this post was submitted on 09 Oct 2023
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USB inventor explains why the connector was not designed to be reversible (www.pcgamer.com)
submitted 1 year ago by ooli@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[โ€“] Fedizen@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

AFAIK the real predecessor to USB was Serial cables and those were an absolute shit show. USB set out to create a more usable interface with a lower profile and cheaper cost. In many ways the minor flaws in USB becoming common gripes is USB becoming a victim of its own success. I don't think they originally set out to become a power charging standard so the frequency at which devices were plugged in increased over time .

[โ€“] Dultas@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

At least serial cables weren't symmetric, although just barely. AT and PS/2 cables (or any DIN) were much more of a pain for me to plug in blind.