Possible uses for Power over Ethernet

jsailor writes "Power over Ethernet allows devices to draw power from the Ethernet cable they use for networking. Power is provided by the LAN switch (end-span) or an intermediary device (mid-span). The current spec. is 802.3af and was covered on slashdot before. It provides approximately 13W at the end of a 100 m cable and is commonly used for IP phones, wireless access points, and increasingly security cameras. The technology saves costs associated with running power to the odd locations access points find themselves in and allows IP phones to be moved around with out carrying a power brick. The industry is considering a new standard that would provide up to 39W to a network device. Bizarre uses include electric razors. "

Comments

Easy enough,

[00null00]

But isn't it time for power over wi-fi?

Re:Easy enough,

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd much prefer power over BPL.

Re:Easy enough,

[xpyr]

Obligatory bash quote, see bash

harm_: today this one lady got pissed off cause we dont carry i quote wireless power supplies
ogregasm: a what
harm_: thats what i said
harm_: maybe you want an adaptor for a wireless router o rsomething??
harm_: shes goes no no i read online about this i wannit i wannit :harm_: then she got pissed when i told her that kind of technology doesnt exist
ogregasm: heh :harm_: i tried to be nice but it got to the point where i was like"get back to us in 30 years"
harm_: "once we attain the secret of positron deflector shields, wireless power supplies shall become a reality"
ogregasm: why bother being that much of an ass to the poor woman
harm_: well shes the one who got all up in my face asking for the store manager
harm_: i told her he had just teleported to a corporate meeting in tokyo

Ah gotta love bash :)

Re:Easy enough,

[Anonymous Coward]

Anyone that drops a toaster into the bathtub is obviously trying to kill themselves. Why would toaster manufacturers want to abandon the suicide market?

Re:Easy enough,

[Long-EZ]

Microwave ovens operate at 2.4 GHz, same as the clock frequency in my laptop PC's P4, and the same as many wireless devices such as cordless phones and 802.11b wireless networking. Cell phones work at slightly different frequencies, but they're close enough that similar issues are involved.

I don't think most people who worry about RF are concerned with localized heating of body tissue. I think most people are worried about possible mutagenic characteristics of the magnetic field. There has still been no proof of this in low power devices such as cell phones or wireless networking cards, and a lot of recent studies have tried to find such a link. But I think we'd all agree that staying warm by standing in front of a distant early warning radar transmitting antenna in Alaska is not good for you. BTW - This is a real example. A friend was stationed there in the late 1960s (before we all had microwave ovens) and the radio engineers totally freaked when they saw the guards doing this while on guard duty.

Re:Easy enough,

[bobbitt]

Yeah... reasons like "they live next to power lines."

Stop the craziness!

[__aaitqo8496]

Power over Ethernet?
Internet over Powerlines?

What crazy things will they think of next? Power over powerlines and internet over ethernet?!?

Work hazard

[Ceriel Nosforit]

There goes the only type of devices I don't repeatedly electrocute myself on. =(
Damn you! Damn you to heck!

This is how the matrix gets started

[Anonymous Coward]

Before long they'll be embedding an RJ45 jack in your skull and making you fatties hit the treadmill to power your own lan parties.

amperage and death

[MORTAR_COMBAT!]

well this random post seems to claim that 1 mA can kill a sick person, and 100 mA can kill a healthy person... so my "an amp can kill a person" should actually say "an amp could kill 1000 sick people... or 10 healthy people... or some combination thereof..."

Re:13W could be dangerous...

[dourk]

You may assume telephones are safe, but the have a ring votage over 40v. Wiring up a the last jack in my house, stripped one of the wires with my teeth just as my buddy called.

It fucking hurt.

What...

[fizban]

...is the world coming to?

Power over ethernet! Internet over power lines! Human sacrifice! Dogs and cats, living together! Mass Hysteria, people!

Ethernet Enabled Electric Razors?

[Tezkah]

I'd really like to see an electric razor that had a version of Windows on it. You'd be shaving your face, and then a holographic Clippy would pop up: "It looks like you're shaving your face, would you like tips on shaving your junk?"

I'm pretty sure that should be the prompt he'd give you no matter what you're shaving. "It looks like you're shaving your head, would you like tips on shaving your junk?"

Re:13W could be dangerous...

[shoppa]

Dude, that's almost as funny as the guy who built a glass case around a 10K ohm resistor with a sign that reads "DANGER! 10000 ohms!"

Re:13W could be dangerous...

[SpooForBrains]

Used to live in India, where they take a cavalier attitude to wiring of any kind, so everyone gets their fair share of shocks, but none as funny as the time I rang my friend one afternoon, and got an engaged tone. So, I thought nothing of it and rode round there. When I got there he confronted me at the door ...

"Did you phone me a few minutes ago?"
"... yeah, why?"
"I was rewiring my phone! You just gave me a massive shock!" ... haven't been able to stop laughing at that mental image for years since ... I especially loved that I got an engaged tone!

Power to the hackers

[EmbeddedJanitor]

So if your box get 0wned the lights go dim?

already works for cable chewing cats

[puzzled]

I lived with this chick that had a cable chewing cat some years ago. One day one of my college roomies stopped by and as we were talking kitty walks out and starts in on the phone line in the living room.

Mike looked at me, got the *biggest* grin you've ever seen, then whipped out his cell phone and pressed redial ...

Kitty rang, backed up, hissed, then bit the cable again just in time for the third ring. Now I liked that cat and I have a long hair tortoise shell of my own, but I sure was glad that Mike cured that cat of ripping up cables.

Firt pictures

[Anonymous Coward]

First picture of compatible cable :)

Power over ethernet.

[meatspray]

But what I want to know is can I run ethernet over power on top of power over ethernet?