I'm reminded of too many stories
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both on here and on Computer Stupidities.
Apparently there's a new HDMI spec out, and the plugs are about the size of micro USB plugs.
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/article/HONSHI/20090427/169433/
Let's see if they'll let me hotlink this. If it doesn't come up, goto http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/article/HONSHI/20090427/169433/fig2.jpg
Seriously, does anyone else see many, many abused cables and ports in the future due to this? This time, very expensive cables and ports? Or is it just me?
Also, when the heck will the HDMI spec contain screws or something to hold the plug in the socket? It will be necessary if they put these in cars, even if you don't consider it necessary already.
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@J.V.Dzhugashvili said:
Never attribute to incompetence what can reasonably be explained by malice.
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I think you switched the words there.
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I've seen people fit USB-B jacks into Ethernet ports.
With those HDMI jacks round the corner, the doom is near.
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@henke37 said:
I think you switched the words there.
Not if you consider whom I attributed the quote to.
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So?
Personally I'm sick and tired of everything computer related being designed for joe blow idiot. Maybe after he fries a few graphics cards and USB hubs he'll get the idea to pay some fuckin attention to what he's plugging in.
If there is anything I've learned from working with consumers and their computers, nothing makes them learn faster than having to replace crap they break.
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@Master Chief said:
Personally I'm sick and tired of everything computer related being designed for joe blow idiot.
Yeah - cause noone else relyes on a simple fact that connectors should usually fit only in the right socket... If you have a choice of crawling under the table to look where you plug something into and simply reaching with your hand to feel where the socket is, I bet most people just do the latter. Technical or not.
Also, if you ever get a laptop that has usb and ethernet sockets right next to each other, you learn pretty quickly that usb connector fits *perfectly* into rj45 port.
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@Ilya Ehrenburg said:
@henke37 said:
I think you switched the words there.
Not if you consider whom I attributed the quote to.
Maybe if you hadn't concerned yourself with showing people how clever and/or smart you are and just wrote "Joseph Satlin" it would have been funny, yes?
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@viraptor said:
Also, if you ever get a laptop that has usb and ethernet sockets right next to each other, you learn pretty quickly that usb connector fits *perfectly* into rj45 port.
Been there, done that. Fortunately enough it's easy to realize your mistake.
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@viraptor said:
Yeah - cause noone else relyes on a simple fact that connectors should usually fit only in the right socket...
They feel different if you're paying attention. Not to mention, how many connectors can we really come up with before the backs of our computers look ridiculous?
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@viraptor said:
@Master Chief said:
Personally I'm sick and tired of everything computer related being designed for joe blow idiot.
Yeah - cause noone else relyes on a simple fact that connectors should usually fit only in the right socket... If you have a choice of crawling under the table to look where you plug something into and simply reaching with your hand to feel where the socket is, I bet most people just do the latter. Technical or not.
Also, if you ever get a laptop that has usb and ethernet sockets right next to each other, you learn pretty quickly that usb connector fits *perfectly* into rj45 port.
One of my clients had a laptop which used a mini DIN power connector, you know the type used for PS/2 keyboards and mouses. The brillant designers even put thePS/2 port and the power port right next to each other on the back of the machne. This of course meant the power adaptor was accidentally plugged into the PS/2 port, instantly frying it and killing the entire machine in the process.
I reckon manufacturers should take some responsibility in that regard!
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@dstozek said:
When all you have is a hammer, every port looks like a USB-B port.I've seen people fit USB-B jacks into Ethernet ports.
With those HDMI jacks round the corner, the doom is near.
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And i always thought, USB was the solve-all-problems that would eventually replace all other sockets and plugs...
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@TheRider said:
And i always thought, USB was the solve-all-problems that would eventually replace all other sockets and plugs...
Well, it did replace serial, parallel, firewire (mostly), external SCSI and probably another few things...
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@dtech said:
Except that then they went right ahead and invented eSATA. Firewire connectors are everywhere as well but I suspect not many people have devices that plug into them.@TheRider said:
And i always thought, USB was the solve-all-problems that would eventually replace all other sockets and plugs...
Well, it did replace serial, parallel, firewire (mostly), external SCSI and probably another few things...
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@Master Chief said:
Now take a computer with a 7.1 sound chip. Those things usually have 6 jacks. Then try to plug your headphones into it without looking. Congratulations if you got it right on the first try. (You had the order memorized? Cheater!) Often the computer is in such a place that you can't make out the colors in the dark and will need a flashlight.@viraptor said:
Yeah - cause noone else relyes on a simple fact that connectors should usually fit only in the right socket...
They feel different if you're paying attention.
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@Master Chief said:
If there is anything I've learned from working with consumers and their computers, nothing makes them learn faster than having to replace crap they break.
Why should we make it such an expensive lesson to learn? You, sir, are a douche who clearly hates his customers.
