
EU taking another look at phone chargers because they’re still not standardized - LinuxBender
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/08/eu-taking-another-look-at-phone-chargers-because-theyre-still-not-standardized/
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com2kid
As much as lightening is annoying, one can argue that Apple's connectors have
pushed the industry forward. From introducing connectors that can be plugged
in any way, to creating consumer expectation that one wire can do video,
audio, power, and data.

Would USB-3 be as good (and/or confusing) as it is if it wasn't for the
history of Apple iPhone connectors?

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specializeded
How pedantic would it to argue a difference between standards like USB and
_mandates_ in discussions like these?

I've seen a worrying conflation between the two in online discussions about
this topic for the past day or so. Negative takes towards this are met with at
least one "without standards we would have a thousand different chargers,
remember what it was like in 2000?"?

Am I off base here? This _will_ come across as a concern troll but I'm
genuinely curious about other views on this.

~~~
Doxin
Without standards we _would_ still have a thousand different chargers. There
is no incentive for manufacturers to standardise on any charging standard.
That includes USB. Before the mandate on phone chargers I owned a phone that
would allow file transfer over USB but _not_ charging. Charging using a
proprietary charger with a proprietary connector.

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jjeaff
This is not a problem worthy of legislation. It is a minor inconvenience. We
have both Android and iOS devices, it just requires a few extra cables, which
is already becoming less of an issue since most of our devices are wireless
charging compatible.

It's annoying that the apple charger is different, but at least it really is a
superior connector in every way except compatibility.

~~~
Doxin
> This is not a problem worthy of legislation.

Yes it is. Don't you remember the state of things _before_ the EU decided to
make law on phone chargers? Literally every model of phone had a unique
charging plug, you could pretty much never borrow someones charger.

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jjeaff
I don't borrow anyone's charger now. But even if I did, not worthy of
legislation. Not a real problem.

~~~
Doxin
Maybe not to you, but please don't dismiss people for who it _is_ a problem
worth solving.

