Comments on: Build for a better tomorrow

By: doug m

doug m — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:51:09 +0000

Now if we can only make the big companies see the big picture.

By: Wayne Smallman

Wayne Smallman — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:05:53 +0000

Doug, that’s precisely it.

Right now, there’s a new economy building up around companies sifting through landfill sites for stuff that wasn’t stripped down before being put into the ground.

There’s literally millions of tons of precious metals, glass, cabling and other materials that can all be automatically sorted and recycled…

By: doug m

doug m — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 16:51:05 +0000

When people think of the big investments that need to be made in order to move to the next step, such as laying fiber optic lines for internet connections or phone lines, people often forget that there are bits and pieces of the old technology that could either be recycled such as the copper wiring for cable companies. Imagine the amount of cash that could be received for miles and miles of copper wiring. that would cut some of the cost off the top and then the investment wouldn’t look as big.

By: Wayne Smallman

Wayne Smallman — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:08:35 +0000

Hi Dan! The auto and broader electronics industries are probably good examples of where an aggressive push for standardization would reap enormous benefits.

Some of the key innovators — such as Apple, Sony, Audi et cetera — would probably balk at the idea, given their vast patent investments, but it’s something that needs to be addressed, long-term.

As for WiTrcity, there’s a chance someone will try to throw in an intermediary widget, but balance that against the hundreds of millions of tons of recoverable copper wire for re-use and maybe it’s not a totally annoying issue…

By: Dan B (gecko68)

Dan B (gecko68) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 11:52:22 +0000

Wayne, your statements on standardization, especially on “wall adapters”, hit home. Here at my office, we have tons of them, and since no one ever marked them, we have no idea what half of them go to.

The problem I see is that the power regulator circuitry has moved from the device, to the wall plug. This leads to your issue about tons of bulky black boxes sticking out of our walls. Not to mention the fact that with todays battery backup units, the spacing between outlets is too small for them. You end up losing space.

Are the production costs so much lower than standardizing? I mean, do they make so much money on a new power adapter, if mine dies, that they need to create their own? (Of course its all made in China for 0.12 cents)

Also, I’ve seen some devices that now come with flat (or flush) plugs. This means they don’t stick out of the wall 1 inch with another 1/4 inch for the cable to bend. They are right angle plugs. Why is THIS not a standard?

In the past you wrote about transmitted power (Witricity) but I fear if the same greed-mongers get a hold of it, each item in your house will require a separate frequency transmitter.

And don’t get me started on ink and toner cartridges