picture of the new cable: http://m.hexus.net/tech/news/peripherals/42705-new-usb-stand...
That is a picture of a standard USB 3.0 A to B cable.
Ex. http://www.amazon.com/Micro-Connectors-Superspeed-Cable-Feet...
New 100W USB 3.0 Spec Can Charge Laptops
21–30 of 63 posts
Re: New 100W USB 3.0 Spec Can Charge Laptops
#22picture of the new cable: http://m.hexus.net/tech/news/peripherals/42705-new-usb-stand...
The device end seems really chunky for today's electronics. I can't see that being used to power anything more portable than a laptop (and it's still big for ultraportables) if there is no mini version.
Re: New 100W USB 3.0 Spec Can Charge Laptops
#23This is awesome, being able to charge everything from a single power plug is a total dream. But it'd mean losing MagSafe and I can't see Apple going down that route.
Is there any reason you couldn't have both?
Use MagSafe at home/work because it's a superior solution, but hopefully Apple hooks up one/all of their USB ports as well to power, so you can recharge with a generic USB cable in a pinch.
Re: New 100W USB 3.0 Spec Can Charge Laptops
#24As the wireless networks are easier to use, technology that was built for data transfer is now used for power. I would call that cable USC (Universal Serial Charger). It looks like a standardization of a power adapter, but I don't think we can call it USB, as the "serial" part will not be really used. Profiles 4 and 5 would need special power sources, so you cannot just plug your laptop in a simple desktop (or another laptop) and get 100W of power, so you'll get a brick adapter with an USB plug instead of a custom plug - like most cellphones. But I would not expect the brick to use the initial USB function (data transfer).
This also means that the cheap Chinese USB power bricks will be even more dangerous.
Re: New 100W USB 3.0 Spec Can Charge Laptops
#25This is awesome, being able to charge everything from a single power plug is a total dream. But it'd mean losing MagSafe and I can't see Apple going down that route.
Is there any reason you couldn't have both? Use MagSafe at home/work because it's a superior solution, but hopefully Apple hooks up one/all of their USB ports as well to power, so you can recharge with a generic USB cable in a pinch.
It's always possible, but I'm not sure would do it. They like their magsafe, they like the form factor, and they're going down the route of sliming it down. If they could pull it off I imagine they would be but thats probably a while off yet.
Re: New 100W USB 3.0 Spec Can Charge Laptops
#26I'd be careful with these; it means you can't plug in an untrusted power supply anymore. Just imagine one of these cables also acting as a USB keyboard, which brings up a new terminal, adds an SSH authorized key and closes the terminal window without you even seeing it.
There's already a hacking platform for that. https://hakshop.myshopify.com/products/usb-rubber-ducky Seems like it would be pretty easy to adapt to a USB power supply.
Re: New 100W USB 3.0 Spec Can Charge Laptops
#27Is the USB 3.0 still held by Intel?
Re: New 100W USB 3.0 Spec Can Charge Laptops
#2820v@5a! Nice! I can't wait to see USB ports instead of the 13.8v ports we currently have in cars. Sadly my 170w laptop still would need a separate adapter.
Remember that your laptop is unlikely to actually draw 170W at any time unless there is a fault (that it its supply's rated maximum, not what it is expected to draw all the time). Most of the time it'll draw a few 10s of W, maybe stepping up as high as 100W+ when at full tilt (CPU & GPU hammering away, cooling fans on full blast, display at full brightness, all disks spinning & heads flapping, active drives or USB-powered cup warmers in every available port, ...). If you have (or have access to) one of those plug-in power meters give it a try without the battery connected: you might be surprised how little power is being drawn most of the time.
A laptop's power system is essentially a UPS: if there is no (or not enough) power coming in from the main source, flip to the battery. This won't be any different for this use: as soon as it wants to draw more than is available it'll see the under-current and switch over. The smoothing capacitors will ensure it can stay alive during the switch-over just as they do when you unplug the charger normally. If it is a little brighter then at times it might be be able to draw as much as it can from the external power and draw the excess from the battery, but I suspect no laptop is currently designed that way (they generally either get more than they need or nothing at all from the external source, so trying to be clever in response to getting half what you need would be over-engineering).
Re: New 100W USB 3.0 Spec Can Charge Laptops
#29It would be unbelievably cool to be able to walk into an office with a laptop, and only have to roll out a USB cable from the desk in order to charge it. If there was some way of combining this with an ethernet port, all my prayers would be answered!
That is the basic idea behind docking stations
Yep, and the reason they work so well is that everybody has the exact same model laptop.
I couldn't care less what the standard is, as long as it's a standard and everybody uses it. 400-pin docking station connectors are not standard, and pity the fool who tries to change that.
Re: New 100W USB 3.0 Spec Can Charge Laptops
#30I'd be careful with these; it means you can't plug in an untrusted power supply anymore. Just imagine one of these cables also acting as a USB keyboard, which brings up a new terminal, adds an SSH authorized key and closes the terminal window without you even seeing it.
How often are you currently plugging in untrusted power supplies? ThunderBolt can chain a lot of different device types but I don't think it's a huge attack vector to plug in untrusted monitors.
> I don't think it's a huge attack vector to plug in untrusted monitors.
Yet. Give it a couple of years. The monitors are really smart now - many of them running code and have flash memory. The attack won't be directly by the monitor - the monitor will have been infected by malware earlier ... say, by an infected computer ...
Our devices are getting too smart, and our protocols getting too trusty, for our own sake. (Although I'm sure governments and other law abusers like the RIAA are raising a glass to each of these "advancements")