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Better Laptop Power Jack

Have a rail all the way round the laptop for power
  (+6, -2)
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Sometimes the power jack on my laptop is in a convenient place, like now, sometimes it really isn't. So why not have a rail all the way around the laptop (mine has a nice metal strip on 3 sides) then have that be ground. In a finger-proof groove in the strip is the live connector. The whole thing is held on with magnets and can slide all around the pc to the most convenient point. Or, a simpler version would be to simply have 2/3 power points on the pc so it can be plugged in easily.
bs0u0155, Feb 13 2010

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       Yes please. Go for the 3 point solution, left, right and back. Also make the connectors like the Apple magnetic connectors (why has no one copied that? - I suppose the bastards have locked down the idea legally).   

       Also, make the connectors sufficiently strong that you don't need to fork out for a new psu every 2 years.
wagster, Feb 13 2010
  

       // I suppose the bastards have locked down the idea legally//   

       Sp.: "I suppose that, having invented yet another user- friendly and beneficial solution to a problem, they have patented it so that it is not ripped off by mere PC-makers."
MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 13 2010
  

       I agree, the MagSafe plugs are a fantastic idea. You're right though, it does sometimes annoy me that the socket's on the wrong side.   

       Having dug around inside a few laptops, it seemed like there wasn't much free space for multiple power supplies - maybe the track around the outside is a better idea because it would take up very little extra space.
Mrlemonjelly, Feb 14 2010
  

       How about two tracks that make a sphere and the laptop can ride around in it like a hamster, possibly going to the store for you to pick up small items such as condoms?
daseva, Feb 14 2010
  

       [Mrlemonjelly] (hello, by the way), isn't there some kind of plan involving gallium nitride in PSUs to make them small enough to fit inside laptops?
nineteenthly, Feb 14 2010
  

       If it were to ride all the way around the laptop, then where would the other ports go?
RayfordSteele, Feb 14 2010
  

       [nineteenthly] Hi! I didn't realise how tight-knit this place was ... I've been a member for aaaages, I just don't post much. I had an idea once, but it was crap. And I don't know anything about gallium nitride I'm afraid.   

       Good point, Rayford. It would only really need to go along the back and half an inch down each side, though, so there would still be plenty of space on each side for other ports.
Mrlemonjelly, Feb 14 2010
  

       Sorry, no (-). You see I do support for a living and am intimately aware of the ways laptops are commonly used. Let me show you how yours will catch fire in your bag... First prepare for an important meeting by grabbing your laptop and several copies of your presentation held together with a paperclip. When you pull the papers out, the paperclip comes off to fall to the bottom of the bag. At the end of the meeting, you put the laptop back in the bag and a magical part of Murphy's law guides the laptop onto the paperclip which shorts out your battery and Shaazamm, as one of the meeting guests stops you to have you explain a fine point of the presentation, your bag catches fire. Semi-removed staples will perform a similar task.   

       No, if you want to augment the standard round coaxial charging port, add another on the other side in the back or best on the side near the back. If you want to add more, then charge using either capacitive or inductive connector or best wirelessly. Complex charging ports just raise production costs and lead to excess heartache when said chargers need to be replaced. Just pick a f&%king standard. If you want to add a breakaway feature then add an additional coaxial charging port inline, it will only cost pennies extra. Adding magnets around the sides of a laptop in an office environment is silly. Adding them around the charging port is just employing extra lawyers.   

       My apologies for the acid tone, but I have a lot of history in this. I actually have a perfectly good ultralight Sony laptop at home whose only problem is it's silly breakaway charging port.
MisterQED, Feb 15 2010
  

       Could there not be a spring-loaded flange around it kept in place by velcro, [MisterQED]?   

       I'm pretty sure i read somewhere that the thing with the GaN was proposed at some point recently. I don't know if it's relevant, but if one obstacle is the size of the PSU, it would seem to be a solution to make it small enough.
nineteenthly, Feb 15 2010
  

       //How about two tracks that make a sphere and the laptop can ride around in it like a hamster, possibly going to the store for you to pick up small items such as condoms? — daseva, Feb 14 2010   

       [Mrlemonjelly] (hello, by the way), isn't there some kind of plan involving gallium nitride in PSUs to make them small enough to fit inside laptops? //   

       How would gallium nitride in the PSU make hamsters small enough to fit inside laptops? And why would you want hampsters in laptops?   

       Oh, right, for power, of course! Silly me.
ye_river_xiv, Feb 15 2010
  

       Am i allowed to insert random letters into the word hamqstear too? Or do you need a special licence?   

       You'd still need to feed them. I think planarians might be a better bet. Maybe a transparent laptop full of stagnant water and flatworms?
nineteenthly, Feb 15 2010
  
      
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