The U-Socket is Here
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How is this cheaper than a Lutron decora receptacle for a few dollars?
I'm not gonna get into a debate because this is not the place, but let me say this.
Yes, I understand what the receptacle does and yes I do have USB-charge devices that are not by Apple. Which is why I stated I would be interested in it for my office, but just as pete_c said, I too would consider this at $10. Otherwise the small adapters I have and the fact that my PC is in a cabinet with shelves and charges over USB while in sleep mode works fine for me.
Further, as someone who is in IT, yes I am biased against Apple for a reason. I've had the "luxury" of working with them in a network environment and they are nothing but hassles. Further, yes they do grossly overcharge for their items. Even now that they use Intel processors they still charge a huge premium for their systems that are LESS secure than Windows and Linux and supposedly "just works". Just look at the pricing of the iPad...$100 more to go from 16GB to 32GB of RAM, but it is still only $100 more to go from 32 to 64???? Yup, they price for their Apple sheep.
OK...I'm done with my little rant...please let me know when this hits $10 because I want one
mikejrc
Active Member
How is this cheaper than a Lutron decora receptacle for a few dollars?
I'm not gonna get into a debate because this is not the place, but let me say this.
Yes, I understand what the receptacle does and yes I do have USB-charge devices that are not by Apple. Which is why I stated I would be interested in it for my office, but just as pete_c said, I too would consider this at $10. Otherwise the small adapters I have and the fact that my PC is in a cabinet with shelves and charges over USB while in sleep mode works fine for me.
Further, as someone who is in IT, yes I am biased against Apple for a reason. I've had the "luxury" of working with them in a network environment and they are nothing but hassles. Further, yes they do grossly overcharge for their items. Even now that they use Intel processors they still charge a huge premium for their systems that are LESS secure than Windows and Linux and supposedly "just works". Just look at the pricing of the iPad...$100 more to go from 16GB to 32GB of RAM, but it is still only $100 more to go from 32 to 64???? Yup, they price for their Apple sheep.
OK...I'm done with my little rant...please let me know when this hits $10 because I want one
go to the electrical aisle at home depot and look for their lutron or pass &seymour stuff, major electrical brands.
every day people pay these prices at every day people's stores like home depot and lowe's
thats the reference i was making.
compared to those brands yes this product is priced correctly.
as far as this comment "Even now that they use Intel processors they still charge a huge premium for their systems that are LESS secure than Windows and Linux and supposedly "just works"..... i dont think you have any clue about security at all, you should come to Vegas some day and talk to the Defcon hackers that come to town for their annual meeting, and see what they have to say about security, yes the same guys that get hired to secure the world you dont even know about.
im done too.
Please Panamanian don't think I'm trying to start a war, because I don't want that. Now, I don't claim to be any great hacker, but I pay attention to what goes on out there and here is a quote from hacker Marc Maiffret from 2010:
"It's even a little scarier with them because they try to market themselves as more secure than the PC, that you don't have to worry about viruses, etc. Anytime there's been a hacking contest, within a few hours someone's found a new Apple vulnerability. If they were taking it seriously, they wouldn't claim to be more secure than Microsoft because they are very much not. And the Apple community is pretty ignorant to the risks that are out there as it relates to Apple. The reason we don't see more attacks out there compared to Microsoft is because their market share isn't near what Microsoft's is."
The link is here
And not that Trend Micro is any great resource, but this is from Jan. 2011 here:
The security experts at Trend Micro have crowned Apple's Mac OS X as the riskiest operating system to be used based on the long patch cycles. There was a huge 644 MB patch sent out last November, five months after the previous patch. Trend Micro pointed at the sheer size of the update, but noted that "Apple’s penchant for secrecy and longer patch cycles also increased the risk for users."
Just a couple quick Google hits...I'm not saying it, the pros are
The hackers at DefCon may be using Macs.
