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ripcord mouse

 charge your laptop by pulling the mouse
  (+6, -1)
(+6, -1) 		  [vote for,
against]

Laptops should have a mouse attached via an internal cord reel, like a vacuum cleaner cable. The mouse should slowly retract back into the laptop when not being used.

The reel should drive a generator when the mouse is pulled, a bit like a rowing machine. Then when the battery is running flat a few brisk strokes would charge it up nicely. The screen could display motivational messages at the same time, or a rowing game.

This might work best with something like a Panasonic Toughbook, then you could take it off the desk, put your feet on it for better traction, and row away with the mouse two-handed, just like a rowing machine. Rowing is a pretty efficient form of exercise, using lots of different muscle groups, which should make it well suited to electricity generation.

—aglet, May 31 2006


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Annotation:







       Many laptops a lot of power. A typical person could produce enough power using a pedal crank, but most people would tire quickly trying to produce that much power with a hand crank. A "rip cord" (did you mean "zip cord"?) would be even less efficient.
—supercat, May 31 2006
   

       [+] Now you need to attach it to a pedal bike ;)
—kuupuuluu, May 31 2006
   

       cool idea. won't create enough power as [supercat] pointed out. something that is part of an easily continued rhythym is required. pedals are good.   

       just make sure that people don't try for those kinetic watch battery chargers. swinging laptops around seems like a bit of a health hazard.
—tcarson, May 31 2006
   

       I hope the cord is lockable, because I would hate having a mouse that is always resisting me (wouldn't it constatly be pulling the mouse sideways?).   

       And the mouse shouldn't be built-in to the laptop. It would probably actually take many strokes, rather than few to "charge it up nicely". I would probably vote for this with a few modifications.
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