"Point of Sales" = computer systems used in businesses to track sales, inventory, etc. Best Buy has PoS software running on their touch screens at the registers, customer service desk, etc., although I'm sure they have their own internal PoS department. The company I work for deals primarily with restaurants, pizza chains and bars. We build, install and offer 24/7 support of our systems.
I have an A+ Certificate myself, but that's been years ago. I don't know if I even learned anything. It seemed pretty basic at the time. I'm sure it's different now. Like I said, support isn't really my department, although I dabble with troubleshooting from time to time. The guys in our support department are far more advanced. They all have IT related degrees. I take them at their word.
What I'm kind of thinking is that even if your EVO sent out its maximum possible surge, and even if it was exacerbated by a faulty cable, the fault still lies with your laptop, because it should be built to withstand far more than the EVO can throw at it.
So is it possible?.. If you have a faulty laptop, a faulty cable and a USB device that sends out a surge, then I would suppose it is. Perhaps that's what happened to the first person that you linked, although that person never posted their resolution.
The second link you posted, the problem turned out to be related to the power supply. Unless you think that somehow the USB device somehow fried the motherboard and power supply.
