4 ms·

At the risk of sounding like I'm making a parody of an XKCD comic -- https://xkcd.com/927/ https://xkcd.com/927/ -- there does need to be a new standard physica

by mikece 7y ago

At the risk of sounding like I'm making a parody of an XKCD comic -- https://xkcd.com/927/ https://xkcd.com/927/ -- there does need to be a new standard physical connection that's compliant with TB3 and at least 100W PD. Then USB-C can be for backward compatibility and the new connection (USB-D? TD3PD?) can be future-looking only: no legacy support.

kevin_thibedeau 7y ago
I don't honestly know why anyone would design a product that used 100W via USB. Even without the issue of dodgy cables, it just sounds like a bad idea and a solution to a problem that shouldn't exist. If I ever ran across such a product I would question their other engineering decisions and pass on the purchase.
- wmf 7y ago
  This is used for charging laptops. Personally, I love having a single cable for power, USB, and DisplayPort.
  - txcwpalpha 7y ago
    I personally also really love that I can charge my phone and my laptop with the same cable (I have a phone with USB-C that uses PD along with a 2016 MacBook Pro). It makes cable management much simpler, and I find it invaluable that when traveling I only need to bring one single charger with me.
    - izacus 7y ago
      Yep, it's great - my laptop, headphones, tablet and phone all have the same charging port. Even more, I can use many of the same MacBook dongles on my phone (including HDMI and mouse) to connect it to TVs.
  - AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
    You ever wonder what the purpose of keying connectors is? I'm curious, because it's one of those time-tested ways to ensure that things get plugged into the correct ports and avoid costly accidents. Really simple too. Why on earth is a standard as ridiculously complicated as USB-C a better idea? What is the practical value of an "everything" connector when its spec is so complicated that it really doesn't support "everything" at all?
    - derekp7 7y ago
      For low volume production items, the plastics are more costly to design than the electronics. Therefore laptop docking stations are expensive to manufacture, especially as they are in use by only a subset of users. By converting to a docking station that requires a simple small plug for everything, that makes them much cheaper. Instead of making a huge chunk of plastic that the laptop has to click into.
      - AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
        That explains why laptops should have a standardized "docking station" port, not why that port needs to also support literally everything that runs on electricity with the ability to also channel high-current power in both directions.
        Dylan16807 7y ago
        What's your threshold for "high-current"? USB ports have been delivering about two amps for a decade, and most USB laptop chargers cap at three amps. Even the absolute max of five isn't much higher.
    - baq 7y ago
      because when it does it's magic. you connect one cable to a dock and your laptop becomes a desktop.
      - AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
  - AdrianB1 7y ago
    Most laptop chargers are 65W, some are 95W, I haven't seen one over 100W. USB-C Power Delivery can do 100W (20V, 5A). More than 100W for the 1 in a million user is not the target of USB consortium.
    - Dylan16807 7y ago
      Gaming laptop chargers often approach 200 watts. So it's uncommon but a lot more than one in a million.
- skybrian 7y ago
  I don't know but I did a search: "Power adapters for Mac notebooks are available in 29W, 30W, 45W, 60W, 61W, 85W, and 87W varieties." [1] Maybe you'd want your laptop to power external monitors via the other USB-C ports? [1] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201700 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201700
wmf 7y ago
You could call it RichPort since the cables will be over $30 and the ports will only by found on >$1,000 Macs. I remember the old Firewire days and it was certainly simple but I don't know if the ecosystem was better overall.

by mikece 7y ago

kevin_thibedeau 7y ago

I don't honestly know why anyone would design a product that used 100W via USB. Even without the issue of dodgy cables, it just sounds like a bad idea and a solution to a problem that shouldn't exist. If I ever ran across such a product I would question their other engineering decisions and pass on the purchase.

wmf 7y ago
This is used for charging laptops. Personally, I love having a single cable for power, USB, and DisplayPort.
- txcwpalpha 7y ago
  I personally also really love that I can charge my phone and my laptop with the same cable (I have a phone with USB-C that uses PD along with a 2016 MacBook Pro). It makes cable management much simpler, and I find it invaluable that when traveling I only need to bring one single charger with me.
  - izacus 7y ago
    Yep, it's great - my laptop, headphones, tablet and phone all have the same charging port. Even more, I can use many of the same MacBook dongles on my phone (including HDMI and mouse) to connect it to TVs.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
  You ever wonder what the purpose of keying connectors is? I'm curious, because it's one of those time-tested ways to ensure that things get plugged into the correct ports and avoid costly accidents. Really simple too. Why on earth is a standard as ridiculously complicated as USB-C a better idea? What is the practical value of an "everything" connector when its spec is so complicated that it really doesn't support "everything" at all?
  - derekp7 7y ago
    For low volume production items, the plastics are more costly to design than the electronics. Therefore laptop docking stations are expensive to manufacture, especially as they are in use by only a subset of users. By converting to a docking station that requires a simple small plug for everything, that makes them much cheaper. Instead of making a huge chunk of plastic that the laptop has to click into.
    - AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
      That explains why laptops should have a standardized "docking station" port, not why that port needs to also support literally everything that runs on electricity with the ability to also channel high-current power in both directions.
      - Dylan16807 7y ago
        What's your threshold for "high-current"? USB ports have been delivering about two amps for a decade, and most USB laptop chargers cap at three amps. Even the absolute max of five isn't much higher.
  - baq 7y ago
    because when it does it's magic. you connect one cable to a dock and your laptop becomes a desktop.
    - AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
- AdrianB1 7y ago
  Most laptop chargers are 65W, some are 95W, I haven't seen one over 100W. USB-C Power Delivery can do 100W (20V, 5A). More than 100W for the 1 in a million user is not the target of USB consortium.
  - Dylan16807 7y ago
    Gaming laptop chargers often approach 200 watts. So it's uncommon but a lot more than one in a million.
skybrian 7y ago
I don't know but I did a search: "Power adapters for Mac notebooks are available in 29W, 30W, 45W, 60W, 61W, 85W, and 87W varieties." [1] Maybe you'd want your laptop to power external monitors via the other USB-C ports? [1] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201700 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201700

wmf 7y ago

You could call it RichPort since the cables will be over $30 and the ports will only by found on >$1,000 Macs. I remember the old Firewire days and it was certainly simple but I don't know if the ecosystem was better overall.