2493: Dual USB-C

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Dual USB-C

Title text: Small devices use two-prong USB-AC, but there's also a three-prong version with a USB-B plug as the ground.

Explanation

This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: Created by a USB-DC PLUG. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon. If you can address this issue, please edit the page! Thanks.

USB-C connectors are the newest version of the USB standard, and were controversial on launchTemplate:citationneeded for reasons Randall previously covered. Randall proposes a new type of connector which would see two USB plugs side-by-side able to be inserted simultaneously by housing them inside a standard US AC plug. This does not seem to offer any advantages other than reviving the controversy, and therefore is considered cursed.

Transcript

This transcript is incomplete. Please help editing it! Thanks.

[A picture of a plug with two prongs is shown. Each prong is a USB-C connector.]

Title: Cursed Connectors #187

Subtitle: Dual USB-C

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Discussion

Is "USB-AC" in the title text a reference to the fact that this looks like an AC power plug, or is that a legitimate variant of USB-C? 172.68.55.65 18:09, 27 July 2021 (UTC)

I think it refers to the polarized version of the 1-15 plug, where one blade is bigger than the other. A USB version of that could have one blade as a USB-A and the other a USB-C. This then also invites the AC pun that you mention. ----PF

I guess this is how connector vendors maintain backwards compatibility for USB-C. ----DaveK

I would have thought it was cursed more from what would happen if you plugged it into a standard ac outlet. 162.158.74.107 04:49, 24 July 2021 (UTC)

Does USB C actually fit inside an outlet? (As I live in europe, I really have no clue...) 141.101.105.7 07:42, 26 July 2021 (UTC)

i'm pretty sure it doesn't (should be wasy to test for any american who owns a USB-C plug), and the third point in the list mentions that currently, which actually renders the first two points immaterial. 162.158.88.188 14:41, 26 July 2021 (UTC)

This does not fit into a standard AC outlet. However, I have seen plenty of outlets, especially on extension cords, which might allow one of the USB-C plugs to touch the live contact.Geek Prophet (talk) 18:16, 26 July 2021 (UTC)

Looks good. But I'll obviously need a BS 1363/Type-G converter! 141.101.99.211 09:14, 24 July 2021 (UTC)

It's worth noting, Dell already does this with the WD19DCS... 141.101.99.211 09:23, 24 July 2021 (UTC) Gargravarr

Is it worth pointing out that "cursed X" is a meme, c.f. /r/cursedimages? I think this is the first time xkcd has referenced it. --Esogalt (talk) 14:59, 24 July 2021 (UTC)

No I do not think so. That something is cursed is not special to a meme. This reminds more of the bad map projections series. Wonder if more will follow. Have added this similarity in title to the explanation. Starting with a very high number just like that series. In that series number 4 comic just came out, so interesting to see if he has planned more of these. --Kynde (talk) 14:32, 25 July 2021 (UTC)

This comic yet has no categories. And I cannot think of any suitable? Something with electronics that is not a category yet? I mean it can be used with smart phones and computers, but is not only used for one of these? --Kynde (talk) 14:32, 25 July 2021 (UTC)

I was thinking something like 'Spurious Series(es?)'. It could encompass My Hobby and Map Projections as child-categories (they're self-categorised, I'm fairly sure without checking) but any lone "Something-Or-Other #xyz" like this is added as a direct example. And then if "Something-Or-Other #pqr" ever happens and is so categorised it highlights the need to create a Something-Or-Other category and reassign membership to this instead. If it never gets any direct companions, it can stand out as a spurious to the extent of never being partnered by up to xyz-1 other later examples.

Non-spurious serieses (xkcdphone, e.g.) that start with example #1 (or even un-numbered, but clearly item 1 in hindsight) might be better to be dealt with as is. But anything pretending to be just one of dozens/hundreds of as-yet-untold examples, especially out of index order (#1 is unlikely to be referenced, for reasons of refusing to establish a truly comprehensive catalogue that doesn't even exist, but would not necessarily disqualify such a leap-frogging/randomly-sampled series if it appeared anyway, after the original asynchro ous+gappy impressions) is probably an intentional Spurious Series.

Or find an even better term. Or supercategorise Series with subcats of Storytelling/Chronicalling/Chronological (Journal), Upgrades/Revisiting (xkcdphone, also Internet Map?) and Spurious/Ad Hoc (as above), allowing room for future additions to revisit the true nature of the series concerned.

Would need a proper editorial policy discussion, of course, especially to find better terminology (of whatever form of grouping(s) the final conclusion recommended). But perhaps you can see some glimmer of (a different?) solution in what I have just suggested. Putting it out there so at least it's there to be ignored or dismissed as overthinking the matter. 141.101.99.183 16:43, 25 July 2021 (UTC)

>This comic yet has no categories. And I cannot think of any suitable? Something with electronics that is not a category yet?

Maybe we can create a (joke) category, "Category: Pages Not Belonging to Any Categories" :) Also, "List of pages that does not include itself as a list item"... Russell’s paradox is rather xkcd-ish. — Yosei (talk) 01:12, 27 August 2021 (UTC)

I seem to recall at least one other xkcd strip that was "Cursed". I think it was cursed office chairs. That would make at least two comics in the "Cursed" category. Rtanenbaum (talk) 14:45, 26 July 2021 (UTC)

There is also the cursed store that beret guy gets all his stuff from, only to find out later that the item is cursed but when he goes back to the store it's gone. Maybe this is one of the items he recently purchased and couldn't return? 127.0.0.1 21:51, 25 July 2021 (UTC)

Not sure if you mean 2332: Cursed Chair or 2144: Adjusting a Chair.

--FrankHightower (talk) 19:05, 28 July 2021 (UTC)

The need of dual plugs could also be a result of the increasing power consumption of some devices, as suggested with the Macbook-compatible high-performance dongles in the explanation. USB-C is limited to 100 W, what is not bad for this tiny pins - Wiki USB-C power issues. So crude soft- and hardware design, e.g of high performance laptops, leads to dual plugs or an additional power plug next to the dock connector. 162.158.134.94 11:47, 27 July 2021 (UTC)

"Cursed Connectors #187" - Section 187 of the California Penal Code covers murder. ProfDigory (talk) 23:53, 28 July 2021 (UTC)

well https://twitter.com/NanoRaptor/status/1519341815773552641 172.70.222.17 05:41, 28 April 2022 (UTC)