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We had an ice storm a decade ago - no power for a month. The room with my Newfie was warmer than any other room, and he certainly kept me warm at night ...

Yes, they make them:

>You won't see a solar rechargeable Cell phone/MP3/Flashlight/am~fm radio/garage door openner/Car key for at least 40 years. Why? because it would kill the disposable battery business.

Here are a couple of places that sell portable solar chargers for Cell phones/mp3players etc: iSun and Creative Energy Technologies

I don't see why it should be necessary. I expect that consumer versions of these laptops will appear in time, selling for $150 or so to cover packaging & markup. This is more or less what happened with the Bayliss Freeplay clockwork radio. The consumer model even subsidizes the other one.

I'd be happy to pay a bit more for something which is the perfect tinker toy. I reckon even without the attraction of Linux to hack, it would still make a superb emergency / travel / casual PC for times when you don't want to drag a laptop and all the paraphenalia around. I truly expect if they went on sale that you would see them being used all over the place. I know I'd love to be able to shove one in an overnight bag for times when I'm away, or to haul out when I quickly want to do something.

Or, instead of silly radios of dubious value, you could get one of these http://www.survivaldealer.com/Merchant2/merchant.m vc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=USBC and use whatever hardware you want. Or this cool device http://windupradio.com/icp/isun.htm could also charge your cell phone. (Although it seems it's no longer available).
Perhaps there are some emergency situations where sunlight is not available, but I'd guess they're more the exception than the rule. This solution also allows you to use whatever hardware you want.
(BTW, even though I'm an AC, I am not at all affiliated with either of these companies).

Perhaps something like this

It works in the dark, on the go, and when you want it. FreePlay in particular has manufactured and sold WindUp Radios and Flashlights in Africa for some time now. Free Play WindUp Radios and Flashlights http://windupradio.com/windup.htm Sidewinder Portable Cell Phone Charger: http://www.thetravelinsider.info/roadwarriorconten t/sidewinder.htm For portable MP-3 players, I guess that you just have to bring extra batteries. They can last quite a long time, depending on your brand.

Nothing new. Move along. Clockwork Radio The man himself

http://windupradio.com/

Considering that companies make Windup radios and flashlights I wonder if they could make a similar generator for the AMD PIC. Given, that the monitor would require more power, but the windup might supply enough wattage for the PC itself.

I would love to have one of those spring-powered radios but the fact is our 'first world' society is so fixed on CO2 production we can't get them here.

Of course they are available. For example, see wind up radio, here or any other link from google.

This solar powered cell phone charger. You can daisy chain up to 5 of them for more power.

The URL doesn't work... you can see it here

I'm not so sure that blue LED lighting "can make a huge difference in the lives of villagers in rural areas where being connected to a power grid is not an option and probably never will be."

Uh, there is a windup flashlight that is powered by a spring and that runs a regular flashlight bulb. A quick GOOGLE for "windup flashlight" gives me a LED flashlight called the FREEPLAY. The other flashlights on that site cost $27 for a radio/flashlight +rechargeable battery +spring power. The solar-powered +rechargeable batteries bicycle light is $20.

http://windupradio.com/

Sorry guys, but you're many moons too late for this to be new - Apple beat you to it in 1996, in the form of the ill-fated eMate 300 (incidentally, the first translucent Apple product) coupled to a Freeplay generator, for the useful purpose of education and as written in this 1997 press release. Furthermore, although the eMate (and it's parent the Newton) are long dead, the idea is still pretty much on the table with Apple, as this 1999 WIRED article points out. Who knows, with Apple seemingly interested in getting into the PDA market again, we may yet see this idea resurrected in commercial form.

Long and short of it - screw webservers. Think of powering keyboard-equipped highly functional PDAs with these things.

Sorry guys, but you're many moons too late for this to be new - Apple beat you to it in 1996, in the form of the ill-fated eMate 300 (incidentally, the first translucent Apple product) coupled to a Freeplay generator, for the useful purpose of education and as written in this 1997 press release. Furthermore, although the eMate (and it's parent the Newton) are long dead, the idea is still pretty much on the table with Apple, as this 1999 WIRED article points out. Who knows, with Apple seemingly interested in getting into the PDA market again, we may yet see this idea resurrected in commercial form.

Long and short of it - screw webservers. Think of powering keyboard-equipped highly functional PDAs with these things.

The one thing that always gets me about mobile devices is power usage. It's always too high, or the source is too small. I don't see ultra low usage screens coming along any time soon - but assuming they do, how low do they have to go before a Trevor Baylis style power source could be viable. i.e. no bateries, plugging in, solar - just give the 'cover' a few flaps and away you go!

Then you would have a truly mobile device that you could use anywhere.

But not really a new concept, by any means. The cordless phone example is a pretty good one, though. There are tons of things we depend on every day that suddenly become useless if we lose power

Then your silly to buy a critical things that don't also have battry backup.

Your average buggy driver a centry ago could not repaire - let alone make - a buggy. If it broke he/she was just as screwed stuck out in the country as one of us would be with any modern car that broke down.

Technology will always fill the holes. Power's out and we can't use radios? Well that's what Baygen's are for

Once fuel cell tech gets a little better we can just stick our cell phones out in the rain and set it in the sun to recharge - or fill it with a little vodka and be charged up for a month.
--
James Michael Keller

• Cranking, like The Windup Radio.
  
• Treadles, like the old sewing machines.
  
• Considering where the power goes, a direct windup hard drive.
  
• Thermoelectric power from your body.
  
• DC by plugging copper and zinc electrodes into a body cavity...