4 ms·

IANAL, so maybe someone who is can comment: surely this is flat-out illegal? The vendor claims that 1.'All audio cables are 'directional' 2.'When insulation

IANAL, so maybe someone who is can comment: surely this is flat-out illegal? The vendor claims that 1.'All audio cables are 'directional' 2.'When insulation is unbiased, it slows down parts of the signal differently, a big problem for very time-sensitive multi-octave audio.' That's two verifiably untrue or misleading statements with reference to a data cable, putting all subjective sound-quality fluff aside. Puts me in mind of the claims of homeopaths, etc. https://www.gov.uk/marketing-advertising-law/regulations-that-affect-advertising https://www.gov.uk/marketing-advertising-law/regulations-tha... http://www.cap.org.uk/Advertising-Codes/Non-Broadcast/CodeItem.aspx?cscid=%7B61a03caa-6750-498d-8732-68d55c0752fd%7D#.VNeI23746K0 http://www.cap.org.uk/Advertising-Codes/Non-Broadcast/CodeIt...

gcb0 12y ago
they thrive on indiference. you know how nigerian scams are badly written and full of typos to avoid anyone with half a brain? well, audiophile scams put on a price tag like that for the same reason.
JshWright 12y ago
> 1.'All audio cables are 'directional' I have actually used this claim for less evil purposes in the past... I spent my summers in high school working phone support for a university. This was back in the day when people brought desktop computers with them to school and plugged them into the wall with an ethernet cable... Many of the issues folks had getting connected could be solved by reseating the ethernet cable (either it was poorly seated in the first place, or the process of unplugging it and plugging it back in caused the NIC to reset some stuck bit of the driver). Unfortunately, it was quite common for folks to ignore your instructions to unplug the cable and plug it back in (as they are _sure_ that couldn't be the problem). I quickly picked up a habit of suggesting they may have accidentally gotten a 'unidirectional ethernet cable' and they should try swapping it end for end.
- goodmachine 12y ago
  Fortunately, all the cables from this machine to HN are plugged in facing the right way so I can upvote you.
- qb45 12y ago
  Did you stop for a moment to think about the poor guys selling these cables?

gcb0 12y ago

they thrive on indiference. you know how nigerian scams are badly written and full of typos to avoid anyone with half a brain? well, audiophile scams put on a price tag like that for the same reason.

JshWright 12y ago

> 1.'All audio cables are 'directional' I have actually used this claim for less evil purposes in the past... I spent my summers in high school working phone support for a university. This was back in the day when people brought desktop computers with them to school and plugged them into the wall with an ethernet cable... Many of the issues folks had getting connected could be solved by reseating the ethernet cable (either it was poorly seated in the first place, or the process of unplugging it and plugging it back in caused the NIC to reset some stuck bit of the driver). Unfortunately, it was quite common for folks to ignore your instructions to unplug the cable and plug it back in (as they are _sure_ that couldn't be the problem). I quickly picked up a habit of suggesting they may have accidentally gotten a 'unidirectional ethernet cable' and they should try swapping it end for end.

goodmachine 12y ago
Fortunately, all the cables from this machine to HN are plugged in facing the right way so I can upvote you.
qb45 12y ago
Did you stop for a moment to think about the poor guys selling these cables?