Apple sold keyboard extensions and I use them to plug memory sticks into TVs without having to hunt down the socket in the back of the damn tv. But I had one before that that came with a WiFi dongle way back in the day too.
Technically the Apple ones have a notch to prevent non keyboards from fitting in, but a pair of pliers and a gentle squeeze removes the notch in the female end quite easily.
Female USB-A cables were still common enough that we’ve learned to accept it.
It could be a lot worse. Imagine seeing your robot looking at male-to-male power cables. Call me old-fashioned, but that’s where I draw the line, no robot of mine would have such extreme tastes.
USB A extension cables exist and work very well, so I’m not saying this is justified, but…
My guess for the rationale behind the explicit ban on female USB A cables in the spec is that signals degrade over distance and they didn’t want to try to go to the extra work to make USB host and guest devices hardy enough against noise in the signal to work reliably even in the presence of extension cables.
Apparently USB host/guest devices are hardy enough against noise to handle extension cables just fine. But I’m thinking that wasn’t planned to be the case by the authors of the spec. Perhaps most USB host/guest devices exceed the spec in at least that particular regard.
Clearly not all female USB A ports are banned by the spec. Female ports on USB host devices, of course, would have to be allowed or USB would be useless. Given that, I’m guessing an active (powered) extension could be strictly compliant with the spec. (Think of it as a one-port USB hub.)
As far as I know, it was mostly about not creating confusion about who is the host and who is the peripheral device.
By limiting female connections only to hosts and male connections only to peripherals, there can never be a situation where you get host/host or peripheral/peripheral.
This still begs the question: why not allow extension cables? And it seems that they don’t explain anything past the roles issue.
WD-40 is a cleaner and not a lubricant, this is the equivalent of using soap.
Female USB A cables are explicitly forbidden in the USB A spec, so this is some very specific, possibly illegal, fetish.
I have at least a dozen USB A extension cables at work that supposedly don’t exist then.
Apple sold keyboard extensions and I use them to plug memory sticks into TVs without having to hunt down the socket in the back of the damn tv. But I had one before that that came with a WiFi dongle way back in the day too.
Technically the Apple ones have a notch to prevent non keyboards from fitting in, but a pair of pliers and a gentle squeeze removes the notch in the female end quite easily.
They are against the spec, but they exist
So wrong. So dirty.
You fucking criminal
I’ve got a webcam plugged into a daisy chain of USB A extension cables 15 feet (4.5 meters) long across a room. Works fine, surprisingly.
USB-IF thinks they don’t, yes.
*shouldn’t exist.
I’m the same with adaptors though.
Also I have on more than one occasion used soap as lube out of desperation. I do not recommend.
Have you never seen an USB extension cord? It needs a female USB A end too.
Sickening
Female USB-A cables were still common enough that we’ve learned to accept it.
It could be a lot worse. Imagine seeing your robot looking at male-to-male power cables. Call me old-fashioned, but that’s where I draw the line, no robot of mine would have such extreme tastes.
Wait, the female end on the cables isn’t allowed? I’ve definitely had USB A extension cables
They are against the spec, but they exist
wait why
USB A extension cables exist and work very well, so I’m not saying this is justified, but…
My guess for the rationale behind the explicit ban on female USB A cables in the spec is that signals degrade over distance and they didn’t want to try to go to the extra work to make USB host and guest devices hardy enough against noise in the signal to work reliably even in the presence of extension cables.
Apparently USB host/guest devices are hardy enough against noise to handle extension cables just fine. But I’m thinking that wasn’t planned to be the case by the authors of the spec. Perhaps most USB host/guest devices exceed the spec in at least that particular regard.
Clearly not all female USB A ports are banned by the spec. Female ports on USB host devices, of course, would have to be allowed or USB would be useless. Given that, I’m guessing an active (powered) extension could be strictly compliant with the spec. (Think of it as a one-port USB hub.)
As far as I know, it was mostly about not creating confusion about who is the host and who is the peripheral device.
By limiting female connections only to hosts and male connections only to peripherals, there can never be a situation where you get host/host or peripheral/peripheral.
This still begs the question: why not allow extension cables? And it seems that they don’t explain anything past the roles issue.
Idk how many people I’ve had to tell in the last ~30 years that it’s an astringent and not a lube.