'Plugspreading' is an Abomination (cnet.com) 362
Mark Serrels, writing for CNET: A man [on a train], a human man as he lives and breathes, has put his bag, his stupid goddamn bag on the seat. He thinks his bag is more important than your buttcheeks. Than your tired legs. He is undermining your right to rest those legs, to plank those weary buttcheeks on a seat. This train is busy. He is a bad person. He doesn't care. This is a metaphor. In this metaphor the terrible man-person is a tech company. The bag is their terrible plug. A plug that is not content with taking up one slot on your powerboard, but needs two. Not for power, oh no. It just wants the space to... christ, I don't know. Mess with your day? Piss you off? Make your life worse? Stop you from plugging an extra device into your powerboard for no goddamn reason. Jesus wept. I call this phenomenon "plugspreading" and it's an abomination. [...] This is bad behaviour. This is a problem. That second socket was innocent man, it was collateral damage. He did nothing to deserve this. You ruined its life, starved that socket of its purpose, its reason for existing. Plugspreading is everywhere. It's a disease.
Plug-Spreading? (Score:5, Informative)
I'd really be afraid to Google that without "Safe-Search" turned on. That being said, I agree with your premise. How come if I have a power-strip with 8 sockets I can only ever plug-in 3 damn things? Crap Design! As usual. I don't know where all the "Designers" came from, but, be toasters, coffee-pots, vacuum cleaners, plugs, or software interfaces, they are ALL universally worthlessly incompetent and should be beaten with the "You have failed at your job Stick" until they leave the profession.
Re:Plug-Spreading? (Score:4, Interesting)
The purpose is to avoid you cramming in too many things without a chance of airflow for cooling. Hot electronics fail. It's also why many electronic devices have cases with curves or "unnecessary" protrusions: So you don't put things on top or right next to them.
Re:Plug-Spreading? (Score:5, Interesting)
I'd always wondered why the size of the plug was proportional to the power it draws.
Oh wait, I haven't. Because it isn't.
Wait? What're we talking about again? (Score:2)
> The purpose is to avoid you cramming in too many things without a chance of airflow for cooling.
We're still talking about electrical outlets and plugs aren't we?
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Maybe, but I've got a few battery chargers & power supplies (actually, a small crate of the latter[1]) and they're mostly either a) small enough that they play nice or b) they'd be too big on any of the socket standards I'm familiar with - UK, US, Europe).
They used t
Re:Plug-Spreading? (Score:5, Interesting)
Here's the solution: Outlet Extender/Outlet Saver/Power Extension Cable - 10 Pack [amazon.com]
Plug one of these into an outlet or power strip, and then plug the wall wart into the other end.
I keep one in my backpack, a few in my desk at work, and several spares at home.
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That's because power supplies are left to companies who design power supplies (perhaps you've heard of Delta, or MeanWell, or others?).
For devices with built-in power supplies, you'll find the company often subcontracts the power supply to some third party.
For branded adapters like the ones Apple makes, same deal - except Apple asks Delta (I think the
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Except that a good chunk of these are a plastic shell with some potted electronics inside without anything resembling attention to heat transfer or air cooling.
I realise that this brings the cost down and that manufacturers would prefer to go with a standard case regardless of what is going inside it, and that people who'd pay a little extra for a smaller overall package with decent thermal design are too small a market to address ...
So yes. It's about cooling. Inefficient, 'good enough' but most importantl
Re:Plug-Spreading? (Score:5, Informative)
Apple?
You mean the power supply where you can remove the mains connector to reveal that it connects via a IEC 60320 C7/'figure 8' socket, allowing a short cable to be installed moving the 'wart' to the middle of the length like you want? It's been a while since I checked and may be recalling incorrectly, but I thought that while Apple sold a cable with a moulded connector that fit in the socket and merged with the 'wart', that the socket itself was standard and you could use any suitable cable.
Frankly, these are some of the best designs I've seen. Most of the bulk is away from the mains connection, so it doesn't interfere with other plugs and you can switch between wall-wart and cable-wart.
