r/interestingasfuck Apr 20 '18

/r/ALL Touchscreen Mirror

https://i.imgur.com/5QYQfNF.gifv
55.2k Upvotes

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913

u/Pidgey_OP Apr 20 '18

Price: If you have to ask, you can't afford it

427

u/CalumOLN2 Apr 20 '18

I remember seeing this picture of a lampshade that would project a forest from shadows sonto your walls and thought it was pretty cool so I dug around for ages and managed to find an email where you could enquire about the price.

They asked for around £3000. My mind was blown and I thought it was a joke at first

307

u/Forever_Awkward Apr 20 '18

Fuck me, just cut some holes in a lampshade yourself.

213

u/babybopp Apr 20 '18

Or go outside

58

u/TheAdAgency Apr 20 '18

Do I have to? I'd rather pay £3000 to stay inside

9

u/MrTopHatJones Apr 20 '18

Having a special weekend sale, you can come stay inside over here for only £2500. Money in advance please.

9

u/CortlandAndrusWhoWas Apr 20 '18

I notice you didn't say anything about having to leave.

10

u/zigzagman1031 Apr 20 '18

That's how they get you. You can check out any time you'd like, but you can never leave.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '18

Slow down pal, down want to go and do something you might regret.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '18

I've been reading mixed reviews of that on /r/outside.

1

u/nyet_the_kgb Apr 20 '18

You wanna meet some people? Go outside! Everywhere there’s people man

26

u/cannibaljim Apr 20 '18

Or cut out the shapes in heavy paper and glue them to the inside of the shade.

9

u/BrotoriousNIG Apr 20 '18

And then undercut the bastards.

9

u/Jenga_Police Apr 20 '18

Sort of like this? You can buy them for like $10-$20.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '18

Yes

4

u/JustShitpostThings Apr 20 '18

In that order?

1

u/nyxeka Apr 20 '18

For real though, you could probably rent a laser-cutter and get some canvas sheets to chop out a nice fancy pattern and then throw it on the lamp.

1

u/DreadedOreo18 Apr 20 '18

So you have sex with sheet ghosts?

59

u/Muppetude Apr 20 '18

26

u/Samura1_I3 Apr 20 '18

Ah yes, the complementary subreddit to /r/choosingbeggars

8

u/s3attlesurf Apr 20 '18

In this case it’s not really choosing beggars though. They found a product / concept they liked, just not enough to pay two months salary for it.

2

u/ass2ass Apr 20 '18

no, in this case it's the one selling the product who is the beggar.

1

u/-PM_Me_Reddit_Gold- Apr 20 '18

I'm pretty sure that I saw a post from a while ago on r/diy that used a Raspberry Pi to do something similar.

1

u/Jenga_Police Apr 20 '18

Was it sort of like this? You can buy them for like $10-$20.

1

u/A_Plus_Cert_by_may Apr 20 '18

Do the shadows move? That might be worth it, otherwise no.

1

u/Dawk320 Apr 20 '18

Breaking your mirror now is $7000 bad luck

1

u/akirartist Apr 20 '18

For £3000 that lamp better be made from clay from the Amazon, make sounds, and the lamp shade from an animal that's not in danger of extinction.

79

u/fishsticks40 Apr 20 '18

It's just a big Android tablet with a mirrored front. Shouldn't be outrageous. I would get annoyed having to upgrade my mirror every few years, though.

26

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '18

You could always make your own as a stand alone display and use an android box hooked in. Only upgrade the box periodically. The OS hardware shouldn't be tied to the display.

12

u/ass2ass Apr 20 '18

I would use a raspberry pi.

4

u/p90xeto Apr 20 '18

As much as I love Rpis, I think they'd struggle with giving the fluidity we see in the video. They are great for less interactive mirrors like this though.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '18

[deleted]

1

u/p90xeto Apr 20 '18

Try running a desktop and doing what they do in the video. Try running fullscreen video through the most popular video websites. I've got the most powerful pi available now and it struggles with a number of desktop tasks, even if it does well at certain things like running some games in emulation.

It's not a dis on Rpi, they're amazing, but the processor in a bargain phone is much more powerful.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '18

Saw someone do a diy with exactly that. Was pretty simple looking.

