Made By Monkeys tag:www.electronicsweekly.com,2012:/blogs/engineering-design-problems//71 2012-02-08T16:02:33Z Inferior products. Superior ideas for designing better stuff Movable Type Enterprise 4.37 Sign up for the Made By Monkeys newsletter tag:www.electronicsweekly.com,2009:/blogs/engineering-design-problems//71.48678 2012-02-08T15:13:32Z 2012-02-08T16:02:33Z Don't forget that you can sign up for the Made By Monkeys newsletter to ensure you receive the latest and greatest posts, straight to your inbox! Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com http://www.electronicsweekly.com made by monkeys.jpgDon't forget that you can sign up for the Made By Monkeys newsletter to ensure you receive the latest and greatest posts, straight to your inbox!

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]]> Recall Corner: Ford motors crowd Recall forecourt tag:www.electronicsweekly.com,2012:/blogs/engineering-design-problems//71.221754 2012-02-07T14:05:35Z 2012-02-07T14:43:55Z Recently we featured a hybrid car in Recall Corner and now here comes a whole fleet of contenders vying for the same parking slot! Start your engines, Ford Fusions, Milans, Freestar and Freestar SUVs (!), and also BMW Minis! Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com http://www.electronicsweekly.com Recently we featured a hybrid car in Recall Corner and now here comes a whole fleet of contenders vying for the same parking slot! Start your engines, Ford Fusions, Milans, and Freestar SUVs (!), and also BMW Minis!

It's hard, in fact, to keep track of all the Ford recalls, across various models.

For Escape SUVs - with year range 2001 to 2002 being under the recall - the "brake fluid can leak from the master cylinder cap and lead to corrosion that could cause a fire," reports SlashGear.

]]> I can't believe someone makes... the Love Box analogue video mixer for iPhone tag:www.electronicsweekly.com,2012:/blogs/engineering-design-problems//71.221275 2012-02-03T14:30:37Z 2012-02-03T14:36:39Z Now this sounds like it might be a really clever piece of kit, and I suppose in a way it is. But it requires no knowledge of electronics whatsoever to assemble it. Sue Proud Now this sounds like it might be a really clever piece of kit, and I suppose in a way it is. But it requires no knowledge of electronics whatsoever to assemble it.

A video mixer sounds as if it should be in a sleek grey case, and feature - oh I don't know - crossfaders for audio and video, maybe a Chroma key or a Luma key, fades, wipes and other clever functionality.

This wooden box is about as low-tech as it gets, certainly since the invention of the  camera obscura.

Featured on wired.com, the makers are quoted as saying:
]]> Let the latest Made By Monkeys posts come to you, with RSS tag:www.electronicsweekly.com,2009:/blogs/engineering-design-problems//71.64452 2012-02-01T11:01:19Z 2012-02-01T11:35:42Z The best way to get the very latest Made By Monkeys posts as soon as they are published? RSS! Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com http://www.electronicsweekly.com 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:
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]]> Most Read in January - The Made By Monkeys popularity stakes tag:www.electronicsweekly.com,2012:/blogs/engineering-design-problems//71.221327 2012-01-30T13:22:21Z 2012-01-30T14:07:40Z Time once more to see how the Made By Monkeys posts have measured up against each other in the first month of the year! Topics touched on include hybrid cars, golfing headsets, toasters, and some new oldies... Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com http://www.electronicsweekly.com Time once more to see how the Made By Monkeys posts have measured up against each other in the first month of the year!

Topics touched on include hybrid cars, golfing headsets, toasters, and some new oldies...

10. Recall Corner: Sony Bravia LCD TVs

9. Diabolical Designs: Retractable Luggage Handles

8. I can't believe someone makes... A defibrillator toaster

]]> Not-So-Smartphones of 2011 tag:www.electronicsweekly.com,2012:/blogs/engineering-design-problems//71.221068 2012-01-24T09:25:47Z 2012-01-24T09:38:19Z Bit9 - a company that specialises in application Whitelisting services - has idenitified the "Dirty Dozen" of such phones, in a snappily entitled blog, Orphan Android - The Not-So-SMartphones of 2011. Android, specifically, is in their sights. Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com http://www.electronicsweekly.com
Not sure about about this one, the premises or the conclusion (that all older Android phones should be considered 'orphans' and that Android should be identified as the most vulnerable platform)... 

