there is a startup in the uk which is developing a product that wirelessly charges any of your electronics. they say they’re going to use some sort of “magnetic inductive power transfer” to charge the devices; but isn’t there a possibility that it can erase any magnetically stored data that isn’t shielded? hrmm… interesting idea, but i’ll believe it when i see it.

something that really bothers me is the fact that every single freaking device uses its own charger. most of these devices are commoditized (cellphone, cd player, etc), so there should be something similar to an universal remote but for charging electronic devices.

it shouldn’t be that hard to create a “universal charger”. from my understanding, the ac adapter is only a transformer that lowers the voltage to a level that the device can use; so all you really need is the ablility to set the polarity and voltage of the adapter. although i’ve seen such a thing on the market, it’s not very successful (because it’s not reliable? i wouldn’t try using it on more expensive items) and figuring out what plug to use is often a challenge. they should make plugs a standard size, kind of like how universal remotes always use infrared and all the devices receive it. of course just because it’s doable doesn’t mean that companies will go for it. i’m sure they’re happy with charging consumers exorbitant amount to buy an additional or replacement charger.

just saw that another one of my roommates started a blog, so i linked to it on the side. check it out.

Posted by Kevin in Blogs Tags: geeky