Back when nuclear power stations were first proposed, we were promised "energy which is too cheap to meter". That is, the cost of electricity would be so low, invoicing for its use would be prohibitively expensive. Well, that didn't exactly turn out that way! But as our electronics have become more efficient, the cost of processing payments begins to outweigh the cost of providing electricity. How much would you pay to fully charge your smartphone? A quid? 50p? If you're desperate, a fiver? …
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The good folks at Ntonpower have sent me this utterly ridiculous, and fantastically over-powered USB charger. It has ten frickin' ports each one capable of delivering 2.4 amps. So, what's it like? Straight up, it looks like a plastic toast rack. It's a chunky beast, but surprisingly lightweight. You won't have trouble lifting it, but it stays firmly in place. Round the other side are 10 USB ports. Well spaced out, not too cramped. It might be nice if they lined up with the rack, but…
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A few months ago, I asked if we could entirely do away with physical ports on phones. We have Bluetooth to replace the headphone port, WiFi can replaced the data transfer properties of the USB port, all that's needed is a way to get power into the damn thing! That's what the "Qi" standard hopes to change. A simple way to get inductive charging working on phones. So, thanks to some Amazon vouchers I got for my birthday, I decided to see how cheaply and easily I could get wireless charging…
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