Power Up!
Providing power to all these computers and associated devices can lead to a desk full of tangled wires not to mention the high electricity bills.
There is hope on the horizon though, there are two developments which I wanted to bring to your attention - something to look out for.
It's all in the wire
The first is Power over Ethernet - this standard has not yet be ratified but the objective is to provide power over a network (CAT 5)cable. This would mean a laptop could be powered by the network cable.
An LCD Screen could be powered by the cable which connects it to the communications network - whilst the applications are limited, the benefits are there.
Better Battery
The second in the improvement in battery technology which is being researched by Bell Labs jointly with
mPhase which is set to herald a whole new generation of batteries with an expected useful life of 15-20 years. This is well in excess of current gadgets and even most durable batteries used in storage appliances expect to degrade by 10% per year.
The batteries use special properties of certain hydroscopic electrolytes that can be stored in a microscopic structure called a "nanograss"; when stimulated the fluids then produced an electric current. The advantages of this type of design is that it promises to radically reduce battery size and weight. It is also possible to customise the design so that batteries can be built to fit into any pre-designed space.
The batteries are not yet ready for commercial use but analysts are already praising them.
