Timeline for What's wrong with USB sticks that you need 3 tries to plug them in correctly?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
22 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Feb 18, 2019 at 17:05 | history | bounty ended | Devin | ||
| Feb 13, 2019 at 0:15 | comment | added | Robert Harvey | USB-C is awesome. | |
| Feb 12, 2019 at 22:00 | history | edited | mowwwalker | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Feb 12, 2019 at 21:36 | comment | added | 1006a | Great answer. I originally thought your outlet picture was going to illustrate how lack of symmetry makes it easy to tell which way to plug something in, even if the receiver end is in a different orientation than expected (which is a problem even for folks who know what the USB icon means), but now I've learned what an upside down outlet is likely to mean! (Also, I think your last two pictures are in the wrong order.) | |
| Feb 12, 2019 at 14:09 | comment | added | aross | Good answer. However I don't think HDMI is such a good example. It's hardly better than USB, especially where USB devices are plugged in and out of the front of a PC a lot of the time, whereas HDMI is (mostly?) at the back, so the correct orientation is much harder to find. | |
| Feb 11, 2019 at 23:49 | comment | added | Martin | @HagenvonEitzen - weeeel. I guess somewhat european Too many different ones still, imho :-) | |
| Feb 10, 2019 at 22:15 | comment | added | Hagen von Eitzen | The bedroom example doesn't work for me - European sockets are the "USB-C" of power sockets .. | |
| Feb 8, 2019 at 18:01 | comment | added | David Thornley | Knowing the top side of the plug is very useful in cases where you have horizontal USB ports that weren't installed upside down. It's less useful for the vertically oriented ones. | |
| Feb 8, 2019 at 15:00 | comment | added | user121007 | This is one of the best answers I've ever read. | |
| Feb 8, 2019 at 3:03 | comment | added | gatkin | When people ask more than one question I tend to prioritize the one in the title, YMMV. | |
| Feb 8, 2019 at 0:47 | comment | added | mowwwalker | @gatkin, the bottom of the question has: "So what's wrong with the design of an USB stick that makes it not intuitive enough to plug it in correctly the first time?". My interpretation is that OP is asking what was wrong with the design that a user is unable to just plug it in correctly with one try. | |
| Feb 7, 2019 at 22:38 | comment | added | gatkin | I agree with everything you've written here, and Norman's book is one of my favorites. I didn't interpret the question as being focused on what was wrong with the design in the first place, but rather what specifically causes the operator behavior of trying it one way, flipping it over, and then flipping it back. | |
| Feb 7, 2019 at 15:50 | comment | added | mowwwalker | @Toby, I wouldn't call that circular logic though. You say "entitled to have a USB logo", but the logo is part of the design itself, not a certification of the correctness of an implementation | |
| Feb 7, 2019 at 14:17 | comment | added | user1686 | @MrLister: But the commonly used USB micro-A plugs aren't symmetric. The top is flat and has narrower, rounded edges, the bottom is wider and has latching pins. The socket is almost always shaped to match, as far as I've seen. | |
| Feb 7, 2019 at 10:18 | comment | added | Mr Lister | They did remove the misleading symmetry with USB Mini. But apparently that was too easy, because then they dropped that for USB Micro. | |
| Feb 7, 2019 at 9:45 | comment | added | Toby Speight | There's an interesting circular logic with the spec: if the plug doesn't have the embossed USB logo, then it doesn't conform, and so isn't entitled to have a USB logo... | |
| Feb 7, 2019 at 8:01 | comment | added | ThomasW | Icons are also not as useful in poor lighting conditions or when you're reaching around to the back of a computer. Also, some USB cables omit the icon in exchange for a logo, etc. | |
| Feb 6, 2019 at 22:16 | history | edited | mowwwalker | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Feb 6, 2019 at 21:52 | history | edited | mowwwalker | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Feb 6, 2019 at 21:46 | history | edited | mowwwalker | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Feb 6, 2019 at 21:25 | review | First posts | |||
| Feb 7, 2019 at 6:01 | |||||
| Feb 6, 2019 at 21:20 | history | answered | mowwwalker | CC BY-SA 4.0 |