Date   : Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:10:16 +0000
From   : afra@... (Phill Harvey-Smith)
Subject: Atoms are getting expensive

Alex Taylor wrote:
> On 28 January 2010 21:02, Anders Carlsson <anders.carlsson@...>
> wrote: On the subject of tips - there are people here who are still
> buying stuff from tips? First the ones in Northampton stopped me
> buying electrical things (even things that run off DC) for "safety"
> reasons - then the one round here did it too. I could strangle the
> people responsible to death, revive them, shoot them, revive them
> again, then slowly steamroller them to death. Then burn their
> flattened bodies inside a ceremonial wicker man.

Well, it's unfortunatly the way the law is written, if they sell (or 
even give) you electrical equipment, then they count as a supplier and 
are responsible for making sure that it is safe at the point of sale, 
which means they'd have to get it tested (which of course costs). I 
believe that this is also the reason that charity shops will no longer 
accept electrical/electronic goods.

As to even things that run off DC, they can still develp a fault that 
can cause them to overheat, cause a fire and burn your house down, even 
battery powered things...check out some of the videos of laptop 
batteries on fire on youtube...believe me Lithim burns really well.

The university I used to work at used to allow staff to have old IT 
equipment if we where throwing it, on the poriviso that it didn't come 
back to work, and the IT staff wouldn't support it as a home machine.
That's where some of my Beeb equipment came from, as the department used 
to have a load of Beebs back in the 80s
Now we are not allowed to let people have stuff for much the same reasons.

Cheers,

Phill.

-- 
Phill Harvey-Smith, Programmer, Hardware hacker, and general eccentric !

"You can twist perceptions, but reality won't budge" -- Rush.