IS THIS OUR FUTURE? – AT 10:51 A.M. ET:   This is creepy.  If I have to stand in line for a long time, I like having conversations with the people around me.  Is this, too, to be taken away?  From mashable.com: 

People all over the world are lining up for the iPhone 7 (and iPhone 7 Plus, if they pre-ordered) Friday. But it might surprise you to learn that a bunch of stand-in robots probably got one before you did.

New Zealand-based Apple carrier Spark used robots to queue for the much coveted device, so their human counterparts didn't have to line up for days.

Clive Ormerod of Spark said the project was born of invention and necessity, saying "technology these days is so much more advanced than it used to be, so why shouldn’t our customers have their tech queue for them instead?"

The 100 Alpha 1 robots were purchased by Spark for this specific purposes, and have been chilling outside the store since Sept. 9.

The humans assigned to each robot had the option of watching a live stream of the queue from the comfort of their warm, dry home.

Controlled through the customers' soon-to-be-replaced phone (via an app), the robots can be commanded to do pushups, kung fu, yoga and even have a casual boogie.

COMMENT:  Oh, bring back record changers, film cameras and Pan Am clippers.  This new stuff is getting too spooky.

September 16, 2016