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The Ins and Outs of USB

Posted by timothy on from the should-be-the-As-and-Bs dept.

karvind writes "The USB specification may be an example of that hybrid de jure or de facto standard, one that clearly earned wide acceptance through its technical merit. Peter Seebach has posted an interesting article in Power Architecture Technology Newsletter on the ins and outs of USB. Article tells history of the USB standard and some of its benefits to users and vendors, as well as where it missed the boat"

15 comments

  1. Plug in USB connectors upside-down? by TripMaster+Monkey · · Score: 1

    From TFA:


    However, the A port design itself is not friendly from a usability perspective. It's too easy to plug things in upside down.


    I've been using USB devices for a while...and I've never been able to plug one in upside-down...it seems fairly impossible, given the design of the connector. Has anyone else been able to plug in a USB device upside-down?

    --
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    ~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey

    1. Re:Plug in USB connectors upside-down? by Momoru · · Score: 1

      Well i havn't been able to sucessfully plug one in upside down, but i think what they are saying is that its too hard to determine which way is the right way up, like with a scsi cable or firewire its not symetrical, so you can easily tell at first glance which way is up or down.

    2. Re:Plug in USB connectors upside-down? by turtled · · Score: 1

      Usually the top has the USB logo, but if I go to plug it in and it doesn't go in, I turn it upside down. This all happens in a matter of 5 seconds or less. Not too complicated.

      --
      "I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection." -- Sigmund Freud
    3. Re:Plug in USB connectors upside-down? by cyber0ne · · Score: 1

      Never.

      I think the author just means that, upon visual inspection, one can not immediately determine which is "up" and which is "down." He's definitely right when he says that labeling is not consistent. Personally, I never saw that as a problem. I'd just try to plug it in and, if it didn't fit, I'd flip it over.

      I mean, when your only choices are A and B and A doesn't work, well, problem solved, right?

      All in all, I agree with his overall approval of the USB standard. Sure, I remember being in school when it was gaining popularity and the "real geeks" used Firewire. But, Christ, I remember buying a special dual-parallel expansion card so I could plug in my 4 parallel devices (most of which had pass-thru connections) because putting all 4 of them on my main board's parallel burned it out or something. USB was a huge improvement.

      --
      http://publicvoidlife.blogspot.com
    4. Re:Plug in USB connectors upside-down? by TripMaster+Monkey · · Score: 1

      Hmm...here's the technique I've always used:


      1.) Locate USB port (either by sight or by touch).
      2.) Attempt to insert USB plug.
      3.) If USB plug doesn't slide in right off, flip it around and repeat step 2.


      It's not that difficult...it's certainly a lot easier than trying to line up a PS/2 plug, and about as easy as a FireWire plug.
      --
      ____

      ~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey

    5. Re:Plug in USB connectors upside-down? by telecsan · · Score: 1
      Personally, I don't understand why connectors aren't more asymmetrical.

      • We know the trapezoid works well (video and serial ports).
      • Coaxial is easy to use.
      • Power cables are easy to determine the correct orientation.
      • L-shaped connectors would be nice.


      But USB (& PS/2, et al.) you have to look INSIDE the end of the connector (or rely on poorly designed plastic labelling) to determine the correct orientation on the first try.

      No way to do it by feel, except trial & error.
    6. Re:Plug in USB connectors upside-down? by Momoru · · Score: 1

      No, its not that difficult...but it could be easier, which I think is all he was saying. With my monitor or power plugs I don't even have to play the flip around game, I always know without even looking which way the plug will go in.

    7. Re:Plug in USB connectors upside-down? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They could have made it bi-directional. That would simplify things a lot more.

  2. Unintended Pun? by DJCacophony · · Score: 1

    "The ins and outs of usb"

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    Slow Down, Cowboy! It's been 60 minutes since you last successfully posted a comment.
    1. Re:Unintended Pun? by mako1138 · · Score: 1

      I've found that puns are quite common in newspaper article titles, actually. A recent headline was "BART fares poorly in cost comparison."

  3. You lazy bastard! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


    I've never been able to plug one in upside-down

    You're obviously not trying hard enough.
    Try using a hammer next time.

  4. ...of the day by Leiterfluid · · Score: 1

    "de jure?"

    You mean "du jour," I'm sure!

    1. Re:...of the day by amliebsch · · Score: 1

      Unless there is some kind of law requiring a USB standard, I'm pretty sure it's "de facto" and not "de jure."

      --
      If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.
  5. Ah, USB. by Blacken00100 · · Score: 0

    TFA makes some good points. However, the bit about A ports being plugged in upside down makes me go "erk?". The bit of plastic inside the metal sleeve of the plug only allows it to go in one way. You'd have to seriously force it. And nobody likes hearing their USB ports go crunch.

    However, he's got a point in that it's hard to tell which way is up. My computers don't have front-panel USB ports and I have to fiddle with them in order to get them to work. Yes, USB plugs have the little holes in one side, but that's really not enough to work properly.

    I've got some experience writing drivers for USB peripherals (wrote my own iPod driver for Windows 98, because I'm a curmudgeon) and I agree fully with him when he says that wireless using the USB spec has promise. It may be a bit odd to implement, but it could potentially be a godsend. As they stand, wireless devices usually need a base station of some sort, and at least 3/4 of the ones I've used suck.

  6. watered down firewire by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "The self-contained cable handling both signals and power was a genius of an idea"

    As with all good ideas in USB, the idea of feeding a device with power in the cable also originates from IEEE 1394. Reading and comparing the specifications for 1394 and USB reveals that USB is nothing more than a watered down and crippled copy of 1394.