Posted on 03/20/2015 3:53:23 AM PDT by servo1969
For sure, these days everyone wants a desktop PC.
Curious... what's Microsoft's hardware/software penetration on mobile?
You wouldn't know anyone looking to buy a Zune, would you?
The USB 3.0 Promoter Group has announced that it has finalised its redesign of the USB. Called USB Type-C, the specification -- which was announced last December -- aims to solve several problems with current USB design; possibly the most exciting of which is the eradication of "right way up" with a reversible plug. Like Apple's Lightning connector, it can be plugged into its port either way. The new USB is also designed both to be small enough to fit mobile devices, yet robust enough for laptops and tablets... The USB is comparable in size with micro USB 2.0 Type-B connectors, with a port size of 8.4 by 2.6mm, yet will be compatible with SuperSpeed USB at 10Gbps (USB 3.1). It will also support USB Power Delivery up to 100W, with additional support for scalable power charging and future USB performance needs.
The trouble with USB-C stems from the fact that the USB standard isn't very secure. Last year, researchers wrote a piece of malware called BadUSB which attaches to your computer using USB devices like phone chargers or thumb drives. Once connected, the malware basically takes over a computer imperceptibly. The scariest part is that the malware is written directly to the USB controller chip's firmware, which means that it's virtually undetectable and so far, unfixable.
The problem with this article is the assumption that USB-C is merely a new connector. It is not. It is a complete reworking of the Universal System Bus. . . and the chips that empower it. Those chips are not insecure like the older USB standard chips that did not block the exploits that could take over the devices. These new USB-C controller chips validate themselves.
The other problem with the article is, if USB is insecure in the first place, the 3 billion new USB devices sold every year might make for an insurmountable problem that already exists, and has nothing to do with USB-C. :’)
You’re probably another one who remembers:
> Punch cards, keypunch machines, punch card readers and the absolute joy when some poor soul saw his stack of those two-foot-long boxes of cards containing two weeks’ worth of punching, sorting and verifying get dumped down a flight of stairs.
> The days when you were only a Big League Computer Organization if your computer was the size of a Buick station wagon, had approximately 400 teeny weeny flashing lights and was made by (a pause for a drum roll....)IBM, your data storage (nowadays I think the name is RAM) was on a herd of refrigerator-sized magnetic tape drives which resided in a 2500 square foot climate controlled tabernacle next door and the printouts all were produced by similarly outsized (and dead noisy) track drive printers. (Most wonderful thing about those days was that you could generate the most appalling gibberish imaginable, but so long as it was presented on that funky paper-with-the-holes, it was treated like holy writ.)
Damn.
Outside of the sheer size of the stuff, thing’s haven’t changed a bit, have they?
Okay, so I don’t recall seeing a track-drive printer in use since about ‘85.
Chalk it up to Old Guy Failing Memory.....
If USB-C is still 5W, which it appears to be from the specs I’ve found, that makes things really interesting. The charger for the new Macbook is specced at 29W, which means about 6A. If it’s like the iPad, which needs 2A but will slow-charge at lower current, you could plug a USB-C cable into your existing car charger and stretch that 9-hour battery life to 12ish. You could also use one charger for the Macbook and your iThings.
Magsafe is a really nice design, but I like the idea of moving to USB as the charging standard for everything. I’m less sanguine about not having Thunderbolt, which is basically a PCI bus with an external cable, and with the right dock can eliminate the compromises of using a docked laptop as a desktop replacement. I hope the plan isn’t to move to a one-port design across the laptop line.
Had to order a replacement power cord for a work HP laptop... was $90. Opted for a 3rd party adapter for $20. Worked great for a month, then overheated and quit working. Just glad it didn’t fry the laptop (as I have read stories of that happening).
As far as OEM chargers, Apple’s are not way out of line with most makers The problem is the proprietary connectors (and accompanying technology) they have historically used which made 3rd party products difficult (and sometimes dangerous).
A two-edged sword. For security - great. Unfortunately, this will significantly raise the cost of devices, chargers, etc. Much like Apple’s newest connector for their iOS devices - with the little chip that, unless a maker pays the licensing fee, cannot make and have it work reliably with said devices.
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