Things I Want But Don’t Really Need
A High Speed Camcorder Just about every camcorder out there records 60 fields per second. But, when you want to slow down the action, you need to overcrank. I’d like 120 progressive frames every second (as opposed to fields) at a minimum, so I could slow down action for motion analysis AND dramatic effects. Oh, and I don’t want to pay $25,000 for it. Apparently some cameras available only in Japan that can do this with a “high-speed recording” option: the JVC GR-DVL9000 series, from what I can tell.
A High BTU Wok Burner I’m continually disappointed with both the anemic cooking power and sluggish response of my electric range. Despite claims to the contrary, it is possible to stir-fry on these things: you just need to scale the portion to the available heat, and be ready to move the pan when you need to turn off the heat completely. In my dream kitchen, I’d have a stand-alone 60K BTU Wok Burner with a giant convection hood. I wouldn’t mind having some of the commercial gear either, like the griddle top. But do I need it? NO.
A Wide Format Inkjet Printer Every once in a while I want to make a giant printout of a diagram, poster or sign, and I want it right now. It would be nice to have a 24″ wide Ink Jet printer like an Epson Stylus Pro 7800. But hoo, the expense of the media, the maintenance, and the problem of where to put it? It’s the size of a gas grill!
A Projection Screen Workstation Remember that scene in The Incredibles when Mr. Incredible sneaks into the database? There’s this huge screen that must be the size of a football field. Wouldn’t it be nice to prep a computer room with a 16 foot wide, 9 foot tall treated wall and a high-resolution projector. The JVC DLA-QX1G, which NASA uses, is $225,000 MSRP, but has a native resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels. Most mortal projectors crap out at 1280 x 1024, which just isn’t cutting it compared to big LCD panels. Maybe two projectors side-by-side would be OK, but I imagine the noise would suck. Why have a projector when you can buy a big LCD? I’m thinking of it in terms of eyestrain…moving your focus back and forth between your computer and something 10-20 feet away must be better for your eyes.
Chris B. Behrens 
I have a projector setup at home running at 1024*768m about maybe 5.5 feet wide on the opposite wall.
It’s cool, to be sure, but it has some drawbacks. First of all, the projector heats the room pretty intensely. And unless you’re prepared to leave the projector on all of the time (and you shouldn’t be for power, heat and bulb life considerations), the delay in power up (about 15-20 seconds) is kind of a speed bump.
It’s fun for now, but I think at some point I will just get a nice 21” LCD and put it on a desk, and maybe move the projector into a more permanent home theater capacity.
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