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I'm a USB-C Maximalist

shkspr.mobi

291–300 of 461 posts

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

HDMI and display port are in a similar boat. Putting the spec on the connector would be so much help. Even purchasing them is a nightmare these days because everything says ultra super duper fast supreme and then the fine print says it's actually just 3.0 (or doesn't say at all sometimes on online storefronts). Multiple time's I've found myself in the store flipping around the box like a rubics cube trying to find th…

> HDMI and display port are in a similar boat. Putting the spec on the connector would be so much help. What if we just have different connectors for different specs? Then you'd know what supports what by what fits into the connection in the first place.

I have a box full of old SCSI cables that adapt between the various SCSI standards, it's pure hell. USB-C is a dream.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#292

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. The two fucking resistors. All it takes 2 x 5.1K, and yet, somehow, people keep fucking it up. It's not expensive or complex. It's just that somehow, no one thought to look up "how to add type c to your device" online, or ask an LLM, or put literally any effort into making sure the device works as it should.

Those two resistors cost money. It's not incompetence. It's a deliberate choice.

You're saving a fraction of a cent per device, while banking on customers not sending it back as defective because it didn't charge when they tried it with a random cable.

If it is a deliberate choice, it's a really, really dumb one.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#294

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…

You're probably missing out on the feeling of really, really clean teeth. Regular brushing never gave me the feeling of ALL biofilm getting stripped from the enamels.

[deleted]

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I went down the rabbit hole of cable testers, and concluded that that thicker and stiffer almost always meant ‘better’ support for higher speed and charge rates. Anything braided is almost always junk. I don’t have a requirement for anything over 90w though, so I can generally get away with using whatever I have lying around.

Braided works fine? I have plenty of Ugreen and others from Amazon, what matters is what's inside.

True, braided has absolutely nothing to do with the specs of the cable, but braided "feels" higher quality, so I suspect quite a few manufacturers think they can skimp on the cable quality because of that.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#296
post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I break about 1 USB-C plug a week. They are simply not designed well for real people who do real things in the world, including physical work, exercise, hiking, woodworking, biking, and the like. They are designed by someone in a corporate office who just never gets out to see the real world. Here's how the last few broke: * Phone with typical inadequate battery + external portable battery pack plugged in, shoved in…

There are cables with 90° plugs (cable to the side). Those are pretty robust, get the cable out of the way more reliably, and provide a much smaller lever for physical forces on the connector. They aren't the solution for everything, but they solve a lot of issues For everything else there are magnetic USB-C connectors

You can also get ones that swivel

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#297
post #185

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…

An electric toothbrush can never break: it can only become a toothbrush. You should never see an “Electric Toothbrush Temporarily Out of Order” sign, just “Electric Toothbrush Temporarily Manual.” Sorry for the exercise.

RIP Mitch Hedburg

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#298
post #97

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…

I break about 1 USB-C plug a week. They are simply not designed well for real people who do real things in the world, including physical work, exercise, hiking, woodworking, biking, and the like. They are designed by someone in a corporate office who just never gets out to see the real world. Here's how the last few broke: * Phone with typical inadequate battery + external portable battery pack plugged in, shoved in…

> shoved in together in pocket

MagSafe/Qi2 is ideal for this.

I can't think of any connector that would work well shoved in a pocket moving around. Had to re-solder too many headphone jacks back in the day, and anything that screws in would cause way too much leverage, probably ruining the small slim device.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#299
post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I break about 1 USB-C plug a week. They are simply not designed well for real people who do real things in the world, including physical work, exercise, hiking, woodworking, biking, and the like. They are designed by someone in a corporate office who just never gets out to see the real world. I do everything on your list. I also have young children who grab and play with things. Our household breaks 1 USB-C plug pe…

Fully ruggedized is in fact what I want and what I consider truly consumer grade. > which is not something you're going to get on affordable consumer devices Not true. 1990s connectors hardly ever broke for me. They were all super rugged. I've dropped several-kilogram objects onto VGA connectors, SCSI connectors, and DC barrel jacks and nothing ever happened.

I had the physical DC barrel jack port fall out the back of a monitor the other day. Granted that's not the connector per se.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#300

USB-C maximalism is great for travel. I personally recommend travelling with a USB-C desktop charger, but use one that accepts a IEC C7 ("figure-8") cable. Then, travel with only the cable corresponding to your destination (or buy one when you get there). That avoids having a wall wart that might not fit in narrow spaces, or whose weight might make it fall out of older sockets. I wrote about it a few years ago; the p…

That sounds less janky than my solution: US wall wart charger -> 6ft extension cord -> international adapter.

(If you want to overvolt an extension cord, make sure it's completely passive: no light, switch, or surge protector.)

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