Swiss Technical Standards Body IEC developing Universal Laptop Charger specs for early 2014

Look like my prayers for a Common Laptop Charger Standard as detailed in my blog article entitled “Apple MacBook Airs and Intel UltraBooks cometh – Time for a Common Standard on Power Adaptors” is finally coming to pass!

This as Swiss based electronics and Electrical Standards group, the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) has decided to publish a working technical specification for a Universal Laptop Charger in early 2014 as stated in the article “One power cord to rule them all: Standards group pushes for universal laptop Charger”, published Dec 18, 2013 7:25 AM by Jared Newman, PC World and “Standard laptop Charger on the cards, just like phones”, published 17 December 2013, 1:13pm By Rich Trenholm on, CNET UK.

About damn time – One Universal Laptop Charging Standard to rule them All

It’s a pain to have to specify to many of my computer clients that they have to either buy a replacement Laptop Charger or a Genuine Laptop Charger when irony of ironies, the smartphone world has already adopted the micro-USB standard also pioneered by IEC back in 2009 as stated in the article “Apple, others agree to universal cell phone Charger standard in Europe”, published June 29, 2009 11:22 AM PDT by Marguerite Reardon, CNET News - Signal Strength.

That’s around the same time I did the original article begging the same question and it’s the reason the article even caught my eye. To summarize my reasons from my original August 2011 blog article entitled “Apple MacBook Airs and Intel UltraBooks cometh – Time for a Common Standard on Power Adaptors”, the reasons are quite compelling for a Common Laptop Charger standard:

1.      A Universal Power Adaptor will fit the common port on your UltraBook, no matter which PC Maker makes it, be it Dell, Hewlett Packard, Toshiba, Lenovo, etc.

2.      Laptop makers would no longer have to package a Laptop Charger with their Laptop

3.      Third Party companies would make and retail these Universal Laptop Chargers at any Best Buy or Wal-Mart, thus reducing the cost of packaging

Granted, many Laptop makers presently like the idea of different Laptop Chargers as making and selling Replacement Chargers is big business. Then there’s the mess of Electrical power Requirements that such a Universal Laptop Charger in terms of Voltage, Current and Port Standards that all Laptop makers would have to comply with in order for this IEC led initiative to work.

But if anyone can do it, they can, especially after their success with micro-USB Chargers for smartphones, albeit those were already commonly used on Blackberries and most smartphones to begin with. My hope is that this time around though, instead of just the development of a Universal Laptop Charger, they should also focus on developing standards for:

1.      Wireless Charging Technologies

2.      Solar Charging Technologies

3.      Improved Battery Technologies

4.      Portable Fuel Cell Technologies

My ambition - Post-Analog Power Cord and Power Adaptor Era for Laptops and Computers

My aim personally isn’t just to get rid of the different Chargers for Laptops and create one common Charger. Rather it’s to get rid of the idea of charging Laptops and PC’s from Electrical Wall Sockets altogether via the development of Technology that recycles Waste Energy to power Computers as explained in my blog article entitled “Powering Gadgets by Recycling Waste Energy - Alice's Windmills in my Mind Through the Looking Glass”.

Just like the Apple iPad bringing about the Post-PC Era is an ongoing project as stated my blog article entitled “Tech Predictions for 2014 - PC killin' Tablets and Wearable Computers, Personal Drones and Autonomous Vehicles Hydrogen Fuelled Cars”, I envision a Post-Analog Power Cord and Power Adaptor Era, the last vestige of Electronic Gadgets that has YET to make the switch to Digital.

I await Innovation or even Standardization from IEC to work its magic and set straight that which is currently a Nightmare of Wires behind my computer!