Made By Monkeys

Marketing rule #1: Big numbers are better than small numbers

March 19, 2010

Thanks to reader Ian B. who sent this one in. He writes:

"Found this box lying around work. It's quite a powerful charger at 16,000 mA but I really don't think it will be any match for my 16,000,000 μA charger I have at home."

Tags:

• battery charger

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on March 19, 2010 2:50 PM
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Don't calculate on power

March 18, 2010

Another one for the home-brewed fixes / bodges / kludges category...

Calculate the odds that this calculator actually works, with the modified on / off switch.

See it in all its glory on thereifixedit.com

Continue reading "Don't calculate on power" »

Tags:

• Calculator

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on March 18, 2010 8:52 AM
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Recall corner: Remote control kits for electric fireplaces

March 17, 2010

Talking of remote controls - and I'm showing my ignorance here - I didn't know you could even have remotes for electric fireplaces...

Well, it seems there is a danger of burns. Not from the fireplaces, but the remotes themselves...

Dimplex has issued a voluntary recall and replacement programme "for approximately 700,000 plug-in remote control receivers included with certain Dimplex, Electraflame, Symphony, Optiflame, Electralog and Charmglow branded electric fireplaces, stoves and fireplace inserts."

Continue reading "Recall corner: Remote control kits for electric fireplaces" »

Tags:

• Fireplace

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on March 17, 2010 2:19 PM
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I can't believe someone makes... Recursive remote controls that include the TV

March 9, 2010

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on March 9, 2010 11:39 AM
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Noisy sprinkler controller reduces a fountain to tiny spurts

When EE Dwight Bues' deluxe automatic sprinkler system went from putting out a "Bellagio Fountain" flow to a few tiny spurts, he quickly put his debug skills to work:

"Fifteen years ago when we bought our current home, it came equipped with a rather extravagant, 8-zone sprinkler system. (I say extravagant because the lot is less than a quarter acre in size!!!)

Anyway, when we were doing the walk-through, I was surprised that the owner mentioned that he always ran the sprinklers manually. This seemed like a waste to me, since the system allowed one to set up to four watering times a day, two separate watering plans, and you could select which zone would be on which watering plan. This was state-of-the-art at the time.

Continue reading "Noisy sprinkler controller reduces a fountain to tiny spurts" »

Tags:

• sprinkler

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on March 9, 2010 10:58 AM
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Silver fork and spoon iPhone stand

March 8, 2010

This bit of fun caught my eye over the weekend - an iPhone stand made from a silver fork and spoon.

Trouble is, I don't know whether to file this under Made By Masters or I can't believe someone makes.... What do you think?

They will set you back $30 from ForkedUpArt - and come in different varieties - some made from spoons, some made from forks, and some both...

Continue reading "Silver fork and spoon iPhone stand" »

Tags:

• Apple

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on March 8, 2010 3:48 PM
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Most Read in February - The Made By Monkeys popularity stakes

March 3, 2010

It's time again to take stock of what your peer's have been reading as we round up the Made By Monkeys popularity stakes for February.

We cover a wide range, from Apple warranties and LED cutting guides to laptop failures and electric guitars, in T-shirt form...

As usual, to keep suspense at an absolute maximum, let's do it in reverse order:

10. What's Wrong With Lithium-Ion Batteries?

9. Electronic Worm Harvester

8. One in three laptops fails in three years - study

Continue reading "Most Read in February - The Made By Monkeys popularity stakes" »

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on March 3, 2010 11:36 AM
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Apple warranties go up in second-hand smoke

February 23, 2010

Apple warranties, how easily they are voided. The iPhone and MacBook products might be smoking hot, but don't go smoking near them... Issues of "second hand smoke", you see.

Thanks to The Consumerist for this interesting one on the non-repair of computing faults. It reports on the (2008) experiences of two readers who claim that their Applecare warranties were voided due to secondhand smoke - see Smoking Near Apple Computers Creates Biohazard, Voids Warranty

"Both readers appealed their cases up to the office of God Steve Jobs himself. Both lost," writes the site.

Continue reading "Apple warranties go up in second-hand smoke" »

Tags:

• Apple
• warranty

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on February 23, 2010 8:41 AM
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One in three laptops fails in three years - study

February 22, 2010

There was a fair bit of interest in the report on Xbox failures we covered recently - the "red ring of death" - and here is some more interesting data about the failure rates of consumer electronic devices. Laptops, to be precise.

The US company SquareTrade has produced a report - 1 in 3 Laptops fail over 3 years - based on a sample of 30,000 randomly selected laptops and netbook computers that were purchased brand new.

Highlights of the study, according to SquareTrade, include:

Continue reading "One in three laptops fails in three years - study" »

Tags:

• laptops

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on February 22, 2010 2:54 PM
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Can we make that drive any steeper?

To continue our new series, Don't Get The Builders In, here are a couple more examples of how-not-to...

