Idea of the Day - A new idea each day. Some Don't Suck!

Our Latest Posts About: FaceTime

Apple FaceTime is Missing One Thing...

Thursday, February 23, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Why doesn't Apple's FaceTime have a way to leave a Voice or Video Message?

Ever since the invention of the telephone, people have dreamed of the day when video calling will replace regular calling as the most common way to communicate with friends and family. Although many companies have tinkered with various video conferencing platforms, Apple's FaceTime was the first one that caught on. The problem is they left out one important feature that is a central part of regular calling, the ability to leave a message when the other person doesn't answer.

There's no reason why somebody calling using FaceTime Audio, or even Video shouldn't have the same functionality as a regular phone, and be able to leave a voice, or even a video message.

FaceTime Group Chat / Conferencing

Sunday, March 20, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Why doesn't FaceTime let you talk to more than one person at a time?

FaceTime is one of the most popular features on the iPhone, yet it lacks one big feature... the ability to chat with multiple people. Video conferencing has been around for years. Skype and Google have had it for quite a while, so you have to wonder what Apple is waiting for?

FaceTime for Apple TV

Sunday, December 13, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Make video calls from your living room, just like Marty McFly!

Although we still don't have flying cars and real Hoverboards, some of Back to the Future's predictions about 2015 have actually come true, including wide screen flat screen TVs and video calling. However, in the movie, video calls were't made on computers or mobile phones, they were on were made on the TV.

Because Apple TV is based on the same operating system as iOS that powers the iPhone and iPad, implementing FaceTime on Apple TV should be pretty straightforward, all they need is a camera.

Obviously they can't embed a camera into the box itself, but it should be easy to pair it with a WiFi or Bluetooth WebCam, or even plug one into the USB-C port on the back.

Let's face it, FaceTime is nice, but isn... [More]

Continue...FaceTime for Apple TV...

FaceTime and Skype for Hospitals

Saturday, November 28, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

The next best thing to being there.

Every day, millions of people use FaceTime and Skype to connect with friends and family from around the world. It doesn't matter if they're across town or thousands of miles away. When people see each other face to face, it has a way to make them feel like they're in the same room.

Video calls have he power to convey emotions and situations that simply can't be expressed by voice alone. Besides the obvious advantage of seeing the smile on somebody's face, there are a wealth of emotions that can only be read by looking someone in the eye, not to mention the subtle things like nodding your head or using your hands.

This made me think about how useful FaceTime and Skype would be in a hospital or nursing home. If you've ever spoken to a p... [More]

Continue...FaceTime and Skype for Hospitals...

FaceTime For Android (and Windows)

Wednesday, May 27, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

FaceTime is fantastic, unless your friends have Android devices.

Before Apple released FaceTime, very few people used video calling on a mobile device, so it quickly became the first true standard for making video calls on iPhones and iPads. Since it was also compatible with the Mac, the standard grew even faster.

This reminds me of the crossroads Apple faced when they decided to release versions of the iPod and iTunes for Windows. Before that, they only worked on a Mac. At the time, they felt that some Windows users would switch a Mac just to use iTunes and iPods.

By opening their platform to Windows, they knew they would potentially lose some Mac sales, but the payoff was a complete domination of the digital music market, which eventually led to even bigger success wit... [More]

Continue...FaceTime For Android (and Windows)...

FaceTime and Skype Should Be Compatible

Saturday, February 7, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Why can't we all just get along?

For many people, the first time they ever saw a video phone was in the 1968 classic "2001, A Space Odyssey". At that time, the technology itself wasn't too complex, so it was conceivable that video phones would be common by 2001.

Dozens of companies have released video phones over the past few decades. With each new video phone released, the manufacturers claimed the age of video phones was finally here. The trouble is, every one of them failed.

The biggest hurdle wasn't the technology itself. The problem was that a video phone was only useful if everyone you would like to call had one.

Fax machines had that problem at first. The first fax machine was worthless, because at that moment, there was nobody to send a fax to. Eventually a... [More]

Continue...FaceTime and Skype Should Be Compatible...

Answer FaceTime Calls With Just Audio By Default

Wednesday, December 17, 2014 10:55 PM By Joe Crescenzi

What if you accidentally answered a FaceTime call while you were in the bathroom, or even while... naked?

Now that everyone has a mobile phone, and they have it with them 24/7, the idea of answering the phone while on the toilet or while laying in bed naked isn't that far fetched. People answer the phone out of instinct, even while enjoying some quality time on the ceramic throne.

But what would happen if you didn't realize you just answered a FaceTime (video) call... and you aren't exactly decent?

If you're lucky, you've got about 1-2 seconds to turn the camera away or try to hang up. Even if this has never happened to you by mistake, I'm sure there are times when a FaceTime call comes in, that you are simply not quite ready for your closeup.

Right now, when a FaceTi... [More]

Continue...Answer FaceTime Calls With Just Audio By Default...

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* Note: The ideas on "Idea of the Day" were posted without any formal research into existing inventions.

In some cases, patents may already exist for these ideas, in other cases, there may not be any existing patents and you are free to develop and explore the viability of developing and patenting the ideas.

The authors make no claim that any of the ideas are safe, practical, or suitable for any particular purpose. You are responsible for the results of trying, developing, patenting or using any of the ideas on this site.

For some people, our ideas are just an interesting read, but our goal is to encourage you to take action. If you see an idea that you like, do something with it... Take action.

- Joe

Idea Of The Day. A new Idea Each Day. Some Don't Suck.