The USB "standard" is decending into chaos

[Sasaferrato]

Ah, I've never seen one of those.

We have the usual 2A chargers for the phones, but that is it.

My PC (tiny format) which has a Ryzen 7 processor has a 90W power adapter.

'kin 'ell, the adapters are pricey at 100W.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Ah, I've never seen one of those.

We have the usual 2A chargers for the phones, but that is it.

My PC (tiny format) which has a Ryzen 7 processor has a 90W power adapter.

A great example of something that will be USB soon. My laptop charges over USB, it's great, I can use the same charger for my phone. I can use the same ports to drive an additional display as well, which is pretty awesome.

 

[DaveCinzano]

another "the USB "standard" is descending into chaos" article I've not actually read

USBefuddled: Untangling the Rat’s Nest of USB-C Standards and Cables - TidBITS

USB-C was supposed to make connectivity easier. Instead, it has acquired a profusion of footnotes, exceptions, and labeling that can leave average users frustrated—and with the wrong cable. USB 4 and Thunderbolt 4 are our last best hope.

tidbits.com

Aww Shedsy, how did you know that I wanted a 9,000 word essay on cable standards for Christmas? You shouldn't have!

 

[Magnus McGinty]

PLEEEEEEEEEEEASE Don't say we have another standard to replace the current not standard standard. I can't cope.

 

[Sasaferrato]

PLEEEEEEEEEEEASE Don't say we have another standard to replace the current not standard standard. I can't cope.

My MP3 player is micro USB. My tablet is USB C. (Phones too.) My scanner is mini USB. I also have one of those odd cables for grandson to top up his iphone.

Oh, and the Chromebook, which is a 10" display, so a glorified tablet really, is an in line power supply, at 19V.

I think USB C is going to win, seems a more robust connector than micro USB.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

My MP3 player is micro USB. My tablet is USB C. (Phones too.) My scanner is mini USB. I also have one of those odd cables for grandson to top up his iphone.

Oh, and the Chromebook, which is a 10" display, so a glorified tablet really, is an in line power supply, at 19V.

I think USB C is going to win, seems a more robust connector than micro USB.

I have every iteration of every cable. And not enough of them. Everything that has a battery uses any one (apart from B, that tends to be for bulkier hardware) and the second hand market isn't going anywhere soon and the new market hasn't abandoned it yet.
Cameras. They tend to have some kind of USB connection and how often does anyone upgrade a decent camera? It's depressing.

 

[two sheds]

I've not actually noticed the problem tbh. I have different versions of chargers but they all seem to fit and do their job. I've even got chargers that fit different devices

 

[Magnus McGinty]

What grates the most is that micro USB looks very similar to USB C. So I can think I have the right cable when it's actually the wrong one. lol.

 

[two sheds]

yeh you try forcing it in though

 

[Magnus McGinty]

I've not actually noticed the problem tbh. I have different versions of chargers but they all seem to fit and do their job. I've even got chargers that fit different devices

Depends how much stuff you have. If you have a phone it's no biggie. But if you're running a film shoot with external batteries for all devices driven by different port types it starts to get a bit confusing.

 

[Epona]

yeh you try forcing it in though

My OH managed to bork his phone charging port with that sort of malarky... easy to mix up when you're tired and haven't put your glasses on

 

[UnderOpenSky]

It's the kind of nonsense it's meant to solve, but yes getting there may take some time.

I was quite impressed when I got a scanner recently that uses it as this kind of kit can often lag years behind.

 

[Brainaddict]

I've not actually noticed the problem tbh. I have different versions of chargers but they all seem to fit and do their job. I've even got chargers that fit different devices

Maybe you're well organised! I have three different usb types I have to use regularly, including carrying them around, and I often end up with the wrong one in my bag. And besides those three I have another three types that I sometimes need to use, one of which is unusual and only attached to one device so I don't lose it, but the other two types I regularly can't find the cables when I want them.

