Apple didn't revolutionize power supplies; new transistors did (2012) • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple didn't revolutionize power supplies; new transistors did (2012)

#141

Post by dotancohen » Thu, Sep 30, 2021, 10:32 AM UTC

WalterBright wrote: post #138

I didn't realize it, but my '72 Dodge has a switching power supply to convert the 12 volt system voltage to 5V for the dashboard instruments. It's a very simple device, relying on current heating a wire to bend it to and from a contact, but it's an engineering marvel of low cost effectiveness. But it doesn't produce "clean" 5V, there's a jitter to it. Some electronics guys have replaced it with modern circuitry (an o…

I had no idea how these work, nor about the jitter, thanks. It's now over $60 [1], these used to cost about a dollar!

[1] https://www.moparshop.com/en/Online-Store/Ignition-Electrica...

Re: Apple didn't revolutionize power supplies; new transistors did (2012)

#142

Post by tim333 » Thu, Sep 30, 2021, 10:37 AM UTC

mschuster91 wrote: post #134

dehrmann wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any advice on buying these? A lot of the GaN bricks look impressive, but they're always made by a sketchy peripheral maker.

For chargers, I exclusively buy Anker. They're the best there is.

I'm currently charging the Air M1 off a 20W Anker Nano which is kind of amazing it works for a 30g device although it charges very slowly but is quite handy to drop in your bag in case you run out. I've ordered a 45W one but they are out of stock presently.

(https://www.amazon.co.uk/Charger-Anker-Durable-PowerPort-Inc...)

Re: Apple didn't revolutionize power supplies; new transistors did (2012)

#143

Post by foxhill » Thu, Sep 30, 2021, 11:18 AM UTC

alan-kay wrote: post #137

This is an old original post, but it still worries me. Consider: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switched-mode_power_supply To find this requires a combination of a few keystrokes and button pushes plus an "outlook" (rather than "inlook") attitude. Instead, as with so many discussions in a so-called "CS" community, we find something like adolescents trying to BS each other by presenting their mere opinions as facts. Co…

it is the paradox of the information era: society has never had such easy and immediate access to the limits of human knowledge, and at the same time, society can’t agree on whether the earth is spherical, vaccines work, or if demonstrably corrupt politicians are really that bad.

Re: Apple didn't revolutionize power supplies; new transistors did (2012)

#144

Post by intsunny » Thu, Sep 30, 2021, 11:28 AM UTC

esturk wrote: post #87

Does anyone know of a hack or instructions that can convert a magsafe charger for old macbooks into a USB-C charger for new macbooks?

There are "magsafe to usb c" dongles on Amazon and other retailers.

The run a little hot, but seem to work pretty well.

Re: Apple didn't revolutionize power supplies; new transistors did (2012)

#145

Post by mark-r » Thu, Sep 30, 2021, 11:46 AM UTC

kcb wrote: post #78

_carbyau_ wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't like Apple generally. And it wasn't "their" technology - but thank fuck they brought "better than 1080p" screens to the mainstream. Throughout the 90's screen resolutions were getting better and better. Then LCDs came and 1080p stopped mainstream screen resolution improvements for at least 5 years. Thankfully Apple got the screen resolution race going again.

Mainstream 1080p wasn't the worst of it. Just a decade or so ago it was impossible to find a non-17" Windows laptop without a 1366x768 TN screen with awful contrast and viewing angles so bad there was no good angle. Even super premium $3000 "Ultrabooks", it was true insanity.

The last Windows app I worked on, I made sure the tester always tested at that resolution because it was so ubiquitous. I even wrote a utility to set the app resolution so I could run it at that size myself.

Re: Apple didn't revolutionize power supplies; new transistors did (2012)

#146

Post by londons_explore » Thu, Sep 30, 2021, 12:48 PM UTC

tim333 wrote: post #44

And now power supplies are getting another step smaller and more efficient by switching from silicon transistors to GaN. ( https://www.cui.com/blog/how-gallium-nitride-gan-enables-sma... )

It surprises me that GaN marketed power supplies cost extra. The actual GaN transistors are under 10 cents now, and by using one you can use a smaller inductor, smaller capacitor and smaller heatsinks. Those smaller components lead to a smaller plastic case and smaller circuit board.

