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nerdyshirts.com - TV remotes, calculators, solar-powered...it's like McGyver on your wrist
59 Comments
- inactive, on 03/07/2008, -0/+31I'll bet the ink for these things will still be cheaper than the $8,000 a gallon HP charges for regular printers.
- toto7511, on 03/07/2008, -0/+13I can't wait. This can really help with our oil dependence problem. I am sick of OPEC or Exxon jerking people around. Imagine a car painted with that stuff and every building is its own generator.
- inactive, on 03/07/2008, -2/+14We can hope, but for thirty plus years, we've had promises, exciting developments, etc. without seeing any truly revolutionary products come to market. Some nice improvements, yes, but nothing which could even begin to wean us from fossil fuels. I hope this will prove to be the exception, but the cynic in me keeps the excitement in check.
- mjklaser, on 03/07/2008, -0/+8Cripes - I never thought of it that way - those bastards! Is your $8000 calc. accurate?
- mattnyc99, on 03/07/2008, -1/+9...and now SERIOUSLY cheap reproduction of solar film, since there are already so many inkjets out there. This is like that Nanosolar company on steroids!
- SpaceMonkeyZero, on 03/07/2008, -0/+6I would love to have solar panel shingles on my roof that can withstand the harsh NE winters, and also be walked on...
- MacEnvy, on 03/07/2008, -1/+6The "Government" crack didn't help your argument. "The Government" (whoever that is) is helping drive this new round of innovation through subsidies and investment. But I dugg you up for your first sentence.
- SpaceMonkeyZero, on 03/07/2008, -2/+6The *good* thing to come out of insanely high oil prices is that it's now profitable to research new alternative technologies. The market wins once again. Government mandates lose.
- KraftDinner101, on 03/07/2008, -0/+4Raising the efficiency level of solar cells from 10% to 40% isn't enough to wean us? Solar plants are already in production, but these things take time to build.
- inactive, on 03/07/2008, -0/+4Solar energy has been a "hot topic" back to the early days of the space program. It is still being developed = "but these things take time to build." Don't get me wrong - I'd love to have some array of passive / active solar cells to replace the oil heat and generated power. But it has to be available, and it *must* be economically competitive with no more than a ten year payoff, and preferably five. It's one thing to pay utility bills monthly, but adding several tens of thousands of solar components is not practical for the average person building / re-modeling a home and dealing with mortgage amounts.
- scottmc, on 03/07/2008, -0/+3There are solar companies popping up all over the Bay Area recently. It'll be interesting to see what comes of it.
- MacEnvy, on 03/07/2008, -0/+3Yes.
http://www.popsci.com/gear-gadgets/article/2008-02 ... - bromac, on 03/07/2008, -0/+3Now that's some printing power.
- fuknlightn, on 03/07/2008, -0/+3Why can't we buy this stuff?
- BigManOnCampus, on 03/07/2008, -0/+3I had the rare privilege of escorting Dr Alan Heeger around CSULB one day for a speech. He was the man who won the nobel prize for "discovering" or "inventing" (however you want to put it) conducting polymers. The conversations I had with that guy included his desire to do exactly this. He told me straight up that he wanted to make a solar-panel "inkjet" printer of sorts. That was 4 years ago. I hope this is his startup, or that he's in the ground floor of it.
- slackbuster, on 03/07/2008, -3/+5'The burning question for DIYers and eco-conscious geeks alike remains whether we can expect to see rolls of Power Plastic on the shelves of home improvement stores anytime soon. Not exactly, Hess says. "Check back in two years and we'll have an update." '
Of course- it's always too good to be true to actually get any help now when you really need it. F**king scientists always dangle these new and promising technologies without actually accomplishing any real world benefit and uses. I am not a fanboy by any rate, but more companies need to take the Steve Jobs approach and announce these new and wonderful things when they are ready to make them available the same day. - MacEnvy, on 03/07/2008, -0/+2Running a heating wire mesh across a panel array for a couple hours could completely negate any power generated by the panels on a cold winter day, so that's probably not the best option.
- MacEnvy, on 03/07/2008, -0/+2Me too. I hope they figure out a way to keep snow from building up on them though. I suppose that during the winter they'll be at a steeper angle (due to the sun being lower in the sky), so maybe it'll be enough for the snow to just slide off. I hate to think of the idea of having to scrape off my panels every morning. The car is bad enough.
- merper, on 03/07/2008, -0/+2It's useful for charging electronics, but Konarka's efficiency is only 5-6.1% last time I heard. That's fine in terms of W/$, but it does make the amount of area you need to cover to take out a good portion of a house's energy bill much larger.
- SpaceMonkeyZero, on 03/07/2008, -0/+2"Robots building robots? Now that's just stupid."
- pianomahnn, on 03/07/2008, -0/+2Utopia?
Forgive me, I want that, I do. But I've lost all faith in humanity to do the right thing as a collective. Individuals, yes. But the idiots seem to rule! :-( - FaithclubDotNet, on 03/07/2008, -1/+2Nanosolar rocks. I like them and sterling solar.
- mos6507, on 03/07/2008, -0/+1"This is like giving George Bush and his oil-soaked cronies a good kick in the nuts."
How so? Do you get your electricity from a diesel generator or something? - tHePeOPle, on 03/07/2008, -0/+1Don't tell me what to do! You're not the boss of me! I'm the boss of me! Dugg.
- MortalynFlux, on 03/07/2008, -2/+3This is like giving George Bush and his oil-soaked cronies a good kick in the nuts.
We're spending all this infrastructure on ethanol and are working to move towards hydrogen, but only because Bush wants to help out the farmers and keep the existing infrastructure for oil companies. It is not efficient, and soon we will find that we wasted time an energy on something that is essentially obsolete.
