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Imagine they had made this dumb decision back when Micro USB was the standard. We would have never gotten anything better than Micro USB. Governments shouldn't

Imagine they had made this dumb decision back when Micro USB was the standard. We would have never gotten anything better than Micro USB. Governments shouldn't be in the market of mandating that a specific technical standards must be used as it freezes innovation. Also purely in terms of usability, the Apple thunderbolt plug is easier to clean and less error prone on insertion as it self-centers.

samzub 4y ago
It looks like they did at the time : https://www.engadget.com/2010-12-29-european-standardization-bodies-formalize-micro-usb-cellphone-ch.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANvj0L1eIxdN2UTp0Vz-fuqYEsN-vcv1N0G6TLR4zuZe4GyX1-7uRNhItuJmH9EaUskRp4c2ae5UCuScSb5dDgyt20jIO6uAhLIpnVZapD7BFNrNqolGkYNrXbON3qxulUS_vQDwMHeXIm_YamFpBV5iTtdUcF8EatRR2IqksF6S https://www.engadget.com/2010-12-29-european-standardization... I think standardization does not harm innovation. With more actors working on the same standard, it can evolve and get better while consumers are able to reuse hardware (here, phone chargers)
- mlindner 4y ago
  > I think standardization does not harm innovation. Standardization isn't the problem. Enforced standardization is the problem. Standardization is beneficial when done by the industry because it's a collaborative process where everyone works together to create standards that are mutually beneficial. When the government comes in and enforces an already created industry standard it becomes impossible to change or improve it. This has happened in many industries where things are now done "just because" as the law enforced a now very outdated standard. And no, the government doesn't create standards, they all come from industry originally.
nayuki 4y ago
Thunderbolt has the same connector as USB-C. Surely you mean Apple Lightning.
- mlindner 4y ago
  Correct. I can't seem to edit my post though.

samzub 4y ago

It looks like they did at the time : https://www.engadget.com/2010-12-29-european-standardization-bodies-formalize-micro-usb-cellphone-ch.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANvj0L1eIxdN2UTp0Vz-fuqYEsN-vcv1N0G6TLR4zuZe4GyX1-7uRNhItuJmH9EaUskRp4c2ae5UCuScSb5dDgyt20jIO6uAhLIpnVZapD7BFNrNqolGkYNrXbON3qxulUS_vQDwMHeXIm_YamFpBV5iTtdUcF8EatRR2IqksF6S https://www.engadget.com/2010-12-29-european-standardization... I think standardization does not harm innovation. With more actors working on the same standard, it can evolve and get better while consumers are able to reuse hardware (here, phone chargers)

mlindner 4y ago
> I think standardization does not harm innovation. Standardization isn't the problem. Enforced standardization is the problem. Standardization is beneficial when done by the industry because it's a collaborative process where everyone works together to create standards that are mutually beneficial. When the government comes in and enforces an already created industry standard it becomes impossible to change or improve it. This has happened in many industries where things are now done "just because" as the law enforced a now very outdated standard. And no, the government doesn't create standards, they all come from industry originally.

nayuki 4y ago

Thunderbolt has the same connector as USB-C. Surely you mean Apple Lightning.

mlindner 4y ago
Correct. I can't seem to edit my post though.