USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed to be reversible

Re:USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed ... by mmac_ on Monday October 09, 2023 @07:50AM (#37819407)

One of my earliest experiences with USB was back in the day where I had a PC without any USB front ports that were free. So I grabbed my USB thumb drive and reached around the back of the PC tower and plugged it in without looking.

USB didn't show up in the O/S. Thought maybe it wasn't formatted correctly and went through some diagnostics. Eventually went for the remove it / plug it back in technique. Had a look at the back of the PC and noticed I'd managed to plug it into an empty Ethernet port.... yeah they're about the same width give or take some tolerance. Also usually placed right next to each other.

Back on topic, I do find those bare/exposed usb keys (like a yubikey) to be quite annoying.

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Re:USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed ... by stavros on Monday October 09, 2023 @09:17AM (#37820171)

> Back on topic, I do find those bare/exposed usb keys (like a yubikey) to be quite annoying.

I guess you trade one annoyance (how to plug them in) for another annoyance (too thick for a wallet/keychain).

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Re:USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed ... by gs17 on Monday October 09, 2023 @03:37PM (#37824449)

Done exactly the same thing. No idea why they sized it that way, at least it usually doesn't break anything.

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