While the USB hijack is still in flight we all have an opportunity to learn a bit more about it. Here’s an OP of mine about a problem I recently had with various flavors of USB talking to one another that I had no clue about.
Along the way, @Reply gives an absolute masterclass on the history. And, perhaps more usefully here in 2026, a masterclass on how the USB-C connector is now sorta universalizing a whole host of different underlying protocols. A bunch of other folks added even more knowledge and perspective.
With the completely predictable result that nowadays just because the connectors on these two devices and this wire mate, it is no longer true that the devices will cooperate enthusiastically. Or at all. It’s usually true, but not always.
We’ve come full circle from idiot-proof wires and sockets that always work to not-so-idiot proof wires and sockets that look alike even to experts but might or might not work together. Progress!
