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Foot-Powered Laptop
mrd98 writes: "There is an article in the Register about a U.S. developer who has created a foot-powered device which can be used to charge laptop batteries. Apparently 5 minutes of brisk pumping will give you 20 minutes of battery life, it can also be used to power most other electrical devices with a rechargable battery."
I suppose this could be good for long hiking trips for people who just have to get their email fix.
That would kind of defeat the purpose of a hiking trip, though.
So, it's true... in the future the machines really will turn us into living power sources.
Despite what EULAs say, most software is sold, not licensed.
...this should also take care of Thrombophlebitis a condition of blood clotting in the legs when they do not move enough... Great for those aging geeks!
Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
This sound like a great idea. Just combine it with a solar power charger, a sattelite phone, and you'll be able to get online anywhere in the world. :-)
There's also the hand cranked cellphone for when you need a workout for your arms.
/Styx
Fiction can be fact...The Foot Mouse!
Looks cool, but I'm too used to my MS Explorer with five buttons and a scroll wheel. You'd need to be a spider to use that foot mouse.
Fortran programmer...oh yeah. Array math for life!
Seems like a rather low yield to me - my grandfather used to sell Singer sewing machines, and has an amazing collection of antiques.
Among them are two treadle style, with a large two-foot pedal, and a long band to transfer the power. That sucker got going REALLY fast, with a lot of momentum. Admittedly, it was all iron as well.
It just seems to me that five minutes of pumping that sucker would have given me about 2 hours worth of laptop power!
In this case, every bit of energy you used to charge your electronics would be energy that WASN'T spent moving your body along. I imagine that walking like this would feel difficult and strenuous, sort of like walking in sand.
Hmm... Most geeks I know sit in front of a computer all day and then go to the gym and excercise (if they get excercise at all) on a bulky treadmill, bike, or resistance weight system.
As long as it was comfortable, I don't think most people would mind a little extra effort in the amount of 'unavoidable' excercise they got walking between offices or tapping their feet to the MP3's.
I, for one, could save serious buckage on my electrical bill if I put a pedal-type charger under my desk while I worked.
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