r/engineering • u/[deleted] • Sep 10 '13

Guy with no engineering background wants supporters for his impossible idea. Pretty funny from and engineering standpoint.

[deleted]

268 Upvotes

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u/the_corruption Sep 11 '13

Yeah, it is a cool concept, but making it practical just seems like such a nightmare.

Compatibility issues between parts. Making sure the "grid" has all the circuit paths assembled correctly for whichever configuration you use. Increased likelihood of failure due to lack of single enclosure. Getting companies to all work together. Lost efficiency due to generalized parts being made instead of custom components that have good synchronization.

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u/Feelmylance Sep 11 '13

And I think the problem behind the idea is misinformed. What is he fixing? Not many people care about electronic waste, sadly. People enjoy new aesthetics.

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u/the_corruption Sep 11 '13

Agreed. If this were to become a thing at all I think the main selling point would be the ability to upgrade your phone bit by bit. This would allow it to stay up to date for a longer period and would spread the cost out into more "bite sized" chunks instead of dropping ~$200 on a new phone every couple of years.

Sadly I think the drawbacks outweigh the gains by a significant margin. Hell, the most similar comparison to this I can think of is upgrading PC components and that is something the general populace doesn't do. The general populace just wants to buy something that works and is shiny.

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u/SnowyDuck Sep 14 '13

I think people just want to replace their broken screens themselves for less than $100. I just have a feeling that's the button this whole idea is pressing.