151–160 of 544 posts
It didn't really need to go in either way. It just needed to not be rotationally symmetrical while only going in one way. Firewire only went in one way but it was never an issue because it's shape conveyed a clear orientation.
I know everybody is still on the high from USB-C but I'm still going to go on the record it will be one of the biggest disasters in cable history. 1) There's going to be video-only cables; low-voltage only cables; etc and this time everything is usb-c so you can literally only tell which ables work by testing all of the dozen cables instead of the 1-2 USB-As you have. 2) The connector is symmetrical but the pins aren…
3) The most fragile part (the wafer in the center of the receptacle) is on the expensive-to-repair device, while the least fragile part is on the cheap-to-replace cable. HDMI makes this same mistake. With USB-A, at least the plastic part on the device is relatively robust, and with Lightning, both plug and socket were rather robust (albeit prone to debris incursion). With older pin-type connectors like VGA and DVI, t…
Edit: in fact, trying now it seems to be perfectly recessed that I can't even push on it from an angle with the connector, it has to go straight in a bit before it even touches, on any of my devices
(Additional fun fact: the box says it uses Micro-USB.)
They didn't have to double the wiring, just add wiring to the other side of the connector. That is barely 2 cm of wiring, at most. Also, manufacturers could have made the connectors in a way that would clearly show which side is the top and which is the bottom. So none of the issues had to happen but lazy manufacturers and gullible inventors caused all of this on their own.
I bought a JBL headset which USB power cable is reversible, instead of a big plastic piece for half the plug, it has a thin strip of plastic, so the block of plastic of the port side can go in either side of the plug: https://images.nexusapp.co/assets/4a/75/a0/5733575.jpg But I guess it might just have two wires (+5V and ground) and no data wires (I can't check it now because I'm at work).
I know everybody is still on the high from USB-C but I'm still going to go on the record it will be one of the biggest disasters in cable history. 1) There's going to be video-only cables; low-voltage only cables; etc and this time everything is usb-c so you can literally only tell which ables work by testing all of the dozen cables instead of the 1-2 USB-As you have. 2) The connector is symmetrical but the pins aren…
regarding 1) look at this post from 2019: https://people.kernel.org/bleung/now-how-many-usb-c-to-usb-c... I imagine it only got worse in the mean time.
regarding 2) I have seen various posts in the past of devices that only work if the cables are connected in a specific orientation. Technical background is discussed here: https://acroname.com/blog/why-usb-c-connections-sometimes-do...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> There's going to be video-only cables From my understanding I think that is not technically possible because to pass video they need the data lines but maybe I'm mistaken? IIUC again even if it did work I think these would be non-compliant. People hell-bent on doing non-compliant things would do it irrespective of any design. > low-voltage only cables That's a given due to physical constraints (length, diameter: wo…
> From my understanding I think that is not technically possible because to pass video they need the data lines but maybe I'm mistaken? Counterexample: The Meta Quest link cables use a USB-C style connector but internally are very different from a regular cable.
> Making USB reversible to begin with would have necessitated twice as many wires and twice as many circuits, and would have doubled the cost. This is... not correct. You can make USB reversible with 1 extra pin and 1 extra wire. Grounds on pins 1 and 5, data on pins 2 and 4, and VCC on pin 3. Then have those pins on both sides of the plug and a socket with a single set of contacts on one side. That's BASICALLY what…
Mdi-x/auto crossover for ethernet was introduced in 1999, that is after USB (1996) was designed, not sure of the technique was known at that time
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I've found a trick but have trouble explaining it to people - especially if they haven't build a computer before. The plastic bit inside of the plug usually goes on the side facing whatever board it's interfacing with. For example, looking straight on from the back of an ATX case, it's usually on the left side - where the motherboard mounts Front panel connectors are anarchy... but at least they're usually visible
Another trick is that the USB standard says the USB logo should be facing up, so you should always try it first with the logo facing up. Not every device follows that standard and not every device has a clear top/bottom, but this really cuts down on the proportion of failed attempts.
This page was difficult to read on my mobile due to ads. Here is a link to the source of the interview mentioned in the headline: https://text.npr.org/2019/06/21/734451600/ever-plugged-a-usb...
Install an ad blocker, friend! Firefox + uBlock Origin on Android, or 1Blocker on iOS.
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I've been using USB-C on basically every consumer electronics device I've used over nearly the past decade. Over the years I have accumulated: 1. A laptop with a USB-C power/data/DisplayPort port 2. A phone with a USB-C power/data port 3. Multiple USB power banks which use a single USB-C port for both charging and discharging 4. A smartwatch with a dock that uses USB-C 5. Multiple flashlights with USB-C charging 6. M…
I'm an Android user, and for your points 5, 6, 7, and 8 all of mine are USB-A to Micro USB (except for a flashlight bought this year which came with a USB-A to USB-C cable, and I use wraparound bluetooth headphones instead of earbuds and get the feeling those designs are just extremely rarely updated). No displayport or smartwatch here, and my power banks all came with A-to-micro or A-to-C cables (mostly the former)…
For the products you've purchased that came with an A-to-C cable, have you tried using them with a plain C-to-C cable? In my experience usually that will "just work". (Maybe there are some power banks out there that don't support outputting power through their USB-C port. If those exist I've managed to avoid them so far.)