| Milhouse |
2008-01-17 08:53 |
Re: Nokia N800 in Europe..
Quote:
Originally Posted by AbelMN
(Post 128599)
The UK, of course, has standards of its own, and wants you to buy a clumsy big and heavy power adapter.
|
Current UK plugs were specifically designed to be incompatible with any existing system in use at the time they were introduced. Back in the 50s when the current UK plugs were introduced (the specification being created in 1947), it was possible to put a grounded Schuko (Europlug) into an old-style round-pin UK socket and fail to establish a ground/Earth connection resulting in a very unsafe connection, thus the new UK socket is intentionally not compatible with Schuko/Euro plugs to prevent such a mistake. At the time, in the late 1940s, travel between European countries wasn't a major consideration compared with safety. In addition, a fuse within the plug is required to protect the cord as British wiring standards allow very high-current circuits to the socket.
European harmony will only be achieved when we are all using the international standard household plug system. So - not in my lifetime... :) |
