7 ms·

God I miss the days when I could tell what a port was capable of by looking at it.

Dylan16807 7y ago
What ports are you thinking of? PS/2, parallel, serial, VGA, HDMI, DisplayPort, Ethernet, USB since 2001... they can all vary in capability. DVI might not? But you have to look really closely to make sure you have the right kind of DVI.
- mmastrac 7y ago
  DVI is a pain! Is it analog only? Digital only? Dual link capable? So glad that HDMI superceded that one.
  - willis936 7y ago
    Hmm? All DVI is digital (except for the analog vsync line).
    - azernik 7y ago
      DVI-A is an analog-only signal that runs over a DVI connector. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface#/media/File:DVI_Connector_Types.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface#/medi...
  - zvrba 7y ago
    Yeah, about HDMI... why did DisplayPort get invented?
    - akvadrako 7y ago
      higher performance, simpler, can be used internally and royalty free
- ggm 7y ago
  DVI had the plug-of-death syndrome. the cross-of-metal was mechanically about the worst design choice they could have made. (the wierd connector Sun used, which had three vaguely analog coax connectors was maybe worse) ok. truthfully, the sliding latch on the Ethernet AUI cut my fingers more. I hated that.
  - dramm 7y ago
    Ha. I hated that damn AUI connector latch. I remember giving David Boggs grief over that c. 2000? He said he thought it was a terrible mistake as well and I think the reason given was it was something they found/was the easy quick choice.
  - amiga-workbench 7y ago
    DB13W3? All the old Unix workstations had that video connector, my silicon graphics boxes need a sync on green compatible monitor, so just adapting that connector isn't enough.
    - ggm 7y ago
      Yep. thats the one. love that cable (not)
- Causality1 7y ago
  Yeah but with those you still vaguely know what the port is used for. I have devices with a type c and a micro USB port that only use the micro port for charging. I have devices with a type c port and a separate power connector that can charge over the type c port but only at 500mA. I have devices that can output video through their type c port but only when using a Display Link adapter which on paper needs USB 3 but the device only supports USB 2 data throughput.
  - mlonkibjuyhv 7y ago
    I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest that most of those devices are awkward eBay crapware?
    - Causality1 7y ago
      Nope. The first is an Asus laptop, the second is an HP tablet, and the third is my Oneplus 6.
  - Dylan16807 7y ago
    > I have devices with a type c port and a separate power connector that can charge over the type c port but only at 500mA. What a weird design, especially for not even being 900. > I have devices that can output video through their type c port but only when using a Display Link adapter which on paper needs USB 3 but the device only supports USB 2 data throughput. They did nonstandard video output on all kinds of previous phone ports too. But what part says you need to support USB 3 to support an alternate mode with video?
- Tagbert 7y ago
  Serial ports (RS-232) were one of the most variable ports ever used. Each device that you wanted to connect to a computer required a differently wired cable. Wires mapped to different pins, pins soldered together. It was a nightmare.
inopinatus 7y ago
I've been soldering, crimping, and plugging things in for forty years, and I struggle to think of a connector for which there is exactly one configuration, pinout, cable specification, capability and equipment compatibility for all its use cases seen in the real world. In my household, USB Type-C has in practice been a great simplifier. Less so at work, but still not more complicated than the multifarious uses of, say, the modular connector family, or the DIN series.
- fuzzfactor 7y ago
  There has just never been a large enough variety of connectors for each application to have an ideally specialized standard. Especially the greater number of pins, the wider variety of possible uses. But USB is only 4 pins. IIRC when USB first appeared on consumer devices, Radio Shack was still going, but USB was the first consumer connector that they did NOT have a do-it-yourself solderable or crimpable cable terminal for, nor any truly appropriate cable. And they never did appear as years went by. You had to cut your cables in half and splice them to appropriate extensions if you wanted to take advantage of the full 92 foot cable-length maximum under USB 1.
- maccard 7y ago
  I am less experienced, but my USB C experience has been less positive. Both my partner and I have USB-C phones, from different manufacturers. Both use different "fast charging" standards, and neither of the fast charging standards appears to work as well as with their respective manufacturers chargers (which as a side note are incredibly difficult to find replacements for). I also have a Nintendo switch, which doesn't charge with my MacBook pro's charger, and my switch charger doesn't power my MacBook properly. My car has Android auto, however the cable I was using would cut out if I played audio and used navigation, so I had to buy another cable from a different manufacturer (that cost the same as he first one) for it to work. I've gone from multiple chargers with different ports, to multiple chargers with the same port, and specific cables with tags on them, and having to explain to my partner that you can't plug x into y, even though they all have the same port. * Devices are a 2015 MacBook pro, an external GPU, a Huawei phone, a pixel 3, a Nintendo switch, two sets of wireless earbud. For those, I have 4 specific chargers, and two specific cables (3 if you count the moulded plug to the Nintendo switch).

