6 ms·

Now I want a USB-C thumb drive that has different data on different sides. Like the old 5 1/4" diskette drives where you flipped the disk for double capacity.

Now I want a USB-C thumb drive that has different data on different sides. Like the old 5 1/4" diskette drives where you flipped the disk for double capacity. Using it for retro-gaming would be fun. When the game says "Flip the Disk" you flip the USB drive.

Theodores 6y ago
Given that this is the only practical application you have to wonder why we ever had the one way plugs in the first place.
- gumby 6y ago
  It was to reduce BOM cost. That is such a driver that there were (/are still?) cables without any data lines at all and only power, just to save money. I used them for plugging into public power supplies, but they were never sold to consumers labeled for that purpose.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
- chaorace 6y ago
  Two major reasons, as far as I understand things. Firstly, reversible plugs are harder to make structurally resilient, they only become feasible cost-wise as stronger materials become cheaper and manufacturing grows more efficient. Secondly, reversible plugs are a lot more complex. Compare the 4(ish) pins of USB-A to the 24 pins on USB-C. Not all of them are strictly necessary for parity with USB-A, but you could cut that number in half quite easily if the plug were not reversible! Sure, this complexity impacts manufacturing, but, less obviously, it also pushes that increased complexity onto the USB controller hardware/firmware. Neither of these issues were necessarily dealbreakers, but... for a long time they certainly did conspire to make reversible plugs into a pipedream. I have to imagine that were always bigger problems to solve and fewer resources to work with! We're just now seeing reversible plugs really take off because we've finally crossed that magic threshold where it makes sense to try surmounting those barriers.
  - MauranKilom 6y ago
    Assuming the structural issues are solved, isn't it literally as easy as doubling each pin in a 180° fashion and shorting each pair? What additional controller complexity would this lead to (assuming termination issues are solved)?
    - chaorace 6y ago
      I suppose there's no reason you couldn't do that. I imagine they didn't want to do that because cables (as a platonic ideal) should just carry signals from point A to point B without fudging anything. When you start to screw with that dynamic, you end up with lots of non-standard issues that people blame on the standard (I'm reminded of contractors jamming two 100mb/s lines through a single Cat5e cable instead of just switching on a single 1000mb/s line)
    - coryrc 6y ago
      That is exactly how usb 2.0 (LS/FS/HS) devices are implemented with USB-C.
    - lajhsdfhsdf 6y ago
      Not for high speed data (USB3.1 ++). The electrical length of the unused pins causes reflections in the signal. It's a consequence of the finite speed of light.
  - andrejk 6y ago
    Good story about that decision here (they did think about making it reversible): https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2019/6/25/18744012/usb-intel-ajay-bhatt-reversible-plug-port-cable-cost https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2019/6/25/18744012/u...
  - daniellarusso 6y ago
    Also, the circuit board can be made into a connector, which is not possible with USB-C. Lots of cool applications using that technique.
  - rubatuga 6y ago
- el_nahual 6y ago
  To me it's more baffling that a one-way plug would have a (roughly) symmetrical profile. Or even worse, the round connectors (like old PS/2 mouse/keyboard connectors). A one-way plug would be fine if the profile were sharply asymmetrical, to the point where one could find the right orientation by touch alone. Maybe something like an even more pronounced trapezoid than hdmi.
protomyth 6y ago
The 007 version would have data on one side and blank the drive if plugged in the wrong way or, well, blow up to provide a distraction.
- Yizahi 6y ago
  And sides would be completely unlabeled...
  - protomyth 6y ago
    go with slightly different textures.
    - olyjohn 6y ago
      Unless your USB-C port is what's upside down...
- franga2000 6y ago
  You need to do a certain sequence of flips in order to unlock the secret partition. Without that, it presents a honeypot partition. Any attempt to request a file in the "SECRET DOCUMENTS" folder discharges 220V of capacitors across the data pins.
m463 6y ago
what about an input side and an output side? One is Read Only Memory, the other is Write Only Memory (the holy grail)
- techdragon 6y ago
  Well this is a damn nice project idea...
yarcob 6y ago
That won't work because the detection logic is in the female side, not the male side. You could make a hard disk with detachable cable, though.
- progman32 6y ago
  Put an accelerometer in the drive!
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

