Only 15 preset messages?  That'll never get popular...

"Dan Bracuk" <NOTbracuk@pathcom.com> wrote in message ...

Preset message No. 13:  "Did you leave your underwater text messenger on the
boat?"

As there are already dive proof EPIRB ( afaik Sea Marshall have one don't
know if they are available in Aus ) the rest of the package seems redundant.
Of course sending 15 copies of message 12 " you are really spunky in
neoprene" to any poster ( well most ) on rsc is an indicator that you are
severely narced.

I liked this:
"The SOS beacon can also be activated remotely, so if your buddy looks
like he's in trouble, you can activate his SOS beacon for him."

So, don't help him yourself, get some other mug to do it .

Or , if its someone you DON'T like, plant one of these on him and press
the switch and watch the EMS drag the poor sucker out of the water...

As I recall, you can get voice communication for not much more, and a slate
for a mere fraction of the cost -- with an many words as you know!

A single raised middle finger has always worked well for me.

Hmmm, Underwater Digital Device or UDI. Seems odd. Do we really want a
digital communication device from a company that can't tell the difference
between a D and an I?

That sounds useful, a digital signaling device that sends any of 14 messages
that somebody else thinks might be important. I think flash cards might do
as well, but probably not over so long a range. How about banging morse code
out on your tank?

Now that really is handy. I guarantee you that the majority of divers using
one of these would think it was funny as hell to trigger their buddy's SOS
beacon sometime during the first dive with them. It would be even more fun
to do it to somebody else's buddy, or maybe everybody else's buddy. The
effect on a Cozumel boat operator would be a scream.

One of the more honest advertisements I've seen. Most would try to convince
everyone that they actually had been diving at least once in their lives.

Though the UDI was announced back in October, it seems to have been
virtually ignored by most outlets, so we're writing about it now, since it
looks like it's finally shipping at the price of $1,500.

At $1,500 for 14 canned messages and a good joke, I'm sure it was ignored by
most outlets. I'm betting it still will be. This one can not die too early a
death. On the other hand, were they to figure out a way to send real text
messages, you know, the kind everybody loves to send by phone, this might
actually be useful. I can see it now. "Ummm, buddy, could you come here a
minute please? I seem to have made a wrong turn somewhere in this wreck and
silted things out rather thoroughly when I turned to retrace my route. I'm
somewhere near the engine room, I think. By the way, you might want to bring
some extra gas. I can't be sure since I can't see my guages any more, but I
was running a bit low when I silted the place out. I'll bet you're impressed
with how well I can text message without being able to see the keys."

Lee