USB... The Golden Age Is Over

I was never a big fan of USB, but for a while things were good. You could get a USB device, plug it into your computer's USB port using a USB cable, and things worked.

But now, it's whack-a-mole with which cable to use, what port to use, and compatibility is not guaranteed.

Just for charging my phone, most of my cables and chargers do not provide a fast charge.

What really sucks is that it's hard to figure out what cable to use with which device -- some are charging-only, some work, but maybe slower than others.

I also noticed that ports now can be black, blue, or red, whatever that means.

Also of note, USB-C cables have 25 wires -- remember when serial buses were said to be better than parallel because parallel required so many wires (16 for parallel cables and 17 for GPIB)?

=> 🚀 stack

2024-12-24 · 4 weeks ago

9 Comments ↓

=> 🦂 zzo38 · Dec 25 at 06:50:

I never liked USB much. There are many issues, including security issues, and how devices are not usually addressed by the physical port they are connected to, and other issues with the way the protocol is designed. The problems you specify are even more of them; so now they are not very good for power either.

=> 🚀 chickadeez · Dec 25 at 12:45:

USB-C has tought me one thing...keep a cover over the charging port. My Otterbox broke and so now things are getting into the charging port, and getting pushed deeper eachtime I plug-in. Now I have months of sawdust and pocket lint in the port. Making it nearly impossible to plug the cord in without fear of it coming unplugged when I look away.

=> 🚀 chickadeez · Dec 25 at 16:05:

Those were the days! /s

I do love how USB-C spec makes devices announce their input needs though. Makes mixing and matching plugs a breeze!

=> 💀 requiem · Dec 25 at 18:53:

Tbh I am starting to wonder how mad it would be to replace every USB connector I own with USBC. It’d be a lot of hacking but… Maybe it would bring some sanity.

=> 🚀 stack [OP] · Dec 25 at 20:18:

2 Lo-speed data

4 VBUS

8 Hi-speed data

2 Configuration

2 Sideband use

and ground

I think

=> 👻 darkghost · Dec 25 at 20:33:

I still occasionally wake up in a cold sweat having nightmares about lining up isosceles trapezoids with screws by touch alone in very hard to reach places.

=> 🚀 stack [OP] · Dec 25 at 21:34:

@darkghost -- given that only one (of two) orientation fit, it was surprisingly hard to get it in by touch sometimes...

My nightmares are more of the soldering 100 DB-25s and assembling the cases after fitting a tiny, home-made circuit board inside, my first lesson in how to become a thousandeer.

=> 👻 darkghost · Dec 25 at 22:21:

@stack Sounds like my early 30s if you replace it with triplicate DB9s per device. Fortunately I only made a dozen or so of these devices.

=> 🎵 random-elephant · Dec 25 at 22:43:

Agreed, the golden age of USB is behind us. Regulations (in the EU) tried to impose that all devices that need charging should use the same ports, which was a laudable idea but means the one-size-fits all USB is a thing of the past.