141–150 of 868 posts
Who cares? I haven’t charged my phone through the port in years.
People who charge through ports.
Even though I own all sort of wireless charging gadgets, somehow prefer the definite result of connecting a cable compared to putting my phone on a surface and moving it a lil bit to make sure it work and is in/supports fast charging mode. I have of course cables all around me.
“Owing to the significant amounts of electronic waste caused by unused chargers …” Really?
It probably is hard to remember the time when Apple wasn't the only company with its own proprietary connector because it has been already well over a decade since the EU first issued its ultimatum for the industry to fall in line behind one standard or get a law slapped into their face. Apple has been the only remaining holdout for almost just as long and basically single-handedly forced the EU to come through with…
What happens when there is a better USB-C plug - isn't there a concern that locking into the current standard means in 50 years the EU is still stuck. I imagine we're in uncharted territory given in less then my lifetime USB was invented and has gone through at least 14 iterations e.g. it's been changing very fast. Unfortunately I fear even asking this question probably angers some, but I think it's an interesting qu…
EU laws are not like physics laws, you can change them. That's why so many people are employed in policy and law making.
So if it happens that in the land of cable freedoms they come up with something much better, it would be adopted. At first, those electronics which can accommodate more than 1 type of charging plug will start getting this new plug alongside with USB-C and if there's actual demand for it they law will be changed to allow only that plug.
I don't know how much if this is about environmental concerns, I'm under impression that EU is never happy about rent seeing companies and tries to standardise everything. That's probably why it's going after browsers and App stores: it expect company products to be picked for competitive reasons, not compatibility reasons. Another example is EUs enforcement of standardized EV charging plugs, arguably Tesla plugs can be better but overall it's better for everyone to be able to charge everywhere even if it was possible to have slightly better charging plugs on some stations.
I imagine, the US citizens are confused by all this due to the nature of how EU and US function. With GDPR, the American audience was imagining that startups will go bankrupt when trying to comply with EU law and there were tantrums about some people abandoning their projects because they don't have resources to deal with EU regulations. Maybe it's because how lawsuit happy the US is, maybe it's because how the laws are enforced in US is different than most of EU - I don't know, but in general Europeans feel differently than Americans about the government involvement.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Can you elaborate?
The general problem with USB-C is that the connectors support multiple different protocols, cables are allowed to not be of sufficient quality for all use-cases (the worst example is probably high-bitrate cases like cables for computer monitors) including high power charging. Similarly, the devices on either end needn’t support all the potential protocols/uses. Furthermore, many USB-C devices that are sold are low qu…
The simple solution as done elsewwhere across many technical endeavors is to mandate standards, that's why the ISO exists.
For example, if I plug a 220/240 Volt appliance into a power wall socket that's rated at either 220 or 240V then it should work properly—one doesn't expect say 400V out of said socket.
That countries mandate a given voltage ± a specified tolerance that's well defined is specifically to avoid malfunctions/equipment damage.
A manufacturer that goes against mandated standards should suffer the consequences.
If other industries have no problem with mandated standards then why should the IT/computer industry be excepted or any different?
What happens when there is a better USB-C plug - isn't there a concern that locking into the current standard means in 50 years the EU is still stuck. I imagine we're in uncharted territory given in less then my lifetime USB was invented and has gone through at least 14 iterations e.g. it's been changing very fast. Unfortunately I fear even asking this question probably angers some, but I think it's an interesting qu…
However, there is very little chance for that to happen now, considering most of innovation comes from small startups who don't have the resources or disposition to research something that is illegal to put on the market. So we are stuck with USB-C and committee-driven "innovation" for the foreseeable future.
Hopefully Apple will not adopt this forced mandate on other markets and maybe they can innovate there and back port the improvements to the EU. Most of tech innovation currently happens in the US anyway. We'll see, but I am not optimistic. Large companies always benefit from regulations since they have the resources to comply while denying a possible differentiator for small companies.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
People who charge through ports.
I am one of them. Heck, I have even worked for a wireless charging startup for years :) Even though I own all sort of wireless charging gadgets, somehow prefer the definite result of connecting a cable compared to putting my phone on a surface and moving it a lil bit to make sure it work and is in/supports fast charging mode. I have of course cables all around me.
I would also eschew finicky alignment based wireless charging.
First of all: the EU definitely had good intentions when regulating the charger mess. The amount of incompatible chargers rotting in drawers and (possibly) landfills could definitely be reduced over time by agreeing on a common physical and electrical interface. However — limiting technical progress is not a good idea and we see that with the plethor of different power modes existing within USB-C. Possibly politician…
> limiting technical progress is not a good idea and we see that with the plethor of different power modes existing within USB-C. Who is limiting technical progress? The laws don't state that only USB-C can ever be used; they state that chargers must all be compatible. Want to improve it? Contribute to USB, or come up with an entirely new standard that everyone can agree to. > What if a company (Apple) comes up with…
They tried that with Lightning. Micro USB won because it was cheap. Apple are USB-C contributors.
> Enough with the FUD.
Indeed.
What happens when there is a better USB-C plug - isn't there a concern that locking into the current standard means in 50 years the EU is still stuck. I imagine we're in uncharted territory given in less then my lifetime USB was invented and has gone through at least 14 iterations e.g. it's been changing very fast. Unfortunately I fear even asking this question probably angers some, but I think it's an interesting qu…
> What happens when there is a better USB-C plug EU laws are not like physics laws, you can change them. That's why so many people are employed in policy and law making. So if it happens that in the land of cable freedoms they come up with something much better, it would be adopted. At first, those electronics which can accommodate more than 1 type of charging plug will start getting this new plug alongside with USB-…
EU laws have worldwide effects, there's no land of cable freedom anymore.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> What happens when there is a better USB-C plug EU laws are not like physics laws, you can change them. That's why so many people are employed in policy and law making. So if it happens that in the land of cable freedoms they come up with something much better, it would be adopted. At first, those electronics which can accommodate more than 1 type of charging plug will start getting this new plug alongside with USB-…
How do you know how to change the laws if nobody is allowed to try different things (thus innovate)? USB-C didn't come from nowhere, and it wasn't a given that it's better than MicroUSB - first the market tested it, then it became a standard. EU laws have worldwide effects, there's no land of cable freedom anymore.
Also, you are not banned from engineering other solutions. The police isn't going to knock on the doors of engineers who are suspected to develop better charging cables :)