Dumbing down of the American consumer | Apple MagSafe 60W Power Adapter for MacBook MA538LL/B

Essential | Apple MagSafe 60W Power Adapter for MacBook MA538LL/B

electronics:


	• Apple MagSafe 60W Power Adapter for MacBook MA538LL/B Apple Computer Apple Computer view larger image
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Excellent, but....

I really like the compact size and the design of the charger, the reason why I gave it three stars is because the dinky thing is SO EXPENSIVE, and DON'T LOSE IT (like I did). That is all, great charger, not worth the price.

Dumbing down of the American consumer

Whoa. In seeking to replace my MacBook power cord I have come across a host of weird reviews in myriad websites, including Apple dot com's.

First, let me say my MacBook has worked nearly flawlessly for two years. I purchased it only because my Series G3 couldn't keep up with OS X advances, and my software became obsolete (so much for Mac's early promises to maintain compatibility down the line!).

Towards the end of the warranty period my MacBook experienced a boot-up problem but the local Apple service reps initialized and re-loaded the hard drive under warranty and it's worked fine since.

The power cord? I think the MagSafe idea is great. I keep mine plugged into the wall via the long cord. The outlet is behind a dresser and in pushing the dresser close to the wall it causes the cord to bend sharply, which has resulted in enough overheating over time to turn the insulation brown at the bend. However, the integrity of the cord is still intact.

The thin output cord, the part everyone seems to be complaining about, has caused me no problems whatsoever as far as fraying, etc. What did happen was that my wife found the MagSafe head lying in a puddle of cat urine. Inspection of the head showed a short-circuit which blew out one of the four mini-pins in the head. I hope the cat got a good jolt out of it for its indiscretion.

None of this is really a big concern to me. Yes, $79.00 does seem a little pricey, but what the hell.

What is of concern to me is the fact that if there were truly a design flaw, everyone would be experiencing the problem. So what factor is separating those who complain from those who are having no problems? On the face of it, it appears to be... spelling! Those who insist that the MagSafe has a design flaw seem to be unable to spell - or generally unable to write a complete sentence, for that matter.

First and foremost, the part in question is a CORD, not a CHORD. Nearly all the whiners misspelled this ridiculously simple word. A chord is many things (in geometry, music, engineering and medicine) but it is not what you plug into your laptop.

Why would poor spellers as a group experience problems with the MagSafe head fraying and burning? In my opinion, poor spelling is part and parcel of a more serious underlying problem: lack of attention to detail.

Yes, the cord is narrow and delicate, but this allows for more unfettered use than if the cord were thick and heavy. All that needs to be done is to prevent the cord from kinking or being pinched, because this will cause it to overheat at that location.

My fear is that the many folks who complain about the design of this product are lazy, unattentive sluggards who lay on their power cords or wind them carelessly or otherwise knot them up.

My apologies if my comments appear to be condescending. The fact is, I'm no better than anyone else - after all, my cord was destroyed by cat pee - and how disgusting is that? I must admit, though, I'm a stickler for spelling.

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Essential

I've always found a second power adapter to be an essential accessory for any laptop. Due to Apple's restrictions on the MagSafe plug, you're stuck buying the official one. Just like the original, the size on these is brilliant, and the price is reasonable. I keep one at my desk at the office, and one at my desk in my home office. The home one often gets moved when I need more than battery power at another location.

Required for any MacBook owner.

reviews: 1, page 2, 3, 4, 5