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SLOSifl
Aug 10, 2002


Computer viking posted:

e:
On googling this, I found a thing I didn't know I wanted - a VacPan. Basically a small square vacuum cleaner outlet in the baseboard that you flip open/on with your foot and sweep stuff into.
Holy poo poo.

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sitchensis
Mar 4, 2009

GhostShirtSociety posted:

I know this is 2 pages back, but I think what you're hoping for is essentially the Microsoft Surface. It's going to run a real version of Windows (not something lesser like Android or whatever is on iPads with appstores) but plays like both a tablet and laptop with a removable keyboard cover.



http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en/us/default.aspx

I'm really excited about it. I used to have a tablet laptop about 4 years ago and loved the thing and was recently hoping to get a new one. But with Surface around the corner, I'm going to hold off until that comes out and Win8 catches its stride.

From page 20. Too soon?

Proust Malone
Apr 4, 2008

sitchensis posted:

From page 20. Too soon?

I have a tablet pc which I use a lot. I tried the surface and kinda liked it, but you can pry my ThinkPad keyboard with the clip mouse from my cold dead hands.

Proteus Jones
Feb 28, 2013



El Estrago Bonito posted:

With ours you had to have the integrated plug plugged into the socket in order for the motor to run, so if you just opened it there wouldn't be any suction at all.

Yeah, that's how my parents' system works. It's also what drives the brush in the wand.

Code Jockey
Jan 24, 2006

69420 basic bytes free

Ron Jeremy posted:

I have a tablet pc which I use a lot. I tried the surface and kinda liked it, but you can pry my ThinkPad keyboard with the clip mouse from my cold dead hands.

I've got a convertable tablet/laptop thing where the screen flips down over the keyboard to make it a tablet, it rules. It's also 15", which I like, but is less convenient than the Surface. A guy I work with has a Surface and I can see how nice they'd be for just work, but I got my tablet/laptop because I wanted something for work and playing games on, which it does very well.

And I like having a bigger keyboard. I have giant hands, and typing on compact keyboards like the touch cover is a nightmare for me.

pienipple
Mar 20, 2009

That's wrong!

El Estrago Bonito posted:

The one I had as a kid had an integrated plug as part of the wall hole you stuck the hose into so you could have a powered brush.

Mine's like this, it's quite a bit more powerful than any mobile vacuum unit I've used.

Computer viking posted:

e:
On googling this, I found a thing I didn't know I wanted - a VacPan. Basically a small square vacuum cleaner outlet in the baseboard that you flip open/on with your foot and sweep stuff into.

I have one of these in the kitchen, it's great. Quick sweep and kick the pan open, then push the heap up to it.

I like the system, 3 outlets + the vac pan covers the whole house. And since we got the 30 foot hose I can park my car near the deck and vacuum it out with the powered upholstery brush.

Kazinsal
Dec 13, 2011



sitchensis posted:

From page 20. Too soon?

It's not obsolete and failed if they're still making them.

SymmetryrtemmyS
Jul 13, 2013

I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

Computer viking posted:

e:
On googling this, I found a thing I didn't know I wanted - a VacPan. Basically a small square vacuum cleaner outlet in the baseboard that you flip open/on with your foot and sweep stuff into.

Do they make these for non central vacuum systems?

BallerBallerDillz
Jun 11, 2009

Cock, Rules, Everything, Around, Me
Scratchmo

SymmetryrtemmyS posted:

Do they make these for non central vacuum systems?

:wtf: Where would it go? How would that work? A door in your baseboard to sweep dust into your wall?

Coffee And Pie
Nov 4, 2010

"Blah-sum"?
More like "Blawesome"

The Nards Pan posted:

:wtf: Where would it go? How would that work? A door in your baseboard to sweep dust into your wall?

That's not too out there, older houses were built with holes in the bathroom walls to put used razor blades, and the hole just went into the wall, so if you opened up the wall, you'd just find a pile of ancient razors.

BallerBallerDillz
Jun 11, 2009

Cock, Rules, Everything, Around, Me
Scratchmo

Coffee And Pie posted:

That's not too out there, older houses were built with holes in the bathroom walls to put used razor blades, and the hole just went into the wall, so if you opened up the wall, you'd just find a pile of ancient razors.

:tizzy: WHAT??? :tizzy:

And I've been just throwing my used razors away like a loving jerk-off? What the hell? gently caress. That. I bet I could just push a razor blade right through the drywall. I'm doing that from now on - I bet by the end of my life I'll have saved an entire garbage bag from a landfill.

Geoj
May 28, 2008

BITTER POOR PERSON


Yes, this was a thing. Old medicine cabinets had a slot that opened into the cavity between wall joists, into which you inserted your worn dual-edge razor blades.

Blue On Blue
Nov 14, 2012

Geoj posted:



Yes, this was a thing. Old medicine cabinets had a slot that opened into the cavity between wall joists, into which you inserted your worn dual-edge razor blades.

