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Why are there eight hundred and forty-nine different ends to cables? If a USB cable can transfer data and power, why is there not just one that it is used across all devices?

Why is there no male USB port on computers, so I can just plug in my phone, camera or what have you without needing a cable?

Why can I use an xbox, playstation, gamecube, etc. controller from most rooms in a house, but I have be directly in front of my television with my remote? Also, why are TV remotes populated with shitty buttons that become unresponsive after 6 months?

I realise this is a petty complaint, but seriously, I have to readjust the angle at which I am holding my TV remote almost every time I use it. I can turn on my Playstation from the bathroom if I want.

EXPLAIN IT TO ME

And then change the world to fix these shortcomings.

stienman said:

The early days, the connectors were large, cheap, easy to use. Over time we've added new connectors to meet other needs, primarily to reduce size and weight, but also to support new speeds. Rather than getting rid of the old styles, they chose to keep them around, and so we have a plethora of cables for a variety of needs.

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I don't understand why we wouldn't push toward standardization now, though? I see that USB ports on electrical outlets are becoming more and more prevalent, which is nice, since at least the B connector is standard on one end. But I couldn't, for instance, charge my current phone, which is a USB micro, with my old phone's cable, which was USB mini, and the cable sold with my phone was this uselessly short affair, so I had to buy a new cable: hardly inconvenient, I know, it's cheap, but it is also frustrating.

stienman said:

Because then people would complain about their USB male part breaking off all the time when they weren't careful with it. Further, the height of the port won't match the height of the port on every other device you might plug in, so you'd end up with problems plugging some devices in, or stressing the port. You'd almost always want a cable, even if it's short, to remove the height mismatch.

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I feel like this is easily overcome, just put them on the top of your tower, with a pivot so it can lay flat except when it's in use. But I see your point...

stienman said:

Pop one of these in your bag instead:
Amazon product

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This is where my standardization whine comes in again: it doesn't address the problem that many of my devices have a different connection.

stienman said:

The TV remote uses infrared light. The others use radio waves.

You have to replace the batteries on one far more often than on the other one.

Guess why.

Given that it's a visual device and yo're almost gauranteed to be in line of sight, it usually isn't a problem. Make sure you point the remote at the TV. See if you can find the little window on the TV that receives the signal, and make sure it's clear from any obstructions. If you have stuff in front of the TV, clear it away. You may also be able to point the remote at the ceiling and the reflection will work. Replace the batteries if nothing else helps, and as a last resort get a logitech or similar universal remote - they almost always send stronger signals, maximizing the chance of the TV getting it.

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I have rechargeable batteries, so I don't really care about the need to replace them. As to why I always have to hit again, it's because my TV remote is usually on my coffee table, which is lower than my TV, so when I hit the power button, it doesn't seem to register. If I pick it up, it's fine. It just seems like so much unnecessary effort. You lift it up, you put it back down again, I HAVE TV TO WATCH I DON'T HAVE THIS KIND OF TIME

I'd never throw a controller across a room, also. Those things aren't cheap! ALSO Playstation controllers, another thing in my life that uses USB mini instead of micro. I have this wonderfully long cable I can use solely for charging my PS3 controllers, and a phone I don't even think I have anymore.

stienman said:

Be the change you want to see in the world.

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No I specifically put the onus on you. I am pathologically lazy.

I use to have this Sony-Ericcsson flipphone, which I loved dearly, but goddamn it had the weirdest and worst charger ever conceived by mankind.

I actually would mount my TV on the wall but I live in an apartment and cannot put anything into the wall except picture nails.

stienman said:

Well then aren't you glad the manufacturers care enough about you to force you to deal with these annoyances so you don't get too complacent?

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Well...

No.

Not at all.

Not even a little bit.

I'm guessing your TV remote might actually go to sleep if you don't use it, so that first press actually wakes it from sleep and presses 2+ are the ones that actually do anything.

USB cables don't have a type "A" connector on both ends because the USB spec does not allow for more than one "master" device per chain, and having a cable with an "A" connector on both ends would allow you to plug one computer into another computer, for example, and doing this could potentially damage the controller chips.

USB is also only a 5V bus, which is why USB cables are usually short. Shorter cables = faster transfer rates since the longer the cable, the more resistance/interference generated along its length and more frequent retransmissions of data are needed.

Also, don't forget about THE BIG CHART.

--Patrick

Man, that's some nostalgia right there. I HAD a VLB video card, when that was hot shit.

the VLB stuff was pretty good. it was the only way i could get 2 HDDs and a cd drive on my pc.

In my day, we had to get up to change the channel on our TVs.... and all our devices were connected by big bulky IDE ribbons or by PS2 ports.

GET OF MY LAWN!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bowielee said:

In my day, we had to get up to change the channel on our TVs.

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Back in the days of rotary tuners, a TV repairman could retire early if their customers had little kids. We were death to those things.

Bowielee said:

all our devices were connected by big bulky IDE ribbons or by PS2 ports.

