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Comment by p1mrx | Hacker News Reader

Be aware that most of the cheap knockoffs just use a motorized wheel. For example, see the videos on https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09VTJ4LZ8/#ive-videos-for-this-pr...

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They also use diagrams showing the ball traveling the wrong way. https://imgur.com/a/o3sHFhX

The art on most of Amazon's listings is just a thing of beauty, if you're into really bad photoshopping. Some of them are really eyebrow raising, while others are more WAT. I use it as a litmus test as clearly a knock off item, and move away from that listing.

The other day I came across the first use of stable diffusion in a listings product in use photos. To me it was obvious, knowing what to look for, but to the average user they'd never know, unless they really paid attention.

I can almost understand the bad photoshopping from a desire to put the product in situ but you have no budget/time/care to do a real shoot. To what level of generative art did they use for this product shot? Any chance you have a link?

Scroll down to the 2 product in use photos. It's painful to see.

https://www.amazon.com.au/Electric-Temperature-40%C2%B0C-120...

thanks for following up. i've been very curious. there's definitely a lot going on with this listing. luckily, it's not available, so one layer of scam protection is working. however, someone should teach the "artist" about scale and the affect it has on how the viewer.

Maybe it's because you're not based in AU/NZ (where com.au delivers), but for me, sadly, it shows as very much in stock.

The seller "FANLIB" has "just launched" according to Amazon and has no feedback yet. https://www.amazon.com.au/sp?ie=UTF8&seller=A138IJ2CHQMEWS

https://i.imgur.com/ZZOfdz6.png

Makes me sad.

Gotta love the description on theses:

> No need for power, just press on the battery and use it.

well, duh, you don't need power when it's got batteries. That's like emergency kit 101

It makes a horrible sound in the videos, but it's not obvious to me what you mean by "motorized wheel".

None of the mechanism is visible at all, certainly no wheel, motorized or not. How does a motorized wheel accomplish this?

Just guessing, but maybe there's some magnets attached to the wheel and they accelerate the ball as it gets near the bottom.

> None of the mechanism is visible at all, certainly no wheel, motorized or not. How does a motorized wheel accomplish this?

Probably a simple spinning wheel inside of the ball collection area.

Spinning rubber wheel in the hole the ball drops through before getting on the track. Notice how the ball doesn't differ in speed at all after it's fallen, vs the original feels natural (gaining momentum) until it gets close to the bottom.

Edit: In one of the Amazon review images[0] you can see a black spot in the ball drop hole, maybe there.

[0]: https://i.imgur.com/xb65ljL.png

You can also accelerate it from the ball collection area using a coil gun mechanism. A motor adds too much cost and moving parts.

If you listen to the amazon review videos you can hear a motor, or at least something else spinning at high speed.

Oh I see what you mean.

On the Amazon one (as opposed to the YouTube video) the balls come shooting down out of the upper collection area at high speed. And the upper collection area is much thicker. So it's hiding some kind of mechanism.

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