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magsafe for mba is it safe?

L

liynus

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 23, 2004
19
0
hi all,

with this new macbook air, i feel like the new magsafe adapter is unsafe. first the L shape is annoying. i actually liked the square adapter on my old macbook pro better it doesn't block a usb port depending on how it is placed.

also i feel it is hard to align the connector. with the old adaptor i would know whether it was connected or not. with the new one on the mba, i have to wait to look for the light to flash. sometimes the adapter looks all the way in and it is not, this happens about 30% of the time.

finally and the point of this thread. since the mba is very light weight. i feel that the magsafe adapter actually has enough pull that if you tripped over the wire your macbook air would go flying. it's make me a lot more paranoid. due to the weight of the macbook pro this wasn't an issue.

do you think apple needs to make a "less sticky" magsafe for the mba? i'm on a 13" so i can't even imagine what it is like for a 11"

(this also bothers me because it speaks to apple's recent lack of quality. i don't know if it's because the mbp has gone through so many generations that all the kinks have been ironed out, but for a 3rd gen product the mba still feels like a 1st gen)
 
Magsafe has been used for years and is very safe. In fact, i have tripped over my cord once and it broke away from the laptop without pulling it off the table. I would say that Apple got this one right.
 
It still beats the crap out of a barrel plug that is guaranteed to pull a computer off a surface unless you pull it exactly straight out
 
Not sure what "recent lack of quality" issues you are referring to
Everything on the MBA oozes quality, it performs like a dream and it's wicked fast.

Also, If you plug the connector in correctly (with the cord facing back), you will not be covering any ports.

IMO regarding old vs new, I like the new design better than the old one, it's out of the way and I hardly know it's there.

Neurobit
 
Yes, what the heck was Apple thinking in expecting me to understand that a little lit LED meant it was charging or connected. It's also way too much work for me to remember to point the L shaped plug so that it points to the back of the machine so as not to block a port.

I also am outraged that the plug can't be self aware and unplug itself BEFORE somebody trips on the cable. Last time somebody tripped on the cable, my MBA actually launched off of my table which was of course covered in ice as that's how we all should work to keep the badly designed MBA from overheating and combusting.
 
VMMan said:
Yes, what the heck was Apple thinking in expecting me to understand that a little lit LED meant it was charging or connected. It's also way too much work for me to remember to point the L shaped plug so that it points to the back of the machine so as not to block a port.

I also am outraged that the plug can't be self aware and unplug itself BEFORE somebody trips on the cable. Last time somebody tripped on the cable, my MBA actually launched off of my table which was of course covered in ice as that's how we all should work to keep the badly designed MBA from overheating and combusting.
Click to expand...

haha I was thinking the same thing reading this post. I mean like is there something better than a MagSafe for charging computers now days. Even if your air would be pulled off the table (Which I highly doubt) you sure must have pulled it pretty hard. All in all the MagSafe is way better than any other computer charger and I work at a computer shop I have never heard of someone breaking their Macs by someone tripping on the MagSafe LMAO!! lol
 
wow i'm surprised about the response to this post.

i guess i'm the only one that feels this way. on my old macbook pro i had no complaints, the magsafe worked great. i tripped over it multiple times and it pulled away and my mbp was safe.

i'm just saying for the mba, i've pulled the cord and it doesn't give way as easily because of the weight. it literally can tug the whole laptop. do others feel the same way? i just don't feel as safe tripping over it. perhaps i should just do my own side by side comparison with some pillow cushions all over the floor.

also yes, it does bother me that the mag adapter covers the usb port. i mean, com'on! don't tell me you have never plugged it in the wrong way and covered up the port. i've owned tons of apple products over the years, they were not all great. but a lot of them became great with refinements over the years.

the mba air is great in a lot of respects. great size, fast (though i wish they would let you get 8gb of ram), great screen. but it's still not perfect.
 
liynus said:
wow i'm surprised about the response to this post.

i guess i'm the only one that feels this way. on my old macbook pro i had no complaints, the magsafe worked great. i tripped over it multiple times and it pulled away and my mbp was safe.