Theodores 6y ago

Given that this is the only practical application you have to wonder why we ever had the one way plugs in the first place.

gumby 6y ago
It was to reduce BOM cost. That is such a driver that there were (/are still?) cables without any data lines at all and only power, just to save money. I used them for plugging into public power supplies, but they were never sold to consumers labeled for that purpose.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
chaorace 6y ago
Two major reasons, as far as I understand things. Firstly, reversible plugs are harder to make structurally resilient, they only become feasible cost-wise as stronger materials become cheaper and manufacturing grows more efficient. Secondly, reversible plugs are a lot more complex. Compare the 4(ish) pins of USB-A to the 24 pins on USB-C. Not all of them are strictly necessary for parity with USB-A, but you could cut that number in half quite easily if the plug were not reversible! Sure, this complexity impacts manufacturing, but, less obviously, it also pushes that increased complexity onto the USB controller hardware/firmware. Neither of these issues were necessarily dealbreakers, but... for a long time they certainly did conspire to make reversible plugs into a pipedream. I have to imagine that were always bigger problems to solve and fewer resources to work with! We're just now seeing reversible plugs really take off because we've finally crossed that magic threshold where it makes sense to try surmounting those barriers.
- MauranKilom 6y ago
  Assuming the structural issues are solved, isn't it literally as easy as doubling each pin in a 180° fashion and shorting each pair? What additional controller complexity would this lead to (assuming termination issues are solved)?
  - chaorace 6y ago
    I suppose there's no reason you couldn't do that. I imagine they didn't want to do that because cables (as a platonic ideal) should just carry signals from point A to point B without fudging anything. When you start to screw with that dynamic, you end up with lots of non-standard issues that people blame on the standard (I'm reminded of contractors jamming two 100mb/s lines through a single Cat5e cable instead of just switching on a single 1000mb/s line)
  - coryrc 6y ago
    That is exactly how usb 2.0 (LS/FS/HS) devices are implemented with USB-C.
  - lajhsdfhsdf 6y ago
    Not for high speed data (USB3.1 ++). The electrical length of the unused pins causes reflections in the signal. It's a consequence of the finite speed of light.
- andrejk 6y ago
  Good story about that decision here (they did think about making it reversible): https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2019/6/25/18744012/usb-intel-ajay-bhatt-reversible-plug-port-cable-cost https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2019/6/25/18744012/u...
- daniellarusso 6y ago
  Also, the circuit board can be made into a connector, which is not possible with USB-C. Lots of cool applications using that technique.
- rubatuga 6y ago
el_nahual 6y ago
To me it's more baffling that a one-way plug would have a (roughly) symmetrical profile. Or even worse, the round connectors (like old PS/2 mouse/keyboard connectors). A one-way plug would be fine if the profile were sharply asymmetrical, to the point where one could find the right orientation by touch alone. Maybe something like an even more pronounced trapezoid than hdmi.

protomyth 6y ago

The 007 version would have data on one side and blank the drive if plugged in the wrong way or, well, blow up to provide a distraction.

Yizahi 6y ago
And sides would be completely unlabeled...
- protomyth 6y ago
  go with slightly different textures.
  - olyjohn 6y ago
    Unless your USB-C port is what's upside down...
franga2000 6y ago
You need to do a certain sequence of flips in order to unlock the secret partition. Without that, it presents a honeypot partition. Any attempt to request a file in the "SECRET DOCUMENTS" folder discharges 220V of capacitors across the data pins.

m463 6y ago

what about an input side and an output side? One is Read Only Memory, the other is Write Only Memory (the holy grail)

techdragon 6y ago
Well this is a damn nice project idea...

yarcob 6y ago

That won't work because the detection logic is in the female side, not the male side. You could make a hard disk with detachable cable, though.

progman32 6y ago
Put an accelerometer in the drive!

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]