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The USB paradox is one of the most familiar experiences of the digital age. Every time you try to plug in a USB cord, it seems like you always get it wrong on the first try. It doesn't matter how much attention you pay to the plug or the cord or the icons on the cord. It's always wrong.
And there's a good reason for that! In an interview published Thursday by DesignNews, Intel's Ajay Bhatt spoke at length about why the ubiquitous technology has been so infuriating for so long. Bhatt was a member of the team that developed USB technology. Even at the start of development, they knew that making the connector flippable would be a better user experience in the long run. But doing so would require twice the wiring and more circuitry, which would increase costs.
"If you have a lot of cost up front for an unproven technology it might not take off. So that was our fear. You have to be really cost conscious when you start out," Bhatt said.
(Score: 1) by pTamok on Sunday December 03 2017, @02:44PM (1 child)
It would be trivial to produce a modified tip-and-ring connector that had sufficient ways to accommodate USB wiring. You have to be pretty creative to insert it into a socket in the wrong orientation.
Note that it would be like a tip-ring-sleeve connector used for stereo phono plugs [wikipedia.org], but just have more rings. Such things do exist - such as the TRRS (tip-ring-ring-sleeve) connector used on some mobile phones, where one of the rings us used as a control line.
http://blog.mklec.com/trrs-and-trs-plugs-and-sockets-explained/ [mklec.com]
http://www.cablechick.com.au/blog/understanding-trrs-and-audio-jacks/ [cablechick.com.au]
Sony even use a tip-ring-ring-ring-sleeve connector [eachdiy.com]. That's five conductors - same as classic USB (4 conductors and a shell). Ensuring some connectors are made before others, and that momentary unwanted connections are not made during insertion and removal is mechanically trivial to accomplish.
It would, however, cost more to manufacture.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Monday December 04 2017, @02:23AM
Problem I can see is that sometimes you've got a live, shockable device on the other end of that cable... what happens if you accidentally shock that plug?
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.