November 12, 2004

When technology goes TOO far Now little Sally can hug an inanimate lump and millions of miles away, Granny can have an inanimate lump hug her back. Almost like real human interaction! Feel the love without the germs or personal warmth!

Am I the only one who thinks this will be co-opted and 'abused' by the plushy and furry communities?

  • Heh!
  • Ooooh, Granny LIKES that, Skrik... mmmmmmmmmm
  • this is so cute! no, wait, creepy! um....
  • [NYT: login required]
  • Damn 1.0, I want my Bugmenot extension back... /rant
  • Now that's what I call a good cyber.
  • lol...I can see it now: Rookie: why is she so purple? She looks like someone asphixiated her. Cptn: Yeah kid. she was obviously crushed by some kind of brutal force. R: Sir, why would someone do something like that? C: I dunno kid. There's a lot of psychos out there... R: she looked so sweet *barf* this makes me sick *barf*... meanwhile, 3000 miles away, 8 month old Timmy, granny's first grandchild, is sound asleep. hugging his "The Hug" pillow tightly. ************* HA!
  • Hahaha, Warrior beat me to it. I wonder what the trial would be like?
  • Unlike a regular phone, for which wrong numbers are a way of life, there is no need to fear getting a hug in error. Oh, praise to Cthulhu for such foresight. The fear of receiving a "hug" in error would otherwise prove overwhelming. I hope they're ready to defend against robo-spamming hug-flinging telemarketers, too.
  • They should give these to priests and altar boys... Oh yeah, Billy, hug me right THEERRRRREE!!!!
  • Oh, btw genial: Bugmenot user: timesbias password:liberal
  • Debaser626: Thanks, I actually decided to just try and reinstall the extension and sure enough it works again. Come here Firefox...I didn't mean all those bad things I said earlier. I luv you baby, I DO!
  • Someone will put this into a RealDoll and make millions.
  • From the article:
    The device, which is about the size of a throw pillow but as firm as a seat cushion, is shaped like a person about to give a hug, with two arms reaching up and out from a small torso. The outside is covered in velour.
    Go VELOUR! WOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO! Sorry, I'm just amused by this whole thing, and that part made me laugh.
  • Cool! I'll put this in the garage next to my Segway.
  • Fes=funny.
  • You can put it on the Bowflex in your garage and do remote Bowflexing.
  • Oh sure, you laugh, feel creeped-out and are saddened by such an invention but with the right marketing and a society becoming increasingly isolating we'll all come home to our tiny rooms in our sterile environments to hug our granny-pillows and love it! mmmm...granny pillows...smells like cat food and Ben-Gay!
  • RoboDump