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- Tenlow, on 10/12/2007, -0/+27Remember that a fuel cell needs to use fuel, most often hydrogen. There's still hope for exploding laptops in the future.
- drepmoreh, on 10/12/2007, -1/+16Pretty cool. :)
Although if this becomes the norm I'll miss the videos of exploding batteries on Youtube. - iBookG4, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10"on a coffee cup's worth of fuel". Although it is not clear how much fuel there is in a cup of coffee.
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I'd say this refers to the amount of fuel to FILL a coffee cup, not the amount of fuel you can extract FROM the coffee. - kuribo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8This seems perfect for me. I also often run for ~15 hours on a cup of coffee.
- chongli, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7The fuel cells use methanol, not methane. That oxygen atom makes a big difference!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanol - Petronski, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9Forty hours of use, and all for only 55 grams of unobtanium dioxide.
- sanman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5It's DMFC (Direct Methanol Fuel Cell) and not Unobtainium. Samsung is just using higher methanol content. They're also boosting the power by making the membrane thinner. I think it's a PolyFuel membrane that's now down to 20 microns.
I dunno what's more dangerous -- exploding Li-ion batteries, or the exploding methanol tank. Lawyers, start your engines... - JimXugle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I donno about you... but it usually takes ~32 fl oz/1litre of coffee to get me going in the morining.
- burke, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6In case people missed the joke, he was making referenece to the fact that these fuel cells use methane, and so does your ass.
- chongli, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The biggest problem I can see with these fuels cells is convenience: why do I want to keep buying more fuel for my laptop when I can use a battery that simply plugs into the wall?
- JayD16, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3They've made nuclear batteries that could run a laptop longer then the lifespan of anyone using it. Too bad is extraordinarily dangerous if something goes wrong. =/
- grambones, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2At least its a reliable source........
- dacheetah, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Leveling a city block? With a rather small bottle of methanol? Your sir are crazy. Every supermarket I've been in that I can remember sells bottles of methylated spirits, which is basically the same stuff, and I've never seen a bottle of that successfully level a city block. (And I HAVE ignited full bottles of the stuff, I was quite the pyro back in high school. In the hands of a terrorist the worst it could do it be used as a molitov cocktail, and I assure you there are easier and more dangerous things that could be used in one of those.)
- JonnyTrombone, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1A docking station, and not a totally new type of integrated battery... perhaps it will be available for many different laptop brands?
- JeffH, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Instead of exploding batteries, we can have laptop fires when people light up too close to their fuel-cell. Or electricity explosions when their fuel cells begin to leak into the insides of the laptop.
- kingkilr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1And then promptly explode, damn you Dell!
- CoffeeCup, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Dugg for Coffee Cup reference.
- marvinobanana, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Their design has one little drawback: the toxic methanol – a.k.a. wood alcohol - which, if imbibed, will deliver a delightful bout of oblivion to those desperately in need thereof... However, for dessert, they also will get a dose of brain damage, and quite possibly blindness. Why not use ethanol instead (same stuff you find in Crown Royal...) ? Then they could add 'portable-bar' to this gizmo's feature list.
- dacheetah, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Methanol is cheaper, and clearly labeled as POISON. You can buy methylated spirits (which is around 99% pure methanol) for about the same price as distilled water, but you have to be a desperate idiot to drink the stuff. If you want a drink that'll get you wasted as quickly as possible, Baccardi 151 (which is 151 proof, or 75½% ethanol) is a good choice, but costs a lot more than methanol (and won't usually leave you blind and/or dead)
- monsterCable, on 10/12/2007, -8/+9Man, I would hate to have a farting laptop.
- roxics, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1But hey I'll be opening minded. Especially if that means one day you can switch back and forth from a regular battery to a fuel cell depending on where you are and what your prefer.
- Sethwm2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Dude they have to make some kind of battery for the MacBook Pro that is like this or a dock...
- baxtermaddux, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2how exactly does someone videotape their exploding laptop? i have better things to do than sitting around videotaping a laptop waiting for it to blow up
- roxics, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2I know it's new technology, but it just feels like a step backwards. I guess that's just because my brain has been hammered by mass media for the last ten years about how cars should be moving toward electricity rather then fuel. So to take our laptops in the reverse direction seems wrong.
- BryanJK, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I find this very amazing actually... yea, it may seem unsafe, but just look around you... 1 month of laptop use would be very useful, actually... it seems crazy. (also something weird is just a few hours ago I was reading this on engadget) otherwise, i digg it :)
- JaYBrooks, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This is interesting.... Lets hope it isn't another sony Li-Ion battery :P Samsung remember R&D is good.. Testing is good too... As far as using as a everyday thing... I doubt it will be cheap enough... For emergency purposes it would be good. Job sites in the middle of no where. It doesn't have to power a Laptop. I know a heater powered by one of these would of been a lot better than the fireplace or a loud generator.
- RickyBennett, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1just get a generator and you are powering the laptop
- lippe, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0This shall be an interesting techonology to watch. They are coming as they promised, but at what point are they even going to be viable for the normal consumers to buy?
- PLUMCRAZY, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2Anybody else wonder why a "docking station" needs an alternate energy source?
Planning on selling these in places where electricity is less available than hydrogen? - larsonc, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Great, my engineering school's going to be become one giant ticking time bomb...
- BryanJK, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0The point is, a laptop might last a year on the same amount of fuel a car last a couple of weeks or so...
- Brajeshwar, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1I was just thinking all those exploding videos, do they know it is going to explode, so they got their cameras ready!
- Soldan, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1say goodbye to using your laptop on a public form of transportation...... keyword fuel... I am sure once this has a large installed base you will see all sorts of problems....
- bleutuna, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Other than the potential of leveling a city block or a fully city when it explodes...fuel cells are the future....gimmehaveit.
- CrudE, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1I wish they had this technology for iPods right now
- BryanJK, on 10/12/2007, -6/+0Quoted from official Apple website:
---Playback time (30GB model)
* Music playback time: Up to 14 hours when fully charged
* Photo slideshow with music viewing time: Up to 4 hours when fully charged
* Video playback time: Up to 3.5 hours when fully charged
---Playback time (80GB model)
* Music playback time: Up to 20 hours when fully charged
* Photo slideshow with music viewing time: Up to 6 hours when fully charged
* Video playback time: Up to 6.5 hours when fully charged - LaSepultura, on 10/12/2007, -6/+0But the question is... if I strap it to a monitor and throw it down an elevator shaft, will I kill at least 2 terrorists?
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