I once read somewhere on the Internet (and therefore its veracity is beyond reproach, right?) that you can visit Thomas Edison's actual workshop - now a museum - and see some of his prototype light bulbs still in working condition.
Now, if my history teacher wasn't just making things up, Edison was credited with putting the finishing touches on the electric light bulb in 1879, so that means those light bulbs have been working for something like 150 years.
Now, maybe I've been using them incorrectly, but my bulbs seem to only last a few months.
How many tech geeks does it take to change a light bulb, anyway?
The tech answer, of course, is why bother? The socket will be obsolete in six months.
In reality, it all comes down to a matter of parts and costs.
You could have a light bulb that will last years, but it would likely cost about $1,000 and that would get real pricey if you happened to be a bit of a butterfingers - or, like most adolescent boys, happen to just like the sound of smashing a light bulb on the ground.
But it speaks a lot to technology and planned obsolescence.
Anyone who has owned a cell phone, gadget or computer for more than two years knows that there's already a new, snazzier model, or faster processor, already out there making your once kick-ass purchase look like an old farty dinosaur.
My burning question, though, is why does each new cell phone and gadget have to come with its own completely new and unique power charger?
Seriously, I have a closet (not a drawer) full of discarded chargers for old equipment. It looks like R2D2 got sick in there or something.
With the exception of Apple, who thankfully now makes all its iproducts so they use the same type of power chargers, every other mobile phone maker has a completely different type of phone charger - totally unusable for any other companies' phones.
Heck, some companies even have different chargers for their different models of phones.
It's a bit insane, really.
Wouldn't it be great if you were out, with a cell phone low on juice and you could just ask a friend or random stranger at the bar if you could borrow her/his charger?
Starting in 2011, European citizens will be able to do just that, thanks to new legislation.
The European Commission, working with the 10 big phone makers like Apple, Motorola, Samsung and Research In Motion, have made an agreement that starting in 2011 most cell phones sold in Europe will use the same charger.
This is big news not only for the tech world, but also for the environment, because we all know when it's time to toss the phone, the charger also ends up in the landfill.
A universal charger means consumers don't have to get a new charger with every mobile phone. As a bonus, it'll be easier to borrow a charger when in need.
Unfortunately, North Americans will have to wait until their governments take the same legislative approach or until the European change forces the industry to change on this side of the pond.
Perhaps it wouldn't be as profitable for the accessory-making industry, or maybe the thought never crossed anyone's minds.
But it makes so much sense that you wonder why somebody hasn't gotten that particular light bulb over their heads before now?
So instead of innovating on something as simple and common sense as a universal charger, we're left catching up to the environmental Europeans.
It's too bad Edison couldn't have stuck around as long as his bulbs.
