4 ms·

It would be comical if it weren't so ridiculous. The standards group is surely aware of how ridiculous it is, yet they keep coming up with these idiotic names,

It would be comical if it weren't so ridiculous. The standards group is surely aware of how ridiculous it is, yet they keep coming up with these idiotic names, and then try to defend it by saying "its only the technical name, not the marketing name", as if that matters. They honestly just need to kill off USB at this point and just let Thunderbolt supersede it. Thunderbolt 4 and 5 are literally just implementations of USB4, except the Thunderbolt standards group is doing a hell of a lot better job at naming things and certifying cables than the USB group is.

redserk 2y ago
Regarding Thunderbolt, I don't even bother buying USB-C cables anymore for anything important. If it's in my backpack or used for a dock/monitor, it's going to be a Thunderbolt cable. Expensive? Absolutely. Unnecessary? Almost certainly. But I haven't had any issues with them whatsoever.
- Krasnol 2y ago
  I've been using USB cables since they exist, and I had never any "issues" with them. The only "issue" I had, was that you often ended up without the proper one when you needed it. Almost all the cables came with the device which needed it. Only bought 2 which were longer. What issues do you experience so frequently that it would justify investing more money into it?
  - Terretta 2y ago
    You answered your own question: Q: What issues do you experience so frequently that it would justify investing more money into it? A: ... often ended up without the proper one when you needed it That's precisely the issue GP solves by only carrying one type of cable, Thunderbolt. If you want to transfer data at top speed, render high resolution high refresh rate video, or charge at maximum wattage, TB4 handles it. One cable to rule them all, no surprises.
    - Krasnol 2y ago
      It rules them all, only if you are on a Mac yourself and have a Thunderbold cable. If you are on anything different and want to hook up, say a Studio Display, you can't use USB-C (below 4) and that is not USB-IFs fault. Besides that, what I meant was the connector standards mix before USB-C has become mandatory here, and I think you knew that. Other than that, all what you wrote is also determined by the devices connected, so this may be why most of the people out there don't even realize there might be a reason to buy Thunderbold.
izacus 2y ago
I don't think you thought your statement through. What you're proposing is a massive mandatory price hike on all hardware just because you're slightly annoyed by naming.
- twoparachute45 2y ago
  There's no mandatory price hike required. Thunderbolt is royalty-free as of several years ago, and at this point USB4 pretty much _is_, at minimum, Thunderbolt 3. For example USB4 hubs are, per spec, required to be TB3 compatible, so I don't know why we would bother marketing them as "USB4 v1.0 / USB4 SuperSpeed++ / USB4 20 Gbps / USB 3.1 Gen2x2" when instead they can just be marketed as Thunderbolt 3 or 4.
  - wkat4242 2y ago
    True but due to lack of slow speed fallback it requires active signal conditioning electronics in every cable and the required interfaces on the client side are also way more expensive in peripherals. A simple mouse would cost $100 instead of $10 for no reason, it'll never need thunderbolt speeds.
kalleboo 2y ago
Nobody is going to pay for a 40Gbps Thunderbolt cable to plug in their keyboard
- TheSpiceIsLife 2y ago
  Or ten for $1 off <your preferred Chinese marketplace>
  - lazide 2y ago
    Data rate between 10MB/s and 2 Gb/s.
    - josefx 2y ago
      Irrelevant for charging.
      - thrw42A8N 2y ago
        This kind of cheap cable won't fast charge in any case. Add a few dollars if you want that.
        registeredcorn 2y ago
        I hope I don't come off sounding like a twit, but does fast charging really matter all that much to people? I've had a few fast charge cables before, and although it's fine to have my cellphone fully charged in say, 20 minutes, it doesn't really mean anything to me, given that it will be left plugged in over night regardless. Perhaps it's more useful to people who are constantly traveling, but for someone who isn't, I guess I just don't see a point in it. Would I turn it down? No. Would I pay more for it? If it's greater than 2$ more, no. Slow charge is "good enough" in my eyes.
        fragmede 2y ago
        Laptops need the additional power that fast charge can deliver to run/charge.
Neywiny 2y ago
Agreed. It's fine as a technical name but the consumer name doesn't seem to catch on or even be referenced most of the time. I'm still having difficulty with component manufacturers saying "usb 3.2" which was far as I can tell is 1x5, 2x5, 1x10, or 2x10. Plot twist it's always the slowest one but still, the standards body could've done that better. Disagree on the replacement with thunderbolt, though. USB historically is very different, and it's USB4 that's a clone of TB3. Agreed the naming is better but a lot of micros have USB and thunderbolt would be ridiculous for them.
eviks 2y ago
How are they better with the same meaningless 4 and 5?
7bit 2y ago
> yet they keep coming up with these idiotic names, and then try to defend it by saying "its only the technical name, not the marketing name", as if that matters. I think it matters a great deal, but not as they or you intend. Having technical and marketing terms sucks! I use Ubuntu on my home server. And whenever I need to troubleshoot some issues with packages or want to upgrade to a later release I am confronted with those awful names. I DONT KNOW WHAT JAMMY IS! JUST CALL IT 22.04, 22.10, 23.04, 24.04.......! I don't want to memorize random names and remember when they where released. And name your apt repos in the same version scheme goddamnit! Same with USB! Just give it a sensible name and stop changing it for marketing reasons. Such a effing stupid thing to do!

redserk 2y ago

Regarding Thunderbolt, I don't even bother buying USB-C cables anymore for anything important. If it's in my backpack or used for a dock/monitor, it's going to be a Thunderbolt cable. Expensive? Absolutely. Unnecessary? Almost certainly. But I haven't had any issues with them whatsoever.