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Plugspreading? Stop Nerdsplainin.
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I think Plug-Spreading is when the base of the butt-plug is so wide, you can't plug anything else into the adjacent outlet - so to speak.
(Not sure why Mark Serrels is writing about his love-life problems on CNET ...)
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Sorry!
(Doesn't everyone have the day off?)
Re:Plug-Spreading? (Score:4, Insightful)
> How come if I have a power-strip with 8 sockets I can only ever plug-in 3 damn things?
I have 11 things to plug in for all my living room multimedia... stuff. Most of them have the damn spreading wall-warts, and I have only a single standard pair outlet behind the entertainment unit for it all so it led to an octopus abomination of power bars, until I had salvation and tidiness visit me in the form factor of a 3 foot long shop power strip that I attached to the back of the entertainment unit. At last all is clean, tidy and off the floor. But NONE of that would have been necessary if I could have plugged 11 things into the standard 12 plug powerbar I had. Seriously, people shouldn't need to buy a shop power strip with 4 inches of separation between each outlet to be able to use them all.
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Power bar extension cords [aliexpress.com]. It will take 3 months to get to you, so order about 40 of them and keep them in a drawer.
To answer the question why, for almost every one of the examples given in the article, for example the Samsung, Nintendo, and Apple plugs, there is a geometry of power bar or splitter that they will fit nicely for. The Samsung and Nintendo ones, for example, are designed to play nicely on a power bar. Since most people use power bars, it is obvious that the article author went to some troub
Re:Plug-Spreading? (Score:5, Interesting)
In Australia, where this article was written, almost every home power outlet is side by side, so he didn't go to ANY trouble to find a power outlet which was side by side.
Also your standard "buy it at the shops" power board has that same spacing since it's a standard. You have to buy a special hugely spaced power board. Notice this one has only one specially spaced one: https://www.target.com.au/p/us... [target.com.au]
This one has none: https://www.officeworks.com.au... [officeworks.com.au]
This one has actual spacing markers to show you where they will fithttps://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/hpm-5-outlet-power-surge-protector-hpd1055
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Power strips are designed to mimic wall outlets. AC adapters with the transfer stuck onto the plug are a cost-cutting measure. The manufacturer didn't want to pay for a second cable between the outlet and the transformer, so built the plug into the transformer. In low-volume usage this actually makes sense, as it keeps the transformer off the ground where it's out of the
Re:Plug-Spreading? (Score:5, Interesting)
The reason companies use wall warts is because of certification. If you are going to sell a device that takes AC from the mains directly into itself, whether it converts it to DC internally or not, it has to pass a far higher bar than one that takes in DC directly.
So instead of trying to pass those regulations, it's much cheaper to simply buy an AC/DC power supply which has already been certified and ship it with the product you design. The alternative is what a lot of laptops have, the power brick style, which is AC to a little box (certified) and then DC to the laptop. The manufacturer designs one supply to certify and sells it with multiple laptop models.
For example, any device which takes in AC from the mains will have to pass a HiPot test, which is where you apply 2x(device rating) + 1000V DC* between the input terminals and the ground for one minute, during which the device cannot pass any current to ground (i.e., short). So a laptop which would be powered by 120V directly would have to withstand 1240V for one minute.
*These are Canadian Standards Association numbers, but I know that CE and NEC requirements are similar.
What the fuck are you talking about? (Score:5, Insightful)
Are you on drugs?
Re:What the fuck are you talking about? (Score:5, Insightful)
Seriously, why couldn't they design the plug to take up vertical space, and not horizontal space?
Re:What the fuck are you talking about? (Score:5, Insightful)
Seriously, why couldn't they design the plug to take up vertical space, and not horizontal space?
They have. And it's equally bad. There's even an animation in TFA depincting that very situation.
What needs to happen is to have a regular, small footprint plug continued with a wire which goes into the AC/DC converter itself. problem solved. Everyone's happy.
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HERESY! That would cost an extra $0,05!
