Weekend Open Forum: What is your best idea for an invention?

[Shawn Knight]

Have you ever had a great idea for a new product or service only to see someone else beat you to the punch? Maybe you never really planned to pursue your invention but seeing someone else make million from an idea you came up with long ago is always tough to swallow.

I can think of a few instances where this has happened to me and I’m still holding on to one idea for a product I coined as part of an advertising class I took years ago. I think it would be a sure-fire hit but for whatever reason, I haven’t yet chased that dream (nor have I seen my idea show up on store shelves yet).

This week’s open forum is dedicated to this very topic. Have you ever come up with an idea only to find someone else profited from it years later? Or do you have an idea you’re tossing around that you think might be a winner? If so, let’s hear about it!

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https://www.techspot.com/news/54472-weekend-open-forum-what-is-your-best-idea-for-an-invention.html

 

[oldikes]

If I had a good idea for an invention I wouldnt post it here, id go patent it >_>

 

[TomSEA]

I made a presentation in my college speech class for a home device that would vacuum seal food for longer preservation and freezing. We had to come up with an invention and do a sales pitch on it and I thought it was a pretty good idea. Lo and behold, 10 years later such a device (FoodSaver) actually came out.

 

[captaincranky]

For what seems like ages, I've wanted to steal Al Gore's idea, and invent the interweb.

 

[Guest]

Ice-cream that doesn't melt until it comes in contact with saliva. Still working on the formula... ;-

 

[misor]

I invented the airplane but the wright brothers 'patented' it first.
seriously, I cannot invent anything but if I can, I'd like to:
1. invent a device which can predict earthquake occurrence.
2. invent a device which can predict which movies are great and which are meh.
3. invent a device which can transmit more internet bandwidth over the old internet infrastructure.
4. invent a 'minority report' device.
5. invent a 'stargate' device.
6. invent an FTL (faster than light) engine for interplanetary, intergalactic travel.

 

[psycros]

So far I've come across three of my ideas realized by others. One was a new kind of self-sealing drink container; another was a laptop hardware interface. Finally, there was the keyboard case for iPhones. I have a few others that I wish I had the means to pursue.

 

[treetops]

They should make a controller add on for smart phones that snaps onto your phone the size of your phone so you can game on it.

 

[Dukenukemx]

Most of my inventing days were when I was a kid. Back during the Genesis vs SNES days I saw the hardware between the 32x and the Saturn were very similar. So I suggested to Sega to make another addon for the 32x, to make it play Saturn games. Yes, another add-on. Looking back, I wonder why they never made the Saturn able to play Genesis games.

Then there was magnetic shocks for cars, but yea.

 

[Jad Chaar]

If I had a good idea for an invention I wouldnt post it here, id go patent it >_>

Diddo

 

[dividebyzero]

2. invent a device which can predict which movies are great and which are meh.

That's relatively easy. Addition by subtraction. Start out with all movies and filter out box office cancer (e.g. Eric Roberts), one dimensional actors (e.g. Steven Segal, Megan Fox), one trick pony directors (e.g. Uwe Boll, M.Night Shyamalan), and any movie with the Dove Foundation seal of approval.

Here's my formula for chameleonware coating:









/pretty effective huh?

 

[davislane1]

Frictionless aluminum.

 

[Guest]

Betting on PvP in Path of Exile.... seriously though I wouldn't post invention ideas I have online.

 

[captaincranky]

2. invent a device which can predict which movies are great and which are meh.
.

That's easy. Just profile the people who review the movie. You can tell a great deal about the quality of a movie by the quality of the people who review it. Oooorrrr, consider that one such device has already been invented, they call it "Redbox". Cost per use is a $1.20.

Frictionless aluminum.

I had a couple of dates with the girl who invented frictionless sex.

 

[Guest]

Alternate reality where square wheels would work

 

[Phillip Seni]

I had a couple of dates with the girl who invented frictionless sex.

...and she said, say something so I''l know you're still there.

I'd like apowerful telecope so I can see the boundaries of the known universe, if there is one.

 

[gcarter]

FFS... This article is a joke! Shame on your techspot, shame on you! Having an article asking to "hear about ideas" you have for inventions, when the article ends by requesting to "hear about" the very thing it was intended to stop!

 

[TitoBXNY]

Since some one mentioned Path of Exile. Do an article on the amount of outrageous builds people are making to get their characters along. What build on skill tree are you following? or do one on how many comic books you owned as a kid? What great baseball card you had and lost or traded? Name your favorite video game side kick or villain. On the tech side, do you still use a sound card? What is the most you will spend on a video card? Do you have an SSD yet? What gaming speakers do you own? Some of these have been done, but you get where I'm going.

 

[Guest]

I've had tons of ideas for inventions to find later that someone had already made it or patented it.

I've got a few in my head right now, that will only be realized when battery technology improves.

 

[captaincranky]

FFS... This article is a joke! Shame on your techspot, shame on you! Having an article asking to "hear about ideas" you have for inventions, when the article ends by requesting to "hear about" the very thing it was intended to stop!

Well, if I'm not mistaken, it's supposed to be a joke. Do you really think the staff really expects anyone to share what should be their best kept secret with the unwashed internet multitude.

Thus far, all of the responses have been humorous, or at the very least whimsical.

It's sort of an IQ test. If you fail it, you publish your billion dollar idea for someone to steal. But then, if you're too stupid to realize this, you likely are also incapable of generating a "billion dollar idea" in the first place. If you genuinely have a "billion dollar idea", then you really should be smart enough to pursue it, and not waste your time here at Techspot. Unless, you're here trying to steal someone else's "billion dollar idea". In which case, the first sign of that is denying it.

And there you have it, a riddle, wrapped in an enigma, punctuated by a conundrum, ending in a catch 22. I just invented it, but I relinquished my entitlement to copyright, or at least I will have, once I click the, "save changes" button.

So.........(wait for it)......, I'm going to devote the next five minutes of my rapidly waning "golden years", attempting to invent you a sense of humor.

 

[Guest]

Hmm mm...I think the world needs a device that can do a lot of mental stuff, like computing. Eureka! I found it! I think I'll invent...a...a...a computer. Yes! I'll invent a computer and change the world. No, I'll save the world. I'll become rich and everybody will love me.

 

[Adhmuz]

Step one; become a reputable site for information

Step two; ask people for invention ideas

Step three; exploit those ideas as my own

Honestly, anyone with a reputable idea would be smart enough not to post it on here let alone anywhere on the internet. But seeing as how the spirit has been outrageous ideas that are beyond the realm of possibility... How about the inter-dimensional storage unit, comes in many shapes and sizes, from the pocket sized for storing all your daily carry needs, to a portable carport, store it all, big and small. Not sure how this was suppose to be a serious question.

 

[captaincranky]

Hmm mm...I think the world needs a device that can do a lot of mental stuff, like computing. Eureka! I found it! I think I'll invent...a...a...a computer. Yes! I'll invent a computer and change the world. No, I'll save the world. I'll become rich and everybody will love me.

Really? Inventing the computer would be so 20th century.... Why don't you invent the iPhone instead?

 

[Guest]

I actually have 3 right now that are being worked on. 1) A huge gambling site that uses bitcoin. 2) A node-based voting system that will return integrity to the electronic vote and 3) a first person 3d game that teaches martial arts/self defense while promoting a sense of social consciousness as well. Currently seeking VC attention for any and all of these projects.

 

[Axiarus]

Why would anyone post their ideas here?