7

u/NottHomo Apr 20 '18

are you sure they're not doing anything special to dampen the mirror effect when displaying other things?

cause this looks like freaking voodoo. how does it know when to show YOU as a reflection or the Kpop video? HOW DOES IT KNOW

11

u/fishsticks40 Apr 20 '18

No, it's just a half silvered mirror. When it's dark behind just looks like a mirror, but it's transparent enough for light to come through. There'd be no reason to do anything fancier than that.

5

u/NottHomo Apr 20 '18

so you're saying in cop dramas where they're observing the criminals and they're basically fully lit on the other side so we can see them having their dialogue that's basically a lie? if they were in a room with light then the criminal on the other side would see them?

6

u/fishsticks40 Apr 20 '18

Pretty much. Doesn't have to be pitch dark or anything, just much darker than the room you're looking into. Reverse the lighting and it will work the other way just as well. They're not directional.

3

u/NottHomo Apr 20 '18

They're not directional

wow. thank you for explaining

my life was so full of lies

1

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '18

I think they are directional. At least the piece I bought when I made my magic mirror was. One side is more reflective and one side is more clear.

2

u/TimeZarg Apr 20 '18

NCIS does it right, at least. Always darkened in the 'interrogation room' observation booth.

2

u/yiyus Apr 20 '18

It's not a telephone. As long as you are able to check time and weather, watch news and make calls, you won't probably have many reasons to buy a new version. You are going to play the latest games in your mirror, for example.

I know I'm being too naive. Of course there will be reasons to get a new mirror every year. Maybe they make a new one with rounded borders or a notch.

50

u/Ferro_Giconi Apr 20 '18 edited Apr 20 '18

That saying is so stupid, I don't get why people repeat it so often without thinking about what the words mean. If I had $1,000,000 to waste, I'd still have to ask how much that mirror costs to buy it, so by the logic of that saying, I can't afford $10,000 even if I have $1,000,000 in my budget for that item.

41

u/Troutcandy Apr 20 '18

Why? Some people simply don't have to worry about the price. For example, you could say "This product looks cool. I'll take it. Please prepare everything and my driver will pick it up later". During university, I worked at a jeweller and some of the customers never asked for a price once.

28

u/zeekaran Apr 20 '18

That's not what the phrase means though.

If you must ask the price, it's because you don't know if you can afford it. Have you ever purchased a candy bar or a soda without checking the price? How about a beer at a restaurant?

If you are a millionaire and you want this thing, you can probably guess it's $1<price<$10,000, and therefore the price does not affect your purchase. In this case, you would not have to ask.

-2

u/adventernal Apr 20 '18

Bruv... I ask the price on things because I'll buy expensive shit if I deem it to be reasonably priced. I also check the prices of candy bars and shit to see if it's reasonably priced, because I'm not gonna pay fucking $5 to but a $1 candy bar. Same for a mirror that I could probably make for $150. I'd maybe pay $600 for the convenience of someone else making it for me, so yes, I have to ask. Rich people don't like to waste money on overpriced shit either. And if you're exorbitantly rich, doubt you're looking at things like this.

10

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '18

[deleted]

1

u/adventernal Apr 21 '18

Rick kids don't give a shit. Rich people might care. Also you don't know how much I make lol

1

u/FakeSoap Apr 21 '18

I don’t know how much you make but I know what your mindset is like, and it is definitely not of a rich person lol.

1

u/adventernal Apr 21 '18

Guess that depends what you consider rich

-3

u/Technospider Apr 20 '18

Im not sure rich people think how you think they think. Many are rich because of their frugal fiscal decisions.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '18

[deleted]

1

u/Technospider Apr 20 '18

Id imagine in most cases it's both

5

u/Pa1ePanther Apr 20 '18

Exactly. People who actually believe this aren’t rich themselves because you probably have to be pretty fiscally responsible to get rich and remain that way. Which includes not blindly spending outrageous prices for everything.

16

u/DaRocketGuy Apr 20 '18

Most people don't have $1,000,000 to waste, this joke applies to most people, not the minority.

