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Micro-USB Cellphone Charger Becomes EU Standard
An anonymous reader writes "The European Commission has put into effect a June 2009 agreement stating that major cellphone manufacturers should standardize their charging/data connection ports to the popular Micro-USB format. CEN-CENELEC and ETSI provided the standards by which these 14 companies will abide to make cell phone recharging and data transfer easy." Apple may even bring the next-gen iPad along for the ride.
So, just like laws requiring someone march in front of a car, announcing it is coming, kickstarts coming with electric start bikes, and so forth. Progress, ain't it grand?
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
I don't understand what the big deal is about Cellphone plugs?
Every appliance I own has a different plug. My Panasonic radio and my RCA radio use different plugs. Ditto my Sony TV and Sears TV. And my two laptops. What is so special about cellphones that government politicians getting paid $200,000 in taxpayer dollars have to mandate a "standard plug" while all the other appliances use a wide variety of shapes and styles.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
The invisible hand self-organized a Standards committee which mandated the use of the mini-USB for cellphones, and which most manufacturers are now following. It's the same way that the invisible hand self-organized committees to standardize on PCI and PCI-express for desktops.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
Really? Did EU threats also result in the self-organization of the Underwriters Laboratory or IEEE or ISO standards organizations several decades ago? No. The invisible hand of the free market resulted in their invention.
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"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall