When I was last night again fixing old Nokia N73 cellular phone (needed a touch of soldering iron to make volume button to work again) I remember this article I saw few days ago.
Are engineers early adopters? article claims that engineers aren’t early adopters of the latest technology. They are more like past the peak of the adoption curve. It’s not because engineers don’t like technology, instead it’s because engineers know how to keep older technology running longer than the general population. We fix and upgrade older technology when others simply replace it.
Me doing some small fixes to my smarphone, PC and some more electronics, is for sure keeping older technology running longer.
One Are engineers early adopters? article comment says: “Engineers are early adopters of truly new technology, but are not early adopters of trendy marketing or technology that is not a significant improvement over technology that already exists.”
I am curious by nature, so new technologies/products are first reviewed on-line, tested in the store, looked at on social networks for word of mouth/experiences then purchased if all checks out. I want to know the pros and cons of the new technology. Usually only the pros get marketed to the end consumer through reviews.
Another interesting article mentioned at Why We Love Things We Build Ourselves Slashdot posting mentions article Unfolding the IKEA Effect: Why We Love the Things We Build. The IKEA Effect refers to the tendency for people to value things they have created/built themselves more than if made by someone else. Research suggests that by asking consumers to do a little legwork, you can increase their belief in the value of the product they have created, even if it would have been better constructed by professionals. Study demonstrates that this sense of personal accomplishment is powerful on its own, without any social influence.
Would the IKEA effect hold in more complex situations? Is this the reason that open source software proponents are so “enthusiastic” about their products while the general market resists them? The proponents of them had a hand in developing them. All interesting questions for future research!
This Isn’t Your Mother’s Iron
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1367&doc_id=249642&itc=dn_analysis_element&&cid=NL_Newsletters+-+DN+Daily
I remember the days when mom and dad would say, “Things aren’t built like they used to be.” That was more than 40 years ago. Now it’s me telling my kids the same thing. I was too young to really appreciate the high level of build quality back then.
If price is a reflection of quality, we are now buying good irons. However, these are so poorly engineered that replacement is inevitable. In fact, we regularly save the receipts and boxes to return them as they fail. Sometimes the product lasts a month, and sometimes it lasts six months, but invariably they all fail.
I’ve replaced or repaired the cords on these new models a few times. But these are different from my mom’s iron; these were not really intended to continue on after a cord replacement. Just opening these irons is a challenge.
Yet all this cord business is usually irrelevant — the iron fails before the cord needs replacing.
The joys of tinkering
http://www.edn.com/design/test-and-measurement/4396825/The-Joys-of-Tinkering?cid=EDNToday
With tinkering and observation comes design instinct and applied knowledge that’s hard to get any other way.
We know that many of our best students grow up tinkering but many more arrive at college lacking practical know-how. But put a soldering iron in their hands and the magic begins. In freshman practicum, students solder small elements to a printed circuit board to build, say, an AM radio receiver or audio oscillator. We’ve found the female students to be more dexterous and get the soldering job done faster than their male counterparts. Suddenly the women feel like they belong to the “club.” It’s fun to see their confidence build. Once students get a taste of electrical engineering, they have a reason to study core subjects like circuits, calculus, and physics.
But one big obstacle remains at RIT and other engineering campuses.
Each of those lab courses requires students to have ready access to a fully equipped electronic laboratory. I’ve often thought, “If we could only provide a way to let them tinker more on their own.”
However, I am now evaluating a small electronic module about the size of a deck of cards that could significantly impact the way we deliver practical lab-based content. The Analog Discovery module from Digilent Inc. and Analog Devices Inc. is intended to substitute for the typical $5,000 instrument cluster of oscilloscope, signal generator, and power supply in university labs and provide users with their own “electronic sandbox” to tinker and observe
Some of my colleagues are rightfully concerned about the teaching effectiveness of this new online delivery method. However, the reality is that most of the world’s prospective engineering students are still waiting for the opportunity to gain access to engineering courses. It’s sad that only the privileged few have a chance to attend top-flight engineering schools. Why shouldn’t all creative minds in the world benefit? It’s going to happen. I choose to participate.
6 famous people you may not know are engineers
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/serious-fun/4405678/6-famous-people-you-may-not-know-are-engineers
Take a look at six well-known, even famous, people who have an engineer’s mind and skills, but who have been acclaimed for talents other than engineering.
http://www.homemadetools.net/