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USB 3.0 Promoter Group Announces USB Type-C Connector Ready for Production [pdf]

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Re: USB 3.0 Promoter Group Announces USB Type-C Connector Ready for Production [pdf]

#51

Post by rektide »

simcop2387 wrote: post #28
wlesieutre wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It'd be cool with a laptop, but it'll require an extra 20 watts (typical for a ~22" screen) to be sized into the laptop's power brick. Since laptops have pretty predictable power characteristics, the manufacturers don't necessarily give you that much extra. Would we upsize everybody's power cord on the off chance that 1% of people would use it? Or does "bigger power brick" become another configurable option, and user…

I think what will be more likely is the other direction. The monitor powers the laptop. Most laptops are well under a hundred watts and could easily be charged and powered that way.

Which is a great new other feature of USB Power Delivery: peripherals can provide bus power. This way you might have an external USB monitor (USB A/V you were announced 2011: where the _hell_ are you?!) that also provides power.

For a while it seemed like DisplayPort or DockPort might be the one cable to rule them all... USB PD seriously changes the footing of the game. Alas, USB A/V (encoded video to an output device) being completely absent is seriously damning USB's chance to be that one cable.

Re: USB 3.0 Promoter Group Announces USB Type-C Connector Ready for Production [pdf]

#52

Post by boyaka »

Lifescape wrote: post #6
mankyd wrote: post #2

> Reversible plug orientation and cable direction That's all I needed to read.

Now you only have to plug it in one time instead of three!

http://cdn.thedroidguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/USB-pl...

Source article actually relevant to topic: http://thedroidguy.com/2014/04/next-generation-usb-type-c-ca...

Re: USB 3.0 Promoter Group Announces USB Type-C Connector Ready for Production [pdf]

#54

Post by chipotle_coyote »

unwiredben wrote: post #29
melling wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Powering an external monitor from a laptop is appealing. One cord to the wall. Even cooler, would be driving an external monitor from a smartphone.

You've got it backwards... powering your laptop from the monitor is the killer app, meaning an end to proprietary laptop power supplies.

Well, you've got one out of two already. :) Apple laptops can be powered by Apple external monitors.

It'd be nice to have a more "universal" standard -- where I'm sitting at work right now I see one coworker with a ThinkPad plugged into an Apple monitor, and another with a MacBook Air plugged into a Samsung monitor, and that means both of them need one more outlet than I do. But that's a meeting of the brands I wouldn't hold my breath for.

Re: USB 3.0 Promoter Group Announces USB Type-C Connector Ready for Production [pdf]

#55

Post by X-Istence »

izacus wrote: post #33
deckiedan wrote: post #11

I'm not an apple fanboy - but I do really like their magsafe & iPad mini connectors (whatever those are called officially). One thing I really like is the lack of "sticky-out-bit" in the middle of the connector, which all USB sockets seem to have, and which always feels kind of unstable or weak to me. Is there a reason why all USB sockets - including these new diagrams - have a feeble looking centre part rather than…

Hmm, while Lightning connector is rather nice, I don't like MagSafe 2 at all... it keeps falling out from the connection, especially if I use the laptop on a bed or similar surface. The original MagSafe and the connector on my previous Dell M1330 were significantly more reliable while still providing enough protection.

MagSafe 2 works without issues for me, and is plenty strong. There should be no way that it is "falling" out!

Re: USB 3.0 Promoter Group Announces USB Type-C Connector Ready for Production [pdf]

#56

Post by Bud »

heywire wrote: post #44
deckiedan wrote: post #11

I'm not an apple fanboy - but I do really like their magsafe & iPad mini connectors (whatever those are called officially). One thing I really like is the lack of "sticky-out-bit" in the middle of the connector, which all USB sockets seem to have, and which always feels kind of unstable or weak to me. Is there a reason why all USB sockets - including these new diagrams - have a feeble looking centre part rather than…

The Lightning connector just seems so fragile to me. I haven't broken mine yet, but I have certainly seen a lot of broken ones on displays in stores. I can't say I've ever broken a USB connector. That said, there is something to be said for a reversible connector that doesn't require 3 rotations to plug in :)

Fragile? It's a solid piece of metal. You really have to try, hard, to break it. It's about as durable as it's possible for something of that size and complexity to be.

By contrast, for instance, the design for the connectors for most USB "SuperSpeed" drives right now is incredibly awful. Fragile (both the port and connector designs), only plugs in one way, and it's quite hard to see what way that is without giving it a close look.

Re: USB 3.0 Promoter Group Announces USB Type-C Connector Ready for Production [pdf]

#57

Post by seanp2k2 »

shawnz wrote: post #45
jcampbell1 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems like an RF shield on the male end is unnecessary. Apple's current iPhone connector does without it. I have no idea how they could see the lightning connector, then go and design a next gen standard that is across the board inferior. The Apple connector is sturdier, and has much more latitude for insertion angle. Surely Apple doesn't have a patent on a housing-less male plug. My guess is the housing serves mo…

Are you so sure that it is "across the board inferior"? I don't really know about the technical details, but the lightning connector is designed for pretty specific uses. Can it carry 10Gbps and 100W like this connector can? Perhaps the housing contributes to that ability.

Maybe not, but it can withstand multiple connections daily for 2+ years without failing, unlike the MicroUSB connectors I've had on my phones. Also, the connector is very sturdy, so it doesn't break off, even on cheaper cables. Additionally, I never plug it in upside-down, because there is no such thing.

This is a good move for USB, and I personally can't wait until these become the new standard :)

Re: USB 3.0 Promoter Group Announces USB Type-C Connector Ready for Production [pdf]

#58

Post by Bud »

rektide wrote: post #51
simcop2387 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think what will be more likely is the other direction. The monitor powers the laptop. Most laptops are well under a hundred watts and could easily be charged and powered that way.

Which is a great new other feature of USB Power Delivery: peripherals can provide bus power. This way you might have an external USB monitor (USB A/V you were announced 2011: where the _hell_ are you?!) that also provides power. For a while it seemed like DisplayPort or DockPort might be the one cable to rule them all... USB PD seriously changes the footing of the game. Alas, USB A/V (encoded video to an output devic…

Experience dictates that about 95% of manufacturers will be too cheap to implement that bus power on their devices, because it'd cost them 50 cents more. So it won't matter much.

Re: USB 3.0 Promoter Group Announces USB Type-C Connector Ready for Production [pdf]

#59

Post by Bud »

izacus wrote: post #33
deckiedan wrote: post #11

I'm not an apple fanboy - but I do really like their magsafe & iPad mini connectors (whatever those are called officially). One thing I really like is the lack of "sticky-out-bit" in the middle of the connector, which all USB sockets seem to have, and which always feels kind of unstable or weak to me. Is there a reason why all USB sockets - including these new diagrams - have a feeble looking centre part rather than…

Hmm, while Lightning connector is rather nice, I don't like MagSafe 2 at all... it keeps falling out from the connection, especially if I use the laptop on a bed or similar surface. The original MagSafe and the connector on my previous Dell M1330 were significantly more reliable while still providing enough protection.

As an IT guy, I see hundreds of these connectors on a regular basis, so I've noticed something...if it's falling out too easily, odds are that the port has picked up a small piece of debris somehow, and the magnet isn't getting good contact. Take a close look at the plug and the port and brush them out a bit, and see if that helps.
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