i'm just saying for the mba, i've pulled the cord and it doesn't give way as easily because of the weight. it literally can tug the whole laptop. do others feel the same way? i just don't feel as safe tripping over it. perhaps i should just do my own side by side comparison with some pillow cushions all over the floor.

also yes, it does bother me that the mag adapter covers the usb port. i mean, com'on! don't tell me you have never plugged it in the wrong way and covered up the port. i've owned tons of apple products over the years, they were not all great. but a lot of them became great with refinements over the years.

the mba air is great in a lot of respects. great size, fast (though i wish they would let you get 8gb of ram), great screen. but it's still not perfect.
Click to expand...

If it's not perfect, it's almost perfect, but anyway, that's not the reason why it is not. As others, I've tripped over my air's magsafe cable a couple of times and it plugged off itself instantly. Just wait for you to have an "accident" and you'll see it for yourself.:rolleyes:
You're just complaining about feelings, not facts.
 
I've never had a problem with either type, the old or the new. Personally I like the MagSafe just for it's clean appearance and functionality. But I've used laptops for so long that being careful with the cord is just second nature.

It's not rocket science, just good common sense.
 
I never had a problem my 13" air tripping over the cord. I say the L shape magsafe isn't the best design because it is like a fish hook and if you pull the wire directly behind or in front of the magsafe, it will "hook" your computer and pull it along with it. But again if you're walking past it you're not pulling it straight you're pulling to horizontally .
 
liynus said:
wow i'm surprised about the response to this post.

also yes, it does bother me that the mag adapter covers the usb port. i mean, com'on! don't tell me you have never plugged it in the wrong way and covered up the port. i've owned tons of apple products over the years, they were not all great. but a lot of them became great with refinements over the years.
Click to expand...

Are you kidding? You can't see that you are putting it on the wrong way when you attach it? Under the odd chance that you didn't notice the flipping cable going the wrong way, then when you went to insert a USB cable into the now blocked port, ummmm... couldn't you just flip the magsafe cable around the other way? I'm guessing if you did this a time or two, you'd eventually learn to connect the magsafe connecter with the cable going out the back.

Maybe they should put a big sticker on the top of the MacBook Air with bold red letters (WARNING: Make sure your magsafe cable is point out the back or you will block the USB port) and a little picture depicting the way the cable should be oriented. It would be like those stickers they put on ladders that say not to stand on the top step or you may fall off.
 
liynus said:
wow i'm surprised about the response to this post.

i tripped over it multiple times and it pulled away and my mbp was safe.

i just don't feel as safe tripping over it. perhaps i should just do my own side by side comparison with some pillow cushions all over the floor.

also yes, it does bother me that the mag adapter covers the usb port. i mean, com'on! don't tell me you have never plugged it in the wrong way and covered up the port.
Click to expand...

You are not very smart are you ?

if it bothers you that meg safe covers the usb port then just insert it the other way for gods sake what is the problem here ?
 
liynus said:
also yes, it does bother me that the mag adapter covers the usb port. i mean, com'on!
Click to expand...

The adapter's connector snaps in without covering the port, as you know. It is bi-directional, and can plug in either way.
 
If it annoys you that the MagSafe plug blocks the USB port on your MacBook Air .... simply take your Air and AC adapter down to your Apple Store, and I am sure that they will be able to fix the problem for you. :)

They probably won't even charge you since it is under Apple Care for the first year.
 
this preference is entirely conditional based on how you like to orient your computer with respect to the direction where the ac adapter cord is located
 
maybe it's designed that way for a reason, i.e. the longer lever arm causes it to disengage more easily when the cord is pulled (longer arm = more torque), which is needed because of the Air's lighter weight.
 
magsafe saved my 2000 $ laptop yesterday.. cord was draped for table to outlet, family member kept walking, they did not trip, the chord detached.
 
The magsafe does work if you trip over it...I cannot tell you how many times I have accidentally disconnected the charger with just my hand, I imagine it'd definitely work if you tripped over it.....
besides, if it didn't work for some reason, I would think Apple would repair it since their product did not work.
 
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