I went to the Securing .NET training given earlier this week, organized by Bill Zack and the NYC .NET Developer's Group. More on the session itself, which was excellent, to come. The reason I mention this is that I left my power supply in the room (and it still hasn't been recovered more than a week later).
I realized this on Wed afternoon, after their offices had already closed, and of course this was a pretty big problem since I need my tablet for class. I got by on Wed with an IBM power supply. The plug fit but the output wasn't quite right. It didn't really charge it so much as not let it drain (which was sufficient for the night) and I was hesitant to use it because it started hissing after being in for 20 minutes or so.
Not usually a good sign.
When I still didn't have my power supply back on Thursday, I realized it was probably time to buy a replacement. They didn't have the official Acer one anywhere in the city, and ordering it online wasn't an option since I needed it for class again that night.
The official Acer was 70$, so I decided to buy the iGO Juice 70, which does AC, Auto and Airline and a plethora of tips for just about any laptop, for $119. and for a bit more I could get one of those iGO power supplies. So when I replace my laptop, I can just buy a new tip - well worth the few extra bucks, I think.
Let me explain, then, why it is that they suck.
The package I bought comes with about 10 different tips and a booklet telling you which to use with a given model. Some models are compatible but not listed, since models change a lot after all, so you are instructed to go to their online compatibility chart to figure out which one to use. Fair enough.
I found the online compatibility chart despite their site making it difficult...
According to the compatibility chart (which is only linked off the product page, not the support page), my Acer is supported. The problem is that it doesn't tell me what tip I need to use.
There's a link to purchase, but the link is just to buy the Juice 70 package and is exactly the same for every compatible laptop.
Do I use one of the included tips? Or do I have to purchase a new tip?
I finally gave up on their site, which is a total piece of crap, and called tech support. Sure enough, I needed a new tip that wasn't included in the package I bought.
This of course threw a wrench in my plans, because I needed power that night. Only three of the ones I was given fit, and only one of them didn't make that weird hissing noise. So I used that one, and just hope I don't do any damage in the meantime.
But it makes me wonder - is it that difficult to put up an easy-to-find list of what tips are for what notebooks, and if it's not a standard tip where to buy them? Especially when the entire reason I'm buying your product in the first place is that it is a universal adapter.
That's like selling me a universal remote that is compatible with my television and DVD player, but not telling me what codes I need to use it.
Oh, and the other reason they suck is that they are mean to me.
(I wanted to put something more clever in there, but they broke that nice little feature of the site :)