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Firstly, this would make smartphone chargers unneccessarily big. Those things fit in a pocket and it's good that way. (The oh-so-terrible waste of space by a smartphone charger shown in TFA could have been solved by moving the charger one outlet to the right. The horror.)
Secondly, this would mean adding cables rated for 240V AC to devices that are supposed to supply 5V or maybe 12V DC. That's a waste of copper.
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Yes, for small ones all you need is to have the USB port protrude from the back of the charger.
Secondly, this would mean adding cables rated for 240V AC to devices that are supposed to supply 5V or maybe 12V DC. That's a waste of copper.
Cables are rated for power consumption (amperage). A fast charger (1.67A @9V) would consume a maximum of 20W, maybe, considering efficiency loss. That would be equal to 0.09A at 240V AC.
Re: What the fuck are you talking about? (Score:3)
Firstly, this would make smartphone chargers unneccessarily big.
Why? All you would need to add is essentially a 2 inch long extension cord. How much bulk would that add? Seems like they would still fit in a pocket just fine.
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(The oh-so-terrible waste of space by a smartphone charger shown in TFA could have been solved by moving the charger one outlet to the right. The horror.)
Sure that would work, unless you have 2 devices and they both "spread" right.
Firstly, this would make smartphone chargers unneccessarily big. Those things fit in a pocket and it's good that way.
Clearly, the Samsung charger is not the only way to do it:
https://www.apple.com/us/shop/... [apple.com]
Of course $19.00 USD for a 50 cent part is a whole other issue.
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I think this is a regional difference. Where I am all plugs are stacked on top of each other not side by side. So that Samsung design is Perfect. Compare that to an old DC Wall wart where you can't plug it in the top plug with out blocking the bottom plug.
Power strips come in both orientations so as a designer your screwed. Thing that really bugs me about that article is his complaint about the apple charger. When it has a removable plug adapter so you can plug an extension cord in to it. We can make fun of
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Australian, I think. Yoorpan ones (at least the 2 pin kind) are flippable.
Though in both cases he could have put it in the other socket of the pair...
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The Type I was originally an old USA 220v design. It's the standard Type A, but with the prongs slanted so you can't mistakingly plug 110v into 220v or vice versa, plus with an earth pin added (but you can still use a 2-pin Type I plug in a 3-pin socket, just like you can use a Type A plug in a Type B socket). Plus, for those distribution systems that use phase/neutral, if makes sure that the phase plug
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Maybe don't buy cheap crap or stop complaining that it is cheap crap? I really do not have that problem, but my power-strip was not the cheapest bargain-bin item either.
I love 2018 (Score:5, Insightful)
When you can't tell anymore whether articles like this are satire or not you know why "millenial" has become an insult.
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I don't know about millenial, but "feminist" is definitely an insult of high order.
The solution: short extension cords (Score:5, Informative)
https://www.amazon.com/Etekcit... [amazon.com] Like these ones, as a simple example.
These things (or other similar ones by other companies) are a godsend, even if they are somewhat overpriced. I must have 30 or 40 of them in my house.
You can also get long power bars with as many as ten outlets that are well spaced - enough to permit use of most wall wart-type plugs without needing these cords.
Re:The solution: short extension cords (Score:5, Funny)
Goddamnit, Jim - if you engage in topical responses they will post more of this shite.
Complaints, only, man.
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> You can also get long power bars with as many as ten outlets that are well spaced - enough to permit use of most wall wart-type plugs without needing these cords.
Yes, I have those. I shouldn't need to have them though.
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Retailers can provide friendlier plugs, but it will likely raise product prices. If we demand them, though, companies will provide them.
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You can also get long power bars with as many as ten outlets that are well spaced
Bonus points for getting the cheapest you can find in the hardware store and watch as it melts down after exceeding the small amount of current it can handle safely.
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I liberated mine from Micro Center to Canada, and so far, so good.
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If we'd pay more for stuff, they'd probably fix it for us.
