A Furby (plural Furbys or Furbies) was a popular electronic toy or robot A robot is an automatically guided machine which is able to do tasks on its own, almost always due to electronically-programmed instructions. Another common characteristic is that by its appearance or movements, a robot often conveys a sense that it has intent or agency of its own, more specifically, an owl-like creature which went through a period of being a "must-have" toy following its launch in the holiday season The Christmas season, the holiday season,[note 1] or simply the holidays is an annual festive period that surrounds the Christmas holiday and other holidays. It is sometimes synonymous with the winter season, and is usually said to occur between late November and early January. It has been found to have a proportionate effect on health, compared of 1998, with continual sales until 2000. Furbies sold 1.8 million units in 1998, 14 million units in 1999, and altogether in its three years of original production, Furbies sold over 40 million units, and its speaking capabilities were translated into 24 languages.
Furbies were the first successful attempt to produce and sell a domestically-aimed robot A domestic robot is a robot used for household chores. Thus far, there are only a few limited models, though science fiction writers and other speculators have suggested that they could become more common in the future. In 2006, Bill Gates wrote an article for Scientific American titled "A Robot in Every Home". A newly purchased Furby starts out speaking entirely Furbish, the unique language that all Furbies use, but are programmed to speak less Furbish as they gradually start using English. English is learned automatically, and no matter what culture they are nurtured in, they learn English.[1] In 2005, new Furbies A Furby was a popular electronic toy or robot, more specifically, a hamster/owl-like creature which went through a period of being a "must-have" toy following its launch in the holiday season of 1998, with continual sales until 2000. Furbies sold 1.8 million units in 1998, 14 million units in 1999, and altogether in its three years of were released, with voice-recognition and more complex facial movements, among many other changes and improvements. The Emoto-Tronic Furbies (Furby, Furby Baby, and Funky Furby) continued to be sold until late 2007, when these toys became extremely rare.
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History
Birth of the Furby
Dave Hampton and Caleb Chung spent nine months creating the Furby (in addition to nine months spent designing the toy). Early on Tiger Electronics Tiger Electronics is an American toy manufacturer, best known for its handheld LCD games, the Furby, and Giga Pets showed an interest in their interactive creatures, and Roger Schiffman bought the rights to it. Furby's first public appearance was at the American International Toy Fair The American International Toy Fair is one of a few major toy industry trade shows held around the world. It is held annually in mid February in New York City's Toy District (Broadway and 5th Avenue in the mid 20s) and at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, and is open to the toy trade only. It is staged by the Toy Industry Association in 1998.
Furbies originally retailed for about US$ The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. The U.S. dollar is normally abbreviated as the dollar sign, $, or as USD or US$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies and from others that use the $ symbol. It is divided into 100 cents35,[2] and upon release Furbys flew off the shelves in toyshops. Catapulting demand for these toys during the 1998 holiday season drove the resale price over US$100 and sometimes as high as several hundred dollars. Furbys sold for over US$300 in newspapers and in auctions. Nicknames were given to them, and sellers assigned rarity values to them. Some people continue to call their Furbys by the terms 'wedding Furby', 'tuxedo Furby', 'snowball Furby', 'biker Furby', among others. All, of course, were dubbed rare by sellers, because they were so hard to find at the time. In a sure display of the demand for the toy, some sellers at the time scammed people out of a great sum of money, without even having first given them a Furby. Parental battles, arguments, and fights increased rapidly as supplies dwindled, and when retail supplies ran out, parents turned to the Internet The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet Protocol Suite to serve billions of users worldwide. It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope that are linked by a broad array of electronic and, where Furbys could be purchased for two, three, or more multiples of their retail price. During one 12-month period, a total of 27 million Furby toys were sold.[citation needed]
Recent Revival
2005 saw the reintroduction of Furby with the release of the new Emoto-Tronic Furby. The increasing emotional realism of the Emoto-Tronic Furby has given birth to a number of Furby-oriented special interest groups. These communities seek to integrate aspects of the Furby experience into human society. The most visible of these groups include Furbish-to-English translators and Furby adoption agencies. In addition, there is a flourishing subculture of Furby Furries (see furry fandom Furry fandom refers to the fandom for fictional anthropomorphic animal characters with human personalities and characteristics. Examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, the ability to speak, walk on two legs, and wear clothes. Furry fandom is also used to refer to the community of people).