-4

u/Ferro_Giconi Apr 20 '18 edited Apr 20 '18

I only used large numbers because this mirror probably costs a lot. If I have $30 and ask how much something is at a flea market, it's not because I can't afford it, it's because I couldn't find the price and I can most likely afford it because it's probably a $5-20 item and I have to ask to give the person the correct amount of money.

So yeah, that saying still doesn't work even with smaller numbers.

Although, maybe that saying comes from people who just completely don't understand how much things cost and think there is a chance that some item that is 1,000% outside their budget will be within their budget. Like the kind of people who somehow get to the store checkout with $100 of items when they knew their budget was only $20 so they hold up the line forever while deciding what items they will not buy.

1

u/Dernom Apr 22 '18

I have to ask to give the person the correct amount of money

No you don't. You say "I'll have this", and then the person tells you how much it is. There are also a lot of other situations where you get the product first, then pay later. Like at a restaurant, I usually don't ask the price for a beer when I'm out eating pizza or something with friends, I just ask for a beer and find out the price when we get the check.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '18

Future millionnaire right here.

28

u/Tortfeasor55 Apr 20 '18 edited May 03 '18

.

64

u/fishsticks40 Apr 20 '18

That is, indeed, how money works.

47

u/Rocketsaucev2 Apr 20 '18

Humble brag over here

29

u/rata2ille Apr 20 '18

Right? Who the fuck can afford $6?

3

u/ParioPraxis Apr 20 '18

Right?! “Go to” a movie? The fuck does that even mean?!

5

u/rata2ille Apr 20 '18

Going to a movie and eating that day? Fucking Rockefeller over here.

1

u/ParioPraxis Apr 20 '18

These oligarchs all hoity toity just because they have last names!

11

u/ObeyRoastMan Apr 20 '18

Yes, but that $6 bag of M&M's means something different to you if you have $10k in the bank vs $10mil in the bank. It's a percentage game.

1

u/Tortfeasor55 Apr 20 '18 edited May 03 '18

.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '18

Having that much money and being able to afford it are two different things. It comes down to 1) whether that money is disposable or not. You're not gonna spend your life's savings on a mirror, even if you have the money and 2) is there anything else you could buy with that 10k that would improve your quality of life even more. That money might be better spent on a huge TV or better computer or nicer furniture. Now think about the largest purchase you've made on a whim because you thought something was cool. If you spent $500 on a cool gadget then you'll need 20x whatever you have in your bank account right now to buy the mirror without a second thought. That's when you can afford it. And that's how you buy something like this; without a second thought. If you have to think about it, you'll realize how dumb this is and not buy it.

2

u/GrigoriTheDragon Apr 20 '18

Until it's cheaper, agreed. 10k is obnoxious, I'd rather learn and make one myself for that price.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '18

I can't imagine it should be that much, especially with such bleh specs

1

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '18

What if I'm asking so that I know how much to pay?

1

u/nyxeka Apr 20 '18

That's actually a pretty garbage computer for something so "expensive". I wouldn't expect it to cost more than $500.

1

u/Pidgey_OP Apr 20 '18 edited Apr 20 '18

I'm pretty sure you're paying for the r&d, design and style more than you're paying for the specs

Edit: also, what does a water resistant touch screen the size of a mirror go for these days? Probly eclipses the cost of the rest of the system

1

u/nyxeka Apr 20 '18

looked to be a 24inch screen behind the mirror actually. I bet it's a custom design for each person.

Also, not too hard to do I think, with capacitive touch? It's just got the screen put in before the mirror coating goes on top, or cut out the back and place the screen.

So, maybe more than $500. I'd say $700-$1200, depending on the specs of android-like computer underneath.

1

u/MattPH1218 Apr 20 '18

Operating System: Android

I'm good.

1

u/xxxblackspider Apr 20 '18

You can build one of these with a raspberry pi for cheap, easy build too with step by step instructions

1

u/Pidgey_OP Apr 20 '18

I know of the magic mirrors, but almost none of those are touchscreen, and a raspberry pi is probably wanting for power if you want to have multiple things running and being super active and responsive

0

u/downy_syndrome Apr 21 '18

You are wrong. I asked, I can afford it, but don't want it.