 

[two sheds]

I don't really go anywhere so yes I'm well organized in that respect All my chargers are on a table in the front room because I charge batteries once a month. Camera lead I keep in camera baglet, mobile phone lead stays on the table with the phone on charge all the time, two other similar white leads I've labelled.

 

[Sasaferrato]

I have every iteration of every cable. And not enough of them. Everything that has a battery uses any one (apart from B, that tends to be for bulkier hardware) and the second hand market isn't going anywhere soon and the new market hasn't abandoned it yet.
Cameras. They tend to have some kind of USB connection and how often does anyone upgrade a decent camera? It's depressing.

I'd forgotten my camera, it has a connector that is like mini USB, but smaller.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

I'd forgotten my camera, it has a connector that is like mini USB, but smaller.

Micro USB.

 

[two sheds]

There's also nano usb but you can't see them at all.

 

[Sasaferrato]

Micro USB.

No, not micro USB.

It is shaped like a mini USB, but smaller. It may be specific to the manufacturer.

A pic, the camera connector is on the bottom, micro USB on top.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

No, not micro USB.

It is shaped like a mini USB, but smaller. It may be specific to the manufacturer.

A pic, the camera connector is on the bottom, micro USB on top.

Ah, to add to the confusion there’s a type A mini and a type B mini and a type A micro and a type B micro.

 

[Sasaferrato]

Ah, to add to the confusion there’s a type A mini and a type B mini and a type A micro and a type B micro.

Fuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DaveCinzano]

Ah, to add to the confusion there’s a type A mini and a type B mini and a type A micro and a type B micro.

AS YOU WOULD HAVE KNOWN BY READING THE ARTICLE

 

[Sasaferrato]

AS YOU WOULD HAVE KNOWN BY READING THE ARTICLE

Genuine LOL!

 

[DaveCinzano]

AS YOU WOULD HAVE KNOWN BY READING THE ARTICLE

Fixed for Jacketboy

AS YOU WOULD HAVE KNOWN BY READING LOOKING AT THE PICTURES IN THE ARTICLE

 

[NoXion]

The only USB connectors I come across with any regularity are Type A, Micro Type B, and lately Type C, which I think is starting to replace the two former types.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

I do have a USB micro type B plugged into a portable USB hard drive which I forget about as it remains in situ. I’m relegating it to a backup drive soon in favour of another Sandisk SSD.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

The only USB connectors I come across with any regularity are Type A, Micro Type B, and lately Type C, which I think is starting to replace the two former types.

Supposed to be. My desktop has a token type C and my laptop has zero. Both bought within the last year.

 

[Sunray]

As I pointed out in an earlier post. Most peoples USB experience is still OK as its not higher power or higher speeds.
But if you start needing these, the whole thing has decended into crazy.

 

[Brainaddict]

Reviving this rant thread for another little rant. The whole world went to all the trouble of switching from micro USB as standard to USB-C, and in some ways it is better, but the number of times I just knock my phone a tiny bit and the charger connection breaks is ridiculous. How on earth did they come out with a new standard that is so woolly that knocking my phone two centimetres on the desk means it doesn't work? I realise that this doesn't happen in all my devices, in some of them the connection seems much more secure. But surely the point of a standard is that they should all be the same! And all equally good! Grrr.

 

[two sheds]

The whole lot could also have been made a lot easier to use if they'd specified that the top of the plug (and say the rhs for vertical sockets) had a white dot on it. It's better for the recent ones that can only be inserted one way but they're still too small to see reliably, and people must have tried to insert usb connectors wrong-way-up billions of times by now. I know I have

 

[Brainaddict]

The whole lot could also have been made a lot easier to use if they'd specified that the top of the plug (and say the rhs for vertical sockets) had a white dot on it. It's better for the recent ones that can only be inserted one way but they're still too small to see reliably, and people must have tried to insert usb connectors wrong-way-up billions of times by now. I know I have

As the icing on the cake, some sockets are made so poorly that you can actually put the plug in the wrong way round, and suddenly realise you're at risk of snapping off the tongue inside the socket.