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I imagine that in places where electricity is scarce, adults might have different priorities than charging kid's laptop. Maybe the idea is that you leave laptop

by aj3 5y ago

I imagine that in places where electricity is scarce, adults might have different priorities than charging kid's laptop. Maybe the idea is that you leave laptop open in sun if the battery dies and it charges without needing access / permission to use power grid / generators?

macspoofing 5y ago
>I imagine that in places where electricity is scarce I think that's what most people in the west imagine and that's why this is a gimmick that resonates with well-meaning westerners. Besides the fact that developing world is a diverse place in all aspects (so the the stereotype you're imaging is wrong for the vast majority of the developing world), communication is such an ingrained human need, that communication devices like smart phones are everywhere. But none of that matters. These panels just do not work well - or at least as well as you can expect given the surface area and whether or not there's enough sunlight. That's why nobody bothers with building them into devices. Besides you can buy little external solar chargers for real cheap. And the external ones are better than the ones built into the devices because you can angle them, and they aren't a failure point you need to worry about (that is, if they die, your device doesn't need to be replaced), and aren't limited to device size. Also, I don't know why you would want your electronics exposed to direct sunlight... Heat is not good for electronics. Again, I support low-power, energy efficient devices. There is a very real use case for them, and not just for the developing world. But these gimmicks, like building in solar panels into the device, are dumb.
- aj3 5y ago
  I am married to a teacher and can assure you that even in 'the West' there are kids without personal smartphone and without a single computer/tablet at home. No idea whether heat aspect is worked around in OLPC somehow by carefully selecting materials used or whatever, my point is that making these laptops self-sufficient would indeed be useful (if at all possible).
  - initramfs 5y ago
    Definitely agree. There is a profit incentive to make laptops powerful but there is very little competition at the low end, unfortunately. I solar powered a microcontroller in indoor light just to prove that powering a computer is possible (96mhz is far more capable than even some early 486 PCs that ran Windows) , and not just a calculator. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ztj_MDNRcI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ztj_MDNRcI of course, powering a screen would require much more light, but it's not impossible if there was a full system re-development - from low power monochrome displays to light peripherals. Our group hopes to get a terminal to display on an e-ink, which seems doable: https://forum.ei2030.org/t/paperterm-project-definition-and-marketing-materials/146/7 https://forum.ei2030.org/t/paperterm-project-definition-and-...
- userbinator 5y ago
  Also, I don't know why you would want your electronics exposed to direct sunlight... Heat is not good for electronics. Also UV. It'll destroy plastics rather quickly.
freeone3000 5y ago
Give them a laptop and put the solar panel on the side? Even in the exact case you're mentioning, they're better as separate devices. (It wasn't done this way because the solar panel would be used for other purposes, but treating the user as hostile is the clearest sign that something has gone terribly wrong in your design process.)

by aj3 5y ago

macspoofing 5y ago

>I imagine that in places where electricity is scarce I think that's what most people in the west imagine and that's why this is a gimmick that resonates with well-meaning westerners. Besides the fact that developing world is a diverse place in all aspects (so the the stereotype you're imaging is wrong for the vast majority of the developing world), communication is such an ingrained human need, that communication devices like smart phones are everywhere. But none of that matters. These panels just do not work well - or at least as well as you can expect given the surface area and whether or not there's enough sunlight. That's why nobody bothers with building them into devices. Besides you can buy little external solar chargers for real cheap. And the external ones are better than the ones built into the devices because you can angle them, and they aren't a failure point you need to worry about (that is, if they die, your device doesn't need to be replaced), and aren't limited to device size. Also, I don't know why you would want your electronics exposed to direct sunlight... Heat is not good for electronics. Again, I support low-power, energy efficient devices. There is a very real use case for them, and not just for the developing world. But these gimmicks, like building in solar panels into the device, are dumb.

aj3 5y ago
I am married to a teacher and can assure you that even in 'the West' there are kids without personal smartphone and without a single computer/tablet at home. No idea whether heat aspect is worked around in OLPC somehow by carefully selecting materials used or whatever, my point is that making these laptops self-sufficient would indeed be useful (if at all possible).
- initramfs 5y ago
  Definitely agree. There is a profit incentive to make laptops powerful but there is very little competition at the low end, unfortunately. I solar powered a microcontroller in indoor light just to prove that powering a computer is possible (96mhz is far more capable than even some early 486 PCs that ran Windows) , and not just a calculator. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ztj_MDNRcI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ztj_MDNRcI of course, powering a screen would require much more light, but it's not impossible if there was a full system re-development - from low power monochrome displays to light peripherals. Our group hopes to get a terminal to display on an e-ink, which seems doable: https://forum.ei2030.org/t/paperterm-project-definition-and-marketing-materials/146/7 https://forum.ei2030.org/t/paperterm-project-definition-and-...
userbinator 5y ago
Also, I don't know why you would want your electronics exposed to direct sunlight... Heat is not good for electronics. Also UV. It'll destroy plastics rather quickly.

freeone3000 5y ago

Give them a laptop and put the solar panel on the side? Even in the exact case you're mentioning, they're better as separate devices. (It wasn't done this way because the solar panel would be used for other purposes, but treating the user as hostile is the clearest sign that something has gone terribly wrong in your design process.)