Comes from a time when people usually bought 1 house and either lived in it until they died, or it stayed in the family

I guess no one expected someone to buy the house and remodel

The Twinkie Czar
Dec 31, 2004
I went for super stud.
Razor blade drop slots also come from a time when we didn't neatly bag up our trash and have it picked up. Losing a blade while hauling loose trash to the city dump or burning trash in your own backyard is a pretty scary thought. It was just a small slot and medicine cabinets had them for a very long time. They quit labeling them but didn't bother to change their manufacturing. Bathroom tiles with slots look even crazier today.

Only registered members can see post attachments!

Throatwarbler
Nov 17, 2008

by vyelkin

sweeperbravo posted:

With the centralized vacuums, is there a risk of kids opening and putting valuable stuff into the hose outlets or are they pretty child-proof? I suppose there being a centralized containment means whatever went in there could be retrieved if needed, but not something you'd want to have to do everytime Junior decides daddy's watch should go in the bye-bye wall.

Could just put a grate in the pipe.

The Twinkie Czar
Dec 31, 2004
I went for super stud.
A grate works if you know something was put in the hose outlet; otherwise you're stuck checking it every time you vacuum, just in case. I expect there's a child-proofing option available but I can't find anything.
I assume powered vacuum outlets don't supply 120v until the system is turned on but I still wouldn't want a kid cramming food or whatever into the contacts.

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Jasta
Apr 13, 2012

eddiewalker posted:

I've never seen a central vacuum with brushes, which is a weakness compared to modern vacuums.


I guess I forgot to mention the brush part. Yeah, it has one albeit rather small compared to the new vacuum my parents have now. Perhaps that's why they switched. I never minded using the old, smaller brush but I also grew up on an acreage so I was accustomed to cutting lawns for hours which made vacuuming seem like a breeze.

Jasta has a new favorite as of 08:05 on Mar 14, 2015

SymmetryrtemmyS
Jul 13, 2013

I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

The Nards Pan posted:

:wtf: Where would it go? How would that work? A door in your baseboard to sweep dust into your wall?

Basically, I want a vacuum with its head turned so you can sweep into it. In other words, a VacPan that works like a regular (non-central) vacuum.

Unperson_47
Oct 14, 2007



Coffee And Pie posted:

That's not too out there, older houses were built with holes in the bathroom walls to put used razor blades, and the hole just went into the wall, so if you opened up the wall, you'd just find a pile of ancient razors.

Every time I read this poo poo I have to go and re-verify it for myself because I always think it's just one of those "boy things sure were crazy in the 50s" kind of things. I know it's true but I don't want to admit that there's a good chance that there's just a tetanus landfill in millions of houses because no one could think of a better way than to just shove blades in the wall like some kind of rodent.

Unperson_47 has a new favorite as of 13:19 on Mar 14, 2015

sweeperbravo
May 18, 2012

AUNT GWEN'S COLD SHAPE (!)
We have a razor blade slot in our medicine cabinet, which is apparently the very same one as came with the house when it was built in the 1950's. Still got the same ancient textured wallpaper above the tiles in the bathroom as well. I'll see about getting a photo of our razor slot, too lazy now. Also our bathroom is sad and gross and probably a health hazard.

sleepy gary
Jan 11, 2006

I've seen razor blade slots in older houses around where I grew up. Before the crappy construction thread, I assumed there was just a cavity in the wall-mount medicine cabinets that you would somehow empty once in a while. I couldn't believe they just drop into the walls. I guess you can argue that there's not much reason not to do it that way but the idea just seems very wrong to me. I don't want to litter up my house, even areas I can't see.

strangemusic
Aug 7, 2008

I shield you because I need charge
Is not because I like you or anything!


Vacuum chat:

my grandmother had a vacuum that was a metal water basin, vaguely UFO shaped, on a wheeled base. Very, very obsolete technology. I think my dad may have kept it, I'll see if I can get a photo because I have no idea what to GIS to find one.

Gyro Zeppeli
Jul 19, 2012

sure hope no-one throws me off a bridge

DNova posted:

I've seen razor blade slots in older houses around where I grew up. Before the crappy construction thread, I assumed there was just a cavity in the wall-mount medicine cabinets that you would somehow empty once in a while. I couldn't believe they just drop into the walls. I guess you can argue that there's not much reason not to do it that way but the idea just seems very wrong to me. I don't want to litter up my house, even areas I can't see.

Especially not forming a big pile of tetanus in a wall cavity.

Fo3
Feb 14, 2004

RAAAAARGH!!!! GIFT CARDS ARE FUCKING RETARDED!!!!

