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Re:New USB-C logos make picking USB cables, chargers less co... by ksec on Monday October 04, 2021 @10:41AM (#28747346)
I am surprised this is the top upvoted comment on HN, in the past anything suggesting USB-C complexity was not the right solution and the old days of simple cable usage were better always get downvoted or intense disagreement. Sometimes it is hard to judge the sentiment of HN.

Rumours suggest Apple will go back to Magsafe ( hooray ) and offer USB-C as additional functionality. That way the mental model is simple. You want, fast, full speed usage of your Laptop you use the original charger. If you use USB-C to charge, dont expect it to keep you full voltage given it depends on both cables and charger.

I have also wanted USB-C cable to simplify into two model instead of giving 6 options.( if I remember correctly, may be more in the newer 2.1 specification ) Just 2, thinner cable = (may be 30W), and thicker cable is Full USB4 + 240W capability.

Right now you can even have USB-C cable without data lane. Although no longer possible with USB-C spec 2.1, but that doesn't solve the problem as there are no mandatory requirement to force the usage of newer spec.

It really is a bag of hurt. USB should now stands for Universally Silly Branding.

Re:New USB-C logos make picking USB cables, chargers less co... by lordlimecat on Monday October 04, 2021 @11:02AM (#28747613)
The fact that USB-C is a bloated and complex standard does not imply that other solutions are better. Magsafe is only nice to the extent that all Apple laptops used it, so if you were in the apple world and never lost your $50 charger it was fine.

But in the end it was Yet Another Laptop Charger, and it made travelling a pain for anyone with multiple laptops of different make. The current status quo is not perfect but it is much better than it was.

Re:New USB-C logos make picking USB cables, chargers less co... by jaywalk on Monday October 04, 2021 @11:39AM (#28748101)
> Magsafe is only nice to the extent that all Apple laptops used it

No, it still remains (arguably) the best laptop charging connector ever. USB C was a step backward in that regard.

Re:New USB-C logos make picking USB cables, chargers less co... by shkkmo on Monday October 04, 2021 @11:33AM (#28748029)
It's too bad Apple had no interest in making Magsafe available as an industy standard and instead moved to the usb-c standard.

The removal Magsafe from apple laptops was the final straw that got me to switch to Linux.