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'Plugspreading' is an Abomination (cnet.com)
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.
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.
Are you on drugs?
some dude babbling about plugs is stuff that matter? Jesus Christ bring back that hellmouth guy, this is utter shit
Fuck you cnet.
I have no idea WTF this is about?
Can a millennial please explain this to me?
Bad Slashdot.
When you can't tell anymore whether articles like this are satire or not you know why "millenial" has become an insult.
https://www.amazon.com/Etekcit... 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.
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.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
OMG! Too bad there's *no* way to solve this problem.
[ Sigh... (a) Why is this a story and (b) Why is this a story on /. ? ]
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
A lot of these are non-issues, since the plug are symmetrical. Just rotate the plug 180 degrees :)
Of course if you have 3 plugs or more, you might still block an outlet unless you put it at the end. but typically the holes are aligned perpendicular to the alignment of the outlets so it's rarely an issue even then.
Obviously it's a very slow news day.
I want a new quote. One that won't spill. One that don't cost too much. Or come in a pill.
Wow this article is garbage. At least two of the examples don't support the point. That Samsung charger would allow something next to it if it were moved to the right and is actually pretty compact with it's wall space requirements. The Apple charger, if it were designed to protrude any other direction it wouldn't work well with a "normal" wall outlet and as shown seems to better indicate a bad transformer design and orientation. Beyond the fact that this is a stupid article, why did someone at Slashdot decide to promote it?!? This isn't news, or tech related, it's a stupid rant of someone at CNet.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I swear people like you must have some kind of mental illness!
How much of a socially disabled pussy does one have to be, to be unable to perform the most basic social act of asking somebody to remove his bag??
People usually put their bag there because the seat is unused and there is not enough space in front of their legs or they need to take something out.
And *every single one* assumes that if somebody needs it, he's just going to ask. Nobody expects nor should expect sombody to have social problems of your magnitude.
And frankly, I'm glad that natural selection is working as intended for a change.
Seriously, maybe you need to stop hating and start learning to act nicely.
I take the bus and see people with their bag on the seat. 90% of the time if the bus is full and I walk to the seat, they just grab the bag and put it on their lap and I sit down. The other 10% I just ask nicely, they probably weren't even looking, and they do the same thing.
But I don't go about with the attitude "A HUMAN MALE CONSIDERS ME LESS IMPORTANT THAN THEIR BAG", because not only am I wrong if I did (they probably put their bag there when the bus was not full and just didn't think about it when the bus filled up), I'm sexist, and it would cause me to ask rudely and not get what I want.
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.
What do you mean they cut the power? How can they cut the power, man? They're animals!
Look up "octopus power strip", these should be everywhere. As for the man, politely ask him to move his bag.
Twinstiq, game news
... have to face the music too!
For years you thought it would be so cool, to have a minimalist laptop, and then you noticed you need all those devices ... and they cause a mess.
Hmm, let me think of a solution: ... How about putting them is a convenient BOX!? ... YEAH, a desktop/tower PC!
With one PSU, and a bus, just like
All I can do, is quote Nelson Muntz:
HAAA-HAAA!
And go eat a bag of dicks! (One after the other.) Stupid iTards.
just giving your devices a rest during your trip home. Once there you can charge them any way you wish. I always laugh when I am out and about, 7 of 10 individuals everywhere have their device in their hand. They look away every so often in an attempt not to trip over the curb, run in to a door or wall or pretend to be working in case their boss walks by.
;)
But then I am different, I create tech but don't have much use for it.
Just my 2 cents
I pay extra whenever I can to get my devices with a built-in PSU.
of course this is a msmash article
that lady needs a good dicking imo
That's no lady.
1. Extending non water-proof power supplies below socket height is illegal for electric appliance manufacturers and increases the cost tremendously as they need to extend the grounding or certify for double insulation. You can buy a short extension cord and do it on your own. Just be sure to plug it out every time you wash the floor and don't keep a cup of coffee near by ready to be spilled on it.
2. The supplies needs clearing space to dissipate heat and this is how the engineer made sure you won't stick a few right next to each other.
