5 ms·

Avoiding the inevitable spicy pillow seems like a good reason An external/easily replaceable battery would be excellent come time to deal with cell age

bravetraveler 3y ago
Does this read like an attack against Apple laptops specifically, or something? Already -2 five minutes after posting it. Leaving as-is for feedback. I don't get the controversy. I could've been a jerk and said just buy a UPS - this is an established concept. Edit: thank you kind souls for restoring the imbalance - carry on :D
- NavinF 3y ago
  No it just reads as kinda paranoid because li-ion cells typically become spicy pillows long after the device becomes obsolete. It's also trivial to avoid by limiting cell voltage. Many devices, most notably iPhones, automatically go into kiosk mode after charging for a few days for exactly this reason: https://support.apple.com/en-gu/HT208710 https://support.apple.com/en-gu/HT208710
  - WWLink 3y ago
    Definitely disagree. My own anecdotal evidence is that many many laptops left plugged in 24/7 will develop a spicy pillow after a year or two. That includes a set of Apple laptops and hundreds of Dell laptops.
    - NovemberWhiskey 3y ago
      Anecdotally: this has never happened to me despite owning a whole bunch of laptops over the past 25 years or so.
  - bravetraveler 3y ago
    Thank you for taking the time to follow up! Definitely a bit paranoid - even if I'd prefer to call it robust :) I've had very bad luck in this regard... but haven't honestly used a laptop in probably a decade. I was pleasantly surprised to see my latest (dust-collecting) Lenovo will stop somewhere around 80%! Point being, sure - there are safety things... but batteries are consumables. I like these things to be easy-to-replace! I find these being difficult to replace accelerates this pattern of obsoleting. CPUs and (especially disks) tend to pack plenty of punch/life, these days - well beyond the mechanical/chemical things they depend on. Something to ponder - these chips may see particularly long use, being so power efficient. The utility bill won't be such a driver, sipping power and parallelizing decently.
    - shagie 3y ago
      > ... but batteries are consumables. I like these things to be easy-to-replace! Replaceable, consumable batteries often get thrown out in the trash. ... and can set garbage trucks and recycling centers on fire. https://www.waste360.com/safety/lithium-ion-batteries-are-causing-five-alarm-fires-garbage-trucks-waste-and-recycling https://www.waste360.com/safety/lithium-ion-batteries-are-ca... https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2023/02/09/garbage-truck-fire-caused-by-lithium-ion-battery-in-laptop-rumpke-says/69886377007/ https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2023/02/09/garbage... https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/12/recycling-firm-fined-after-tossed-batteries-cause-garbage-truck-fires/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/12/recycling-firm-fined... https://gothamist.com/news/lithium-ion-batteries-a-growing-fire-hazard-in-nyc-garbage-trucks-dsny-says https://gothamist.com/news/lithium-ion-batteries-a-growing-f... https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-29/garbage-truck-fires-caused-by-batteries-increasing/102398638 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-29/garbage-truck-fires-c... (and many more) How does one make sure that removable, consumable, high capacity batteries are not discarded as trash but instead taken to the proper facilities to handle them?
      - jondwillis 3y ago
        Is the dichotomy here really that we can either have modular batteries, or we can have more intact waste trucks and workers? However, having just taken an entire stroller out of my shared duplex recycling bin, I know there will never be an ethical way to get 100% of people to care enough to dispose of waste properly.
- WWLink 3y ago
  Not really. However, as a long-time Mac and Apple fan, I can say the community has a lot of overly aggressive people who can't stand any criticism (valid or not) of Apple and will do various things in retaliation.
chrisweekly 3y ago
heh, I understood what you meant by "spicy pillow" from context but it's a new phrase for me, I like it
- datapolitical 3y ago
  Can you explain
  - RockRobotRock 3y ago
    lipo batteries expand
  - lvncelot 3y ago
    https://www.reddit.com/r/spicypillows/ https://www.reddit.com/r/spicypillows/
  - pcdoodle 3y ago
    The batteries puff up like an overstuffed pillow and if you let the spice out, you're going to have a bad time.
Someone 3y ago
The article is about a Mac Mini. Those machines are mains powered, not battery powered.
- bravetraveler 3y ago
  I was replying to a question on why one wouldn't "just get a MB Air/not use the screen"... not the article. How is this relevant? I don't say this to be rude, but this internet phenomenon of relentless pedantry is annoying. Things tend to make [some degree of] sense when your first reaction isn't to shoot from the hip. Mains batteries exist - most people should save the effort, get a UPS. Hackers on the other hand... it's kind of silly to ask why. The answer is 'because'.

