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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: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 03 2017, @07:31PM
Yeah yeah so you all want to blame the engineers who designed the cable but I know the truth! Its patently obvious that the true culprit here is that all non-reversible USB connectors are actually in a superposition of both states, up and down. Its only until the end user tries both up and down that the quantum wave function collapses to one definite state, up or down. At this point it finally becomes possible to plug in your USB device.
INTERDASTING NO?