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"smackedass" <> wrote in message
news:ykVuj.16370$eg3.14590@trndny05...
> >
>> Only Dell does anything like this, and they complain because, and only
>> because, it's not a Dell supply. Regardless of the electrical
>> characteristics of the supply, which may be an exact match for what the
>> laptop needs.
>
> This may sound like a stupid question, but does the form factor/size of
> the charging pin constitute any difference?
>

No, it's just a physical choice they make. It used to be that all those
supplies were just dumb power providers. Lately, especially since Li-Ion,
the systems have become a lot smarter. For example all the Li-Ion battery
packs have ICs and there's communication between the charging circuits and
the pack. Same is becoming true of supplies. The Dell supply I currently use
has three pins. The center post has something to do with charging the
battery. If it's missing the battery won't charge, but I don't know if
that's because the laprop doesn't get the okey-dokey from the supply, of if
that's where the charging current is supplied.

-John O