8 ms·

I liked when we just had USB2 and all you had to do was try to plug it in once, flip it over, try to plug it in again, flip it over once more, now it plugs in,

by etblg 10y ago

I liked when we just had USB2 and all you had to do was try to plug it in once, flip it over, try to plug it in again, flip it over once more, now it plugs in, and now you're reasonably sure it'll work. And now the near-future seems to be full of dongles, shame.

colanderman 10y ago
You forgot the step where you realize it's in an Ethernet jack.
- lisper 10y ago
  At least if you tried to plug a USB cable into an ethernet jack it would be immediately obvious that it wouldn't work. In today's world the wrong cable will plug in to the wrong port just fine, and you can be scratching your head for a long time trying to figure out why it's not working. And, if you are particularly unlucky, while you are puzzling it out your device can fry. [UPDATE] Well, I stand corrected. It is actually possible to stuff a USB A connector into an ethernet socket. (You learn something new every day.) But come on, folks, telling the difference between a USB socket and an ethernet socket is really not that hard. You don't even have to look, you can do it by feel. But all these different USB-C/Thunderbolt ports are physically identical. They are literally and by design impossible to distinguish.
  - 0xcde4c3db 10y ago
    > At least if you tried to plug a USB cable into an ethernet jack it would be immediately obvious that it wouldn't work. Not necessarily. Ethernet jacks are often wide enough that a USB-A plug can be partially inserted, and it's pretty common to stack the two types of ports. If one isn't looking directly at the connector (common when dealing with the back side of a tower or docking station), it's a surprisingly easy mistake to make.
    - vacri 10y ago
      That's a problem that can be solved instantly with a visual inspection. Not necessarily the same for a protocol mismatch.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - snowwindwaves 10y ago
    I have accidentally put a USB device in my laptops ethernet port several times because the laptop is on the back corner of my desk and all the ports are on the back so the cables all go behind the desk but because of the proximity to the wall I can't easily see the ports. USB and eth are right next to eachother. Wouldn't have it any other way. Don't know what I will replace my T420s' with.
kevincox 10y ago
I agree, we are moving away from "if it's the right shape it's compatible" to "everything fits in the port but they also need to speak the same protocol to talk". This isn't completely new, a lot of non-standard USB hardware needed a driver (possibly in userspace) to work. However it is going to be much wider. I think we will need to find methods to advertising to consumers how to figure out if things work together. The single port solution is technically superior but there are definitely human disadvantages that I think we can overcome with a little work.
jzl 10y ago
"I liked when we just had USB2 and all you had to do was try to plug it in once, flip it over, try to plug it in again, flip it over once more, now it plugs in, and now you're reasonably sure it'll work." Ah yes, the old proof that USB-A connectors exist in the 4th dimension. :)
- wolfgke 10y ago
  > Ah yes, the old proof that USB-A connectors exist in the 4th dimension. :) No, it proves that USB-A connectors have half-integer spin: > https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spin-%C2%BD&oldid=722066029#Complex_phase https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spin-%C2%BD&oldid...
dingaling 10y ago
> try to plug it in once, flip it over, try to plug it in again, flip it over "logo up or to the left" All these old adages will be lost in Internet Time, like tears in the rain...
- innocenat 10y ago
  That doesn't really works when whatever you are inserting in is also flipped in the wrong direction. And sometimes it takes a long time to look for the logo (both side has different logo etc.)
jsz0 10y ago
> And now the near-future seems to be full of dongles That's not necessarily a bad thing. With the right dongle you can now connect almost anything you want to a laptop. It was just a few years ago that it was simply impossible to connect some devices externally or at minimum there was a major performance penalty.
_nedR 10y ago
Life pro tip : The correct orientation in which a usb-cable is to be connected is usually indicated by the presence of the usb symbol.
- mort96 10y ago
  Unless the people making the cable decided to put their logo on top and the USB symbol on the bottom. I have one such cable from belkin.
mcv 10y ago
Yes, having to flip your connector twice is a pain, but having to flip your drivers twice is going to be a much bigger problem to a lot of people.

by etblg 10y ago

colanderman 10y ago

You forgot the step where you realize it's in an Ethernet jack.

lisper 10y ago
At least if you tried to plug a USB cable into an ethernet jack it would be immediately obvious that it wouldn't work. In today's world the wrong cable will plug in to the wrong port just fine, and you can be scratching your head for a long time trying to figure out why it's not working. And, if you are particularly unlucky, while you are puzzling it out your device can fry. [UPDATE] Well, I stand corrected. It is actually possible to stuff a USB A connector into an ethernet socket. (You learn something new every day.) But come on, folks, telling the difference between a USB socket and an ethernet socket is really not that hard. You don't even have to look, you can do it by feel. But all these different USB-C/Thunderbolt ports are physically identical. They are literally and by design impossible to distinguish.
- 0xcde4c3db 10y ago
  > At least if you tried to plug a USB cable into an ethernet jack it would be immediately obvious that it wouldn't work. Not necessarily. Ethernet jacks are often wide enough that a USB-A plug can be partially inserted, and it's pretty common to stack the two types of ports. If one isn't looking directly at the connector (common when dealing with the back side of a tower or docking station), it's a surprisingly easy mistake to make.
  - vacri 10y ago
    That's a problem that can be solved instantly with a visual inspection. Not necessarily the same for a protocol mismatch.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- snowwindwaves 10y ago
  I have accidentally put a USB device in my laptops ethernet port several times because the laptop is on the back corner of my desk and all the ports are on the back so the cables all go behind the desk but because of the proximity to the wall I can't easily see the ports. USB and eth are right next to eachother. Wouldn't have it any other way. Don't know what I will replace my T420s' with.

kevincox 10y ago

I agree, we are moving away from "if it's the right shape it's compatible" to "everything fits in the port but they also need to speak the same protocol to talk". This isn't completely new, a lot of non-standard USB hardware needed a driver (possibly in userspace) to work. However it is going to be much wider. I think we will need to find methods to advertising to consumers how to figure out if things work together. The single port solution is technically superior but there are definitely human disadvantages that I think we can overcome with a little work.

jzl 10y ago

"I liked when we just had USB2 and all you had to do was try to plug it in once, flip it over, try to plug it in again, flip it over once more, now it plugs in, and now you're reasonably sure it'll work." Ah yes, the old proof that USB-A connectors exist in the 4th dimension. :)

wolfgke 10y ago
> Ah yes, the old proof that USB-A connectors exist in the 4th dimension. :) No, it proves that USB-A connectors have half-integer spin: > https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spin-%C2%BD&oldid=722066029#Complex_phase https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spin-%C2%BD&oldid...

dingaling 10y ago

> try to plug it in once, flip it over, try to plug it in again, flip it over "logo up or to the left" All these old adages will be lost in Internet Time, like tears in the rain...

innocenat 10y ago
That doesn't really works when whatever you are inserting in is also flipped in the wrong direction. And sometimes it takes a long time to look for the logo (both side has different logo etc.)

jsz0 10y ago

> And now the near-future seems to be full of dongles That's not necessarily a bad thing. With the right dongle you can now connect almost anything you want to a laptop. It was just a few years ago that it was simply impossible to connect some devices externally or at minimum there was a major performance penalty.

_nedR 10y ago

Life pro tip : The correct orientation in which a usb-cable is to be connected is usually indicated by the presence of the usb symbol.

mort96 10y ago
Unless the people making the cable decided to put their logo on top and the USB symbol on the bottom. I have one such cable from belkin.

mcv 10y ago

Yes, having to flip your connector twice is a pain, but having to flip your drivers twice is going to be a much bigger problem to a lot of people.