this post was submitted on 23 May 2025
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“How you design the beep is important.” Behind the movement for calmer gadgets. (arstechnica.com)
submitted 21 hours ago by sbv@sh.itjust.works to c/technology@lemmy.world
45 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

The Eight Laws of ~~Robotics~~ Calmness:

  1. Technology should require the smallest possible amount of attention.
  2. Technology should inform and create calm.
  3. Technology should make use of the periphery.
  4. Technology should amplify the best of technology and the best of humanity.
  5. Technology can communicate, but doesn’t need to speak.
  6. Technology should work even when it fails.
  7. The right amount of technology is the minimum needed to solve the problem.
  8. Technology should respect social norms.

I'm a little suspicious about a certification body that's paid for by producers, but it's fine if they can make it work.

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[–] Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works 12 points 21 hours ago (4 children)

What does 6 mean?

When my flashlight fails I can still beat zombies over the head with it. Is that what they are talking about?

[–] einlander@lemmy.world 24 points 21 hours ago

Think of a smart house for example, or Tesla cars. When the internet is down, you should still be able to turn your lights on or off. When the battery is dead on a Tesla you should still be able to open the door from the outside with the door handle and not have to hotwire a 12v battery for the subsystem to work.

[–] eager_eagle@lemmy.world 10 points 18 hours ago

Graceful degradation

A system designed to experience graceful degradation, or to fail soft (used in computing, similar to "fail safe"[13]) operates at a reduced level of performance after some component fails. For example, if grid power fails, a building may operate lighting at reduced levels or elevators at reduced speeds. In computing, if insufficient network bandwidth is available to stream an online video, a lower-resolution version might be streamed in place of the high-resolution version. Progressive enhancement is another example, where web pages are available in a basic functional format for older, small-screen, or limited-capability web browsers, but in an enhanced version for browsers capable of handling additional technologies or that have a larger display.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fault_tolerance

[–] Zak@lemmy.world 7 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

I encountered an infuriating example of the opposite a couple years ago: a gas stove that wouldn't work without electricity.

A gas stove normally operates with a mechanical valve to control gas to each burner, and while modern ones have electronic igniters, it's possible to use a match or the like instead. These assholes went out of their way to add an electronic valve that shuts it off when there's no power. It's probably in the name of safety, but the scenario where someone leaves the valve open without igniting the gas is possible even with power by failing to engage the igniter correctly, and gas is smelly.

I should be able to use a gas stove when there's no electricity or the igniter is broken if I supply my own source of ignition.

For your example of a flashlight, consider one with USB charging. If the charging port or circuit fails, I should be able to easily take out the battery and charge it in another charger (Li-ion charging is pretty standardized). If the battery is dead but the USB port works, I should be able to use it as a USB-powered lamp.

[–] cmnybo@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Gas valves and igniters don't even need much power. They could put a battery in there so it could be used when the power is out. My propane fireplace runs for years on 4 AA batteries and that's powering the receiver for the remote too.

[–] Zak@lemmy.world 1 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

The burner valves operate mechanically. It has an additional shutoff valve that closes when there's no electrical power. A battery backup for the igniters would be a great feature though - a Li-ion battery stored at half charge would last pretty much forever.

[–] cmnybo@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Heat makes lithium ion batteries fail much quicker. A non rechargeable lithium AA would last a long time and they don't leak like alkaline batteries.

[–] Zak@lemmy.world 1 points 14 hours ago

Heat is bad, but the battery could be positioned below the oven. Disposable would be cheaper.