Musings on the MagSafe

Apple is at the forefront of design, wouldn’t you agree? It seems the designers over at Cupertino know just what the user needs, and this evolves based on lessons learned from past mistakes and successes. And apparently, each incarnation of Apple laptops is better than the previous one in many respects, not just a re-packaging and a processor upgrade as with most other notebook manufacturers.

And I’ve come to believe that the MagSafe adaptor is one of those nifty little innovations that actually mean a big thing in my book. Why? I’ve actually tripped on my laptop’s power cord more than twice in my lifetime and twice have I actually had some things fall on the floor because the adaptor plug stubbornly stuck to the laptop’s socket.

The first time, it was my mug. The second time around, it was my trusty ThinkPad flying three feet off the table onto the floor. Talk about accidents! Luckily, the ThinkPad survived with only a few surface scratches and a weakened hinge. Nothing broken, nothing cracked, no data lost. If it weren’t a ThinkPad, the damage would’ve probably been worse, I tell myself.

When Apple introduced the MacBook Pro earlier this year, I was happy that they considered the MagSafe power adaptor as one of the highlights the new laptops offered. I guess the old-style large adaptor plugs Apple used in its Notebooks were prone to the same problems as just any notebook. Trip on them, and you’ll be sending something flying a few feet onto the floor. Apparently, the MagSafe was designed so that any such abrupt pulling would only lead to the adaptor being unplugged from the computer, since magnets hold it in place, and not friction, and the thing is not plugged in deeply inside the socket, even pulls from different angles won’t cause your laptop to budge.

Cool, huh?

I thought all other manufacturers would go the way of the MacBook Pro. This was just the logical step to take in the evolution of laptop design.

Still, I’m not seeing this development even in the latest of laptop models. Patent issues, perhaps? Or does everyone else have a big inventory of plug-type AC adaptors to dispose of. Whatever the reason, I’m hoping laptop manufacturers wake up to the reality that accidents happen, and that any way to minimize damages would be very much welcome.

MagSafe-type adaptors are now at the top of my laptop design/feature wishlist.

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