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the first pc I had had a serial mouse with the 9>25 pin adapter, 4 shades of orange, and 21 MB of HDD space.

My first PC didn't even have a mouse.

DarkAudit said:

Back in the days of rotary tuners, a TV repairman could retire early if their customers had little kids. We were death to those things.

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I remember having to jam a wedge under the knob because the one channel we got came in better when it was part way between channels. God help the person who pulled it out. It took forever to get it in the right spot again.

Those were the days.



The only personal computer I've ever seen with a Pi key.[DOUBLEPOST=1414164860,1414164701][/DOUBLEPOST]Also, I think we've reached the point where it's obligatory to post this again -

Hey hey, can I play too?

The first and only console that I have owned.

That makes me realize that, despite playing the hell out of just about everything from the Atari 2600 forward, I've only actually owned 3 consoles - the NES, the Dreamcast, and the PS-2 (And I didn't get a PS-2 until they were practically over, anyway, got it ultra cheap on e-bay).

But I've also played hours upon hours on the 2600, the colecovision, the intellivision, the Sega Master system, the SNES, the Genesis, the Turbografix-16, the N64, the PS1, the X-Box and a smidge on the 360. Just never owned any of them because I switched to PC gaming after the NES, primarily. (But the Dreamcast was too good to pass up and I'd just moved out of my parents place and there was no longer someone to tell me "no"/reason not to have both)

I still miss the Dreamcast. That was a great little console.

Ravenpoe said:

I still miss the Dreamcast. That was a great little console.

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Mine still functions. Though it looks like ass on an LCD.

No, this was it.

GasBandit said:

Mine still functions. Though it looks like ass on an LCD.

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So does mine, though the screen on my memory card no longer functions.

stienman said:

Well, in all fairness, every video game since is simply a re-imagining of pong.

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I just forgot that it was a pirated copy of Pong that my parents purchased.

You know what else I don't understand?

Ravenpoe said:

Hey hey, can I play too?

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I had one of those, but it must have been older - mine came with the huge-assed 8.5" floppy discs that held 64K of memory if you were lucky.

Bowielee said:

You know what else I don't understand?

View attachment 16401

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I don't know why this is the most ridiculed part of the song; magnets are sort of mysterious, and I would bet most people couldn't tell you how they work. Certainly the best I can do is say it's got something to do with the aligned spin of electrons. I mean, it's sort of tautological: magnets work because magnetism is a fundamental force of the universe. How does gravity work?

The song's full of so many stupid questions, but people mock what is possibly the only legitimate thing they're curious about.

Chad Sexington said:

I don't know why this is the most ridiculed part of the song; magnets are sort of mysterious, and I would bet most people couldn't tell you how they work. Certainly the best I can do is say it's got something to do with the aligned spin of electrons. I mean, it's sort of tautological: magnets work because magnetism is a fundamental force of the universe. How does gravity work?

The song's full of so many stupid questions, but people mock what is possibly the only legitimate thing they're curious about.

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I think that amplifies the stupidity of the question, they're likening it to magic.

Yeah, it's one thing to be in wonder at natural phenomena, it's another to dub it an inexplicable "miracle" and assert the scientific explanation is fraud.

GasBandit said:

Spoiler

Those were the days.

The only personal computer I've ever seen with a Pi key.

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Poser

Even older. Played (and typed in) some nice games on that one.

Eriol said:

Poser

Even older. Played (and typed in) some nice games on that one.

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That's the one my father might still have in his basement somewhere. Man, those cartridges were unwieldy. Pirate's Cove, I think?

Yep.


--Patrick

toolfinder said:

Technology is quickly changing the way that business persons work each day. It is significant for buyers to play a vital part in understanding arising technology trends.

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You're absolutely right, toolfinder ol' pal. Is there some tool or other product that you could recommend to help us, the business persons and clueless buyers of the world, to understand arising technology trends?

toolfinder said:

Technology is quickly changing the way that business persons work each day. It is significant for buyers to play a vital part in understanding arising technology trends.

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As a business person myself, I find that understanding arising technology trends is important, but too complicated. If only someone could help me find a tool to support these processes.

**NUKE**

I have no idea what you guys are talking about.

GasBandit said:

**NUKE**

I have no idea what you guys are talking about.

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About how modern technology is quickly changing the way we business people work, how important it is for us to understand rising tech trends, and how a tool to find information and help about it would be really useful. What else?

I'd love it if developers could all agree on where to hide the subtitle settings in all their games. Or just put them in every menu thx

PatrThom said:

That's the one my father might still have in his basement somewhere. Man, those cartridges were unwieldy. Pirate's Cove, I think?

Yep.


--Patrick

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Oh I would have liked this as a kid. Used to play those old scott adams (not that one) text adventures in the school library

Played a little leasure suit larry at home but my mom shut it off when I figured out how to get into the bar lol. I miss text parser adventures sometimes, point and click simplified things a lot