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I'm a USB-C Maximalist

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Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#41

Post by rogerrogerr »

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…

Re. toothbrush, I have to take the opportunity to give Philips credit for the Sonicare electric toothbrushes they made ~15 years ago. That thing just keeps trucking, it’s incredible. I go on 2 week trips and don’t even bring the charger, and have no worries about it dying.

It must have been crazy overspecced, I expected it to be a 5-year disposable piece of non-serviceable tech.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#42

Post by orphea »

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.

  Especially my cheap consumer electronics. Sometimes they will charge, sometimes they won't charge
This is not USB C's fault. It's the manufacturers who cheaped out a cent - or even less - on CC resistors.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#43

Post by kps »

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.

> Reads eMarker chip parameters in Type-C cables, providing detailed performance information (e.g., maximum current, voltage, data transfer rates) to help users fully understand cable capabilities and ensure safe, efficient device usage.

Good thing nobody lies.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#44

Post by joshstrange »

freehorse wrote: post #35
joshstrange wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

If I remember correctly, that application/your computer is simply reading what the device _claims_ it can do whereas this device tests it.

That app is probably a good place to start but I wouldn't trust it fully.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#45

Post by fl0ki »

I'm still driven absolutely mad by how many devices are being released in 2026 that refuse to charge if they're connected to a port that negotiates USB Power Delivery. They don't fall back to 5V, they just don't charge at all.

Devices like this usually come with an A-to-C cable in the box and that's a warning sign, but an even more twisted version of this is when they come with a C-to-C cable and a Type C charger that does not support PD. That's the only combination they tested, and that's your problem now.

I now carry enough adapter cables that I can deliberately take PD out of the equation just to work around these devices.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#46

Post by chaosharmonic »

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...

See, I agree with this too. You wouldn't have to worry nearly as much about the random little things that are specific to just one device or another (IR blasters, the DAC on old LG phones, etc) if you could just plug in a second USB peripheral.

But what I'm more getting at is the other way around: that wireless headphones will already have USB-C for charging anyway. And that, particularly for larger ones (that have that port directly on the device, and not in a separate charging cradle), it really seems like a waste that more of them don't leverage that -- so that, again, you could use the headphones while you charge them.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#47

Post by benoau »

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.

The thickness / durability of the cable is a pretty good indicator, if it's thin and flexible it'll only do basic charging if it's thick and durable it's because it's packing enough wiring to do power delivery, video etc, everything except probably Thunderbolt.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#48

Post by vablings »

I would happily be a USB-C enjoyer if manufactures stopped forgetting the stupid CC resistors meaning that you device will not charge with a C-to-C cable.

It should be considered a defective design and recalled, I have been burned several times by this.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#49

Post by [deleted] »

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…

[deleted]

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#50

Post by rootusrootus »

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.

Yeah maybe USB-D will get it right. But probably not. I had such high hopes for USB-C. Now I keep a couple USB-C to USB-A adapters lying around to force the charger (which is just a normal home outlet with a couple built-in USB-C ports) to speak old school USB-A charging instead of trying to negotiate PD with a shitty device that did not implement USB-C correctly.

Yes that's the fault of the manufacturer. But the wildly flexible spec for USB-C let it happen.

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