The one true design flaw of all laptop computers - that is an easy fix. Who is listening?

I’m an NYC subway commuter and kind of a packrat, so I’ve got my man-purse–ehem, messenger bag–full of way too much: a huge bottle of Advil, my Canon Rebel XT, a few small paperbacks, my favorite pen, my reading glasses, face lotion (hey, winter gets dry here), and my phone. There are probably a few old Metro Cards and receipts in there too somewhere.

When I was a sysadmin, I had to tote my MacBook Pro to and from work, so I had it in a ballistic nylon case too. I solved my particular power cord problem by simply buying an extra power cord–one for work and one for home, both perfectly wrapped with little slack and positioned for easy connecting. I had iCurve stands on both desks too.

Going some place other than work like the data center or the airport was alway so frustrating, though. The power brick for the MacBook Pro, while somewhat tidy, is still pretty big, and I always had to ruin my desk perfection to hijack it for such situations.

Getting a bigger bag was actually a must for me, as the 15-inch MacBook Pro wouldn’t fit in my little messenger bag. But it was still small enough to fit under the seat in the plane. Wrangling it on the train and the street was a different problem.

To be honest, though, I kind of avoided the whole cord problem on airplanes by simply not using my laptop until I arrived at the hotel. I’ve got a phone where I can be reached in emergencies, and a plane ride is a nice place to catch up on podcasts (though don’t get me started on the recharging the iPod on a plane).

Hey, interesting read, but it was not completly clear if you used the little bunny-ear wraparound pegs on the apple charger? I find that makes for a nice and compact cord organizer.

I carry several pens, either my “official” planner, or a smaller version (depends where I’m going), a notecard box for random ideas, my iPod, my phone, daily pills, nail file, nail clipper, calculator, small baggie with “good luck charms” (foreign currency, small trinkets with confidence boosters on them, i.e. create, believe, et cetera), keys, wallet.

Sometimes, if I am working a shorter shift, I’ll bring my work apron (I’m a cashier) and shove it in my purse. I’ve also been known to carry my current crochet project as well.

I don’t even want to think about trying to carry a laptop. I should be carrying my digital camera, too.

I’m a velcro-wrapped power cord user. At Home Depot, I bought a package of velcro wraps meant for power tools (I guess all those power tools have the same problems), so it fits around the cord AND the brick. Works pretty well, but it takes up more space than my Nintendo DS.

For plane trips, I found an REI backpack that is UGLY but works well and holds EVERYTHING, including the GPS system, the wireless router and all the cords for them as well. It fits under the seat in front of me, but I have to position all the items in it very carefully to achieve that feat.

You’re right, this is an issue…

I use a backpack, personally. I have a little spool that wraps wires up around the spool (you need to crank it). It doesn’t have a model name/number on it and I got it from a garage sale, but I’ll try to find it online for you. It’s a really handy device to have, unless your power brick is in the middle of the wire (it works great for wall warts, though).

Now that I think about it, it’s called a cable reel, but I’ve not found a consumer “easy to carry” version. Maybe someone else would have a suggestion?

A retractable cord would be awesome. Something similar to the ones they use in vacuums. Of course, not as aggressive. My computer is always with me and when I forget the cord it puts a damper on my day. Ponzi, you should patent this idea.

I’m just happy that the electronics companies finally decided to move the “brick” to the middle of the cord instead of the plug end.

I thought you were going to ask IMHO a more important question. Where do you plug it in? Because of my location, I mostly fly United. They have pretty much eliminated or totally hidden outlets. Are other airline waiting grounds better?

Hello Ponzi, while not a total solution to the unwieldy laptop power cord, the ZIP-LINQ does eliminate the extra cord bulk between the wall socket and the power “brick”. Check it out at http://www.cyberguys.com $12.95 Item # 131 0688 Retractable Notebook Power Kit, 2 & 3 Prong Extends from 6 3/4″ to 60″

[...] I was mentioned here in reference to this post about the one true design flaw in laptops. [...]

Dell has a neat way to strap the power cord around the power adaptor shipping with some of its laptops.
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/images/products/large/CF745.jpg

I manually coil the wire and wrap it “noose” like with the last few inches. Easy to undo and re-do as needed. No velcro or twist ties to lose.

I’ve also used some of those thick rubber bands (usually comes on broccoli).

Dell laptop power supplies all have “wrap locks”.

They make retractable power cords… Search amazon for: “Retractable Notebook Power Cord Kit” I think TigerDirect has them too.

I take my backpack wherever I go and it always contains my macbook and random stuff I usually don’t need.

In my opinion the macbook’s chord is absolutely sufficient. It’s not the best a company could do but in comparison to other companies’ power chord it works excellent.

Greetings

Although I understand the gist of this post, I am distracted by the overly specific details of your bag contents:

5.) Wallet/checkbook
6.) lipstick, perfume, lip liner, vitamin E oil, nail polish (all in a quart ziploc)
7.) Ink pen -Montblanc
9.) Sunglasses- cheapo target pair
10.)Phone-cingular smartphone
11.)Gum
12.)Portable toothbrush
13.)life.doc cd (to do later…)

A bit haute if I may say. Do we really need to know about the Montblanc vs. the cheapo Target sunglasses? Gum? Lip Liner? Puh-Leeze. Your portable toothbrush? Aren’t they all?

This list would have done nicely with a good pruning to stay on point.

I am sick of carrying the transformer with my laptop too, I would be willing to lose DVD-RW and have the power brick embeded in that location. Perhaps that could be a fun little project as my pc is pretty tatty now :)

Nerdizmo:
I found it interesting to know what is in the girls bag..
Perhaps it would be your post that required the pruning?

It all goes in my two front pockets. Money and keys in the right and everything else in the left. Including the power cord.