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Simple Emergency Generators and Radio Receivers (Video)

Eton Corp. makes well-reviewed emergency radios and hand-cranked generators for emergency use. Timothy Lord talked with them at CES and made this video of how the devices work. Alternate video link @ tv.Slashdot.org.

49 of 93 comments (clear)

  1. Sucks to your ass-mar! by emmagsachs · · Score: 5, Informative

    Nobody buys Playboy for the articles. They do it for the hot, nude women (sadly, sans grits). It just so happens that /. is exactly the same. No one reads /. for the articles. The articles were news two days ago. And no one reads /. for the summaries. The summaries are almost always wrong.

    Everyone reads /. for the comments. The comments are the /. equivalent of Playboy's naked chicks, with one crucial difference. Without the gentlemen at Playboy, there will be no naked chicks to look at. The service they provide is, for the most part, finding women that will agree to pose nude for pictures, which they most graciously distribute to their readers.

    But as for Slashdot -- the good people at Dice and their "editorial" team do diddly squat around here to generate content. The articles, old as they may be, are submitted by the users. The summaries, mistaken as they may be, are provided by the users, not by Timothy, Soulskill, et al. The comments, trollish as they may be, are written by the users.

    /. is of the users, by the users, for the users. The only people at Dice who deserve their paycheck are the IT people. The rest of you -- what is it that you do for our benefit? Why the hell do we need you clowns? Your music's bad and you should feel bad!

    Beta delenda est!

    1. Re:Sucks to your ass-mar! by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      Nobody buys Playboy for the articles.

      Unless there's an A. C. Clarke interview in the issue, of course. ;-) (OK, nobody buys Playboy for the article anymore, point taken.)

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    2. Re:Sucks to your ass-mar! by ScottCooperDotNet · · Score: 1

      That was an evolution, not a trash and replace.

    3. Re:Sucks to your ass-mar! by slashhax0r · · Score: 1

      So, if all of this is the case. ***why the hell ARE YOU HERE??!?!?!***

    4. Re:Sucks to your ass-mar! by computersareevil · · Score: 1

      Because of the comments! Duh!

    5. Re:Sucks to your ass-mar! by Yaur · · Score: 1

      Its funny... I read everything on the FP today (except the salshvertisiments) on Hacker News yesterday or the day before. Fearless prediction: we will get a Flappy Bird article by Tuesday.

    6. Re:Sucks to your ass-mar! by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 1

      My favorite part was always the cartoons by Gahan Wilson.

    7. Re:Sucks to your ass-mar! by sliceoflife · · Score: 2

      Maybe you don't get it. The Idea clearly laid out by "Timothy" is to turn the site into a nondescript blog style with crippled commenting. The will enable monetizing by reaching out to less technical users who will find it all looking similar to their favourite kitten site. They can come here and "like" things and post smiley photos, and be amazed by something like hand cranking battery charging "wow, I didn't know you could do that!" Its not really about the UI. We eho make it what it is (and you) are in the way of profits. Slashdot will die because they are visionless clones. We are not idiots. That is the problem they are facing. Posting "Fuck Beta" is not as sdaft as you think. It is activism, it's pretty much all we can do before it is too late. We are why the site exists and why you can currently have your "normal discussions" as you put it. In internet terms they are not really the norm. Thats why we are fighting against marketing it as normal to the masses, and dumbing down the design with "big pictures" and cripple commenting, and easy linky likey buttons. If you are not nerdy, what are you doing here? go to Digg or somewhere like that. Seriously though, go and have a look at Digg, it's what this will become. Join us, rebel, be active. if you want slashdot to exist you are going to need to fight a little, not just wish this mess all goes away. Consider Joining the boycott, not opposing it, it's in your interests! Or leave it to us. It is fun to defend what you believe in. To the end. United. Fuck Beta! (oh I don't ever normally swear on forums btw, how rude, yet exhilarating!)

    8. Re:Sucks to your ass-mar! by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 1

      "I paint what I see, child."