All of those smaller things cost less, so the finished product has lower production costs.

Re: Apple didn't revolutionize power supplies; new transistors did (2012)

#147

Post by ladyattis » Thu, Sep 30, 2021, 12:56 PM UTC

If only they'd invest more work into CMC and LC filters for such power supplies in wall warts. As someone who listens to shortwave and AM radio DX it's sometimes impossible to pick up even strong stations due to the swampy noise of SMPS devices.

Re: Apple didn't revolutionize power supplies; new transistors did (2012)

#148

Post by Scoundreller » Thu, Sep 30, 2021, 2:11 PM UTC

X-Istence wrote: post #115

scottlamb wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

* Make sure they are UL listed for safety, as Animats pointed out in an earlier discussion. [1] Some aren't, even from well-known brands like Anker. * If they are multi-port, make sure you're happy with how they distribute power. Most likely you want the majority of the power going to port 1 where you stick a laptop, but some drop it down to 50W or lower if you just have a cable in one of the other spots, much less a…

Even-though the Anker brick I have does not have an Underwriters Laboratory logo on it, it does have a TUV and a CE logo. TUV is the equivalent to UL but is a testing house mostly geared towards Europe. That being said, TUV like UL is listed as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) in the United States (for more information see: https://www.tuv.com/usa/en/ctuvus-certification.html ) and thus is just as sa…

A TUV mark would only be accepted in North America it was a cTUVus stamp on it.

What I wonder is if TUV in Europe just tests at just 240V if it’s labelled 100v-240v, or across the labelled voltages (though lower voltage should mean fewer problems).

Re: Apple didn't revolutionize power supplies; new transistors did (2012)

#149

Post by soylentcola » Thu, Sep 30, 2021, 2:32 PM UTC

socialdemocrat wrote: post #55

FpUser wrote: post #39

Same story as with hard drive based audio players. I've been using one (if I remember correctly) from Creative long before iPod materialized. All was quiet but suddenly as iPod came it was of course called revolution.

Seriously, those MP3 players were nothing like the iPod. This is a bit like people going on about smart phones before iPhone. I had a couple of those and the iPhone was just so far ahead, that we are not really talking about the same category of products. A product isn’t merely checking some boxes. Checking the “has hard drive” box doesn’t make any it an iPod.

"So far ahead" in some ways, while completely lacking in others.

When iPhone came out, the responsive UI was something I'd wanted for the past several years worth of Palm and HTC phones. But I couldn't get one because I'd have to give up things I used daily - like 3rd party apps, 3G data, turn-by-turn navigation, MMS (which was still a big deal before the prevalence of IP-based mobile IM platforms), multitasking, live streaming radio, and even "crazy" features like copy/paste and custom wallpapers/alert sounds.

iPhone did a few things very well, but it took a while to catch up on a lot of the common functionality of those older smartphones. Thankfully Apple did add those features over time. And other smartphones gained more responsive UI. Now we have more options than ever, with even the cheapest bargain device performing better than anything available in 2007.

Re: Apple didn't revolutionize power supplies; new transistors did (2012)

#150

Post by WalterBright » Thu, Sep 30, 2021, 5:42 PM UTC

dotancohen wrote: post #141

WalterBright wrote: post #138

I didn't realize it, but my '72 Dodge has a switching power supply to convert the 12 volt system voltage to 5V for the dashboard instruments. It's a very simple device, relying on current heating a wire to bend it to and from a contact, but it's an engineering marvel of low cost effectiveness. But it doesn't produce "clean" 5V, there's a jitter to it. Some electronics guys have replaced it with modern circuitry (an o…

I had no idea how these work, nor about the jitter, thanks. It's now over $60 [1], these used to cost about a dollar! [1] https://www.moparshop.com/en/Online-Store/Ignition-Electrica...

The price rise may be because nobody makes them anymore.