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I'm a USB-C Maximalist

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Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#31

Post by jonhohle »

cestith wrote: post #17

I agree with using a single ubiquitous power standard for small electronics and electrics. That’s almost what USB-C is these days. We need better labelling of cable capacities when there are 20w and 120w cables that at a glance look the same. I was afraid this article was going to say one connector for everything when it said maximalist. If it had said to kill eSATA, SPF+, RJ-45, DisplayPort, HDMI, 3.5mm audio, and a…

For many things, though, a barrel jack is sufficient and doesn’t require the additional cost and complexity of USB-C. Barrel jacks have their own problems (is it inner positive or negative, what current is required, what’s the diameter of the inner and outer rings), but after that it’s as simple as it gets, both electrically and mechanically.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#32

Post by PunchyHamster »

flowerthoughts wrote: post #7

I'm the same. Though I still think they could have made USB much neater as a protocol, USB-C now does everything I need for goto-connectivity. I recently looked at the connector and reflected on how insanely small it is. It's no wonder it took decades to get to this point, and it's a very neat physical design at a great price. 16 pins and 10A in that little thing. Amazing.

It took that long because nothing it does now was ever a requirement. It was created as serial/parallel port replacement (fun fact - max speed parallel port is faster than USB 1.1, at ~2.5MB/s).

If we designed it now it would be up to 48V from the get go, USB-PD only (there is zero reason for static modes aside from fallback 5V for simple gadgets) and be just a PCIe transport . USB to HDMI could just be a single chip that does PCIe framebuffer device.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#33

Post by penultimatename »

nemomarx wrote: post #22
chaosharmonic wrote: post #15

I too am a USB-C maximalist, but with a handful of differences from OP: - You lose me at "toothbrush." I don't want personal care items that have internal batteries at all , because they'll eventually die on me while the device itself (brush heads notwithstanding) is otherwise perfectly functional. I'd much rather keep rechargeable AA(A)s on hand for that kind of stuff. (I still haven't found a good electric razor fo…

Why haven't phones just moved to have two USB ports? A slight convenience when you want to charge it in that you don't have to turn it around, you can have USB headphones and also charge, you could use more accessories...

Because the use case and demand versus the cost of engineering and manufacturing isn’t there. The market for USB headphones is minuscule compared to Bluetooth headphones.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#34

Post by j16sdiz »

> Using my USB-C cable tester, I can be sure all the cables I have can deliver the amount of power my devices need.

Wait until they discover off brand usb cable with incorrect e-marker.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#35

Post by freehorse »

joshstrange wrote: post #14
Onavo wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish there are easy ways to figure out the maximum current and wattage supported by a cable. So many cables don't label themselves except on the box!

You're welcome: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DYJL5Z67 This device let me categorize all my loose cables (and throw out the truly terrible ones). It was worth every penny.

Not saying this device is not cool, but one can also get this info easily in a computer, if you find out what to look for. One had presented a utility here some time ago with a menu bar icon showing this information

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47972511

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#37

Post by mikepurvis »

This year I grudgingly switched from an iPhone 13 Mini to a Pixel 10, largely to get the full integrated Pebble experience, but having USB-C has been a surprising and delightful upgrade to my home/travel experience.

For sources, I basically have an INUI battery bank and a 100W wall adapter, then everything is a USB-C sink: Lenovo X1, Pixel 10, Nintendo Switch, Sennheiser headphones

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#38

Post by TulliusCicero »

jonhohle wrote: post #23
chaosharmonic wrote: post #15

I too am a USB-C maximalist, but with a handful of differences from OP: - You lose me at "toothbrush." I don't want personal care items that have internal batteries at all , because they'll eventually die on me while the device itself (brush heads notwithstanding) is otherwise perfectly functional. I'd much rather keep rechargeable AA(A)s on hand for that kind of stuff. (I still haven't found a good electric razor fo…

For the vast majority of things I need to power or charge, dumb USB charging is fine, and I have a 10-port Anker “IQ” charger that works great for most of those things. Why doesn’t the equivalent USB-C charger exist? I don’t need 65W on each port. I just needs lots of ports for gadgets that can trickle charge for hours at night (4 kids, lots of devices). I mostly want to standardize on USB-C host cables, but no one m…

I'm guessing it's because people expect USB-C ports to at least handle 18w.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#39

Post by CharlesW »

eigencoder wrote: post #5

I don't like USB-C because they all look the same on the outside, but they're not all the same on the inside. Especially my cheap consumer electronics. Sometimes they will charge, sometimes they won't charge, but all the cables look the same, and you don't tend to know in advance.

> I don't like USB-C because they all look the same on the outside, but they're not all the same on the inside.

Many people don't realize that USB-C (USB Type-C) just refers to the physical connector. At minimum, speed and power ratings should have been required for any cable using USB-C at one or both ends. It's almost breathtaking to consider how the USB Implementers Forum has fumbled these kinds of basic issues over the years.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#40

Post by benoau »

jonhohle wrote: post #23
chaosharmonic wrote: post #15

I too am a USB-C maximalist, but with a handful of differences from OP: - You lose me at "toothbrush." I don't want personal care items that have internal batteries at all , because they'll eventually die on me while the device itself (brush heads notwithstanding) is otherwise perfectly functional. I'd much rather keep rechargeable AA(A)s on hand for that kind of stuff. (I still haven't found a good electric razor fo…

For the vast majority of things I need to power or charge, dumb USB charging is fine, and I have a 10-port Anker “IQ” charger that works great for most of those things. Why doesn’t the equivalent USB-C charger exist? I don’t need 65W on each port. I just needs lots of ports for gadgets that can trickle charge for hours at night (4 kids, lots of devices). I mostly want to standardize on USB-C host cables, but no one m…

> Why doesn’t the equivalent USB-C charger exist?

Isn't this just a USB 3.x hub?

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