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USB4 Specification Announced: Adopting Thunderbolt 3 Protocol for 40 Gbps USB

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261–270 of 279 posts

Re: USB4 Specification Announced: Adopting Thunderbolt 3 Protocol for 40 Gbps USB

#261
post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As long as the actual port remains identical the widget could be made up to date with a software upgrade.

You cannot add a led with a software update :)

Not with that attitude you can’t!

Re: USB4 Specification Announced: Adopting Thunderbolt 3 Protocol for 40 Gbps USB

#262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot (most?) charge cables are USB 2.0 — just enough data to negotiate the higher power. If they supported faster data too, they'd be more expensive. But it definitely should be more clear! Apple's minimalism doesn't help in this case, either.

“Apple’s minimalism” that somehow spreads to every single USB cable by every single manufacturer? IIRC it was a deliberate decision by USB-IF to not enforce any additional labels on USB cables and connectors beyond the USB logo.

I wasn't clear: I meant in the computer box. Most boxed cables will say "charge cable" if they are USB 2.0-only, including Apple's, but there's nothing when you open your new computer. It could at least have a label on the cord wrap or even underneath it in the box that says "charge cable".

Re: USB4 Specification Announced: Adopting Thunderbolt 3 Protocol for 40 Gbps USB

#263
post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As long as the actual port remains identical the widget could be made up to date with a software upgrade.

You cannot add a led with a software update :)

Sure, but you could work around that. Even with a fixed amount of LEDs, you have on, off, blinking, and color to work with.

Re: USB4 Specification Announced: Adopting Thunderbolt 3 Protocol for 40 Gbps USB

#264
post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's also the Nintendo Switch issue

That was due to non-compliance on Nintendo's part, hardly a USB Type C issue.

Wasn't it that the switch asked for a lower voltage but the charger didn't have that mode and it gave the switch a tad more juice?

Re: USB4 Specification Announced: Adopting Thunderbolt 3 Protocol for 40 Gbps USB

#265
post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the spec is so complex even a relatively big and stable corp like Nintendo can't get it right, well, maybe the spec is (partly) to blame?

Are there any widely used hardware specs that a "big and stable" corp hasn't gotten wrong in some implementation? Back when Ethernet was a lot simpler than it is now there were plenty of big players who couldn't even manage to provide unique MAC addresses. Is IEEE754 being too complex to blame for Intel's FDIV bug?

I haven't seen IEEE754 burning down devices though.

Re: USB4 Specification Announced: Adopting Thunderbolt 3 Protocol for 40 Gbps USB

#266
post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As long as the actual port remains identical the widget could be made up to date with a software upgrade.

You cannot add a led with a software update :)

You can add another word or symbol on an OLED screen though, which is what I'd assume a widget like this would use.

Re: USB4 Specification Announced: Adopting Thunderbolt 3 Protocol for 40 Gbps USB

#267

Royalty free is the huge boon here.

Intel said that a couple of years ago, and yet you won't find an AMD laptop/desktop that supports thunderbolt.

Because no one has yet bothered to develop an IP other than Intel.

Much of the IP especially for PHY is licensed from other companies especially in the case of AMD.

AMD only recently has introduced CPUs that can be put into premium laptops and still they don't have a CPU with more than 4 cores and an integrated GPU.

With Intel integrating TB into the CPU directly it also would mean that no one is currently making discrete TB controllers Titan Ridge is the last controller you can buy as a discrete unit and these can technically run on AMD systems but the cost doesn't make it sensible.

With USB4 there will be TB3 compatible IP from multiple 3rd parties which AMD and OEMs could license to integrate it into the SoC directly or into the system itself via PCIe.

Re: USB4 Specification Announced: Adopting Thunderbolt 3 Protocol for 40 Gbps USB

#268
post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One, what AMD laptop? Two, I'd be interested to know if AMD bans board manufacturers from including TB or if they just don't do it because their heuristics say users don't care or want it. I'd imagine now with the rise of USB-C it would be the latter. Before that AMD was stuck on a 5 year old desktop platform that probably couldn't run thunderbolt ports even if board makers wanted to include it.

>Two, I'd be interested to know if AMD bans board manufacturers from including TB or if they just don't do it because their heuristics say users don't care or want it No, AMD boards already include the required TB hardware. They just can't enable it (yet) for whatever technical or legal reasons. Someone hacked them to enable it ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOlQbP63lDQ )

There is no required hardware needed for Titan Ridge to work other than a PCIe expansion slot, you need UEFI drivers for it but that's pretty standard for anything today.

Re: USB4 Specification Announced: Adopting Thunderbolt 3 Protocol for 40 Gbps USB

#269
post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not fast enough. USB cannot drive a 4k monitor at 60hz. You can use the physical interface to do it, but this uses Thunderbolt. This means that the dream of a one-cable-for-everything setup is not here yet, unless you use a Thunderbolt dock, which multiplexes the USB stuff in with the monitor signal. A thunderbolt dock costs around 10x more than a simple USB dock.

One cable for everything will mean that the cables cost an insane amount though. Oh, and they will either be short or require power to run the cable itself.

USB-C is already there up to 4k@30hz, and none of the stuff you're saying is true, unless you consider current USB-C cables insanely expensive. You can get a USB-C dock that provides power as well as the ports you need on one cable for ~$60.

Re: USB4 Specification Announced: Adopting Thunderbolt 3 Protocol for 40 Gbps USB

#270
post #61

Honestly, I'm waiting for old USB(USB A, USB B) to be deprecated and USB C become the new universal USB. As in ATM machine, you get the drill. Current USB cable situation is a mess - my phone is USB C, but it came with a USB A to USB C cable. Good thing I can connect it to my 2017 MacbookPro using it's original USB C charging cable! However then I can't charge. Sometimes I use a USB C to female USB A dongle to use my…

Don't get your hopes up, as this is just a dream. USB-C only specifies the connector. What your cables support, and what end devices support is anyone's guess. See for example https://superuser.com/questions/1199917/what-is-the-d-shaped... In my opinion, the mess is actually much worse with USB-C, as with earlier connectors I at least had a chance of guessing whether the cable/connection will work by looking at the c…

It's a software issue. No one cares what the port says. When I plug something in the OS should notify me, and try to autonegotiate with the device. And if there's a problem, let me know what is it. Not enough power? Port or cable issue? Great, I'll just plug in a different cable into a different port, etc.

The OS knows the USB controller hierarchy, knows what the deveice wants, etc.

Cables might be a mess, but it's because low-level software is absolute bovine manure biogas plant on fucking fire level shit when it comes to user experience.

Just a few weeks ago I had to spend about 1.5-2 hours (not exaggerating) trying to get 2 Logitech gamepads working on Win10. (It worked fine at first, but wouldn't survive a reboot. It worked fine in Linux.)

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