Daily Dose of Sultnpapper 01/07/19> Listen up computer manufacturers I’m talking to you; especially you Michael Dell.
In yesterday’s Daily Dose…
In yesterday’s Daily Dose I laid out how frustrated I was with ChargerBuy.com and how they guzbucked me on the replacement chargers for the old Dell Inspiron 4100 laptop computer I have. Instead of just sitting back and bitching though I have decided to try and be an asset to solving the problem rather than just a person bitching. So with that I have come up with a solution that should be implemented by computer manufacturers worldwide but if they all won’t do it I at least hope Michael Dell will at least give it some consideration and implement it.
First of all…
First for all; all you head honchos at the computer companies pay attention. How about you all sit down at the table and decide as a group what voltage is a good voltage to run your computers on and every damn one of you use the same voltage and watts. While you are there at that table also decide on what male and female style connector you will use to connect the power supply to the computer.
There may be some law that you are going to try and point to that would keep you from that but that is just bullshit in my mind. Fuel for cars is gasoline and every manufacturer pretty much has the cars they make running on the same grade of fuel. I don’t have to find a Ford gas station to buy fuel for the F150 I drive and the guy driving the Dodge or Chevrolet is looking for Dodge or Chevy gas stations either. The transformer just provides “fuel” for the computers you make so have at it and make an agreement to get standardized.
Since it seems…
Since it seems to me that the folks you computer manufacturers hire to design your computers aren’t paying attention to the construction of the transformer / power supplies I will. I also will solve the problem you have with them and you have neglected to address since you have started making laptop computers with external transformers and that is the cord fraying where the plug connects to the computer.
I have had …
I have had plenty of Dell computers (this is for you Michael) that I have had to replace the power supplies for; not because the transformer quit providing the proper voltage or stopped working altogether. No, that wasn’t the reason, the reason was because the cheap wire and strain relief on the wire can’t take the use, (use; not abuse) from normal daily computer usage. Those frayed wires ended up touching each other and shorted the transformer out.
I have the solution and I am willing to share it right here and now without any need for compensation for the idea. Sure, I would take some if offered but I feel that since we are all supposed to be environmentally conscious and do our best to keep things out of the landfills it is only right for me to share it.
Before you respond…
Before you respond Michael with the “recycle” stuff properly jargon, most of your customers don’t live in Austin and have that beaten into their skulls everyday like people do everyday there where you live. I would be willing to wager that eight of every ten laptop power supplies end up in the landfill if not more of them. People just chunk them in the trash when they quit working. That is just how it is in the real world, especially when you are pissed off at having to replace something that shouldn’t have had to quit working in the first place if designed properly.
So let’s get to that design change now that is needed.
For some reason your engineers feel the need to make the power supply with a detachable cord that uses three prongs to connect the cord to the power supply for the higher incoming voltage from the 120 or 230 volt power source. That is a great idea using a detachable cord as it makes for easier storing of the power supply. So I will give your engineers some credit there. How about using that same idea when it comes to the reduced voltage going to the laptop?
The cord, in most of the cases of my power supply’s failing, is the cause of the problem. It would be nice if I could just purchase a new cord instead of having to buy a whole new transformer unit. The replacement cost of a cord has to be far less than the whole unit. My guess it isn’t but 40 or 50 cents to make the cord the way I am proposing.
I think people will gladly pay even $3 or $4 more for your laptop if they knew going in that your power supply issue is fixed. Say what, you didn’t know you have a power supply issue?
That's the other...
That’s the other problem when you have a big successful company; you lose touch with the consumer and rely on your folks to tell what the consumers are experiencing rather than talking to them yourself.
Since I have your ear (eyes) right now I’ll explain just why you don’t know in detail. The power supplies and the cheap ass cord set up you sell those computers with will make it through the warranty period in most cases and since you don’t have to supply warranty replacements for failed transformers everything is fine in Dell Computers world. The consumers using machines they purchased from Dell don’t live in your world, we live in ours. And each time we have to purchase a new power supply that costs us extra money; I already explained about the landfill so I won’t go over that again.
Michael, I like what you have done building your company and the whole history of it and I like that you are a Texan. So as one Texan to another just let me say that you need to clean things up over there in the engineering and product development area of your company. This may seem like a little thing to you and I assure you it will not cost you any in lost revenue from selling replacement power supplies.
People don’t purchase their replacement units from your company because they are to high price getting them from Dell Computers. They purchase the knock off brand ones, those same ones that have everything your OEM transformer has except the Dell sticker and the logo in the center of the circle. They are probably made in the same plant in China as your OEM ones since they last about the same amount of time.
So to recap:
Standardize the voltage and the plugs with other manufacturers
Add the detachable / replaceable cord on the low voltage side of the transformer
Send @sultnpapper a big amount of USD for taking the time to help you be even more successful ( that’s not required but would be appreciated)
That’s all I have for today, I do this Daily Dose every day Michael so if you happened to see it and read this you are more than welcome to follow me and keep up with my ideas. Those might very well help you in the future.