3. There's no ideal size or shape. Some people need their supplies to hag the wall as much as possible since they have a piece of furniture next to the wall they'd like to keep that way. Some people need the cable to come out from above / sideways since their table is just below the socket and the cable won't twist to such a sharp angle. Some people - like the author - would rather have the plug as long and as lean as possible (as wide as the prongs + plastic) to fit as many PSUs as possible... All of these demands conflict with each other. And all of them can be resolved with a short extension cord.
So, TL:DR; Buy a god damn short extension cord dumb ass.
A more accurate analogy than "A rude guy on the train" would be a "A fat person taking up two seats because they're too lazy to spend the time to lose weight." Analogies are pretty basic stuff and generally frowned amongst the journalist types. If you're going to make them, make them right.
I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy
Until I'm permitted to get Trans-Cranial Electrical Stimulation on demand, I'll have to make due with Coffee!
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.
just wait til the surgery tho
> 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?
Wtf is a "powerboard" ? is it like a power strip ? or wall socket ? is it like a switchboard but for power ?
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?
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
Sounds like an idea for a new villian in the next Star Wars movie.
What is this hot garbage of an article doing on slashdot?
Is this what Slashdot has come to? I wonder if the writer got a little treat from some woman he was trying to impress?
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
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.
Whose Line Is It Anyway is funny; this article is not funny.
. . . I keep hearing about?
I just got rid of my cable a couple weeks ago. Disconnecting everything I ran across 1 plug I remember hating. It plugged in such that it took up 4 plugs. You couldn't put it at the end because one way it covered the power switch and every breath of air turned the entire power strip off. You couldn't hang it off the other end because it had polarized plugs and only went 1 way.
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 brought my laptop, it's charger, and a power strip. All power outlets were being used so I asked some woman if I could unplug her phone and plug in my power strip. She was fine with it. Me and my power strip were very popular that day, people were bummed when I got released, took my power strip, and went home.
you want to plug thing in your electric skateboard?
damn that summary is hard to understand
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.
3.5/4 of the problems depicted in the article would be non-existent with Europlugs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europlug
What a whiney, entitled and moronic faggot.
Seriously, I try not to talk like that, but this is just so stupid that language that strong needs to be used.
Hey fuckwit, Apple has swappable plugs on its power adaptors and one of those is actually an extension lead. Or you can simply use a standard 2-hole appliance cord on it, which is what I do.
As for the wall warts, you do realise that if you had simply plugged it into other socket you'd be able to use both sockets?
Fucking hell.
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, coffee pot, A/C, blowers, washing machine, dryer) that would need very heavy cables to power at 12 or even 48v.
Agreed
Momento Mori
Placing the bag on the next seat is actually precisely what you should be doing and if you're not doing it you're either an extrovert or you're a bad person yourself. Extroverts love nothing more than to have someone sit next to them, introverts hate it. Extroverts don't want to sit next to introverts, since that's a wasted opportunity for social interaction. Introverts don't want to sit next to anyone, but sitting next to another introvert is much better than sitting next to an extrovert. So the introverts advertise to the extroverts that they shouldn't sit next to them unless there's no other seat by placing their bag on the next seat. Everyone is happy. If you do need to sit there, just ask. I've never had someone refuse.
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 strip itself has been very poorly designed.
So, I suppose you were half-right - it is a natural consequence of global commerce, but combined with a complete lack of empathy or concern with regard to the customers...
This sig left unintentionally blank.
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" with the $1000 laptop and Apple charges you $20 for the extension cable. . The cable is the only thing that carries over from mac to mac.
Each company makes a thing (external HDD, Phone, whatever) then finds a power source, transformer. Cheapest wins. I have two power strips behind the desk, with the various gadgets plugged in four different ways.
I've worked in tech since Reagan was president, and I've never heard the word "powerboard" until now. What is it?
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!
/* * pope1 */
..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
Try sticking it up your asses, Cnet authors and editors, and whoever posts this garbage here. They'll surely fit (probably the whole wallwart), because you are all huge assholes. And we all know that's the kind of freaky shit you love.