      --
      "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
      Never been known to fail..."
    9. Re:Sucks to your ass-mar! by demontechie · · Score: 1

      Because Classic is not yet gone. Because the old discussion system is still present, as it should continue to be. Because Slashdot's original nature is still worth arguing for, and all is not yet lost.

      If we fail because Dice really wants to destroy those things we value, then so be it. We cannot keep them from driving the site off a cliff if that is where they wish to steer. But it will not be failure through our apathy.

    10. Re:Sucks to your ass-mar! by Vitriol+Angst · · Score: 1

      It's almost like you are describing the music industry, where the suits think the talent is all ungrateful...

      --
      >>"ad space available -- low rates!!!"
    11. Re:Sucks to your ass-mar! by Vitriol+Angst · · Score: 1

      I know, I know.

      It's for my mad PhotoShop skilz and the high quality paper we use. Did you check out that Times Roman font -- you don't see leading like that and balance of type weight anywhere else outside The New Yorker.

      Really, without the Graphic artists, you'd realize these were all 3D meshes. We have to add pimples, defects, the works.

      I'm proudest of that dragon tattoo I had to put on the Pamela Anderson simulation. She's too tasteful and modest to actually get a tattoo, so we had to sex it up a little.

      --- Your's truly; the SlashDot art department. And marketing plans to add FaceBook login checks and high end flash adds to all posts for Beta 3 -- Gawd they are geniuses!

      --
      >>"ad space available -- low rates!!!"
    12. Re:Sucks to your ass-mar! by lgw · · Score: 1

      And correct me if I'm wrong, didn't the UI go through a major revision 6-7 years ago - what we're now calling /. classic?

      Most of that change, other than some CSS, is optional. Other than the rounded corners on the green bars, and the nav column on the left, /. looks just the same for me as it always did. I browse comments with no JavaScripty features at all, just like the original.

      I'd have no problem at all with Beta being offered as an option! I'd opt out of the changes, just as I did with the first round, and be content. But that's not the path they've chosen.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    13. Re:Sucks to your ass-mar! by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 1

      "This next one will really knock your eyes out."

    14. Re:Sucks to your ass-mar! by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 1

      "Is 'Nothing' sacred?"

      --
      "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
      Never been known to fail..."
    15. Re:Sucks to your ass-mar! by RubberDogBone · · Score: 1

      Well, since Mr. Clarke is dead, they'd probably sell a lot of copies if they managed to interview him again.

      But nah, I subscribe to that mag to support the industry that manages to coerce women out of their clothes. Sure I could just sit back and consume free porn off the net, but those bunny ears and that bunny costume do something to me. Tossing $12 a year at them is cheap fun.

      --
      Sig for hire.
    16. Re:Sucks to your ass-mar! by sumdumass · · Score: 1

      I do the same. I guess you can say I'm using the classy classic /..

      Anyways, I would like to add to your point by saying that attendance and participation seems to have dropped severely since the last major revision too. It could be coincidence and a couple bus loads of geeks on their way to virgincon bizarrely left the road landing in a bottomless ravine never to be heard from again, or something on the site lost it's appeal to them. Perhaps it is a bit of both- I used to blame the politics section being added for this decline but I think as long as I'm yelling at everyone to get off my lawn, I might as well point to all the stupid things at the same time.

  2. Re:Another Slashvertisement from by i+kan+reed · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Slashvertisements and beta: it's better to hate together.

  3. "Well-reviewed" by Raelus · · Score: 1

    Unlike beta. Fuck beta.

    --
    "It is the stillest words which bring the storm. Thoughts that come with doves' footsteps guide the world."
  4. With apologies to Malcolm... by emmagsachs · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Mr. Moderator, brothers and sisters, friends and enemies: I just can’t believe everyone in here is a friend, and I don’t want to leave anybody out. The question tonight, as I understand it, is “The Slashdot Revolt, and Where Do We Go From Here?” or "What Next?” In my little humble way of understanding it, it points toward either the pitchfork or the codefork.

