I understand the æsthetic decision, but there is no reason why Apple couldn't have made the wire that runs from the brick to your laptop detachable. That way I could actually replace it for a reasonable amount.
This. Over the past five years I have had to replace four Apple power adapters. Two caught on fire, one just stopped working, and one only worked when I duct taped it to death. They replaced all but one under warranty. But when I asked the Apple Genius in SoHo if this "whole catching on fire thing" happened often, he didn't say no. He just told me he wasn't allowed to answer that.
Unfortunately, I am compelled to share the same experience here. And being the "computer guy" for friends and family, I have seen the same kind of bad power adapters over and over. I thought that I was crazy or very unlucky because everyone tells me how great Apple products are.
And the replacements are quite expensive compared to the competition (I see mostly Dell and Lenovo, to be honest, no idea for the other ones).
I've replaced 3 in the past 2 years. All have melted right around the part that goes into the laptop. It has gotten to the point where I won't even leave it plugged in unless I am in the room.
Hm, well, just to provide one counter example, haven't had a bad adapter in 8 years and half a dozen apple laptops. Not saying it doesn't happen of course :)
Yeah, over ten years and five laptops between myself and my partner, and maybe seven or eight power adapters (we've had spare adapters for some of our laptops), we haven't had any problems with fires, sparks, etc. As the parent said, though, "Not saying it doesn't happen"- just not to us, apparently.
I will say, however, that the MagSafe design, even lacking strain reducers as discussed by the OP, has proven its value on more than one occasion. Besides the obvious advantages (i.e., tripping over the cord no longer sends one's laptop flying, nor does it cause catastrophic damage to the power port), I'm personally fond of the fact that you can step on the adapter all day long without damaging it. We had to replace an adapter once back in the day after accidentally stepping on the little round connector part, and bending it irreparably out of shape.
Detachable magsafe cables would also make it easier for third parties to sell power adapters, which is almost certainly why Apple power bricks are alone among major manufacturers in not splitting things this way.
They already have that. It can cause problems when the DRM circuitry screws up inside the laptop and causes the brick or the laptop to refuse to charge. It just makes things more unreliable.
The proper technique is ridiculously subtle.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1630
That support article is a spiritual ancestor of the Antennagate defense press event.
It's not that subtle. Just don't try to wrap it really tight, which would put a constant strain on the wire where it enters the brick that would last until you completely unwind the cord again.
Frankly, everything in that document just looks like common sense.
They've changed the design from a plug that attaches perpendicularly into the laptop (and has a serious strain point that is not adequately engineered around) to one that plugs in "parallel".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MagSafe
This likely prevents strain by removing the probability that the cable is pulled at the strain point. It also looks cooler.
Only downside is that it doesn't untether easily; it's that the selling point of MagSafe?
I got my macbook pro last november with the new connector. The MagSafe connector is already broken. I attach/detach it maybe 3 times a day.
Seeing everyone I know that has a macbook have his/her adapter fail, not getting a replacement and then having to buy a new one for 80 EUR I took extra care. Still the cable broke inside the connector!
I've never had this problem with any other device or notebook. Seriously, power adapters should be simple and just work - except they don't for macbooks.
Apple hasn't charged me for either of the replacements I've gotten. If they're willing to absorb that cost, who am I to complain about how high the cost is?