Furby types
Classic Furbies
An Emoto-Tronic Furby next to a 'Classic' Furby; note the size difference.The main reason for their popularity was because of apparent "intelligence", reflected in their ability to develop language skills.
Furbies can communicate with one another via an infrared Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength between 0.7 and 300 micrometres, which equates to a frequency range between approximately 1 and 430 THz port located between their eyes. Furbys start out speaking entirely Furbish, a language with short words, simple syllables, and various other sounds, but are programmed to speak less and less Furbish and more and more English English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into South-East Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria. Following the economic, political, military, scientific, cultural, and colonial influence of Great Britain and the United Kingdom from the 18th century, via as they "grow".
There was a common misconception that they repeated words that were said around them. This belief most likely stemmed from the fact that it is possible to have the Furby say certain pre-programmed words or phrases more often by petting it whenever it said these words. As a result of this myth, several intelligence agencies banned them from their offices.[3]
A simple electric motor and a system of cams and gears close the Furby's eyes and mouth, raise its ears, and lift it off the ground in a faux display of mobility.
The originals are still popular with many hackers Today, mainstream usage mostly refers to computer criminals, due to the mass media usage of the word since the 1980s. This includes script kiddies, people breaking into computers using programs written by others, with very little knowledge about the way they work. This usage has become so predominant that a large segment of the general public is as they can be dissected and made to do interesting things. In particular, their advanced audio capabilities and various sensory interfaces make them popular with the circuit bending Circuit bending is the creative short-circuiting of electronic devices such as low voltage, battery-powered guitar effects, children's toys and small digital synthesizers to create new musical or visual instruments and sound generators. Emphasizing spontaneity and randomness, the techniques of circuit bending have been commonly associated with community.[4][5]
Other Furbies
Furby Babies
In 1999, the Furby Babies line was introduced. Furby Babies are smaller than the original, have higher voices, and can't dance, but switch to speaking English more quickly. They also have an extended vocabulary, and different "Easter Eggs" and "games" built into them.Baby furbies come in 24 different colors. All with white eye lashes, six different eyecolors.
Furby Friends
Novel Furbies were also released, including an interactive Furby-like Gizmo, from the film Gremlins Gremlins is an American comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante and released in 1984 by Warner Bros. It is about a young man who receives a strange creature named Gizmo as a pet, which then spawns other creatures who transform into small, destructive, evil monsters. This story was continued with a sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, released in 199, a Furby-like Interactive Yoda Yoda is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, appearing in the three prequel trilogy films as well as the second and third original films. Yoda made his first on-screen appearance in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back where he is responsible for training Luke Skywalker in the ways of the Jedi. His final chronological based on the Star Wars character, and a Furby-like Interactive E.T. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Dee Wallace. It tells the story of Elliott , a lonely boy who befriends a friendly extraterrestrial, dubbed "E.T.", who is stranded from the movie of the same name. Another 'friend of furby', called Shelby, is similar to Furby, but looks like a clam, has vast improvements in memory, and has a different personality; it was released in 2001 and can communicate with the original Furbys and Furby Babies. They also have sensors that can sense loud sounds, they can sense being upside down (they say things like "Shiver me timbers" and "Walk the plank", in the style of a pirate ship captain, when you leave them upside-down for an extended period of time), and they laugh when you "tickle" them (their antennae - or "tennies", as they like to call them). They also purr when you "pet" them. You can feed them by sticking your finger in their mouth. Similarly, Shelbys do not have their own names, unlike the classic Furbies. Shelbys are also capable of knowing if it is talking to a Furby or another Shelby, saying phrases such as "Where's Furby?" - though they can't differentiate between a Furby and a Furby Baby - they just assume it's a Furby. In addition to English, Shelbys also know some Furbish words and also have their own unique language called "Shelbish."
Emoto-Tronic Furbies
The latest species of Furby was released in August 2005. Larger than the previous version, the new Furbys have been upgraded with a more emotional face and a voice recognition system, enabling them to communicate with humans. Unlike the Furbys originally released, just one order is necessary to make them 'sleep', and they have an on/off switch. They can communicate with other Emoto-tronic Furbys, though to a lesser extent than the communication between original Furbys, and they cannot themselves communicate with the original Furbys neither Funky Furbys. They also lack light sensors and basic motion sensors and do not respond to loud sounds as the originals do. These Furbys, according to the story they come packed with, are from Furby Island.