Extension Cord? (Score:4, Insightful)
Actually the real problem is most homes are not wired for DC power. The plugs in the wall are designed for high powered appliances like Vacuum cleaners, Air Conditioners, Fans, Mixers, and Incandescent light bulbs.
Most of the devices we plug in today are DC power. So we need a rather large brick to convert the AC current to DC at the correct levels, and safety.
If homes and offices were wired for DC plugs (Say the High Power USB Standard) then we wouldn't need such bricks, and wouldn't need to carry around these devices that are heaver then the devices we are actually wanting to use. I expect if homes has a Single AC to DC converter then we would probably on the average save a lot of energy as well.
However in the mean time, either get an Extension cord to give some space for the brick and room for an other plug, or deal with it.
Re:Extension Cord? (Score:5, Insightful)
You'll "never" see "whole-house" 12v (or less) DC converters, because the cost of the thick wire you'd need to supply potentially dozens of amperes to every outlet in the house would cost a small fortune. 48v might be do-able... but at that point, you almost might as well just leave it as 110-240v ac, because either way, you'd need voltage conversion at the device itself.
Embedding the DC adapters into the outlet itself is somewhat viable (witness the popularity of power outlets with embedded USB power ports). The problem THERE is, every goddamn time we get what appears to be a viable standard, it ends up becoming obsolete within 2-3 years ANYWAY.
So far, I've personally been through four rounds of outlet-replacement:
Round 1: put outlets with a pair of built-in 500mA USB ports in 3 places.
Round 2: replaced the 500mA outlets with new ones that could supply 1A to one port, and 3.1A to the other, and moved the 500mA outlets to 3 new locations.
Round 3: replaced the3.1+1.0 outlets with new ones capable of Qualcomm Quickcharge, replaced the 500mA outlets with the 3.1+1.0 outlets, and threw away the 500mA outlets because they were only usable with single-gang configurations, and all of the remaining outlets in my house where I wanted to put them were double-gang.
Round 4: replaced the 3 quickcharge outlets with new ones that had one quickcharge 2.0 outlet that could also supply 3.1A to an iPad, and one USB-C outlet.
There isn't going to be a Round 5. When the day comes that I get my first device that genuinely needs 12v+ via USB power delivery, I'm screwing a 2-to-6 outlet adapter into the existing outlets, buying a half-dozen 99c power adapters from China, and just leaving an appropriate assortment of them permanently plugged into the lower 3 outlets. I've had it with endlessly replacing power outlets every 1-2 years.
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FTFY.
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No kidding. If there's any reason an insurance company will deny a claim, it's electrical equipment not rated by underwriters laboratories - that will almost certainly be in the policy fine print.
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You'd lose that bet. You'd need wires the size of small tree trunks to keep the resistive losses under control.
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You'd need wires the size of small tree trunks to keep the resistive losses under control.
Not always, just for most places.
In California where you may only have two rooms in your home total, you could likely get away with wires only as thick as your arm.
Going more than about 50 feet of course would be about as thick as a chunky leg, and 100 feet would need the tree trunk tick wiring.
Not sure what rich people would do in their mansions. Probably a kitten burning generator in each room or something...
Why not DC power? (Score:3)
The other problem with DC power has to do with fire safety and arcing. With AC, the current goes to zero and arc are self-quenching. Not true with DC, so you have a greater likelihood of fire. It also has to do with safety if you get shocked by DC versus AC your chances of injury are much greater.
The ease of transforming voltages with transformers gives AC an advantage. And if you look around your home, you'll see a fair number of high current devices -- heat producing, or motors (ovens, ranges, toaster, c
Blocking the outlet? (Score:4, Insightful)
OMG! Too bad there's *no* way to solve [amazon.com] this problem.
[ Sigh... (a) Why is this a story and (b) Why is this a story on /. ? ]
Re:Blocking the outlet? (Score:5, Insightful)
That's not a solution. That's a work-around to design that does not bother to take even the slightest consideration of actual usage. Of course you can fix it. I can take the damn power supplies apart and internally connect longer wires and re-encase the transformers if I wanted to. I don't want to. I want to buy a power connector that takes these things into proper consideration. I shouldn't have to work around it. Somewhere, there was somebody actually "PAID" to "DESIGN" this crap. Don't you think they should be held accountable for their incompetence?
