# What the hell is with USB cables? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 15, 2011, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-with-usb-cables/581997 "2011-05-15T16:01:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-with-usb-cables/581997/41 "2011-05-16T20:25:08Z")
> [@Sierra\_Indigo](#): > > I could be imagining things. Maybe my iPod’s empty and I’m just listening to the music in my head. BUT HOW DOES THE REMOTE WORK THEN, SYBIL? It’s like funkin’ magnets! Or is it like tides? I can’t explain either. > [@](#): > > It’s universal on the computer’s end. The computer doesn’t give a hairy fuck what’s on the other end. Unless it’s an Apple. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-with-usb-cables/581997/42 "2011-05-16T21:57:44Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Specs say “data transfer.” I haven’t tried it personally, but two reviewers said: > [@](#): > > This product does not transfer data as promised. It can only charge devices. I was connecting my western portable hard drive with it to the computer. It would power up but not be available as drive in my computer. > [@](#): > > The Iphone cable charged and works as a data cable, but the NDS charger, unfortunately wuoldn’t act as a data cable. It’s just a charging cable. They might be both wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-with-usb-cables/581997/43 "2011-05-16T21:58:04Z")
Apples aren’t computers. They’re fruits. Fuckin’ magnets. Fuckin’ tides. EUREKA, I’VE GOT IT Magnets make the tides. They’re pulled by USB cables! ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-with-usb-cables/581997/44 "2011-05-16T21:59:25Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > I haven’t tried it personally, but two reviewers said:They might be both wrong. Or, you know, it could be that there was a dodgy batch of those things that went out, and a couple of users got ones that couldn’t transfer data. Or it couldn’t possibly be that PEBCAK. But fuck, what do I know. I’m just imagining that mine works to transfer data or some shit like that. The manufacturer’s specs are meaningless. Up is down. Cats and dogs living together. Mass hysteria! ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-with-usb-cables/581997/45 "2011-05-17T08:55:09Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Yep, and the damned USB cables are all molded out of one color of freaking plastic. How do you figure out which way is which crawling under a desk in the half dark? AAAND, the manufacturers insist on putting their own logos on the side opposite to the USB trident logo. I don’t know about you, but I find it difficult to tell the difference between two small, monochrome embossed logos even in fairly good light. But by touch alone, when you’re groping around the back of a computer? Impossible. I think the original idea was that there would be embossing on only one side, but they managed to fuck that up too. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-with-usb-cables/581997/46 "2011-05-17T09:30:06Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Not much use if the trident logo is not present, or is only in relief and it’s a dark space, or the slot is vertical. I’d think a logo in relief would be just what you’d want in the dark. For vertical slots, “up” is to the right as you face it. ---
**Author:** ![Robert\_Reid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aca169/32.png) [@Robert\_Reid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert_Reid)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-with-usb-cables/581997/47 "2011-05-17T13:31:30Z")
ha ha! A bit of sour humor: The Mini Copper Rub 'N Scrubber will solve your USB connectivity problems. It cleans contacts! It annoys officials. This is factual humor (the circumstance is all true) I dislike USB confusion. So do coppers. :dubious: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jsdq_WOqW9Q) ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-with-usb-cables/581997/48 "2011-05-17T17:23:18Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > For vertical slots, “up” is to the right as you face it. Thanks for that tip - the USB ports on both my home and office desktops are vertical. (Well, on the front side anyway, but those are the only ones I plug and unplug stuff from with any frequency. So that’s a big help.) ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-with-usb-cables/581997/49 "2011-05-17T19:04:26Z")
> [@Sierra\_Indigo](#): > > Or, you know, it could be that there was a dodgy batch of those things that went out, and a couple of users got ones that couldn’t transfer data. Or it couldn’t possibly be that PEBCAK. So true. Since there are only 4 or 5 wires – depending on model – from end to end in a standard USB cable, it seems odd that they would connect only 2. However, I have a USB cigarette lighter charger adapter for the Garmin in my car, and I’m pretty sure it doesn’t transfer data. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-with-usb-cables/581997/50 "2011-05-17T19:27:10Z")
> [@Robert\_Reid](#): > > ha ha! > > A bit of sour humor: > > The Mini Copper Rub 'N Scrubber will solve your USB connectivity problems. > > It cleans contacts! It annoys officials. > > This is factual humor (the circumstance is all true) > > I dislike USB confusion. So do coppers. :dubious: > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jsdq\_WOqW9Q&feature=player\_embedded](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jsdq_WOqW9Q&feature=player_embedded) Did you copy the wrong URL? Can’t see any connection to USB there. It linked to a few minutes of some dude’s mildly incoherent ramblings at a wine and cheese festival in Florida. ---