As Chandler Bing might say - Could this drive be any steeper?

I also like the Escher-inspired staircase below. Does it go up or down? Or neither, but meeting in the middle?

Tags:

• Builders

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on February 22, 2010 2:33 PM
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I can't believe someone makes... An electric guitar T-shirt

With a guitar T-shirt, you never know when inspiration will take you. Imagine strumming a little Paul Simon while sitting on a warm Californian beach, maybe, or just practising a few riffs standing in a cold bus-shelter waiting for the number 53 to Ponds End...

The Electronic Rock Guitar Shirt will set you back $29.99, and you strum away by waving a magnetic pick over the strings...

There's even a mini guitar amp speaker that clips to your belt and, inevitably, the volume control goes past ten and all the way up to 11...

Continue reading "I can't believe someone makes... An electric guitar T-shirt" »

Tags:

• guitar
• t-shirt

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on February 22, 2010 1:46 PM
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Big Brother should be watching you!

February 15, 2010

Good material for another series, maybe - Don't Get the Builders In!

Big Brother may be watching us, but let's hope he's not too smart... Not a lot to be seen in Sector D47...

Continue reading "Big Brother should be watching you!" »

Tags:

• Builders

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on February 15, 2010 4:37 PM
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An EMF headache in the air

February 8, 2010

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on February 8, 2010 4:30 PM
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I can't believe someone makes... LED cake cutting guides

February 5, 2010

Back to good old-fashioned 'electronic landfill'¹. Or am I being harsh? Do you fancy buying an LED-cake-cutter-guide?

That's the use of LEDs to help cut cakes, not a guide to cutting LED-cakes... Anyway, it plays music, too.

This innovative use of light emitting diode technology will set you back $38 from Amazon.com (not available on the .co.uk site, at time of writing).

Continue reading "I can't believe someone makes... LED cake cutting guides" »

Tags:

• LED

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on February 5, 2010 8:42 AM
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Home-brewed electric screwdriver

February 4, 2010

Another contender for a Made By Students category, maybe? It makes me shudder to imagine it in action...

How not to do it yourself.

Thanks again to There, I Fixed It.com!

Continue reading "Home-brewed electric screwdriver" »

Tags:

• Made by Students
• screwdriver

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on February 4, 2010 1:25 PM
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Most Read in January - The Made By Monkeys popularity stakes

February 2, 2010

Another month has flown by, and it's time again to take stock of what your peer's have been reading, as we round up the Made By Monkeys popularity stakes for January.

We cover a wide range, beginning with Lithium-Ion Batteries and patent laws and finishing with something that never stops...

As usual, to keep suspense at a maximum, let's do it in reverse order:

10. What's Wrong With Lithium-Ion Batteries?

9. US Patent Law: Made by Monkeys?

8. Battery Eater Has a Open Circuit

Continue reading "Most Read in January - The Made By Monkeys popularity stakes" »

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on February 2, 2010 8:45 AM
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Impossible objects #16: Piano stairs

January 25, 2010

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 25, 2010 3:46 PM
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I can't believe someone makes... More (food-based) USB nonsense

January 21, 2010

What is the connection between Universal Serial Bus-based devices and... food and drink?

I don't know, but it is easy to bite off more than you can chew with this one, as there's a feast of choice ... [Enough. We get the theme - Ed.]

How about beginning with a bento box, as Sushi lovers so often do?... Though not usually in small, plastic form, for storing files (available from USBGeek for 17 online dollars).

Continue reading "I can't believe someone makes... More (food-based) USB nonsense" »

Tags:

• USB

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 21, 2010 3:56 PM
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Galvanic corrosion stills Whirlpool washine machine

January 20, 2010

See also: Dishwasher Rack Succumbs to Corrosion

Peter D'Aloisio sent in this example of a six-year-old Whirlpool Duet front-loading washing machine with a serious case of galvanic corrosion, which sort of begs the question: What period of problem-free performance can one reasonably expect out of an appliance these days, even if its under warranty?

My mother had the same washing machine for the first thirty years of my life, and though it didn't have the sorts of bells and whistles you get on today's machines, it was perfectly serviceable and ran problem-free for three decades. She finally junked it for a new model that came in a color she liked better than white.

Continue reading "Galvanic corrosion stills Whirlpool washine machine" »

Tags:

• Corrosion
• washing machine

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 20, 2010 12:01 PM
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Let the latest Made By Monkeys posts come to you, with RSS

January 13, 2010

The best way to get the very latest Made By Monkeys posts as soon as they are published? RSS!

And it's not just Made By Monkeys. Check out all the RSS feeds that are available for Electronics Weekly content. The feed for Latest News, for example, can be found here.


There are 12 Electronics Weekly feeds you can tap into:
News
Jobs
Products

Continue reading "Let the latest Made By Monkeys posts come to you, with RSS" »

Tags:

• RSS

Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 13, 2010 1:01 PM
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