
An USB plug that goes both ways - hernan7
http://www.yankodesign.com/2011/01/25/this-usb-plugs-in-both-ways/
======
ghshephard
Well, after 10+ years of using USB widgets of every shape, size, and color - I
just discovered from reading the article that the USB symbol is always on the
top side. So, I certainly got my value out of HN today. :-)

~~~
RiderOfGiraffes

      - ... that the USB symbol is always on the top side
    

Yes, I thought that, except that on my father's computer it goes on the
bottom. I checked quite thoroughly.

~~~
landhar
That might be because your father's computer has the usb ports mounted upside
down.

It happens very often though. And in some laptops you even have all
combinations at once: some mounted right, others upside down and one or two
mounted vertically...

It's a mess...

~~~
pyre
More like the USB spec should have realized that the ports may end up in all
sorts of configurations, especially on devices where they are trying to make
the maximum amount of limited space (i.e. laptops, netbooks, etc). The
connector was designed without really allowing normal people (or at least
people are aren't 'in' on the group-think that can go on in working-groups) to
try and use it.

~~~
phillmv
You know, back in '96 I can give them some slack for not necessarily thinking
about that use case.

~~~
regularfry
I can't. RJ11, RJ45, RS232 and PS2 plugs were already everywhere back then,
and they were mounted every which-way. And they were all physically keyed at
the connector such that you could figure it out blind. Bah _and_ humbug, I
say.

~~~
LeonidasXIV
Plugging in PS/2 ports is the one single single port that sucks even more than
USB, because instead of flipping and putting it in right, you have to rotate
the connector and try until you succeed. Or you give up the blind thing and
look how the port is mounted.

------
StavrosK
I read a poignant comment on YouTube (I know, I know) the other day:

"I have a theory, that USB cables have three sides: Wrong side A, wrong side B
and right side. Geometry would tell us that the first side would be the same
as the third one, but I know the truth."

~~~
jedc
That reminds me of a saying that we used religiously back in the Navy:
"50/50/90".

If you have a 50/50 chance of making a correct decision, you'll get it wrong
90% of the time.

~~~
ekanes
I watch this in action every time I ask my four year-old which is his right or
left hand. Poor little dude gets it wrong almost every time.

~~~
bad_user
How cute :)

Btw, to help him learn you could attach a bracelet to his left or his right
hand. Give him a landmark that he can recognize.

~~~
eru
Put your hands in front of you, palms facing outwards. Your left hand is where
thumb and index finger form an L. (Or if he's into cars, explain it via `where
the cars drive'.)

~~~
JacobAldridge
Put your hands in front of you, palms facing _inwards_. Where the thumb and
index finger form an L, that's your _right_ hand.

And of course, cars where I grew up (Australia) drove on the opposite side of
the road to the cars on tv (mostly US shows and movies).

I think these are both great ways to help teach kids left and right; I just
like to point out the flaws since neither way helped me (and I still have to
think about it). Of course, I'm far more messed up than most kids will ever
hope to be!

~~~
eru
Didn't I imply that cars drive on the right side i.e. the left side of the
road?

~~~
JacobAldridge
Yeah - I was making the point about it being a confusing tool to use. When I'm
outside, cars drive on the left; when I'm inside watching a movie, they drive
on the right; so my brain isn't getting wired with clear signals.

------
akavlie
Oh wow, this is spectacular. I can't tell you how many times I've done this:

    
    
      - USB plug doesn't fit. Must be wrong way. Switch!
      - Still doesn't fit. REALLY doesn't fit. 
        Must have been the other way around. Switch again!
      - Finagle it a bit more than the first try. OK, fits now.

~~~
jws
You forgot:

    
    
      - stop trying to push it into power connector
      - stick it in RJ-45 hole, that doesn't feel right

~~~
jarek
Actually USB plugs go into RJ-45 sockets remarkably well. I've done it before
and it felt "right" to the point where I was confused why the mouse wasn't
working.

~~~
kijinbear
That's why I always connect the ethernet before plugging in any USB
peripherals.

