From 87537b89b77f18245043e36ec54491c7cd95c7f8 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Colin Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2023 05:24:59 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] draft: things i wish existed --- ...AFT-2023-11-01-things-that-should-exist.md | 71 +++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 71 insertions(+) create mode 100644 content/blog/DRAFT-2023-11-01-things-that-should-exist.md diff --git a/content/blog/DRAFT-2023-11-01-things-that-should-exist.md b/content/blog/DRAFT-2023-11-01-things-that-should-exist.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7670c5d --- /dev/null +++ b/content/blog/DRAFT-2023-11-01-things-that-should-exist.md @@ -0,0 +1,71 @@ ++++ +title = "Things that Should and Could Exist" +description = "and a few that do" ++++ + +first, some things which do exist, and are quite lovely: + +- universal AC/DC converters +- universal cellphone battery charger + +they're game changers. + +for the power adapter: i had a LCD sitting here that wouldn't turn on for 6 months. +was it the power adapter? bad caps inside the monitor? something non-repairable? +sadly, i had no compatible DC adapters on hand with which to test the first possibility. +and i didn't want to buy a new adapter only to find out that wasn't the problem and now i've got _two_ paperweights to deal with. +enter the universal AC/DC converter: hopefully it finds permanent use powering something, +but if nothing else, it's a debugging tool for every other electronic device as it fails. + +for the battery charger: my phone doesn't quite get me through a full day out of the house, but it _does_ have a removable battery. +that part's surely useful, but how am i supposed to use it: charge one full battery in it overnight, then swap that out as a spare and charge the main one while i'm guzzling coffee? buy a secondary phone that exists only to keep the second battery charged? no dummy: other things besides phones can charge phone batteries. + +## Things that should exist + +### Battery swaps w/o power interrupts +kinda lame i have to power down the phone before swapping its battery. +why not a two-cell (wired in parallel) battery, where swapping is a two step process that doesn't interrupt power delivery (i.e. swap the first cell, then the second)? +or if that's hard because it requires a separate SKU for every cellphone, something like the [[TOMU]] but for power? +that is, a tiny battery that lives in your USB-C port, solely to maintain power during battery swaps. +i know USB-C male-plug batteries exist, but i'm uncomfortable keeping one always plugged in like that due to the mechanical stress: inline form-factor is critical. + +i guess in the end all i'm asking is for a return to the "4 AAA's wired in parallel" days. hm. + +[TOMU]: https://www.crowdsupply.com/sutajio-kosagi/tomu + +### Programmable haptic input +i use [SXMO] as the UI on my smartphone, because i'm weird. +but i LOVE its approach to input. my phone has a power button, and two rocker buttons (traditionally used to control volume). +when the screen is off, i have these mapped like so: + +- rocker-up = volume up +- rocker-down = volume down +- power, if pressed once = screen on +- power, if pressed twice = pause/resume media player + +that last one is SO HANDY. +i listen to audiobooks when i cook, but the kitchen/breakfast bar is also a hangout spot in our home, so i like to pause for conversation. +so i just reach into my pocket and tap power x2. no need to pull it out of my pocket. also useful when out on walks, etc. + +but what if i could just slap my phone through the pocket to achieve the same thing -- with even less friction? +maybe the hardware's already there, i just need to monitor the microphone for "something which looks like a slap" and trigger the corresponding action. +but that's work, so maybe one of you will read this and do that work and write me about it :) + +[SXMO]: https://sxmo.org/ + +### Doorknobs you can open with both hands full +well, these do exist in various forms. +but look at the word i just used for them: the door KNOB is so stupidly engrained in US home style, as if it doesn't SUCK. +as if i'm the only one who pours a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee in the morning, to each in another room, and have to set one of them down just to enter the room? +(i'm not the only one: i've watched 20 others do that ritual every day at one my old workplaces). + +do i install a crash-bar on my bedroom door? is that really the best society has to offer? + +### A better way to open/close windows + +maybe i'm unusual for opening/closing my windows every day. +or maybe i'm unusual for always placing my desk by the window (i think not). +but the result is that every day i do this awkward crawl-behind-my-desk thing to reach the window and shove it up/down. +somehow we've got this solved for blinds: i can pull the string to raise or lower them from 5 feet away. +somehow nobody's invented anything similar for the window pane itself. +though part of me worries that if we raised enough demand for something like this then if made today, the product would somehow involve an app 😕