#USB-c

[dandelionsprout42]

The Nintendo Switch has become a bloody joke

Still no GameCube games on Virtual Console after 18 years.

No Nintendo DS or Wii 1 games despite how the Wii U had no problems with either of the 2 at all.

Even Nintendo can't get their own Switch games (e.g. Princess Peach: Showtime!) to run at 60fps from 2021 onwards.

Nintendo Music, an app that requires a Nintendo Switch Online subscription, isn't available on Nintendo Switch.

They never released more than 2 Home Menu background themes. (The 3DS themes were in the triple digits).

The number of competent games that have touch controls can be counted on 2 hands, possibly on 1 hand.

The docking functions don't work if the Switch thinks the USB-C cable doesn't charge fast enough.

Lacks 4K. Nintendo is notorious for failing to predict future TV trends. Wii 1 legendarily embarrasingly lacked HD, Wii U lacked 3D (let alone 4K), and now this.

I shall now proceed to see how hard Nintendo is going to mess up Nintendo Switch 2 in the same ways.

[sorrysomethingwentwrong]

"Walnut" Speaker by Penguin DIY

The speaker itself a miniature little device the size of a… well, walnut. Made from the walnut’s shell, it packs all the necessary components inside, including a mini battery, amp, driver, Bluetooth module, USB-C port, and even buttons and LEDs to control playback or increase/decrease the volume.

[photomatt]

It’s finally out! What’s in my bag, 2023 edition:

[netscapenavigator-official]

One of my favorite things about good standards aiming to displace bad standards is that they finally start becoming the norm right as they’re reaching the end of their life. 🙃

[takaki2]

[tsun]

iPhoneの充電が激変！USB-C移行でiPhoneの充電はどうなる？

iPhoneの充電端子がついに変更へ iPhoneの充電端子が大きく変わります。これまで長年使われてきた「Lightning（ライトニング）」端子が廃止され、iPhone 15シリーズからは「USB-C」に切り替わりました。 これにより、iPhoneの充電やバッテリー管理の方法が変わり、MacBookやiPad、Androidスマホと同じケーブルで充電できるようになります。 EUでは、電子機器の充電端子をUSB-Cに統一する規制があり、それに対応する形での変更です。その影響で、iPhone SE（第3世代）やiPhone…

[pappito]

EU & USB-C

A common charger for electronic devices Revision of the Radio Equipment Directive

BEUC – The European Consumer Organisation welcomes the European Commission’s initiative to standardise chargers for mobile phones and other similar devices.

Impact assessment study on common chargers of portable devices

Impact assessment study to assess unbundling of chargers

Standard chargers for mobile phones - Public Consultation

Impact assessment study on common chargers of portable devices

Technical supporting study to assess the status of wireless charging technologies used for mobile phones and similar portable equipment and next expected main technological developments

Living in the EU: Circular economy

Sustainable consumption: Helping consumers make eco-friendly choices

[techniktagebuch]

Ende April 2024

Vergesslichkeit ist gar nicht mehr so schlimm

Als ich nach einer Geschäftsreise am nächsten Montag meinen Laptop wieder zu Hause auspacke und anschließen möchte, fällt mir auf, dass das Netzteil nicht mehr im Rucksack ist. Wahrscheinlich habe ich es einfach am Freitag im Hotel vergessen.

Erst ärgere ich mich sehr, weil ich befürchte, ins Büro fahren zu müssen, um Ersatz zu holen, dann fällt mir ein, dass der Rechner auch über USB-C geladen werden kann und wir dafür Kabel im Haus haben. Ich nutze testweise das USB-C-Ladegerät meines Mannes und als das funktioniert, teile ich ihm mit, dass ich sein Ladegerät vielleicht brauche und er doch eventuell heute noch ein weiteres Kabel besorgt, damit wir nicht immer Kabel teilen müssen.

Doof ist nur, dass an dem USB-C-Anschluss sonst immer der große Monitor hängt, mit dem ich arbeite und den ich dann während des Ladens nicht nutzen könnte. Das wird für ein paar Tage auch gehen, ist aber nervig.

