DC Providing Surge Protectors

Laptops, external hard drives, and desktop PCs have something in common. They all internally run on DC power. In desktop computer AC power is converted into DC for the computer to use by its power supply. In laptops and external hard drives this conversion takes place in the power cord. In particular it happens in the 'power brick' part of the cord.

There is another thing to note about their power sources. The specification of their DC power (the voltage and amperes) are all very similar from device to device. This is because, inside, their hardware is all more or less the same. For example, if you own an external hard drive, you can easily crack the case open and install the drive itself into a desktop or laptop computer (depending on the size). The similarities in power sources are why some companies can sell 'universal' adapters. Really the only big difference between them is the shape of the plug.

Yet all of these devices have their own methods of transforming AC into DC. If two or three family (or more) members have laptops, that can create a large amount of 'cord mess.' However, at any given time, perhaps only one laptop needs to be plugged in. But if another laptop does need power, one can not simply switch cords.

I would like to see a surge protector that has a built in 'power brick.' It would be able to provide the necessary Direct Current to power a laptop for example (this is more than what could be provided through USB).

To plug a computer into the surge protector, a lightweight cord with a compatible plug would be all that would be required. If laptop manufactures could get their act together, their could even be a 'universal power plug' form. After all people 'agreed' on the three pronged outlet.

The surge protector could then easily be used to power a different laptop, or a external hard drive, or any other DC powered device.

Something to keep in mind is that this is also a 'green' option. Rather than having dozens of power adapters around the house, if a single power inverter could serve for many of your devices, there will be less electronic waste when devices are thrown out.

It would raise the cost of the surge protector. There is no way around this. However proprietary power adapters tend to run around $60-$75 dollars. The generic inverter that could be used in the surge protector would likely run cheaper. In the long run this may even save the consumer money. If they are not needing to purchase replacement adapters, it could be worth the cost (In my lifetime I have needed to personally purchase at least 4 replacement adapters because of shorts that developed in their cords. They where shoddily designed, but because of the propitiatory nature of the devices I was using, I had no choice).

However, there is an important thing to keep in mind. Surge protector manufactures could likely make more money by following this. Consumers could save money and gain convenience if this was possible. Device manufactures could even eventually cut manufacturing costs (if such a surge protector was likely to be in every consumer's home and they no longer needed to package devices with power adapters). But I could imagine that device manufactures would see a drop in profits. They obviously make some amount of money by selling power adapters (I do not mean to say that manufactures conspiring to force consumers to purchase an overpriced adapter. They are simply businesses, and business strive to make a profit).  For a manufacture it could perhaps be a loosing proposition if adapter plugs became 'universal.'

Like many other things, I suspect that this idea will not become a reality until money begins to talk. Either consumers would need to make a desire for simpler power management clear, or some company would need to broker an agreement in hopes to strike something big. However, in the meantime I can still imagine how nice it would be to have a surge protector that I could simply plug things into without worrying which cords go to which things.

USB Surge Protector

There is a huge plethora of devices that can be charged through USB ports. Enough that when I am at the airport I notice USB outlets for people to use for charging. Despite this, in our homes we still need to use 'bulky' adapters.

For a long time now surge protectors have had a place to plug in phone cords. They had grown with the times and provided a way for people to protect their modems from electrical surges. However, I would like to see them grow with the times again and offer USB ports for people to charge their mobile devices.

I did a Google search after thinking about this and the closest thing I could find was the following: http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Mini-Surge-Protector-Charger/dp/B0015DYMVO

I don't really consider that a 'full' surge protector. It was designed with travel in mind so people don't need to take their adapters with them. However, why should I have to worry about the adapters while at home. I would like to seem something like this, but in the form of a full strip surge protector for use at home.

There are two large benefits to this. One, you no longer need to worry about the power adapter for any device that can charge through USB. Two, you no longer need to deal with adapter plugs potentially blocking outlets.

I recently saw an article about how to install USB charging ports into wall outlets. Why in the world are they not part of full feature surge protectors? The convenience should be obvious.

It would increase the cost of the surge protector a bit. The protector would need to convert AC power (the type that comes from the mains) into DC power (the type delivered through USB). However, I think this cost would be well worth the additional functionality and would not be hard to market. Virtually everyone has a cellphone. Virtually every cellphone can charge via USB. People would have a use for this feature.

Ultimately, I think it is only a matter of time before we start seeing this become a standard feature in surge protectors.

Tomorrow's idea is going to directly pick up where this one left off. Personally, there is a lot more I think surge protectors could be doing to make life more convenient.  So if you want to play a little game, try to guess what feature I am going to suggest be added into surge protectors tomorrow.

