5 ms·

I think people really need to think about USB Type A in the context of the connectors it was 'competing' with: DSUB9 (VGA), RS-232 (serial), DB-25 (parallel), P

I think people really need to think about USB Type A in the context of the connectors it was 'competing' with: DSUB9 (VGA), RS-232 (serial), DB-25 (parallel), PS/2 (keyboard/mouse). These were, by modern standards, complete garbage connectors. Huge. Didn't stay plugged in securely unless the connector had screws. Only went one way. USB 1 stayed plugged in, required no screws, had higher bandwidth than any data port you'd find on a typical PC, the wires were much thinner, and it could even power low power devices! Yes, a design that doesn't take three tries (my average) to get right would be nice, but it exceeded every existing port by miles. Audio jacks were the only ports that didn't have a direction back then.

Findecanor 3y ago
Also, those older plugs were more or less not hot-pluggable. The computer had to be off (really off, not standby) before you plugged/unplugged a cable, or you'd risk damaging the port and/or the device. The only exception I know of is that Apple Desktop Bus (mini-DIN) had been designed (by Woz !) to be supposed to be hot-pluggable but Apple cheaped out on overcurrent protection so it never was. Edit: I forgot: in a MIDI connection there is an opto-coupler behind the receiving end, to electrically separate devices.
NegativeK 3y ago
The idea of trying to plug a serial, parallel, or VGA cable into a computer blindly seems hilariously unlikely. And I distinctly remember getting excited about upgrading to a motherboard that supported USB for the hot-pluggability. I was overexcited, but still.
perilunar 3y ago
> Audio jacks were the only ports that didn't have a direction back then. On computers perhaps. There were plenty of round connectors in other uses though, e.g. Edison screw, Belling-Lee (TV/FM connectors), RCA, BNC, type C and type N RF, TOSLINK, etc. Most of those wouldn't have been much use for a computer serial port though. Something like TOSLINK, with power and optic fibre would have been great. Too expensive at the time I think. But a round TRRP-style jack would have worked and been cheap. Agree that USB-A was much better than the existing alternatives though.

Findecanor 3y ago

Also, those older plugs were more or less not hot-pluggable. The computer had to be off (really off, not standby) before you plugged/unplugged a cable, or you'd risk damaging the port and/or the device. The only exception I know of is that Apple Desktop Bus (mini-DIN) had been designed (by Woz !) to be supposed to be hot-pluggable but Apple cheaped out on overcurrent protection so it never was. Edit: I forgot: in a MIDI connection there is an opto-coupler behind the receiving end, to electrically separate devices.

NegativeK 3y ago

The idea of trying to plug a serial, parallel, or VGA cable into a computer blindly seems hilariously unlikely. And I distinctly remember getting excited about upgrading to a motherboard that supported USB for the hot-pluggability. I was overexcited, but still.

perilunar 3y ago

> Audio jacks were the only ports that didn't have a direction back then. On computers perhaps. There were plenty of round connectors in other uses though, e.g. Edison screw, Belling-Lee (TV/FM connectors), RCA, BNC, type C and type N RF, TOSLINK, etc. Most of those wouldn't have been much use for a computer serial port though. Something like TOSLINK, with power and optic fibre would have been great. Too expensive at the time I think. But a round TRRP-style jack would have worked and been cheap. Agree that USB-A was much better than the existing alternatives though.