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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

#121

Post by erikpukinskis »

gmatty wrote: post #107
raquo wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

This. Also if you're reading with the computer sideways in bed, this puts crazy strain on the old adapter, but the new adapter is just fine.

Re: Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

#122

Post by jordan0day »

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…

While in the general case you may be absolutely right, my iPhone power cable suffers from this exact problem, and I have always removed it by grabbing the connector body, not the cable.

I know it's just one anecdote, and your assessment probably applies to a large number of these cases... but it doesn't apply to all of them.

Re: Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

#123

Post by nkassis »

miketomasello wrote: post #119
pak wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you explain the same split occuring on the Magsafe connectors? Those are designed to pop right out if you yank them by the cord, so very little strain is going to be put on the wire sleeve. I've seen a lot of Magsafes split in the exact way depicted in the picture.

In my extremely unscientific personal test, the iPod data cable actually came out of my iPhone with less force required than attempting to unplug the MagSafe cable from my laptop. Of course, that wouldn't be the case when the pulling isn't completely in-line with the socket (although you can exert quite an amount of strain on a MagSafe cable by pulling it out sideways). I think it's too simple to assume that MagSafe…

i've notice that if you go at an angle it's easier to yank the magsafe cable. straight on it a lot stronger. I'm assuming ti's due to the angle making the force be applied to a small region and not the whole magnet.

Re: Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

#124

Post by AlexandrB »

miketomasello wrote: post #119
pak wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you explain the same split occuring on the Magsafe connectors? Those are designed to pop right out if you yank them by the cord, so very little strain is going to be put on the wire sleeve. I've seen a lot of Magsafes split in the exact way depicted in the picture.

In my extremely unscientific personal test, the iPod data cable actually came out of my iPhone with less force required than attempting to unplug the MagSafe cable from my laptop. Of course, that wouldn't be the case when the pulling isn't completely in-line with the socket (although you can exert quite an amount of strain on a MagSafe cable by pulling it out sideways). I think it's too simple to assume that MagSafe…

That actually matches what I've observed. Namely that after 2 years of heavy use my magsafe has not had any issues with the connection.

I always remove the connector by tilting it first, instead of pulling. In fact I think there was something in the manual about this - though I can't find it at the moment.

Re: Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

#125

Post by codyrobbins »

zyb09 wrote: post #108
asadotzler wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I think it’s completely wrong to say there’s no user experience on cables. What about the fact that my sofa has to be a full four inches away from the wall because of the strain relief on the cord of the lamp I need to plug in behind it? There is no reason the cord actually needs that four inches of horizontal space—it’s just poor, thoughtless design that results in a poor user experience. Whoever designed the lamp should have put as much thought into the cord as they did into the rest of it, but instead it’s just an afterthought. To my way of thinking at least Apple has the guts to experiment with a different approach and see what happens instead of just applying the same good-enough solution everyone else mindlessly does.

Re: Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

#126

Post by themal »

I like Apple's hardware, but they seem to be useless at power cables and batteries for their laptops. What makes matters worse is the replacement parts are so expensive. I ended up removing the battery permanently because it grew too big for the compartment. I also cut open the power cable so that the wires could be rejoined and taped again. I never had these problems with ThinkPads... sigh.

Re: Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

#127

Post by wtallis »

hollerith wrote: post #8

Two other places where aesthetic form trumps function in Apple keyboards and Macbooks: (1) arrow keys are much narrower (especially on the 11-inch Macbook Air) than on most notebooks (probably because unlike most notebook makers, Apple decided against breaking the "clean line" along the edge of the keyboard closest to the typist). (2) the axis on which the two halves of the "clamshell" (the bottom half and the screen…

As I recall, back in the PowerBook days, Apple touted how their new hinge design reduced the overall height of the notebook when open. As compared with the previous PowerBooks (which had much thicker bases), the titanium PowerBooks had a much lower profile, without really sacrificing anything except the ability to bend the display all the way back.

Re: Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

#128

Post by jsz0 »

Is there actually any evidence to suggest Apple's 34-pin dock cables fail more often than others? I've owned 34-pin dock devices going back about 8 years now and I cannot recall ever having a broken dock cable. I have no doubt it does happen from time to time but from my own personal experience it doesn't seem any more or less common than other types of cables. I know plenty of people who lose them or want a second one to charge at work or carry in their backpack but where's the tar and feather brigade at Apple Stores over this? Why aren't my friends and family coming to me with mysterious charge/sync problems? At $30/pop if these cables were failing at a very high rate I would expect quite a lot more public outrage.

It may be that since iPods and iPhones are replaced fairly often, and include a new cable, people have a cache of spares? If so doesn't that alone kind of shoot down the designed-to-fail argument? Why include a new cable? Wouldn't the increased support costs from telephone/in-store support for these problems be far larger than selling $30 cables? It seems like the typical Internet conspiracy that doesn't really make any sense when you start to look at the details and notice there's absolutely no evidence to support the original claim being offered.

Re: Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

#129

Post by kwis »

AlexandrB wrote: post #124
miketomasello wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my extremely unscientific personal test, the iPod data cable actually came out of my iPhone with less force required than attempting to unplug the MagSafe cable from my laptop. Of course, that wouldn't be the case when the pulling isn't completely in-line with the socket (although you can exert quite an amount of strain on a MagSafe cable by pulling it out sideways). I think it's too simple to assume that MagSafe…

That actually matches what I've observed. Namely that after 2 years of heavy use my magsafe has not had any issues with the connection. I always remove the connector by tilting it first, instead of pulling. In fact I think there was something in the manual about this - though I can't find it at the moment.

My manual says: When disconnecting the power adapter from a power outlet or from the computer, pull the plug, not the cord.

But it doesn't say anything about tilting.

Re: Redditor Explains Why Apple Continue Making Frail Power Cables

#130

Post by bluekeybox »

hollerith wrote: post #8

Two other places where aesthetic form trumps function in Apple keyboards and Macbooks: (1) arrow keys are much narrower (especially on the 11-inch Macbook Air) than on most notebooks (probably because unlike most notebook makers, Apple decided against breaking the "clean line" along the edge of the keyboard closest to the typist). (2) the axis on which the two halves of the "clamshell" (the bottom half and the screen…

I have had many desktop keyboards (Dell, IBM, standard issue Apple), and my MacBook keyboard is by far the best keyboard I have used (warning: subjective judgement here). I actually prefer the narrow arrow keys. This is because, when typing fast, I only need the letter/punctuation keys, the return key, the space bar, and the shift keys. When using arrow keys, on the other hand, I am generally not typing but doing something else -- holding down command or shift and pressing an arrow key to scroll up a page or something else of this sort. In those cases, the smaller arrow keys actually make it easier for me to switch fingers (smaller distance to cover between the up and down keys).
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