More Entertaining Exercise Machines

Today's idea directly follows from yesterdays.

Many exercise machines at gyms are equipped with lcd screens to watch television and headphone jacks to listen to the TV programs. Using this only to watch TV is a rather limited use of the hardware in the machines.

Rather than needing to take my e-book reader, or an mp3 player to the gym, why can't the exercise machine fill this roll for me. They are already trying to serve other entertainment jobs.

With a little extra computer hardware much more could be done with the displays and headphone jacks. For example why not let the exercise machine be able to play mp3s. It could support flash cards with mp3s. Or perhaps there could be an online service that could be registered for in which users could upload their music and access it from the machines.

Likewise, a person could easily read their e-books on the machines without need for an extra device. Most people likely wouldn't take advantage of this, but some probably would. It could even be marketed to parents as something that encourages their children to read.

If we want to get really fancy, it could have a limited web browser. This use would have additional challenges, but they are nothing that could not be solved with a little thought.

There is obviously a demand for exercise machines at gyms that provide something to do while working out. I see people using the TVs and watching various programs. Why not give people the option of doing something other than just watching TV. Yes it will cost more to add in this functionality, but it also costs more to add in the TVs in the first place. I know I would definitely appreciate such a feature.

E-Book Reader Remote

For a long time now I have wanted to read while exercising on a treadmill. However, up until recently I have never been able to make this a reality. The issue I had with trying to read paperbooks for example was two fold. The first problem is keeping the book open. Keeping the book on my page generally requires the constant use of one of my hands which is awkward while exercising. The other issue is the font size. If the book is being rested on the treadmill's or exercycle's control panel often times its further away from my eyes than I am used to. At this longer distance the words are too small for me to read.

I found a solution recently that works amazingly well. I brought my Kindle to the gym. For those of you not aware, the Amazon Kindle is an electronic device that uses an e-paper display. It is designed to read e-books. There is no need to hold it open to a page as it displays the same page until the 'next page' button is pressed. This solved the first issue. It also allows the font size to be increased fixing the second issue. The cherry on top is that I am also able to put my music on the device and listen to it while reading and exercising.

It almost was perfect.

The problem was the 'next page' button. I was constantly needing to lean forward and press the button. It was not nearly as bad as needing to hold a book open to a page, but it was still disruptive. More than physically disruptive, it broke the mental mindset that I had while exercising.

I was thinking for awhile what a good solution would be. Putting page turning on a timer would be no good. There were a few intense points in my workout where my mind drifted and I found myself needing to reread pages.

Likewise voice activation would not work well. There is too much background noise, and people would quickly get tired of saying "next page" over and over again.

So I decided the best option would be if the device had a remote control. All it would really need to do would go forward and backwards in a book.

To be useful and not a burden or hindrance the remote would need to be small. I almost feel that working it into some sort of sports glove would work best. Clenching the hand could be the next page signal.

Ultimately all the various manufactures of e-book readers need to do is make their device capable of accepting remote signals from paired devices. The design of remotes could be left to third party companies. This could open up their devices to a whole range of new uses.

For example, there is the situation already discussed above. However, another use situation could be allowing a lecturer to discreetly keep his or her notes on the e-book device. For beach goers, the device could be safely kept in a sand/water proof transparent case while still allowing control through a cheap remote control.
I'm sure there are a number of other cases where having a remote for an e-book reader would be useful.

While it may not be intuitive, after all who ever would want a remote control for a book, e-book readers are NOT books. That is why people are willing to shell out money for the devices. However, I know that I would be willing to personally pay a decent sum for this ability in a device.

Snap in Light Bulbs

Screwing in light bulbs generally works just fine. You twist a bit and then the bulb stays in. The process has also given us hundreds if not thousands of "how many blank would it take to screw in a light bulb" jokes. However having to screw in light bulbs is not always ideal.

This thought came to mind while looking at a celling fixture. To change the bulbs I need to stretch out and stand on the tip of my toes. I can certainly accomplish this task. However, it is an uncomfortable pose to maintain while unscrewing the old bulb and screwing in the new one.

It occurred to me, why can't the light bulbs simply snap in? If the sockets were designed with a ridge, the bulb could just latch onto it. The bulb would be constructed with a plastic base (or one of flexible metal if melting is a problem). To remove the bulb a person would just squeeze the base. It would become 'thinner' and be able to move past the sockets ridge. At that point the bulb could slip back out.