    Although I’m still a Slashdotter, I’m not here tonight to improve my karma. I’m not here to try and change your karma. I’m not here to argue or discuss anything that we differ about, because it’s time for us to submerge our differences and realize that it is best for us to first see that we have the same problem, a common problem, a problem that will make you catch hell whether you’re a Troll, or a Shill, or a First Time Submitter or a Karma Whore. Whether you’re educated or illiterate, whether you live on the boulevard or in the alley, you’re going to catch hell just like I am. We’re all in the same boat and we all are going to catch the same hell from the same man. He just happens to be a work at Dice.

    Now in speaking like this, it doesn’t mean that we’re anti-Dice, but it does mean we’re anti-Beta, we’re anti-SlashBI, we’re anti-Slashcloud. And if Dice doesn’t want us to be anti-it, let it stop forcing Beta on us. Whether we are Trolls or Shills or Karma Whores, we must first learn to forget our differences. If we have differences, let us differ in the closet; when we come out in front, let us not have anything to argue about until we get finished arguing with Dice. If the late President Kennedy could get together with Portman and exchange some grits, we certainly have more in common with each other than Kennedy and Portman had with each other.

    If we don’t do something real soon, I think you’ll have to agree that we’re going to be forced either to use the pitchfork or the codefork. It’s one or the other in 2014. It isn’t that time is running out — time has run out!

    (And a thank you to arth1)

    1. Re:With apologies to Malcolm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      > I think you’ll have to agree that we’re going to be forced either to use the pitchfork or the codefork.

      There are four boxes to use in the defense of Slashdottery: soap, check, text, and dickina. Use in that order.

    2. Re:With apologies to Malcolm... by hawguy · · Score: 1

      Mr. Moderator, brothers and sisters, friends and enemies: I just can’t believe everyone in here is a friend, and I don’t want to leave anybody out. The question tonight, as I understand it, is “The Slashdot Revolt, and Where Do We Go From Here?” or "What Next?” In my little humble way of understanding it, it points toward either the

      I really like the articles at Arstechnica, but I hate their non-threaded comment forum so it's hard to have discussions. If they'd just provide a "sort by thread" option, I'd be there instead of here.

    3. Re:With apologies to Malcolm... by synapse7 · · Score: 1

      Amen

  5. Alternative to Beta Hell by computersareevil · · Score: 4, Informative

    Will soon be hosted at AltSlashdot.org or a site linked through that domain.

    It will be for the commenters, by the commenters.

    It will be like the old days when Slashdot at least spell-checked the summaries and made sure the links actually worked.

    1. Re:Alternative to Beta Hell by dale.furno · · Score: 1

      Can I still get a 4 digit id?

    2. Re:Alternative to Beta Hell by computersareevil · · Score: 1

      I don't know. It does look like you will be able to preserve your ID and nobody will be able to steal it.

      Migration of users from Slashdot

      Buck Feta!

    3. Re:Alternative to Beta Hell by aardvarkjoe · · Score: 1

      It will be like the old days when Slashdot at least spell-checked the summaries and made sure the links actually worked.

      That must have been before 1999, because it sure hasn't been the case since I've started reading /.. Slashdot has had some pretty good qualities, but editorial competence was never one of them.

      I've wonder how they can afford to hire someone to reimplement Slashdot (badly), but for some reason they can't come up with someone whose job it is to proofread the stories being posted. It's not like all that much content is posted in a day -- it wouldn't even be a full-time job to have somebody read the summary, make sure it makes sense, check the links, and ensure that the summary actually matches the article.

      People visit Slashdot for the content. That includes both the stories and the comments. The commenting community is already very strong; the links and summaries are the weak point in Slashdot's content. If they want to increase their audience, the solution is to improve that -- not to gut the comment system.

      --

      How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
    4. Re:Alternative to Beta Hell by GameMaster · · Score: 1

      I've been on since around 1997 (if I remember correctly) and I don't remember any such time either. I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that was OP's subtle attempt at sarcasm.

