Cool Mac Gear

I've made no secret of my dislike for the "yo-yo" style power adapter that began shipping with the first generation iBook in summer 2000, and has also afflicted PowerBooks from the Pismo on, as well as WallStreet and Lombard users who take advantage of Apple's recall program for the rectangular adapters that shipped with those 'Books.

The yo-yo adapter is too big and has a spotty reliability record. While it harmonized well with the Fisher-Price-esque styling motif of the colored iBooks, it looks incongruous with the black understatedness of the G3 PowerBooks, and only slightly less so with the TiBook and 2nd Gen iBook.

Apple has finally (hooray!) seen the light, and replaced the yo-yo with a very classy-looking and genuinely innovative new 45 W power adapter shipping with the PowerBook G4 (Gigabit Ethernet) and iBook (Late 2001) computers announced this week, and also compatible with the first generation TiBooks and iBook (Dual USB) computers.

The new power adapter comes with an AC cord used for plugging it into the wall. This configuration allows the adapter to stretch 12 feet (4 m) from wall to computer. The power adapter may also come with an AC-plug (not available in all regions). The AC-plug, used in place of the AC-cord, allows the adapter to plug directly into the wall outlet. This configuration allows for maximum portability. The DC-cable, which plugs into your computer, has an embedded status ring that glows amber when your battery is charging and green when your it is fully charged. When not in use, the DC-cord may be wound around two retractable gull-wings, which fold from two of the adapter's corners.

LED functions
The DC connector has a built-in indicator light:
• Green glow: Power is only being used to operate the computer.
• Amber glow: If the computer is on, power is being used to operate the computer and any remaining power is used to charge the battery. If the computer is shut down or in sleep, the majority of power is directed toward charging the main battery.

Note: Make sure the adapter's DC connector is fully inserted into the computer's power adapter port. The adapter's green indicator will come on before the connector is fully inserted into the computer.

The only fly in the ointment is that these adapters won't work with the WallStreet or Lombard (actually they should work if the connector is swapped.

Reportedly, the Apple Store will offer the new adapters for$70 beginning in November.

For more information, visit:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=88231

Charles W. Moore

Cool Mac Gear