------
mikeklaas
The preamble that talks about how USB is increasingly important in our lives
is hilarious: typical hyperbolic introduction to student projects that try and
fail to justify the importance of the project.

It is especially funny because it falls back on the "increasingly important"
trope, when it is not only false but subsumed by a far better argument: USB is
ubiquitous.

~~~
phlux
Yup, you could sum it all and simpl say:

"With the ubiquity of USB, here is a plug design that makes connecting more
hassle free {pictures}"

HOWEVER,

This guy has been beat to the punch by guys at CES this year.

There was a guy handing out samples of a USB adapter that you plug into any
existing USB cable and i does what this guys design does, except it doesnt
have any moving parts. Rather than the sliding plastic thing, it is simply the
contact board center-mounted in the metal shroud, regardless of which way you
plug it, it works.

My buddy ordered 1000 to give away to customers.

~~~
handcoding
Do you have the contact info for this company? I'd surely order a dozen just
for around the house.

------
51Cards
Very cool but here's my initial concern. When the set of four contacts are
flipped over on top of themselves their order will be reversed and that leads
to a potential for a short. The center two pins being data aren't as big of a
deal but the outside pins, namely the +5 and ground would be opposite each
other and quite close. Since the surface they are mounted on slides, it could
potentially also wiggle up and down. Careful engineering would be required to
ensure these don't come into contact, which would make a nice little short to
blow out one of your USB ports.

I would consider putting a sliding plate between the two contact plates to
keep the two sides separated. It would be pushed back no matter which
direction it was inserted exposing the correct set of contacts.

~~~
nitrogen
USB ports are probably current limited, so it's unlikely that a momentary
short will burn them out. However, dissipating 2.5-4W (depending on the port's
power capability) through a few small components will cause them to heat up
over time, which may burn out the port.

~~~
jws
USB ports are _supposed to be_ current limited. Given that those components
cost money to buy and money to place… I think we know where low end equipment
vendors are going to end up.

~~~
marshray
I'd expect current limiting to be a feature of even the cheapest USB interface
ICs. It's really easy to test and potentially a short-circuit/fire hazard. Not
the kind of thing any testing lab would be likely to overlook.

~~~
AlexandrB
Funny story.

I assumed this as well - but while working on a school project I fried a very
nice motherboard when our project got a short from a wire that had come loose.
Lesson learned - use a separate power supply and keep the USB only for
signalling.

~~~
Natsu
Also in this vein: try explaining to your bosses why spending money for an AC
adapter for a USB I/O device in a business-critical piece of hardware that
does _not_ tolerate lost signals well is a justifiable expense when it is
perfectly capable of getting power from a USB cable into a computer that is
already powering entirely too many things.

I actually bought it myself and smuggled in the upgrade just because the
headaches it would cause me, personally, weren't worth it.

------
efields
FTFY: A USB plug that goes both ways

A word gets the 'an' article based on pronunciation, not the mere fact that it
starts with a vowel. Say it: "a you es bee"

See? It has a consonant sound so 'a' sounds better.

~~~
BrandonM
The author is pretty obviously either a non-western or a non-native English
speaker. Read some of the picture captions.

~~~
jedsmith
That's assuming the author and the submitter are the same person.

~~~
BrandonM
Oh, my bad. I assumed the titles matched. I guess based on our informal
English usage comparison, it is likely that the author and submitter are the
same person.

------
russell
OK kids, quit the bellyaching. There is only one way to get a USB cable wrong,
even if you get it wrong 90% of the time. Remember the PS2. It came with round
DIN connectors. There was only one right way to plug it in, but an indefinite
number of wrong ways to try it. And we had to do it uphill...in the snow.

~~~
s3graham
PS/2 connectors were actually more usable because you could apply light
pressure and then without looking, spin it from side to side, and then push in
when it "docked".

