[waterbuck]

Anyone know how to choose a reasonable power adapter for airline use of a new G4 Al Powrebook?

There are $70 ones like this
http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.proc...ductTabDetails


$30 ones like this

http://www.powermax.com/cgi-global/g...p.cgi?p=560067

and $10 oneshttp://www.clubmac.com/clubmac/shop/...sp?dpno=993970

Is $10 "too low to pay" for something that juices a $2000 piece of equipment? What gives?

[skelotar]

I would go for the most expensive one.. After all, I did buy a powerbook

Buying the $10 power adapter is like paying $55,000 for a mercedez benz then turning around and putting $25 dollar hub-cap spinners on the wheels.


pathetic

[romeosc]

Originally posted by skelotar:
I would go for the most expensive one.. After all, I did buy a powerbook

Buying the $10 power adapter is like paying $55,000 for a mercedez benz then turning around and putting $25 dollar hub-cap spinners on the wheels.


pathetic

That philosophy probably means you will depend on social security as your total income when you retire.



More expensivie is not always best!


A powerbook is a tool not a work of art to be admired!

[waterbuck]

Hi
I got the $25-30 Kensington power adapter. It is not most expensive but the company is pretty reputable.

The Social Sec analogy (i.e. it is the "most expensive") is poor, because those of us noneconomic types don't have a good way to convey the value of a guarantee of not losing one's principle.

So...private investments could be seen as "less expensive" or at the very least a superior value because on average they yield higher returns.

The value of a social guarantee that one's principal won't be lost is hard to price. ie even if the system "goes bust" and is forced to pay out only 70% of promised benefits starting in 2045, which is a typical scenario, the "investor" is still getting back far more than their principal. On the other hand any private investment puts the principal investment at risk, too.

So....the analogous airline powerbook adapter would look "more expensive" but have a level of guaranteed protection that no other adapter could provide. Sadly, I have no idea which adapter does that, and I can't explain $80 more expenditure to my financial boss (ie the Mrs.).

[skelotar]

Originally posted by romeosc:
That philosophy probably means you will depend on social security as your total income when you retire.

Not really .. The difference between wealthy people and poor people is that the wealthy value quality for the sake of the products lifetime versus quality for the sake of having what's "in." Not really sure where social security comes into play though..

More expensivie is not always best!

True.. but putting el-cheapo stuff on a powerbook isn't very wise, because I value my money and have no qualms with spending a little extra money to be assured I will have something that works reliably.

A powerbook is a tool not a work of art to be admired!

Wrong! Name one laptop that looks better than a powerbook..

[dreilly1]

I got the airline adaptor for my iBook at www.madsonline.com .

IIRC, those EmPower airplane power plugs have some current limiting hardware built into the seat, so it's unlikely that even a cheap cable that malfunctions would fry your powerbook. These cables are also usually just configured to power the laptop, not charge the battery. I would feel fine using the cheap one.

Just be glad you don't have a PC -- I had to buy one of these for my work Dell laptop recently. It's a lot more difficult in the PC world, because every laptop may have different voltage and current requirements, so most of these tend to be the "universal" type where you add a tip that fits your specific laptop. My IT department is less than helpful -- they bought one for a co-worker (at list price, >$100!!!) but neglected to buy the tip that corresponds to the particular model laptop we all have, and then insisted that it was the correct part and we must be using it wrong, and he had to send it back!

Froogle was my friend in this instance -- I was able to buy an old Targus universal adaptor for $20, and once it comes in I'll buy the tip for $10.