The micro-USB plug on the Nokia charger, and the micro-USB plug on the Nokia USB cable, both have the USB logo on top. After a bit of practice you can easily feel the difference when you pick up the plug, so that you insert it the correct way every time, instead of pushing it the wrong way 50% of the time.

Because I had heard about the problems with the micro-USB sockets on the pre-production devices, I have always been extremely careful with mine. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Also, the idea of filing off the two little springs on the plug seems like a good thing to do, to reduce the insertion/removal force.

Finally, isn't this an issue that could be taken up by the Maemo Community Council? They could liaise with Nokia to get an unambiguous statement that broken sockets will be fixed under warranty. Nokia promotes the N900 as a "Maemo Device", and I don't see any reason why the Maemo Community Council shouldn't get involved with issues relating to Maemo hardware.

Regards,
Roger