EU wants every smartphone and tablet to charge by micro-USB

[SMURG]

Not if their recent Party Conference is anything to go by. They really are just a way to try and legitimise racism. Luckily, most of the British public see that.

 

On topic though: I really don't mind. I've got a really old Blackberry that charges by MicroUSB and It's still fine, and doesn't look like it's going to break any time soon (unlike some other chargers I've had before). 

By the way, Gizmodo covered this story VERY differently - http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/07/micro-usb-one-thing-the-eus-got-right/

They definitely got it right when they said "It seems pretty fashionable to whine about the EU nowadays". But look at it like this:

Me: "Can I borrow someone's charger? My phone is nearly dead"

10 people pull out 10 different chargers...*5 minutes later*...none of them fit.

OR

Me: "Can I borrow someone's charger? My phone is nearly dead"

Only 1 person need have one on them, because everyone uses micro USB.

SORTED!!

Take a look at the Conservative conference if you want a better indication of the way things are going (and feel free to PM me whatever it is that you think is racist about UKIP, because none of their policies are). You said it yourself, it's 'fashionable' to dislike the EU, and what's fashionable is popular, and what's popular wins votes. Definitely worth the £50 million a day to have the EU tell us what phone chargers to use

Anyway, your points about the chargers are almost as invalid as your belief that UKIP is racist. In reality the person will either tell the other people what kind of charger they need, or show them so they know. Then the people either will or won't have a charger for them. It's not like everyone is stupid enough to get out every charger they have and see whether it fits. Besides, it's completely irrelevant what the EU says because it's so poorly enforced. Remember that time they said we all have to use energy saving lightbulbs and you weren't allowed to buy other ones anymore? Yeah, I remember that too.

 

[Slaeowulf]

Take a look at the Conservative conference if you want a better indication of the way things are going (and feel free to PM me whatever it is that you think is racist about UKIP, because none of their policies are). Definitely worth the £50 million a day to have them tell us what phone chargers to use

Anyway, your points about the chargers are almost as invalid as your belief that UKIP is racist. In reality the person will either tell the other people what kind of charger they need, or show them so they know. Then the people either will or won't have a charger for them. It's not like everyone is stupid enough to get out every charger they have and see whether it fits. Besides, it's completely irrelevant what the EU says because it's so poorly enforced. Remember that time they we all have to use energy saving lightbulbs and you weren't allowed to buy other ones anymore? Yeah, I remember that too.

 

 

Again, they don't just do phone chargers -.- Put your straw man away please. When challenged on their opinions regarding race they never address the issue. Anyone who isn't racist would just say "Of course I'm not and how dare you suggest otherwise". They are trying to be a legitimate face for racism, and more and more people are seeing that as their popularity falls.

The other half of your reply is just unstructured lies and ranting. They are not telling people what chargers they need, they are standardising what chargers companies can sell. I gave that scenario as an example of how stupid proprietary chargers are; I'm sorry that it went over your head.

And to say it's poorly enforced when it HASN'T BEEN DONE YET is just stupid.

This isn't a YouTube comments section. Keep the snottiness and ranting to a minimum.

(To be frank I don't want to hear from you again so I'm just going to save myself the grief and put you on my Ignore list). 

[Mooshi]

I'm wondering if making everything be Thunderbolt instead of micro USB would be a much better choice for the standard. Thunderbolt is better than USB, but it's still niche since USB dominates everything.  At least this way, it might be an incentive to encourage more Thunderbolt capable devices and to throw ports onto all modern motherboards ect ect.

 

It's neat to be like "Oh shit, I forgot my charger!" and then borrowing your mates charger knowing full well that it's gonna work. The problem is, micro-usb is still too flimsy to me. Replacing chargers gets old. And these are chargers that don't travel, but sit at home.

[SMURG]

 

It's only a straw man if I state some form of misinformation and claim it to be true and an integral part of his argument. Maybe you should've read that link first

Sorry, but it's YOU who needs to read his link. A straw man fallacy is where you redirect the argument to one which you can win easily, and then cite your success as a reason why you are right in the former argument too. It has nothing to do with using misinformation.

 

Again, they don't just do phone chargers -.- Put your straw man away please. When challenged on their opinions regarding race they never address the issue. Anyone who isn't racist would just say "Of course I'm not and how dare you suggest otherwise". They are trying to be a legitimate face for racism, and more and more people are seeing that as their popularity falls.

The other half of your reply is just unstructured lies and ranting. They are not telling people what chargers they need, they are standardising what chargers companies can sell. I gave that scenario as an example of how stupid proprietary chargers are; I'm sorry that it went over your head.

And to say it's poorly enforced when it HASN'T BEEN DONE YET is just stupid.

