[geeks] From Slashdot... Upgrade your Cobalt Cube...

[wa2egp at att.net]

> These are value engineering reasons for doing so. 
> Value engineering is good for profit margins, bad for
> "rescue" value.
> 
> The Apple Cube did have a HUGE external power supply,
> didn't like that one either.  The PS was almost as big
> as the cube itself.
> 
> My hatered of wall warts and line lumps started many
> years ago when i was building up my home studio. 
> Although not true in all cases, the majority of
> external power supplies are cheap and as a
> consequence are electrically "nosiy" causing me to
> loose sleep while trying to hunt down buzz or 60 cycle
> hum.  I have hated them ever since.  In some cases they
> make sense, but i generally stay away from things that
> use them.

One reason for wall-warts is that in UL testing the device is usually
destroyed (that is when UL/CSA tests them the first time).  A lot cheaper
to send them a wall-wart rather than a whole computer.