Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I'm a USB-C Maximalist

shkspr.mobi

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

331–340 of 461 posts

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#331

Post by gorgoiler »

lstodd wrote: post #290
_jackdk_ wrote: post #282

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…

C7 is great advice. But also pack a short length of cat5 twisted pair just in case. When all else fails, it allows to rig up most anything.

You should write up and publish your notes on how to fabricate connectors from cat5 wire, in the field. It would be a hit.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#332

Post by ksec »

Had it not been Braun insisting not making a USB-C shaver I wouldn't have brought a Panasonic Lamdash Pro. But also thanks to that I discover Panasonic being better shaver overall.

The next phase I wish hotels all around the world provide USB-C Port by default with a few high power port of 60W Plus.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#334

Post by josephg »

_jackdk_ wrote: post #282

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…

If you’ve got one of the older style Mac chargers, the part which plugs into the wall physically separates from the rest of the charger. You can connect different plugs for all the different countries. There is a plastic seam where the charger separates. It’s easy to miss.

I’ve slowly acquired all the global adaptors for Mac chargers. I just bring a usbc Mac charger when I travel with the destination country plug attached.

I wish Apple made gan chargers though. Those look great

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#335

Post by imp0cat »

evanjrowley wrote: post #154

I used to think of myself as one as well but that's changing as of late. Looking back 15 years or so, I remember the old ThinkPad and Dell Latitude/Precision docking stations functioned reliably for as long as I can remember. Today I have a variety of USB-C and thunderbolt 3/4 docking stations, all of which have been affected by various issues. The the manufacturers of these things don't care. The latest casualty is…

The USB-C and Thunderbolt docks are annoying! It basically boils down to the fact that they come in two variants, with and without Displaylink.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages, depending on your port configuration, number of monitors and OS (the Displaylink docks require drive installation).

FWIW, on Linux, the best choice for me was a non-Displaylink one from Lenovo.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#336

Post by imp0cat »

radial_symmetry wrote: post #2

So many kids toys use custom brick chargers, especially remote control cars. I refuse to buy anything that isn't USB-C, I'm not keeping track of all of those.

Wait till you enter the world of more advanced RC stuff, that's when the Cambrian explosion of connector types really happens.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#337

Post by Someone »

cogman10 wrote: post #180
JoshTriplett wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'd much rather keep rechargeable AA(A)s on hand for that kind of stuff. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=rechargeable+aa+batteries+usb+c But in practice, I greatly prefer devices with integrated batteries, because they're more likely to be able to give me useful feedback about the battery level (e.g. a reliable low-battery indicator), rather than just winding down, or having a low-battery indicator with only a passing c…

> But in practice, I greatly prefer devices with integrated batteries, because they're more likely to be able to give me useful feedback about the battery level (e.g. a reliable low-battery indicator), rather than just winding down, or having a low-battery indicator with only a passing correlation to reality. That has less to do with the battery being integrated and more to do with different battery chemistries havin…

> Nothing would prevent a device from accurately detecting battery levels of NiMH batteries

Wouldn’t the NiMH batteries have to be smarter in that case, keeping track of their own historical behavior? That changes over time, and devices with integrated batteries can take that into account to indicate charge levels. If you can swap batteries, you lose that information.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#338

Post by milch »

josephg wrote: post #334
_jackdk_ wrote: post #282

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…

If you’ve got one of the older style Mac chargers, the part which plugs into the wall physically separates from the rest of the charger. You can connect different plugs for all the different countries. There is a plastic seam where the charger separates. It’s easy to miss. I’ve slowly acquired all the global adaptors for Mac chargers. I just bring a usbc Mac charger when I travel with the destination country plug att…

At some point my older Mac charger that I was using for traveling died, so as a replacement I got a few of these styles of adapters: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08YS7QHM9 (not the exact one I have - but you get the idea). I pair it with one of these: https://www.anker.com/products/a2687-anker-prime-charger-160... which is tiny for the amount of power it can output, which has been enough to cover both me and my wife while we travel. Many US plug chargers allow their pins to fold in, including this one, which makes for a fantastically compact setup when paired with that style of adapter.

Depending on where we are going and what we are doing, I also bring this thing: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08YDPB8RZ which is kind of an extension cord + USB charger + all-in-one converter as well. The plug is at a right angle and very flat, so it can fit behind furniture and such that straight cables can't.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#339

Post by milch »

DimmieMan wrote: post #198
Telaneo wrote: post #174

It's been a joy to not need to bring 3 chargers along when I travel. I think the only thing we're missing to make the USB-C experience perfect is cable labelling. It's unreasonable to make every cable perform to the max spec, but if we could standardise on some labelling or colours for cables that are charging-only, 480 mbit (usb 2 speed), 5 Gbit (usb 3 speed), 10 GB (usb 3.1 speed), 20 GB (usb 3.2 speed), plus whate…

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…

And somehow just because the store says it's 48gpbs doesn't mean that's true either... I have a cable that is explicitly marked as 48gbps, 8k60, 4k120 compatible and yet it frequently ends up dropping the connection. Swapped to a different 48gbps cable and it works fine. Funny enough when I display the negotiated FRL speed it's only at like 27gbps, so should have plenty of headroom.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#340

Post by MayeulC »

gumby wrote: post #219
Telaneo wrote: post #174

It's been a joy to not need to bring 3 chargers along when I travel. I think the only thing we're missing to make the USB-C experience perfect is cable labelling. It's unreasonable to make every cable perform to the max spec, but if we could standardise on some labelling or colours for cables that are charging-only, 480 mbit (usb 2 speed), 5 Gbit (usb 3 speed), 10 GB (usb 3.1 speed), 20 GB (usb 3.2 speed), plus whate…

I scan the emarker on every USB C that comes into the house and add a p-touch label. I chuck out power-only and ultra baseline (60 W/USB 2 cables) with no marker or resistors. Power-only cables could be handy when traveling as they are essentially a condom, but they can only charge slowly and I always have a better cable with me. I wouldn’t mind a PD aware charge-only device but inquire require some MITM circuitry an…

> I wouldn’t mind a PD aware charge-only device but inquire require some MITM circuitry and I’m too lazy to make one.

Just get an USB data blocker. I bought one off the shelf at an airport for 10€. This is the "condom" you are talking about, just a small dongle. Then travel with a fully featured cable!

I also use it to charge my phone at my workplace on the docking stations (which would be a big no-no otherwise). I think our IT provides them on request too, I've seen them advertise it.

Post reply on HN