Dyson has scrapped its electric car project • Hacker News Board

Re: Dyson has scrapped its electric car project

#181

Post by bredren » Thu, Oct 10, 2019, 5:33 PM UTC

collyw wrote: post #129

bredren wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think in-part because Apple was able to move into the smartphone business and grow so much as a result it has other companies thinking they could do the same. Also, it could be some of these companies have existential threats that they must try something big and new or risk going out of business or being forced to sell to a rival.

Computers and iPods are a lot closer to a smartphone than to a car.

I agree with you. But I could see a consultancy creating a slideshow with bullet points showing “synergies” between products, partners and manufacturing ability enough to get an exec to green light an attempt.

Re: Dyson has scrapped its electric car project

#182

Post by beauzero » Thu, Oct 10, 2019, 5:36 PM UTC

nordsieck wrote: post #148

dfasdfasd wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's great that they've improved, but I'm still confused about the hype. The best Dysons I've used are worse than my old, $400 Miele. They may be competitive now, but it took them 10 revisions to get to a point other manufacturers have been at for 20 years. They feel like a vacuum marketing company more than anything. People seem to like them because they've only ever used $100 vacuums and it's their first time with…

> People seem to like them because they've only ever used $100 vacuums and it's their first time with something better, so it feels awesome in comparison. This is my experience with Cutco knives. They're better than the absolute bottom of the barrel eversharp stuff you can get for $10, but worse than anything that actually looks like a proper kitchen knife. I think the main reason they get any business is that most p…

Milwaukee Smooth Insulation knife. They cost ~$20, are full tang, and sharpen very easily. They have become our go to kitchen knife. Best bang for the buck imho. People who did duct work and attic batting were found to be using $200-$300 kitchen knives. Milwaukee went back to the drawing board and came up with an excellent product.

Re: Dyson has scrapped its electric car project

#183

Post by bdamm » Thu, Oct 10, 2019, 5:37 PM UTC

jamesmishra wrote: post #32

jordache wrote: post #11

Shocked! This is akin to if a bicycle company tried to build cars, thinking their engineers can simply shift from bicycles to cars...

The Wright Brothers had a bicycle company and then invented the airplane[1]. They didn't just make airplanes, they invented them. I have no stake in the Dyson car, but there are other reasons that it didn't work out. [1]: https://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/wright-brothers/onlin...

On of my favorite aspects of this story is that in order to invent the propeller (one of Wright's true innovations) they had to invent and build the Lift Balance. They built the Lift Balance[1]... out of bicycle spokes and hack saw blades[2]!

[1]: https://wright.nasa.gov/airplane/balance.html [2]: http://aerologic.com/aiaa/AIAA-02-11-2006.pdf

Re: Dyson has scrapped its electric car project

#184

Post by dpark » Thu, Oct 10, 2019, 5:38 PM UTC

redwall_hp wrote: post #172

ehnto wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Xlerators are an auditory health hazard. You can hear them running outside the gym before you can hear the music blaring.

All hand dryers are a health hazard. They're a wet, warm, bacteria incubator that can then aerosolize the bacteria. In contrast, the mechanical action of drying your hands with a paper towel is an additional antibacterial step.

Why do you imagine that normal hands dryers are wet? The original Dyson airblades? Sure. Those are gross. Normal air dryers don’t have anywhere to store water, and if somehow you got water inside, it would rapidly dry itself out from normal use.

Re: Dyson has scrapped its electric car project

#185

Post by dpark » Thu, Oct 10, 2019, 5:44 PM UTC

TeMPOraL wrote: post #118

afandian wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe because they were bold enough to make the trade-off. In a competition hand dryer that doesn't really work vs one that damages your hearing... I'll keep wet hands thanks.

That damages your hearing? Surely there must be a space between. Long time ago in a McDonald's in Poland I used one that would dry your hands in 5 seconds flat. It was powerful and loud, but only as loud as a blender. Which is loud, but not painful or damaging to ears... EDIT: it looked similar to this one: https://www.qbicwashrooms.co.uk/magnum-multidry-hand-dryer-w... Except it had even lower power rating. I don't…

> I don't get why this states "25 seconds". Do people have hands made from sponge?

I don’t know why 25 seconds is hard to believe. That’s the manufacturer’s claim. I’d imagine if anything their claim is optimistic and the 60 seconds people claim is more realistic.

If you have washed your hands properly, you’ll have several milliliters of water spread across the surface. Slow blowing warm air isn’t going to dry that off in 5 seconds.

Re: Dyson has scrapped its electric car project

#186

Post by CalChris » Thu, Oct 10, 2019, 5:44 PM UTC

xivzgrev wrote: post #66

Why do companies keep thinking they can build a fucking car? Yes Tesla did it but it was a company 100% dedicated to it. Dyson has a core business already. I’m also skeptical about Apple but at least they have one of the largest treasure chests in the world of cash so they can more afford a moon shot.

