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xkcd 927 - How Standards Proliferate
(See: A/C chargers, character encodings, instant messaging, etc.)
Situation: There are 14 competing standards.
Cueball and Ponytail stand facing each other:
Cueball: 14?! Ridiculous! We need to develop one universal standard that covers everyone’s use cases.
Ponytail: Yeah!
Soon: Situation: we did it our standard beat all the other ones and is universal yay :D
TBF, charge-only USB-C cables are great for data security when needing to charge your device from a public / untrusted port.
I thought USB 2.0 Type C cables were covered by the spec also, but I honestly have no idea.
The issue with charge-only USB cables (in my eyes) is there’s no distinguishing color coding or symbol on the connector to easily distinguish them from normal data cables (unlike USB-A cable norms). The same applies for USB-2 compatibility - the inclusion of USB 2 connectors as an option is nice, but because they aren’t distinguished in form factor, color coding, or labelling, you get a lot of cables that “trick” you into thinking they are more capable than they are.
I’ve had a lot of bad experience with misrepresented cables through my repair and IT work in the past, so I’m a bit frustrated is all (Have to test every goddamn cable that I come across before serious usage).
Oh, this 100%!
I ended up buying a cable tester in order to sort, identify and validate the rats nest of USB C cables we’ve accumulated.
Once identified, I use a little bit of coloured electrical tape around one end to keep them categorised. I originally wanted to use silicone o-rings or mini clips for this purpose - but didn’t have any luck finding something suitable.
It shouldn’t have to be like this, manufacturers should clearly label both transfer and power delivery capabilities on the cables themselves.
For this reason alone, I’d give plenty of kudos to LTT for doing just this with their recently launched line of True Spec cables. Every cable moving forward should be produced to this same standard.
I recently did the same and sorted my cable clutter. What a drag!
Personally I don’t blame USB-C as a standard - despite how everyone seems to dump on it constantly. I consider it mainly a problem of unverified marketplaces.
Anyone can sell anything on Amazon or eBay claiming to be something it isn’t, and cables are rife in this group specifically because it’s almost impossible for the average consumer to verify the claims. So of course unscrupulous sellers mercilessly exploit this to sell absolute crap posing as something quality.
Sounds weird, but these days I am increasingly buying a surprising amount of my electrical and electronic stuff from IKEA.
IKEA sell their own products (or in the case of electronics, likely have them manufactured directly for them to a known spec) and so they have a lot more control on the supply chain. They also have more to lose if their products don’t perform as expected, because they have direct responsibility.
So yeah, if I want an extension lead that won’t burn my house down or a cable I can trust to do what it should, I’m finding IKEA a safe bet.
I’ve heard good things about IKEA electronics and white-goods also; for instance their LADDA batteries are apparently Eneloops, their dishwashers are/were Bosch, and they partnered with Sonos for their speakers also.
Costco apparently does quite similar with their Kirkland own-brand products - but at least here in Australia they haven’t offered (m)any electronics yet.