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The OP is referring to Apple's iPhone power/usb connector cable, as seen in this picture: http://i.imgur.com/yAywo.jpg http://i.imgur.com/yAywo.jpg. The dock co

The OP is referring to Apple's iPhone power/usb connector cable, as seen in this picture: http://i.imgur.com/yAywo.jpg http://i.imgur.com/yAywo.jpg. The dock connector strain relief is decidedly weaker (I have had two or three break on me personally) than other Apple products. One thing that is interesting is how Apple's Industrial Design team, mentioned in the post, affected the design of the new Macbook power adaptors (like the one you linked to, http://www.cl.ly/0r2n2S2z1b3K0L1E0R3t http://www.cl.ly/0r2n2S2z1b3K0L1E0R3t). The old ones had the cord coming out perpendicular to the laptop. I liked that design a lot better than the new style, which is a bit awkward to plug in and leaves you either: 1. With a cord facing out the back of the laptop, then (probably) looping around 180 degrees and back to the power outlet, or 2. With the cord running parallel next to the laptop, completely blocking the ethernet port. Obviously neither of these solutions is streamlined or Apple-like, so I wonder if the ID dept made the trade-off of a parallel connector with minimal strain relief, or a perpendicular connector with built-in strain relief.

ugh 15y ago
Huh? My power outlet is nearly always right behind where my laptop is. A cord facing out the back of the laptop is perfect for this - no more 90 degree turn.
- sil3ntmac 15y ago
  You're right, I generalized: the position of the power outlet varies with every place you plug in your laptop. However, I often find myself with the outlet behind me (i.e. sitting against the wall at an airport, restaurants; I take my laptop out of the house with me frequently), so I run into this problem. I liked the perpendicular adapter because in the worst case, the cord had to make a 90 degree turn.
  - CrazedGeek 15y ago
    Out of curiosity, how often are you using the Ethernet port at those places?
    - sil3ntmac 15y ago
      Haha, good point. I said ethernet because it is the first port blocked. The cord also blocks the display port and makes the first USB port awkward to use (this is the biggest annoyance for me, as I often have flash drives/my iPhone/a USB keyboard with me and there are only two USB ports on the laptop).
      - cookiecaper 15y ago
        Also note older generation MB(P)s that are on newer-generation power adapters (I'm on my fourth power connector since I got my MBP in '07 -- two of them have used the new design) have a blocked USB port, not a blocked ethernet port, which is significantly more problematic for portable use.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
- kelnos 15y ago
  I bring my Air to and from work every day; at work I have a power strip under my desk, and it's easier to access from the front (and also less of a hassle to unplug and replug every evening and morning). At home I have a power strip under the front of my couch; when I have the laptop on my lap on the couch the cord goes out the back, but if I place the laptop on my coffee table, the cord comes back to the front. Do I represent a common use case? Dunno...
  - jonhendry 15y ago
    At work I have the fat grounded extension cord thingy plugged into the strip under the desk, with the end kept above the desk. When I get to work I just hook that to the brick. No need to crawl under the desk.
raquo 15y ago
Early Macbook Airs are to blame for that weird power connector. Look: http://www.slashgear.com/gallery/data_files/3/macbook-air-hands-on-6.jpg http://www.slashgear.com/gallery/data_files/3/macbook-air-ha... The industrial design division probably wanted a thin bevel on all sides, and there is no way a classic connector would fit between the macbook and the table and retain the magsafe feature. Latest macbook airs no longer need this hack and I think Apple will shift back to normal power connectors sometime soon because these metal ones are no good for anything except possibly for those monitor-to-laptop power cords.
- gmatty 15y ago
  i actually prefere this connector because on the classic on if I and sitting on the floor crosslegged with my laptop on my lap the old cable pops out.
  - erikpukinskis 15y ago
    This. Also if you're reading with the computer sideways in bed, this puts crazy strain on the old adapter, but the new adapter is just fine.
- nchlswu 15y ago
  I thought I read that one of the purposes for the new connectors was strain-relief related? The old MagSafe connectors were a pain to use if you wanted to bend the cable towards the back and really seemed like an improvement (at least for my use). I admit I haven't tried them, though. I doubt Apple will shift back to the normal power connectors unless they come up with a new design, though -- what's the point in going back?
xxpor 15y ago
This is the same issue as the old straight vs 90 deg headphone plugs.
andybak 15y ago
You missed the worst part of the new magsafe. They don't perform the job magsafe was invented for: preventing an accident from yanking your laptop off a table. Out of the 4 possible directions a cable can be yanked - 2 of them (towards the laptop body and the direction the magsafe cable is pointing) are now more likely to pull the laptop than they are to safely disengage the cable. How did someone not notice this?
- vl 15y ago
  I have both on my table, so I tested it: new MagSafe releases much easier to the left; worse than the old one forward and backward; equally bad to the right; and, unlike old, doesn't release up at all for quite some distance.