      --

      Rules of Conduct:
      #1 - The DM is always right.
      #2 - If the DM is wrong, see rule #1
    5. Re:Alternative to Beta Hell by AdamHaun · · Score: 1

      I wonder how much it would cost to buy Slashdot from DICE? Maybe we could have a Kickstarter.

      --
      Visit the
    6. Re:Alternative to Beta Hell by HexaByte · · Score: 1

      Can I still get a 4 digit id?

      ...says the guy with a 7 digit ID.

      --
      HexaByte - he's a square and a half!
    7. Re:Alternative to Beta Hell by NoMaster · · Score: 1

      It will be for the commenters, by the commenters.

      So, you're not going have thinly-veiled slashvertisments aimed at taking advantage of the most fearful, paranoid, and mentally ill amonst us - the gadget-nerd preppers?

      Good.

      --
      What part of "a well regulated militia" do you not understand?
    8. Re:Alternative to Beta Hell by Voltara · · Score: 1

      You can have any 4-digit ID you like, as long as it's "8374".

    9. Re:Alternative to Beta Hell by sfm · · Score: 1

      You know, Dice could have avoided all of this if they allowed Beta to be optional.

      Over time, people would migrate, or not.

      They would have a VERY good indicator on what people thought of the changes.

      But no, they want to ram it down out collective throats

      There is a lesson in here, somwhere. I wonder if Dice will get it before it is too late ? Or have we passed that point already ?

    10. Re: Alternative to Beta Hell by EQ · · Score: 1

      Heh.

      --
      Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo! http://goo.gl/J9bkO
  6. Did they make the comment section wider? by buswolley · · Score: 1

    It seems wider to me. Now, put in the green bar for higher contrast between comments. One step at a time and lets see if they can make it good.

    --

    A Good Troll is better than a Bad Human.

    1. Re:Did they make the comment section wider? by SGT+CAPSLOCK · · Score: 1

      They can't make it good, though. The only thing that'd make the beta website become a reasonable experience for the "audience" would be to hold a ritualistic sacrifice of a thumb drive containing the sole copy of all its Javascript bloat and ugly style sheets and then post a video of the activity perfectly syncronized to the chocobo song from Final Fantasy IX!

  7. The underground could use these... by istartedi · · Score: 2

    The underground could use these... to build a new Slashdot. To escape from tyranny. To communicate in secret. To plan our escape. To fight for freedom. Resist! And BUCK THE FETA.

    --
    For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
  8. Beta Website Design (Video) by SGT+CAPSLOCK · · Score: 1

    Posted by SGT CAPSLOCK on Friday February 07, 2014 @03:59PM
    from the straight-to-release dept.

    Dice Holdings makes beta websites and awkward poll questions. SGT CAPSLOCK talked with them at slashdot.org and made this video of how their thought process works. Alternate video link @ void.org.

    [video link: NULL]

  9. Re:Something we can agree on. by hack++slash · · Score: 1

    You lost credibility through posting as AC.

    --
    To do something right, you often have to roll up your sleeves and get busy.
  10. Re:Something we can agree on. by SGT+CAPSLOCK · · Score: 1

    Another good thing about the beta website: it can also be worn... as a hat.

  11. Dear Roblimo, you suck. by emmagsachs · · Score: 1

    You know that Slashdot is fucked when the "editors" are crapflooding the front page.

  12. Bruce is not reliable for hosting. by computersareevil · · Score: 1

    Because Bruce has shown he is an unreliable host for a tech site.

    He has twice started that site and twice deleted it without warning, taking all the content and comments offline with no way to recover them.

    Bruce has done great things for the Libre Software community, but hosting a tech site is not one of his brighter moments.

    1. Re:Bruce is not reliable for hosting. by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 1

      Perens shut the site down because there was not enough traffic to support it.

      From http://technocrat.net/ ...