Um erstmal in Ruhe arbeiten zu können, hänge ich den Rechner also ohne Ladegerät an den Monitor und muss dann eben gucken, wenn der Akkustand niedrig ist. Vielleicht lässt sich das günstig mit Mittagspausen oder Video Calls verbinden.

Als mein Blick später irgendwann auf den aktuellen Ladestand fällt, bin ich irritiert. Der Akku ist jetzt komplett voll, obwohl er vorhin noch bei 60 Prozent war. Anscheinend lädt der Rechner über das USB-C-Kabel, das am Monitor hängt auch den Akku auf. Ich habe also nicht nur gar kein Problem, sondern habe hier zwei Jahre lang komplett umsonst das Netzwerkkabel immer geflissentlich an den Rechner geklemmt, obwohl die Verbindung über den Monitor auch gereicht hätte, um die Stromzufuhr zu gewährleisten.

(Anne Schüßler)

[thoughtportal]

This can get messy. You need to make sure that you're using the right "thing". If you are using a passive adapter or headphones, your phone needs to support audio accessory mode and many don't. The mess is because most dongles, adapters, and headphones aren't labeled with how they are built and we don't know if they are active or passive.

The Pixel 2 has an onboard DAC embedded in its Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC, but audio accessory mode isn't supported. That means you need a pair of active headphones or an active adapter, like the dongle that came with the phone. The HTC U11 and Essential Phone are the same, but Motorola makes phones that do support passive headphones through the USB port. All phones should support an active adapter or headphones, though.

One more thing: Not all active USB audio products will work with all phones because manufacturers are able to use several new wires in the USB-C connection for extra features, like HTC did with the U11's earbuds to provide active noise cancellation.

[saggiosguardo]

Recensione Elecrow CrowView Monitor portatile con aggancio per laptop

Il settore dei monitor portatili è molto vivace negli ultimi anni, con diversi modelli aventi formati e caratteristiche differenti. Ci si sono buttati anche produttori di una certa fama, come Asus, Lenovo ed LG, ma tantissimi altri sono arrivati da nuovi brand emergenti. Se è vero che la maggior parte di questi si assomigliano, ce n’è uno che ha destato il mio interesse per via della sua…

[nickgerlich]

Charged Up

One of the most frustrating things that happens to consumers, especially when it comes to tech products, is to find out that something you own is now obsolete. It happens all the time, but one company—Apple—has been notorious for doing it. Worse yet, the obsolescence affects one of the most mundane aspects of the product, yet also one of the most critical: the charger cord.

It was eleven years ago that Apple introduced the Lightning connector for its iPhones, leaving the much clunkier 30-pin connector to fade away. While it was a net improvement, it meant that all of our household and car chargers were done. They also did a similar move with charger cords for their MacBook line of laptops. And don’t get me started about when they eliminated the headphone jack back on iPhone 7 in 2016. It was clearly a move to bolster sales of their wireless AirPods.

Now they have done it again. At their big media announcement earlier this week, Apple announced iPhone 15 among other products, but also had to tell us that—here we go again—the phone’s charger cord would now be USB-C. It’s just that this time, Apple is not trying to pull another fast one, because they have been forced to change.

While it is convenient to think that the US rules the world and we set the standards, we are quickly waking up to the fact that the EU—European Union—has significant clout. The General Data Protection Regulation that was passed in 2018 ensures that European users have much higher expectations of data privacy online, and while they can opt-in to cookies, they are not the de facto setting. We can thank the GDPR for all those annoying questions we face on many websites today asking us if we would like some cookies.

The EU is at it again, with charger cords the next item to come in their cross hairs. Starting next year, all devices sold in Europe must have a common connector. USB-C was chosen as the standard. In both cases—the GDPR and charger cord—American firms have decided to go with the flow, and not fight it. Rather than have two websites, one for the EU and the one for everywhere else, they opted for one. As for Apple, it had no choice but to yield, if it wants to sell phones there.

Of course, this once again puts consumers in a bad place, because we still have legacy products that require the Lightning cord. At my office, both my keyboard and mouse are charged by—you guessed it—the Lightning cord. And my two Apple MagSafe external batteries also require that connector. Even when I upgrade my phone from 12 to 15, I will still have to keep some of these old cords around, while also changing out my home and vehicle charger cords.