Krasnol 2y ago
I've been using USB cables since they exist, and I had never any "issues" with them. The only "issue" I had, was that you often ended up without the proper one when you needed it. Almost all the cables came with the device which needed it. Only bought 2 which were longer. What issues do you experience so frequently that it would justify investing more money into it?
- Terretta 2y ago
  You answered your own question: Q: What issues do you experience so frequently that it would justify investing more money into it? A: ... often ended up without the proper one when you needed it That's precisely the issue GP solves by only carrying one type of cable, Thunderbolt. If you want to transfer data at top speed, render high resolution high refresh rate video, or charge at maximum wattage, TB4 handles it. One cable to rule them all, no surprises.
  - Krasnol 2y ago
    It rules them all, only if you are on a Mac yourself and have a Thunderbold cable. If you are on anything different and want to hook up, say a Studio Display, you can't use USB-C (below 4) and that is not USB-IFs fault. Besides that, what I meant was the connector standards mix before USB-C has become mandatory here, and I think you knew that. Other than that, all what you wrote is also determined by the devices connected, so this may be why most of the people out there don't even realize there might be a reason to buy Thunderbold.

izacus 2y ago

I don't think you thought your statement through. What you're proposing is a massive mandatory price hike on all hardware just because you're slightly annoyed by naming.

twoparachute45 2y ago
There's no mandatory price hike required. Thunderbolt is royalty-free as of several years ago, and at this point USB4 pretty much _is_, at minimum, Thunderbolt 3. For example USB4 hubs are, per spec, required to be TB3 compatible, so I don't know why we would bother marketing them as "USB4 v1.0 / USB4 SuperSpeed++ / USB4 20 Gbps / USB 3.1 Gen2x2" when instead they can just be marketed as Thunderbolt 3 or 4.
- wkat4242 2y ago
  True but due to lack of slow speed fallback it requires active signal conditioning electronics in every cable and the required interfaces on the client side are also way more expensive in peripherals. A simple mouse would cost $100 instead of $10 for no reason, it'll never need thunderbolt speeds.

kalleboo 2y ago

Nobody is going to pay for a 40Gbps Thunderbolt cable to plug in their keyboard

TheSpiceIsLife 2y ago
Or ten for $1 off <your preferred Chinese marketplace>
- lazide 2y ago
  Data rate between 10MB/s and 2 Gb/s.
  - josefx 2y ago
    Irrelevant for charging.
    - thrw42A8N 2y ago
      This kind of cheap cable won't fast charge in any case. Add a few dollars if you want that.
      - registeredcorn 2y ago
        I hope I don't come off sounding like a twit, but does fast charging really matter all that much to people? I've had a few fast charge cables before, and although it's fine to have my cellphone fully charged in say, 20 minutes, it doesn't really mean anything to me, given that it will be left plugged in over night regardless. Perhaps it's more useful to people who are constantly traveling, but for someone who isn't, I guess I just don't see a point in it. Would I turn it down? No. Would I pay more for it? If it's greater than 2$ more, no. Slow charge is "good enough" in my eyes.
        fragmede 2y ago
        Laptops need the additional power that fast charge can deliver to run/charge.

Neywiny 2y ago

Agreed. It's fine as a technical name but the consumer name doesn't seem to catch on or even be referenced most of the time. I'm still having difficulty with component manufacturers saying "usb 3.2" which was far as I can tell is 1x5, 2x5, 1x10, or 2x10. Plot twist it's always the slowest one but still, the standards body could've done that better. Disagree on the replacement with thunderbolt, though. USB historically is very different, and it's USB4 that's a clone of TB3. Agreed the naming is better but a lot of micros have USB and thunderbolt would be ridiculous for them.

eviks 2y ago

How are they better with the same meaningless 4 and 5?

7bit 2y ago

> yet they keep coming up with these idiotic names, and then try to defend it by saying "its only the technical name, not the marketing name", as if that matters. I think it matters a great deal, but not as they or you intend. Having technical and marketing terms sucks! I use Ubuntu on my home server. And whenever I need to troubleshoot some issues with packages or want to upgrade to a later release I am confronted with those awful names. I DONT KNOW WHAT JAMMY IS! JUST CALL IT 22.04, 22.10, 23.04, 24.04.......! I don't want to memorize random names and remember when they where released. And name your apt repos in the same version scheme goddamnit! Same with USB! Just give it a sensible name and stop changing it for marketing reasons. Such a effing stupid thing to do!