein

frau kaleun · 11-28-11, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vienna

Good lord, is there an app for "that"??...

Here's an even better app...

http://autocowrecks.failblog.org/201...oping-at-work/

Quote:

If you're a living, breathing human being with lungs and a cerebellum who is gainfully employed, you probably hate your job. And if you don't hate it, you probably resent it a little every so often.

During these moments of grudgery, one of the best stress-releases is to camp out in the restroom during work hours and think gleefully to yourself about how The Man is paying you to poop. These quiet moments of porcelain rebellion can be made even sweeter with the help of the app Poop Salary.

Poop Salary lets you track the time you spend squatting on the john, and calculates how much you've earned while pooping based on your salary. Keep track of how much you've earned in a day or an entire year, share your score with your friends, and take pride in being a productive member of the (literally) trickle-down economy.

Reece · 11-28-11, 10:24 PM

What a load of crap!!

The time spent in the toilet is not wasted, it's the perfect time to read a nice book!!

BTW, anyone here want to buy some of my used books?

Highbury · 11-29-11, 01:44 AM

My local pub has had the current day's sports pages pinned up in that same location for years. Does the job perfectly.

Jimbuna · 11-29-11, 06:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reece

What a load of crap!!

The time spent in the toilet is not wasted, it's the perfect time to read a nice book!!

BTW, anyone here want to buy some of my used books?

They're probably all missing a few pages

11-28-11, 02:48 PM	#1
Gerald SUBSIM Newsman Join Date: May 2008 Location: Close to sea Posts: 24,254 Downloads: 553 Uploads: 0	Toilet gaming technology targets urinal boredom http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15923438 Note: 28 November 2011 Last updated at 14:47 GMT __________________ Nothing in life is to be feard,it is only to be understood. Marie Curie

11-28-11, 03:01 PM	#2
Buddahaid Shark above Space Chicken Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 9,319 Downloads: 162 Uploads: 0	All right. Just how big of a bladder do you need to get bored. And are those touch screens? __________________ "However vast the darkness, we must provide our own light." Stanley Kubrick "Tomorrow belongs to those who can hear it coming." David Bowie

11-28-11, 04:06 PM	#4
Jimbuna Chief of the Boat Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: 250 metres below the surface Posts: 190,461 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 13	Aw come on...dredging for posts now __________________ Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. Oh my God, not again!!

11-28-11, 04:15 PM	#6
Jimbuna Chief of the Boat Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: 250 metres below the surface Posts: 190,461 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 13	Toilet Humour....at best __________________ Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. Oh my God, not again!!

11-28-11, 05:55 PM	#8
the_tyrant Admiral Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Canada Posts: 2,272 Downloads: 58 Uploads: 0	I just bring my laptop in there, problem solved __________________ My own open source project on Sourceforge OTP.net KGB grade encryption for the rest of us

11-28-11, 03:22 PM	#3
vienna Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Anywhere but the here & now... Posts: 7,711 Downloads: 85 Uploads: 0	Years ago, there used to be urinal cakes (sanitizers) with targets imprinted on/in them. Personally, when I'm in the bog, I just want to be done and gone and I certainly don't wish to "tweet" about my lavatory "achievemnts". This smacks of those overhead displays at check-out lines tried out years ago in supermarkets; they seem to have vanished from the scene, for the most part. I suspect this will also, if it ever really gets off the ground. Marketers and ad agencies seem to believe there cannot be any moment of our time in which we should not be exposed to their adverts. I am usually of the mind that if I feel imposed upon by unwanted adverts, I make a mental note not to buy the advertised product or service. In the case of this "advance", I may be tempted, if I am alone, to alter my aim and see if I can't short the damned thing out...

11-28-11, 06:48 PM	#11
CaptainMattJ. The Old Man Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Sin City Posts: 1,364 Downloads: 55 Uploads: 0	the amount of disgusting bacteria that would accumulate on the screen would be a complete put off already. Then again, they did think of hands free wireless. I dont see the appeal though. I mean you only get 20 seconds of gameplay for whats sure to be an expensive system. and the whole "Customers experience will be monitored closely" thing makes me think they have a camera recording you drain the main vein __________________ A popular Government without popular information nor the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own Governors must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives - James Madison

11-28-11, 10:24 PM	#13
Reece CINC Pacific Fleet Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Down Under Posts: 34,688 Downloads: 171 Uploads: 0	What a load of crap!! The time spent in the toilet is not wasted, it's the perfect time to read a nice book!! BTW, anyone here want to buy some of my used books? __________________ *Sub captains go down with their ship!*

11-29-11, 01:44 AM	#14
Highbury The Old Man Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: 51.557, -0.102 Posts: 1,311 Downloads: 177 Uploads: 0	My local pub has had the current day's sports pages pinned up in that same location for years. Does the job perfectly.