People could be concerned that the base of the bulb would become distorted over time causing a bulb to slip out. This is only likely if a person is installing and removing the same bulb multiple times. In the vast majority of cases, light bulbs are installed once and then left until they burn out.

Where this really has potential is in light fixtures in tall ceilings that normally require a poll to change. The poll would still be needed (you have to be able to reach the fixtures after all), but there would be no twisting required.

As mentioned, modern light bulbs are no sort of terrible tragedy, but this seems like a simple redesign that could make changing them a little bit less work.

Digital Equivalent of CB Radio

If you ask most people they would probably tell you that the days of  citizen band (or CB as it is more popularly called) radio's popularity is over. It has been phased out with other, more efficient means of communication. The digital era has made things such as podcasting and text messaging as easy as a press of a button.

However, most forms of digital communication do one of two things. They connect you with people you know, or they connect you with random strangers across the globe. Most forms of digital communication have little regard for geographical location. After all, why should the technology limit it self with such a restriction.

The role that CB radio served in communication has yet to be replaced with a digital equivalent. Many people still use CB radio. However, it has lost the appeal it once had with the mass public. If you want a way to wirelessly connect to strangers in your area (perhaps to hear about road conditions), CB is still the best technology. But it does not have to be.

In the past I have discussed a bit about Ad Hoc networks and wide area WiFi. The details are not overly important, but basically these are techniques that can allow a number of devices to connect to one another over a relativity large area (in some cases over the distance of a city).

There are a number of reasons why these types of networks can be installed (they do exist in some locations).  If a city was equipped with an existing wide area network, a communication protocol could be created to take advantage of it.

This could have a number of advantages over existing CB radio. For one thing it could allow for 'chat rooms.' Even though it could be using voice communication, people could split off into rooms based on what they are using the 'Digital CB' for. For example, there could be one room primarily occupied by people on the road driving and another for people who just want to chat.

This would prevent 'frequencies' from getting 'cluttered.' In fact, if properly engineered, the network could support an arbitrarily large number of chat rooms (in practicality there would be network limitations, but the number of users would likely become an issue before the number of rooms was a problem).

Such a system could even allow people to set up Digital CB profiles. CB handles would simply become usernames. If it was not a privacy concern the network could also give a rough distance to other users.

As the years have passed more people have complained about 'garbage' being on CB radios. This is another area where going digital could help. With a digital system one could easily block any users who are broadcasting useless chatter to you.

Now it is possible, and perhaps even preferable, to 'go digital' without the use of large area WiFi networks. In a sense it would simply be like digital radio. This has pros and cons. The main pro is that such a system could operate even where there was not an existing infrastructure. The con is basically that you would loose out on some of the functionality. Ad Hoc networks would be a type of compromise. This is basically where peoples radios would create a web of communication. Person A's radio might relay a signal through person B's in order to get a message to person C. This method is used to extend internet service in some undeveloped areas where it might not otherwise be available

Perhaps this form of communication, talking with strangers in your geographical area, is a thing of the past. However, it seems to me that one trait of the last two decades is exploration, the exploration of every possible means that there could be to conceivably communicate with one another. People are constantly trying to find new ways technology can let them communicate, and it seems to me that no one has tried this. It might not take off. It is simply reinventing an old form of communication, but wasn't that what email was to begin with?

Double Sided Paper Towel

It would be nice to see a paper towel that was better at scrubbing.

I imagine a towel with two layers. One would be the traditional absorbent material paper towels are usually made with, the other would be a rough material much like that used in the scrubbing side of some sponges. To manufacture them one could even try making rolls of 'ultra-thin' sponge with a rough scrubbing backing.

Each sheet would be thicker so you would get less on a roll. However, it would serve almost as a one time use roll of sponges.

The use application I envision is when some nasty gunk needs to be scrubbed up. The double sided paper towel could be used to scrub it off and then soak up the water. When done a person would just throw the sheet away.

If one were to use a sponge, in many situations they would want to throw it away immediately afterwards even if the sponge is new.

You would not want to use such a product to dry your hands. However, it seems like it could fill a valuable roll amongst cleaning supplies right along side other products such as Clorox wipes and sponges.

Garbage Cans with Removable Bottoms

I think it is safe to assume that most people use garbage bags in their kitchen garbage cans.

However, when throwing away heaver items, or when the can is full, it can be hard to remove the bag. The bag can be hard to lift out of the can either due to its weight or just being stuck.

This is not a show stopping problem by any means. I will also admit that a little bit of forethought can avoid the problem. However there is a solution.

