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Laser Razor suspended by Kickstarter

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Re: Laser Razor suspended by Kickstarter

#81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Especially today, now that most programmers aren't hobbyists who found a job matching their skills but people who explicitly learned to code because there's shitloads of money in the industry.

I think you can be a professional programmer because it's your passion and still not know what a MOSFET is. Computing is a large subject.

Of course. My point is, people who started as geeks are statistically much more likely to know basic EE than people who explicitly chose to learn programming as a career.

Re: Laser Razor suspended by Kickstarter

#82
post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If there already was a wavelength that targets all hair colour, they would use it already with other hair removal treatments, you'd think.

True, that is indeed another hole in their story.

The other is that there's a critical difference between hair cutting - which is what this claimed to do - and hair follicle killing, which is what laser and IPL treatments do.

Existing treatments are supposed to kill follicles permanently.

This suggest it trims hair but doesn't leave you permanently beardless.

They can't possibly work the same way.

So I think KS did the right thing. Too many people have been using it in scammy ways, and that makes it less effective for anyone with a genuine product, talent, or idea to sell.

Having said that - the scams only work when you have a market full of people who don't know enough about basic science or simple online research to check unlikely claims. And that's been the real problem with KS, IGG, and the rest - it's just too damn easy to make money from a few hours of 3D rendering to create a shiny sketch of a product that can't possibly work, or (at best) can't possibly be developed without far more investment.

Re: Laser Razor suspended by Kickstarter

#83
As soon as I saw that Kickstarter kicked them off I was wondering how long it would take for them to get onto Indiegogo. Then, of course I see it only took 4 hours.

If you're unaware, Indiegogo has shown that they're more than willing to be the platform of choice for scammers and nonsense products.

Re: Laser Razor suspended by Kickstarter

#84
To those looking for more concrete info on how this razor is supposed to work, here's the patent for it:

http://www.google.com/patents/US9017322

As far as I can tell, the idea is to use evanescent coupling to transfer light into hair follicles. There's no free space laser beam, just an optical fiber that you drag across your face. They also claim that chromophores (color bearing molecules) in hair can be severed at relatively low powers with a mixture of several specific frequencies of light.

So, what this product needs in order to work is a fiber that's durable enough to survive being dragged across skin while having very little cladding so as to allow evanescent coupling. That could be very hard to do, so the heads on these laser razors may wear out after a few shaves just like a metal razor. Second, they need to pack a high power multi-wavelength laser source and the power reserve to run it into a very tiny handle. Again, this is probably going to be pretty tricky.

There's nothing here that looks outright impossible to me. Just very, very tricky.

Re: Laser Razor suspended by Kickstarter

#85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Still makes no sense. The heat/power requirements to burn off hair are ridiculous and dangerous to use. Look at those overpowered laser pointers that can barely pop a balloon. These devices can blind a person easily. Hair is much, much tougher and would require magnitudes more power. >Morgan Gustavsson Dunno, but people cash out all the time. Race car drivers endorsing crappy mass produced cars, etc. I'm especially c…

Your experience with people nearing retirement is exactly the opposite of mine. I don't find them all to be money-grubbing hucksters -- but rather more concerned about doing what's right. I think a lot of people at that age are looking at their legacy (kids, business, etc.) and want to have a positive impact. My mom is such an example: quitting her private industry work to spend her last working decade at a non-profi…

Well, I imagine a "celebrity" retirement is a little different than a regular retirement. These people know their name carries a certain amount of social capital that can be turned into real money. That means a larger estate to leave their kids, bigger trust funds, a yacht, whatever. It must be very tempting, especially considering a lot of these characters are probably being hit up by various groups asking for their paid endorsement all the time. Now that they're in a non-serious part of their career and end of life issues have appeared, its common for them to sign off on things they normally wouldn't have.

Re: Laser Razor suspended by Kickstarter

#86

It's sad that people thought it was real, forget about lasers and stuff it's basic common sense. A AAA battery doesn't store enough power to drive a laser capable of burning hair for any reasonable amount of time. When the laser isn't interrupted by the hair it has to go some where which means that heat is produced, if it can get something hot enough to burn the hair off it would get hot enough that you won't be able…

What's the science on "dark" hairs? Can I dye my hair and then laser-remove it?

Re: Laser Razor suspended by Kickstarter

#87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your experience with people nearing retirement is exactly the opposite of mine. I don't find them all to be money-grubbing hucksters -- but rather more concerned about doing what's right. I think a lot of people at that age are looking at their legacy (kids, business, etc.) and want to have a positive impact. My mom is such an example: quitting her private industry work to spend her last working decade at a non-profi…

Well, I imagine a "celebrity" retirement is a little different than a regular retirement. These people know their name carries a certain amount of social capital that can be turned into real money. That means a larger estate to leave their kids, bigger trust funds, a yacht, whatever. It must be very tempting, especially considering a lot of these characters are probably being hit up by various groups asking for their…

Considering how many celebrities have disastrous finances it could be more about not running out of money before dying than having anything left over.

Re: Laser Razor suspended by Kickstarter

#88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your experience with people nearing retirement is exactly the opposite of mine. I don't find them all to be money-grubbing hucksters -- but rather more concerned about doing what's right. I think a lot of people at that age are looking at their legacy (kids, business, etc.) and want to have a positive impact. My mom is such an example: quitting her private industry work to spend her last working decade at a non-profi…

Well, I imagine a "celebrity" retirement is a little different than a regular retirement. These people know their name carries a certain amount of social capital that can be turned into real money. That means a larger estate to leave their kids, bigger trust funds, a yacht, whatever. It must be very tempting, especially considering a lot of these characters are probably being hit up by various groups asking for their…

Considering how many celebrities have disastrous finances it could be more about not running out of money before dying than having anything left over.

Re: Laser Razor suspended by Kickstarter

#89

If Indiegogo doesn't suspend them too, it could be a real watershed moment for them. It'll brand them as the place to go for scam products.

They already are.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/tellspec-what-s-in-your-f...

Re: Laser Razor suspended by Kickstarter

#90
post #84

To those looking for more concrete info on how this razor is supposed to work, here's the patent for it: http://www.google.com/patents/US9017322 As far as I can tell, the idea is to use evanescent coupling to transfer light into hair follicles. There's no free space laser beam, just an optical fiber that you drag across your face. They also claim that chromophores (color bearing molecules) in hair can be severed at r…

I'm also not sure what keeps the light from coupling into your skin, instead of just the hairs.
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