Slightly OT for DIY but maybe someone here will know. Does anyone know
about standardized tests for tools that allow tools to be directly
compared? E.g. is there a standard concrete formulation for testing
drills, or a standard slurry formulation for testing pumps etc.?
Or are there equipment trials where all the manufacturers turn up with
their latest product (drill, pump etc.) and it gets tested under
controlled conditions? Do government procurement agencies etc. run
trials whose results are widely shared and trusted?

I'm not looking to buy equipment myself, I'm doing some research into
how industries measure improvements in technology. Any pointers would
be much appreciated.

This used to be the domain of paper magazines. No matter what it was stereo
systems, vacuum cleaners or drills, but seemingly not a lot of this is done
nowadays, probably due to cost and instead we have the twitter and facebook
generation doing subjective tests instead.
Brian

--
----- -
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please!
wrote in message
...
Slightly OT for DIY but maybe someone here will know. Does anyone know
about standardized tests for tools that allow tools to be directly
compared? E.g. is there a standard concrete formulation for testing
drills, or a standard slurry formulation for testing pumps etc.?
Or are there equipment trials where all the manufacturers turn up with
their latest product (drill, pump etc.) and it gets tested under
controlled conditions? Do government procurement agencies etc. run
trials whose results are widely shared and trusted?

I'm not looking to buy equipment myself, I'm doing some research into
how industries measure improvements in technology. Any pointers would
be much appreciated.

On 21/11/16 09:17, wrote:
I'm doing some research into
how industries measure improvements in technology.

Sales by and large.

To the consumer.,

But that follows directly on from 'the purpose of a consumer product is
to part a fool and his money'

When you get to industrial and professional users, yes its a little bit
different, but there again for the vast majority of cases its a question
of 'if it sells make it'

If you buy a pipe cutter that is worse than the one you had before, you
will be back at the trade counter complaining and you will get the old
one. And that's what you will tell all your mates.

I am now using the style of razor I used back in the 60s. Basic bog
standard safety razor. I have been through electric, multiblades,
disposables...all utter junk.


Remember that there is very little real product development especially
in the consumer product area. It is all FASHION.

The years when you could only buy silver domestic audio visual kit. The
years when you could only buy black...

The years when all PC's were beige....or all cars had chrome and tailfins...

The world is driven by marketing, not genuine advances.

Industries don't measure improvements in technology, because by and
large there either aren't any, or they are so obvious they don't need
to, or they are so subtle it doesn't matter.

I recently replaced the motherboard in this computer with a new one that
was 8 years newer than the last one. What difference? None, except that
when editing a video it processes the video about 4 times faster.


Oh, and I had to disable all the UEFI ******** that stops me installing
Linux.

SSD is the last major advance in the PC world. People who care publish
tests. I just know the damn thing boots 50 times quicker and launches
programs 20 times quicker. Its a no brainer. I don't need the details.



--
If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will
eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such
time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic
and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally
important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for
the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the
truth is the greatest enemy of the State.

Joseph Goebbels

On 21/11/16 09:54, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 21/11/16 09:17, wrote:
I'm doing some research into
how industries measure improvements in technology.

Sales by and large.

To the consumer.,

But that follows directly on from 'the purpose of a consumer product is
to part a fool and his money'

When you get to industrial and professional users, yes its a little bit
different, but there again for the vast majority of cases its a question
of 'if it sells make it'

If you buy a pipe cutter that is worse than the one you had before, you
will be back at the trade counter complaining and you will get the old
one. And that's what you will tell all your mates.

I am now using the style of razor I used back in the 60s. Basic bog
standard safety razor. I have been through electric, multiblades,
disposables...all utter junk.


I thought multiblades were ******** when they came out.

Remember that there is very little real product development especially
in the consumer product area. It is all FASHION.

With a few exceptions. Screws and fixings have leaped forward in the
last 10 years. You have Rigifix, Fix-Its, all manner of Fischer products
for difficult substrates. Wood screws have mushroomed and I love some of
them (Screw-Tite, Spax in particular).

The years when you could only buy silver domestic audio visual kit. The
years when you could only buy black...

Yes. That's just fashion ********.


The years when all PC's were beige....or all cars had chrome and
tailfins...

I am looking at a new Hyundai (get a big employer discount on their
Affinity programme). The interior options were "black" (smart, but a bit
boring, but yes, it's a good default) and "beige" which looked good on
the web, but when I saw it in person gave me horror flashbacks to a
Morris Marina! There's red, but only with certain exterior paints.

Have you noticed how most new cars look like SUVs now? Even tiny cars...

The world is driven by marketing, not genuine advances.

Industries don't measure improvements in technology, because by and
large there either aren't any, or they are so obvious they don't need
to, or they are so subtle it doesn't matter.

I recently replaced the motherboard in this computer with a new one that
was 8 years newer than the last one. What difference? None, except that
when editing a video it processes the video about 4 times faster.


Oh, and I had to disable all the UEFI ******** that stops me installing
Linux.

That can be got around - you need some funky tiny partition - forget the
details, did it 2 years ago, once.

SSD is the last major advance in the PC world. People who care publish
tests. I just know the damn thing boots 50 times quicker and launches
programs 20 times quicker. Its a no brainer. I don't need the details.

Well - except there's SSD and SSD. Some are dog slow (but faster than a
spinning disk) and some die or do stupid stuff like earlier Samsung Evos
(740 IIRC).