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.