~~~
sskates
This sounds like it's more difficult

~~~
boreacrat
Not really, cause with a PS/2 connector you know you're probably inserting it
wrong. With a USB-connector you think you're right, but you're not.

------
dylan62
I've always wondered why the USB port is the way it is. It seems such an
unbelievably stupid design, but I assume there must be a reason for it. Does
anyone have a link, or brief explanation?

Incidentally a search for "why is the usb port such a stupid design?" (without
the quotes) brings up nothing remotely relevant on any of the major search
engines. Strange.

~~~
sliverstorm
Probably because it's just really, really simple. Short of audio jacks, it's
one of the simplest computer plugs in existence. That's a good thing when
you're trying to achieve universal adoption.

~~~
Murkin
I wonder how that explains the over-complex multi-layer protocol. (Go look up
OTG)

Or maybe because USB-IF is built of committees made up by (mostly) the least
productive people in given large organizations.

------
colanderman
I've always wondered, why aren't USB connectors designed to be able to be
inserted either way? Does having 4 contacts vs 8 really save all that much
money?

~~~
51Cards
Agreed, they should just be like a firewire plug that is bidirectional (ie.
not tapered at one end) with the 4 pins repeated on each side. Much better
design.

~~~
Samuel_Michon
FireWire plugs only fit one way, just like USB. Yet, one of FireWire's
advantages is that the connector doesn't have a fully symmetrical shape, that
makes it more obvious how to insert the plug. Users don't even have to look,
they can feel which side is narrowest or has a dent on one side (depending on
the type of FireWire plug).

[http://pinouts.ru/connector/4_pin,_6_pin_or_9_pin_IEEE1394_F...](http://pinouts.ru/connector/4_pin,_6_pin_or_9_pin_IEEE1394_FireWire_plug_connector.shtml)

~~~
51Cards
I should have made that wording clearer... by "like a firewire plug that is
bidirectional (ie. not tapered)" I mean a symmetrically shaped firewire
"style" plug, only with the same pins arrayed down each side... so no matter
how you plug it in it's correct.

------
thushan
I never understood why plugs like that needed to go a certain way. On a
technical standpoint, yes, I get that the leads need to be oriented in such a
way, but why design it so people have to think about it? Apple's mag safe
connector is a perfect example of how plugs should work - it does not require
anyone to think about what the correct orientation is.

Same with magnetic stripe readers for credit cards and transit passes. At this
point, that reading technology is so ridiculously cheap that there should be
no reason why we can't put in four different sensors so that it doesn't matter
what orientation you swipe a card with.

~~~
regularfry
Because the physical spec was dreamt up by electrical engineers, perhaps? I
can cut them a little slack because they had to spec something everyone in the
consortium could manufacture for peanuts, but not much.

The USB plug is far from the worst connector design out there. My favourite is
the audio jack, where you are _guaranteed_ to short the signal lines to earth
on connection and disconnection. Really smart, that one...

------
JBiserkov
Reminds me of Microsoft's Instaload design for batteries: "The two batteries
can be inserted in any of the four possible orientations as shown above and
the device works."

Source:
[http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseandkeyboard/licensing...](http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseandkeyboard/licensing/instaloadoverview.mspx)

HN Discussion <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1480059>

------
jjcm
Smart, but I wonder how robust it is. With a sliding mechanism that small
that's going to be constantly barraged with fumbling fingers, will it be able
to stand the test of time? Something tells me it'll go the way of floppy disks
- accidentally mangled springs, which will make the user have to toss it and
get a new one. The major difference being that USB cables don't come in packs
of 10.

~~~
Semiapies
It has the lowest robustness possible: it's some student's design project and
doesn't even physically exist.

All the illustrations are renders or bad composites.

~~~
jjcm
I'm aware, but that doesn't mean I can't question the robustness of the
(hypothetical) final interface. If a man looks at a blueprint and asks, "will
it work?" he's not asking if the ink on paper has structural integrity - he's
asking about the final product.

~~~
Semiapies
This isn't even a blueprint, though. It's a concept piece. You can make vague
judgments about it, but the truth is that people here wondering whether this
would be practical is probably the closest to actual engineering that this
design has gone.

I wouldn't worry much about robustness - it's not certain that this would even
_work_ in the first place.

