International Railroad Discussion > new tech=new problems

Leading to a new, high tech, solution: https://gizmodo.com/panasonic-created-a-custom-vacuum-to-rescue-dropped-air-1845593764
 

Thanks for the link.

According to the East Japan Railway Co., more commonly referred to as JR East by the locals, between July and September of this year there were 950 reports of wireless earbuds dropped onto the tracks at 78 different stations across Tokyo.

Not quite. Locals simply call them "JR," especially Tokyo residents. JR East translated is "JR 東" and that's not accurate either. "JR 東日本" translated as "JR East Japan" is a phrase I've heard from locals, but that's in a more formal/professional conversation with railroad staff and ticketing agents, when the railroad needs to be differentiated from JR Tokai/JR Central, JR West (those are English nicknames, not how the "locals" call them), or other JR organizations. That's my nitpick of the author's English bias and artistic license. :-)

I'm surprised consumers didn't think of this before buying AirPods. It's their money and hassle, I guess. I continue to use wired headphones, which are quite convenient.

Wow! Who would have figured these would stay in someone’s ear running or jumping. Problem is, most new IPhones don’t have the plug outlet anymore to plug into. My wife uses the wireless ones that attach over the ear.

Valleyman

Valleyman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wow! Who would have figured these would stay in
> someone’s ear running or jumping. Problem is,
> most new IPhones don’t have the plug outlet
> anymore to plug into. My wife uses the wireless
> ones that attach over the ear.
>
> Valleyman

Steve Jobs had an obsession with "aesthetic" industrial design, and thinness was one of his obsessions, continued on by the current Apple regime. Remember the "thinner" MacBooks from a generation ago?

I've read articles from Macintosh project engineers who called out Jobs' ignorance on electronics (back in the 1980s), where his design had signal interference all over the place. Form is supposed to follow function!

It's my speculation that Apple's obsession to remove the phono plug (3.5 mm plug) to make devices thinner led to the AirPods. BlueTooth is nice, but looks like this is "change" that's not practical.

cchan006 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Valleyman Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Wow! Who would have figured these would stay in
> > someone’s ear running or jumping. Problem is,
> > most new IPhones don’t have the plug outlet
> > anymore to plug into. My wife uses the wireless
> > ones that attach over the ear.
> >
> > Valleyman
>
> Steve Jobs had an obsession with "aesthetic"
> industrial design, and thinness was one of his
> obsessions, continued on by the current Apple
> regime. Remember the "thinner" MacBooks from a
> generation ago?
>
> I've read articles from Macintosh project
> engineers who called out Jobs' ignorance on
> electronics (back in the 1980s), where his design
> had signal interference all over the place. Form
> is supposed to follow function!
>
> It's my speculation that Apple's obsession to
> remove the phono plug (3.5 mm plug) to make
> devices thinner led to the AirPods. BlueTooth is
> nice, but looks like this is "change" that's not
> practical.

Surely Apple didn't hope that they could sell a new, pricey accessory in large numbers by forced obsolecence of the widespread 3.5 mm headphones? No, they wouldn't do a thing like that... /s

One new way to lose an earbud (or in my case, a hearing aid) is when putting on or taking off a face mask.