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USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed to be reversible (2019)

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Re: USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed to be reversible (2019)

#521

Post by cyberax »

oblio wrote: post #391
cyberax wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's incorrect. USB-C design maximizes the device longevity by removing springs from the device that typically get worn down quickly. The cable is responsible for the grip. You do get a protruding tongue on the device side, but it's well protected.

I broke mine on a S21. It's also getting wobbly on 2 Essential Phones. As OP said, now those 3 expensive devices are mostly broken or at risk instead of the cheap cable. It's bad design compared to the Lightning connector, and I don't like Apple...

I haven't had any problems with dozens of devices over the years. What are you doing to your phone?

Re: USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed to be reversible (2019)

#522

Post by smoldesu »

scarface_74 wrote: post #515
smoldesu wrote: post #512

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hate to say it, but it's entirely PEBCAK to not select a Thunderbolt cable when they want DisplayPort alt-mode. It's why the damn cable and marketing even exists in the first place. 99% of people only care about power (and optionally data), so that's what the spec focuses on.

And you’re also proving my point. You don’t need a thunderbolt cable to supper video out….

Technically you could pipe compressed video over USB 2.0. It's not a part of the base specification though, so I don't see why either of these features are worth bringing up. iOS didn't even support class-compliant USB hardware until last year, so... it's interesting that you'd drill down on that.

Regardless, the fact that DP-Alt-Mode exists is not a refutation of the base USB-C spec. You're either spec compliant or you're not; same as Lightning without the license fee.

Re: USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed to be reversible (2019)

#523

Post by oblio »

cyberax wrote: post #521
oblio wrote: post #391

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I broke mine on a S21. It's also getting wobbly on 2 Essential Phones. As OP said, now those 3 expensive devices are mostly broken or at risk instead of the cheap cable. It's bad design compared to the Lightning connector, and I don't like Apple...

I haven't had any problems with dozens of devices over the years. What are you doing to your phone?

Getting unlucky? I'm probably a bit careless when plugging in but at least the Samsung failure is a disgrace.

A Samsung tablet is faring better, though.

Re: USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed to be reversible (2019)

#524

Post by oblio »

ilyt wrote: post #507
oblio wrote: post #391

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I broke mine on a S21. It's also getting wobbly on 2 Essential Phones. As OP said, now those 3 expensive devices are mostly broken or at risk instead of the cheap cable. It's bad design compared to the Lightning connector, and I don't like Apple...

My OnePlus 5T have 4 years now and connector is still fine. I suspect user error >Tt's bad design compared to the Lightning connector, and I don't like Apple... Lightning connector is significantly worse.

It's not. Their cables are bad but the connector is very simple to use and if abuse it the cable breaks.

Re: USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed to be reversible (2019)

#525

Post by leokennis »

MiddleEndian wrote: post #494
Ajedi32 wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had to do a double take after reading this comment to make sure I wasn't reading an old thread from 2014 or something. USB-C has been out for years now and neither of these predictions have come to pass. Your comment aged poorly before you even finished writing it. USB-C isn't without its problems, but neither of those are one of them.

USB-C has been fucking fantastic for me. I plug one USB-C cable into my personal laptop or my work laptop, and I get a USB hub for my external keyboard and mouse, my external monitor, and power, all with a single plug. Makes it so easy to swap everything in and out.

This is the dream indeed. However to make this dream happen I had to buy and trial and error 6 USB-C cables before I accidentally purchased one that carried enough wattage, supported the correct video mode, had enough bandwidth for 100 Hz video signal and that actually worked. The market for USB-C cables is a jungle.

Re: USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed to be reversible (2019)

#526

Post by fragmede »

aenvoker wrote: post #89
Ajedi32 wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had to do a double take after reading this comment to make sure I wasn't reading an old thread from 2014 or something. USB-C has been out for years now and neither of these predictions have come to pass. Your comment aged poorly before you even finished writing it. USB-C isn't without its problems, but neither of those are one of them.

I have a USB-C cable that only charges when oriented one way.

How did you discover that!?

Re: USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed to be reversible (2019)

#527

Post by fragmede »

crote wrote: post #450
lesuorac wrote: post #13

I know everybody is still on the high from USB-C but I'm still going to go on the record it will be one of the biggest disasters in cable history. 1) There's going to be video-only cables; low-voltage only cables; etc and this time everything is usb-c so you can literally only tell which ables work by testing all of the dozen cables instead of the 1-2 USB-As you have. 2) The connector is symmetrical but the pins aren…

USB-C is actually surprisingly tricky to screw up. For example, video-only cables are only possible if they have active electronics - so that means you are buying a very expensive cable which somehow doesn't follow the specs. I know Monoprice does make one, but it starts at $115 and it is explicitly marketed and labelled as video-only. Low-voltage cables are the same thing. All passive cables can do 100W using 20V, a…

> You don't just accidentally grab one of these out of your Box Of Cables.

Yes you do. You set up the studio and wire it all up, with all of the devices, and with the right $100 wires and $30 wires and $2 wires. (Along with $50k in equipment.) But then you need to move out for some reason, so you tear it all down and it all gets boxed up and loaded into a truck and then you have nowhere to set that studio back up so then you end up with a box of cables in your living room that then gets shoved into your closet. Now you have a box of cables, some more expensive than others and you are just gonna randomly grab one until you find one with the right ends on but now also the right innards as well which means you'll have to test it.

I am not looking forwards to looking at a tangle of usb-c cables and extracting the one that actually meets my needs. Still better than trying to pull a DB9 through, but still.

Re: USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed to be reversible (2019)

#528

Post by comprambler »

ilyt wrote: post #502
rusk wrote: post #413

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the first computer to ship with only USB ports I remember presenting this in a project as an undergraduate and I was challenged by the lecturer that it would be highly unusual for a consumer device to ship without RS232 and I could only say “yeah”

To be fair for very long time most motherboards had RS232 port on headers, just not on back plate.

Some pro workstation boards still do!

WX-X299-PRO or its newer cousin ASUS Pro WS W680-ACE

Re: USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed to be reversible (2019)

#529

Post by gsich »

lxgr wrote: post #174
gsich wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Firewire ports can be inserted the wrong way, if the material cheapens out you are in bad luck. Wrong polarity will most likely kill the other device.

> Firewire ports can be inserted the wrong way Hopefully only with a hammer!?

Normal usage will suffice.

Re: USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed to be reversible (2019)

#530

Post by crote »

carstenhag wrote: post #486
crote wrote: post #460

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There aren't that many permutations. Power-wise it is 60W, 100W (deprecated), and 240W. Data-wise it is 480Mbps, 5Gbps, 20Gbps, 40Gbps, 80Gbps. A simple power/data rating like already specified[0] is enough for >99% of cables. [0]: https://www.usb.org/sites/default/files/usb-if_usb_type-c_ca...

Except for the dozens of manufacturer-specific power ratings which are not PD-conform.

I am not aware of this problem existing in practice.

Chargers and devices of course have a wide variety of power ratings, but those are generally all compatible with each other. Just get a charger with a higher rating than the device and it works.

When it comes to cables, pretty much everyone just uses the standard 20V 3A / 20V 5A / 48V 5A cables. The only exception I am aware of is Oppo's SuperVOOC.

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