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?
According to the New York Times, any gang is a good gang.
What'S this article about ?
Incomprehensible garbage.
Seriously. This would get him out of the grave.
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.
Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
WPP. Seriously.
The direction of the outlets on power strips need to be standardized. They sell them with horizontal and vertical orientations, so plug makers who want a power supply attached to the plug have no idea which direction to face them. My HTC Vive have 5 such plugs, and 5 of the 8 power strips at Home Depot were facing the wrong direction. I never even realized prior to this that they came in different orientations.
i always travel with a 1-3 extension cord and also a 1->3 wall wart
so anywhere i go, even if there are no plugs, i can ask "can i plug this in, and then you plug into me, and so can that other person" .. and i end up with 3 plugs for myself (usually not needed and available for further others)
The governments of the world are taking away all your rights to freedom of speech, association and dissent. They are building large jails to hold the swaths of people arrested because of unemployment due to AI and automation.
Mark Serrels is a foul creature.
some executive's coming-out-as-a-brony
Hmm, this site lists Gabe Newell and William Shatner as confirmed bronies and Oprah, Miyamoto, Spielberg, and Bill Clinton as "rumored", so there's that.
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* what can be explained by *stupidity*.
The adapter guys just design something to power their own hardware and cover their butts by leaving a subtle label saying "1.5 amps", "0.5 amps" and perhaps add the ground prong at most. Remember that time when everyone making cheap USB 3 cables that burned down non-approved devices was forced to pay for someone else's damages due to ill-advised user action? Nope
The hole here is that every product fends for itself because liability / lawsuits. Miniaturization is expensive^W^W shaves profit margins. All that they're required by law to do is done, and nothing more.
Nobody designs to protect someone else's hardware except for the power strip and ATX power supply makers themselves.
Nobody babies us by even suggesting to protect your investment thru buying your own power strip. They assume you have a reliable mains power circuit brakers.
Oh for fuck sake. If you are standing and there is a bag on a seat, ask the owner to move it. If they dont, move it yourself. They didn't pay for two seats. It's that simple.
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.
They have been available for decades!!!
then stop whinging and grow up
I get it that you're from the Sharpie Marketing Department. Is this the new campaign?
The perpetrator is almost always a woman, not a man.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
Control your destiny.
I may have missed the memo, but I'm not sure why I have to read this hipster `first-world problem` shit.
<rant>
Nobody cares, really. Nobody cares!
When you go to a meeting (or have your kale-infused frappo-latte at a coffee shop with your laptop and piss-off all the staff because you're taking up valuable marketable space and not ordering enough, but still using the 'free' wifi): BRING YOUR OWN POWER BOARD!
</rant>
Now you only need one vertical plug. Hey, if you're feeling charitable, you take the double-plug-occupying adapter and put it into your powerboard.
I never travel without one.
Same goes for network switches and USB hubs BTW.
Stop whinging about 'other people' and just make sure that you show up prepared.
And then there is the off-change that this was all humor, in which case I apologize to you personally, but the rant remains.
nintendo plugs are big and gave wrong direction, idiots.
These wall warts transfer considerable energy, and some of it is lost as heat. Pack two of them close together, and they'll overheat. That's liability, so they have to design them to make it impossible. Apple fixes it by making them taller instead, but he complains about that too. BTW, there's a fix for the apple one - pull off the mains plug and you'll find that behind it is a standard figure-8 socket, so you can plug it in with any standard figure-8 mains lead, and who doesn't have a cupboard full of them?
Same thing with side entry USB power packs. Putting out 50W (and higher) in that small package is no small feat, so they need to ensure there's clear space around them, and putting the output on the side guarentees that that side of the plug remains clear for airflow.
All good, technical reasons. Doesn't stop it being annoying, though!
Prediction for end of Universe #42: Fencepost error in Quantum_bogosort.cpp
Man on subway, his wall-wart wide.
You need to just go out meet someone and get laid. All this fuss is just nonsense.
