3 ms·

Those problems weren’t really problems at the beginning, though. USB 1/1.1 only had A for host connectors, and B for peripheral connectors. And people didn’t

Those problems weren’t really problems at the beginning, though. USB 1/1.1 only had A for host connectors, and B for peripheral connectors. And people didn’t spend much time hot swapping devices back in the those days either. Most peripherals sat on a desk and didn’t move much. The meme about always having to rotate USB came about more so in the days USB flash drives. And in the early days of USB flash drives the issue wasn’t plugging it in, it was that windows didn’t include mass storage device drivers! I think TRRS USB would have resulted in people confusing them with the much more common audio connectors and confusing host and peripheral. That could have killed USB from the start.

jacquesm 3y ago
That doesn't matter though. When you design a plug you take UK into account and USB-A is about as bad as it gets. I've never plugged in the connector to my headphones the wrong way around because there isn't a wrong way. And that's a design that goes back to ... 1877! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phone_connector_(audio)#Historical_development https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phone_connector_(audio)#Histor... There is absolutely no reason why you'd need to re-invent something as silly as this and do it wrong.
- kube-system 3y ago
  USB wasn’t a reinvention of an audio connector. It was a replacement for a dozen if not more D Sub and DIN connectors that other serial connections used. Thus the ‘U’.
  - musicale 3y ago
    Nonetheless as TFA indicates, the iPod Shuffle 2G+ magically crammed USB into the TRRS audio connector in a way that was reliable enough to work in a mass-market product. As others have noted the design is potentially risky since power and ground are right next to each other, etc.
    - jacquesm 3y ago
      > As others have noted the design is potentially risky since power and ground are right next to each other, etc. That's $0.30 worth of hardware to deal with though. Of course in mass market products such amounts really matter but I feel that the convenience and reliability factor as well as consumer centric thinking should allow for that kind of expense.
    - kube-system 3y ago
      That doesn't mean the design was a good idea for a universal bus intended to replace all of the contemporary uses of serial busses in the 90s.
- musicale 3y ago
  I have a couple of USB A cables that work in either orientation - seems like a design that should have been adopted more widely, though they seem a bit easier to damage if you step on them.
  - jacquesm 3y ago
    Interesting, that sounds like a neat idea, pity that it didn't see more distribution.
  - actionfromafar 3y ago
    Those have mechanical issues, right? Aren't those a bit similar to iPhone ligthning cables, i.e. it they have no metal "sleeve"?
    - musicale 3y ago
      They work fine and still have a metal sleeve, but as I noted they are slightly flimsier because of their design which looks like [|] with a thin bit in the middle. You can search for "reversible USB A cable" - there are lots of them available for sale. I assume the "USB Trident" logo is imprinted on both sides since you can plug it in either way. ;-)
musicale 3y ago
TRS (not TRRS) is also used for compact MIDI (and time sync) cables.

jacquesm 3y ago

That doesn't matter though. When you design a plug you take UK into account and USB-A is about as bad as it gets. I've never plugged in the connector to my headphones the wrong way around because there isn't a wrong way. And that's a design that goes back to ... 1877! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phone_connector_(audio)#Historical_development https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phone_connector_(audio)#Histor... There is absolutely no reason why you'd need to re-invent something as silly as this and do it wrong.

kube-system 3y ago
USB wasn’t a reinvention of an audio connector. It was a replacement for a dozen if not more D Sub and DIN connectors that other serial connections used. Thus the ‘U’.
- musicale 3y ago
  Nonetheless as TFA indicates, the iPod Shuffle 2G+ magically crammed USB into the TRRS audio connector in a way that was reliable enough to work in a mass-market product. As others have noted the design is potentially risky since power and ground are right next to each other, etc.
  - jacquesm 3y ago
    > As others have noted the design is potentially risky since power and ground are right next to each other, etc. That's $0.30 worth of hardware to deal with though. Of course in mass market products such amounts really matter but I feel that the convenience and reliability factor as well as consumer centric thinking should allow for that kind of expense.
  - kube-system 3y ago
    That doesn't mean the design was a good idea for a universal bus intended to replace all of the contemporary uses of serial busses in the 90s.
musicale 3y ago
I have a couple of USB A cables that work in either orientation - seems like a design that should have been adopted more widely, though they seem a bit easier to damage if you step on them.
- jacquesm 3y ago
  Interesting, that sounds like a neat idea, pity that it didn't see more distribution.
- actionfromafar 3y ago
  Those have mechanical issues, right? Aren't those a bit similar to iPhone ligthning cables, i.e. it they have no metal "sleeve"?
  - musicale 3y ago
    They work fine and still have a metal sleeve, but as I noted they are slightly flimsier because of their design which looks like [|] with a thin bit in the middle. You can search for "reversible USB A cable" - there are lots of them available for sale. I assume the "USB Trident" logo is imprinted on both sides since you can plug it in either way. ;-)

musicale 3y ago

TRS (not TRRS) is also used for compact MIDI (and time sync) cables.