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New USB-C logos make picking USB cables, chargers less confusing

pcworld.com

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Re: New USB-C logos make picking USB cables, chargers less confusing

#241

Post by shkkmo »

lordlimecat wrote: post #229
ksec wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am surprised this is the top upvoted comment on HN, in the past anything suggesting USB-C complexity was not the right solution and the old days of simple cable usage were better always get downvoted or intense disagreement. Sometimes it is hard to judge the sentiment of HN. Rumours suggest Apple will go back to Magsafe ( hooray ) and offer USB-C as additional functionality. That way the mental model is simple. You…

The fact that USB-C is a bloated and complex standard does not imply that other solutions are better. Magsafe is only nice to the extent that all Apple laptops used it, so if you were in the apple world and never lost your $50 charger it was fine. But in the end it was Yet Another Laptop Charger, and it made travelling a pain for anyone with multiple laptops of different make. The current status quo is not perfect bu…

It's too bad Apple had no interest in making Magsafe available as an industy standard and instead moved to the usb-c standard.

The removal Magsafe from apple laptops was the final straw that got me to switch to Linux.

Re: New USB-C logos make picking USB cables, chargers less confusing

#242

Post by Tarragon »

y4mi wrote: post #174
KptMarchewa wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does not seem to be that expensive. https://frame.work/

I'm speechless and stand corrected. $9 is incredibly cheap. > The default card, supporting USB4, 20V/5A charging, and DisplayPort Alt Mode for connecting monitors, all on either side of the notebook. I'm really looking forward to them finally getting more keyboard layouts, only reason why i havent bought one yet

Well probably not. Note that it's the same price as the USB-A port and cheaper than any of the others.

Also the base of each of those modules is USB-C

> Do I need to have a USB-C Expansion Card to charge the Framework Laptop?

> The Framework Laptop charges over USB-C from any one of the four Expansion Card bays. We suggest configuring with at least one USB-C Expansion Card, since it is difficult to directly plug into the recessed USB-C receptacle that is inside the bay.

This probably means the body of the laptop supports all those things and the USB-C module is just wires.

What's the cost of that support in the body itself? Not stated.

Re: New USB-C logos make picking USB cables, chargers less confusing

#243

Post by OJFord »

unethical_ban wrote: post #202
OJFord wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> >into the correct usb port to charge the laptop > The port is either marked (everything but MacBooks) or doesn't matter (MacBooks, pretty sweet). From https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/363337/how-to-find... : > TLDR; If your MacBook Pro runs hot or shows a high % CPU for the kernel task, try charging on the right and not on the left.

While that is a frustrating bug/design flaw, it doesn't negate the fact that you can charge the laptop from any port.

Sure, I suppose my point is just further along the lines of 'even if all the ports are the same, they don't necessarily work the same' since it turns out that even if they seem to/say they do, there can still be such differences.

IMO if it's to be optional to implement the 'receive' side of USB-PD (or QC? Whatever it is) then it should use an extra pin, so a PD cable physically can't fit in a non-PD port. And the ends opposite, so that the PD-pin-having transformer plug won't fit a non-PD cable.

(I don't really want that though, I'd rather it was just required to support it. So it's all the same and we can properly live the one-connector dream.)

Re: New USB-C logos make picking USB cables, chargers less confusing

#244

Post by jaywalk »

lordlimecat wrote: post #229
ksec wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am surprised this is the top upvoted comment on HN, in the past anything suggesting USB-C complexity was not the right solution and the old days of simple cable usage were better always get downvoted or intense disagreement. Sometimes it is hard to judge the sentiment of HN. Rumours suggest Apple will go back to Magsafe ( hooray ) and offer USB-C as additional functionality. That way the mental model is simple. You…

The fact that USB-C is a bloated and complex standard does not imply that other solutions are better. Magsafe is only nice to the extent that all Apple laptops used it, so if you were in the apple world and never lost your $50 charger it was fine. But in the end it was Yet Another Laptop Charger, and it made travelling a pain for anyone with multiple laptops of different make. The current status quo is not perfect bu…

> Magsafe is only nice to the extent that all Apple laptops used it

No, it still remains (arguably) the best laptop charging connector ever. USB C was a step backward in that regard.

