“The lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Thursday, names Brilliant Store, Sunvalleytek International, and Hootoo.com as defendants,” Krazit reports. “Those companies operate Web sites that sell a variety of computer parts and accessories, including power adapters that Apple says infringe upon its patents.”
More info in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Power adapters are one of the last things we’d skimp on.
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Apple power adapters ! I wish they could make them better
Nothing wrong with Apple’s power adapters
In my experience, Apple power adapters get too hot. The plastic housing does not appear to dissipate thermal energy very well.
Sometimes Apple pushes a little too far on compactness and aesthetics at the expense of functionality and practicality. For instance, the use of a smaller and more expensive 2.5″ HDD in the Mac mini rather than 3.5″ HDD. I have also noticed that my 24″ iMac gets rather hot, particularly in the upper left area (as viewed from the front). I think that the fans need to rev up a little higher (greater sensitivity with respect to temperature change), but the only thing that I can do is set the minimum fan speeds higher, which I have done.
Apple does a great job in the design of their products. But they are not perfect, and some of the mistakes are head scratchers, IMO.
Oh give me a break. Apple went to a proprietary plug to lock out companies who sell reasonably priced adapters. Apple sell theirs at a premium not because they are better than other adapters but because they can. And I say that as a fan of Apple who has bought way too many crappy Apple-branded adapters at premium prices.
@ breeze: My ass. I’ve had three Mag Safe power adapters that have shredded right next to the mag connector. This wouldn’t really be an issue if Apple made the cord separable from the power adapter itself (like dual mag safe connectors), because then I’d be just fine replacing three $20 cables instead of three $85 power adapters. I’ve also had two other power adapters go bad, but Apple Care has handled them. No other single Apple product has ever given me that amount of grief.
You are the biggest fanboi I have ever seen. It’s almost like you have no mind of your own. Your posts are pathetic.
All my adapters have worked great! Don’t like what Apple does, then buy a droiod!
Tommy Boy :
Mag Safe power adapters usually get shredded right next to the mag connector when people pull on the cord instead of gripping the connector.
All Power adapters get hot. The only way to prevent that is by insulating them with bigger/thicker enclosures or bulky insulation.
The mag safe connector has saved many an MBP and I can’t tell you how many of the older rca type power connector boards got damaged ( not to mention MBPs) by people tripping over the power cords.connector.
The shielded cable that Apple uses in their power supplies is higher quality than most supplied adapter on the market and though the sliding attachment is not the snuggest fit it’s pretty handy if you want to extend the length of your power supply temporarily .
Power Supplys fail and overheat – that’s a fact of life in every recording broadcast and TV studio and anyone who uses remote equipment usually has two on hand for that very reason.
@breeze :
Apple has earned my highest professional and personal regard, admiration and trust for many years. Did you know that Apple and Macs are used in so many more real life computing applications than surfing and email?
What’s pathetic is that you probably need a translator.
this is funny.
make that @ “@breeze”
People. Do Apple adapters get warm? Yes. Does every other adapter you use get warm? Yes. Do you think that Apple engineering hasn’t taken this into account?
If you trust an unknown adapter to communicate properly with your Apple product’s battery, then go ahead and buy any cheap-o knock-off product and fudge it to work. Just don’t complain when your battery doesn’t last.
Good stuff is never cheap, and cheap stuff is never good. You all know this, or you wouldn’t be here.
Why do we spend this much energy on such inconsequential matters?
This is just Apple protecting its margins. Apple power adapter = $79, knockoff power adapter = $29. I keep the genuine Apple part in my bag and use the cheap one at my desk. If I don’t keep two, I eventually leave home without an adapter… Needing a second one, but not necessarily relying on it, you bet I bought the cheap one.
Apple: I also think your power adaptors are ludicrously overpriced. We’ve paid top bucks for our Macs so give your faithful customers a break when their power leads fall apart- and you know they will.
Ebay is stuffed with copies, some of which seem to be as good as your own. You’ll never shut them all down. Power adaptors probably cost just a few dollars to manufacture, even yours. So do the right thing and we won’t be tempted to buy knock-offs!
Apple’s power adaptor prices are actually very reasonable. Have you ever tried to buy a power adaptor for a Dell or Toshiba? You’ll be dropping over $100!
