11 ms·

This was the case when the original USB came out first too. It took a good couple of years to mature. I think these are normal standardization issues...

Someone1234 9y ago
Difference is that when the original USB spec came out it wasn't delivering enough power to kill somebody, contrast that with today where a USB-C error could be fatal. See: https://www.theverge.com/2016/2/4/10916264/usb-c-russian-roulette-power-cords https://www.theverge.com/2016/2/4/10916264/usb-c-russian-rou...
- MisterTea 9y ago
  This is incorrect. The high power charge is 20 volts, below the safe threshold of ~50V set by such agencies as: OSHA, NFPA, ANSI, IEEE, UL, IEC and others. The real difference is USB was a completely new technology with zero market penetration so growing pains were inevitable. USB-C should not have these growing pains as they should have learned from 20+ years of developing the standard.
  - gok 9y ago
    There is relatively little risk of electrocution but 100 watts can still be more dangerous than 10 watts. Overheating and fire are a much bigger risk.
  - derefr 9y ago
    Is it really large, established manufacturers who are making these mistakes? Or is it random fist-time hardware entrepreneurs in Shenzhen? Analogy: we don’t blame Javascript-the-language-standard for the Node community’s constant (and usually half-assed) reinvention of build tools. Javascript itself didn’t cause that. More than likely, it was a glut of newbie developers joining the community—and building tools for one-another, rather than leaving it to the experienced people—that caused that.
    - nvarsj 9y ago
      > Is it really large, established manufacturers who are making these mistakes? Yes. Just read the NathanK or Benson google+ pages. Very few USB-C accessories are compliant - almost every one has some bug in its implementation, some worse than others. Apple cables are good, but even they took a couple iterations to get it right.
    - zrobotics 9y ago
      Considering this article is about the switch not being compliant, yes. Nintendo has quite a lot of experience making hardware, and they didn't get it right. Right now USB-c is a mess, and I'm not aware of any controllers on the market that are compliant and easy to use.
    - shkkmo 9y ago
      Yes, Anker had to issue a recall for a USB C cable that could fry devices: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/08/30/anker_usbc_cables_recalled/ https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/08/30/anker_usbc_cables_r...
- ko27 9y ago
  5V to 20V can be fatal?
  - lightedman 9y ago
    I can kill you with a 12V car battery at 8 amps clamped to your fingers, no problem.
    - wlesieutre 9y ago
      No you can't. It has the capacity to deliver 8 amps, but your body's resistance is too high to draw that current. https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Car-Talk-Car-battery-can-shock-you-but-it-1203143.php https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Car-Talk-Car-battery-... EDIT - here's some math: The U.S. Navy FIRE CONTROLMAN Volumes 01 - 06 & FIREMAN gives 1500 ohms as a common resistance approximation between extremities, either hand to hand or hand to foot, for an average human body. I = V/R = 12V / 1500 Ohms = 0.008 A 8 mA is not nearly enough to kill you.
      - FreeFull 9y ago
        On the other hand, if skin is breached, the resistance is quite a bit smaller, and it won't take too much voltage to cause a deadly current.
        wlesieutre 9y ago
        There's a story floating around the internet of someone having done by stabbing through their thumbs with a 9V multimeter, and maybe it's possible, but I'm skeptical of the story's veracity. I can see those wacky stories for a lot of situations, but you'd think with somebody dying that there'd be some kind of incident report or other documentation. But sure, it's probably best to not touch the car battery terminals when your hands are bleeding.
        lightedman 9y ago
        Ding, this person isn't thinking about how sharp those cable clamps are and how strong of a spring it has which can drive that clamp well past the skin. This is how we killed animals on the ranch I grew up on. I know very well what will kill you electrically-speaking.
- mlindner 9y ago
  False. USB-C cannot be fatal.
sundvor 9y ago
Yeah, agreed - those things never worked. It took something like a decade before it got properly reliable.

Someone1234 9y ago

Difference is that when the original USB spec came out it wasn't delivering enough power to kill somebody, contrast that with today where a USB-C error could be fatal. See: https://www.theverge.com/2016/2/4/10916264/usb-c-russian-roulette-power-cords https://www.theverge.com/2016/2/4/10916264/usb-c-russian-rou...

MisterTea 9y ago
This is incorrect. The high power charge is 20 volts, below the safe threshold of ~50V set by such agencies as: OSHA, NFPA, ANSI, IEEE, UL, IEC and others. The real difference is USB was a completely new technology with zero market penetration so growing pains were inevitable. USB-C should not have these growing pains as they should have learned from 20+ years of developing the standard.
- gok 9y ago
  There is relatively little risk of electrocution but 100 watts can still be more dangerous than 10 watts. Overheating and fire are a much bigger risk.
- derefr 9y ago
  Is it really large, established manufacturers who are making these mistakes? Or is it random fist-time hardware entrepreneurs in Shenzhen? Analogy: we don’t blame Javascript-the-language-standard for the Node community’s constant (and usually half-assed) reinvention of build tools. Javascript itself didn’t cause that. More than likely, it was a glut of newbie developers joining the community—and building tools for one-another, rather than leaving it to the experienced people—that caused that.
  - nvarsj 9y ago
    > Is it really large, established manufacturers who are making these mistakes? Yes. Just read the NathanK or Benson google+ pages. Very few USB-C accessories are compliant - almost every one has some bug in its implementation, some worse than others. Apple cables are good, but even they took a couple iterations to get it right.
  - zrobotics 9y ago
    Considering this article is about the switch not being compliant, yes. Nintendo has quite a lot of experience making hardware, and they didn't get it right. Right now USB-c is a mess, and I'm not aware of any controllers on the market that are compliant and easy to use.
  - shkkmo 9y ago
    Yes, Anker had to issue a recall for a USB C cable that could fry devices: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/08/30/anker_usbc_cables_recalled/ https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/08/30/anker_usbc_cables_r...
ko27 9y ago
5V to 20V can be fatal?
- lightedman 9y ago
  I can kill you with a 12V car battery at 8 amps clamped to your fingers, no problem.
  - wlesieutre 9y ago
    No you can't. It has the capacity to deliver 8 amps, but your body's resistance is too high to draw that current. https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Car-Talk-Car-battery-can-shock-you-but-it-1203143.php https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Car-Talk-Car-battery-... EDIT - here's some math: The U.S. Navy FIRE CONTROLMAN Volumes 01 - 06 & FIREMAN gives 1500 ohms as a common resistance approximation between extremities, either hand to hand or hand to foot, for an average human body. I = V/R = 12V / 1500 Ohms = 0.008 A 8 mA is not nearly enough to kill you.
    - FreeFull 9y ago
      On the other hand, if skin is breached, the resistance is quite a bit smaller, and it won't take too much voltage to cause a deadly current.
      - wlesieutre 9y ago
        There's a story floating around the internet of someone having done by stabbing through their thumbs with a 9V multimeter, and maybe it's possible, but I'm skeptical of the story's veracity. I can see those wacky stories for a lot of situations, but you'd think with somebody dying that there'd be some kind of incident report or other documentation. But sure, it's probably best to not touch the car battery terminals when your hands are bleeding.
      - lightedman 9y ago
        Ding, this person isn't thinking about how sharp those cable clamps are and how strong of a spring it has which can drive that clamp well past the skin. This is how we killed animals on the ranch I grew up on. I know very well what will kill you electrically-speaking.
mlindner 9y ago
False. USB-C cannot be fatal.

sundvor 9y ago

Yeah, agreed - those things never worked. It took something like a decade before it got properly reliable.