581–590 of 613 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Went not just stand on it while it tares and ignore the negative when you step off?
All the digital bathroom scales that I've encountered refuse to display negative measurements.
Examples lying around in my house: Bathroom scale: lovely it powers up when you tap it, but eats up 2 button cells a year for a few dozen uses a year Kitchen scales, bit more use, at least once a day but again 2 button cells a year electronic caliper: Same, eats up 1 button cell a year, just sitting in my toolbox Strangely enough none of our kids toys with batteries seem to suffer from this problem How much extra cos…
Our kitchen scales have a single on button and auto power-off after a minute or so. I discovered completely by accident that holding the power button down for 3-4 seconds powers it off. Nowhere in any of the manuals was this mentioned (I went back and checked)
Examples lying around in my house: Bathroom scale: lovely it powers up when you tap it, but eats up 2 button cells a year for a few dozen uses a year Kitchen scales, bit more use, at least once a day but again 2 button cells a year electronic caliper: Same, eats up 1 button cell a year, just sitting in my toolbox Strangely enough none of our kids toys with batteries seem to suffer from this problem How much extra cos…
Someone at my work has a really nice electronic calipers that is solar powered (think like a calculator… low enough power requirement that ambient light is more than enough) and thus will effectively never need battery change.
I'm thinking a lot about security aspects of this. If I turn off my iPhone, MacBook, or Google Pixel phone, are they really off? What are the security implications of "modern standby" on laptops where the CPU and WiFi are always on even after I fold the lid down?
The battery will shut down when the voltage reaches a cutoff, not when it is truly depleted.
Evening with batteries should have user replaceable batteries. Ideally double A's. I am a huge fan of rechargable double A's. It's the main reason my Xbox sees so much more use than my PlayStation. My PlayStation controller is seemingly always dead when I go to use it, but I can just pop some new rechargeable batteries in the Xbox.
I'm wearing a Fitbit as I write this. User-replaceable battery?? It's 30 grams, not counting the band. How much bigger and heavier would it be with an openable seal? The seal has to take a lot--it's got 50m water resistance. Likewise, the battery needs to be secured against motion--that either means glue or mechanical pressure against it. The latter likewise increases size and weight.
Other than these cases I agree with you. Batteries should be readily swapable.
>Buys lowest common denominator/cheapest product >"oh no this product is really bad and the features don't make sense" Alright buddy. There are plenty of devices I have without an off switch that work perfectly fine. In terms of controllers, the Xbox controllers I have will go to sleep after not having been used for a little while and conserve battery that way. The problem isn't lack of off switches, it's the lack of…
Cars. Cars are ubiquitous. They are everywhere. We all relate to them without thinking. Cars run on batteries. Even IC runs various systems using battery power when parked. But do cars have an off switch? To turn them truly off, such as when storing for a long period, the procedure is take a wrench and physically disconnect the 12v battery. So I disagree with the author. At least some battery-powered products are doi…
My car's entertainment system is stuck in a crash loop 24/7. It is slowly draining the battery, to the point where I worry my car won't start if it has been off for more than a week or two. And I don't agree that "consumers have spoken". Consumers don't design cars; their feedback loop is long, lossy, and easily ignored. Profitability drives car design, not what consumers want.
So true. I just found out in the hard way, by letting the battery in a home safebox expire. I cannot find the physical key and the electronic lock does not work without power. I will have to call some specialists to break in.
I have a safe with an electronic lock. The batteries that run that lock are on the *outside* of the secure area. There's a little plate you can slide off and fish out the battery pack. That's how it's supposed to be done.
And get rid of the bright external, useless leds! My room looks like a planetarium at night, since every device has to have a status light...
Another hot take: every device where Bluetooth isn't the sole method of interacting with the device (think AirPods), you should be able to turn off Bluetooth. You haven't seen hell before you've seen a speaker with Bluetooth that you can't turn off and you can't stop your neighbours from accessing. Or more specifically, heard hell.
My phone is paired with my car--but the bluetooth audio in the car will pick up whatever signal it hears regardless. Including from the car next to me.