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Earlier quoted context omitted.
that's mostly because American domestic outlets are the worst in the world.
Do you have an example you'd hold up as the ideal or best case outlet?
From my experience with some amount of traveling, I would agree that its very nice to use in practice and definitely got a lot of things right.
I'm still shocked at how poorly most plugs are designed for fitting in various outlets and power strips.
The country I live in happens to use the type F connector, which is very sturdy.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you have an example you'd hold up as the ideal or best case outlet?
UK
European plugs IMO have the right balance between safety and size, with the bonus that they don’t stab your feet if you step on them.
And then there’s this thing which is smaller than either and 60W https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GBYVF4Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Fu...
How do does gallium nitride stack up against silicon carbide? I heard the latter is responsible for the recent increase in efficiency of EVs.
What’s interesting is how the DOD heavily invested in GaN technology in 90s and 00s, pushing the USA ahead of Japan in compound semiconductor. Weather that lead will stay; who knows. The Chinese have a GaN fab now. GaN is critical for RADAR and higher power SATCOM, so big defense support that has dual use for civilian wireless comms.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
UK
UK is probably the safest but it’s also bulky and presents an unlikely kind of danger: it tends to lay with the pins upward when on the floor which is deadly when stepping on them in the dark. European plugs IMO have the right balance between safety and size, with the bonus that they don’t stab your feet if you step on them.
A feature mentioned even in an article praising them as the best in the world (https://www.fastcompany.com/3032807/why-england-has-the-best...), linked elsewhere by dpeck (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21678124):
> It’s a truly brilliant design. The only caveat is that, as with Lego, the rugged, bottom-heavy design of a U.K. plug makes it an almost scientifically perfect caltrop.
The wattage capability and size of these chargers is only possible because of US “power delivery”. These chargers are NOT hitting 30+ watts at 5V traditional USB voltage. Yes, there is another power and ground wire pair in the cable, but iirc they got smaller in diameter.
These devices are small and cool there because your device can charge at up to 20V now.
GAN didn’t outright make that happen on the source or sink side. It didn’t hurt, it’s cool, but the difference is smaller than they are implying by comparing a 5V device to a 20V device.
An article that goes on about fast charging and never says “20V” once is not telling you the full story.
Ironically, the best USB-C charger for something like a phone (laptops come with chargers, anyway) I've found is simply the Raspberry Pi 4 USB-C charger - very cheap ($10), small, plenty power (15W), fixed cable and no fucking blue Anker LED that can illuminate your bedroom.
For your bedroom you'd really want an old 5W charger. Why turbo charge and put permanent strain on your battery when anything that takes 6+ hours will do.