If kitchen trash cans were constructed with removable bottoms the can could be lifted up over the bag. The mechanism for making the bottom removable is not critically important. There are any number of ways to create one. In fact is surprises me that I have not seen a garbage can like this before.

Such a trash can could make trash removal easier for those who have physical difficulty lifting a bag out of a can due to an infirmity. It also means one other important thing. Cleaning a garbage can would be as simple as popping off the bottom and running it through a dishwasher.

It's not a major problem, but the solution is trivially easy.

Window Sensors

How many people with central AC have been in the situation where, after running the AC all day, they realize a window somewhere in their home had been opened the entire day. For me this doesn't happen often, but when it does its like a slap in the face. An open window with the AC running is a great way to waste power.

One of my posts was regarding automated windows in the home that could open or close in coordination with the AC. The large problem for this idea to see a lot of use was cost. This idea is not for a system that would close the windows for you, but for one that would at least tell you if windows are open.

A simple sensor on each window could send a signal to the thermostat. If the AC is on and a window is open a warning light would turn on. This could help prevent the occasional screw up and make it so a person would not need to stop and ask "hmm, are all the windows closed?" Perhaps most important in today's economy, it could save money by helping you ensure all your windows are closed.

An interesting thing to realize is, these sensors already exist in many people's homes. Many home security systems are capable of sensing if a window is open. All that would need to be done is to feed this information into the thermostat.

Instillation into existing homes would not be a complicated process. The cost of installing it would also be relatively low. This is especially true when you consider the fact that depending on where an open window is located relative to AC vents and the thermostat, an open window can significantly hurt the ACs efficiency. Adding in this functionality is simply a smart move.

Better Keyrings

Keyrings are another example of something that has been pretty much the same since it was invented. And like many other cases it is not because there is no room for improvement.

Keyrings most certainly work well. For the most part they do their job. But removing or adding an item from a keyring is far more trouble than it should be.

Now there has been some 'recent' innovation with keyrings. The split-ring-key (http://www.amronexperimental.com/Split-Ring-Key.html) merges your house key with your key ring. But the 'ring' part of the keyring is relatively unchanged.

I've put some thought into HOW I would improve upon the keyring. Some ideas I threw out because, although good, they were too different. In order for people to adopt it, a new and improved key ring would need to have some resemblance to what people are comfortable with. That means maintaining the ring shape.

Other ideas where thrown out because they involved changing the keys themselves. In order for this to work we would need to get everyone who makes keys to agree on this.

Ultimately I decided that a key ring inspired by earrings would be best. They do, after all, manage to stay on ears. The keyring would be a metal hoop with a small gap (like an earring). On end of the hoop would end in a segment with grooves in it so it could act similar to a screw. The other end would have a rotatable washer that could lock onto the grooves. To lock it you would simply squeeze it together and twist. The same action could unlock it.

Simple as that.

However, the fact of the matter is there are simply dozens of ways this could be accomplished. We continue to use the type of keyrings we use, not for an inability to craft better ones, but because we settle for something that ''works.' But why settle for mediocrity when something better is so easily obtainable.

Smarter Commercials

I just saw on TV a commercial for AT&T highspeed internet. Basically the commercial was trying to convince me that their service is faster than whatever service I have and that I should make the switch. But here is the thing. I already have my internet from AT&T. In fact they provide my cable as well.

I feel that if I am going to see a commercial or ad, it might as well be pertinent to my life. This is why I don't mind the targeted ads online. Online advertisers have figured out the game. An ad tailored to the viewer is more likely to result in a sale.

With modern digital cable it is more and more possible to customize commercials to the viewers.

It would require cooperation between the cable providers and the television networks. The providers would need to put forward the technology backbone and the networks would need to change they pitch themselves to potential advertisers.

Let's imagine a hypothetical toy retailer. They are looking to expand their advertising. They already have commercials on all the channels specifically targeting kids. They have a choice between two networks. Network A will just try to show their commercial to all viewers and charge accordingly. Network B will only show the commercial to some viewers, but can get away with charging less (because they can show other commercials to other viewers). The catch is that network B will be showing their commercial specifically to families that have a history of watching kid friendly networking.

It would be simple for cable companies to collect viewing histories to help target commercials. Combine this with other traditional ways of collecting information (like browser cookies) and commercials could be shockingly well targeted.

How effective is it to show commercials for feminine hygiene products to a bachelor, or toy commercials to someone without kids? What if you could be confident that commercials for retirement planning would be showed to people in the age range that they would be considering retirement?

