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Linux Duracell CPU Load Monitor
Nixon8Pie writes "Know those little self-testing batteries? How would you like to monitor your computers load with them? Well, now ya can. 'These throwaway testers are quite clever: they use a layer of conductive ink that heats up when an electrical current runs through it, in combination with a layer of thermally-activated dye that turns transparent when heated up, revealing a third layer of colored ink underneath. Because the layers are printed with varying thickness from "0%" to "100%", parts of them become yellow before others, creating a bargraph effect that varies with the current applied, the battery's body itself sinking the heat produced by the conductive ink.' Pretty cool stuff."
A pity that Duracell seems to not be interested in putting these testers on their batteries or in their packaging anymore. Saw a whole rack expiring March 2010 with not a single tester.
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
When those little battery testers first came out, I thought it was pure marketing genius. Not for the convenience, but for the self-depleting consumable. It ranks right up there with Caller ID.
"Here's a battery which you can wear out, even before you put it in your flashlight! You don't have to worry about shelf-life or temperature anymore, just squeeze the ends and you have a dead battery. No muss, no fuss, just two minutes from package to trashcan."
The Caller ID, in its original implementation, though... sheer brilliance. "Let's make them pay to see the information that's already sent to the the switchbox! And if they don't like that, make them pay to HIDE the information on the switchbox. But that doesn't really hide it, it just flags it, so make them pay to see the HIDDEN information, or make them pay to REALLY hide it. We can go on like this forever."
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This is exactly what brings me to the nostalgia of what I like to see on slashdot, a story about some guy who attached some wires to a battery tester and then made a LINUX program to pop out the correct varying voltage to display on the battery itself.
This is cool, and you want to know why? Its innovative, sometimes we go so long and things start to get stagnant that it takes these wonderfully clever people to come up with a new innovative way to do something. Is it practical, well no, but that doesnt mean its not cool.
I for one would like to see more things like this and an SCO category so I can start to delete those stories from the front page. I like the true hacker stories, its fun to see how people are innovative. Really was something pleasant to read.
Good Show!!
Ignore the "p2p is theft" trolls, they're just uninformed
The activiation temperature of battery testers is a pleasantly toasty 100-120 F.
Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
Here's something I did to help visually monitor my CPU temperature (and it doesn't require any software). You could extend it to monitor the temperature of any part that tends to overheat.
Grab yourself a basic comparator such as the LM339 and a temperature sensor such as the LM135. Make a circuit that compares the temperature sensor's voltage to a pre-defined threshold, and lights the LED if the temperature rises too much. The 'Typical Application' section of each datasheet pretty much shows you exactly how to wire up the parts.
You can put this circuit in your computer's case (run it off a spare +5 voltage connector) and use a spare LED you find, like the Turbo light ;)