Back in early 2006, during a period of unremitting international travel, I joked that my life was no longer a series of circadian rhythms, but my life’s pulses were now an expression of remaining battery life.
For many web workers, dependence on the battery-driven vagaries of cameras, phones, laptops and iPods can crimp your mobility.
So, hot on the heels of our recent item on the Myth Of All Day Computing, comes Energizer’s announcement of four new easy-to-use chargers to complement their rechargeable battery line… a family charger, compact charger, ‘easy’ charger and intriguingly a ‘15-minute’ charger.
Sadly, with the lack of standards in battery form factors, these products are only useful for those driven on AA and AAA batteries. I live for the day when I can pop 452 rechargeable AA batteries into my MacBook!
The notion of ‘all-day computing’ and a notebook battery than can last a full twenty-four hours – without recharging – has long been a pipe dream of the mobile computing industry.
Back in 2004, Intel set itself the goal of achieving eight-hour battery life by 2010, using a combination of battery innovation, software optimisation and power management technologies.
Though Intel has succeeded in continual innovation of its chipsets, and users have become accustomed to carry multiple or more powerful batteries amongst other power management strategies, it doesn’t seem as though we’re any closer to the goal of all-day computing…and Intel only has a little over a year to get there!
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Fuel cells are a fairly seductive technology for web workers: they can store a high energy content in a small space, opening the potential of powering portable devices for a long time without recharging. Our sister site Earth2Tech has been keeping an eye on fuel cell developments for a while, but now their use in consumer electronics is starting to look more imminent.
The latest place where the devices have surfaced is the Japanese Ceatac exhibition, where Toshiba is showing off a fuel cell-powered cell phone. While the device on display is only a prototype, they expect to release working models by March of next year. This tallies with a report in Fuel Cell Today passing on the news that Toshiba has been investing in a commercial production plant for the devices.
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Back in early 2006, during a period of unremitting international travel, I joked that my life was no longer a series of circadian rhythms, but my life’s pulses were now an expression of remaining battery life.
Web Work 101: How To Escape The Cubicle
