Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/05/12/this-digital-ruler-is-the-gadg.html
…
I thought this was about some sort of AI overlord.
5 Likes
As someone who can’t draw a straight line, I’m afraid I would still need a ruler to use the Rollova.
11 Likes
Gadgets like these have very limited usefulness. I can think of a few use cases that it might be handy but I just can’t see it replacing my $15 Stanley measuring tape.
I’m not gonna go crawling on my hands and knees measuring wall to wall of a room for example.
18 Likes
This is a cool gadget at $10-15 in the Home Depot checkout line. It’s an eye roll at $77 on Indiegogo.
11 Likes
Yup. This is a cute gadget to play with for a while. But when the day comes where this would actually be the best tool for a specific job the battery will be dead. And there won’t be a way to source two fresh CR1632 batteries fast enough to make it worthwhile.
Why am I so sure of this?
I bought a handful of something very similar in the early 1990ies to give away as gifts for clients. One of them has survived at the bottom of the drawer with all the non-digital rulers (and writing templates and swept paths and stencils and whatnot) in it.
They were even called ‘digital rulers’ back then, they just didn’t have a nice design. And they certainly didn’t cost the equivalent of USD80/piece, even allowing for inflation. Maybe that for a box of 20 or so.
12 Likes
And what about if you have to measure up to a corner against a perpendicular surface?
5 Likes
Just make sure your house has no right angles and you’re golden!
6 Likes
Do you mean to imply that they did not design it with a sensor at each side that automatically adds the device’s radius to the indicated measurement when it taps against a hard surface?
And they think they are such clever, innovative designers! Tch!
(No, I could not be arsed to read all the full details on indiegogo, so no doubt someone will be along to tell me they did. In which case they are just as dumb for not making a point of mentioning it in the video here. Correct - they can not win!) 
7 Likes
It’s polygons all the way down, really.
3 Likes
This headline does rate quite highly on the scale of disappointment.
6 Likes
H҉u҉s҉h҉,҉ ҉t҉h҉e҉y҉ ҉w҉i҉l҉l҉ ҉h҉e҉a҉r҉ ҉y҉o҉u҉ ҉a҉n҉d҉ ҉p҉u҉t҉ ҉y҉o҉u҉ ҉o҉n҉ ҉T҉H҉E҉ ҉L҉I҉S҉T҉ ҉!҉
7 Likes
But based on what I’ve seen of the 21st century so far, it checks out.
5 Likes
You ain’t seen nothing yet
B-b-b-baby you just ain’t seen n-n-n-nothin’ yet
6 Likes
2 Likes
Was my first thought. My second was: If you want to measure anything useful with it, you’ll either need some string to roll it along or a laser pointer. A real ruler or a steel tape measure will also provide a straight edge that you can measure while a “digital ruler” leaves it to you to magically find right angles or straight lines.
4 Likes
Just Rollova
In the clova,
Rollova, turn around and measure again.
(And cut once)
1 Like
We’re digital anarchists, we don’t want or need a digital ruler.
5 Likes
And in the event you aren’t already sold on the Rollova’s usefulness, it’s already generated over $200,000 in backing from fans on Indiegogo, so its coolness cred has been verified.
As a true fan of BB, I actually appreciate being informed of products out there. That’s how I learned – and am proving to be the happy owner – of a pair of PAWW Bluetooth headphones…
… but, I really wonder how $200K backing can verify anything, much less cred for what appears to be a slow-going-out-to-buyers product (read the site’s comments), and actually deliver true usefulness and coolness (in the practical sense).
3 Likes
Oh sure, we figured out feet and yards and things
Seriously? Those of us who live in the 21st century moved on to millimetres, centimetres, and metres, as nature intended.
Even cubits are better than inches and feet.
2 Likes
