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There's a ridiculous amount of tech in a disposable vape

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Re: There's a ridiculous amount of tech in a disposable vape

#641
post #209
post #72

For these devices the microcontroller needs to be super cheap. Microcontrollers like the Puya PY32 Series (e.g., PY32C642, PY32F002/F030) can cost in the $0.02 - $0.05 range for the kind of many-million volumes applicable for disposable vapes. These are 32-bit ARM Cortex M0 MCUs, running at a 24 MHz clock or similar, some with 24 KB of ROM and maybe 3 KB of RAM! To put into context: this is 3x the ROM/RAM of the ZX81…

Which is why when folks nowadays say "you cannot use XYZ for embedded", given what most embedded systems look like, and what many of us used to code on 8 and 16 bit home computers, I can only assert they have no idea how powerful modern embedded systems have become. Now that it is a pity that when people talk about saving the planet everyone keeps rushing to dispoable electronics, what serves me to go by bycicle to w…

Plastic bottles are discarded because they can be replaced at low cost. Disposable vapes are possible because batteries became cheap enough: the chip is a rounding error.

The same market forces that gave us affordable electric vehicles gave us disposable vapes.

If it goes anything like plastic bottles, there will be a bitter fight for corporate accountability that goes nowhere. It’s especially difficult here because there isn’t a single monopoly like Coca-cola to hold responsible. What is the bottle bill equivalent for vapes?

Re: There's a ridiculous amount of tech in a disposable vape

#642

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Everybody makes fun of paper straws. Yeah, because they suck . Uh, pun not intended. Paper straws get somewhat soggy and feel bad in your mouth. They are inferior to the plastic straws they purport to replace, so people resist them as much as they can. If you want to actually make a difference with an environmental effort, you need to make something superior . Nobody makes fun of LED light bulbs because (up front c…

I don't understand the moaning and bellyaching about straws. Are people that bad at drinking from cups? If you aren't a toddler or bed-ridden patient in a hospital (EDIT: or anyone else with physical conditions that necessitate a straw) you should be able to drink without a straw.

It's exactly the same as for reducing cars in city centers, suddenly almost everyone driving a car is a crippled old lady with 3 children to drop off. When the reality is roughly 1.2 heathly humans per car on average doing a 4km trip for which a convenient alternative exists.

If a straw is a necessary tool for someone to function, I bet you they carry a metal one in their bag.

Re: There's a ridiculous amount of tech in a disposable vape

#643
post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Disclaimer: I'm a non-smoker As mentioned upthread, Australia has been running a similar strategy of trying to tax smoking out of existence and all that's happened is they've rediscovered the Laffer curve as well as pushing otherwise law-abiding citizens towards illegal tobacco. There's a limit to how much sin tax people are prepared to put up with. Either its legal to consume or it's not, and vapes are far less obje…

NZ isn’t trying to ban it, not at all. Winston Peters loves tobacco. This government loves the tobacco industry, to the extent that it has them helping with legislation (industry documents mysteriously getting used to write policy). Casey Costello is a corrupt joke. Having just spent a bit of time travelling, I think vapes are worse to be near than cigarettes or cigars. Walking down busy street in the UK is just so g…

I recommend you visit Istanbul for a few days and let me know if your opinion on vapes vs cigarettes changes. :)

Re: There's a ridiculous amount of tech in a disposable vape

#644
post #630

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, 100ml from the same store I bought a liter from for 40€ in 2015 now cost 56€. There is currently a tax of 0.32€ per ml on liquid, no matter if you're buying the base or the finished product.

I'm confused. Why wouldn't the same taxes apply to a disposable vape which has the same liquid inside of it? Also, in the GP comment, you mentioned the cost was 400€ but here you're saying 56€. Are you talking about different things?

The 400 euro figure was for a liter, while the 56 euro price is for 100ml

Re: There's a ridiculous amount of tech in a disposable vape

#645

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not burning all the ICs and all the other components that still work perfectly fine would be a good start imo.

