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Every day I get mail. Every once in awhile I get companies that send me products to review, and share information about with all of you. Those are always fun. Today, I got a package with a tin full of little plastic doo-hickeys. The paperwork with it said “Stop Jerking!” HUH? Stop jerking what??

Jerkstopper has come up with a way to use an unused port on your notebook to tether down your power cable. Technically it’s a CRD (Cable Retention Device) designed to utilize any existing port (USB, RJ11 or RJ45) on a laptop computer as a stay or restraint to keep the very fragile AC power connector from being damaged. Repairs to this connector can range from $100 to $250 or more if repairable. The JerkStoppe Cable Retention Device keeps you and others from causing costly damage to your Laptop Computer. For ten dollars, you get three connectors: 1 each USB, RJ45 & RJ11. Plus… you also get a one year money back guarantee!

Here are some of the problems you can now avoid, by using the Jerkstopper:

• The power LED and/or battery charge LED flicker when you wiggle the power cord and/or the AC adapter tip on the back or your laptop.
• Laptop suffers from spontaneous and/or instantaneous power-downs for no apparent reason.
• Laptop only runs when you keep the power cord and plug in a certain direction.. Movement of the AC power adapter plug causes power “glitches” or outages.
• Strange “clicking” noises coming from the area near the power plug. Laptop switches from AC power to battery power intermittently.
• Laptop refuses to start or charge a properly inserted battery. Laptop appears to be “dead” when you plug AC adapter.
• Laptop suddenly shuts off without any warning. Sparks come out of the back of your laptop.
• Laptop will not charge the battery and/or Laptop only runs on battery power.

At only $10.00… and having a full one year guarantee… what are you waiting for?

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Don’t Jerk Your Power Cables!

My latest CPU Magazine article is out: The Power Of Power.

I recently moved into a new house in the Seattle area. Moving is anything but fun, especially when it happens to coincide with the same time frame as your wedding/honeymoon. Well, the movers we selected did an absolutely rotten job at packing our stuff. Cords were separated from their respective devices, and I’ll be damned if I know which ones match up. Some manufacturers were nice enough to stamp their name and the corresponding device onto the power supply and cord, while others were completely generic and without labels. Am I really to blame for this mess?

It’s a trend that must be reversed. CPUser “Randy” had a comment that deserved to be seen, if only by the hardware hackers of the galaxy:

While I agree that there should be some form of standard, when dealing with power adapters. There is one very significant point. There are many devices out there. Each one, usually for good reason, is designed to charge and/or run on a given voltage/amperage. The reason for not having extra circuitry, with which to convert some incoming standard towards something that will work with the needed circuitry, is that this “circuit” would require a certain given space. In today’s world, every consumer wants more of everything fit into a device except that they want it to be smaller. If you could design a tiny circuit, say .1 to .3 mm cubed, that could convert some universal standard, say standard home 115VAC and automotive ~12VDC to whatever we need to run the circuitry. Let us know. It would be greatly appreciated.

So is such a thing possible? What say you, power people? I promise to give ‘er a good “plug” or two. Pun intended.

Cutting Cable and Cord Clutter