Lovely. I will be using two systems at the same time. I see a tangled mess of cables in my future.

It can be argued that Apple should never have stuck with proprietary connectors in the first place, that it wasn’t being a good corporate citizen. But there is a monetary explanation. On Wednesday’s Morning Brew Daily podcast, they reported that Apple makes $5 billion a year either selling its own cords, or licensing their manufacture to third-party companies. That is a significant revenue stream that is now gone.

I am also perplexed that Apple had already adopted the USB-C standard on its own for MacBooks and iPads. It’s enough to make me pull out my hair. Well, if I had enough to pull.

Yes, I am an Apple fan boy. I made the switch in 2005, and have not looked back. While I do not own an Apple Watch or AirPods, I have phone, laptop, office iMac, and tablet, and I love the eco-system. Everything plays well together, which makes it a powerful bundle not replicated elsewhere. I’m good with paying the so-called “Apple tax” to own these products.

Sometimes, though, I admit to the frustration you get when you feel like someone is just yanking you around. This time Apple is getting yanked around. It lost the battle in Europe, and had to concede the world. I’m happy, because there really never was a good reason to have unique connectors other than extra revenue. In fact, this is something that has been going on for years in tech products, from cords to batteries. I can show you a bunch of incompatible camera batteries within both the Sony and Canon lines.

It’s just that Apple is the one getting the black eye for it now. It’s going to be a wobbly transition period for a while until we wear out all of our older products that still use Lightning, but we’ll get there one day.

And we can then add those old charger cords to that box everyone has in their home. Heck, mine still has Cat-4, RS-232, RCA, and land-line phone cables in it. Just in case, you know.

Dr “Of One A Cord” Gerlich

Audio Blog

[dandelionsprout42]

I'm late to the show and then some

I learned a full week late that the Nintendo Switch 2 had got its announcement trailer. So let's see:

Sturdy bases around the analogue sticks. Doesn't take Detective Peach to tell why it was needed. 🧚‍♀️

More sturdy SL/SR buttons. Convenient when on the go to avoid having to put on the straps every time.

An extra USB-C port for… Ethernet adapters on the go without needing a dock, I guess? A positive in my eyes.

More sturdy flip-stand. The one on Nintendo Switch was very flimsy, so that's a plus too.

Other than those it seems to have no relevant new functions whatsoever. It's more like a patch than an actual console.

I'll also keep an eye on how Nintendo will screw it up somehow, since in their minds the calendar still shows 2009. My guesses for outcomes I'd have bet money on at 3-to-1:

No 4K on TV.

Miis and/or Amiibos are no longer supported.

STILL no GameCube Virtual Console (I'd have bet cash money on that one).

The new connection snap-plugs break easily.

No Wi-Fi AX support.

Still no 1Gb/s Ethernet support.

Battery time is 4h00min or shorter.

No phone data support (I'd bet cash money on that too).

No 7.1 surround support (Keep in mind PS3 had that 19 years ago).

[dat-physics-gal]

That's why i still have my old "gaming" laptop even though by modern standards it is probably super underpowered. But it has a dvd slot, 3 usb ports, hdmi, ethernet, usb-c as well as microphone and headphone audio ports. It's great.

[farmer-jean-paul]

i forgot what i saw that made me love the versatility of USB-C. i will remember this eventually

[netscapenavigator-official]

The fact that Apple’s Lightning connector did support USB 3 speeds, and instead of opening up the standard like they did with MagSafe/Qi2, they nerfed it down the USB 2 speeds and kept it so locked down that the EU forced them to stop using the standard entirely, is actually hilarious.

Like, the Lightning Connector could’ve easily been the USB-C connector. Apple is apart of the USB Committee. They helped design USB-C. They could’ve given their connector to the Committee, and every other phone would’ve been forced to switch, and iOS users would’ve had the advantage of not having to do so. Apple could have done what Tesla did with SAE-J3400 and NACS, but instead, they got too overzealous. And now look at where they got themselves.

[pablodelarcorey]

Apple / iPhone 16e / Apple Designe Team / Movile Phone