Re:Blocking the outlet? (Score:5, Funny)
That's not a solution. That's a work-around to design that does not bother to take even the slightest consideration of actual usage. Of course you can fix it. I can take the damn power supplies apart and internally connect longer wires and re-encase the transformers if I wanted to. I don't want to. I want to buy a power connector that takes these things into proper consideration. I shouldn't have to work around it. Somewhere, there was somebody actually "PAID" to "DESIGN" this crap. Don't you think they should be held accountable for their incompetence?
Whoa. No more coffee for you today.
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Re:Blocking the outlet? (Score:4, Funny)
[ Sigh... (a) Why is this a story and (b) Why is this a story on /. ? ]
*cough*msmash*cough*
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Imagine being in a third world country, where you might only have one standard double outlet for your entire hut.
Sorry if you wanted the light on while you charge your phone.
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The burden should not be placed on the consumer to "solve" the problem.
Consumers are the best party to solve this problem - by not purchasing stuff they don't want.
BTW, Apple *almost* does it right on the Macbook power supplies - if only they would make the power prongs rotatable by 90 degrees.
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The burden should not be placed on the consumer to "solve" the problem.
Consumers are the best party to solve this problem - by not purchasing stuff they don't want.
Nope. It's been proven that the "vote with your wallet" world leaves you in a world where your money is no good, and or it gets astronomically unlikely to find a local store carrying a "classic" good like 4:3 screens, 3 inch smartphones (old people aren't social media junkies and even they got along just fine on even 1 and 2 inch displays) and non-smart TVs
You have 2 cases:
1) you buy the device. there is no warning because there are no labels or even online mentions of the cable it forces on you. You sigh a
Buy a short extension cord, moron. (Score:2)
Obviously it's a very slow news day.
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I think you're inhaling a bit too much ozone, it's making you type in a really weird font.
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Agreed
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True - but aren't modern switching supplies tiny? Most wall-wart plugs are for systems that are only a few watts. Seems like that should fit in a slightly larger than normal sized plug. Should be>90% efficient, so there shoudln't be much power loss.
I assume the standard transformers are cheaper?
You're the moron (Score:2)
No wall wart made in the last 15 years has used a transformer to step down. Switching supplies use small ferrite types but they don't get nearly as warm under load.
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Those plugs are designed to contain the transformer, and give it space to cool.
also to keep your derpness from plugging 12 things into a single outlet and burning your house down.
Sounds fishy. It's like saying those javascript bitcoin miners are not "designed" by lazy, greedy people and instead had an imperative to even consider keeping my computer "safe" by alerting me indirectly (via slowdowns and subtle 100% CPU results --only if someone technical knows where to look) when I get myself too many tabs mining and watching videos on multiple sites all at once.
Replace this well-known maxim so you put goodwill and profits in place of malice and stupidity: Never attribute to *malice* wh
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Those plugs are designed to contain the transformer, and give it space to cool.
also to keep your derpness from plugging 12 things into a single outlet and burning your house down.
Seriously, who writes this garbage and how does it get on /. ? Next week we'll have some executive's coming-out-as-a-brony as front page news.
FFS.
Giving the transformer space to cool was literally a larger problem with the magnetic coupled copper based old school design that went out of fashion around 2010 and now is rarely seen. With the advent of cheap efficient switching circuits, modern designs can be shrunk due to greater efficiency, due in large part to high frequency low loss designs where you can pump a small amount of energy (small cheap parts) a very large number of times a second instead of huge parts at 50/60.
tl;dr There really is no
Multiple markets (Score:2)
The short answer is that devices are designed for use in multiple markets with varying plug arrangements. To reduce cost, the form factor of the conversion hardware is unchanged between markets; only the prongs are changed. That which is inconvenient in Europe may be perfectly fine in the US. It's not evil. It's a natural consequence of global commerce without global power connection standards.