When enough people use a technology, and new technologies are built on top of these, the transition is easy. This is why Blu-Ray players are expected to drop in price in a short time. The technology was put inside a video console, and it will be inside computers. This is why the price of LCD TV's dropped so quickly. People were already using them for PC's.
There ARE ways of harnessing energy with minimal cost and minimal waste. The problem is the bridge that will get us there, and the people in power who want to hold us back to keep that power. But science continues to advance despite a downward spiraling economy and budget cuts to government progrems, and they cannot hold progress back for long.
Remember that one atom can release enough energy to power an entire civilization. - baramunchies, on 03/07/2008, -0/+1does he use a "dot-it" for his inspections?
cool. - 2oonhed, on 03/07/2008, -0/+1how do you confuse an idiot?
put him in a round room & tell him there are brand new shiny solar cells in the corner. - SpaceMonkeyZero, on 03/07/2008, -0/+1The key would be that they'll need to be sturdy. But yes, taking out the roof rake every morning would be a pain... Although, if you weave in a wire like those to keep icicles from forming on your gutters throughout the panels... Turn it on for an hour or two and let the snow and ice melt off...
- MortalynFlux, on 03/07/2008, -0/+1His earpiece must have failed. Karl Rove probably dropped his headset.
- blogspinner, on 03/07/2008, -0/+1So is it time to start buying shares in inkjet printer companies?
What's actually kind of funny is that on the same page, to the right, is an ad for PopMech contest where you can win free gas for life. - SpaceMonkeyZero, on 03/07/2008, -1/+2Just a day or two ago GWB stated "The U.S. Must Get off Oil." Search Digg, it's there. It never made it to the front page because people don't want to hear Bush actually say something meaningful for once.
- Blandyman, on 03/07/2008, -0/+1Um, I think that's exactly the point of attempting to create mass-produced solar panels...
- kd1s, on 03/08/2008, -0/+1Damn, I want this right now! I've got a southern exposure that would crank enormous amounts of power.
- diggydougie, on 03/07/2008, -0/+1Always just a few years away. Never on the shelves. What's on the shelves is $600.00 for a couple hundred Watts. Great for camping but not for the home. Even the guys on the TV with solar systems always mention how they had to change out all the appliances and they still need some grid power. If they were cheap and efficient enough you could go off the grid completely and it would be affordable.
- MortalynFlux, on 03/07/2008, -0/+1You're not thinking infrastructure.
Personal solar panels => home electricity => car charge.
Injet-painted cars, future generation battery, regenerative breaks => reduced dependence on oil. - SpaceMonkeyZero, on 03/07/2008, -0/+1But it could keep the roof clear of ice and snow for the rest of the week... Just an idea.
- benjaminbr, on 03/07/2008, -0/+1hmmm... now, if I put that ink on my laptop...
- MortalynFlux, on 03/07/2008, -0/+1I googled it, and here's what I found:
"The Bush/Cheney administration has paid lip service to renewable energy and backed it up with inadequate and incremental funding support, favored old dirty and unsafe technologies, threatened vetoes of energy bills because they supported renewable energy incentives and mandates, and undermined the science of and the search for solutions to global warming," said a statement from Senate Democrats.
And notice I didn't say that Bush was against new ways of harnessing energy. He's all for it so long as it helps farmers and it allows the Exxons to keep their existing infrastructure (refineries, fuel stations, big boats hauling stuff). He's not looking for a new model that makes these obsolete. - BoneheadFarker, on 03/07/2008, -0/+1Pay close attention to his actions, not his words...
- saleh15, on 10/23/2008, -0/+0http://www.mzaeen.com/vb/f65/
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http://www.mzaeen.com/vb/f66/ - inactive, on 03/07/2008, -1/+1They are just fishing for dollars!
- sofakingsmart, on 05/12/2008, -0/+0I am sooo excited about this--this might change everything!
- ruffus, on 03/07/2008, -2/+2They save money by using dollar store 'tap-lites' to inspect their fancy equipment.
- deaks, on 03/07/2008, -1/+1what happens when they run out of ink? all i hear is how much ink costs, oh my god, ink is so expensive, i can't believe they charge so much oh my god oh my god oh my god!!!!11!
- al876ani, on 09/03/2008, -0/+0http://www.e7sas.cc/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=24 http://www.e7sas.cc/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=30 http://www.e7sas.cc/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=19 http://voice.graaam.com http://games.graaam.com http://directory.graaam.com http://voice.graaam.com http://forums.graaam.com/12511.html http://forums.m7taj.com/thread28986.html http://forums.m7taj.com/thread28765.html http://forums.m7taj.com/thread29155.html
- godofblog, on 06/21/2008, -0/+0This Malibu Solar Plastic Flood Light comes with three white LED bulbs. This beautiful fixture comes in a black color. It recharges by direct sunlight and will last up to 10 hours with a full charge. It comes with a stake to place anywhere in the yard to add a touch of light. more info http://astore.amazon.com/malibu.solar.light-20
- mhmdkhamis, on 05/30/2008, -0/+0Being I have been in the window film/tinting industry for 25 years .... this may prove to be profitable as well a "green" ...(everyone new buzz word)
http://www.paramegsoft.com/sitemap/
http://game.paramegsoft.com/
http://download.paramegsoft.com/
http://vb.paramegsoft.com/ - frakingcylons, on 03/09/2008, -0/+0no where does it say what % efficiency their cells run at... material science engineers have been making organic solar cells for years (it's just getting them to a realistic efficiency level is the key. i think the article is cool and all, but i'd appreciate more info from the startup company guys.
- sofakingsmart, on 05/12/2008, -0/+0I love to hear about innovations in solar cell panel energy. I blog about stuff like this on my website.
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