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@belgariontheking said:
@Master Chief said:
Especially when pain is so cheap.If there is anything I've learned from working with consumers and their computers, nothing makes them learn faster than having to replace crap they break.
Why should we make it such an expensive lesson to learn?
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@tdb said:
Now take a computer with a 7.1 sound chip. Those things usually have 6 jacks. Then try to plug your headphones into it without looking. Congratulations if you got it right on the first try. (You had the order memorized? Cheater!) Often the computer is in such a place that you can't make out the colors in the dark and will need a flashlight.
Amazingly, my motherboard does not care which jack you plug it into. When you plug something into any of the six color-coded jacks, a dialog box pops up to let you know that you plugged it in, and asks which device you were intending to plug in, defaulting to what the jack should have been. Of course, the dialog box is optional, but it makes setting up the computer FAR easier. It also shows (with a diagram) which jacks you have devices connected to, and what the current mapping is. So not only can you just set up wires any way you want, you can also move a cable around until you see that it's plugged in to the one you actually want. This helps for when you reboot in another OS which doesn't have the same driver...
(note: this is on an MSI P6N motherboard with a Realtek driver)
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@Krenn said:
When you plug something into any of the six color-coded jacks, a dialog box pops up
@QDB.US said:#296704 (<font color="#008000">58</font>/150)
<JasonDM> finally
<JasonDM> the new realtek audio drivers have an option to disable the auto-detection crap
<DominoEffect> took them long enough
<JasonDM> no more stupid notifications that I plugged/unplugged my headphones, yay
<JasonDM> especially when they're still plugged in and I didn't do anything with them
<DominoEffect> "HEY YOU JUST PLUGGED SHIT IN" "...thanks." "NP DUDE"
<DominoEffect> the little two tone windows noise is enough to let me know it's plugged in all the way
<JasonDM> "HEY YOU JUST UNPLUGGED SHIT" "No...I didn't..." "HEY YOU JUST PLUGGED SHIT IN" "NO!"
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While I agree with your point, I did enough support in my early years to know that the connectors being that similar is no worse than if one of them was star-shaped. If two plugs are even remotely the same size, someone will be dumb enough to jam on into the other.
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@tdb said:
Now take a computer with a 7.1 sound chip. Those things usually have 6 jacks. Then try to plug your headphones into it without looking. Congratulations if you got it right on the first try. (You had the order memorized? Cheater!) Often the computer is in such a place that you can't make out the colors in the dark and will need a flashlight.
Mine happens to have a 7.1 chip, so I've been through that hell multiple times. The solution is simple: Take a damn flashlight and turn the tower. They're color coded.
Also, your metaphor, while clever, is not applicable. Those ports are all 3.5 mm jacks, identical. These are not, and it would take quite a bit of force to plug one into the other. Like a hammer, in which case the idiot deserves a massive repair bill.
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@belgariontheking said:
@Master Chief said:
If there is anything I've learned from working with consumers and their computers, nothing makes them learn faster than having to replace crap they break.
Why should we make it such an expensive lesson to learn? You, sir, are a douche who clearly hates his customers.And you sir, clearly, enjoy hooking up computers with hammers. The only real one I've seen that doesn't take a lot of effort to mis-plug is a USB into an Ethernet jack, which is harmless thanks to the jack's design.
Aside of that, damaging hardware by plugging in the wrong cable is exceedingly difficult in my experience. If it's not going in with a small amount of pushing with your fingers, chances are good you're in the wrong jack. My guess is these things happen when people are frustrated because their magic box didn't hook itself up, think they know everything, jam it in anyway, and then listen to the symphony of shorts.
In my view, computers are like cars. If you're going to operate and own one, it's a good idea to not go into them the first time like you know everything. If you need help, park your stupid pride, and find someone who knows and ask.
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+1 to adding some thumb screws.
A friend is an audio/visual installer, and he discovered that the weight of the absurdly expensive oxygen-free copper Electro-Beast cable was enough to self-unplug the HDMI connector (the regular one, not this new doomed-to-fail model)
So, rather than returning to the customer's house in a few weeks, plasma TV being held away from the wall in one hand and the thick HDMI cable in the other, trying to re-plug it in by feel while on top of a 6 foot stepladder; he made it a policy to superglue the connector to the television on the initial installation visit.
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@Master Chief said:
@tdb said:
Now take a computer with a 7.1 sound chip. Those things usually have 6 jacks. Then try to plug your headphones into it without looking. Congratulations if you got it right on the first try. (You had the order memorized? Cheater!) Often the computer is in such a place that you can't make out the colors in the dark and will need a flashlight.
Mine happens to have a 7.1 chip, so I've been through that hell multiple times. The solution is simple: Take a damn flashlight and turn the tower. They're color coded.
