Magsafe 2 , Bleh....

[drambuie]

Using a 20v Magsafe adapter will not hurt a regular MBP. The adapter for my 2010 15" MBP has a specified output of 16.5v to 18.5v, depending on load. An extra 1.5v won't have any effect. The reason for the voltage increase is probably because the standard Magsafe may have problems maintaining at least 16.5v with the increased load of the RMBP's display and larger battery.

The Magsafe to Magsafe 2 adapter is for using the RMBP with a Cinema or Thunderbold display. The displays have substantial power supplies that can manage the extra current requirements while maintaining a minimum of 16.5v.

It would be interesting to see how a standard 16.5v Magsafe adapter would hold up while supplying an RMBP at full CPU and GPU load, with a low battery. I have seen it reported here that MBPs running at high CPU load have had battery drain while being powered by the Magsafe.

 

[jclardy]

Wow I had no idea! Does that make the newer airs slightly thicker?

No they just don't have super tapered edges like the original. The original had a single USB port in a flip down panel on the side, which it impossible to use some USB devices that have larger than standard plugs.

 

[silentownage001]

I tripped over my brother's cord and it didn't disconnect. His is the L-shape. It depends on the angle. Luckily it was in the middle of the table and was in no danger of falling.

 

[Rudy69]

I can see why they changed it. The L shape is harder to disconnect depending on the angle. Personally I prefer the L shaped connector but...

 

[Dammit Cubs]

i spent 10 dollars at panera bread.

That's the same price as a magsafe 1 to 2 adapter.

Skip lunch for one day.

Problem solved.

 

[Bwilky]

i spent 10 dollars at panera bread.

That's the same price as a magsafe 1 to 2 adapter.

Skip lunch for one day.

Problem solved.

LOL, thats what I do.

 

[wditters]

Bravo, well thought through ...

The Magsafe 2 might be a technically more sound design, but there are aspects of it that haven't exactly been thought through ... making corporate use somewhat more complicated ... and if I put it on the other side, there's the Thunderbolt adapter in the way ... grrmmpphhh

 

[egraphixstudios]

The Magsafe 2 might be a technically more sound design, but there are aspects of it that haven't exactly been thought through ... making corporate use somewhat more complicated ... and if I put it on the other side, there's the Thunderbolt adapter in the way ... grrmmpphhh

very good point.

personally I think the T connection was a step back.

 

[Dangerous Theory]

The Magsafe 2 might be a technically more sound design, but there are aspects of it that haven't exactly been thought through ... making corporate use somewhat more complicated ... and if I put it on the other side, there's the Thunderbolt adapter in the way ... grrmmpphhh

The way your cable bends though wears it out quite quickly...at least in my experience. That's why I would prefer a T shape because the cable is almost always perpendicular to the laptop.

 

[satchow]

The Magsafe 2 might be a technically more sound design, but there are aspects of it that haven't exactly been thought through ... making corporate use somewhat more complicated ... and if I put it on the other side, there's the Thunderbolt adapter in the way ... grrmmpphhh

Not commenting on the design of the MagSafe2 either way, but the design of that USB Drive is horrific. They just don't care.

 

[potatis]

It's true that the Air is/was 1mm thinner than the new RMBP and fitted the old Magsafe, so it couldn't have been changed for the reason of limited space.

 

[wditters]

Not commenting on the design of the MagSafe2 either way, but the design of that USB Drive is horrific. They just don't care.

LOL It's actually not the design of the USB drive that matters in this case. That particular card reader is foldable and in that respect actually quite a clever design. On the contrary, they should make those smartcards smaller .... smartcard readers will simply follow suit.

 

[satchow]

LOL It's actually not the design of the USB drive that matters in this case. That particular card reader is foldable and in that respect actually quite a clever design. On the contrary, they should make those smartcards smaller .... smartcard readers will simply follow suit.

OH! It's a smartcard reader, not a USB Drive. Makes sense why they made it look like that then.

 

[Adriendod]

My coworker has the L shaped magsafe and her macbook fell of her desk twice while tripping on the cord...

Remember the name magSAFE, it's supposed to be safe, and the L shape is not at all, that's obviously why they brought back the T shape.

 

[NMF]

My coworker has the L shaped magsafe and her macbook fell of her desk twice while tripping on the cord...

Remember the name magSAFE, it's supposed to be safe, and the L shape is not at all, that's obviously why they brought back the T shape.

Meh, she should watch her step.

The L-shape cords just look nicer and are easier to conceal. My primary use of the new MBP will be docking it to a TB display when at home and using it's battery while I'm at school. I doubt I'll even bring a charger to school. The older design just looked nicer if you used something like a Henge Dock with your MacBook Air:

Granted, the MBP won't be affected by this, but still. The L-connector was my favorite thing about the MagSafe. This new one feels like a step back in time.

 

[Bigmacduck]

I love the MagSafe 2 adapter - best of both world

I love the new MagSafe 2 adapter, especially with the old MagSave (1) charger and the new MagSafe to MagSafe 2 converter.