bravetraveler 3y ago

Does this read like an attack against Apple laptops specifically, or something? Already -2 five minutes after posting it. Leaving as-is for feedback. I don't get the controversy. I could've been a jerk and said just buy a UPS - this is an established concept. Edit: thank you kind souls for restoring the imbalance - carry on :D

NavinF 3y ago
No it just reads as kinda paranoid because li-ion cells typically become spicy pillows long after the device becomes obsolete. It's also trivial to avoid by limiting cell voltage. Many devices, most notably iPhones, automatically go into kiosk mode after charging for a few days for exactly this reason: https://support.apple.com/en-gu/HT208710 https://support.apple.com/en-gu/HT208710
- WWLink 3y ago
  Definitely disagree. My own anecdotal evidence is that many many laptops left plugged in 24/7 will develop a spicy pillow after a year or two. That includes a set of Apple laptops and hundreds of Dell laptops.
  - NovemberWhiskey 3y ago
    Anecdotally: this has never happened to me despite owning a whole bunch of laptops over the past 25 years or so.
- bravetraveler 3y ago
  Thank you for taking the time to follow up! Definitely a bit paranoid - even if I'd prefer to call it robust :) I've had very bad luck in this regard... but haven't honestly used a laptop in probably a decade. I was pleasantly surprised to see my latest (dust-collecting) Lenovo will stop somewhere around 80%! Point being, sure - there are safety things... but batteries are consumables. I like these things to be easy-to-replace! I find these being difficult to replace accelerates this pattern of obsoleting. CPUs and (especially disks) tend to pack plenty of punch/life, these days - well beyond the mechanical/chemical things they depend on. Something to ponder - these chips may see particularly long use, being so power efficient. The utility bill won't be such a driver, sipping power and parallelizing decently.
  - shagie 3y ago
    > ... but batteries are consumables. I like these things to be easy-to-replace! Replaceable, consumable batteries often get thrown out in the trash. ... and can set garbage trucks and recycling centers on fire. https://www.waste360.com/safety/lithium-ion-batteries-are-causing-five-alarm-fires-garbage-trucks-waste-and-recycling https://www.waste360.com/safety/lithium-ion-batteries-are-ca... https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2023/02/09/garbage-truck-fire-caused-by-lithium-ion-battery-in-laptop-rumpke-says/69886377007/ https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2023/02/09/garbage... https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/12/recycling-firm-fined-after-tossed-batteries-cause-garbage-truck-fires/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/12/recycling-firm-fined... https://gothamist.com/news/lithium-ion-batteries-a-growing-fire-hazard-in-nyc-garbage-trucks-dsny-says https://gothamist.com/news/lithium-ion-batteries-a-growing-f... https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-29/garbage-truck-fires-caused-by-batteries-increasing/102398638 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-29/garbage-truck-fires-c... (and many more) How does one make sure that removable, consumable, high capacity batteries are not discarded as trash but instead taken to the proper facilities to handle them?
    - jondwillis 3y ago
      Is the dichotomy here really that we can either have modular batteries, or we can have more intact waste trucks and workers? However, having just taken an entire stroller out of my shared duplex recycling bin, I know there will never be an ethical way to get 100% of people to care enough to dispose of waste properly.
WWLink 3y ago
Not really. However, as a long-time Mac and Apple fan, I can say the community has a lot of overly aggressive people who can't stand any criticism (valid or not) of Apple and will do various things in retaliation.

chrisweekly 3y ago

heh, I understood what you meant by "spicy pillow" from context but it's a new phrase for me, I like it

datapolitical 3y ago
Can you explain
- RockRobotRock 3y ago
  lipo batteries expand
- lvncelot 3y ago
  https://www.reddit.com/r/spicypillows/ https://www.reddit.com/r/spicypillows/
- pcdoodle 3y ago
  The batteries puff up like an overstuffed pillow and if you let the spice out, you're going to have a bad time.

Someone 3y ago

The article is about a Mac Mini. Those machines are mains powered, not battery powered.

bravetraveler 3y ago
I was replying to a question on why one wouldn't "just get a MB Air/not use the screen"... not the article. How is this relevant? I don't say this to be rude, but this internet phenomenon of relentless pedantry is annoying. Things tend to make [some degree of] sense when your first reaction isn't to shoot from the hip. Mains batteries exist - most people should save the effort, get a UPS. Hackers on the other hand... it's kind of silly to ask why. The answer is 'because'.