Anyway, starting at the top, the Mannerisms blog recently featured a Top Ten of "riskiest phones", which immediately caught my eye for Made By Monkeys.

The idea is that certain phones - most notably Android phones - are no longer getting software updates, which means known vulnerabilities or bugs are going unfixed or unpatched.

Bit9 - a company that specialises in application Whitelisting services - has identified the "Dirty Dozen" of such phones, in a snappily entitled blog, Orphan Android - The Not-So-Smartphones of 2011. Android, specifically, is in their sights:

The company writes:
Unlike Apple iOS, RIM Blackberry or Windows Phone, the phone manufacturer - not the software vendor - is responsible for providing Android software updates to their smartphone.  Phone carriers also inject themselves into the process, selling further customized models and sometimes charging data usage for software updates. The result is chaos. As anyone who has ever owned an Android phone can attest, waiting for your phone to receive the latest Android release is like walking through prickly bushes - slow, painful, and sometimes buggy.
]]> I can't believe someone makes... A defibrillator toaster tag:www.electronicsweekly.com,2012:/blogs/engineering-design-problems//71.220648 2012-01-13T13:07:21Z 2012-01-12T15:15:29Z Medical students are known for their dark humour, so this one would have proved an ideal Christmas present. It's a toaster with a difference - a defibrillator toaster! Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com http://www.electronicsweekly.com Medical students are known for their dark sense of humour, so this one would have proved an ideal Christmas present. It's a toaster with a difference - a defibrillator toaster!

Unlike the vast majority of entries in the I can't believe someone makes... series,  this is actually just a 'concept' design, courtesy of designer Shay Carmon.

]]> I can't believe someone makes... Night Vision Golf headsets tag:www.electronicsweekly.com,2012:/blogs/engineering-design-problems//71.220472 2012-01-09T14:37:16Z 2012-01-12T15:09:17Z My first reaction to reading about Night Vision Golf headsets was that it was simply wacky. What was the angle, beyond simply playing golf at night, of course? I've heard of 'golf widows', so I know the sport has an extreme pull, but still... Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com http://www.electronicsweekly.com My first reaction to reading about Night Vision Golf headsets was that they were simply wacky. What was the angle, beyond simply playing golf at night? I've heard of 'golf widows', so I know the sport has an extreme pull, but still...

Then I suspected it may be something creepy - is this just an 'acceptable way' of selling stalker-friendly night vision glasses to lurkers... Then it made sense: they are for people who want to play at night to avoid paying course fees.

Crafty! Cheap, but crafty.

]]> Recall Corner: Hybrid car's batteries threatened by coolant leakage tag:www.electronicsweekly.com,2012:/blogs/engineering-design-problems//71.220364 2012-01-05T14:50:32Z 2012-01-05T15:02:32Z A US hybrid car finds itself reversing carefully into Recall Corner. The Fisker Karma is the motor in question. Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com http://www.electronicsweekly.com A US hybrid car finds itself reversing carefully into Recall Corner. The Fisker Karma is the motor in question.

Apparently - "in rare circumstances" - the car's batteries could short-circuit due to coolant leakage from "misaligned hose clamps." This could possibly result in a fire...

Engadget writes:
A battery issue previously thought to affect around 50 cars will actually result in the recall of 239. GigaOM points out an NHTSA notice confirming a problem with the positioning of hose clamps on the high-voltage Li-Ion batteries. It could result in said hoses leaking coolant into the battery creating the risk of an electrical short-circuit (still not seeing how this is a bad thing) and fire (oh), which the company will resolve by replacing the batteries.
]]> Sainsbury's auto-generated coupon fails to tempt tag:www.electronicsweekly.com,2011:/blogs/engineering-design-problems//71.220132 2011-12-21T13:34:23Z 2012-01-05T15:22:20Z This one made my wife laugh at the weekend - an auto-generated supermarket coupon that rather fails to tempt you back to the store. Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com http://www.electronicsweekly.com
This one made my wife laugh at the weekend - an auto-generated supermarket coupon (after quite a large shop) that rather fails to tempt you back to the store.

