151–160 of 199 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In Europe a COVID19 quick test is 1-2 USD. This is 20-40 USD? For a device you only use once. Why is there any kind of market for this?
Quick self-test is 8€ here in Belgium. Are we being ripped off?
As a European: why are there chips in this? I just broke open mine and it looks like this: https://imgur.com/a/muz7FIy I bought 50 of these 2 weeks ago. Were 3-4 euro a piece.
A low-tech solution would be too boring or easy.
I wonder why they didn’t use NFC. They could get away with a much simpler chip, or even a fully analog solution if they didn’t need the complexity of Bluetooth. Seems like you could just about accomplish the same thing with a pair of NFC tokens, a photodiode, and some transistors. Basic components. Connect one of the two NFC chips to the coil depending on how much light is reflected off the test strip. When you scann…
One reason i can think is that NFC wasn't ubiquitous on non-premium phones a few years ago, unlike Bluetooth.
As a European: why are there chips in this? I just broke open mine and it looks like this: https://imgur.com/a/muz7FIy I bought 50 of these 2 weeks ago. Were 3-4 euro a piece.
I'm wondering if they're subsidized, but the price in Germany at the supermarket hovers around 1€ each. I was really surprised to hear that these are not a thing in the US, any idea why?
Schools and food banks can hand out free self tests so there is definitely some kind of subsidizing going on here, but in a different way.
As a European: why are there chips in this? I just broke open mine and it looks like this: https://imgur.com/a/muz7FIy I bought 50 of these 2 weeks ago. Were 3-4 euro a piece.
I'm wondering if they're subsidized, but the price in Germany at the supermarket hovers around 1€ each. I was really surprised to hear that these are not a thing in the US, any idea why?
As a European: why are there chips in this? I just broke open mine and it looks like this: https://imgur.com/a/muz7FIy I bought 50 of these 2 weeks ago. Were 3-4 euro a piece.
There are some valid reasons for tests like this to exist. To quote later on in the linked Tweet thread [1]:
BTW it's easy to say this is wasteful, and it probably is, but just like with the pregnancy test, you should consider that there's three main problems that can affect the accuracy of lateral flow tests like this:
1. inconsistent lighting
2. incorrect timing
3. human error
having a 2$ computer chip and 50 cents worth of plastic & lenses removes all those sources of error.
And making it bluetooth removes a source of e-waste! it means it doesn't need to have a screen, it can just talk to your phone.
for example, consider that a bit more than 1 in 12 people have some kind of colorblindness.
Having a computer say "POSITIVE" or "NEGATIVE" is going to be easier to see then the uncertainty of "is that stripe red? can I just not see it?"
As a European: why are there chips in this? I just broke open mine and it looks like this: https://imgur.com/a/muz7FIy I bought 50 of these 2 weeks ago. Were 3-4 euro a piece.
As a European: why are there chips in this? I just broke open mine and it looks like this: https://imgur.com/a/muz7FIy I bought 50 of these 2 weeks ago. Were 3-4 euro a piece.
There's probably a mindset of having to use IoT (or close enough) no matter how inappropriate the use-case is. Like how people try to find reasons to use a blockchain, or rewrite something in Rust, or host a kubernetes cluster. A low-tech solution would be too boring or easy.
US paid $230M to have this device built. https://www.cnbc.com/video/2021/02/01/us-231m-deal-ellume-at...
I can't help but imagine a parking lot full of Ferraris at their offices Maybe I'm Elizabeth Holmsing it, but I'm thinking it could have been done for 1/50th that price while still paying people well and providing them the resources they need. Am I missing something?