Core77

The Apple Accessory We Never Saw Coming

By Ray Hu - October 15, 2014

in Accessories

First-world problems: As a frequent air traveler, I was confident that I had my pack-and-go routine dialed in, and it was only by the time that I was halfway to JFK—40 minutes behind schedule, due to e-mail exigencies—that I realized that I'd forgotten the power supply for my MacBook Pro. It wasn't so much the prospect of not having juice on the 13-hour flight but the fact that I was so hasty as to overlook the essential technological tether, at once a fuel supply and a fetter, and that I'd have a narrow window to get ahold of one in Beijing. I made it to the gate with time to spare; once I'd determined that none of the shops in Terminal 1 sold the 60W MagSafe Power Adapter (or a third-party surrogate), I looked up the closest pingguo store to the airport and planned to head straight there from PEK. CA982 was due to land at 6:20pm local time, which would give me about 3.5 hours to make it to the wraparound glass emporium that evening.

16 hours later, I was carefully unboxing a white plastic briquette at a nearby restaurant (with wattage taken care of, I sought food and wi-fi); chagrined that I had to buy one at all, I had it in mind to use it for that week and return it on the way home—my way of leaving no trace. Alas, it was all for nought: I only made it a few days before I ended up peeling off the last bits of protective plastic from the immaculate shell. Overpriced though it may have been, I figured that it never hurts to have a spare, and, insofar as my trip was predicated on being able to use my laptop, it was a justifiable acquisition.

An insipid anecdote, perhaps, about an unremarkable object—which is precisely why it may well represent the final frontier of third-party accessorization. As MeezyCube notes in their Kickstarter pitch video, there are cases galore for the iPhone, iPad and MacBook... so why not the MagSafe adapter as well?

A joke about the "Meh-zyCube" would be too... meezy.

If I didn't know any better, I'd think that this is an outright parody of case creep: It's a grating conceit beyond the fact that I suspect that a sizable proportion of Macbook owners don't bother with the fold-out 'wings' for wrapping the cable; even the dubious durability of the cord can be solved with Sugru. What disturbs me about the MeezyCube is that it's yet another gyre-worthy plastic thing that no one really needs.

First-world problems indeed.

o

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gringo grimble

10 years ago

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This feels like picking on the slow kid. Come on, its only got $220 backed of $25k (what?). It isn't a very good idea or design, granted, but the crowd will do its job in crowdsourcing and naturally weed this out. No need to kick em when they are down.
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Vincent

10 years ago

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Why a case ? Just design an adapter with the wire wrapping solution, because after seeing this, you can be sure Apple will release its next adapter with a similar solution in its shape, not a case!
Or design this kind of solution for the whole adapter market ?
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jb

10 years ago

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isn't is really moral bankruptcy if you expect other people to pay for your forgetfulness? Or do you also buy a tux for a special occasion and return it the next day?
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Eric

10 years ago

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Is this really a problem that needs solving? Guess that is why there are no cases for your power adapter!!!!!!! There are two flip out wings that when used properly, with out pulling the cord taught will keep the cord well preserved for the life of the machine.
I doubt the students in the video are actualy industrial designers either, since they question their design at the end of the video, not even insecure student does that! Unlikely to reach it's funding goal. I am sure Johny is rolling his eyes at this Frankenstein project.

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powers

10 years ago

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Nice use of rageface lol
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gravitymachine

10 years ago

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On the whole, I agree with your thesis that this product is "yet another gyre-worthy plastic thing that no one really needs."

However, at first glance, I thought, "Finally! Someone came up with a 3rd party solution to the electrical prong adapter working loose from the transformer, where its joined with the key slot"

There is potential for some middle ground between the apparent case creep and the slightly under-engineered prong adapter. Especially since I ones had one of those prong adapters, plastic shell separate, nearly electrocuting me when trying to unplug it.
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