slow n easy

davidw said:

crowley said:

davidw said:

crowley said:

bloggerblog said:

mretondo said:

kurtvdpoel said:

It is physically impossible to insert a plug in a socket and touch the life metal parts, not even with a penny. Plug and socket are constructed that way.  Both have to follow strict standards. If both are constructed as imposed by those standards, nothing could happen to the girl. 

That’s not to say Alexa should have such a challenge.  That’s not acceptable behaviour for a smart speaker. But the little girl was never in danger. Not even when she had done what Alex instructed her to do. 

You can absolutely do this in the US. Our plugs are a terrible design.

Yes we can do that in the US, but I prefer the convenience of US plugs over European’s overly complex and large plugs

???

European plugs are basically the same as US plugs, just with cylindrical prongs instead of flat ones.  UK plugs are the larger (slightly)  and more complex (with actual safety features!) ones.

That's not a fair comparison. All the pictures are of plugs made by the same company using a standard size receptacle case for all the various plugs in different countries. 

In the US, the vast majority of electrical devices only needs a 2 prong polarized plug. They do not require the third ground prong. Only heavy duty appliances like refrigerators, microwaves, air conditioners, garbage disposals, computer cases with exposed metal and internal power supply, shop tools, non double insulated corded power hand tools, etc., requires grounding. Wheres the Apple TV here in the US can get by using a small 2 prong plug, the Apple TV in the UK still requires their standard 3 prong plug.  

But in the UK, every electrical device requires the third ground prong. without it, one would not be able to insert the plug into the socket as the third prong is needed to release the door blocking the other two prong from reaching the live contacts in the socket. Plus there need to be room for a fuse in the plug. 

Here's what the cord and plug looks like for an Apple TV in the UK

https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Gadget-SolutionsTM-Figure-Laptop/dp/B01MR4XEED/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=uk+plug+for+apple+tv&qid=1640963711&sr=8-4

Here's the cord and plug for an Apple TV in the US

https://www.amazon.com/Listed-Prong-Power-Compatible-Generation/dp/B07G23GVYN/ref=sr_1_12_sspa?crid=CBIF75XMJAYK&keywords=uk+plug+for+apple+tv&qid=1640953401&sprefix=uk+plug+for+apple+tv,aps,305&sr=8-12-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExS1c1MUlaT1o0MjFOJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMDc2OTY5WUVMWTRCODhIRFdPJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA5MDEyNjYyVjlZRDlVQTQ5OVIwJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfbXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Here's a US three prong plug. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002GRUIM?pd_rd_i=B0002GRUIM&pd_rd_w=abNsi&pf_rd_p=7ea8e9d0-fed1-49e8-a002-f2d3f5cb151d&pd_rd_wg=yEl6j&pf_rd_r=TDGZF9YX9TVXNS320M7X&pd_rd_r=2bda7f99-05bc-4431-a934-c9f43dfedce2

No way is the UK 3 prong plug only "slightly" larger than the US 3 prong plug. 

You seem to have missed the point of the picture.  It was to illustrate how similar the US and EU plugs are, in response to a post that said European plugs are large and complex.  

And I don't know why you're explaining the UK plug to me, I live here, and was taught how to rewire a plug in secondary school (junior high, approximately).  None of what you've said is particularly pertinent, and is better explained in the Tom Scott video already posted.

And I pointed out to you that the picture you have of a US plug is not even close to that of most US 2 or 3 prong plugs. The pictures you posted of the various plugs from different counties are made by the same company using their own standard receptacle case, that they use for all the various plugs they make. So it's no wonder that they all look similar and about the same size in your photos. You did not make a fair comparison or show any proof that the UK plug is just "slightly larger" than a US plug, as you stated. 

Anyone seeing the common US 2 and 3 prong plugs in the links i posted, could see that the US plugs are not at all "similar" or only "slightly" smaller in size, to the UK plug.  And the reason we all agree on, is because the UK plug is more "complex", as explained in the Scott video and no one is disputing this. Plus the UK plug is built to handle 240V. While the US plug only need to handle 120V. The UK plug in your picture can not be made any smaller. While the  2 prong US plug pictured can be made less than half the size shown. (Or less than 2/3 the size shown if for a US 3 prong plug.)  

Here's a link to a photo of a US hair dryer with the required (since the 90's) GFIC plug. The 2 prong GFIC plug is about the size of a UK plug and more complex (internally) and safer, without needing any special socket. Any such requirement in the UK? If so, the GFCI (RCD) plug probably wouldn't be much larger than the US version. "Wall Wart" power supplies in the UK are not much larger than similar ones in the US. 

https://www.amazon.com/Ionic-Professional-Ceramic-Tourmaline-Technology/dp/B08ZSFQK7G

BYW- a 240v US plug is about the same size as a UK plug. The US 240V plug and socket do not have all the safety features of the UK plug and socket. But then again, in the US, 240V outlets are not found in the bedroom, bathroom, den or living room. The 240v outlets are only use for large stationary appliances like the stove and electric clothes dryer. Which do not get unplugged after each use. We here do not plug our TV, computer, lights, stereo, toaster, hair dryer, etc., into a 240v outlet. Even though 120v can kill someone just as instantly as 240v. Working and dealing with 240v is much more dangerous than working and dealing with 120v.   



 

cropr said:

slow n easy said:

What makes you so certain that carriers in foreign countries will not support eSIM in a couple of years? Physical SIMs are bad for consumers. I’m definitely hoping that more and more carriers around the world start adopting it. That way you don’t even need to go to a carrier store and you could just switch to the local eSIM from your hotel room.

In some uses cases a physical SIM card has its advantages.  Example: you drop your phone badly so it is no longer functioning.   Just by merely pulling the physical SIM card and put into a other phone (even from a different brand) and you can immediately continue making calls, texting messages and accessing the internet.

     

The setup of a mobile phone with a physical SIM card owned by the mobile operator was conceived  with 2 major goals:  the end user could switch mobile operator by replacing the sim card with one from the new mobile operator and secondly the end user could switch phone brand by keeping the sim card but replacing phones.
The eSIM card makes that 2nd objective more difficult, because the old phone brand and the new phone brand both must support an eSIM, which is as a general rule  not the case.

You could argue that you will never switch brands and always stick to an iPhone, but other customers value such an option as important.  Saying that a physical SIM card is bad for customers is not valid for all customers.

maciekskontakt said:

Well, that is show stopper if you want to travel to foreign country and use store purchased SIM card with local phone number. Not all providers support eSIM. Good luck with iPhone. Want to know how much roaming and data services cost overseas even if you enable special travel program? Just check with AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile. Learn for yourself. It looks like Apple would not leave people any option, but buy Android. Heck, some of them still may allow even flash card to extend storage memory unlike iPhone.