      You've reached a web site owned by Perens LLC. We are moving to new servers and thus the content you expected isn't online yet.

      To reach Bruce Perens, email to bruce at perens dot com, or phone +1 510-4PERENS.

      Hot topics as I write this: Why doesn't Bruce resurrect Technocrat.net now that Slashdot is owned by Dice.com and stinks more than the last two times I've shut down Technocrat.net due to lack of readership? And while we're at it, we need to replace Groklaw.

      Think it would really work this time? You've got my email and phone.

      --
      If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
    2. Re:Bruce is not reliable for hosting. by computersareevil · · Score: 1

      That's what he says, but it's not the truth. I was on it the first time he shut it down. When that happened, he posted on the replacement page that he didn't like the direction the discussions were going (there was no moderation or meta-moderation and some debates got heated).

      That subjective, unilateral, unannounced decision to take his ball and bat and go home is why I didn't participate the second time around.

  13. Sooooo close to endgame... by Anachragnome · · Score: 1

    US5722418
    +
    US5644363
    +
    GoogleGlass
    +
    Acceptance
    =
    ????

    If history is any sort of an indicator, any rights we sell today, our children must buy back with blood tomorrow

  14. Re:Something we can agree on. by camperdave · · Score: 2

    Technically most of you are stuck in 1978, just completely fucking clueless. You post the same repetitive, boring as _fuck_ "memes" (what a stupid fucking word). Your personal hygiene is atrocious and women don't like you because you're ugly as shit and your personality is terrible.

    In other words, Slashdot is all we have, and they're trying to take even that away from us! Is it any wonder we're revolting?

    --
    When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
  15. Ironic Daily Quote? by dntslashdotslashbet · · Score: 1

    "It is not well to be thought of as one who meekly submits to insolence and intimidation."

  16. Correction: by computersareevil · · Score: 1

    Before I get slammed, let me correct myself: He did shut it down due to slow traffic first time around, though he blamed his own lack of tine and also refused to allow others to carry it forward. https://web.archive.org/web/20... Second time he blamed low traffic and "Certain elements of the community that developed here, unfortunately, creep me out". https://web.archive.org/web/20... Still, I don't think he can be trusted a third time to not just shut it down when he feels like it.

  17. First (on topic) post! A review. by McFly777 · · Score: 1

    Amazing is it 3 days later (across the weekend) that I am reading here and there are no on topic posts to be seen. So I will start...

    My review of Eton's products:
    The one which I purchased had terrible workmanship. Unfortunately, I purchased it as part of a fundraiser, so I couldn't return it.

    The model I had was a combination solar, wall-power, hand-generator powered unit, with a radio and an emergency (LED) light for output. My complaints all center on one item; however, as that item was the main power switch, its lack of performance (or poor design) made the whole unit inoperative. The switch was a rotary switch which ( IIRC ) had four settings indicated on the housing. I don't recall exactly how the settings were divided, but they were something along the lines of off/charge, on/solar, on/battery, light-on (less sure of this one). Whatever they were exactly, the actual switch only had three positions. In none of the on positions would anything work. I could however get the radio to work by holding the switch between two of the positions, and that only when plugged into the wall wart. The solar cell would not charge the battery at all (as far as I could tell). I could get the crank-generator to dimly light the LED lantern, but only briefly, and I was never able to get the radio to work off the generator, nor charge the battery that way.

    As I could not return the unit, I decided to see if I could fix it. I thought I might remove the defective switch and replace it with one (or several) of my own. Unfortunately, the construction was extremely cheap, meaning that the switch mechanism was actually part of the circuit board. I might still have tried to solder to the traces, but decided that I had invested enough time already, and instead just junked it, after removing the solar cell, the LEDs, and a few other potentially useful bits.

    I can only say that as a result of this experience, I have avoided buying any more Eton radios, even if the feature set of the advertised products sounded tempting.

    --

    McFly777
    - - -
    "What do people mean when they say the computer went down on them?" -Marilyn Pittman