No the people who decided that usb 3.2 gen 2x2 and usb 4 version 2.0 gen 4x2 were acceptable names are the ones who should be sanctioned

I still don't know by memory whether USB full-speed or USB high-speed is faster. Boy, tech people just can't name things.

whats wrong with usb-a? I feels more sturdy and less likely to have connection issues then usb-c in my experience.

> whats wrong with usb-a?

Which way up it should go.

Simple. The third way you try, always.

The side with the holes. That's true for 95% of devices, with one of the few major exceptions being cheap chinese powerbanks

Or if you’re plugging into a desktop where the ports are vertical

Which requires being able to see the plug.

As with most plugs that came before it.

They were not externally symmetric

Also the side that has the logo on.

USB-C is better than A in that it works in two orientations instead of one, but the correct answer for connectors should be any orientation — the best connectors are cylindrical connectors: barrel plugs, RCA, BNC, banana, phono, TRS, TRRS, etc. Just make them round.

Would it be practical to have a round port as a universal connector? USB C uses a lot of pins, how would that work? Like an audio plug with a lot of rings?

I think it would be practical with glass fibre. Two wires/rings for power, and fibre for data. Something like a Mini-TOSLINK, but even smaller. Ideally the plug would be barely thicker than the cable.

Glass fibre is pretty fragile though, it would probably break in the first hour for most people if used like a normal USB Cable.

Just use polymer fibre for consumer gear. Cheaper and more robust.

Well, more like 1.5 orientations because we STILL have devices that only work with the cable in one of two valid orientations.

Man, there’s nothing more satisfying than the feel of a quarter-inch TRS plug slotting in to a high quality jack. Truly one of the great plug designs.

And one of the oldest. It dates back to the 1870s. Older even than the Edison Screw.

LEMO push-pull connectors and their ilk are mighty satisfying.

PS/2, which USB all but replaced, solved this by visually keying one side of the connector as flat.

When I'm trying to plug my PS/2 keyboard into the port in back of my computer which I cannot see, instead of needing to try two orientations, I need to try every orientation.

You've never ruined a PS/2 port by rotating the plug to find the right orientation?

And I have more than once bent the tiny pins by trying to orient the plug by feel, and it was a nightmare to fix it afterwards.

Where the logo is.

And when the port is vertical and you can’t see it?

I’m surprised how tolerable people seemed to find Apples rear ports.

The other way

No, the other other way.

It's almost impressive that they designed a port that feels so wrong when you actually get it right

I worked in an IT department at one time and encountered USB-A plugs forced into Ethernet ports.

It seems so unlikely that I’ve just searched it to see if it’s possible, but am getting no hits.

My laptop has one of these ethernet ports that half close when not in use. It doesn't work anymore because someone mistook it for the USB port that's right next to it when distractingly plugging their keyboard in.

no, they definitely fit. They're just awkwardly exactly the right size that while you're trying to plug things in punched over under the desk and crawling around and feeling around the backside; it just yeah.

I don't find it weird. Not even having to work out a correct orientation is a great convenience. The micro-USB connection (or is it "min"?), which I need to fiddle with to charge some older gadgets, is a testament to how annoying an "asymetric exterior" plug can still be.

With micro USB you end up with damaged plugs and ports in my experience.

Yes, micro USB is far too flimsy for a lot of things it’s used for from what I’ve observed. The connector seems to have a lot of leverage for ripping its tracks off, but often not a great mechanical connection to the board.

You mean something like HDMI? If you’ve ever tried to plug one of those into the back of a TV, you’ll know it’s still pretty difficult to get it the right way up.

> If you’ve ever tried to plug one of those into the back of a TV, you’ll know it’s still pretty difficult to get it the right way up.

That's true, but the difficulty in that case comes from being unable to see the hole or fit into the space between the television and the wall.

For example, plugging an HDMI cable into the back of a monitor involves none of the difficulty of plugging an HDMI cable into the back of a TV, even though the connector and the port are the same in both cases.

At least HDMI is a 'low frequency' connector, often only ever plugged in once, as opposed to USB (or refueling a car)

I bought a cheap USB hub so I don't have to reach behind the TV to plug things in

Have you ever tried to use a D-sub connector?

Very asymmetric, impossible to plug in backwards, only one possible orientation.

Still absolutely fucking awful. Same for HDMI, displayport.

The RJ series are the only asymmetric connectors I've use that you can easily get in blind.

Less weird as they get smaller. Call it an accessibility thing if you like, but I think it's better for everyone and congrats to them. Isn't this what technology is supposed to do, make things easier?

sometimes you're plugging in things at the back of something nearly flush against a wall and you can't really see, its quite useful for the connector to be reversible.

Which rear facing "key port" on a Mac are you suggesting should be on the front?

> Which rear facing "key port" on a Mac are you suggesting should be on the front?

USB.

I used iMacs, mini and pro machines. Any ports in the front would be nice.

My m4 mini does have some front ports. It’s less of an issue now with usb-c but the iMac presumably still rear mounts them.

The Mac Studio has two of 6 TB/USB-C ports on the front, and has since inception.

So does the Mac Pro (well technically they're on the top now) and has on most models since the G5 PowerMac 20 years ago; The single model without front/top ports was replaced in 2019.

So does the Mac mini has two front facing ports now.

So your complaint is essentially about the extremely minimalist, consumer-oriented iMac, or maybe older Mac minis.

Ok. Don't buy an iMac or an old Mac mini then.

When you plug in a USB stick, surely you want it on the front? Do you get around this with an adaptor or something?

My use case seems common. The bulk of my usage of their desktops was during the ultra minimum list era that you mention. I mostly love their machines but some of the form-over-function is rough.

Presumably Pros don’t need access to the power button either.

On the rare occasion I plug in a usb flash drive (I assume that's what you mean by "stick") I use the usb-c end. On the even rarer occasion I use it with some device that doesn't have usb-c (this is actually just hypothetical I've never done this in practice) I turn the flash drive around and use the usb-a end.

It's been clear that usb-c is the future for a decade now. How on earth do you still have flash drives that are usb-a only?

I probably use the power button once a month, and I'd say this is the norm for most developers/similar people. It's no harder than accessing the menu button/toggle stick on the back of my dell display.

I rarely see a USB-C memory stick. I bought one and I’m not sure I’ve seen another. I’m usually dealing with ones others pass to me.

To make it worse, the machines I use have several USB-A ports and at most, 1 USB-C (any macs being an exception).

This is primary on MRI scanners. We live in a deeply flawed world.

Sandisk have been making dual-port usb flash drives for years. I see no reason to buy/use any other kind, in the same way I see no reason buy a printer with a parallel port or a mouse with a ps2 plug on it.

If it's really a significant problem, use the benefits of usb and put a hub or usb extension cord on the desk to connect to.

I just cannot fathom how such trivial factors are a problem for people.