Cobblers... (Score:2)
It's entirely possible to design a single, generic low-voltage-output wall-wart that will fit comfortably within the minimum power-socket dimensions across all target markets
However, because this requires a little time, effort and money, the accountants and MBAs running pretty much every company instead source a brick from the lowest-cost Chinese provider... with, I am loathe to say it, the exception of Apple, as I've yet to see one of theirs overlap other sockets on a power strip of any country, unless the
So spread the plugs (Score:4, Informative)
Look up "octopus power strip", these should be everywhere. As for the man, politely ask him to move his bag.
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This. Also, you can buy large quantity packs of 1" power "extension" cords for a single device (works like the octopus power strip but with flexibility to use it on any plug). I use them all the time, I carry a few in my car in fact.
Also, USB power receptacles are gaining in popularity. It's becoming less necessary to have an A/C power adapter to charge a mobile device.
How about (Score:3)
But then I am different, I create tech but don't have much use for it.
Just my 2 cents
The abomination is the power brick (Score:3)
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I pay extra whenever I can to get my devices with a built-in PSU.
I've noticed with alarm that more and more non-laptop devices are forcing these on us. Cableco boxes and smart tv shouldn't be reminiscent of laptops. The brick will likely end up hanging badly from a corner and have one of the brick-touching segments end up tearing itself. This will either stop the power transit altogether one day, or cause a short circuit.
Translation: (Score:2)
I am lazy, and didn't bother to make sure all parts of what I bought are to my satisfaction.
If you knew and bought it anyway, well live with it because money talks and you know the rest.
Yes, some 'transformer' designs suck and are just awful for the sake of cuteness, you still bought it.
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"You still bought it" assumes that the client was aware of the adapter minutiae at purchase time rather than unboxing time. NOPE.
When you buy that expensive smart tv, samsung phone or iPhone you do not get to choose the type of adapter --there may be some outcry when Apple changes ports to kill your historical investments, but there is only ONE Apple just like there is only one Samsung. You do not get to vote with your wallet.
So if you want the device, you buy it and sigh.
There is no interchangeable parts s
Deranged rant is deranged (Score:5, Insightful)
Seriously. And the thing about the bag? Are you unable to open your mouth and ask? Is it an imposition to you to be asked to communicate with another human being?
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Seriously? (Score:3)
Is this what Slashdot has come to? I wonder if the writer got a little treat from some woman he was trying to impress?
Use a Squid (Score:2)
We have a type of surge protector/powerboard sold commonly in California called a âoeSquidâ. It resembles a squid: it has an oval body and five short cords of varying lengths, each one ending in a female power socket. It can power five wall warts at once regardless of their egregious size.
Is this supposed to be funny? (Score:4, Insightful)
Is this one of those "first world problems" . . . (Score:2)
U-Verse (Score:2)
I had an entire power strip dedicated to 1 fricken power brick.
On the other hand, I had jury duty a few years back. I brou
It's because of you (Score:2)
Because you never read the fucking manual, they have to do it in hardware.
Also you must be new here to use train analogies in a car analogy forum.
Mac's used to solve this problem (Score:2)
When I bought my first macbook, it came with an extension cable for the charger so that it only took up one slot on the power strip. Now you get the charger "brick" [apple.com] with the $1000 laptop and Apple charges you $20 for the extension cable. [apple.com] . The cable is the only thing that carries over from mac to mac.
It's just cheapness... (Score:2)
Cheap Solution (Score:2)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075WC3LZG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_fiupBb28ZM5DB
Obviously, not a solution for every case. But in many, many cases, these are all you need to stop the scourge of "Plugspreading". As an aside, if this term has not yet been co-opted by the adult community, clearly this post will be its genesis. I expect an entire category on pornhub within weeks!