------
dlevine
I feel like the problem is often the opposite one. I'm plugging a USB device
into the back of my PC, and can't see the direction that the USB port is
facing. Some of the motherboard shields sit out far enough that, even if you
look back there, you can't really see whether it's pointing up or down.

Maybe it's always consistent, but I don't have an intuitive sense for that. I
would definitely pay $1 or $2 extra for cables that can be plugged in from
either direction.

------
kabdib
The USB 2.0 spec says that connectors have to stand up to 1,500 plug/unplugs.

I know people who have worn out their connectors. It's not a common problem,
but . . . surely we can do better.

Too bad we can't get power over optical connects. Practical amounts of it, I
mean.

~~~
icegreentea
Mini and micro USB (and I presume USB 3.0) are all rated for much more plug
cycles. I'm sure most USB 2.0 plugs made now are actually rated for much more
than 1500, but you can't exactly go about changing the spec now can you?

~~~
fanf2
Mini USB has about the same robustness as big USB. It is micro USB that is
much more robust, which is one of the reasons it was chosen for the European
phone charger standard.

------
orijing
"The double USB has two contact layers which are both sketchy"

What does that mean?

~~~
ryanf
"Stretchy", not "sketchy". I'm not sure what that means either though.

------
jacquesm
That's pretty clever actually! Is this a real product?

If so how does it compare for number of insertions versus 'regular' USB plugs?

Is this a large enough advantage to justify the additional costs?

~~~
jmaygarden
UltraTek makes something similar: <http://www.flipperusb.com/>

~~~
Zak
_End the frustration of broken USB connectors and end-user support issues_

I'm afraid to ask... do any significant number of users actually break their
USB ports by trying to insert the plug the wrong way?

~~~
bryanlarsen
I've done it, busted a port on the back of my computer where I was inserting
blind. Plus it's on it's side, so you aren't sure which end is "up".

------
kenkam
Great design, although I doubt anyone will seriously benefit from it. Why not
just plug it in where the USB symbol is on top? How does this solve anything?

~~~
regularfry
Your comment amounts to "Why can't people know everything and never make
mistakes?" I hope you see the problem with that.

------
marknutter
Had the inventors of USB just made it a trapezoid or some other asymmetrical
shape this all could have been avoided.

~~~
xubz
I suppose this is the reason why USB type B, mini and micro are designed as
either trapezoid or have a beveled edge.

~~~
zokier
At least in micro usbs case, it doesn't really help. I still constantly try to
put the cable wrong way in

------
bitwize
"An USB"? Do you pronounce it _uss-buh_?

------
sgt
He should patent this.

------
moomba
This great new product will revolutionize the way we input usb cables into our
laptops. I would compare its significance to being somewhere between curing
polio and ending apartheid in South Africa.

------
richbradshaw
Who still uses USB regularly enough to feel this is a problem? Memory sticks
are irrelevant in todays Gb ethernet as standard world, printers are wireless
or networked, scanners don't exist for all intents and purposes, mice and
keyboards are bluetooth... the list goes on!

~~~
cookiecaper
Almost everyone still uses USB as the baseline for almost everything. Few
people use Bluetooth mice or keyboards. Networked scanners and printers are
expensive when compared with USB appliances. Gb network is only standard on
high-end components, most are still 10/100. USB drives are the most common
form of data transfer because of the assurance that they will be compatible
with most machines.

~~~
IChrisI
USB drives are also good for storing changing files that need to be moved
between work and home. You can burn more files to a CD but that takes more
than 30 seconds,

~~~
athom
A company where I used to work got paranoid about its employees walking out
the door with its precious intellectual property on those things, and
installed something called 'Hibun' to prevent just that. From then on, anyone
who "needed" to move data to a USB drive had to use one specially made for the
Hibun system, and a "key" to permit transfer in a form that could only be read
on another "authorized" computer.

That was... fun.

~~~
eru
And, let me guess, it was probably trivial to break for the black hat guys?

~~~
athom
I can't say I really know. I didn't hear about anyone breaking it, certainly.