Until next time,
@sultnpapper
(This and every Daily Dose is written on an old Dell Inspiron 9400 that is on its fourth power supply, bad cords.)
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Nice post. You laid out the case for standardization very nicely. The problem being that every manufacturer thinks that their sales hinge on their 'proprietary' items. Android phones seem to have proved that is not the case. They designed their phones to take the absolutely standard USB plug and can be charged off damn near anything. Apple, on the other hand has 'firewire' connectivity. Do they really think people buy their phones because they already have a USB to firewire cable?
When I got my apple phone (a gift-I certainly wouldn't pay that freight) I bought a three pack of independent supplied charge wires. I did pay the extra and got braided and upgraded wire. Because I KNOW they are going to fail in normal use and don't want to be held hostage by the company for an emergency wire. Those are damn good wires I bought because I still have 2 spares after a year and a half of use. Includes a couple of months on Connie so I might say 'hard use'.
Anyway, Henry Ford proved that you could still make a fine return with standardized stuff. Until Henry and the King of Sweeden set the standard for bolt head sizes you had to own manufacturer's wrenches to work on a specific brand. It seems that little experiment paid off ok.
My Inspirion is only 2 years old, and the original charger is still holding up pretty well. I really only use it when I travel, it has a pocket in a bag where it lives full time, and I really do look out for it. But I concur with your design ideas and the idea that standards could and should be applied.
Here's hoping somebody puts the bug in your fellow Texan's ear and that particular irritation goes away in the near future.
Thanks Tom, it just makes sense to make that cord detachable and replaceable since it is the piece that fails most often. Far to many chargers end up trashed because the frayed wires end up touching and shorting the transformers.
The folks in China I am sure are happy with how things are since they make probably 95% of all the chargers. They might not be happy with the change but to bad , so sad.
Braided wire is a lot stronger and better than just plain stranded wire which is used in most cords. So that was a smart move on your part to get that upgraded wire.
This opens a lot of wider issues for me. I'm not great on the technichal side - all I know is that many goods are designed to fail, so that we have to buy more of them (I've discussed this with you before, re The Lightbulb Conspiracy film).
I have an old Macbook laptop which was top of the range when I bought it in 2006. It still clunks along, and I use it for certain tasks. I may even try and upgrade it at some point.
Over the years I've gone through many different types "mag safe" charger leads, which all seem to fray at the connection point after about 18 months. Eventually I found a great one on eBay that has an ultra-long cord, and it's been going for years without fraying. I can't remember who the manufacturer was, but they've probably gone out of business now, as no one will be buying any more of their products, because they last so long!
This is a fundamental flaw in our society, which has an environmental cost AND takes a toll on our health - because we all end up working much harder as a result.
If all products were built to last, there wouldn't be as much employment, but it wouldn't matter, because we'd all be wealthier anyway, as we wouldn't have to keep spending our money on more useless gear that doesn't last! And there wouldn't be so much litter ruining the environment!
The only ones who wouldn't benefit from this situation are the ones who make fortunes out of people buying things they've invented over and over and over again - like Michael Dell. He'd still be pretty wealthy, because millions of people would buy his creations. But they wouldn't have to keep buying them over and over and over again.
I recommend listening to the works of agorist thinkers like @dbroze. It is a kind of anarchist thought, and there are some aspects of it that I question, but most of it makes a lot of sense to me. I'm not trying to "convert" you - I'm generally wary of getting too caught up in "isms". But it is a philosophy that interests me.
I have a large old box of charging cables and plugs. I have no idea what they are all for.
I hope everyone uses USB C soon for small devices like phones. My current phone has it and it is great.
I would say micro USB but let's face it, I never know which way to plug it in and USB C solves this issue.
As for laptops, USB C gives sufficient energy to power the newer ones unless it is a high-end gaming laptop and we already see it being used for the newest ones.
I don't proclaim to know all the different types of connectors but the standard laptop battery charger needs the cord that plugs into the computer to be detachable and replaceable to the transformer body is what I am trying to get across to them.
If they can do that I will be a happy camper.
I think most people have a box like you have, I know I do.
I agree, sometimes it's enough to drive you up the wall
Thanks Wales, much appreciate the agreement and support.
Good advice to a huge company.
I have avoided dell and had a custom shop create my computers for 15 years. They need to be powerful and specced just right for gaming on a budget and I still have an 11 year old on right beside me still working.
That computer I draw on was new in 2000 so I have had it a while.
I only use it for drawing and I haven't done that much in the last 15 years but I am getting back into now.
The first two months I have been back at it I've made close to two grand from drawing plans in the evenings and on some weekends. It is a good part time income and I don't have to leave the house.
Howdy sir sultnpapper! too logical, I don't think they'd comprehend such a logical solution to a problem they don't know they have. lol. Great job of explaining and laying it out for them though.
Yes, it is to logical. I would much rather the auto and truck makers have their own fuels that you had to use so the computer folks don't look like such jackasses.
That would make them feel better about themselves I am pretty sure.