Intel Does Own the Thunderbolt Trademark, Not Apple
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KnightWRX
macrumors Pentium
Ok guys, you're all right, USB is an atrocious design that should've died in a fiery hellish pit 15 years ago.
Can we go back to the thread topic now ? Geez.
There are MDP equipped devices out there already, besides Apple stuff.
Can we go back to the thread topic now ? Geez.
There are MDP equipped devices out there already, besides Apple stuff.
farmboy
macrumors 65816
I'm pretty sure his point is that it's bad design.
Quick---for any of you--without looking, what direction do your vertical USB ports face? Block inside or outside?
KnightWRX
macrumors Pentium
Block on the wire's plug goes motherboard side.
Drop it. You're right. USB is bad. Let's get back on-topic since it's obvious no one will agree here on this topic (I feel some of you are dissing USB because it's what Sony decided to use and it causes fragmentation with an Apple pushed technology, so now USB is evil and the ennemy!).
WestonHarvey1
macrumors 68030
Ok guys, you're all right, USB is an atrocious design that should've died in a fiery hellish pit 15 years ago.
Can we go back to the thread topic now ? Geez.
There are MDP equipped devices out there already, besides Apple stuff.
Ahh. Dell XPS.
Damn. I see I have nothing to contribute to this thread.
Preparing to junk up next thread.
farmboy
macrumors 65816
OK, quick, how many of you know which side the motherboard is on? I thought so.
No you're wrong, the vast majority of us really appreciate the utility of standardized USB and the benefits of replacing the plethora of Windows-IBM-Mac crap connectors before it came along. People complaining about having to buy a cable adapter for TBolt don't have a clue as to how many adapters you needed before (I have several bags of M-F, 9-25-50, print, parallel, serial adapters and cables from the bad ol' days). Not fun.
KnightWRX
macrumors Pentium
How can I be wrong with my post ? I said "I feel" and "some of you". That's my feeling.
bobsentell
macrumors 6502a
So, with that symbol trademarked, every utility company in America is now infringing on Intel?
toddybody
Guest
You should know opinions arent welcome
Seriously though, people need to learn that opinions are just that. I get so tired of opinions being vehemently responded to as purported fact. Stay Well.
Rodimus Prime
macrumors G4
I know I run into issues all the time plugging in VGA on my laptop and I do it almost every day. I pick up the cord and at least once a week I have to flip it to plug it in. If the cord gets flipped when I unplug it I can promise you that that I will try to plug it in upside down. I am with you Knight that it is easy to get them plug it upside down any cord and it is more of an issue doing it blindly than anything else. I know when I am trying to plug things into the back of a tower I have issues no matter what I am trying to plug in that I often time have to flip them but that is more of an issue with angles than anything else and the turning of it things can get turned around.
I am not sure about you but I can do USB by feel. Just run one of your nails along one of the longer 2 sides of the plug and you can tell really quickly. One side the nail can go in the other it can not. I do that all the time or I run my finger along the top feeling for the 2 holes. Flipping a USB around I find is easier than flipping a VGA or DVI cable honestly.
Mousse
macrumors 68040
In this Us vs Them world? Blasphemy.
I guess that'll make me another heretic. I like choices.
I hope so, why restrict yourself to one or the other?
Leaping Tortois
macrumors regular
This port is doomed to fail because it doesn't have an acronym that isn't already associated with it. When I see USB, I think of only one thing, When I see eSATA, I think of one thing. When I see TB, how am I supposed to know the difference between Thunderbolt and Terabyte, or a rather nasty disease! Shoulda picked a better name... (I really hope my sarcasm is noticed)
KingCrimson
macrumors 65816
I'm still waiting for "Ludicrous Speed" interface.
doctor-don
macrumors 68000
And users will still have to look at the plug to determine whether it is to be inserted 'up' or 'down' in the port.
organerito
macrumors 6502
My laptop has eSata, HDMI. USB 3, Mini Display port connections. Mini Display port is the most annoying for me of all of them. It is the smallest. HDMI is the easiest for me.
SuperCachetes
Cancelled
So 6 off-topic posts is okay, but 7 is right out. Noted.
As far as the trademark, I wonder if when they say "transferring" to Intel, they mean "selling?" In other words, was this a collaboration or a friendly race between tech giants? Why would Intel need Apple to file for anything? Because they were too busy?
