For the past few weeks, my local Microcenter has been out of power supply's for the MacBook Pro. They did, however, have plenty of power supply's for the 13" MacBook (which just so happened to be packaged in the exact same box as the MacBook Pro power supply's).
I finally gave up waiting for them and called a local MacEdge store. They said they had some in-stock, so I picked one up last night. Apparently the MacBook Pro power supply's got an update because the new power supply is a lot smaller (which partly explains why Microcenter was out of them for so long). In fact, the new power supply reminds me a lot of the old PowerBook G4 power supply!
If you're in the market for a new power supply for your MacBook Pro and you want to make sure you get the new size, you might want to take a peek at the label on my box and try to match the serial numbers or model number. I haven't figured out exactly how to differentiate between the two, but if you know what to look for please let me know!
Now before you ask why I'm buying another power supply, let me explain. I have been asked dozens of times by fellow customers AND store clerks, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if you're wondering the same thing. It's mainly because I abused my first one a little too much and it started to show major signs of wear (you can see where the wire is becoming exposed if you enlarge the picture). It's also because I realized how convenient it must be for David (my co-worker at Aerva) to leave his power supply at work when he goes home.
Now I not only have a new power supply to lug around with me, but its a smaller power supply. 🙂
although I am surfing on one right now and have adapted to most of the quirks of this what I would call a quixotic system, I still hate macs. every thing about them. Including their godforsaken impractically obtrusive power supplies!
The newer MagSafe power supplies are much nicer. Check out the pictures here. It’s basically a little magnet that snaps onto the side of your MacBook Pro and when fully attached, it transfers electricity. If you (or someone else) accidentally trips on the power cord, it simply snaps off instead of bring the laptop with it.
When it comes time to disconnect the power, ripping off the power cable never gets old either. 🙂