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 good reason for these bulky designs.
plugging 12 things into a single outlet and burning your house down.
How about a smallish 15A breakers?
That can handle 15 incandescent 100 W light bulb, or a 1500 W portable heater.
If you have enough garbage plugged in to heat a small room, you have a real problem and it's not burning your house down.
ID: the nose did not occur naturally, how would we wear glasses otherwise? (apologies to Voltaire)
Those plugs are designed to contain the transformer, and give it space to cool.
So put the transformer a few cms away from the plug so it doesn't get in the way
also to keep your derpness from plugging 12 things into a single outlet and burning your house down.
Not part of the requirement. It's just bad design.
Why hasnt the FCC solved this problem? Oh yea, because its consumer related; fuck the consumers. All about who bribes who with the fattest stacks in the most corrupt country in the world.
"The standard you walk past is the standard you accept" is from a famous speech by Lt. Gen. David Morrison,1 Chief of Army, about sexual harassment and humiliation in the ranks in the Australian Army. Does quoting that line in a speech about wall warts seem a bit...overwrought to anyone else, or is it just me?
1Gen. Morrison credits the Governor of New South Wales, David Hurley, with the quote, but Morrison's is the most famous use of it.
This is a very old problem that is not going to change. Transformer coils need space and cooling surface, and it's most practical and safe to attach them rigidly to the plug. The only solution is smarter design of power strips, e.g. Octopus.
On an unrelated note... "plugspreading" and mention of "buttcheeks" in the first sentence... I think we share a hobby.
Most of us have been using AC pigtails for decades.
I have been using 2-pin and 3-pin pigtails to avoid this very problem for over twenty years.
To defeat the "Plugspreaders," carry a multi-socket pigtail and plug the Plugspreader's offending adapter into it.
Kriston
A man [on a train], a human man as he lives and breathes ...
Ok, so this is the Joseph Cotton character, Martins?
Jesus wept.
Check. This is Major Calloway, played by Trevor Howard.
That second socket was innocent man, it was collateral damage.
This represents all the people who suffered from the fake penicillin. Collateral damage.
The bag is their terrible plug
Yea. The second plug. This is definitely Harry Lime. Orson Welles. But who is Anna (Harry's girlfriend) in this tale? Tired Legs? Weary Buttcheeks? Man, you got my head all turned around.
The Russians have won. They have made the world a cesspool of distrust, greed, fear and hate.
With its giant plugs no AC adapter is too big to fit nicely in UK sockets...
More than 200 comments on the optimal size and design of plugs is why I love slashdot. This is truly stuff that matters.
Video of some good progressive thrash music
Are you suggesting that you’re going to plug in 15 Amps worth of draw on one outlet?! Because if so you’re not thinking this through man
go and take your hairbun, and report to the nearest Euthanization center.
the power cords clapped.
Love these things.
When they came for the communists, I said "He's next door. Take him away. Goddam commies."
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,
...and instead of using a standard IEC 60320 C5/'cloverleaf or mickey' socket to carry the grounding, relies on a weird nail-like nearby protrusion.
allowing a short cable to be installed moving the 'wart' to the middle of the length like you want?
- So either you need to buy some (expensive, because there's an Apple Logo on it) cable that uses t he "IEC 60320 C7 + nail" Apple contraption.
- Or you need to get a cheap one from ebay/aliexpress, but risk discovering that under the plastic, the actual copper wire as so thin you couldn't even rate them for 0.1A, and the whole thing burst into flame whenever the laptop tries to pull 60W.
- Or you plug a 2 pronged-only (Live + Neutral, no ground) cable into the "IEC 60320 C7/'figure 8'" socket which should work (usually does), but would violate several safety codes.
Most people in Europe (due to connector madness*with German Shuko CEE 7/3 type F, French CEE 7/5 Type E, Italian Type L, Swiss SEV 1011 type J, British BS 1363 Type G, etc.) go for the last option and use Europlug type C (and fuck the fuse safety in UK and Malta).
You can improvise one out of Italian or Swiss plug by cutting a filing the ground pin.
