> Bug Bite Zapper
That's a problem that people need a solution for? To the point of packing an additional device for it when "traveling lightly"?
I'm a USB-C Maximalist
431–440 of 461 posts
Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist
#432I have made my peace with the fact that, unless I'm willing to replace otherwise perfectly functional items just to change the port, USB-C nirvana is a long way away at our house.
The Lightning holdouts:
* My wife and I both still have Lightning phones with plenty of life left in them. My 14Pro was actually replaced under AppleCare not quite a year ago, so it's nearly new!
* I have two sets of headphones that are Lightning: Airpods Pro and Max. Both still have great battery life despite years of use. If either failed tomorrow, I'd buy a new example, but I'm not spending that money without good reason.
* I have a full suite of Apple desktop peripherals (trackpad, mouse, and keyboard) that I swap in from time to time for variety. Like most Apple kit, they're all very well made and will last a long time -- and all charge by Lightning.
MicroUSB holds on, too:
* The battery charger for my bicycle's derailleurs is MicroUSB -- and SRAM still isn't selling a USB-C version, which is crazy. I could by an aftermarket one, but why?
* Likewise, the charger for my camera batteries is Micro.
* My bicycle headlight and taillight are both Micro.
* We have two Kindles that are both Micro.
All these things work just fine. The MicroUSB stuff is less annoying, since most of those things don't need to travel, but the Lightning holdouts are the ironic downside to Apple's generally high level of hardware quality.
Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist
#433Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah I have some devices that expect the manufacturer charger (I guess it's pre-negotiated to 19V or something) and I'm not even sure what was the point in giving it a USB C connector.
I have a couple of devices that are 12V over usb-c. The devices themselves are fine, but the wallwarts the mffr provided are just that - 12v over usb-c. No PD. If a device is expecting 5V, there's a healthy chance it'll .. stop expecting 5V. We blame usb-c for all this, but it does feel like some mffrs are going out of their way to screw it up.
Imagine if all USB-C cables had a patent owned by the consortium and an identification chip made by the consortium. The spec could require that devices would not use the cable at all unless the chip is cryptographically verified, and bad cable manufacturers could be sued into oblivion for breaking the patent.
The more I age, and the more I expect my devices to justwork™, the more I appreciate Apple’s pro consumer monopolistic moves.
Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist
#434I like my iPhone 13 Pro Max and I don’t want to get rid of it or anything, but I am kind of looking forward to the glorious day that it breaks. Once it breaks, any phone I get (iPhone or Android) will have USB-C, along with my laptop, with One Adapter To Rule Them All when I travel. That’s the dream, anyway. Life rarely works out quite that cleanly for me.
This is how I feel with my Airpods. Just break already!
I suppose we shouldn’t criticize companies for being “too reliable”…
Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist
#435Earlier quoted context omitted.
> 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 thought the same, but that'll happen with devices that use AA batteries too. I was using a cheap Panasonic EW-DJ10 water flosser that uses AA batt…
Inductive charging, like the often-mentioned-here Sonicare toothbrushes have.
Inductive charging doesn't help with non-replaceable lithium batteries that will eventually degrade past usable in maybe 1-3 years.
Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist
#436USB-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…
Older style? It’s still the case for the charger that came with my M4 MacBook Air.
Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist
#437Earlier quoted context omitted.
ABSOLUTELY DO NOT DO THIS BECAUSE IT IS INSANELY DANGEROUS buuuut... ... if you're hopelessly stuck without your cloverleaf charging cable you can kind of batter a figure-8 power lead over the phase and neutral pins, and you can probably find a figure-8 power lead more easily than a cloverleaf one. Don't leave it unattended or where non-hackers can get at it. Don't make a habit of it. This will get you out of a hole.
My favorite DON'T DO THIS method is plugging European plug in UK socket - using something like scissors in earth to open shutters for neutral/live where EU plug actually fits pretty ok. The other one is twisting US/JP plug pins so they fit AU/NZ sockets...
If it's one of those lovely old MK sockets like you used to get in the 70s/80s, then the earth pin doesn't open the shutter - it's opened by equal pressure on the phase and neutral pins. It takes a bit of jiggling to get the Euro plug to go in.
I keep both Schuko and UK kettle leads, cloverleaf leads, and figure-8 leads in my laptop bag, having been stuck before.
Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist
#438I think my only big complaint with USB C these days is that the sockets wear out quickly. The charging port on my motorola phone got so loose that I frequently end up with an uncharged phone after a full night of "charging", just because the cable's own weight keeps yanking it out of the phone. The phone is not even 3 years old. It would be nice to get a user replaceable USB port. Meanwhile, I'm not sure if those mag…
Are you sure it's not the cable? Theoretically, USB-C is designed in a way to prevent this exact thing from happening, where the springs that help retain the cable are in the _cable_, not the device. (This is a frequently toted-out argument about USB-C superiority over Lightning.)
It's definitely the port too. I changed the cable and the connection is still loose. Not as bad as the previous cable, but still bad..
Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist
#439Earlier quoted context omitted.
Cost, really? A 2m USB4 cable from Belkin is $20 (eg INZ004bt2MBK). You don't save much going to 4 ft, sadly. I find their cables to be pretty good (the TB5/USB4). They're certainly cheaper than Apple's. They have a soft rubber coating (not quite silicone) and a good bend radius. Compare to the super-stiff (but good) cables that Dell provide with their monitors.
Cost, really. I buy USB C cables cheap. The last batch were Anker B8752, came in packs of 2, were bought online as clearance items from Menards. They were delivered for free to the store that I drive past twice on most days. They work fine; no complaints. With tax, the individual cables were $0.55 each. I can afford to stock up on cables at that price, use them whimsically, cut them up for projects, and give them awa…
Arguably these are different use cases. Cheap fast-charge cables are usually limited to full speed only (linked ones included). For that reason they don’t meet my criteria, as you can’t interchange the charging cable for a data transfer cable.
I’m not advocating using USB4 cable for everything, but I also don’t want to bother testing cables when I can buy a reliably good one for twenty bucks. I’m sure a cheaper equivalent exists.
Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist
#440Earlier quoted context omitted.
Cost, really. I buy USB C cables cheap. The last batch were Anker B8752, came in packs of 2, were bought online as clearance items from Menards. They were delivered for free to the store that I drive past twice on most days. They work fine; no complaints. With tax, the individual cables were $0.55 each. I can afford to stock up on cables at that price, use them whimsically, cut them up for projects, and give them awa…
Arguably these are different use cases. Cheap fast-charge cables are usually limited to full speed only (linked ones included). For that reason they don’t meet my criteria, as you can’t interchange the charging cable for a data transfer cable. I’m not advocating using USB4 cable for everything, but I also don’t want to bother testing cables when I can buy a reliably good one for twenty bucks. I’m sure a cheaper equiv…
I hate every part of the concept of testing cables to find ones that work for [insert purpose].
But I love the liberty to use inexpensive not-quite-universal cables with great freedom more than I hate the former.
So since I need a bunch of USB C cables in my life, and I love using them freely, then I'm left with the following optimization: Special cables for special purposes, cheap cables for everything else, and testing them when necessary.
It's not perfect, but pragmatism seldom is. :)