6 ms·
whats wrong with usb-a? I feels more sturdy and less likely to have connection issues then usb-c in my experience.
by pa7ch 9mo ago
whats wrong with usb-a? I feels more sturdy and less likely to have connection issues then usb-c in my experience.
- lostlogin 9mo ago> whats wrong with usb-a? Which way up it should go.
- sitharus 9mo agoThe other way
- onion2k 9mo agoNo, the other other way.
- hexbin010 9mo agoIt's almost impressive that they designed a port that feels so wrong when you actually get it right
- lostlogin 9mo agoI worked in an IT department at one time and encountered USB-A plugs forced into Ethernet ports. It seems so unlikely that I’ve just searched it to see if it’s possible, but am getting no hits.
- fragmede 9mo agono, they definitely fit. They're just awkwardly exactly the right size that while you're trying to plug things in punched over under the desk and crawling around and feeling around the backside; it just yeah.
- lefra 9mo agoMy laptop has one of these ethernet ports that half close when not in use. It doesn't work anymore because someone mistook it for the USB port that's right next to it when distractingly plugging their keyboard in.
- flopsamjetsam 9mo agoThis reminds me so much of the old story about how a user called support to tell them their floppy drive wasn't working. When the tech got there, the computer had no floppy drives, and the user had been forcing the disks in the gap between the drive blank plates.
- schmuckonwheels 9mo agoPS/2, which USB all but replaced, solved this by visually keying one side of the connector as flat.
- gambiting 9mo agoAnd I have more than once bent the tiny pins by trying to orient the plug by feel, and it was a nightmare to fix it afterwards.
- 1718627440 9mo agoAnd USB solved it by having the logo on the upper side.
- rssoconnor 9mo agoWhen I'm trying to plug my PS/2 keyboard into the port in back of my computer which I cannot see, instead of needing to try two orientations, I need to try every orientation.
- estimator7292 9mo agoYou've never ruined a PS/2 port by rotating the plug to find the right orientation?
- thaumasiotes 9mo agoIt's very weird that USB-C solved the problem of "we can't tell which way to insert the plug" by mandating that both orientations should work, as opposed to just making the exterior of the plug as asymmetrical as the interior.
- asplake 9mo agoLess weird as they get smaller. Call it an accessibility thing if you like, but I think it's better for everyone and congrats to them. Isn't this what technology is supposed to do, make things easier?
- dxdm 9mo agoI don't find it weird. Not even having to work out a correct orientation is a great convenience. The micro-USB connection (or is it "min"?), which I need to fiddle with to charge some older gadgets, is a testament to how annoying an "asymetric exterior" plug can still be.
- lostlogin 9mo agoWith micro USB you end up with damaged plugs and ports in my experience.
- rounce 9mo agoYes, micro USB is far too flimsy for a lot of things it’s used for from what I’ve observed. The connector seems to have a lot of leverage for ripping its tracks off, but often not a great mechanical connection to the board.
- iainmerrick 9mo agoYou mean something like HDMI? If you’ve ever tried to plug one of those into the back of a TV, you’ll know it’s still pretty difficult to get it the right way up.
- thaumasiotes 9mo ago
- thih9 9mo agoWhere the logo is.
- lostlogin 9mo agoAnd when the port is vertical and you can’t see it? I’m surprised how tolerable people seemed to find Apples rear ports.
- deleted 9mo ago[deleted]
- silisili 9mo agoSimple. The third way you try, always.
- lproven 9mo agoMacro-scale quantum hardware: USB-A is a spin-1.5 connector.
- bmicraft 9mo agoThe side with the holes. That's true for 95% of devices, with one of the few major exceptions being cheap chinese powerbanks
- saagarjha 9mo agoWhich requires being able to see the plug.
- YeahThisIsMe 9mo agoAs with most plugs that came before it.
- saagarjha 9mo agoThey were not externally symmetric
- 1718627440 9mo agoAlso the side that has the logo on.
- wlesieutre 9mo agoOr if you’re plugging into a desktop where the ports are vertical
- bmicraft 9mo agoThere is usually still a concept of front. Most desktops if laid down would be laying on their right side (so the motherboard & cpu aren't upside down). From there you can still pretty easily tell how the port is oriented without looking.
- perilunar 9mo agoUSB-C is better than A in that it works in two orientations instead of one, but the correct answer for connectors should be any orientation — the best connectors are cylindrical connectors: barrel plugs, RCA, BNC, banana, phono, TRS, TRRS, etc. Just make them round.
- skywhopper 9mo agoMan, there’s nothing more satisfying than the feel of a quarter-inch TRS plug slotting in to a high quality jack. Truly one of the great plug designs.
- estimator7292 9mo agoWell, more like 1.5 orientations because we STILL have devices that only work with the cable in one of two valid orientations.
- echoangle 9mo agoWould it be practical to have a round port as a universal connector? USB C uses a lot of pins, how would that work? Like an audio plug with a lot of rings?
- perilunar 9mo agoI think it would be practical with glass fibre. Two wires/rings for power, and fibre for data. Something like a Mini-TOSLINK, but even smaller. Ideally the plug would be barely thicker than the cable.