This isn't a YouTube comments section. Keep the snottiness and ranting to a minimum.

(To be frank I don't want to hear from you again so I'm just going to save myself the grief and put you on my Ignore list). 

I'm not using a straw man here, as discussed above. Please learn the meaning of what you're saying before you say it. As for UKIP, their popularity is sky-rocketing (http://www7.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2012/12/04/the-rise-of-ukip-what-does-it-all-mean/), and you continuously say yourself that their views are "fashionable" so I really do wonder if you understand democracy at all. Even Barroso, (unelected) head of the EU commission agrees with me! (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-24052130). Standardisation by large, unelected bodies is essentially the same as telling the people what they can or can't use. Nobody voted for this EU resolution, it has been proposed by the commission.

I was citing the light bulb legislation as an example of a similar piece of EU nonsense which has been done and is poorly enforced. If you want more examples, take their decision to ban PSUs with multiple rails. Nobody listened to that either because the organisation (thankfully) lacks teeth. Microsoft only added that browser choice thing because the EU put a tonne of pressure on them about it (whilst also ignoring the Apple-safari analogue), so unless the EU is willing to tackle every smartphone manufacturer who doesn't want to use MicroUSB (mainly Apple though) it won't make any difference anyway.

As usual when a euro-fanatic is confronted with cold hard facts - to the ignore list!

[neon_bowser]

please make apple switch to something non-proprietary.... please

Not likely. And personally I see no reason to. Their connector is perfect for their phones and its great on all accounts if you ask me.

[LAwLz]

I'm wondering if making everything be Thunderbolt instead of micro USB would be a much better choice for the standard. Thunderbolt is better than USB, but it's still niche since USB dominates everything.  At least this way, it might be an incentive to encourage more Thunderbolt capable devices and to throw ports onto all modern motherboards ect ect.

 

It's neat to be like "Oh shit, I forgot my charger!" and then borrowing your mates charger knowing full well that it's gonna work. The problem is, micro-usb is still too flimsy to me. Replacing chargers gets old. And these are chargers that don't travel, but sit at home.

Very bad idea to use Thunderbolt. First of all, the cables need special chips in them in order to work (the chip is there to make sure only certified cables work) so everyone would have to get certified cables from Apple (which they can charge whatever they want for since they have a monopoly on them). Secondly, the lightning connector is basically as fragile as micro USB if you try to bend it (which is what Linus means when he says micro USB is fragile). Thirdly, everyone would have to pay Apple royalties since they own the lightning connector's design.

 

The benefits would be that you can plug it in whichever way you want and it can provide more power than USB 2.0 but it also has drawbacks such as no support for USB OTG, which is far more important.

[Mooshi]

Very bad idea to use Thunderbolt. First of all, the cables need special chips in them in order to work (the chip is there to make sure only certified cables work) so everyone would have to get certified cables from Apple (which they can charge whatever they want for since they have a monopoly on them). Secondly, the lightning connector is basically as fragile as micro USB if you try to bend it (which is what Linus means when he says micro USB is fragile). Thirdly, everyone would have to pay Apple royalties since they own the lightning connector's design.

 

The benefits would be that you can plug it in whichever way you want and it can provide more power than USB 2.0 but it also has drawbacks such as no support for USB OTG, which is far more important.

 

Thunderbolt was an Intel creation, not Apple. Got a source that Apple was the one that created the actual connector design? Haven't followed Thunderbolt that much outside of it's Intel's creation and Apple tried to market the crap out of it since they got first dibs. I know they were involved with Intel, but didn't know they created the actual connector..that's a terrible idea and practically is going to end up dooming it to obscure nichedome.

 

Also yeah, design wise it does look close to usb, but usb has different flavours that I wasn't sure if Thunderbolt was the same way.

[LAwLz]

Thunderbolt was an Intel creation, not Apple. Got a source that Apple was the one that created the actual connector design? Haven't followed Thunderbolt that much outside of it's Intel's creation and Apple tried to market the crap out of it since they got first dibs. I know they were involved with Intel, but didn't know they created the actual connector..that's a terrible idea and practically is going to end up dooming it to obscure nichedome.

 

Also yeah, design wise it does look close to usb, but usb has different flavours that I wasn't sure if Thunderbolt was the same way.

Oh crap I misread Thunderbolt as lightning. Yes you're right, it was Intel that made Thunderbolt.

No Thunderbolt is even worse. Needs an active cable (so the cables are expensive) and the controllers needed are huge (about the size of a USB A connector), and it's not backwards compatible with anything. Barely anyone would be able to connect their phone to their computer.