That AT&T commercial, rather than trying to sell me their internet, instead could have been a commercial thanking me for using their service.  Imagine seeing a commercial along the lines of "Thank you for using XXXX as your cell phone service provider. We are dedicated to giving you the best service at the lowest price possible. As always, if you have questions or comments, please feel free to contact us." No information would even need to be gathered for such a commercial. The cellphone company would just need to cross-reference their customer database with the customers of whichever cable services have these 'smarter commercials' in order to figure out who to target.

There is not much preventing this from becoming a reality. There would likely need to be some additional technical upgrades made to existing cable systems, but I think the increased efficiency in advertising would more than make up for the cost. The biggest concern many people may have is the 'invasion of privacy.' The thing is companies don't need to gather any additional information. Referring back to the opening of this post, presumably AT&T knows I receive my internet through them. Is it an invasion of my privacy if they use this information that they already know to customize a commercial for me? Once again, ultimately, if I am going to be watching a commercial, it might as well be pertinent to my life.

Improved Laptop Power Jacks

I have seen a phenomenal number of laptops die because their power jack stopped working. I have also had a large number of power adapters develop a short and need to be replaced. I know I am not alone in having this problem.

The issue is poor design. Laptops have received power from outlets the same way  since they were created. There has been very little variation in how power cords feed into the computer. Virtually every laptop I have seen uses a circular connector. History has shown that this does not work very well.

If the connector comes straight out from the computer there is a good chance the cord will end up being bent frequently. This leads to a short in the power cord requiring that it be replaced. It seems that L-shaped circular connectors do not tend to have this problem as much. However, I am uncertain why these types of connectors are not more universally used. I suppose they provide slightly less freedom in terms of what direction the cord can lay.  I think that this is a small price to pay for not needing to replace an often seventy dollar cord.

However, even computers with L-shaped connectors tend to have their jacks die. The problem is that the jack needs to be soldered onto the motherboard of the computer. Over time, after the power cord has been plugged and unplugged and twisted many times the solder connection begins to wear. Eventually a short develops inside the computer.

The easy solution is to not have a solder connection. Rather than have a jack, a computer could have two metal connectors directly on the motherboard exposed through a slot. A power cord similar in design to the type of plugs we use with AC outlets (only with the prongs lying in the same plane) could be used. The cord would then come in direct contact with the connectors on the motherboard.

A short could develop in the cord (though the chance of this can be reduced based on the design as mentioned above), but the chance of internal damage to this 'jack' or perhaps I should say non-jack would be minimal.

Ultimately we are stuck with an infective, easy to break, design of power jack simply because it is the way power jacks have always been made. However, I never believe that this is a good excuse not to inovate.

Detergent Dispensing Washer

Today's idea is not groundbreaking, but it is still something I would like to see.
It would be mildly convenient if washing machines had a detergent 'tank.' The tank could be filled when empty, and the washer would automatically add the detergent to the wash. Basically it would remove a step from the process of doing the wash. This makes doing the laundry faster (for the person) and easier.

It also means that a container of detergent does not need to be stored somewhere.

The system would need to be designed such that water could run across the tank's surface to prevent the build up of detergent scum. It would also require a method to let an operator know when the detergent was low. A low tech solution to this second requirement is a prominent transparent side to the tank such that the operator could visually see how much detergent was left. There could also conceivably be a more high tech system to actually alert and warn an operator when detergent was low.

As I said above, this would not be groundbreaking. But it would shave some work off of a frequent chore.

Automatically Universal Remotes

There is no good reason why every device in an entertainment center has a different unique remote control. Ultimately it is because each manufacture simply does their own thing and there is no standard.

However, if a standard did exist for RC signals, every remote would suddenly become a universal remote. That is to say, if every TV used the same off signal as every other TV, if every DVD player used the same play signal as every other DVD player, a Sony TV remote would work equally well with a Toshiba DVD player.

Currently universal remote controls need to be programed in with the codes of the devices that you wish to control. This is a tedious process (though some higher end ones streamline the whole thing a bit). If there was a universal standard there would be no need for this. Every remote would, simply by nature of being a remote, serve all of your devices.

Certainly there would be some cases in which a device might have a unique feature that would not be supported by remotes from other devices, however this is frequently the case with universal remotes as well.

All this would require is for some of the major manufactures to agree to a standard. This may not seem feasible to some. However, this does happen all the time in the tech industry. Manufactures are constantly agreeing on security and encryption standards. Electronic communication standards are another big one, and ultimately communication is what we are talking about: communication between a device and remote. Sometimes it can take awhile for companies to agree on standards, but it can and does happen.

