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The Rise of the $8 Ice Cube

priceonomics.com

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Re: The Rise of the $8 Ice Cube

#151

Post by DanBC »

mikeash wrote: post #40
tmuir wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gold plated cables actually serve a purpose, although the average consumer does not have a need for them. In a studio environment, where cables are frequently plugged and unplugged, the gold plating protects the contacting surfaces, extending their lives.

I'm mildly surprised that I can't find any audiophile cables with actual gold-plated or gold wires.

Pear Anjou: http://www.pearcable.com/sub_products_anjou.htm

> ANJOU interconnects employ ultra high purity (99.99%) solid gold conductors. It is extremely important for interconnects to maintain a smooth, impurity free conductor surface to maintain signal integrity. Both copper and silver conductors corrode in air over time creating a thin layer of either copper oxide or silver sulfide. Both of these contaminants have vastly different electrical properties from their metallic counterparts, which will cause signal distortion in interconnects. All dielectric materials, including Teflon, are permeable to oxygen, which means that over time, the copper or silver conductors will become damaged. This is especially problematic at the termination ends where heat is frequently applied from resistance welding or soldering.

Etc etc.

Re: The Rise of the $8 Ice Cube

#152

Post by lavamantis »

akurilin wrote: post #137
nathan_long wrote: post #99

Looks like I'm branding and pricing my services wrong. "For just $50k per hour, you get painstakingly crafted, premium server code. Every character is hand-typed on a perfectly resonant keyboard, entering the world with a pleasing 'plink'..."

Need a technical co-founder?

Sounds like he needs an MBA-type.

Re: The Rise of the $8 Ice Cube

#153

Post by lavamantis »

ctz wrote: post #92
habosa wrote: post #18

The joke is that for very nice liquor (whiskey especially) you should definitely not be adding ice, no matter how "deserving" the ice is. If you want the drink cold, chill the liquor itself or even the glass. In hindsight, fuck it. There is no point in dissecting this, it is what it is. It's ice for people who want to spend money just to spend it.

No true Scotsman drinks his whisky without a little water.

I saw what you did there.

Re: The Rise of the $8 Ice Cube

#154

Post by lavamantis »

habosa wrote: post #18

The joke is that for very nice liquor (whiskey especially) you should definitely not be adding ice, no matter how "deserving" the ice is. If you want the drink cold, chill the liquor itself or even the glass. In hindsight, fuck it. There is no point in dissecting this, it is what it is. It's ice for people who want to spend money just to spend it.

There's absolutely no right or wrong when it comes to sipping whiskey. Ice, dilution, neat, chilled; whatever YOU prefer is the right way to do it.

That said, on a snowboard trip one of our amateurs took some of my Macallan 12 year and mixed it with coke. That is definitely the WRONG way.

Re: The Rise of the $8 Ice Cube

#155

Post by zafka »

jacquesm wrote: post #53
tmuir wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gold plated cables actually serve a purpose, although the average consumer does not have a need for them. In a studio environment, where cables are frequently plugged and unplugged, the gold plating protects the contacting surfaces, extending their lives.

Zinc plating is just as effective, and much cheaper!

I don't think that is true. Consider that IC manufacturers use gold plating on pins and connectors. If Zinc was just as effective, I think they would use it instead. I know zinc protects steel as a sacrificial anode, I am not sure if it does as much for copper.

Re: The Rise of the $8 Ice Cube

#156

Post by mikeash »

DanBC wrote: post #151
mikeash wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm mildly surprised that I can't find any audiophile cables with actual gold-plated or gold wires.

Pear Anjou: http://www.pearcable.com/sub_products_anjou.htm > ANJOU interconnects employ ultra high purity (99.99%) solid gold conductors. It is extremely important for interconnects to maintain a smooth, impurity free conductor surface to maintain signal integrity. Both copper and silver conductors corrode in air over time creating a thin layer of either copper oxide or silver sulfide. Both of these contaminants hav…

Excellent. I was careful to phrase my comment to only be about my ability to find them, since I was sure they must exist somewhere. $1,600 for a meter-long gold cable is actually not bad, aside from the fact that it's pointless.

Re: The Rise of the $8 Ice Cube

#157

Post by throwaway7548 »

waps wrote: post #140
qq66 wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd hesitate to drink heavy water. Probably won't do much to you, but why find out.

There's 2 (stable) kinds of heavy water : deuterium and tritium. Deuterium is perfectly safe, and it's heavier. Nobody's ever drunk it in even tiny quantities though, so there could be surprises. Tritium is only arguably stable though, and you definitely should not drink it. It's perfectly safe to swim in it though, just keep it outside your skin. Drinking deuterium is going to be very expensive though, given the eff…

Unknown Internet Source: "Despite the fact the light water and heavy water are chemically identical, heavy water is mildly toxic. How can this be? Since heavy water is heavier than normal water, the speed of chemical reactions involving it is altered somewhat, as is the strength of some types of bonds it forms. This affects certain cellular processes, notably mitosis, or cell division, due to the difference in binding energy in the hydrogen bonds needed to make certain proteins. Mouse studies have shown that drinking only heavy water along with normal feed eventually causes degeneration of tissues that need to replenish themselves frequently, and leads to cumulative damage from injuries that don't heal as quickly. One study likens the effects to those suffered by chemotherapy patients. Heavy water toxicity manifests itself when about 50% of the water in the body has been replaced by D2O. Prolonged heavy water consumption can cause death."

Re: The Rise of the $8 Ice Cube

#158

Post by lilsunnybee »

rwallace wrote: post #133
hershel wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

True ,it could be a wealth badge. But how many such badges does a person needs ? is there any additional value to the new ones?

There is value to society in providing additional noncoercive ways to transfer money from rich people who don't need it to non-rich people who do, which is what this company is doing.

Except the owners and/or shareholders are likely already wealthy (or will be from the obscene profit margin on this).

Re: The Rise of the $8 Ice Cube

#159

Post by qq66 »

eridius wrote: post #97
_Adam wrote: post #48

As stupid as this sounds, there is actually a difference between these ice cubes and the standard variety. And that's the appearance. Just look: http://www.glaceice.net/uploads/3/9/6/9/3969825/3969289_orig... Because there's no air bubbles, the ice is perfectly clear. That's not a trivial fact. Humans innately like clear stuff! Just think how unappealing cloudy water is in comparison to clear water. The only exceptio…

Clear ice is nice, but you don't need to pay $8 a cube to make clear ice.

There's a lot of stuff you can make at home more cheaply than you can buy it. There will still always be people who have the money and want the convenience.

Re: The Rise of the $8 Ice Cube

#160

Post by jacquesm »

zafka wrote: post #155
jacquesm wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Zinc plating is just as effective, and much cheaper!

I don't think that is true. Consider that IC manufacturers use gold plating on pins and connectors. If Zinc was just as effective, I think they would use it instead. I know zinc protects steel as a sacrificial anode, I am not sure if it does as much for copper.

As the size if the pin decreases and the frequencies go up the advantages of gold plating relative to the increase in price look better. Quite possibly there is a point where this balance tips over in the favour of gold. Zinc is not used in a sacrificial sense here, just as the main contact surface.

There is gold in a few more places in a CPU, typically the bonding pads surface and the wires connecting them to the pins.

It is quite possible the skin effect is at play here and that gold's superior resistance against oxidation is what gives it an edge. (we're talking GHz after all!).

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