[TriLUG] Sharable Power Adapters for Lenovo Laptops?

Brandon Van Every bvanevery at gmail.com
Mon Oct 29 12:54:46 EDT 2012


On Mon, Oct 29, 2012 at 10:53 AM, Calvin Spealman <ironfroggy at gmail.com> wrote:
> I would prefer to have laptops that just already have the same tip and
> voltage, because it is less trouble and I don't want the kid to be changing
> tips and hoping he gets it right, anyway.

I don't know what Lenovo does, but be wary of proprietary charging
"solutions" such as from Dell.  They have a 3rd wire in the adapter
which communicates with a chip on your motherboard, constraining you
to use only Dell compatible adapters.  They say it's "for safety" but
that's a weak argument.  They're really just locking you in so that
they can charge you $55 for an adapter at full retail.  Third parties
often go for $25..$35, although I did pick one up for $3 that actually
worked for a year.  Eventually that 3rd wire gets bent around enough
that it fails.  Then your laptop will refuse to recognize your
adapter, will throttle your CPU speed, and won't charge your battery.
The chip on the motherboard can also fail, as can the physical
connector from repeated insertions over time.  Basically these Dell
proprietary charging systems are complete crap and have made many Dell
customers miserable.

If you can stand to hold off on that laptop purchase, a new "power
bearing" USB standard is imminent that could render these proprietary
charging systems obsolete.
http://www.zdnet.com/you-could-be-charging-your-laptop-via-usb-cables-soon-thanks-to-new-usb-pd-technology-7000004346/
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57512953-92/usb-cables-could-power-pcs-peripherals/


Cheers,
Brandon Van Every



More information about the TriLUG mailing list