The iBook Power Supply Cord - Apple’s Worst Hardware Design, Evah?

I have a little old iBook that’s been with me through thick and thin. For the most part, the laptop’s been quite reliable (knock wood). But I can’t say that for the iBook’s power supply cord. This devilish piece of industrial non-design has caused more heartache than I’d like to recall. I’ve just ordered the third replacement power supply unit for the iBook in roughly half a dozen years.

That’s right, my friends … four stinking power supplies in six years. The last one literally went up in a puff of smoke …

It’s not that the power supply itself is poorly design, it’s the stupid little connector that plugs into the iBook that causes so much grief. These nasty critters break with annoying regularity.

The Apple Store website currently lists over 1700 reviews for the iBook power supply - most of them highly negative. Apple clearly knew they had a dud of a design, yet continued to manufacture replacement units with the same flawed design. In short, the power connector was simply not designed to withstand the rigors of daily life.

When introduced, the jazzy Mag Safe connector on the MacBooks and MacBook Pros was more than welcome. Its innovative design brought cheers from the crowd, by avoiding the broken prongs and burned wires that plague its predecessor. Ah, but there’s no factory upgrade for our sad old iBooks.

After going through two costly OEM units, I decided to shop around this time. My efforts were rewarded with a MacAlly power supply unit at a significantly lower price than the factory Apple piece … we’re talking about a thirty dollar difference.

But how long will the MacAlly power supply last? That remains to be seen …