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An USB plug that goes both ways

yankodesign.com

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Re: An USB plug that goes both ways

#121

Post by marshray »

jarek wrote: post #68
marshray wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"First we're gonna recess 'em, then we're gonna emboss 'em, then we're gonna mate 'em!" Designers should look to nature. Nature has certainly created some wonderful symmetries, but a symmetry which would impose hidden and unnecessary constraints on alignment during the mating process is not one of them!

This is probably the only chance I will ever get to link a page containing the words "duck penis" on HN, and you bet I will take it: http://scienceblogs.com/neurotopia/2010/01/friday_weird_scie...

I'll never look at Donald Duck the same way again. On the other hand, I guess we know now who designed the USB connectors...

Re: An USB plug that goes both ways

#122

Post by dlevine »

I feel like the problem is often the opposite one. I'm plugging a USB device into the back of my PC, and can't see the direction that the USB port is facing. Some of the motherboard shields sit out far enough that, even if you look back there, you can't really see whether it's pointing up or down.

Maybe it's always consistent, but I don't have an intuitive sense for that. I would definitely pay $1 or $2 extra for cables that can be plugged in from either direction.

Re: An USB plug that goes both ways

#123

Post by zokier »

xubz wrote: post #90
marknutter wrote: post #67

Had the inventors of USB just made it a trapezoid or some other asymmetrical shape this all could have been avoided.

I suppose this is the reason why USB type B, mini and micro are designed as either trapezoid or have a beveled edge.

At least in micro usbs case, it doesn't really help. I still constantly try to put the cable wrong way in

Re: An USB plug that goes both ways

#125

Post by pavel_lishin »

jws wrote: post #30
marshray wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What? You didn't notice the mark clearly embossed in black plastic on the black plastic background while holding it in the illuminated space between the back of your computer and the wall? Or maybe yours doesn't have a mark at all like the mouse I'm using now. Or maybe it has one mark on one side and a slightly different mark on the other. Who came up with this stupid idea anyway of making a plug that looks and feels…

Come on, it's right there in section 6.5.1 of the specification which you'd know if you searched the web, downloaded 11MB of data, unzipped it and sorted through it for the "Universal Serial Bus Specification Revision 2.0", then read all 622 pages of that. 6.5.1 USB Icon Location The USB Icon is embossed, in a recessed area, on the topside of the USB plug. This provides easy user recognition and facilitates alignment…

When I'm mating, USB is generally not involved.

Re: An USB plug that goes both ways

#126

Post by marshray »

jws wrote: post #54
marshray wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd expect current limiting to be a feature of even the cheapest USB interface ICs. It's really easy to test and potentially a short-circuit/fire hazard. Not the kind of thing any testing lab would be likely to overlook.

You'd think. But the cheapest interface ICs only deal with the data lines. You have to go to extra effort to control the 5V line. It isn't trivial. You want to flow 100mA without dropping your 5V source much, because the USB device is still expecting it to be 5V.

You'd think. But the cheapest interface ICs only deal with the data lines. You have to go to extra effort to control the 5V line.

That's insane.

Clearly my problem is that I am insufficiently cynical. I'll just have to try harder.

Re: An USB plug that goes both ways

#127

Post by kgermino »

bad_user wrote: post #93
ekanes wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I watch this in action every time I ask my four year-old which is his right or left hand. Poor little dude gets it wrong almost every time.

How cute :) Btw, to help him learn you could attach a bracelet to his left or his right hand. Give him a landmark that he can recognize.

Doubt it helps but when I grew up sawing the pledge of allegiance every morning I could put my right hand on my heart with-out even thinking about it long before I could remember which was my right and left hands. I remembered by starting to say the pledge of allegiance in my head and I knew that the hand I moved was my right hand.

Re: An USB plug that goes both ways

#128

Post by Semiapies »

jjcm wrote: post #42
Semiapies wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It has the lowest robustness possible: it's some student's design project and doesn't even physically exist. All the illustrations are renders or bad composites.

I'm aware, but that doesn't mean I can't question the robustness of the (hypothetical) final interface. If a man looks at a blueprint and asks, "will it work?" he's not asking if the ink on paper has structural integrity - he's asking about the final product.

This isn't even a blueprint, though. It's a concept piece. You can make vague judgments about it, but the truth is that people here wondering whether this would be practical is probably the closest to actual engineering that this design has gone.

I wouldn't worry much about robustness - it's not certain that this would even work in the first place.

Re: An USB plug that goes both ways

#129

Post by eru »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #107
eru wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Put your hands in front of you, palms facing outwards. Your left hand is where thumb and index finger form an L. (Or if he's into cars, explain it via `where the cars drive'.)

>Your left hand is where thumb and index finger form an L. This would work except that young kids get letters wrong too and a common mistake is to mirror L.

Thanks for the insight.

Re: An USB plug that goes both ways

#130

Post by LeonidasXIV »

RiderOfGiraffes wrote: post #35
ghshephard wrote: post #6

Well, after 10+ years of using USB widgets of every shape, size, and color - I just discovered from reading the article that the USB symbol is always on the top side. So, I certainly got my value out of HN today. :-)

- ... that the USB symbol is always on the top side Yes, I thought that, except that on my father's computer it goes on the bottom. I checked quite thoroughly.

Or, the symbol on the connector is exactly on the wrong side. I just unplugged it and compared it to a correct and lo and behold, it really is on the wrong side. So much for the spec.

I'd love to see a USB-port that can be plugged in both ways.

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