Also, your metaphor, while clever, is not applicable. Those ports are all 3.5 mm jacks, identical. These are not, and it would take quite a bit of force to plug one into the other. Like a hammer, in which case the idiot deserves a massive repair bill.
Plugging your headphones into the wrong socket won't cause damage, either.
To the person above who said it pops up a dialog when it detects something being plugged in, it would be handy if it let you plug speakers and headphones in at the same time and either put the same output to both or have a user-selectable which one to use, but nooo, that's too complicated! Instead it will complain. I should take a screenshot...
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@Zemm said:
Plugging your headphones into the wrong socket won't cause damage, either.
To the person above who said it pops up a dialog when it detects something being plugged in, it would be handy if it let you plug speakers and headphones in at the same time and either put the same output to both or have a user-selectable which one to use, but nooo, that's too complicated! Instead it will complain. I should take a screenshot...
Mine does that, you plug something in and it will use whatever it does by default (line in, woofer, etc) but you can also open the control panel for it and manually modify it. Mostly though thats for setups with surround sound, you can only have one of each type (stereo output, mono output, line in, etc) meaning you can't have, say, 5 line ins and one output.
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@belgariontheking said:
Also, when the heck will the HDMI spec contain screws or something to hold the plug in the socket? It will be necessary if they put these in cars, even if you don't consider it necessary already.
Not strictly necessary - they could use hinged tabs like the old centronics connector, or a high-friction fit like molex. Screws are not the only option and they're really not the best option. Screws are easy to do because they don't require any moving parts on the port and they don't require the manufacturing tolerances that a high-friction fit does.
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@Random832 said:
@belgariontheking said:
Agreed. I was thinking something at least like ethernet/phone or USB. Screws are a bit overboard.Also, when the heck will the HDMI spec contain screws or something to hold the plug in the socket? It will be necessary if they put these in cars, even if you don't consider it necessary already.
Not strictly necessary - they could use hinged tabs like the old centronics connector, or a high-friction fit like molex. Screws are not the only option and they're really not the best option. Screws are easy to do because they don't require any moving parts on the port and they don't require the manufacturing tolerances that a high-friction fit does.
Magnets might work, but it would be kinda weak. Now that I look up the centronics connector, I think it would be perfect. High friction could certainly work (RCA plugs and some coax plugs use it), but I don't know how well it would fit into the current HDMI spec.
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@belgariontheking said:
Magnets might work, but it would be kinda weak.
Super-strong magnetic connectors should be used for everything. It's one nice feature of the MacBooks.
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@belgariontheking said:
Agreed. I was thinking something at least like ethernet/phone or USB.
I didn't mention ethernet/phone-style tabs (usb has no such feature that I am aware of) because they have a major drawback - they break off easily.
Magnetic connectors actually have a significant advantage in being "weak" - they'd deal with the kind of mechanical shock you'd get from having the connector used in a car, while still coming disconnected instead of yanking the TV off the stand if you trip over the cable.
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@morbiuswilters said:
FTFY@belgariontheking said:
Magnets might work, but it would be kinda weak.
Super-strong magnetic connectors should be used for everything. It's
one nicethe only feature of the MacBooks.
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@Random832 said:
usb has no such feature that I am aware of
USB plugs don't lock per se, it's just another friction lock.
I've circled the two pieces that come down and hold onto the two rectangular holes on the top of your USB cable. It's not perfect, but I bet it would work in a car.
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^ I agree, USB is about perfect. Good enough resistance to not fall out during use, but enough give so if something takes a tumble, it'l let go before it does more damage.
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@Master Chief said:
@Zemm said:
To the person above who said it pops up a dialog when it detects something being plugged in, it would be handy if it let you plug speakers and headphones in at the same time and either put the same output to both or have a user-selectable which one to use, but nooo, that's too complicated! Instead it will complain. I should take a screenshot...
Mine does that, you plug something in and it will use whatever it does by default (line in, woofer, etc) but you can also open the control panel for it and manually modify it. Mostly though thats for setups with surround sound, you can only have one of each type (stereo output, mono output, line in, etc) meaning you can't have, say, 5 line ins and one output.
Yes. If I have stereo speakers plugged in, and plug in my headphones, it won't let me as it thinks it's the same output...
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@tdb said:
Often the computer is in such a place that you can't make out the colors in the dark and will need a flashlight.
I used to use my phone as a light source when changing parts inside my PC (waay easier than having to unplug everything and move the machine into the light), that is until I couldn't find my phone one day, so decided to phone it...
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@Master Chief said:
^ I agree, USB is about perfect. Good enough resistance to not fall out during use, but enough give so if something takes a tumble, it'l let go before it does more damage.
This may work with USB, which has relatively thin cable, but HDMI cables can be much thicker (and heavier). I think what DisplayPort does is right - it's got 2 teeth (not sure if this is correct English term), which hold the connector in, and to unplug it, you have to press on the latch.