Can anyone improve on this? Any takers for 'a penny disount'? Or are we becoming too decadent in failing to appreciate a tuppence off?

]]> Recall Corner: iPhone, iPod battery cases warm to their task tag:www.electronicsweekly.com,2011:/blogs/engineering-design-problems//71.219714 2011-12-13T10:08:19Z 2011-12-14T10:46:20Z A couple of iPhone and iPod battery chargers find themselves in the last Recall Corner before Christmas. Not quite 'Apple accessories 'warming themselves into an open fire', but the overheating hazard is enough for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada to issue recalls. Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com http://www.electronicsweekly.com A couple of iPhone and iPod battery chargers find themselves in the last Recall Corner before Christmas. Not quite Apple accessories 'warming themselves into an open fire', but the overheating hazard is enough for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada to issue recalls...

First up is the Mophie iPod Touch Rechargeable External Battery. The company has received 110 reports of the product becoming warm to the touch, with 44 reports of the product becoming deformed, and nine reports of minor burns.

The hazard? "The battery case's integrated circuit switch can overheat, posing a burn hazard to consumers," says the CPSC.

]]> Most Read in 2011 - The Made By Monkeys popularity stakes tag:www.electronicsweekly.com,2011:/blogs/engineering-design-problems//71.219705 2011-12-12T14:42:33Z 2011-12-12T16:08:08Z Rather than measure the popularity of posts in December, how about we look back across the whole year? Which posts really clicked in 2011? Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com http://www.electronicsweekly.com Rather than measure the popularity of posts in December, how about we look back across the whole year? Which posts really clicked in 2011?

Well, we don't have any holly or ivy but there is some ever-green content here, with old favourites such as 'Biggest Engineering Mistakes' (a spike for which was seen at the start of a new academic year - I suspect students are driving the traffic for this one), and the Lithium-Ion battery related content (if you know something about Lithium gone wrong, please let us know, this is MBM traffic gold).... But it's a nice spread of content - nice to see an Impossible Object in there, and a Recall Corner...

Taking it in reverse order, for maximum possible suspense...

10. Recall Corner: Sony Bravia LCD TVs

9. Impossible Objects #24: Liquid Table

8. Apple Power Mac G5 Oozes Coolant

]]> I can't believe someone makes... Room shrinking iPod docks [Part 2] tag:www.electronicsweekly.com,2011:/blogs/engineering-design-problems//71.219602 2011-12-08T15:16:18Z 2011-12-08T16:12:11Z We previously highlighted the three-metre high iPod dock and now here's another variation on the theme. Stand aside for the iNuke Boom... Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com http://www.electronicsweekly.com Thanks to Steve B for highlighting this one.

We previously highlighted the three-metre high iPod dock and now here's another variation on the theme. Stand aside for the iNuke Boom...

And when we say stand aside, we mean re-arrange the furniture in your living room, and squash back against the wall!

At first glance it doesn't look too big, but look again. That little spec on the top is the iPhone! ]]> Video: Toshiba shakes, rattles, and rolls its solid state drives tag:www.electronicsweekly.com,2011:/blogs/engineering-design-problems//71.219152 2011-11-29T10:47:28Z 2011-11-29T10:51:00Z Toshiba is showing off the advantages of solid state drives, in terms of providing greater resilience to physical vibration! It's checking video playback from a drive is unaffected by some turbulent treatment, with the specially built test rig applying 1,380 oscillations per minute. Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com http://www.electronicsweekly.com

]]> The cost of mobile handsets tag:www.electronicsweekly.com,2011:/blogs/engineering-design-problems//71.219070 2011-11-25T16:19:20Z 2011-11-25T16:51:24Z A company called WDS, which describes itself as a "wireless user experience" specialist, has reported on handset costs faced my mobile telecom providers. Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com http://www.electronicsweekly.com Here on MBM design problems are our bread and better, so this report is maybe worth highlighting.

A company called WDS, which describes itself as a "wireless user experience" specialist, has reported on handset costs faced my mobile telecom providers, with particular reference to the Google Andorid platform.

Over a 12 month period it has tracked how consumers interact with their phones, including analysis of 600,000 technical support calls, to identify the platform's 'cost-of-ownership' for operators.

This ZDNet blog post was among many covering the report - Android handsets top hardware failures list

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