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Electronics are built with death dates. Let’s not keep them a secret

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Re: Electronics are built with death dates. Let’s not keep them a secret

#231

Post by amelius »

vladvasiliu wrote: post #212
GravitasFailure wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, the chargers get expensive, but then again I can power my laptop, portable monitor, keyboard, mouse, phone, soldering iron, flashlight, power bank, and about a dozen other devices all off the same standardized wall wart. It's a pretty good value. With the new PD spec going to 48V 5A I could even power one of my 3D printers off it with power to spare.

Have you been able to find non-manufacturer chargers with a ground connection? Until now, the only USB-C chargers that I've seen with that are Apple, DELL, and HP (haven't come in contact with Lenovo, etc). I was looking to buy a second USB-C charger for my HP laptop, but since it has a metal case, the ground connection is a must for me.

Look for a medical-grade power supply. It makes the ground connection less important.

Re: Electronics are built with death dates. Let’s not keep them a secret

#232

Post by vladvasiliu »

amelius wrote: post #231
vladvasiliu wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you been able to find non-manufacturer chargers with a ground connection? Until now, the only USB-C chargers that I've seen with that are Apple, DELL, and HP (haven't come in contact with Lenovo, etc). I was looking to buy a second USB-C charger for my HP laptop, but since it has a metal case, the ground connection is a must for me.

Look for a medical-grade power supply. It makes the ground connection less important.

Are those actually cheaper or easier to come by than manufacturer-branded options?

I actually found an HP charger on Amazon, and it even had a USB-A port, which I've found neat. But with all the horror stories about counterfeits and Amazon stock comingling, and what with my wish to not burn down my house, I didn't buy it.

Re: Electronics are built with death dates. Let’s not keep them a secret

#233

Post by Grustaf »

This is not simply an evil plot to squeeze money from consumers, there’s of course a tradeoff between price, product size and longevity.

A Macbook will easily last you 8 years, unless it has a butterfly keyboard, how many would be willing to pay extra for one that lasts 15 years? Or a phone that lasts 10?

When it comes to products with strong brands, people will quickly learn what the life expectancy is, so you can’t really fool them. If they break easily, people will atop buying them.

With generic gadgets like an electronic thermometer or something the incentives are different, it does make sense to have them break early.

Btw, I’ve used my AirPods pro for at least 2 hours every day since they were released and the battery is still pretty decent.

Re: Electronics are built with death dates. Let’s not keep them a secret

#234

Post by noisem4ker »

bityard wrote: post #7

My favorite mouse is the logitech anywhere mx original. It runs for months in two AA batteries. They don't make these anymore and the newer ones all have built in lipo death clocks. I try to buy all of my new electronics with this lesson in mind.

The Logitech M705 Marathon lasts well over 6 months on a single AA battery, or double that long with two.

Re: Electronics are built with death dates. Let’s not keep them a secret

#235

Post by emj »

intothemild wrote: post #222
causality0 wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally I hate the trend of only charging over type-c. It's an order of magnitude less robust and far more prone to falling out than, say, a ThinkPad connector. Having the option is nice but I despise having to babysit my $100 Asus charger lest I stomp it flat by accident.

I really don't get this. USB-C can on do the following on the same cable at the same time 1. Charge 2. Data 3. Video Your power cable can 1. Charge How is that "orders of magnitude" worse?

The USB-C connector is a lot easier to break than a normal power connector, it's also pretty fidgety to get right when you fix the connection on the laptop side. The fixability can be done better than normal charging ports, I've done a USB-C daughter board swap in about 2 hours of total time (research, ordering, mounting). The normal way though is doing soldering surface mounted USB-C connectors which is not something I like to do.

Re: Electronics are built with death dates. Let’s not keep them a secret

#236

Post by vladvasiliu »

dizhn wrote: post #209
hanche wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a food thermometer with a builtin rechargeable battery. It charges via usb-c, but so far I have not managed to charge it from a usb-c charger. It will only charge with the supplied usb-a to usb-c cable. I would love to understand why. But at least, they had the good sense to not supply their own charger.

It might need a low amp device to charge. My vape does not charge with my good chargers but it does with older ones and the usb port on my laptop.

Doesn't USB-C have a "basic mode"? As in, if it's unable to negotiate some kind of high-power PD mode, it will just deliver the basic USB2 5V/0.5A?

I can charge my Sony headphones with anything from an old USB2 only PC, old Samsung USB-A phone charger to my 65 W HP USB-C power adapter.

I don't think they have any kind of PD mode, I think they just expect regular 5V. The specs on the site say "USB charge" and the charging duration is 3 hours. They come with a USB-A to C cable.

Re: Electronics are built with death dates. Let’s not keep them a secret

#237

Post by vladvasiliu »

copperx wrote: post #122
caconym_ wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

High power (~100W) charging with USB-C has been a game changer for me. I barely even remember the days when every electronic device came with its own grotty little power brick I had to keep track of and carry around with the device. I guess time will tell how reliable USB-C connectors are, but my naive impression is that the female connectors (device side) are very simple with no springs or other moving parts. I imag…

Extra credit for being able to charge your laptop easily in the car. Before this, you needed either a power inverter or a special DC connector.

Are cars starting to have USB-C PD connectors?

The most "advanced" I've seen are wireless chargers. My dad's 2021 Toyota only has USB-A.

Re: Electronics are built with death dates. Let’s not keep them a secret

#238

Post by ClumsyPilot »

eru wrote: post #54
MereInterest wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The market will avoid the proprietary solutions if that's really what the market feels I don't really buy into (no pun intended) any argument that relies on the efficient market hypothesis. As this article pointed out, there's a vast asymmetry of information, which prevents an efficient market, even in theory. > but I suspect these companies actually have a good idea about what their customers are looking for. I su…

> As this article pointed out, there's a vast asymmetry of information, which prevents an efficient market, even in theory. What kind of theory are you using here? There might be some theoretical reasons to expect that symmetric information (and a few other conditions) will lead to an efficient market. But that doesn't mean that a pre-existing information symmetry is necessary for an efficient market. The classic exa…

"But that doesn't mean that a pre-existing information symmetry is necessary for an efficient market"

The literal textbook prerequisite for efficient market is not just informatuon symmetry, its perfect information. You shoupd know that if you are making 'free market can do no wrong' arguments.

Its like if all arguments about physics where made by 1st year university students that never moves beyond 'a hypothetical 100% efficient car on a frictionless surface hits another and has a perfectly elastic collision, what is the new velocity'

Re: Electronics are built with death dates. Let’s not keep them a secret

#239

Post by vladvasiliu »

CamperBob2 wrote: post #191
eru wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Different sellers have different policies, customers can pick which (if any) policy they like better. New supplier can enter the market.

If it actually worked that way, we wouldn't be having this conversation, would we?

We would, since I'd argue most people (hence, "the market") find having sealed batteries "acceptable", or, at least, not reason enough to not buy the product.

Most of the people I know replace their phones often enough that it doesn't seem to be a problem, and usually the battery isn't the issue. They mostly break them / get stolen / they just want the new shiny.

Re: Electronics are built with death dates. Let’s not keep them a secret

#240

Post by scarface74 »

ornornor wrote: post #224
scarface74 wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As long as you don’t care about things like battery life, heat, or your laptop sounding like a 747 under load.

Not true at all. It does require a bit more semi manual tweaking but you’re being overly dramatic.

So you can “manually tweak” an x86 laptop to have 20+ hours of battery life and not to get hot and loud under load?
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