I’ve never had a problem with MagSafe power adaptors, but there have been plenty of reports of trouble from others.
The new Mag Safe connector is very nice (MBP 2010). It looks pretty heavy duty. The wires are thicker. The power cable goes straight out the back and isn’t as weak looking as the older style.
I wish Apple would allow third parties to produce Mag Safe compliant power adaptors that were smaller and lighter than what Apple offers.
I had a power adaptor for my Lombard and Titanium PowerBooks that was less than half the size and weight of the Apple power adaptor of the time.
Sometimes third parties DO do a better job than Apple at some things
I take care of many customers with PowerBooks and MacBooks. If they do not personally own the laptop it amazes me how they treat them.
Most users are clueless and stupid. They unplug the power by pulling on the cable not the plug, they wind the cord around the center of the adapter instead of flipping the two arms made for winding up the cord. They run the cord over repeatedly with their chair, and then bitch about why the cord does not last.
I have a MacBook Pro soon to be 3 years old with two original adapters that look like new.
My PowerBook G4 that is 6 years old still has the orignal adapter, the really old PowerBook G3 also is using the original yoyo adapter, still in use by kids.
As I tell my kids, “Use it properly and take care of it and it will last a lifetime, beat the hell out of it and your kids will never see it.”
Apple needs to strengthen or reinforce the wiring on the Magsafe adapter at two points — where the wiring attaches to the magnet end, and where the wiring attaches to the adapter block. There is nothing to prevent the eventual fraying of the wire due to accidental tension of the wire or jerking of the wire, such as when one accidentally pulls it out. The cord is simply way too fragile at these ends. Based on personal experience and visits to the Tekserve shop here in Manhattan, this is a commonly experienced problem among Macbook users, and one that is easily remedied.
I continually try to leave enough slack when I am using my Macbook, but, great as the Magsafe concept is, Apple could very easily reinforce these most essential parts of the cord.
I hope those who are complaining that Apple power adapters get too hot have removed the clear plastic wrap they come shipped in. I once heard that the biggest problem with them overheating was because people left the protective clear plastic on. My adapters never get more than slightly warm and I’ve never had one fail.
Jeezus people, if you can’t learn to take care of your power adapters, you deserve to get taken for whatever Apple decides to charge. I’ve never bought a power adapter in my life. See, you get one free with the computer, and as long as you’re not a retard, there’s no reason it shouldn’t last for the life of the machine.
Seriously, what the hell are you guys doing that you go through power adapters like that? And couldn’t you just, you know, stop doing it?
——RM
I worked in an environment with hundreds of power adapters. We had about a 10-15% fail rate on them. They were poorly engineered that if you slid the wire retainer catch all the way down to the magsafe adapter (a pretty common occurrence) that they would actually overheat and burn there. This coupled with the fact that they cost $80 a pop, made for unexpected increases in budget. However, Apple was very decent about replacing them. I just wish they could be better engineered.
I used to have a mobile power adapter for my PowerBook G4.
Apple doesn’t make one for my MacBook Pro.
So I’ve got two choices – either buy an inverter to provide AC to the Apple adapter to turn back into DC, or buy a patent-violating third-party adapter.
One guess what I’m going to do.
I’m well aware of the many applications of Apple products, as well as their general superiority. However, I am also aware that no company and no product is perfect, and that there’s nothing wrong with constructive criticism and recognizing the faults of Apple, no matter how great they may be as a whole. That is how companies improve – by identifying their weaknesses and improving upon them. You strike me as someone with the delusion of Ballmer, only you chose the better company. Both of you are clueless about the real world and will never admit a fault.
Why would you think I need a translator? Was that supposed to be funny? Idiot.
To be fair, I’ve had one melt on me–no misuse, all packaging removed. The space between the MagSafe and cord just slowly melted after about a year. It was an early MBP though, and the replacement didn’t do anything like that (had one fray where it connects to the big block, but I’m sure that one was my fault, and my dog chewed one up while it was plugged in).
Ok, I have had at least 4 power adapters melt from many generations of iBook thru Macbook Pro. If there was a cheap option outside of Apple, I would buy it.
I did buy one iBook adapter ouside of Apple… I think it was from Macally. Thanks Macally! That was a sturdy adapter!