The problem is that manufactures need an incentive to do this. Improving customer experience is not enough if it does not mean an increase in profits. Consumers would need to demonstrate that this is a feature that they would want. If consumers voiced a preference for devices conforming to a communication standard to ones that did not, perhaps then manufactures might see profit in agreeing on RC codes.

Static Dust Pan

I do not mind sweeping the floor. But my least favorite part of the whole task is getting the dirt into the dustpan.

Ultimately it's just rather difficult to get the dust to reliably go into the pan.

Looking at the dust pan it is something that has not really changed much in the time since I have been born. There has to be room for improvement. Below is my take on a possible way to improve this old tool.

Dirt and things like pet hair tends to be attracted to things that are statically charged. It would be possible to create a metal dustpan that could be charged by a device in the handle. The device would be battery powered and would statically charge the metal of the pan (there are a number of ways to create a device), but I will not go into technical details. Hair and dust being pushed into the pan would naturally want to stick in it.

When dumping dirt into the garbage the device could then discharge the pan allowing the refuse to fall into the garbage.

Ultimately there is not much to this idea. Its simply a straight forward take on possibly reforming and improving an old standard of cleaning.

Linking Forums with Social Networking Accounts

More and more people are needing less user accounts. There are more and more sites that that users can log into with their gmail or Facebook account. Some sites just make your login name be your email address.

This tends to be useful for both the user and the providers of services. Users do not need to remember additional information and it becomes easier for them to access the sites they care about. For the sites themselves, it increases their traffic flow.

However, it seems to me that this unification of systems has not touched forums. Every forum account I have is completely unique and independent from one another.

It would be nice if, Facebook for example, created a system to associate compatible forum accounts with a Facebook account. From one webpage a user could see responses to his or her posts on all of the forums he or she uses. Someone who likes to check on their different forums daily would have no need to login to multiple sites.

This is the type of ease of use that the internet has been developing for years now. As I said above we can already see similar things happening with other types of content. I have no doubt that eventually I will see a system like this in place. However, there is probably more than just spare pocket change for the first major social network to implement this well.

Ad Delay

Ads are fairly common on the internet. They also tend to be the way that some sites make the majority of the income that keeps them running. This is part of the reason why I do not normally use extensions such as Ad Block. There have even been a few times where I have seen ads that have been useful for me.

The problem is, today many ads are flashy and contain dynamic content. Loading these ads can take up valuable memory and bandwidth. More importantly, on an older or slower computer (such as a netbook), they can temporarily freeze up the computer.

These ads have pushed me to using Ad Block on my netbook, and that is not good for anyone. Because of the design of these ads, sites and the companies who make the ads are 'loosing out.'

But what's the solution. Less dynamic ads are less likely to have people click on them. Is it a lose-lose situation? I don't think it has to be. If web browsers, sites, and ad makers worked together they could be tagged as low priority. Before the computer would attempt to load the ad, the site would need to be completely loaded first. Furthermore it would only load if there was free CPU time to do so.

So perhaps if ads were voluntarily delayed, they wouldn't be blocked. The big reason many people block ads is because of the performance hit. Remove the performance hit and remove the need to block ads.

To encourage advertisers to take this road, extensions like ad block could perhaps be able to make an exception for delayed ads in the preferences.

Anyway, it just seems to me that people are loosing money that they don't have to.

Removable Microwave Panels

Microwaves are great. But inevitably they will get dirty. Over time food will splatter over the interior and eventually coat it in unappetizing crud.

There are covers that one can use for their food to prevent the splatter. These are not necessarily 100% and also require you to actually use the cover. Of course even if you are fastidious in their use, you also need to convince anyone else that uses the microwave that they are a good idea.

Cleaning a microwave is a unpleasant task. Ignoring, for the moment, the unpleasantness of the crud it is difficult. It requires scrubbing surfaces at uncomfortable angles. It can be really quite tiring in fact.

However, it would not be difficult at all to make it such that the interior plastic walls of the microwave were removable. It would be a simple task to design them such that they just snapped into place and came out just as easily.

When they were dirty an owner could remove them and just stick them into their dishwasher. They would want to avoid microwaving until they put the panels back (to avoid dirtying the interior surfaces. But that is a small price to pay to avoid having to clean it by hand.

This would not require people to change their habits (as a cover does), but yet it allows for the microwave to be kept clean. I can think of virtually no drawbacks other than a slight increase in microwave cost. It wouldn't be foolproof of course. If you spilled something in the microwave, it could get between the panels and coat the interior surface (requiring you to clean the thing by hand). But it would keep splatter at bay.

