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Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

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Re: Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

#101

Post by mahyarm »

Aloisius wrote: post #75
jbellis wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Detachable magsafe cables would also make it easier for third parties to sell power adapters, which is almost certainly why Apple power bricks are alone among major manufacturers in not splitting things this way.

Just put the same kind of DRM they put in the cable on the other side to auth with the brick.

They already have that. It can cause problems when the DRM circuitry screws up inside the laptop and causes the brick or the laptop to refuse to charge. It just makes things more unreliable.

Re: Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

#102

Post by kelnos »

ugh wrote: post #46
sil3ntmac wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The OP is referring to Apple's iPhone power/usb connector cable, as seen in this picture: http://i.imgur.com/yAywo.jpg . The dock connector strain relief is decidedly weaker (I have had two or three break on me personally) than other Apple products. One thing that is interesting is how Apple's Industrial Design team, mentioned in the post, affected the design of the new Macbook power adaptors (like the one you linked…

Huh? My power outlet is nearly always right behind where my laptop is. A cord facing out the back of the laptop is perfect for this - no more 90 degree turn.

I bring my Air to and from work every day; at work I have a power strip under my desk, and it's easier to access from the front (and also less of a hassle to unplug and replug every evening and morning). At home I have a power strip under the front of my couch; when I have the laptop on my lap on the couch the cord goes out the back, but if I place the laptop on my coffee table, the cord comes back to the front.

Do I represent a common use case? Dunno...

Re: Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

#103

Post by stevenbedrick »

aeontech wrote: post #76
jeremymims wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. Over the past five years I have had to replace four Apple power adapters. Two caught on fire, one just stopped working, and one only worked when I duct taped it to death. They replaced all but one under warranty. But when I asked the Apple Genius in SoHo if this "whole catching on fire thing" happened often, he didn't say no. He just told me he wasn't allowed to answer that.

Hm, well, just to provide one counter example, haven't had a bad adapter in 8 years and half a dozen apple laptops. Not saying it doesn't happen of course :)

Yeah, over ten years and five laptops between myself and my partner, and maybe seven or eight power adapters (we've had spare adapters for some of our laptops), we haven't had any problems with fires, sparks, etc. As the parent said, though, "Not saying it doesn't happen"- just not to us, apparently.

I will say, however, that the MagSafe design, even lacking strain reducers as discussed by the OP, has proven its value on more than one occasion. Besides the obvious advantages (i.e., tripping over the cord no longer sends one's laptop flying, nor does it cause catastrophic damage to the power port), I'm personally fond of the fact that you can step on the adapter all day long without damaging it. We had to replace an adapter once back in the day after accidentally stepping on the little round connector part, and bending it irreparably out of shape.

Re: Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

#104

Post by kelnos »

nostromo wrote: post #45
adamesque wrote: post #26

Except, there are strain relief features built in to Apple power adapters. Power Adapter: http://cl.ly/0r2n2S2z1b3K0L1E0R3t LED Cinema Display Power Adapter: http://www.cl.ly/3i1B3R142q0S25223q2U These may not be adequate, but clearly Apple industrial design has taken a pass at the problem. Anybody have photos of older power adapters to see if that sheathing has always been there?

Yeah, here's the adapter from my 2004 PowerBook: http://imgur.com/RTLKM

I had a 2005 PowerBook with the same adapter, and, despite the slightly better strain relief, it still broke after a few years. And, like another poster mentions, it caught on fire (tiny tiny fire, really just the next step up from smoldering). That was... not so awesome.

Re: Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

#107

Post by gmatty »

raquo wrote: post #83
sil3ntmac wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The OP is referring to Apple's iPhone power/usb connector cable, as seen in this picture: http://i.imgur.com/yAywo.jpg . The dock connector strain relief is decidedly weaker (I have had two or three break on me personally) than other Apple products. One thing that is interesting is how Apple's Industrial Design team, mentioned in the post, affected the design of the new Macbook power adaptors (like the one you linked…

Early Macbook Airs are to blame for that weird power connector. Look: http://www.slashgear.com/gallery/data_files/3/macbook-air-ha... The industrial design division probably wanted a thin bevel on all sides, and there is no way a classic connector would fit between the macbook and the table and retain the magsafe feature. Latest macbook airs no longer need this hack and I think Apple will shift back to normal power c…

i actually prefere this connector because on the classic on if I and sitting on the floor crosslegged with my laptop on my lap the old cable pops out.

Re: Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

#108

Post by zyb09 »

asadotzler wrote: post #89
zyb09 wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly, I've broken two of the cables so far and they are just bad. Period. Then, someone gave me a different, much more robust, cable, and I thought: "oh ok they realized their flaw, finally they improved their power coords". - Now I look at the image on the reddit post ( http://i.imgur.com/yAywo.jpg ) and realize the cables I've broke are the new ones, and the good robust ones are from 2007. Funny. Well Apple is u…

It doesn't have to be "planned obsolescence" which suggests an intent to get users to buy replacements. It could be that the trade-off just came out that way. I mean, I don't think they designed failure into the component so much as they deemed a higher than you'd want failure rate OK given the user experience they were chasing.

You really think so? I mean these are cables, there's no secret how to make them and they've been making them for decades, so they'll probably know what they are doing. There's no user experience on cables. It doesn't seem so far fetched to me.

Re: Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

#109

Post by pyre »

squidbot wrote: post #100

My reply, I think it may not have made reddit as I've never posted before: I'm calling BS on this whole thread. The reason for the breakage is in the green circles, not the red ones: http://i.imgur.com/EYSo5.jpg The 2007 cables had small buttons on the sides that you had to press to disengage the connector from the device. This meant you had to pull on the body of the connector to remove it. The 2009 design removes t…

  > if I were to guess why Apple removed the buttons
Seems more likely that the ID people wanted a smaller connector, though that's just speculation.

Re: Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

#110

Post by RobAtticus »

hollerith wrote: post #86
warp wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My experience is similar, I still use the power brick which came with my first gen macbook (2006?). I do wrap the thin cable around the little hinges when I take it with me.

I hope you wrap it in a figure-8 pattern rather than a circular pattern (to prevent twisting the cable).

Maybe this is the place where I've been going wrong. Although I was simply following the way it was done at the Apple store I got it from.

We'll see!

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