"Nasty" blue laser at school...

[Lunal_Tic]

Re: "Nasty" blue laser at school...

"Magic Mouse" I like it. Can I use it? I've got a bunch of people to teach about computers at the office and they'll love that.

-LT

 

[KevinL]

Re: "Nasty" blue laser at school...

This irks me as well. One of my pet hates is people calling optical mice "laser mice". People going around calling optical mice "laser mice" is one thing, but what really annoyed me was when my little sister told me that her IT teacher had told her class in "parts of the computer" that optical mice work by shining a laser. I guess it doesn't really matter in this case, but it bugs me when a teacher, someone who people trust to be right, goes saying things that are wrong. No wonder people think that anything red is a laser. A high intensity red led != laser.

/end rant

Hmmm.. the academics occasionally need a fact check. Actually, make that often and necessarily in this advancing world of computer technology.

LEDs are not lasers, 100% agreed.

Check out Logitech's white paper and product briefings here. Products include the MX1000, G5 and G7 mice. Looks like it'll solve the problems some of my 5mm LED-based Logitech mice have while tracking on smoother surfaces.

 

[greenlight]

Re: "Nasty" blue laser at school...

I was shining my green x1 around at a concert and people said, "hey turn that laser off" The security would have taken it away, but then it's clearly not a laser.

 

[attowatt]

Re: "Nasty" blue laser at school...

makes me want to go buy a green lux 3 for my q3. who knows maybe I can tell them its a out of focus laser

 

[PhotonWrangler]

Re: "Nasty" blue laser at school...

I think that one of the characteristics of LEDs that makes them appear to look laser-like in appearance is their highly monochromatic "crisp" look, particularly the colored ones. Since the average person doesn't understand the difference between coherent light and non-coherent, they just see something that looks markedly different from regular light and they assume it must be a laser. I can understand this although it only points out their need to be educated on the matter, if for no other reason than to quash the hysterical reactions that can happen.

 

[BobVA]

Re: "Nasty" blue laser at school...

Some of the TOSLINK spigots I've seen lately use lasers (the older ones appeared to be LEDs). They look like 650-670nm to my semi-calibrated eye. I wonder if they're VCSELS.

Have you seen this on any consumer products? I've seen some Toshiba OEM modules with lasers for very high data rate/long runs (500m), but I've never or seen or heard of one on a consumer product for S/PDIF (audio) use. The laser version I've seen also uses a completely different (two-fiber) connector (it is a VCSEL, btw) and is IR:

http://www.semicon.toshiba.co.jp/eng/prd/opto/doc/pdf/bee0045a.pdf

 

[PhotonWrangler]

Re: "Nasty" blue laser at school...

Have you seen this on any consumer products? I've seen some Toshiba OEM modules with lasers for very high data rate/long runs (500m), but I've never or seen or heard of one on a consumer product for S/PDIF (audio) use. The laser version I've seen also uses a completely different (two-fiber) connector (it is a VCSEL, btw) and is IR:

http://www.semicon.toshiba.co.jp/eng/prd/opto/doc/pdf/bee0045a.pdf

The current iteration of S/A's 8300 DVR uses a laser in the single-fiber optical output port. I think the newer 8000-HD DVRs are also using lasers. They appear to be fairly weak, probably a milliwatt or less, but there's that distinctive speckle pattern present when I push the little plastic shutter out of the way and peek into the port.

 

[The_LED_Museum]

Re: "Nasty" blue laser at school...

Some of the TOSLINK spigots I've seen lately use lasers (the older ones appeared to be LEDs). They look like 650-670nm to my semi-calibrated eye. I wonder if they're VCSELS.

VCSELs are, to the best of my knowledge, available only in NIR and IR wavelengths; the shortest wavelength one I'm aware of emits at 780.5nm - very nearly the same wavelength as the diode laser in a CD player emits.

Externally, they look a lot like 5mm LEDs in water-clear epoxy packages, as the photograph below shows.

 

[BobVA]

Re: "Nasty" blue laser at school...

The current iteration of S/A's 8300 DVR uses a laser in the single-fiber optical output port. I think the newer 8000-HD DVRs are also using lasers. They appear to be fairly weak, probably a milliwatt or less, but there's that distinctive speckle pattern present when I push the little plastic shutter out of the way and peek into the port.

Interesting! I just shot you a PM on this.

Cheers,
Bob

 

[Sigman]

Re: "Nasty" blue laser at school...

"Magic Mouse" I like it. Can I use it? I've got a bunch of people to teach about computers at the office and they'll love that.

-LT

I can't find it on the web (it's on my little desktop calendar though) the Dilbert cartoon strip "Mouse Training" dated 9/05/02 APPLIES!!!

 

[Ledean]

Re: "Nasty" blue laser at school...

Good job Alex.
That kid probally is all grateful to you .
Truly a good deed of the flashaholic type.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

Re: "Nasty" blue laser at school...

Interesting! I just shot you a PM on this.

Cheers,
Bob

Bob, I replied to your PM but my machine froze just as I hit "send." Did you get it?

 

[BobVA]

Re: "Nasty" blue laser at school...

Nope, try again if you get a chance, but if something your browser doesn't like, no problem. (Just some blue-skying about technology.)

Cheers,
Bob

 

[PhotonWrangler]

Re: "Nasty" blue laser at school...

I tried it again from a different machine. It hung for a long while after hitting 'send' but it eventually went through. I think.

 

[recalled]

Re: \"Nasty\" blue laser at school...

EVERYBODY wants the BEST PAID and HIGHEST QUALIFIED teachers. Small class size, a wide selection of skill building courses for the students.

That is until the local and state governments say "Fine... Just let me raise you property/sales tax by 10-20% to pay for it."

That will put an end to most of the education reforms that will REALLY make a difference and we are left with a series of shell games.

wwglen

Since this is not only months old, but also a point in the "off-topic" direction, I will make the only statement necessary for this:
Don't raise my taxes or charge me more money to educate SOMEONE ELSE'S KIDS. Their kids, their bill.

If society wants to give a quality education to its children, it can start by making the parents solely responsible for them, not half-assing responsibility by making others pay for them but allow nothing else.


- recalled