Now many people may not care about the cleanliness of their microwave. However, I suspect those people are not looking too closely when their microwave is dirty.

Track Fans

Today I continue in contemplating ways to keep homes cooler without simply turning on the AC.

Track lighting can be an attractive, unobtrusive addition to a home. What about 'track fans'?

Its basically what the name says. A track is installed along the ceiling and fan units can move along it.

Clever design could make them visually appealing, and their location saves floor space from standing fans and avoids a tangle of cords.

Essentially these track fan units would be like miniature directional ceiling fans.

Finally, there is no reason that these could also not have the lights still in them. Basically you could have a fan blade spinning around a light bulb. They could server to both light and 'cool' your home.

Home Automated Windows

I was sure this already existed. However, searches on the major home automation sites did not turn up any hits.

The idea is automated windows.

Whenever we turn our AC on or off, we need to run around our house like headless chickens closing or opening all of the windows.

An automated thermostat control could judge the exterior and humidity and based on user preferences decide if the AC should be on, the AC should be off and the windows closed, or if the AC should be off and the windows open. A signal would then open or close the windows.

Now the first thought I had is, perhaps these aren't sold as a solution because a lot of older windows can be a bit tough to open. Maybe stuck windows makes this too unreliable. But then I realize, if you are going to be dumping money into a home automation solution, it would not that much of an additional cost to replace the window tracks and fix the windows up.

So what are the best ways to go about making a window that could open and close by itself? Ultimately I think you would need to play around with a bunch of different ideas and decide which one has the best mix of reliability, low cost, and ease to install.

However it seems that there are a couple of general categories that would bear investigation:
Hydraulics/pneumatics - They could be attached to the top of the frame and pull the window up, or be embedded in the wall beneath the frame and push the window up.
Cable with motor - A cable or cables would attach to the top of the window and go up to the top of the frame. A motor could wind up the cable and pull the window up. This option seems like the easiest to install in an existing home as it could just be bolted into the top of a window frame.
Teeth and gears - If the side of the window was covered in 'teeth'  and there where powered gears in the frame, they could push the window up or down. This seems like perhaps the best option, except for a few problems. One, it requires space on either side of the window to be free for installing the necessary parts. Two, it seems like the one most prone to injury if a finger was caught in the teeth.

Tying this into one of my previous ideas, it seems like if it was combined with Integrated Window Fans it could create the ultimate automated climate controlled home.

Perhaps getting this to work would be expensive. But home automation is already expensive. I am just shocked that the major home automation companies do not offer a solution already.

Riding Lawn Mower Trimming Attachment

I was in the hospital visiting a relative when I saw an interesting sight. It seemed to be a riding vacuum cleaner driving past in the hall. The thing that really interested me was the fact that the driver had a hand held attachment. He held a hose that he was using to get the spots along the walls. This got me to thinking.

On riding lawn mowers, often you can not adequately get the trim. You often need to grab a push mower or weed-whacker to complete the edging. Not only does this take longer, it negates part of the convenience of having a riding lawn mower.

It would not be a difficult task to create a weed-whacker that could 'clip on' to a riding lawn mower. The weed-whacker could even draw power (through a cord) from the lawnmower.

When you reached a point that the lawnmower could not properly deal with, you whip out the whacker attachment. If it had a long pole/handle you could do use it from the seat of your mower. Once you were done with the edging, you would just turn the whacker off and fasten it back into place.

This wouldn't be a huge convenience, but I bet its marketable.

Credit / Debit Card Memos

When you write a check, you can jot down a memo on it. This small 'feature' can make it much easier to keep track of what the check was written for.

The problem is, most people don't use checks most of the time anymore. I cannot count the number of times when I was looking at my statement and asked myself "what in the world is this charge?" I then need to go through all my receipts and try to figure out what I was doing around that time. Over 90% of the time they turn out to be legitimate charges. Perhaps I went to a gas station and they routed it through some company in India, or maybe I ordered something online and the charge went through some company in England. Sometimes the names on the statements seem to be little more than random letters, being an acronym for some organisation.

Whatever the reason, the names on a credit or debit card statement are frequently of little use when attempting to track down charges. The ambiguity can make it difficult to be responsible and aware of what is being done with your cards.

There is a simple solution. Credit card and debit cards could allow you to enter memos when using them.

This would be easiest to implement online. Whenever there is an online 'purchase' forum, there simply would need to be an extra box to allow the user to type in a quick note for themselves: "B-day gift for mom","New laptop case","Online Magazine subscription." Basically something to help a buyer remember what those lines on his or her statement represent.

