It was suggested that a PADD could be configured that one could fly a Galaxy-class starship while walking down a corridor. A PADD's STA must process an insane amount of data at FTL speeds.
Do Federation ships have anything similar to wifi?
- Thread starter Gingerbread Demon
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they can do multiple documents but if you are referencing several documents its much more efficient to use padds like you would multiple monitors.
It must also be killer on the battery life compared to using regular WiFi or the equivalent.
Nothing beats having multiple screens with information up at the same time.
Far better than shrinking the screen and having to split it with other info.
In the Voyager sickbay during the first season (and the Enterprise-E's in FC), there were slots on the walls with red tricorders in them like a docking or charging station.
I suspect the main computer core would still be doing the work here - it'd just be the PADD acting as the interface. A bit like using GeForce NOW to play a game that your computer couldn't otherwise run itself.
Do PADDs function more than a display with some controls?
Think of it as modern Tablet Computing, but with a few extra bells & whistles to modernize it for the 24th century.
Actually what is the picture quality of a PADD type device supposed to be?
I remember in Enterprise Archer used a similar device to watch water polo
I remember in Enterprise Archer used a similar device to watch water polo
Yeah, that's really sort of the main idea of a PADD, to be a portable extension of the main computer. Rather than have to go a console and access it, a person could just pick up a PADD and take it with them. In addition to providing library information, presumably a PADD could be also set up in an emergency to feature controls for a ship's conn, sensors, and perhaps even tactical systems in the rare event command of the ship can't be done from the bridge, auxiliary control, engineering, etc. It probably wouldn't be the most effective way to run a ship, but at least it would be an option in a worst-case scenario, IMO.
Haven't read the thread yet, but had to say - just a couple days ago I was commenting about how some times it seems like Data only has access to whats on his own hard drive, but other times he seems to have access via wifi to the ship's google library/galacta-web.
I don't think Data is in contact with the ship's computer. Plenty of times we see him read stuff off the screen (albeit very fast) or speak to the computer to accomplish a task. He just has a large database pre-loaded into his memory and also likely has perfect recall of anything he's ready previously, from ship specifications to personnel file to stellar cartography.
Why should we think Data has a built in subspace/WiFi/BT transceiver inside him?
In that instance, Sisko was copying files from his temporary office into the padd, not charging the padd.
Also, in Disaster, Data has to be physically connected to the ship to give the commands necessary to raise the bulkhead and stabilize the containment field.
It would certainly be useful if you were trying to create a Starfleet android, but Data wasn't made for Starfleet. He was made by Soong to demonstrate that his positronic brain was a true mind with the ability for learning, problem solving and conscious choice. He wasn't building a tool for a starship.
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Which looks soooo dated now lol
Yeah, it was a weird failure of TNG's futurism to not anticipate that a single PADD could hold multiple documents.
I can kind of forgive TNG since computer literacy wasn't as common in the late 80s/early 90s. But when the later shows kept doing the same thing, it really became painfully out of touch.
And that's before you get into the crateful of padds we saw on Voyager.
And that's before you get into the crateful of padds we saw on Voyager.
The amount of pads can be excessive, but let's not forget that in the present day many of us might regularly be on a phone, tablet, and laptop all at the same time. Then, on top of that, someone next to us might hand us their mobile device because they want us to look at something.
That's 4 devices being used at the same time by a computer literate person in the 21st century.
That's 4 devices being used at the same time by a computer literate person in the 21st century.
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