ugh 15y ago

Huh? My power outlet is nearly always right behind where my laptop is. A cord facing out the back of the laptop is perfect for this - no more 90 degree turn.

sil3ntmac 15y ago
You're right, I generalized: the position of the power outlet varies with every place you plug in your laptop. However, I often find myself with the outlet behind me (i.e. sitting against the wall at an airport, restaurants; I take my laptop out of the house with me frequently), so I run into this problem. I liked the perpendicular adapter because in the worst case, the cord had to make a 90 degree turn.
- CrazedGeek 15y ago
  Out of curiosity, how often are you using the Ethernet port at those places?
  - sil3ntmac 15y ago
    Haha, good point. I said ethernet because it is the first port blocked. The cord also blocks the display port and makes the first USB port awkward to use (this is the biggest annoyance for me, as I often have flash drives/my iPhone/a USB keyboard with me and there are only two USB ports on the laptop).
    - cookiecaper 15y ago
      Also note older generation MB(P)s that are on newer-generation power adapters (I'm on my fourth power connector since I got my MBP in '07 -- two of them have used the new design) have a blocked USB port, not a blocked ethernet port, which is significantly more problematic for portable use.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
kelnos 15y ago
I bring my Air to and from work every day; at work I have a power strip under my desk, and it's easier to access from the front (and also less of a hassle to unplug and replug every evening and morning). At home I have a power strip under the front of my couch; when I have the laptop on my lap on the couch the cord goes out the back, but if I place the laptop on my coffee table, the cord comes back to the front. Do I represent a common use case? Dunno...
- jonhendry 15y ago
  At work I have the fat grounded extension cord thingy plugged into the strip under the desk, with the end kept above the desk. When I get to work I just hook that to the brick. No need to crawl under the desk.

raquo 15y ago

Early Macbook Airs are to blame for that weird power connector. Look: http://www.slashgear.com/gallery/data_files/3/macbook-air-hands-on-6.jpg http://www.slashgear.com/gallery/data_files/3/macbook-air-ha... The industrial design division probably wanted a thin bevel on all sides, and there is no way a classic connector would fit between the macbook and the table and retain the magsafe feature. Latest macbook airs no longer need this hack and I think Apple will shift back to normal power connectors sometime soon because these metal ones are no good for anything except possibly for those monitor-to-laptop power cords.

gmatty 15y ago
i actually prefere this connector because on the classic on if I and sitting on the floor crosslegged with my laptop on my lap the old cable pops out.
- erikpukinskis 15y ago
  This. Also if you're reading with the computer sideways in bed, this puts crazy strain on the old adapter, but the new adapter is just fine.
nchlswu 15y ago
I thought I read that one of the purposes for the new connectors was strain-relief related? The old MagSafe connectors were a pain to use if you wanted to bend the cable towards the back and really seemed like an improvement (at least for my use). I admit I haven't tried them, though. I doubt Apple will shift back to the normal power connectors unless they come up with a new design, though -- what's the point in going back?

xxpor 15y ago

This is the same issue as the old straight vs 90 deg headphone plugs.

andybak 15y ago

You missed the worst part of the new magsafe. They don't perform the job magsafe was invented for: preventing an accident from yanking your laptop off a table. Out of the 4 possible directions a cable can be yanked - 2 of them (towards the laptop body and the direction the magsafe cable is pointing) are now more likely to pull the laptop than they are to safely disengage the cable. How did someone not notice this?

vl 15y ago
I have both on my table, so I tested it: new MagSafe releases much easier to the left; worse than the old one forward and backward; equally bad to the right; and, unlike old, doesn't release up at all for quite some distance.