It would be a little harder at stores and gas stations. After all, you don't have keyboards on hand there. You do however, have keypads to enter your pin. Numeric keypads are how people typed text messages for years before phones came out with full keyboards. If I counted right it would only take 6 key presses to type in 'gas' at a gas station. Or perhaps a person simply enters in a 3 letter combination that is their own secret signal to themselves that the charge is legit. It is not the most ideal of ways to do it, but it is relatively easy to implement.

The hardest would be at places like restaurants, where you had your card over. The best way I can think of in this regard is for them to have a 'memo' line underneath the signature line. They would then need to scan that in and send it to your credit card company.

Most places would not need additional hardware. It would simply be a matter of updating the software that deals with the cards. If people don't want to take advantage of it, they would not need to. But for those that did, it could greatly simplify the 'balancing of their checkbook.'

Ultimately this would require two things to happen. Credit and debit card companies would have to put in the system to support this. Then stores, gas stations, online retailers, and restaurants would need to support it as well. The second point would be the harder to enforce. A credit card company could easily require online retailers to have a memo form (or otherwise would not honor any charges) because updating online checkout would simply be a matter of adding one line of code. For other stores, they could provide 'Memo Secure' stickers for retailers to advertise that they are helping customers protect themselves.

Its something that could take awhile to be implemented. But then again, it took awhile for debit card or even credit card support to become widespread. The only way the system will improve is if we begin working to improve it.

'Three Things' - An Educational TV Show

There is a game that tends to be used as an icebreaker when a bunch of people meet one another for the first time. Each person says three things about themselves. However, only two of the things are true. Everyone else needs to guess which one the person made up.

This game could be converted into a TV game show fairly easily.

The average person tends to have a large number of preconceived notions about science that are simply false. Sometimes it happens because a news outlet reports misinformation, or at least unverified information. Other time people fall victim to illusions because of Hollywood. Other times, its simply because the universe doesn't always work in an immediately intuitively obvious way.

The show would be a game show with prizes. Each question would give them 3 options. Sometimes the options would just be facts. Other times they would be clips from a TV or print news source. All the choices would discuss some scientific principle. It could range from statements as simple as 'There is no peer-reviewed experimental evidence linking mercury to Autism' to something like 'tests have shown astrology to be no more accurate than random guessing.' News and print clips would of course be longer.

One of these statements would be incorrect. For news clips, rather than faking a clip, they would take archived footage of a news channel reporting non-science as science. The contestant would need to correctly choose the false statement.

After the answer was revealed, the show would spend a minute explaining why each true fact is true and spend time 'debunking' the false science.

In between questions the show could explain what the difference between pseudoscience and science are, what it means to be peer-reviewed, why 'certification' doesn't mean the same thing as 'credible' and other issues that the viewers may not necessarily know.

I envision such a show as a combination of 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' and 'Myth Busters.' Such a show could easily be educational and entertaining. To introduce drama you could include many of the 'lifelines' from Millionaire (probably not the 50/50 lifeline unless you added a 4th true statement). You could also include one lifeline where the contestant is given additional information related to a choice of their choosing that is guaranteed to be factual.

This same format could easily be applied to topics beyond science as well. It could also easily translate into a computer game.

As long as the show was well directed, I could see it being a smash hit.

Bluetooth Enabled Hearing Aid

From people that I know who use hearing aids, I have heard that using phones can be a problem. Apparently in many instances hearing aids are unable to pick up the sound of the phone really well.

One of the reasons that phones can have trouble with hearing aids is because the hearing aid is converting the sound a second time. It is a bit akin to trying to listen to a phone where on the other end the phone is set next to another phone and the sound is coming from that other phone.

However, there is no reason that second step of audio transmission can not be skipped.

I do think that there is a solution. Many people now use Bluetooth headsets while on the phone. In addition to being more convenient than wired headsets, the sound is often clearer than talking on the phone regularly. It is definitely in the realm of possibility for a to feed audio directly to a Bluetooth enabled hearing aid. This would allow for a step where the sound can be garbled to be skipped.

This could work with either a cellphone or specially equipped home phones.

This idea could greatly improve the ability of some individuals to talk on the phone. However, one issue is the 'target' demographic. This solution could require some 'complicated' setup. Bluetooth devices do not automatically pair up and require a bit of configuration. Unfortunately, many of those in the target demographic with weak hearing tend to be uncomfortable with complicated technology.

However, this hurdle is nothing that a focus on user friendly design could not handle.