You do that on the USB connector and you'll see that it is too asymmetrical, thicker on the top than on the bottom.
You can't seriously suggest that VGA is a better connector than USB. You have to tighten two screws to secure it and it isn't even self-aligning when inserting it the right way.
...
I agree that this discussion is rediculous, which is what makes it quite funny. I wouldn't even bother if people here had a genuine reason for disliking USB instead of just making up nitpicks because Apple sided with a competing standard
batchtaster
macrumors 65816
Obviously none of you people have tried to plug a USB plug into the back of an iMac by touch alone.
The problem with USB is that its rectangular. Who the hell remembers whether the seam goes up or down, left or right? I plug in external drives multiple times a day on multiple machines and I have no freaking clue which way they go, because I have more important things to pollute my brain with.
You think you have it right as you feel around the back of the Mac, but you try it and it doesn't go in, so you flip it over and try again, but it still doesn't work, so you drag the cables up through the cable-tidy hole in the desk to spin the thing around, or otherwise stand up and peer over the back. And it turns out you had it right the first time, just not lined up properly.
I'm not a freaking idiot. I've been using Macs for the better part of 2 decades, and USB since its intro. I have 5 Macs on my desk of various another two under it and two more on another desk behind me. I have four external hard drives, two flash drives, a printer and two iPod cables. You try and remember which way every cable goes on every computer. Frankly, I'd be more worried about the obsessive Sheldon-ish loser who does remember all of that, than the person who does what every normal person does.
And you're dodging around the fact that image was from memebase, and is funny. And I still stand exactly behind my original point. Or in front. Or behind.
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RebeccaL
macrumors 6502a
If PC manufacturers start getting waky and using each their own connector of choice TB won't stand much of a chance against USB3.
On the other hand if all cooperated and used a standard connector then they could compete with USB3.
Intel should definitely have made a connector and trademarked it too.
farmboy
macrumors 65816
Uh, OK, I "feel" you're wrong. Want a cookie?
sine-nomine
macrumors regular
Not to beat a dead horse, but 3 of the 5 USB plugs I can reach at my desk now have the USB logo on the bottom. Even the seam isn't a reliable indicator, since 2 plugs have it on the top, while 3 have it on the bottom.
For the record, I don't think USB is a bad connector design or anything, but manufacturers do not adhere to the standard the way they should. But you can of course say the same thing about HDMI.
I was just hoping ThunderBolt might have a connector with another symmetry so that it could be plugged in either way - that would have been good design.
AidenShaw
macrumors P6
especially funny
It's especially funny since Intel considers USB 3.0 and TBolt to be complementary standards and will be supporting both in the next generation of chipsets.
Will heads explode when Apples have both USB 3.0 and TBolt?
Wow.
I use a couple of machines a day as well.
For the laptops, I know that all of the horizontal slots have the "top" on "top". One laptop has a pair of vertical slots on the back, and I know that "top" is to the right on that one.
For the desktops, it doesn't matter because they have multiple convenient front panel USB connectors.
I also learned that USB plugs are almost always encoded with tactile clues - the "bottom" is smooth, and the "top" has texture. The texture is sometimes a pronounced bump, most of the time it consists of the USB logo being raised against the background.
It really didn't take too many brain cells to learn that.
It does seem that some tacky white plastic USB connectors don't have tactile clues - some turtlenecked overlord must have decided that bumps were a "bag of hurt", and chose form over function.
It's especially funny since Intel considers USB 3.0 and TBolt to be complementary standards and will be supporting both in the next generation of chipsets.
Will heads explode when Apples have both USB 3.0 and TBolt?
Wow.
I use a couple of machines a day as well.
For the laptops, I know that all of the horizontal slots have the "top" on "top". One laptop has a pair of vertical slots on the back, and I know that "top" is to the right on that one.
For the desktops, it doesn't matter because they have multiple convenient front panel USB connectors.
I also learned that USB plugs are almost always encoded with tactile clues - the "bottom" is smooth, and the "top" has texture. The texture is sometimes a pronounced bump, most of the time it consists of the USB logo being raised against the background.
It really didn't take too many brain cells to learn that.
It does seem that some tacky white plastic USB connectors don't have tactile clues - some turtlenecked overlord must have decided that bumps were a "bag of hurt", and chose form over function.
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I hope this means the DisplayPort connector will be abandoned going forward for Thunderbolt and DP left alone to do its stuff properly.