Hey all. I'm here to complain about Apple, the industry leader in industrial design.
Apple's had some of the most innovative, utilitarian designs ever seen in the arena of personal computing.
However, has anyone seen a Powerbook power supply? Of course you have, and if you're like me, you've wept.
It's bulky in all the wrong places. When you plug it in, it sags under its own weight. Every time I plug it in, it sparks. In the past, I've also had mixed results with various outlets. I have to plug it in a couple of times, jiggle it around, and whatnot to get it to actually transmit the current to my Powerbook. And often, it will eventually spontaneously stop charging. Usually, it ends up losing the contact, begins sparking, and then stops carrying the current.
"Fortunately," the sparking is usually not visible, but rather that loud and foreboding sparking noise. It still doesn't make me feel too comfortable, of course.
Now, my power supply won't even charge the Powerbook if simply plugged into a wall. It can only make a loose contact. Therefore, I have plugged into the wall and jammed it tightly between the wall and a big amplifier I have, just to force it to stay in place. This has been quite successful, but it kind of defeats the purpose of having a mobile device. I'm planning to go to the Apple Store and getting them to replace it. It might be that mine is more defective than most, but I can't help thinking that this is chiefly the result of some critical design flaws.
1) As I alluded to above, the region near the plug is too heavy. Apple should have just put a plug there followed by wire that led to the heavier component. This way, the plug wouldn't sag as a result of the weight of the other component. If you'll notice, almost every other power supply is made in this fashion. All it requires is a simple translocation.
2) Taking my suggestion in one would fix this other problem, but it too is a flaw. That the plug swivels so that it can be returned to a position "within" the square when not being used seems ok, but it actually complicates matters. After regular use, that joint becomes loose. This only exacerbates the problem of losing contact under heavy weight.
Has anyone else had problems? Does anyone know of third-party makers of compatible power supplies? Apple has this proprietary input that precludes using any old equal-voltage power supply.
Plus, I kind of wanted to rant.
Apple's had some of the most innovative, utilitarian designs ever seen in the arena of personal computing.
However, has anyone seen a Powerbook power supply? Of course you have, and if you're like me, you've wept.
It's bulky in all the wrong places. When you plug it in, it sags under its own weight. Every time I plug it in, it sparks. In the past, I've also had mixed results with various outlets. I have to plug it in a couple of times, jiggle it around, and whatnot to get it to actually transmit the current to my Powerbook. And often, it will eventually spontaneously stop charging. Usually, it ends up losing the contact, begins sparking, and then stops carrying the current.
"Fortunately," the sparking is usually not visible, but rather that loud and foreboding sparking noise. It still doesn't make me feel too comfortable, of course.
Now, my power supply won't even charge the Powerbook if simply plugged into a wall. It can only make a loose contact. Therefore, I have plugged into the wall and jammed it tightly between the wall and a big amplifier I have, just to force it to stay in place. This has been quite successful, but it kind of defeats the purpose of having a mobile device. I'm planning to go to the Apple Store and getting them to replace it. It might be that mine is more defective than most, but I can't help thinking that this is chiefly the result of some critical design flaws.
1) As I alluded to above, the region near the plug is too heavy. Apple should have just put a plug there followed by wire that led to the heavier component. This way, the plug wouldn't sag as a result of the weight of the other component. If you'll notice, almost every other power supply is made in this fashion. All it requires is a simple translocation.
2) Taking my suggestion in one would fix this other problem, but it too is a flaw. That the plug swivels so that it can be returned to a position "within" the square when not being used seems ok, but it actually complicates matters. After regular use, that joint becomes loose. This only exacerbates the problem of losing contact under heavy weight.
Has anyone else had problems? Does anyone know of third-party makers of compatible power supplies? Apple has this proprietary input that precludes using any old equal-voltage power supply.
Plus, I kind of wanted to rant.