"It's even a little scarier with them because they try to market themselves as more secure than the PC, that you don't have to worry about viruses, etc. Anytime there's been a hacking contest, within a few hours someone's found a new Apple vulnerability. If they were taking it seriously, they wouldn't claim to be more secure than Microsoft because they are very much not. And the Apple community is pretty ignorant to the risks that are out there as it relates to Apple. The reason we don't see more attacks out there compared to Microsoft is because their market share isn't near what Microsoft's is."
The link is here
And not that Trend Micro is any great resource, but this is from Jan. 2011 here:
The security experts at Trend Micro have crowned Apple's Mac OS X as the riskiest operating system to be used based on the long patch cycles. There was a huge 644 MB patch sent out last November, five months after the previous patch. Trend Micro pointed at the sheer size of the update, but noted that "Apple’s penchant for secrecy and longer patch cycles also increased the risk for users."
Just a couple quick Google hits...I'm not saying it, the pros are
The hackers at DefCon may be using Macs.
Agreed. I'm sorry for starting it.
Don't apologize. I thought your Apple "price" and "pretty" comment was dead on...
I would consider one of these outlets at $50 just to keep to keep the wife happy, though. She hates clutter with USB "rechargeable" devices.
I recently looked a Mac Book Pro 17" and it was like $2200 dollars. Way out of my reasonable spending limits for what you get.(Bad Value)
How knows, maybe Apple will buy the out the U-Socket and market it under iSocket or iOutlet or iPlug...you know another "i" device to fill the limited alphabet of other "i" devices.
mikejrc
Active Member
have you compared price vs features with similar laptops from other manufacturers?
a macbook pro 15/17 is a high end laptop i can not afford or have a need for, but compared to other laptops from other manufacturers on the same price range with same specs and features is very competitive, some major magazines like PC magazine have done that comparison too and awarded it "editors choice" in the category of high end laptops among Thinkpads (one of my all time favorite laptops too, but pricey) and other editor choice picks .
Personally I would be concerned for any power supply for $0.99. Unless of course the shipping was $25
Seriously does the power supply have any agency safety certification (UL, ETL, CSA, TUV, VDE etc)?
mikejrc
Active Member
that's a very good point digger there are a lot of cheap devices that lack the testing/certification behind it.
and profits aside I think going too cheap is not always better, not all copper alloys are made the same not all manufacturing is done the same.
also did we miss the fact that this outlet with USB ports is also made in the USA?
and profits aside I think going too cheap is not always better, not all copper alloys are made the same not all manufacturing is done the same.
also did we miss the fact that this outlet with USB ports is also made in the USA?
pete_c
Guru
Digger,
The USB charger I purchased is white, very small and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. They used to sell for $20; think Amazon has them for around $2 now. It came IPOD like packaged. Will look at the certifications markings on it. (if there is any). I do utilize more than one of these and they are sprinkled around the house.
The USB charger I purchased is white, very small and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. They used to sell for $20; think Amazon has them for around $2 now. It came IPOD like packaged. Will look at the certifications markings on it. (if there is any). I do utilize more than one of these and they are sprinkled around the house.
pete_c
Guru
I've been buying different mfg's of same type USB plugs for testing out my Mimo monitor - small footprint wall plate thing I'm playing with and none of them have become warm and they are all working just fine. Mimo draws a bit more than 500Mw so I'm really kind of pushing them.
I also looked at the Euro style wall plate USB 5V wall plates that I've been seeing being sold now. I haven't purchased one of these yet though.
Think I have about 6 of them (black and white ones). I've left them plugged in 24/7 now for about the last 3-4 months. Its hard to tell whether the one in the attic is getting too warm; will check that one.
Picked one at random. It is labeled as a "travel charger", here is a picture of it. The white ones look almost identical.
I also looked at the Euro style wall plate USB 5V wall plates that I've been seeing being sold now. I haven't purchased one of these yet though.
Think I have about 6 of them (black and white ones). I've left them plugged in 24/7 now for about the last 3-4 months. Its hard to tell whether the one in the attic is getting too warm; will check that one.
Picked one at random. It is labeled as a "travel charger", here is a picture of it. The white ones look almost identical.
