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by blackguardx 3798 days ago
It looks like it is only the international adapter part. Everyone complains about Apple's strain relief, but a lot of engineering went into making that as good as it is (which is less than average). It is hard to make robust stuff look sleek and well designed. Some companies err on the side of robust. Apple goes the other way.
6 comments
userbinator 3798 days ago
I don't know about you, but I think the strain reliefs that just about every other cable has are "sleek and well designed" enough to stop them from failing there. Apple's strain relief, which doesn't relieve strain particularly well, reminds me of those on very old equipment (pre-1940s): nothing more than a featureless tube surrounding the cable. The reinforced design with a flexible, radius-limiting boot that's popular today evolved over many decades and works very well. Apple's design provides only a minimal amount of reinforcement and doesn't offer much radius-limiting. You can see this when you bend it - the "boot" creases and wrinkles, separating from the cable, instead of smoothly controlling and limiting its bend radius as a good strain relief should.
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blackguardx 3798 days ago
I prefer other companies' strain reliefs, but I get why Apple uses the one they do.
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marshray 3798 days ago
Why does it matter how much engineering went into it if the result is worse than average?

How could anyone call that 'well designed'?

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blackguardx 3798 days ago
Well designed in that an Industrial Designer probably put a lot of effort into it. A lot of people use that term to describe something sleek. I prefer it when art and engineering work more closely together, but that is just me.
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caf 3798 days ago
"international" sort of depends on your point of reference, doesn't it?
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digi_owl 3797 days ago
> Some companies err on the side of robust. Apple goes the other way.

And that is why, given the choice, i'll go with a Thinkpad over a Macbook.

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tedmiston 3798 days ago
Agree. I think the HN title should update to reflect that. The current one is a bit sensational.
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aortega 3798 days ago
>Some companies err on the side of robust

And on the side of not shocking people to death.

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