I completely agree except that even with Apple having more money than God, like everyone else, they would have to compete with Tesla because Tesla already builds an awesome car. Tesla is the minimum entry point just to compete in the EV game even with Tesla opening up their patent portfolio.

So Dyson claims to have a more better digital motor AND they are exiting the EV space. If this is in fact a practical motor for cars then they should license it to one of the other players, VW, Volvo, ....

Re: Dyson has scrapped its electric car project

#187

Post by mszkoda » Thu, Oct 10, 2019, 5:46 PM UTC

cactus2093 wrote: post #72

pdovy wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a V7 that my mother in law gave us and the cordless part is the only thing it has going for it. It doesn't do nearly as good a job as our corded Miele but it's good enough that I'll use it to spot clean when I don't want to lug that out.

Honestly curious, what kind of floors are you cleaning where you notice this, really deep carpets or something? I feel like the suction on my dyson v6 is perfectly adequate, better than any other cordless I've used and as good as an average bigger vacuum. We have mostly laminate floors and some really short carpets in the bedroom, and on either surface the dyson works well, pretty much gets everything visible after a…

I have a V6 as well and mostly hard floors, but I have 2 Golden Retrievers as well. Iv'e been using it near daily for 5 years now and it works fine; maybe I have to empty it a couple times, but that takes a few seconds.

I combined it with a Neato Robot Vac a few years ago and with those 2 I rarely have to take out my behemoth Miele vacuum anymore.

Re: Dyson has scrapped its electric car project

#188

Post by dpark » Thu, Oct 10, 2019, 5:48 PM UTC

TeMPOraL wrote: post #140

djaychela wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, it's not false. I dried my hands using an Airblade V2 on Saturday in a services washroom. I timed it. It took 32 seconds. I did the same when using another make (when I was at PyconUK, in Cardiff city hall, feel free to check them out), and it took 30 seconds.

I don't get the times in this thread. 30 seconds is still ridiculously long. I could dry my hands with a hair dryer at minimum setting faster than that. On Dyson ones I used I could dry my hands in under 15 seconds. How are you people drying your hands?

You should consider that perhaps everyone else isn’t crazy. Dyson claims 12 seconds. Undoubtedly that is optimistic and many people will find it takes longer if they aren’t doing it exactly the way Dyson expects.

Personally I like the new air blades but also don’t find that they fully dry my hands. They get most of the water off and I move in with life. If I wanted my hands towel dry, I’m pretty sure I’d need more than 12 seconds.

Re: Dyson has scrapped its electric car project

#189

Post by vkou » Thu, Oct 10, 2019, 5:51 PM UTC

joncrane wrote: post #150

hourislate wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stop using air dryers in bathrooms. They blow fecal matter all over the place. >Hand dryers suck in fecal bacteria and blow it all over your hands, study finds. We know fecal bacteria shoots into the air when a lidless toilet flushes — a phenomenon known, grossly, as a "toilet plume." ... Into a hand dryer and onto your clean hands, perhaps. That's what a new study suggests. https://www.businessinsider.com/bathroom-h…

Most bathrooms with hand dryers eschew the paper. So the alternative is just walking around with wet hands? Or not washing your hands at all?

Here's the secret to drying your hands:

1. Wring them over the sink.

2. Spread your fingers.

3. Shake them for 5 seconds.

That's it, you're done. 15 seconds after you leave the bathroom, your hands will be dry.

Disclaimer: Does not work as well in colder-than-room-temperature environments.

Re: Dyson has scrapped its electric car project

#190

Post by mszkoda » Thu, Oct 10, 2019, 5:51 PM UTC

whywhywhywhy wrote: post #120

numbers wrote: post #70

I have 4 Dyson products, besides the hair-dryer, all of the others are bad (can't say they suck b/c that's the main job of 2 of the vacuums and they can't get it done). I bought the dyson air purifier that's cold and hot, it's so bad...works at the same level as a USB fan... The vacuums are loud and look futuristic but can't clean anything properly. Any recommendations for a good vacuum are welcome!

>Any recommendations for a good vacuum are welcome! Bought a Neato Botvac and I'm close to saying it's the single product that has improved my life the most in recent years. I'm only cleaning a small flat but going from having to scrape dirt out of the carpet with an ineffective Dyson vacuum manually for an hour to literally pressing a button is crazy.

I have the same and then just use my old Dyson V6 to get things that need picked up immediately or for tight areas.

Mine runs automatically every night and there is rarely any dust or dirt on my floor. The amount of stuff it picks up is amazing.