(I need a hug)

Unperson_47 posted:

Every time I read this poo poo I have to go and re-verify it for myself because I always think it's just one of those "boy things sure were crazy in the 50s" kind of things. I know it's true but I don't want to admit that there's a good chance that there's just a tetanus landfill in millions of houses because no one could think of a better way than to just shove blades in the wall like some kind of rodent.
I've never seen one, but heard of them in the US as I used to be interested in all that vintage razor stuff.
I guess it was a dumb solution to the problem of not wanting sharp blades in the bin that could cut your bin bags open and make a mess, or cutting the workers emptying the trash every week.
I supposed the theory was eventually people are not going to use replaceable blades regularly so won't be adding any more, and the house will be torn down and it all sent carefully some where for recycling in something safer than a bin liner using regular domestic garbage collection. The alternative was landfill full of blades or people and bins being cut every week from 1910-1970. They guessed right?
E: some blades in plastic cases have a slot in the back for used blades, safely contained and disposed of; but many came in cardboard boxes and there's really no safe way to throw them out unless in an old used glass jar I suppose, (which is what I did as I'm not in the US or ever had a bathroom with those slots, but not sure if you can do that any more with modern recycling programs?

Fo3 has a new favorite as of 18:00 on Mar 14, 2015

champagne posting
Apr 5, 2006

YOU ARE A BRAIN
IN A BUNKER

I don't think 1950s america put much thought into how their houses should be recycled.

Plinkey
Aug 4, 2004

by Fluffdaddy
Pretty sure it was out of sight out of mind. No one was thinking about ever taking care of them. The house I grew up in had a razor slot. When we redid the bathroom in the 90s there was a probably 5" high pile of razors in the wall. House built in the 30s.

Fo3
Feb 14, 2004

RAAAAARGH!!!! GIFT CARDS ARE FUCKING RETARDED!!!!

(I need a hug)

Boiled Water posted:

I don't think 1950s america put much thought into how their houses should be recycled.
The ones from the 90s and onwards will probably be recycled first anyway.
But yeah, forget I said recycled, I meant it will all be dealt with when the house is knocked down, rather than a hazard of every day life.

Fo3 has a new favorite as of 18:04 on Mar 14, 2015

empty baggie
Oct 22, 2003

Occasionally you'll still see those razor blade slots in the bathrooms of older hotels.

I remember back in the day there were razor blade slots in airplane bathrooms.

taiyoko
Jan 10, 2008


strangemusic posted:

Vacuum chat:

my grandmother had a vacuum that was a metal water basin, vaguely UFO shaped, on a wheeled base. Very, very obsolete technology. I think my dad may have kept it, I'll see if I can get a photo because I have no idea what to GIS to find one.

Are you thinking of the Rainbow vacuums?



Basically the water is used in place of a vacuum bag or bagless's canister, they actually still make modern ones.

Redrum and Coke
Feb 25, 2006

wAstIng 10 bUcks ON an aVaTar iS StUpid

taiyoko posted:

Are you thinking of the Rainbow vacuums?



Basically the water is used in place of a vacuum bag or bagless's canister, they actually still make modern ones.

THE ROCKETEER

Kugyou no Tenshi
Nov 8, 2005

We can't keep the crowd waiting, can we?

Non Serviam posted:

THE ROCKETEER

No, that's his cousin, the Sucketeer.

pienipple
Mar 20, 2009

That's wrong!

taiyoko posted:

Are you thinking of the Rainbow vacuums?



Basically the water is used in place of a vacuum bag or bagless's canister, they actually still make modern ones.

That actually seems like a pretty good idea.

empty baggie
Oct 22, 2003

My mom's been using her Rainbow for like 30 years. It works great.

Phanatic
Mar 13, 2007

Please don't forget that I am an extremely racist idiot who also has terrible opinions about the Culture series.

empty baggie posted:

My mom's been using her Rainbow for like 30 years. It works great.

My grandmother had one too and it worked great. It's like a bong but for dirt and crud.

empty baggie
Oct 22, 2003

What's funny about mom's Rainbow is that the carpet height switch on the rug brush is just a dummy switch and doesn't actually function. The switch is just a piece of plastic that isn't attached to anything.

bongwizzard
May 19, 2005

Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"
Grimey Drawer

Phanatic posted:

My grandmother had one too and it worked great. It's like a bong but for dirt and crud.

The idea of emptying a bong full of my carpet filth sounds like the worst thing ever.

pienipple
Mar 20, 2009

That's wrong!
Sounds better than emptying a canister vac and the dust flying everywhere. Even outside it sucks.

old bean factory
Nov 18, 2006

Will ya close the fucking doors?!
Imagine a bunch of rats eating through to the tetanus factory, getting all sliced up and running amok. That has to have happened at some point.

A FUCKIN CANARY!!
Nov 9, 2005


Some razor disposal slots do one better than just dropping the blade down into the walls; I've seen some that drop all the way down into the dirt under the house. Makes crawling under the house to work on the plumbing interesting.

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strangemusic
Aug 7, 2008

I shield you because I need charge
Is not because I like you or anything!


taiyoko posted:

Are you thinking of the Rainbow vacuums?



Basically the water is used in place of a vacuum bag or bagless's canister, they actually still make modern ones.

This is really close to it, yeah. Now I really need to ask my dad if he kept it.

Now that you all mention it, they are basically bongs for dust. :420:

strangemusic has a new favorite as of 00:04 on Mar 15, 2015

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