181–190 of 353 posts
I have been a long time enthusiast of high power flashlights. We typically use 18350, 18650, 21700, or 26650. But I have been in dismay as even in this community, companies are starting to move away from these standards and provide proprietary batteries (Olight) or sealed (some newer Fenix models). It would be good if * We could safely obtain reputable Li-ion batteries from reputable sources. I trust a handful of com…
It's not even just batteries. Every laptop I've ever owned comes with a AC to DC converter. Every laptop I've ever owned has outlived that AC-to-DC converter. Every converter that has failed has failed in exactly the same way: the plug/cord connection at the laptop end becomes unreliable. And every single one of them, across a range of manufacturers, has had the cord not be detachable from the brick. So what could ha…
It would be great if consumer electronics products had expected lifetime ratings on the front. People would naturally take issue with products with significantly below median lifetime, and also if their own products didn't live up to the lifetime. It would also make sense to phrase other quantities on product packaging in the way they're experienced by the consumer: instead of emphasising the wattage of a bulb, if yo…
I have burned too many times by manufacturers not taking security updates seriously (Motorola phones for instance). If a manufacturer wants not to fix an issue it should be an automatic reason to get a full refund.
It would be great if consumer electronics products had expected lifetime ratings on the front. People would naturally take issue with products with significantly below median lifetime, and also if their own products didn't live up to the lifetime. It would also make sense to phrase other quantities on product packaging in the way they're experienced by the consumer: instead of emphasising the wattage of a bulb, if yo…
Many LED lightbulbs make claims about their expected lifetime. Except these numbers are often a fantasy. The LED itself may last almost forever, but the capacitors commonly go bad in a year or so. I suspect that would be the reality with a lot of the proposed mandatory labeling for electronics, too.
I think the smart thing to do now is to buy products with the fewest features as possible and has decoupled components like easily replaceable batteries. I've noticed that the dumber the device is, the longer it usually lasts. I'd rather buy an analog watch than a smartwatch. I'd rather have a dumb TV than a smart TV. I'd rather have a mouse with hot swappable batteries than one with a built-in charger.
Unfortunately, analog watches don’t allow me to leave my phone at home when I go for a run and let me listen to music, take phone calls, get directions, track my speed, etc.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Same experience here. That's why my current laptop is a https://frame.work - USB-C to USB-C adapters means that the part that will fail is changeable - All four USB-C are able to charge the laptop. And the power brick also has detachable USB-C AND power cord cable. (And just for fun I ordered an upgrade to the motherboard, will use the old motherboard as always on PC in my home)
In my experience all usb c chargers are less reliable than barrel connectors, probably because of the microprocessors required for the handshake
I think the smart thing to do now is to buy products with the fewest features as possible and has decoupled components like easily replaceable batteries. I've noticed that the dumber the device is, the longer it usually lasts. I'd rather buy an analog watch than a smartwatch. I'd rather have a dumb TV than a smart TV. I'd rather have a mouse with hot swappable batteries than one with a built-in charger.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I would mostly consider that law to be a good idea. But suppose I want to leave a temperature sensor on a mountainside somewhere, or attach a depth sensor to a walrus. Those are cases where I tend to suspect that it might be better for the manufacturer to have a lot of freedom as to the form of the object, and an expected lifetime after which the nonreplaceable battery dies may be the best of all possible worlds.
> But suppose I want... Like with GDPR where people imagined all sorts of situations ad absurdum (the grocer on the corner not being allowed to ask for your birthday anymore to give you a yearly free product or some such), these laws generally have exceptions for things where it makes sense. They aren't cooked up overnight in isolation and aren't the oneliner that you read online. I would expect that your mentioned e…
As is usually the case with legislation, the text of the law will support whatever reading you'd like to assign to it. If you're a booster for the legislation, you are free to claim that it doesn't have any problems. If you're not, there are some readily observable problems.
The text is here ( https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CEL... ), and here are the relevant parts:
> [definition] (23) ‘appliance’ means any electrical or electronic equipment, as defined by Directive 2012/19/EU, which is fully or partly powered by a battery or is capable of being so
> Article 11
> 1. Portable batteries incorporated in appliances shall be readily removable and replaceable by the end-user or by independent operators during the lifetime of the appliance, if the batteries have a shorter lifetime than the appliance, or at the latest at the end of the lifetime of the appliance.
> A battery is readily replaceable where, after its removal from an appliance, it can be substituted by a similar battery, without affecting the functioning or the performance of that appliance.
> 2. The obligations set out in paragraph 1 shall not apply where
> (a) continuity of power supply is necessary and a permanent connection between the appliance and the portable battery is required for safety, performance, medical or data integrity reasons; or
> (b) the functioning of the battery is only possible when the battery is integrated into the structure of the appliance.
> 3. The Commission shall adopt guidance to facilitate harmonised application of the derogations set out in paragraph 2.
So the law literally says "(1) all appliances must use removable, replaceable batteries, UNLESS (2) that would be bad, AND (3) we promise we will eventually set a standard for when it would or wouldn't be bad". But that hypothetical future standard is not part of the law. And we can't honestly say that "don't do something, unless you have a good reason" is a law that can actually be implemented. It will misidentify bad reasons as good reasons while punishing good reasons.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think you understand the extent of what's going on. It's not that people are trying to make hardware last forever. It's that these devices are being deliberately designed to break down in a couple years. There are actual design decisions to force consumer behavior into purchasing new things every couple of years. This doesn't just apply to things that follow moores law. Almost every product in existence nowad…
Yes the lightbulb conspiracy and planned obsolescence. Here’s why that’s no longer a threat; it’s bad business. It’s a PR nightmare, and totally unnecessary. For instance my last (17 inch) MBP lasted a full decade including the battery without any service required. In fact it became a problem for me in that I was waiting for it to break so I could go by a new one. Apple learned that having products with planned obsol…
This is False.
Apple is one of the companies that completely buys into planned obsolescence. They never stopped doing it. They still do it and they practically invented it for iphones and ipads.
If other phone companies are doing planned obsolescence then they most likely learned it from apple. Apple is one of the leaders of this concept.
>So what about those companies that still include planned obsolescence? You need to vote with your money. Simply don’t buy their product.
This doesn't account for how humans are irrational. Tons of irrational people buy shit without knowing their part of an irrational obsolescence cycle (aka you). For example, back in the day, apple shortened the lifetime of their phones by not allowing the battery to be replaced. Yet people still buy apple phones EVEN when OTHER companies offered phones with replaceable batteries.
Now the entire industry glues their batteries inside the phone. Apple is paving the way for planned obsolescence and irrational consumers buy in without ever realizing it. Consumers vote with their money the same way they voted for Trump.
>If you do, if you’re fooled twice, that’s on you.
If you buy apple products and you think they don't do planned obsolescence. Jokes on you.