[igotsnomoney]

MHL, micro usb and micro HDMI, ALL NEED TO DIE IN A FIRE. introduce something that can actually withstand a 2 foot drop without snapping the connector off. 

[Matsy]

Pitty I don't have or want a tablet/smartphone.

[Mooshi]

I wonder if there is a way to actually make a more robust micro USB connector..a redesign with the same pins, I dunno.

[Kamil]

I wonder if there is a way to actually make a more robust micro USB connector..a redesign with the same pins, I dunno.

I think something that connects magnetically instead of pushing a long, thin bit into a socket with a long, thin plastic bit that sticks back into a hole in the connector would be less likely to break (though prone to falling out). Think of the power connector for the Surface, or I think Macbooks use something similar. I'm not sure it would be very easy to make one that's compatible with something the size of a phone unless you want it to be a full-on dock, but it would be fine for tablets.

[Tomislav Matic]

oh hell it's just a cable, get over it! It's a good idea to have an universal charger...do you remember the day's before usb? well they weren't cool...

[Nesflaten]

I read Norwegian news that the EU was not content with accepting apple using a separate transition cable from lightning to microUSB, but will try to ban the lightning connector completely. It will probably not effect anything though 

http://www.tu.no/it/2014/03/12/eu-vil-tvinge-apple-over-pa-usb 

[ETRJ]

Sorry I thought this was a repost

[Stefan Becker]

Micro-USB Be Gone!!!

[Notional]

I don't understand what people are on about? The Micro USB connector has been standard for years in the EU now (on voluntary basis). This is a very good thing, as it removes the need to plenty of proprietary connectors, cables and chargers. All chargers that comes with a smartphone today in the EU has a standard USB connector on it, meaning you can always use it with any brand and any unit. This is exactly what EU should focus on: Standardization of electronics.

 

Afaik USB is coming out with a new small connector that, like Apples, can be connected both ways. Hopefully that could become a new standard when it is released.

[ETRJ]

Sorry I thought this was a repost

[Fetzie]

I'm wondering if making everything be Thunderbolt instead of micro USB would be a much better choice for the standard. Thunderbolt is better than USB, but it's still niche since USB dominates everything.  At least this way, it might be an incentive to encourage more Thunderbolt capable devices and to throw ports onto all modern motherboards ect ect.

 

It's neat to be like "Oh shit, I forgot my charger!" and then borrowing your mates charger knowing full well that it's gonna work. The problem is, micro-usb is still too flimsy to me. Replacing chargers gets old. And these are chargers that don't travel, but sit at home.

 

Thunderbolt is a lot more expensive than USB. You can expect to pay around 40 bucks for a 3 foot Thunderbolt cable.

[RedRound2]

http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/26/4773934/eu-committee-wants-universal-charger-for-smartphones-tablets

This is stupid

I realy don't want this to happen i hate the connector

And how about apple they are not going to change

 

Apple does have lightning to microusb charger. Maybe EU union will force apple to either change (which is unlikely to happen) or they'll be forced to just include microusb converter in the box

[SMURG]

Well I cant quote posts for some reason, so @Mooshi and @Fetzie:

 

Thunderbolt relies on PCIe (which smartphones don't have), and afaik can't charge devices anyway. You also need to have a GPU that meets certain requirements for it to work, and since it's designed for large, x86 devices I highly doubt the GPUs in phones would be up to scratch. You'd also probably have to use Intel Atoms (which don't support it atm anyway) in the first place cos it's an Intel thing, so have fun with that.
 

The cost of the cable is insignificant in comparison to how much of a pain in the ass Thunderbolt is to leverage. Why do you think they had to solder in the GPUs on the Mac Pro? That probably wasn't a design decision, that's just necessary if u want Thunderbolt on LGA 2011, and Apple were hardly gonna release a new Mac Pro without that thing they'd been going on about for the past year and a half.

 

Thunderbolt on smartphones would either be flat out impossible or impractically expensive to leverage.

[jackninja1]

This will stagger innovation. It solves a problem that we had 5-7 years ago.

[BernardoSLR]

Oh come on! Do something decent for once!!!!!! Why not come up with a new standard, something similar to the Macbook Chargers that won't make my phone fall if I trip on the f'ng cable! Also, it wouldn't be as breakable as the micro-usb and everyone would be happy.................

[Frix]

This is just the kind of ill-informed crap I've come to expect from the EU. The sooner people wake up and vote for parties which advocate leaving it, the better. We're already seeing it happening in the UK - you can bet UKIP will be winning the European Parliament elections here next year.

Were talking about USB's why so mad?

[Frix]

Iv'e never had a problem with micro USB. Universal should be the way. Could be because I don't buy shitty 3rd party chargers idk.