Dragons Den

unwashed potato! · 22 Mar 2007 at 10:55

gjrc said:
i love this program, some of the ideas are laughable, some genuinely clever. it makes good TV

yeah thats exactly what i love about the program, plus i think the dragons are all really great in there own way, some you have, some you like.

Briton · 22 Mar 2007 at 11:05

alexthecheese said:
But if they've patented a design that works, is cheap, and the companies sign up to before the law is imposed then they're laughing - particularly as they're adament there's nothing else available to do the same job.

I think part of the problem is that people - even when told to their FACE - don't understand how an appliance could draw so much current when on standby, when they can't actually see them doing anything. Like that guy said, my set-top box for my freeview runs hot even when off, though my entire bedroom is pretty much rigged up to a fat mains switch that I turn off when I go out (my dad is crazy about wasting energy).

I'm surprised they never mentioned the safety aspect either. My daughter went out leaving a TV on standby and it caught fire. I don't think it's sensible to leave anything powered up that is not necessary.

The_KiD · 22 Mar 2007 at 12:40

Lagz said:
But what he is trying to say is that it IS no different than leaving a device on standby! A TV has to use power when it is off in order to 'listen' for when the remote control turns it on again. This is (unless I am mistaken) exactly what their 'product' does. The difference is that it turns your TV off completely and then the device itself listens for the remote (so it can turn the TV on again when you press it). So in both cases something is 'listening', the difference is only what is actually doing it.

Now they say that their way of 'listening' consumes less power than how a TV does it. Unfortunately for them TV companies could easily reduce the standby power consumption massively themselves if they wanted to, and they sure as well wouldn't infringe on their patent by doing so (they would be able to claim prior art). The only novel thing about their method was the use of a rechargable battery (I think?). There are plenty of people who already do this, so I seriously doubt that their patent would stand up in court.

Note that having a patent and having a patent that stands up in court are very different things. It is very easy to get a patent. The patent office dont really make sure that you are patenting something novel. If your not then you will still be granted a patent, only it will be completely useless.

The difference is it runs off a battery for listening, so when it the TV is OFF, it is using 0W and the plug thing is using 0W of electricity as it is running off it's internal battery.

I thought they were mental for giving away 50% of their company for £100,000. The potential for that device being integrated in to "almost" any electrical device is amazing!

Good Invention, Bad Business sense is letting it go that cheap!

AJUK · 22 Mar 2007 at 13:02

Just turn the damn thing off, preferably permanently!

If the law gets passed, all new TVs etc. will not possess a stand by function anyway and I doubt that anyone, except the most feckless and lazy, will leave it on all the time. Anyway, so what if it does use more electricity, build another nuke and enjoy the glorious tax revenue from 24 hour power usage.

SeriousPigeon · 22 Mar 2007 at 13:10

The_KiD said:
The difference is it runs off a battery for listening, so when it the TV is OFF, it is using 0W and the plug thing is using 0W of electricity as it is running off it's internal battery.

I thought they were mental for giving away 50% of their company for £100,000. The potential for that device being integrated in to "almost" any electrical device is amazing!

Good Invention, Bad Business sense is letting it go that cheap!

But the rechargeable battery will be consuming extra power when it is being charged. So where is the reduction in power consumption?

QABoy · 22 Mar 2007 at 13:16

The_KiD said:
I thought they were mental for giving away 50% of their company for £100,000. The potential for that device being integrated in to "almost" any electrical device is amazing!

With the five dragons onboard they will have the contacts and motive to fast track this product through. 50% of their company could be worth billions so with the expertise and profits coming in, I somehow think they won't be bothered. Of course it could all be false figures but that we'll have to wait for.

Rotty · 22 Mar 2007 at 13:19

just noticed that this appears to have vanished from my Sky+ planner , when is it next on?

ajgoodfellow · 22 Mar 2007 at 14:07

Rotty said:
just noticed that this appears to have vanished from my Sky+ planner , when is it next on?

That was the last in the series unfortunately

It's returning later this year though

G-MAN2004 · 22 Mar 2007 at 16:38

The Isis puzzle seems a cool thing. Would be quite cool if you managed to crack the puzzle and open the pyramid.

Bumhucker · 22 Mar 2007 at 18:01

G-MAN2004 said:
The Isis puzzle seems a cool thing. Would be quite cool if you managed to crack the puzzle and open the pyramid.

Yeah I'd love to do something like that but at £99 it's a bit out of my price range :eek:

Glaucus · 22 Mar 2007 at 18:13

Bumhucker said:
Yeah I'd love to do something like that but at £99 it's a bit out of my price range

Yeh 99 is far to expensive, I think they could do 2 one for the normal joe and one for puzzle experts as it's obviously selling well at 99

POB · 22 Mar 2007 at 18:14

AcidHell2 said:
Yeh 99 is far to expensive, I think they could do 2 one for the normal joe and one for puzzle experts as it's obviously selling well at 99

If it was cheaper then it would be worth considering grinding it get the key

The_Dark_Side · 22 Mar 2007 at 18:23

The_KiD said:
I thought they were mental for giving away 50% of their company for £100,000. The potential for that device being integrated in to "almost" any electrical device is amazing!

you're not Chris Moyles by any chance are you as that's an almost word perfect quote of what he said on his show this morning.

btw if anyone heard Duncan Bannatyne on the Moyles show, did you laugh as much as i did when Moylesy asked Duncan the name of the man that sits to the left of Peter Jones?

it's Deborah Meaden

G-MAN2004 · 22 Mar 2007 at 18:28

POB said:
If it was cheaper then it would be worth considering grinding it get the key

Too bad...

Firebox said:
Sadly you can forget about cheating via sledgehammers and power saws; any damage to the Isis will destroy its secret forever.

alexthecheese · 22 Mar 2007 at 20:38

POB said:
If it was cheaper then it would be worth considering grinding it get the key

I was gonna say! Disc cutter all the way for me.

mattpc · 22 Mar 2007 at 21:28

neocon said:
I hate the way those dragons talk down to people.

They are enjoying huge wealth that they made through ruthless capitalism and now they're morally above all the people that come in front of them.

I really find them annoying, especially the women.

Anyone else find them annoying?

They are just doing their TV job. They are paid to to be bum holes to these people! It's part of the show..

fini · 22 Mar 2007 at 21:37

Lagz said:
Note that having a patent and having a patent that stands up in court are very different things. It is very easy to get a patent. The patent office dont really make sure that you are patenting something novel. If your not then you will still be granted a patent, only it will be completely useless.

This is very true in America, but here it is not. The patent office is actually very good at making sure they do their job properly, as can be seen by IP barristers being one of the smallest set of barristers out of any specialism - and those specialising in patents particularly are of an even smaller number.

fini