---
*: I'm over exagerating a bit. Nowadays, most electronics use CEE 7/7 which is compatible with nearly everything. Countries like Italy nowadays installs sockets (such as Italian CEI 23-50 P 40) that are compatible (here:: with both italian type L and european CEE 7/7).
These things even work in British wall socket if you decide to fuck both grounding and fuses (and help a bit with a screw driver).
Switzerland is the only country in Europe were this doesn't work directly.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
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
Actually it doesn't work this way.
The voltage has no impact on the rating of the cable (well, at least within a reasonable limit, like voltage found at home. Of course at 10kV, the insulation could fail).
The *current* is the one that has an impact. (as the thermal loss is only proportional to the current (squared). That's why long distance current is transported at very high voltage : you could pass thus the same power using very little current and minimize your losses).
It's just happens that most house hold cable are rated for 10A (thus 2.5 kW), whereas most USB devices use 2A at most. (USB devices that need more than 10W usually rely on a protocole like USB-PD to politely ask a higher voltage - like 9V or 12V - while keeping the current low).
In theory you could go with a cheap tiny extension cord rated for only 0.1 A.
But then, either you need to use a non standard connection at the wall wart (which then makes complicated to obtain cable, and requires more custom cables, raising the price again) - (that's the solution used by several "exchangeable" tips for wall-warts)
Or you use a standard connector (like IEC 60320 C8 (figure 8) or C6 (mickey/cloverleaf) and risk that somebody plugs this cable into a laptop powerbrick that requires 2.5A and burns the cable - (most company then either opt for only "exchangeable tips" like Apple and older Ericsson, or actually pack a more expensive high rated cable that will work everywhere).
In Europe, the alternative is elongated wall warts that are the exact width as an Europlug and only rely on length for cooling and electronics size needs. (e.g.: some recent Apple, nearly everysingle 3rd party manufacturer like Hama, etc.)
These will always fit in any space designed for a standard plug without "plugspreading".
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
which I keep a bunch of in the office for such life-threatening situations. Plus the author is way past satirical and straight on to embarrassingly unhinged.
We need clear, decisive action against plugspreading.
Let me mansplain it to you - there is no such thing as "plugspreading". That's just dumb. Ur dumb.
There is a simple and very defined reason for the designs: Australia is special enough to want their own polar plug, but not special enough to get vendors to create custom designs for them.
USA and EU plugs are non-polar, or in some cases polar for only a subset of devices. Samsung, Nintendo, Logitech, all my chargers fit without a problem next to each other in a power board. On the only socket in my house which is horizontal as opposed to vertically stacked I can just plug the second Samsung charger in upside down and it fits happily as well.
The problem is very specific and affects a very small subset of people who receive standardised designs accross the world. How standard? They even use the same charger for USA / EU which use different votlages.
On top of that the stupid ranter is ranting for ranting's sake. The one case he found which in Australia specifically addresses his complaints he proceeded to complain about because somehow he managed to find a place where an outlet was installed stupidly close to the ground.
Sorry angry ranter, life's not fair. Stop your whining. We're macho men who spend all day fighting deadly animals and you're sillyness is a blight on our reputation.
The epitome of a first world problem...
... it's a feminist space station.
You can't win, but there are alternatives to fighting.
I've got a power strip just for wall warts. I can plug one into each of its six outlets without problems. Maybe the author's thoughtless purchasing decisions are the problem.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Dell and IBM devised a rather simple solution: separate power cord from the converter. I know, magic, right?
This kind of surge protector is the future:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812205040
An article that is crap, spreading.
We used Apollo workstations (a competitor to Sun). I remember the instruction manual for the Apollo-branded monitor had a page with instructions for UK users. It advised them to "cut off the (US-style) plug". Then they were to wire in a plug appropriate for UK outlets. I can't remember if you also had to flip a 125/250V switch in the power supply, or if it auto-sensed.
Even then, I thought that was hilarious. Probably they did not have an in-house legal department. I'm sure they would have had helpful ideas about getting all those wall-warts to work on one power strip.
