Do you EVER remember which way USB cable goes in?

[bradsdad]

Like others, I am happy to know that I am not alone. Trying to plug into the vertical USB ports on back/side my 15" Apple LCD Panel is always a royal pain.When most plugs are on the back of systems, it's a wonder that wiki made that case the exception to the "it's easy" declaration.

[mattkime]

I think all plugs should meet the following test -

Can I reach around the machine, find the port by touch, and insert the cable?

Firewire does better with this than USB. Still, its much better than the serial port it replaced - those things were round!

[mikebw]

Yeah, serial ports were worse. I mean you could see the pins, but as you held the cable in your hand you would have to estimate how that would align with the port in the back then just hope you got it right.

I have seen someone who managed to take the mini-usb cable from their digital camera and shove that into a 4-pin firewire port. The mini-usb was sort of a half-moon shape, or a semi-circle, and the 4-pin FW port is kind of like a square, or maybe more like an H if you look at it closely. Anyway, good times.

[Seacrest]

Holy Schnikey!
This thread REALLY IS about USB cables!










It is, isn't it?

[voodoopenguin]

An old mirror door G4 I bought secondhand had two USB cards fitted. One is up and the other is down.

[Sam3]

I've found that on most PC's and USB hubs, while using Flash drives, the flash drive's logo will always go up, except on a Dell. I've found the Dell Optiplex series to be a PITA. The front USB connectors are behind a door at the bottom of the PC, then they are angled and you can never find the jacks, but when you do finally find the jack, the USB connector is backwards, you have to inseert the Flash drive with the logo down. Arghh!

[bazookaman]

I always had a problem reconnecting my speakers to the back of my G4. Where there was a speaker port, mike port AND the amped speaker port. All the same size and shape.

[olnacl]

One of my clients has a Dell desktop, sitting on the floor. The front USB (convenience) ports are behind a door that is hinged on the top, so when you open it, you can't see the port location without getting down on hands and kneees with a flashlight. Trying to plug my flash drive in blind, I'm further thwarted by the fact that the connector is mounted at an downward angle. The least of my problems is which way is up.

[mikebw]

I wonder if this whole 'wireless' craze will ever catch on...

[Lux Interior]

[quote Sam3] I've found the Dell Optiplex series to be a PITA. The front USB connectors are behind a door at the bottom of the PC, then they are angled and you can never find the jacks, but when you do finally find the jack, the USB connector is backwards, you have to inseert the Flash drive with the logo down. Arghh!

Yep. I have a Dull Precision at work with the angled USB ports in front. Plug needs to go in upside down.

And there is no standard for PC cards, no that it would matter, because there is no "standard" side to put them on. So they might be right-side up or down.