Microsoft's 'Replacement' Surface Pro Charger Cable Is an Off-Brand, and Short (theinquirer.net)

Carly Page writes with a story from The Inquirer, where: As part of its Surface Pro charger recall, Microsoft has chosen to replace the sleek, shapely matt[e] plastic original with a cable approximately half the length and ordered from an off-brand manufacturer, in our case China's I-Sheng Electric Wire and Cable Company. Writer Peter Gothard points out a plausible reason for the length, though: "The extraordinarily short length of the cord is presumably to discourage behaviour that resulted in the "tightly wrapped" or "repeatedly bent" cables catching fire in at least 56 separate incidents."

Comments

And, it cheaper

[Overzeetop]

It's cheaper than providing a high-quality cable which isn't as affected by wrapping, or providing a built in wrapping mechanism, or some other inventive technical fix.

It's not like this is for some super-premium flagship device that they're...oh, whoops.

Re:And, it cheaper

[fustakrakich]

The person who invented the wall wart should be taken out and shot. I can only use two of the six outlets on the power strip. Some are so heavy they fall out of the wall socket. "cable--brick--cable" eliminates that problem. Flexing the cable when you're packing the thing two or three times a day, every day, is going to break it pretty quick, no matter how well it is made.