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Caterpillar offers phone with built-in FLIR camera

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131–140 of 343 posts

Re: Caterpillar offers phone with built-in FLIR camera

#131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it really isn't, and it's mildly obnoxious to people living in the southern hemisphere (or the tropics, for that matter) when people assume spring = Q2. Mildly because we're used to it, but it's not hard to avoid. And for better or worse, the Gregorian calendar is the universal civil system now, even in the countries like Saudi Arabia that notionally use other calendars. Even Korean Juche years, Japanese imperial…

All the people who live in the southern hemisphere live in the tropics or subtropics. Spring has no more meaning in Melbourne than it does in Mexico City.

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Re: Caterpillar offers phone with built-in FLIR camera

#132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Usage dictates that spring = Q2 when used in a business context centred around a US-based business. It has nothing to do with the seasons. It is quite common for words to have multiple meanings, using context to establish the exact definition in play. The only thing that is actually obnoxious is silly pedantry.

I have literally never heard this, and I’m more aware of the vagaries of USA and European business and general practices than most others in Australia. If someone on the internet says “Spring 2022”, I immediately assume it’s speaking of northern hemisphere temperate regions’ spring (because such dating is uncommon in the southern hemisphere to begin with and never used in public/worldwide internet situations because…

> If by “spring” you meant to convey “the second quarter of the Gregorian calendar”, you failed to communicate accurately.

How could I be more clear?

"Given the context, 'spring' is just another way of saying second quarter. ... Indeed, even second quarter breaks down where the Gregorian calendar isn't used, but ..."

I'm really not sure what is missing. Definitely interested in your advice.

Or maybe you're referring to the person who originally used Spring 2022? If that's the case then that wasn't communicated very well. "You" referring to an unrelated third-party is a new one for me.

> Incidentally, a year or two back I heard suggestions that “Q2” may customarily be anchored to financial rather than calendar years in some places. Not sure if this is true.

Definitely true in the right context, but "spring" is used more for general audiences when trying to not sound business-y; particularly when the audience is children. I doubt you will find this usage in a financial context, but definitely with respect to product launches. Something like "Coming Spring 2022" is quite common.

As this pertains to children, it is also not uncommon to see school periods referred to by these same names. e.g. "fall semester", while "summer" is the name of the prolonged vacation period. Because of that, these words are relatable (to those in the geographic region of origin), and is likely why we started seeing them turn up in business contexts, especially in advertising.

Re: Caterpillar offers phone with built-in FLIR camera

#133

The lack of a replacable battery is infuriating because it's planned obselescence of a FLIR device. I got one of the first CAT s60 phones when they came out and tolerated all the android spyware on it because I really liked having a properly ruggedized phone. Got about 4 years out of it. The flir camera I would say I used most often at night for finding my dogs poop to pick up on neighbours lawns in the dark, but I u…

It’s ok to have a camera that is not a telephone

I recently found myself avoiding my phone for various reasons. At home I'd rather get work done (wfh) and I prefer to leave it at home when I go for walks. But my phone is also my camera, so now whenever I see something beautiful, I am unable to photograph it.

I read the other day that compact camera sales had dropped by 98%. I guess I'm one of the 2% that actually has a need for one now.

Re: Caterpillar offers phone with built-in FLIR camera

#134
post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand why everyone is acting like replacement batteries are unavailable. Here's an amazon link to a variety of options: https://www.amazon.com/CAT-S60-Cell-Phone-Replacement-Batter...

The statement about battery not being replaceable is false. They are replaceable. But the phone body is sealed to deliver the water and dust resistance rating from its technical specs, so opening it is an entire new adventure in itself.

Water resistant (e.g. 30 min / 1 m) mobile phones with exchangeable batteries were quite common. They had easy to procure LiIon batteries which could replaced even by a clumsy person in minutes.

Would prefer that to a watertight phone with non replaceable batteries as aging or dying batteries are more common in my experience than my desire to go on a dive with my phone.

Re: Caterpillar offers phone with built-in FLIR camera

#135

The lack of a replacable battery is infuriating because it's planned obselescence of a FLIR device. I got one of the first CAT s60 phones when they came out and tolerated all the android spyware on it because I really liked having a properly ruggedized phone. Got about 4 years out of it. The flir camera I would say I used most often at night for finding my dogs poop to pick up on neighbours lawns in the dark, but I u…

FLIR camera should also be able to pick up some UFO/UAP in the skies as well. Yay! Now nearly everyone can see some.

Do satellites show up on infrared cameras? Or are you talking about some sort of aircraft?

Re: Caterpillar offers phone with built-in FLIR camera

#136
post #4

This phone has been out since Spring 2022. Any reason for the post? If we want to talk about the utility of a thermal camera, I found it neat. I used a $150 Seek camera to diagnose poor insulation in my bedroom, and one contractor even offered free advice over email since the images were clear enough. I've also used it to find hot ICs on a PCB. The resolution of these lower cost modules isn't great, which you can see…

you mean 2020, right?

> Announced 2020, June 28

> Status Available. Released 2020, August 17

Re: Caterpillar offers phone with built-in FLIR camera

#138
post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An iPhone 14 Pro has a 3,200mAh battery. The Energiser rechargeable AAA I happen to have here is 800mAh. So exactly four standard rechargeable AAAs. Not bad really. Edit: As explained below, this is incorrect, as I didn't take voltage into account.

"mAh" is a useless measurement that should be banned from marketing to the public, period. It does not actually represent the energy stored in the batteries, and it can easily mislead people. I also get annoyed that no one uses Ah, when "thousands of thousandths" is a really annoying way to communicate. 3200mAh -> 3.2Ah. Why do no manufacturers understand this? And why don't manufacturers just use a proper unit that…

The load characteristics also matter. Under certain load profiles those AAAs won't come even close to their rated capacity (no matter what misleading unit used). I also find the 1.9wh very optimistic, I guess you took the average AA capacity, in which case the battery would almost become bigger than the phone.

Re: Caterpillar offers phone with built-in FLIR camera

#139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a flir as well and I've used it a lot while insulating my house, but the coolest thing I've done was find the exact location of a wasp nest between my walls and annihilating it by injecting a pesticide directly in the middle of the nest with a tiny drill hole. It seems gimmicky at first but it's been a real money-saver.

I love stories about smiting wasps

Fun fact: in most of Germany this would have been a crime with a penalty of up to tens of thousands in EUR depending on the exact species.

Re: Caterpillar offers phone with built-in FLIR camera

#140
post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An iPhone 14 Pro has a 3,200mAh battery. The Energiser rechargeable AAA I happen to have here is 800mAh. So exactly four standard rechargeable AAAs. Not bad really. Edit: As explained below, this is incorrect, as I didn't take voltage into account.

"mAh" is a useless measurement that should be banned from marketing to the public, period. It does not actually represent the energy stored in the batteries, and it can easily mislead people. I also get annoyed that no one uses Ah, when "thousands of thousandths" is a really annoying way to communicate. 3200mAh -> 3.2Ah. Why do no manufacturers understand this? And why don't manufacturers just use a proper unit that…

Preach brother.

I guess it kinda worked when everything was 1.5V but even then it was pretty stupid, and it’s been a while.

And I feel like we’ve regressed somehow? Didn’t every smartphone use to advertise battery capacity in (m)Wh, like laptops? I feel like just a few years ago that was the prominent measure, and you’d get voltage and Ah as side-notes, e.g. the iPhone 12 wiki page states

> 3.83 V 10.78 Wh (2,815 mAh)

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