USB-C was supposed to simplify our lives, but instead it’s a total mess

#1

Post by gozzoo » Thu, Oct 01, 2020, 1:43 PM UTC

USB-C was supposed to simplify our lives, but instead it’s a total mess
debugger.medium.com

Re: USB-C was supposed to simplify our lives, but instead it’s a total mess

#2

Post by coldtea » Thu, Oct 01, 2020, 1:57 PM UTC

Tired with these articles. USB-C has saved me tons of hassle.

Re: USB-C was supposed to simplify our lives, but instead it’s a total mess

#3

Post by julianlam » Thu, Oct 01, 2020, 2:01 PM UTC

Sometimes it seems like I'm the only person with absolutely zero issues with USB-C. I have a Lenovo monitor that delivers power+HDMI+usbhub to my laptop, and having to only plug one thing in to access all my peripherals is amazing. I used a bog standard Anker USB-C cable for this.

Re: USB-C was supposed to simplify our lives, but instead it’s a total mess

#4

Post by jeremymcanally » Thu, Oct 01, 2020, 2:01 PM UTC

Really? I find it to be a game changer for me.

The fact that my laptop, Switch, iPad, and several other devices can all share a charge has made my life much easier. I can just sprinkle a few of them throughout the house and never be without power. Before it was always a hunt to find a cable, or I had to be in [x] room to charge [y] device because that's where the charger lived.

Plus, I can charge my MacBook on either side, so that's basically life changing on its own. :)

Re: USB-C was supposed to simplify our lives, but instead it’s a total mess

#5

Post by amelius » Thu, Oct 01, 2020, 2:02 PM UTC

julianlam wrote: post #3

Sometimes it seems like I'm the only person with absolutely zero issues with USB-C. I have a Lenovo monitor that delivers power+HDMI+usbhub to my laptop, and having to only plug one thing in to access all my peripherals is amazing. I used a bog standard Anker USB-C cable for this.

Just wait until you have to write an embedded driver for it.

Re: USB-C was supposed to simplify our lives, but instead it’s a total mess

#6

Post by bla3 » Thu, Oct 01, 2020, 2:02 PM UTC

It's a mess, but it still seems much better than the situation before to me. It's true, you currently need to be careful when buying cables, but if you are, you can charge all your devices with the same plug. And usb-c video means your monitor can act as usb hub for keyboard and mouse over the video cable, so you only need to replug a single cable to move video and mouse and keyboard between computers. I use this a lot with my laptops, I find it super convenient. It's not like the previous situation was easier to navigate for consumers. Sure, I'd be nice if usb-c was an even bigger improvement, but it doesn't deserve to be called "total mess".

Re: USB-C was supposed to simplify our lives, but instead it’s a total mess

#7

Post by Waterluvian » Thu, Oct 01, 2020, 2:03 PM UTC

julianlam wrote: post #3

Sometimes it seems like I'm the only person with absolutely zero issues with USB-C. I have a Lenovo monitor that delivers power+HDMI+usbhub to my laptop, and having to only plug one thing in to access all my peripherals is amazing. I used a bog standard Anker USB-C cable for this.

I’m sure for some it’s a nightmare worthy of writing about, but yeah I’ve never had a problem.

I love that USB-C trivially expanded my laptop to having two DisplayPort devices so I can run 3 4K screens at 60hz

Re: USB-C was supposed to simplify our lives, but instead it’s a total mess

#8

Post by AgloeDreams » Thu, Oct 01, 2020, 2:04 PM UTC

This is silliness. This has gotten worlds better by just making chargers that work with everything and realizing that only some cables work for some needs. If you are a big hardware nut, sure you can run into issues, but 99% of the time, the same cable that charges my Phone charges my Tablet, and my laptop and my headphones and my switch and powers a wireless charger, all from the same brick. This is as opposed to the world 6-7 years ago where that would be a littany of cables and bricks.

Is it perfect? No.

Is it better? Yes.

Re: USB-C was supposed to simplify our lives, but instead it’s a total mess

#9

Post by silvestrov » Thu, Oct 01, 2020, 2:04 PM UTC

The big problem with Apple is the mentality of "it just works, so you don't need any info".

This means that when I plug a cable into the USB-C port on the MacBookPro, I can't get any info about what kind of cable it is. I can't get "this cable is for power only" information.

And there is no standard for markings on cables and power supplies that tell this.

Re: USB-C was supposed to simplify our lives, but instead it’s a total mess

#10

Post by vernie » Thu, Oct 01, 2020, 2:05 PM UTC

It's a bit of a mess but it's a net positive and there's worse shit going on.