It is the best of both worlds: trip-over safety of the MagSafe 2 and the cable going out towards the back (L-shape). The magnet of the converter is very strong and firmly holds onto the MagSave 1 adapter.

 

[TheMacBookPro]

Meh, she should watch her step.

The L-shape cords just look nicer and are easier to conceal. My primary use of the new MBP will be docking it to a TB display when at home and using it's battery while I'm at school. I doubt I'll even bring a charger to school. The older design just looked nicer if you used something like a Henge Dock with your MacBook Air:


Granted, the MBP won't be affected by this, but still. The L-connector was my favorite thing about the MagSafe. This new one feels like a step back in time.

Except that looking nice and being easy to conceal is not what the MagSafe is supposed to do. It's supposed to prevent your laptop from falling onto the floor if you trip onto the cable.

'She should watch her step' is not an excuse for a feature to not work as it is advertised.

 

[iMacDragon]

It's true that the Air is/was 1mm thinner than the new RMBP and fitted the old Magsafe, so it couldn't have been changed for the reason of limited space.

but the air has tapered edges, so it actually had more flat, as the magsafe was attached at an angle to the top casing. which was why they introduced the l shape in first place, as the angle prevented the horizontal cable from being able to fit well.

 

[mfuchs88]

you will get more life out of your battery if you just use it all the way down and then recharge it, so don't keep it charged all the time

I honestly don't understand how this is such a common misconception, it just doesn't make sense to me at all. Bottom line is that in an ideal situation,your computer would be plugged in the majority of time, but used on battery occasionally to keep the electrons active and moving. Hope this clears things up, as I would hate to see people buying more batteries than they need to, cause we know Apple charges an arm and a leg for one. Lol.

 

[mattopotamus]

I honestly don't understand how this is such a common misconception, it just doesn't make sense to me at all. Bottom line is that in an ideal situation,your computer would be plugged in the majority of time, but used on battery occasionally to keep the electrons active and moving. Hope this clears things up, as I would hate to see people buying more batteries than they need to, cause we know Apple charges an arm and a leg for one. Lol.

just telling you how i have kept a battery at 100% 4 months in

 

[shurcooL]

The Magsafe 2 might be a technically more sound design, but there are aspects of it that haven't exactly been thought through ... making corporate use somewhat more complicated ... and if I put it on the other side, there's the Thunderbolt adapter in the way ... grrmmpphhh

That device probably doesn't comply to USB standards. Apple supports official requirements, but doesn't go out of their way to support devices that don't. That thing should probably have a USB extender cable that gives it space.

 

[wditters]

That device probably doesn't comply to USB standards. Apple supports official requirements, but doesn't go out of their way to support devices that don't. That thing should probably have a USB extender cable that gives it space.

There is no such thing as a USB standard for the size, with and/or design of a USB device, only compliance with the USB plug design, communications protocol and power usage.

Smartcards are a way of providing an additional level of access security to (larger) organizations. Perhaps not the best, nor the most practical, but at least cheap. The downside however is that the use of a smartcard turns into something annoying once you have to rely on external devices. Apple in that respect has always lacked an eye for that kind of corporate requirements, as opposed to for instance HP and Lenovo, who provide laptops with built-in smartcard readers (or even contactless ones)

But so be it, once you decide to go Apple, you will simply have to make at least some sacrifices for corporate use right? ;-) In this case, being a very frequent traveler working in a global work environment with this type of network access, it is an outright nuisance if you have to start carrying all kinds of USB devices that are bulky and/or come with 3-6 feet of cable. That kind of defeats the purpose of the MBA as a tool to travel lightly.

In that respect this particular Smart Card reader actually is a very clever piece of design since it folds away to the size of a small USB memory stick when not in use. Cutting my smartcard in half further reduced the size impact of the combination, and I was quite happily working along that way until the new Magsafe 2 design appeared ....

The new Magsafe 2 plug however will force me indeed into some form of USB extension cable to compensate for the fact that the space available on one side of the USB port will be blocked .... I just hope that I will find a 1" USB extension cable somewhere ;-)

 

[Bwilky]

Who gives a crap? It's a freaking power connector. I actually really like the new one, it comes out so easily!

 

[08380728]

MagSafe is a solution to a problem we don't have.

Magsafe is a solution to a problem many people but your company had/have.

Glass covered displays, now that is a problem created when there wasn't a problem. Apple created a huge usability problem then spent 3+ years to develop a partial solution to reduce the problem, ie: the new rMBP boasts 75% less glare. WTF are they thinking in Cupertino? Steve had an irritating tendency to get excited and change everything when something was his 'flavour of the month' then scratches his head later when he realises it was a dumb idea to begin with then hypes the change back to the original idea as a marvel of genius. What a fruit loop!

It seems that Apple designed these as an additional "feature" to hype, thereby fulfilling their craving for more talking points. Who knew?

No denying that.

 

[theprophe]

This talk of l shaped versus t shaped got me thinking, since my macbook pro is always docked, is there any l-shaped thunderbolt adapter to match my magsafe?