The wonders of USB (for Amyas)
Yesterday, Amyas let his tea get cold on his desk. I mentioned that a USB cup warmer would stop this happening; Amyas, being a sensible chap, seemed surprised that such a thing existed.
Well, I knew I'd seen them somewhere, and I thought I might purchase one for fun. I looked on the internet... and there were USB cup warmers. Great.
But it isn't that simple. You can pay anything from £2 to £20, it seems, for a single warmer. You can choose between silver, white, black, gold, all in different shapes and sizes. You can get a USB cup warmer with integrated 4-port USB hub. Some cup warmers come with cups. Or stainless steel cups with lids. Some are flat-topped, some have round indents, some have on-off switches and LEDs. Some - very rare, this kind - have LCD clocks and temperature readouts! Some offer 50-60C warming; some 40C to 80C, from outer edge to centre.
I'm overwhelmed by the variety! I am awed that so many people should have designed these gizmos and had them manufactured; can the market be so large? Perhaps office workers worldwide are desperate for computer add-ons to warm their beverages (at least we aren't sticking our mugs on top of warm bits of computer, inviting dangerous spills, I suppose). Poor old USB, too; I can't imagine that a 4-port hub plus heater is going to meet the current limits required by the USB standard.
(Amyas - I'd've got you one, but I couldn't decide.)
Well, I knew I'd seen them somewhere, and I thought I might purchase one for fun. I looked on the internet... and there were USB cup warmers. Great.
But it isn't that simple. You can pay anything from £2 to £20, it seems, for a single warmer. You can choose between silver, white, black, gold, all in different shapes and sizes. You can get a USB cup warmer with integrated 4-port USB hub. Some cup warmers come with cups. Or stainless steel cups with lids. Some are flat-topped, some have round indents, some have on-off switches and LEDs. Some - very rare, this kind - have LCD clocks and temperature readouts! Some offer 50-60C warming; some 40C to 80C, from outer edge to centre.
I'm overwhelmed by the variety! I am awed that so many people should have designed these gizmos and had them manufactured; can the market be so large? Perhaps office workers worldwide are desperate for computer add-ons to warm their beverages (at least we aren't sticking our mugs on top of warm bits of computer, inviting dangerous spills, I suppose). Poor old USB, too; I can't imagine that a 4-port hub plus heater is going to meet the current limits required by the USB standard.
(Amyas - I'd've got you one, but I couldn't decide.)