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Usbc.wtf – an article and quiz to find the right USB-C cable

usbc.wtf

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Re: Usbc.wtf – an article and quiz to find the right USB-C cable

#11
post #9

I love this idea! I do think the method of picking results needs a bit of tweaking. I tried the most basic case, charging a laptop with a C-to-C cable, and it suggested two Thunderbolt cables and a 5 Gbps cable, all of which are overkill (and less than ideal given their length limitations).

But isn't that part of why the standard is so terrible? Isn't the only way to get maximum power delivery over a Thunderbolt cable? You can probably charge a laptop over a standard cheap USB-C cable..but you might not depending on how many watts your laptop wants.

Re: Usbc.wtf – an article and quiz to find the right USB-C cable

#12
The quiz is simple and to the point, with no cruft, so the overall experience is pretty good.

But I have a (slightly tangential) UX/design question: if now you are compelled to remove the Next button from the question pages, how would you achieve it, without reduction of functionality?

For example, on the first question, which is a single-choice question, if you make it submit on-click, then the user would lose the ability to change their mind before submitting, which is reduction of functionality. So maybe you'd consider doing a swipe-to-submit (punishing mouse users).

Then you have multiple-choice questions. Has anyone seen something clever that is both intuitive and removes the need for extra travel to the next button?

Re: Usbc.wtf – an article and quiz to find the right USB-C cable

#13

The quiz is simple and to the point, with no cruft, so the overall experience is pretty good. But I have a (slightly tangential) UX/design question: if now you are compelled to remove the Next button from the question pages, how would you achieve it, without reduction of functionality? For example, on the first question, which is a single-choice question, if you make it submit on-click, then the user would lose the a…

Click to submit for single choice questions and keep next button for multi choice. Perhaps add checkboxes / radios so it's more clear which one is which.

Re: Usbc.wtf – an article and quiz to find the right USB-C cable

#14
While the idea behind it is nice, the number of possible outcomes isn't high enough to justify the complex decision tree the user has to go through. Here's a much easier way to represent it:

Amazon Basics standard USB-C – slow charging phones, connecting simple peripherals

Amazon Basics 100W USB-C with PD – fast charging phones, laptops, connecting monitors

Apple or Belkin Thunderbolt – connecting ultra hi res/high refresh rate monitors, high speed data transfer

Re: Usbc.wtf – an article and quiz to find the right USB-C cable

#16
post #15

Do you plan to use affiliate links? I think it's fine and if search engines like you it might even make you some money. Just disclose it on the site. Also: Please make the same thing for HDMI cables as well.

Not planning on it but if I did, I will make sure to disclose.

Re: Usbc.wtf – an article and quiz to find the right USB-C cable

#17

Recommending a 3ft thunderbolt 4 cable for charging my phone in bed isn't ideal. Length and thickness/flexibility of cable are also very important although the latter is harder to quantify.

I'll try to keep factors in mind for the future, each cable is tagged with it's capabilities and any cable that meets all the user's requirements just get returned for now.

Working on filtering out the unreasonable results.

Re: Usbc.wtf – an article and quiz to find the right USB-C cable

#18

The quiz is simple and to the point, with no cruft, so the overall experience is pretty good. But I have a (slightly tangential) UX/design question: if now you are compelled to remove the Next button from the question pages, how would you achieve it, without reduction of functionality? For example, on the first question, which is a single-choice question, if you make it submit on-click, then the user would lose the a…

I'm totally okay with clicking Next button.

But if you really insist, then do what @yreg says, but include big, BIG back button at the top. Bonus points if you can make it look like stacked papers on the desktop:

    ───┬───┬───────────────┐
       │   │               │
     1 │ 2 │ 
For the mobile in the portrait mode this is not the best option, but still could work if using vertical stack of cards layout:

     ┌─────────────┐
     │ 1           │
     ├─────────────┤
     │ 2           │
     ├─────────────┤
     │ 
NB Next button should be present always, even if it would be meaningless because you would advance on a single-choice question automatically. Thing is, sometimes things break and then someone would need to press the Next button.

Also you can use colour coding for multiple-choice questions by highlighting the Next button if anything selected, confirming for the user what they can advance.

And no, grey on white is the worst possible colour scheme ever.

Re: Usbc.wtf – an article and quiz to find the right USB-C cable

#19

The quiz is simple and to the point, with no cruft, so the overall experience is pretty good. But I have a (slightly tangential) UX/design question: if now you are compelled to remove the Next button from the question pages, how would you achieve it, without reduction of functionality? For example, on the first question, which is a single-choice question, if you make it submit on-click, then the user would lose the a…

I'm totally okay with clicking Next button. But if you really insist, then do what @yreg says, but include big, BIG back button at the top. Bonus points if you can make it look like stacked papers on the desktop: ───┬───┬───────────────┐ │ │ │ 1 │ 2 │ For the mobile in the portrait mode this is not the best option, but still could work if using vertical stack of cards layout: ┌─────────────┐ │ 1 │ ├─────────────┤ │ 2…

Love this idea, will try my hand at this soon.
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