Nonsense discussion: dreaming up new technology

[Bakul Shah]

> The overall approach is "interactive prited media".  Imagine a sales
> brochure where you could press the paper to check/uncheck options and
> see the price update right on the paper.

A number of display technologies already exist.  Google for
electronic ink or e-ink.  Also look for electro-active ink,
organic field-effect transistors (OFETs or OTFT), look for
printed displays.  Also OLEDs (organic LED) displays.  Look
for plastic electronics.  Think dead-dinosaurs instead of
dead-trees :-)  Plastics are a lot more versatile than paper
for such things.

Many of these people are focussing on display applications so
it'll be a while before we get to what Neal Stephenson talks
about in "The Diamond Age" -- where a computer is sandwiched
between display surfaces.

> The battery could either be wafer thin and embedded in the paper (you're
> using special paper) or (possibly) the chemicles that create a battery
> could be stored in ink form and the battery basically "printed" to the
> page.

Yup.  Print the battery too!  And print solar cells on
margins and other unused areas to charge it.

> So.  Am I the first to imagine such a thing?  How close is the
> technology to actually doing it?  What does everyone think about it?

Not the first.  But don't let that bother you!  Keep at it!
Think of *where* you would use it if it were available.  Keep
an inventor's log book and have it notarized periodically.