It means that if I pick up a random USB cable and plug it into a USB port I have no idea how well it will work or even if it will work at all. It's like the U in USB stands for Unpredictable.

Now I only buy USB cables if they are marked with their speed and wattage. If it’s not marked, I have to assume it carries little power and is glacially slow, which is fine to charge some Bluetooth headphones but is not usable to connect an SSD.

https://www.usb.org/sites/default/files/usb_type-c_cable_log...

You'll notice a difference between USB 3.1 and 3.2 2x2?

All I know is that I pick up some cables they work for some things and then I try to use them for other things and they don't work.

Isn't the whole point of the USB standard to make it so you don't have to be a super nerd to plug stuff together? People just want to transfer data from their phone or camera to a laptop without navigating spec sheets.

But that's not really true is it? Things will work just fine, albeit slower. There's just a few devices that won't.

Would you recognize the difference between usb 3.2 and usb 2.0? Cables also play into the standard and the reality of our modern lives is that we all accumulate random cables as a matter of course of life. Sometimes things get mixed up and if you didn’t label the cable in some way when you acquired it, there is no way to easily test it without a lot of hassle and headache.

I use cables that look exactly the same to hook up sound boards, SSD’s, HDD’s, remote KVM switchers, phones, computers, tablets, peripherals of every shape, size, and demand. One livestream station (we have multiple) has literally 10-15 of these cables hooked up and the demands vary across devices. It is incredibly important that I know what I am using and what it is hooked up to. I can’t have random things flashing off and on or under-powered when I’m running live streams at work. I can’t be constantly swapping cables because data transfers are suddenly 1/10th what I expected.

This is not some minor inconvenience. It is a serious problem that creates completely avoidable hurdles. We have to label everything so meticulously and anytime somebody asks to borrow/use any usb-c cables from my department, we have to be incredibly particular about what we hand off.

HDMI? Whatever grab it from the drawer. USB-C? I need to assemble a committee and find out your use case, as well as when we’ll get it back. It’s absolutely ridiculous.

The only consistent solution is to massively over spec and spend 10x on cables you don’t need.

Get a certified cable if it matters to you. If you pick a random cable out of the cable box it’s probably a 2.0 charging only cable that hasn’t been certified by USB IF.

Ultimately the majority of people only use usb cables for charging or 2.0 speeds for their keyboard or mic so this isn’t a problem. And for those who it is a problem, they know which one their high speed cable is.

This article we are discussing this about gives a great example of why understanding the difference matters a lot when purchasing hardware.

A sense of perfect knowledge of the things around you, and not feeling like someone is trying to take advantage of you any time you go shopping.

Well it means I have no idea what TFA is talking about when it mentions USB versions, for one.

For me, it makes a difference much later on after buying some computer. I see a usb/c port and think I can plug anything into it that fits and it just works.

When it doesn't, it will take hours/days to figure out why and if it comes down to a cable incompatibility, I would have already made the mistake of not knowing what I was buying.

Why do you ask?

Because this is an article about network adapters where someone again rants over USB markings which won't make a difference on the tested adapters if you exchange them.

It's just ranting for ranting sake, not even related to topic at hand.