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Everything with a battery should have an off switch

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Re: Everything with a battery should have an off switch

#121

Post by baq »

Zak wrote: post #100
exmadscientist wrote: post #3

(Background: I work in product design/new product development, and conceivably might have designed this thing! If any of those were still designed in the Western world. Which they aren't. I have designed some stuff like it, though!) Oh, great, this debate again! I shall use this post as ammunition next time I am arguing with our stupid design team about why we need an off switch on the stupid product we are designing…

Make the battery removable, then you have an off-switch and a repairable device. For bonus points, use a battery in a standardized form factor so I can buy spares. I know, I know, the industry doesn't want me to keep my device working longer than the lifespan of a Li-ion cell.

the real problem is the design team doesn't give two shits about neither users nor developers of the product... developers aren't treated as customers by design teams and then everybody is confused why the thing doesn't work. (hint: maybe it's stupid hard to make it work if you are actively prevented to be able to work on it?)

Re: Everything with a battery should have an off switch

#122

Post by maxerickson »

nickff wrote: post #7
Nanite wrote: post #4

Examples lying around in my house: Bathroom scale: lovely it powers up when you tap it, but eats up 2 button cells a year for a few dozen uses a year Kitchen scales, bit more use, at least once a day but again 2 button cells a year electronic caliper: Same, eats up 1 button cell a year, just sitting in my toolbox Strangely enough none of our kids toys with batteries seem to suffer from this problem How much extra cos…

> ” How much extra cost does a hard on/off switch add to the bill of materials?” BoM cost is not the whole story; a physical switch can greatly complicate an assembly, and may require hand-soldered wires. In addition to those cost-related factors, external switches are usually quite ugly, and getting them right can be very challenging, so it’s much easier to just omit them.

The caliper and kitchen scale already have buttons.

(they would both be shitty without a zero/tare button)

Re: Everything with a battery should have an off switch

#123

Post by caf »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #86
iamben wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is because they, one, don't listen to anyone ever; and two, never use the products they design. Oh, sure, there might be a user study or two. But they never actually have to live with or work with the damn things. I wonder the percentage of consumer (and business - have you ever used a POS in a pub?!) electronics this applies to? It's gotta be high 90s. I've lost track of the number of times I've lamented "did…

> I've lost track of the number of times I've lamented "did anyone actually use this?" We have a combination oven and microwave (yes...) that seems to have been designed with the primary purpose of enraging the owner. The microwave can only be set in 15 second increments. But you can fine-tune it, in five-second increments, by spinning a dial. Except that you can't do that while the oven is on. The microwave makes a…

If "the operating noise" is the cooling fan for the magnetron, it keeps going when the time is up to cool it down. Mine does the same, but actually says "COOL" on the screen when it does so.

Re: Everything with a battery should have an off switch

#124

Post by hexo »

chrisandchris wrote: post #96
hexo wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would fire the whole team immediately if they really dont listen. Noone wants another e-waste.

I am pretty sure the market disagrees with you.

Environment disagrees with "market". "Market" takes whats available. Not producing ewaste means "market" cannot consume it. Simple.

Re: Everything with a battery should have an off switch

#125

Post by jokoon »

Lithium batteries, even when they don't provide power, slowly lose power.

They can also "degrade" when they're not in designated voltage range. This is one reason why most batteries are soldered, because they need to be regulated at all times.

So no, you cannot "turn off" a battery. A battery should either provide power, or be plugged to a charger.

Re: Everything with a battery should have an off switch

#126

Post by maxerickson »

bbarn wrote: post #85
lobochrome wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regarding Kitchen Scale: I recently bought this [1]. It works with friction - you turn the nob once or twice and you're good to go for a couple weigh ins. It feels rather cheap - so let's see if it really lasts. I love the idea though. I wish we had more energy harvesting gadgets like this. [1]; https://caso-design.de/en/p/caso-kitchen-energy-design-kitch...

I love the idea, but the non-flat top, and the display on the flat top kill it (and admittedly, most cheap kitchen scales) for me. If I can't put a big bowl on it and still see the readout it's useless to me.

I haven't used one so not going to pick one to link, but a quick search finds scales that claim to run on ambient light.

Based on a 30 year old calculator I have, I would expect them to work fine.

Re: Everything with a battery should have an off switch

#127

Post by schroeding »

forgotmypw17 wrote: post #80
Buttons840 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Both bathroom and kitchens scales are large enough they can run on AA / AAA batteries and casually go a decade (or more) without replacement. Tangentially: I used to have a 3 button timer, it was a little LCD countdown display and 3 buttons. One button set hours, one minutes, and one starts / stops the countdown timer. I found this timer when I was a kid, used, and the 1 AAA battery it had lasted into adulthood, lite…

i have read that the build quality of batteries has dropped.

I have a digital LCD clock, a giveaway by NTT from a trade fair, that still works with the same single Maxell AA battery since 1998. The battery quality must have been amazing at the time, or the clock uses almost no power. I honestly don't know how that's possible. :D

Re: Everything with a battery should have an off switch

#128

Post by GekkePrutser »

CRConrad wrote: post #32
kamranjon wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s strange I have no issue reading posts like these but every time they come up someone complains about the format of twitter and I still have no idea what makes it so difficult for people and I definitely did not grow up with it.

Nowadays it cuts off threads and refuses to let you read to the end unless you're logged in.

Yes this is soooo annoying. Luckily thread reader app doesn't do this (yet)

Re: Everything with a battery should have an off switch

#129

Post by GekkePrutser »

Nextgrid wrote: post #95
kamranjon wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s strange I have no issue reading posts like these but every time they come up someone complains about the format of twitter and I still have no idea what makes it so difficult for people and I definitely did not grow up with it.

Because it's actively user-hostile. It's not that we can't figure it out, it's that it takes extra effort and creates a problem that shouldn't be there in the first place. If things like ThreadReaderApp or Nitter can present the content in a more accessible & pleasant form, Twitter should be able to do so as well.

Sure they can but it will hurt their ad tracking

Re: Everything with a battery should have an off switch

#130

Post by _abox »

matthewmacleod wrote: post #28
cristifalcas wrote: post #23

Quoted post unavailable.

It's fine to prefer different approach to content publishing, but there are lots of solutions to this problem – use them instead of complaining about the ways that other people choose to publish their content. See https://threadreaderapp.com/user/Foone

Even with thread reader this looks still really ranty and choppy. All the isolated sentences, the all-caps parts etc.

But it's ok, not everyone likes every type of content.

It sounds like a pain having ADHD though.

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