**Author:** ![Robert\_Reid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aca169/32.png) [@Robert\_Reid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert_Reid)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-with-usb-cables/581997/51 "2011-05-17T19:38:27Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Did you copy the wrong URL? Can’t see any connection to USB there. > It linked to a few minutes of some dude’s mildly incoherent ramblings at a wine and cheese festival in Florida. You got the url right :rolleyes: The Mini Copper Rub 'N Scrubber is a proposed =tool= which may be useful :dubious: for cleaning waffle irons and also for polishing the shells of USB connectors of all sizes. It is just an idea, floated. Do not smoke me for it? :smack: [http://freewrights.freeforums.org/post10093.html#p10093](http://freewrights.freeforums.org/post10093.html#p10093) The Mini Copper Rub 'N Scrubber USB shell and waffle iron and canary cage cleaning tool (parody) Pardon me. I don’t like crack pipe sales in Miami. The connectivity issues are problematic 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-with-usb-cables/581997/52 "2011-05-17T19:44:53Z")
😕 ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-with-usb-cables/581997/53 "2011-05-17T20:07:46Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > So true. Since there are only 4 or 5 wires – depending on model – from end to end in a standard USB cable, it seems odd that they would connect only 2. However, I have a USB cigarette lighter charger adapter for the Garmin in my car, and I’m pretty sure it doesn’t transfer data. no, but IIRC it still needs level shifters connected to the D+ and D- pins in order for the device to accept a charge. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-with-usb-cables/581997/54 "2011-05-17T20:25:39Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > So true. Since there are only 4 or 5 wires – depending on model – from end to end in a standard USB cable, it seems odd that they would connect only 2. However, I have a USB cigarette lighter charger adapter for the Garmin in my car, and I’m pretty sure it doesn’t transfer data. … … A device designed to connect to a cigarette lighter in a car doesn’t transfer data? Quelle Surprise! Does it say on the package that it’s a data transfer cable? If not then we’re talking apples and fucking persimmons. Last time I looked car cigarette lighters didn’t have data capabilities, so adapters for them don’t transfer data. The device linked says it’s a data transfer cable. Two of however many people said they couldn’t get it to transfer data. Yet from that you got “It’s not a data transfer cable” WTF? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-with-usb-cables/581997/55 "2011-05-17T21:33:23Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > no, but IIRC it still needs level shifters connected to the D+ and D- pins in order for the device to accept a charge. I have some data cables that don’t appear to have any electronics in them unless they are VERY small, so I suspect they are passive wires only. They work fine with all USB devices I have tried so far. Are you saying that the CABLES have to have electronics in them? > [@Sierra\_Indigo](#): > > A device designed to connect to a cigarette lighter in a car doesn’t transfer data? Quelle Surprise! I’m glad you recognized that as a whoosh. > [@](#): > > Does it say on the package that it’s a data transfer cable? If not then we’re talking apples and fucking persimmons. Last time I looked car cigarette lighters didn’t have data capabilities, so adapters for them don’t transfer data. Or maybe not. > [@](#): > > The device linked says it’s a data transfer cable. Two of however many people said they couldn’t get it to transfer data. Yet from that you got “It’s not a data transfer cable” WTF? Look, I don’t give a fantastic flying fuck what those cables do or don’t do. I don’t sell them. But it appears that at least two users couldn’t get them to work as expected or advertised, and they thought it was important to write a review about it. That’s what reviews are for, to give opinions. Was it PEBKAC? Was it false advertising? I haven’t the foggiest. All I was saying is they MIGHT not be what you want. If they work, great. If they don’t, tough shit; getcher money bak. Or, to put it succinctly, YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-with-usb-cables/581997/56 "2011-05-17T23:12:22Z")
See, here is where not being a stupid fucking dickbag would have played out. Had your original post been “Looks like those aren’t always reliable, here’s some reviews from folks who couldn’t get data transfer going”, fair dos. But no, your exact words were “Just a note: that handy hydra gadget is only a charging adapter, not for data transfer.” Which is just plain out and out wrong. It is a data transfer device, that some people had problems with. So excuse me for thinking you were a complete and utter mongbiscuit in your subsequent posts. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-with-usb-cables/581997/57 "2011-05-17T23:29:37Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > I have some data cables that don’t appear to have any electronics in them unless they are VERY small, so I suspect they are passive wires only. They work fine with all USB devices I have tried so far. Are you saying that the CABLES have to have electronics in them?. no no, I mean the charger/adapter. not the cable itself. as I recall, a USB device needs to “know” what it’s connected to before it’ll actually “accept” charging power. If you just spliced into a cable and fired +5VDC and ground to the power pins, the device wouldn’t do anything at all. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-with-usb-cables/581997/58 "2011-05-17T23:49:48Z")
> [@Sierra\_Indigo](#): > > See, here is where not being a stupid fucking dickbag would have played out. > > Had your original post been “Looks like those aren’t always reliable, here’s some reviews from folks who couldn’t get data transfer going”, fair dos. But no, your exact words were “Just a note: that handy hydra gadget is only a charging adapter, not for data transfer.” > > Which is just plain out and out wrong. It is a data transfer device, that some people had problems with. So excuse me for thinking you were a complete and utter mongbiscuit in your subsequent posts. Lighten up, Francis. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-with-usb-cables/581997/59 "2011-05-18T00:11:19Z")
> [@Sierra\_Indigo](#): > > mongbiscuit I’m stealing this. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-with-usb-cables/581997/60 "2011-05-18T01:49:56Z")
> [@Sierra\_Indigo](#): > > Which is just plain out and out wrong. It is a data transfer device, that some people had problems with. So excuse me for thinking you were a complete and utter mongbiscuit in your subsequent posts. As a veteran and proud [mongbiscuit,](http://en.khootka.com/index.aspx?siteid=81&pageid=199&proid=267) I accept your apology. > [@jz78817](#): > > no no, I mean the charger/adapter. not the cable itself. as I recall, a USB device needs to “know” what it’s connected to before it’ll actually “accept” charging power. If you just spliced into a cable and fired +5VDC and ground to the power pins, the device wouldn’t do anything at all. Got it, thanks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-with-usb-cables/581997.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-with-usb-cables/581997.md?page=4)