That would fall under Reuse rather than Recycle. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle are in the order of best to worst. Recycling is the last ditch effort to not completely waste something. It's always going to feel like a half measure, because it is.

I would say reusing a "disposable" vape would be refilling it and recharging or exchanging the battery, not salvaging it for parts.

Re: There's a ridiculous amount of tech in a disposable vape

#646

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not burning all the ICs and all the other components that still work perfectly fine would be a good start imo.

To do WHAT with? Catalog and categorize the millions of random penny-priced ICs that MIGHT be usable for something else?

That there is no way to recycle electronics economically is the reason that they are not recycled. I don't claim otherwise.

Re: There's a ridiculous amount of tech in a disposable vape

#647

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Which is why when folks nowadays say "you cannot use XYZ for embedded", given what most embedded systems look like, and what many of us used to code on 8 and 16 bit home computers, I can only assert they have no idea how powerful modern embedded systems have become. Yet, I still need to wait about 1 second (!) after each key press when buying a parking ticket and the machine wants me to enter my license plate numbe…

There's no pressure to make a good product because nobody making this decision has to use the machine. Everywhere I've worked purchase decisions are made by somebody with no direct contact to the actual usage, maybe if you're lucky they at least asked the people who need the product what the requirements are, otherwise it's just whatever they (who don't use this product) thought would be good. "Key presses are 15x sl…

I worked at a purchasing dept. where each commonly ordered part or service had a six digit item number that had to be entered. The CFO picked some company to do the new version of the software, and they decided to randomly assign new different item numbers which included 13 leading zeros to each item number. So now everyone had to learn the new item numbers and type in a the 13 leading zeros each time.

Re: There's a ridiculous amount of tech in a disposable vape

#648
post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is why when folks nowadays say "you cannot use XYZ for embedded", given what most embedded systems look like, and what many of us used to code on 8 and 16 bit home computers, I can only assert they have no idea how powerful modern embedded systems have become. Now that it is a pity that when people talk about saving the planet everyone keeps rushing to dispoable electronics, what serves me to go by bycicle to w…

Be heartened that your choices are meaningful. The impact of e-waste on ground contamination from landfills in the United States and Europe is negligible, and landfill capacity itself does not approach the level of emergency that planetary warming is for human civilizations. Bicycling, transit usage, and switching to lower-carbon food sources significantly reduces your CO2 footprint. Your example influences others in…

It is pretty hard to be a vegetarian in the US and eat low carbon food. If you grow it yourself or only buy from tiny farms maybe. AG in the US is petroleum based top to bottom.

Re: There's a ridiculous amount of tech in a disposable vape

#649
post #72

For these devices the microcontroller needs to be super cheap. Microcontrollers like the Puya PY32 Series (e.g., PY32C642, PY32F002/F030) can cost in the $0.02 - $0.05 range for the kind of many-million volumes applicable for disposable vapes. These are 32-bit ARM Cortex M0 MCUs, running at a 24 MHz clock or similar, some with 24 KB of ROM and maybe 3 KB of RAM! To put into context: this is 3x the ROM/RAM of the ZX81…

It's a god damn vape, 3Kb of ram is already a massive overkill for the purpose.

Re: There's a ridiculous amount of tech in a disposable vape

#650

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Which is why when folks nowadays say "you cannot use XYZ for embedded", given what most embedded systems look like, and what many of us used to code on 8 and 16 bit home computers, I can only assert they have no idea how powerful modern embedded systems have become. Yet, I still need to wait about 1 second (!) after each key press when buying a parking ticket and the machine wants me to enter my license plate numbe…

And the self service kiosks/checkouts at supermarkets. So infuriating! Like I'd have to try to make something that slow myself on purpose! Besides the fact that scanning a barcode seems beyond much of the general population, they do it so sloooow.

I found that checkouts in Belarus in cheap store are terrible. Checkouts in Latvia in cheap shop are slightly better.

Checkout in Rimi, premium Danish store are superb. Work well, UI clean and clear. No ads, no excessive clicks.

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