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this post was submitted on 29 Oct 2024
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Technology
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I don't understand what was wrong with the original version that just took 2 AA batteries. Reaching for the AA charger and swapping cells not awkward enough or something?
Smart and elegant design would be hiding a battery charger in the iMac it self (maybe even use something smaller than AA), not expect you to flip and plug in your mouse every time ya leave it. The Nintendo Switch, while a completely different form factor, is a great example of an elegant (you could even say "wireless") charging solution.
I'm getting really sick of the Apple esthetic of sticking out wires, be it the mouse or the dozen dongles for every portable device they now make. Uh! Can't forget the world's only pen that needs charging, for seemingly no reason.
They can fit a bigger rechargeable battery in the same space as a battery bay for replaceable batteries. Plus it eliminates the waste of throwing away batteries, and has longer battery life than similarly sized alkalines.
Honestly don't feel like a slight reduction on a month long battery life is of much concern. As for waste, I'd say being able to replace a dead battery should reduce waste if anything, also nobody said it must be a AA (on a side note, you seem to imply the use of non-rechargeable AA, which holy shit, if they're still a thing, must be purged, sweet jesus...who's dumb enough to waste money on em???). Personally, I'd much prefer having a second battery charging separately somewhere, ready to swap, as opposed to being forced to stop using my computer. Or like the Nintendo Switch I mentioned before, have some spot I can put it away for charing, that way the mouse is also cleaned up and not fucking dangling and wobbling around freely on the table.
You should probably educate yourself on the advantages of rechargeable and single use AA batteries before calling other people dumb for still using Alkaline batteries.
Rechargeable NiMH batteries are great for most usecases, but even the ones that are designed to have a low self-discharge rate still are much worse in that regard than Alkaline batteries. There are simply use cases where rechargeable AA batteries make no sense and you are much better off with regular Alkaline batteries.
Thanks for not providing even a single example... I tried looking around and only found relatively niche use cases, like them being more reliable and resistant (while also being lighter) for extreme environments or infrequent use, for example emergency equipment. And then some people choosing em because they don't feel like investing more into it, when they have only a couple devices that drain the batteries slowly, let's say a clock that lasts a year. That could be easily fixed if you could exchange empty batteries for full ones like with gass tanks and similar, and the prior examples aren't a good enough reason to have such batteries in the convenience store.
Anything that has a very low power draw. You already listed one of the common examples: a clock. Due to rechargeable NiMH batteries having a high self-discharge rate you would have to replace the battery every year, whilst an Alkaline battery would last 5 to 10 years. Other common household items that are a good example would be TV remotes, smoke alarms, or smart home devices like light switches.