The designers are optimizing for... (Score:2)
..something different
The engineers may be optimizing for cost, conversion efficiency, component availability, EMI rules, reliability or development time
The designers want it to look cool and different and fit the overall design aesthetic
Very few or either group care about encroaching on nearby devices
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They may be optimising for durability (Samsung example, less protrusion straight out means less chance of brushing and breaking the USB connector) and/or reducing the likelihood of pulling on the cable pulling the plug out of the wall (Nintendo example - with a nod to durability because the cord is also more protected from being brushed by passers-by, although a bottom or top entry would also do that at the possible expense of usability in low-mounted outlets).
That square and angled one, though? Yeah, that
It's Economics. (Score:4, Funny)
The problem comes down to economics. You're buying a device that requires DC power, and the manufacturer is not going to decide the converter; it is going to choose an existing DC converter and supply it with the device. They might put a sticker on it. The socket-friendly option would cost a dollar or two more, which, when included in the Amazon price, just might give the competing device the edge. You and the other buyers didn't research the socket friendliness of the device, and there would be little opportunity for the manufacturer to convey this advantage in the first place.
What incentive does the manufacturer have to improving products this way? Not enough to add $1 to the price. So there you have it.
BTW, the article was incoherent. Let me coin the term "blogspreading" to refer to an article that takes up space and makes you spend more time than necessary to figure out what it's talking about.
Someone's bag is in your way? (Score:3)
I suppose it is entirely too ... "masculine" ... to ask "May I sit here?" People don't put their bags, or briefcases, or backpacks on the seat just to piss you off; they put it there because that seat was empty when they sat down.
You need or want that seat. An ADULT would say "Excuse me, my I sit here?" Nine times out of ten, the person will say something like "Oh, excuse me. Sure." and move the bag between his feet. The 10th time is probably some sort of hostile/drunk/drugged out boor, and you probably don't want to sit next to him anyway.
Of course, if it's a woman - as it sometimes is - she'll often say "NO", because she doesn't want to share the seat with me, a man. I sort of understand that, because she can't see that I'm a former Boy Scout, absolutely honorable retired military officer who would sacrifice his own life to save hers. She just sees "Creepy old man!"
No woman would ever refuse to allow another woman to share the seat, of course.
Re:WTH? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:WTH? (Score:4, Informative)
I think the technical term is "huge ass wall-wart".
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of course this is a msmash article
that lady needs a good dicking imo
That's no lady.
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Not if the plug has an earth pin its not (the French type, used in many other European countries).
Also there are varying standards for multiple adjacent sockets - a lot of wall sockets put two sockets one above the other, pins aligned hoizontally, which works for some wall warts but is crap for the 90-degree angled plugs, wheareas a lot of power strips angle the sockets at 45 degress, which in turn is crap for wall warts which come in two alignment types 90-degrees apart.
The only system which seems to have
Re: (Score:2)
Not if the plug has an earth pin its not (the French type, used in many other European countries).
The German (Type F) plug is far more common, and does indeed allow turning a grounded plug 180 degrees. As well as allowing an ungrounded plug (Type C) to be used in a grounded outlet.
https://wikitravel.org/en/File... [wikitravel.org]
The only system which seems to have been designed with some consistency and attention to clearance is the British 3-pin.
Then again, in older British houses, ground is often earth, which causes Big Scary Problems when trying to use a converter plug or connecting the earth socket on a radio or receiver to earth...
Re: (Score:2)
Indeed. And as the one asking, I had just one asshole that refused so far. But he was taking up 4 spaces in a full train, so it was pretty obvious he was an utter asshole.
Re:So are autoplaying videos! (Score:5, Funny)
I call it "videospreading". Useless auto-playing videos that nobody cares about, wasting bandwidth that could have been used by something worthwhile.
Re: (Score:3)
Seriously, fuck video. If I want video I go to Youtube or Netflix. Save web pages for text and images only.
Re: (Score:2)
Looking at the plug styles images in the article they are in the south Pacific, probably New Zealand or Australia. Here in NZ we call the strip of 4 or 6 plugs a powerboard. Or power strip, or extension strip.