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NEC Unveils Methanol-Fueled Laptop
genericplacebo writes "Japanese computer giant NEC Corp. Monday revealed a prototype of a laptop computer that runs on a methanol fuel cell instead of a rechargeable battery, and said it will start selling it next year. NEC initially plans to introduce a computer with a fuel-cell system able to run for five consecutive hours on a single cartridge of methanol fuel, but also plans to make a PC within two years that can run continuously for as long as 40 hours."
So . . . how much will it cost to recharge/replace the fuel cell?
`which fortune`
It uses METHanol?
Leak or vent even a little of that onto/into the user and he could go blind.
Even WITHOUT surfing porn sites. B-(
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
I see most people scoff at the idea of buying fuel cell cartridges for their laptop. Well, then this laptop isn't for you -- you have easy access to electricity. This is revolutionary because now you have a portable computer ANYWHERE, and you can recharge it with a little cartridge instead of lugging a huge generator with you.
Hello military and 3rd world applications. I can see a brand new market -- deploy some these bad boys, set up a wireless access point, and you have an instant internet community with no other power infrastructure.
This is another step in getting computing power to the third world and closing the digital divide.
Methanol is a very potent neurotoxin, is relatively volatile, and has a much lower energy storage density than ethanol. Ethanol is relatively non-toxic by comparison (unless you imbibe very heavily), is less volatile, contains much more energy per mass or volume unit, and can be made and distilled to an acceptable grade by just about anyone, anywhere.
Sure, but what about heat?
Reading some information on various fuel cells, it mentions various types, the coolest being the Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFC) which runs at about 120-190 degrees F (about 50-100 deg C) which would require their own heat problems, which are already a big deal with laptops. Aside from all the "what about on airplanes" questions, I'm wondering about how well the laptop will run at those temperatures. They'll have to swap out some components comming standard on laptops nowdays (s-video/etc) in exchange for fans.
If you want longer battery life, you can get more batteries, so the only real advantage I see is they're safer for the environment in the long run.
I'm thinking I'll wait until they become more widestream and they have some of those issues worked out before I jump on that wagon.
"When will this FP stuff stop?" "After the great growing..." "The great growing?" "Yea, when people grow up."
I'm surprised at how many slashdotters are suspicious about this technology.
Methanol is *extremely* cheap to make. We are talking about buying a gallon or two for less than a dollar. Yes, it is flammable but not like gasoline. There isn't a risk of explosion. Do you ever worry about your lighter exploding in your pocket? Yes, its poisonous but only if you drink it. Ever drink glass cleaner or windshield wiper fluid? Didn't think so. Its sort of like that. Its much worse to drink gasoline (we use it all the time in cars and how many people are poisoned by that?) and opening a laptop Lithium-ion or Nicad battery and eating the contents is far worse.
I'm surprised at how happy people are with laptop batter performance these days. You are lucky to get 4 hours, especially if the battery is old. YOu can get more, but the batteries get very heavy! Methanol, on the other hand, is quite light.
I used to use lab grade methanol to clean computers. Takes the dirt and grime right off an old IBM PC/AT case, with the paint coming off if you rub a little longer.
Built like tanks, those old IBM machines.
Glonoinha the MebiByte Slayer
>By definition a catalyst is not consumed in the reaction, and so theoretically, it should not be necessary to replace it for a very long time.
Precisely correct. The open question is whether impurities in random cheap methanol sources will poison the catalyst, like running leaded gas through a car with a catalytic converter.
You know, battery life on notebooks really bugs me... No matter what advancements in battery technology there is, no matter how many energy saving features (eg. ACPI) there are, battery life stays very close to the 3 hour mark...
Why the hell do they keep doing that??? It's like notebook makers all get together and say: "With this new technology, we can double the run-time of our notebooks... Better make the battery half as large..." Is this some sort of scam to get people to buy PDAs? My 486 notebook ran just as long as my brand-new notebook! Why don't manufacturers even try to increase the battery life?
Better yet, why should I get this new technology, when it's just going to have approximately the same battery life as the oldest notebooks? I know they are promising 5 hours, but I'd bet they'll reduce that to 3-4 hours by time they hit shelves, and I bet the real-life batter time is closer to 3 hours as well...
Maybe it's just that I'm the only one on the planet that wants a notebook that will work longer than 3 hours between recharges??? Must not be, because Sony seems to be doing well with their double-battery notebooks (hot-swapable), so somebody else must want longer life. Why not reduce the power drain for notebook components rather than going to the fastest technology when it is just effecient enough to allow you to maintain the same run-times?
You know, it's time I opened my own computer company just to do this all-too-obvious stuff... VCs welcome!
Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
I'm curious as to the real pro's and con's of that (sarcastic) suggestion. Radioactive materials are already present in many products, U-235 can already be aquired by any bad guy with half a brain or a deep enough wallet, so why not? I (honestly) would love to hear all the reaons why I'm stupid for asking "why not?". I'm not trolling I really mean it, someone enlighten me on something I don't know much about.
Beware blue cats moving at
The whole point of banning bic-type lighters in checked baggage is that under the low pressure conditions that exist in the cargo hold they can explode or leak. They've never been disallowed in carry-on because the cabin is pressurized. It's just common sense.