negative_zero

I think the controversy is because that while being technically correct (bar a couple of mistakes) there are two main issues:

1) To get the result presented heavily depends on the experimental setup and this appears to be hand-waved away (or for the cynics: deliberately obscured) as it would detract from the impact of the video.

2) The definition of "ON" in the video is not what anybody would reasonably define as "ON". This is not discussed in the video therefore potentially comes of as deceptive.

As an electronic engineer I actually initially found the video confusing. I wasn't familiar with Veritasium before and I will admit my initial visceral reaction was "Oh he's just one of THOSE YouTube's and needs his clicks".

It wasn't until I went back through to understand Veritasium's unspoken assumptions, simplifications and a couple of medium mistakes that I could say: yes this is technically correct.

Personally I think with some better choice of wording the pitchforks wouldn't have come out as they have.

Edit: Added word for clarity.

No longer requiring a resource consent means that there is no need to consult with other parties who might be affected by your build (obvious one is NIMBY neighbours, but it targets problematic councils as well). They also cannot tie you up in the Environmetal Court with frivolous greivences to bleed you for time and money.

So yes, broadly you can build anything as long as it still meets building codes, zoning, fire, covenants etc.

Just off the top of my head (without doing in-depth research in the to PinePhone specs), potential gotchas:

1) The 1V8 power supply cannot cope with the additional power demand (just cause "it boots" doesn't mean it will be fine in all scenarios).

2) The SKU of the chip used cannot operate (or is not guaranteed to operate) at the higher speed + lower voltage.

3) The phone stops being EMC compliant.

A bit of research, probing and testing can answer those questions and screen for others. The PinePhone seems like it is aimed at a very technical crowd so I'm sure someone will figure it out :)

edit - formatting

A little bit off. If you are interested: The link you have there includes several different ways of ordering the same part but packaged differently: Cut Tape, Reels, Tubes, Trays etc. Some of those have will different sizes of packaging (eg tray of 50 vs tray of 200). I'd divide that 3000 by 3-5.

Other filters will be same part but different temperature range; same MCU but different footprint (which would require a board re-spin but not normally the end of the world).

You'll also get SKUs where different peripherals and flash is available which is generally the same die, but not everything worked when tested at the fab so it will get binned appropriately.

There's other filters but I guess I am saying the total number of SKUs of die that are getting made is not anywhere near 3000.

You are right with the 730 day lead time. Actually anything beyond a year you can interpret that way.

Even when there is stock, the parts will be on allocation anyway. Normally the biggest existing customers get first dibs and everyone outside of that circle is given an absurd lead time. Sometimes you can push your way in if your order is big enough.

I feel for the PlayDate team. It's not a fun time when this happens. Even my usual rule of "make sure there are at least two alternatives if possible" is failing in this shortage.

We've even resorted to ordering dev kits and scavenging parts from there which is good fun :)

Thank you for confirming!

Title contains spoliers? :( Can it please be adjusted? Not everyone has seen this movie because of covid restrictions (and I have been actively trying to avoid spoliers on the net).

Something that I have found very interesting: In New Zealand the QR codes are like the "Works Now" NSW ones. The combination of the A4 page size, the QR code taking up most of that page and peoples natural standing distance away from the posters, roughly means that the QR code takes up most of their screen. And I am not sure why, but some phones seem to really struggle with this setup.

And when the code won't scan, people's natural tendency is to then move closer to the QR code (make it fill the whole screen), which doesn't help at all. But if they instead initially move away it can fix the issue.

I'm not sure what would cause this? Maybe a reduction in relative angular distortion? Or perhaps only a crop of the image is "scanned" for QR codes?

But yeah this, (very) anecdotal, data point would counterintuitively push for a smaller QR code than "Works now"(maybe 10-20%).

The best experience I have had was the Queensland system. The QR codes I saw were different than explained at the end of this article. They were small (Original NSW size) but very simple codes. From the look and the number below, I assumed it was just a 6 digit number. Those would scan very fast (as in while I was still moving the phone at speed to align with the QR code).

In NZ the behaviour is: stop, aim, scan, wait, done. But in Queensland it worked so well I could just keep walking, wave my phone in the direction of the barcode and it would catch it.

Anyway, I just found those experiences very interesting, maybe others will too :)

To play devils advocate: It might just not have been possible. The only way to "repair" many devices today is put a whole new PCB in Perhaps ypur A50 was no longer stocked or made. Does your "pay any price" include 100k%USD to spin up a whe production line and its supply chain to make 1 replacement PCB for you?

Sadly, I think you are absolutely correct.

I agree this is a delayed approach. We squandered our greatest resource to fight this: our border.

We could not have rolled better starting stats to have:

1) A giant moat around us.

2) Only really four international airports (Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown).

3) All these are destination airports (as opposed to transit hubs where Singapore or Heathrow are classic examples).

I flew through Asia when SARS was in full swing and just now in February-March (just my luck) and have gone through borders where this was taken seriously earlier. NZs earlier "additional border controls" were pathetic. When I returned in mid March there was:

1) No thermal screening of passengers.

2) No health form to fill in.

3) Australian, Singapore and US!? passports were allowed to use the e-gates.

4) No additional cleaning of high risk surfaces.

5) No protective measures for the customs and border staff.

6) The only extra measure was a tiny pamphlet being handed out which essentially said: "If you feel sick, please ring healthline or a GP and tell them you have travelled."

Instead when I landed on 13th March:

1) I got a pamphlet handed to me which most passengers ignored and threw away

2) Had to touch the e-gates (which had no evidence of cleaning) that were touched by hundreds of other travellers

3) Could not wash my hands properly because soap ran out in a couple of the bathrooms

4) For extra points I could have jumped on a airport to city centre bus full of tourists from Europe (I got picked up instead).

and then they announced with a 48 hour warning that the border was shutting and then planes were packed coming in as people tried to "beat the compulsary quarantine".

The border should have been shut before the first case was detected here.

edit - additional new lines and a sentence

Oh I understand that. I was just trying to communicate that: their latest promise was to start shipping final hardware to people Q3 2019 and Bach Aspen is exactly that.

I actually give them kudos for allowing people to choose what batch they receive. I specifically did not pre-order because I don't want an early batch of hardware of any product. Had I know I would get a choice I would have pre-ordered.

I think there is an unfair amount of negativity in here and would like to offer an insiders perspective:

I have worked 11 years in product development in various roles (Hardware, Test, Production, Firmware and Mechanical often simultaneously). I can confidently tell you that this is how product development is in the real world (even amongst the big players). This schedule puri.sm publised is something you would never normally see, but I guarantee you exists for every product.

This is why, even though I am a lover of technology, I am not an early adopter. I normally buy a product when it has been on the market for 6-12 months as, in my expirience at least, you are on about revision 3-5 by then. The last minute changes for compliance are no longer done by hand, the first major issues from the field are fixed, mechanical tools are stable etc.

I know this place is majority software engineers so here's an analogy I'm sure many can relate to: How often have you shipped software to a customer that is beta? Or even alpha? Product development is no different :)