Emoto-Tronic Furby Babies
In 2006, a new version of Furby baby was released, with most notable features being the new look and a more "Baby-ish" appearance in contrast to the Emoto-Tronic Furby adult. They also have considerably fewer features than the "adult" Furby, with a very limited vocabulary and a lower level of interactivity. Another notable feature of the 2006 Emoto-Tronic Baby Furby is the movable "legs", which unfurl when Furby baby is awake.
Emoto-Tronic Funky Furbies
The Funky Furbies were released in August 2006 outside the United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language. They are limited to two color combinations (pink & yellow and purple & green) so far, and can sing three new songs and dance. They can be taught dance routines and remember them.
Furbish-English Phrases
Furbish is the language which is spoken by the Furbies. It is similar to English English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into South-East Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria. Following the economic, political, military, scientific, cultural, and colonial influence of Great Britain and the United Kingdom from the 18th century, via with a different grammar structure. A newly bought Furby starts out speaking entirely Furbish, the unique language with short words, simple syllables, and various other sounds, that all Furbies use, but are programmed to speak less Furbish as they learn more English English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into South-East Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria. Following the economic, political, military, scientific, cultural, and colonial influence of Great Britain and the United Kingdom from the 18th century, via as they "grow". Throughout a Furby's lifetime, it gradually learns English words and phrases, which it begins to speak in place of Furbish. The more English they learn, the more they "grow", making them more mature. The Furbish phrase "WHOA! Me deep sleep!" would translate into English as "Whoa! I slept for a long time!"
- wee-tah-kah-loo-loo: Tell me a joke
- wee-tah-kah-wee-loo: Tell me a story
- wee-tee-kah-wah-tee: Sing me a song
- u-nye-loo-lay-doo?: Do you want to play?
- u-nye-ay-tay-doo?: Are you hungry?
- u-nye-boh-doo?: How are you?
- u-nye-way-loh-nee-way: Go to sleep now
- u-nye-noh-lah: Show me a dance
Furbies may say these Furbish words:
- doo?: What? (Furbies say this when called)
- doo-dah: Yes (Furbies say this in response to a command before doing it)
- boo: No (Furbies say this when they don't want to carry out a command)
- yoo?: Why will you not play with me today? (This usually means the Furby is upset)
References
- ^ Encounters with Kismet and Cog: Children Respond to Relational Artifacts, MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological research. MIT is one of two private land-grant universities[b] and is also a sea-grant and space-, 2004-09-30, http://web.mit.edu/sturkle/www/encounterswithkismet.pdf, retrieved 2009-04-20
- ^ "New toy an interactive fur ball". CNN Cable News Network, almost always referred to by its initialism CNN, is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States. While the news channel has numerous affiliates, CNN primarily. 1998-10-05. http://www.cnn.com/US/9810/05/furby/index.html. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
- ^ "Furby a threat to national security?". CNN Cable News Network, almost always referred to by its initialism CNN, is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States. While the news channel has numerous affiliates, CNN primarily. 1999-01-13. http://www.cnn.com/US/9901/13/nsa.furby.ban.01. Retrieved 2006-12-18.
- ^ Circuit-bent Furby at YouTube YouTube is a video-sharing website on which users can upload, share, and view videos. Three former PayPal employees created YouTube in February 2005. The name and logo of the company are an allusion to the cathode ray tube, a display device used since the early days of electronic television.[citation needed]
- ^ Kevin Rees. "Furby Bending Tutorial". Circuit-Bent.Net. http://www.circuit-bent.net/furby-bending-tutorial.html. Retrieved 2008-01-09.
External links
- BBC H2G2: Furbies
- Hasbro Furby Care Guide
- An explanation of the Furbish language
- Adopt a Furby - Resource site for original Furbies
Categories: 1990s fads and trends | Dolls Categories: Toys | Scale modeling | Toy characters | Toy collecting | Electronic toys | Entertainment robots Categories: Robots | Entertainment | Electronic toys | Fictional life forms | Hasbro products | Stuffed toys | Toys of the 1990s | Virtual pets Categories: Life simulation games | Pets | Artificial life | Electronic toys
Sandi
2008-04-24 00:00:00
Liverpool Legends Beatle-. furbish. the Starlite Theater. April 24th, 2008 No Comments. Liverpool Legends Beatle-. furbish. the Starlite Theater By Brenda Meadows Photos by Marshall and Brenda Meadows. April 1 was a night of firsts for The . ...