Okay, dude, seriously, if you're this upset about a freaking plug, take a xanax. Everything looks better after a xanax.
This signature has Super Cow Powers
Reminds me of this story:
This is back during World War II, not long after D-Day. On a train
from the South coast of England up toward London we have a four-seat
first class compartment containing three very proper-looking
middle-aged British folk -- two men, complete with brollies and
bowlers, and one woman. Her poodle is curled up on the fourth seat.
An American soldier, arm in a sling, arrives and politely asks the
lady to remove the dog so he can have the seat. She refuses, saying
Fifi needs her rest. He leaves, shaking his head. She complains about
rude Americans to the gentlemen sharing her compartment, but they
ignore her rather frostily.
The American returns, "Madame, I have just waked the length of the
train and this is the only free seat. As you can see, I have been
wounded. I really need the seat. Now, will you please move the dog so
that I can sit down!"
"No, I most certainly will not. My little Fifi ..."
At this point, the frustrated American grabs Fifi by the scruff of the
neck, tosses her out the window, and sits down.
Fifi's mistress is, for once, speechless. She gasps like a beached
fish, changes colour several times, and finally blurts out to the
British gentleman across from her, "Well, don't just sit there. Say
something!"
"Certainly, Madame", he replies. Then, turning to the American, "It ... and now you've
seems to me you Yanks can't do anything right. You mutilate the
Language, you drive on the wrong side of the road
gone and thrown the wrong bitch out the window!"
Wtf is a powerboard? Some kind of high tech skateboard?
Get some therapy man, probably don't take the train there though #blogspreading
After 40 YEARS?!?
You have a near-perfect life.
There are so many work-arounds to this, but most involve a little work or a little time to research.
I've had 3 of these: http://www.belkin.com/us/p/P-F9D1000-15/ for a long time, and since the outlets face left-and-right, the wall warts hang over the edges, and no problem. If you have a really fat one, a short extension cord fixes that.
All the best...
This is outrage for outrage's sake. This is Dalsim-level reaching for article content. This isn't a problem, move along.
I don't know if this is the one I own, but with these no device can Plugspread on me. https://www.amazon.com/Splitte... I have something like this under my desk, I need to put one in a couple other rooms
Anonymous comments are as pathetic as the anonymous "sources" that contaminate gutless journalism from the New York Time
But as someone else said, don't google "plugspreading" at work. Or anywhere.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Spend four bucks. A wall wart is not at all the same thing as able-bodied folks taking up all the accessible bathroom stalls or parking spaces. If you can afford all your devices, you can afford some breakout cables.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/QV...
A few years ago I read about some class action lawsuit (that I was too late to join) regarding a power strip I'd been using for years.
Do you have one of these?
https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2...
(NOTE: Originally sold by APC).
I verified I had one that was recalled but it only had about half the sockets in use due to oversized plugs. It was slightly warm, but not alarmingly so.
I was tempted to keep using it but couldn't justify even a slight risk of fire.
Thankfully, most wall warts are just 2 prong. I usually being an extension cord specifically for those. That way, the small plug of the extension cord is the only thing talking up space on my strip
Why does he say every thing twice? Two times, does he really need to do that?
A power cube is a cube about 5cm / 2" on a side with one power socket in each of 4 sides. The 5th side has 2x2.1amp USB-A sockets. The 6th suffer is where the power cord joins the cube. They are small, light and great for home or traveling. Mine is 240v which works great anywhere (240 or 120) with the right adapter. You'll never buy a flat power bar again.
Only boring people are ever bored.
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.
I thought it was something to do with Donald tRumps hair and the Hair Club for Men. My mistake.
Just what makes you think you DESERVE to sit in the most convenient spot for you. I can guarantee you that I made the extra effort to get where I needed to be and search the perfect spot for me at the time. First come, first served. You are not entitled to anything, it's there as a convenience, not an entitlement. What would you do if there were no outlets? Stop blaming other people for your poor planning, and plan ahead like you won't have access to power.
There are 2 groups of people you can make fun of on the Internet without fear of attack. The illiterate, and the Amish.