Re: New USB-C logos make picking USB cables, chargers less confusing

#245

Post by OJFord »

thermin wrote: post #203
dionian wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plus USB-C doesn't require a correct orientation, you just put it in and it always fits. Maybe underrated but to me it's worth a lot...

Well, that's something barrel plugs had going for them way before data connectors caught up :)

And then some - hadn't really thought about it until your comment, but somehow we regressed from infinite orientations (well, in that plane) to one, and are now all excited about having two...

Are there any example of barrel-style connectors with >2 pins, i.e. coaxial barrels? Similar is the 'jack' (3.5mm and such) but with split regions along a single pin rather than concentric rings of course. I wonder why such designs aren't more popular/explored (that I'm aware of anyway) for multi-pin data connections?

Re: New USB-C logos make picking USB cables, chargers less confusing

#246

Post by jmrm »

Unpopular opinion: I prefer a laptop with a barrel jack than other with only USB-C for charging.

Not only is easier to find, also a lot more sturdy and easier to repair. I have changed some of them in relatives' laptops pretty easily, but I don't dare to do that in any USB-C by any means.

Re: New USB-C logos make picking USB cables, chargers less confusing

#247

Post by SketchySeaBeast »

cromka wrote: post #234
SketchySeaBeast wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not taking exception to any of your points - honestly, I think that while this new USB world is confusing, it is much better than it was in the day of the barrel plugs, especially not that everything is becoming USB-C. Just taking exception to this one point: > The port is either marked (everything but MacBooks) or doesn't matter (MacBooks, pretty sweet). Except that even when there shouldn't be a right choice, there…

> Except that even when there shouldn't be a right choice, there still is: Except this is an issue with a specific Apple product, not the USB spec as this thread implies.

Yeah, it's not the USB specs or cables fault, but they said it didn't matter on some devices and used the example of a MacBook, where it still does.

Re: New USB-C logos make picking USB cables, chargers less confusing

#248

Post by SketchySeaBeast »

dspillett wrote: post #228
SketchySeaBeast wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not taking exception to any of your points - honestly, I think that while this new USB world is confusing, it is much better than it was in the day of the barrel plugs, especially not that everything is becoming USB-C. Just taking exception to this one point: > The port is either marked (everything but MacBooks) or doesn't matter (MacBooks, pretty sweet). Except that even when there shouldn't be a right choice, there…

Direct link to the SO post and answer that the extremetech page paraphrases, for those who don't consent to being tracked left/right/centre and would prefer not to click hundreds of times to say so: https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/363337/how-to-find...

Yeah, that is a better link for the technical stuff, but you seem to imply it's clean when it comes to tracking and it's obviously not.

Re: New USB-C logos make picking USB cables, chargers less confusing

#249

Post by citrusybread »

thermin wrote: post #196
Ginden wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> were barrel plugs of slightly different diameter Some of them had the same diameter, so accidentally plugging 12V to 5V port could fry your device.

True! I literally own two identical-looking (to the most minute details of the plug itself) barrel plug chargers (one for the vacuum, the other for the elliptical trainer). One is 18V, the other is 9V, both 500mA At least I'm not afraid that the 65W USB PD charger will fry my phone lol

should absolutely be illegal. usually barrel plugs are coded for each voltage.

I can one up you. Verilux sells a "happy light" SAD lamp thing, still sold at Costco, which uses a mini-USB plug, running on 19V 300mA or something.

Yeah. How the FUCK does the USB Forum not shut that down?

Re: New USB-C logos make picking USB cables, chargers less confusing

#250

Post by thermin »

evancox100 wrote: post #43
hbosch wrote: post #39

Please, for the love of god, make it obvious if a USB C cable can be used as a display cable or not. One thing that absolutely blows about USB C is that they all look the same, but to connect my LG UltraFine to my GTX 2070 I had to do literally hours of research before I could find a reliable cable on Amazon that was a “bidirectional USB C DisplayPort” cable because I naively assumed that USB C was a general purpose…

What cable did you end up going with, and did it work? Am in an almost identical situation and would like to avoid "hours of research" myself!

Any 5/10 Gbps from Amazon/AliExpress will work for 4k@60Hz.
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