What ports are you thinking of? PS/2, parallel, serial, VGA, HDMI, DisplayPort, Ethernet, USB since 2001... they can all vary in capability. DVI might not? But you have to look really closely to make sure you have the right kind of DVI.

mmastrac 7y ago
DVI is a pain! Is it analog only? Digital only? Dual link capable? So glad that HDMI superceded that one.
- willis936 7y ago
  Hmm? All DVI is digital (except for the analog vsync line).
  - azernik 7y ago
    DVI-A is an analog-only signal that runs over a DVI connector. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface#/media/File:DVI_Connector_Types.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface#/medi...
- zvrba 7y ago
  Yeah, about HDMI... why did DisplayPort get invented?
  - akvadrako 7y ago
    higher performance, simpler, can be used internally and royalty free
ggm 7y ago
DVI had the plug-of-death syndrome. the cross-of-metal was mechanically about the worst design choice they could have made. (the wierd connector Sun used, which had three vaguely analog coax connectors was maybe worse) ok. truthfully, the sliding latch on the Ethernet AUI cut my fingers more. I hated that.
- dramm 7y ago
  Ha. I hated that damn AUI connector latch. I remember giving David Boggs grief over that c. 2000? He said he thought it was a terrible mistake as well and I think the reason given was it was something they found/was the easy quick choice.
- amiga-workbench 7y ago
  DB13W3? All the old Unix workstations had that video connector, my silicon graphics boxes need a sync on green compatible monitor, so just adapting that connector isn't enough.
  - ggm 7y ago
    Yep. thats the one. love that cable (not)
Causality1 7y ago
Yeah but with those you still vaguely know what the port is used for. I have devices with a type c and a micro USB port that only use the micro port for charging. I have devices with a type c port and a separate power connector that can charge over the type c port but only at 500mA. I have devices that can output video through their type c port but only when using a Display Link adapter which on paper needs USB 3 but the device only supports USB 2 data throughput.
- mlonkibjuyhv 7y ago
  I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest that most of those devices are awkward eBay crapware?
  - Causality1 7y ago
    Nope. The first is an Asus laptop, the second is an HP tablet, and the third is my Oneplus 6.
- Dylan16807 7y ago
  > I have devices with a type c port and a separate power connector that can charge over the type c port but only at 500mA. What a weird design, especially for not even being 900. > I have devices that can output video through their type c port but only when using a Display Link adapter which on paper needs USB 3 but the device only supports USB 2 data throughput. They did nonstandard video output on all kinds of previous phone ports too. But what part says you need to support USB 3 to support an alternate mode with video?
Tagbert 7y ago
Serial ports (RS-232) were one of the most variable ports ever used. Each device that you wanted to connect to a computer required a differently wired cable. Wires mapped to different pins, pins soldered together. It was a nightmare.

inopinatus 7y ago

I've been soldering, crimping, and plugging things in for forty years, and I struggle to think of a connector for which there is exactly one configuration, pinout, cable specification, capability and equipment compatibility for all its use cases seen in the real world. In my household, USB Type-C has in practice been a great simplifier. Less so at work, but still not more complicated than the multifarious uses of, say, the modular connector family, or the DIN series.

fuzzfactor 7y ago
There has just never been a large enough variety of connectors for each application to have an ideally specialized standard. Especially the greater number of pins, the wider variety of possible uses. But USB is only 4 pins. IIRC when USB first appeared on consumer devices, Radio Shack was still going, but USB was the first consumer connector that they did NOT have a do-it-yourself solderable or crimpable cable terminal for, nor any truly appropriate cable. And they never did appear as years went by. You had to cut your cables in half and splice them to appropriate extensions if you wanted to take advantage of the full 92 foot cable-length maximum under USB 1.
maccard 7y ago
I am less experienced, but my USB C experience has been less positive. Both my partner and I have USB-C phones, from different manufacturers. Both use different "fast charging" standards, and neither of the fast charging standards appears to work as well as with their respective manufacturers chargers (which as a side note are incredibly difficult to find replacements for). I also have a Nintendo switch, which doesn't charge with my MacBook pro's charger, and my switch charger doesn't power my MacBook properly. My car has Android auto, however the cable I was using would cut out if I played audio and used navigation, so I had to buy another cable from a different manufacturer (that cost the same as he first one) for it to work. I've gone from multiple chargers with different ports, to multiple chargers with the same port, and specific cables with tags on them, and having to explain to my partner that you can't plug x into y, even though they all have the same port. * Devices are a 2015 MacBook pro, an external GPU, a Huawei phone, a pixel 3, a Nintendo switch, two sets of wireless earbud. For those, I have 4 specific chargers, and two specific cables (3 if you count the moulded plug to the Nintendo switch).