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>Didn't you get that inversely? It's today's lighter laptops that can MORE easily get pulled down by the standard laptop charger plug. No, but I probably shoul

>Didn't you get that inversely? It's today's lighter laptops that can MORE easily get pulled down by the standard laptop charger plug. No, but I probably should have been clearer in my meaning. The chargers now plug in via a very tiny port that is easily removed with minimal force. The larger, heavier laptops of the past had the more standard wall-wort plugs that needed to be pulled straight back to remove them. USB-C unplugs too easily to ever be a risk for a computer getting pulled down and computers are too light now to actually disengage the MagSafe ports. It's a tough balance where too powerful of a magnet won't disengage a light computer and too light of a magnet causes the charger to fall off at the lightest touch. As for your second point/question, I was mainly saying that paying a premium for a MagSafe connector is less worth it to me than having a non-proprietary port that is also multi-function since it's very uncommon for the use-case that MagSafe was designed for to happen nowadays with computers. I have yet to hear a current story where MagSafe saved someone's computer or where the USB-C cable trashed someone's computer by getting pulled and not releasing. MagSafe was awesome for its time but I think it's not as useful with today's tech.

wallWorth 9y ago
Where to begin? Okay, so USB-C has a long pull. It’s not a short simple disengage that can occur at any angle. You can’t snap off a USB-C plug by rolling at an angle, without inflicting wear at best, or connector damage at worst. The lighter the laptop, the more likely the laptop will be pulled by the binding of the tension clip, especially if the angle of pull is unintentionally wrong and accidental. That the laptop is lighter is good, because on a bad drop off a table top, there’s less impact damage or probability of screen breakage, but a trip over a cord or an excited pet can still send the laptop flying MORE EASILY, not less. The heavier chasis weight merely means that damage was more readily inflicted on the conductive ring-and-pin DC port itself, or the adapter wire, by serving to anchor the chasis in place, than would a lighter chasis get launched across the room. The lighter chasis means a lesser magnet should be used to link the magsafe connector to the power port, but either way, magsafe wins. It’s the better design every time. Back in the day, the magsafe connector saved multiple fragile components, preventing HDD head crashes, dents, bent plugs, sceen smashes and frayed power cord internals. But now, with SSD drives and gorilla glass monitors, and commodity cords, laptops are more durable and survivable on a drop than years ago. Either way, it’s still extremely disconcerting to drop a laptop, no matter that they can withstand more abuse than the bad old days, and magsafe power connects were a reassuring presence. Fortunately, it’s low technology, and USB-C is an open standard, so after market solutions could jump into the market for a save. It doesn’t have to be an Apple product exclusive anymore. It could be an Otter Box durability sweetener included with their hardened clamshell wrappers, or a Belkin accessory, or whatever dongle-du-jour company puts something out. It’s just that no one has pushed into that area yet.
- systoll 9y ago
  The Griffin BreakSafe cable, among others, push into that area.
carlmr 9y ago
>I have yet to hear a current story where MagSafe saved someone's computer Because it's a non-story. Magsafe saved my macbook a few times in Uni. I was working in Cafés, in uni with the cable going straight away from the table and at home with pets. I probably would have needed a macbook per year without magsafe. While I agree it's great to have a standardized USB-C plug, magsafe was the one thing where I didn't mind paying the Apple premium. We could have a magsafe USB-C port. With enough people having a Macbook today this could become standard. And you'd just need a simple ($50) adapter cable to connect the two.

wallWorth 9y ago

Where to begin? Okay, so USB-C has a long pull. It’s not a short simple disengage that can occur at any angle. You can’t snap off a USB-C plug by rolling at an angle, without inflicting wear at best, or connector damage at worst. The lighter the laptop, the more likely the laptop will be pulled by the binding of the tension clip, especially if the angle of pull is unintentionally wrong and accidental. That the laptop is lighter is good, because on a bad drop off a table top, there’s less impact damage or probability of screen breakage, but a trip over a cord or an excited pet can still send the laptop flying MORE EASILY, not less. The heavier chasis weight merely means that damage was more readily inflicted on the conductive ring-and-pin DC port itself, or the adapter wire, by serving to anchor the chasis in place, than would a lighter chasis get launched across the room. The lighter chasis means a lesser magnet should be used to link the magsafe connector to the power port, but either way, magsafe wins. It’s the better design every time. Back in the day, the magsafe connector saved multiple fragile components, preventing HDD head crashes, dents, bent plugs, sceen smashes and frayed power cord internals. But now, with SSD drives and gorilla glass monitors, and commodity cords, laptops are more durable and survivable on a drop than years ago. Either way, it’s still extremely disconcerting to drop a laptop, no matter that they can withstand more abuse than the bad old days, and magsafe power connects were a reassuring presence. Fortunately, it’s low technology, and USB-C is an open standard, so after market solutions could jump into the market for a save. It doesn’t have to be an Apple product exclusive anymore. It could be an Otter Box durability sweetener included with their hardened clamshell wrappers, or a Belkin accessory, or whatever dongle-du-jour company puts something out. It’s just that no one has pushed into that area yet.

systoll 9y ago
The Griffin BreakSafe cable, among others, push into that area.

carlmr 9y ago

>I have yet to hear a current story where MagSafe saved someone's computer Because it's a non-story. Magsafe saved my macbook a few times in Uni. I was working in Cafés, in uni with the cable going straight away from the table and at home with pets. I probably would have needed a macbook per year without magsafe. While I agree it's great to have a standardized USB-C plug, magsafe was the one thing where I didn't mind paying the Apple premium. We could have a magsafe USB-C port. With enough people having a Macbook today this could become standard. And you'd just need a simple ($50) adapter cable to connect the two.