Sunday, January 16, 2022

If It Breaks Then You Get To Keep Both Pieces

Back when I was young, I worked in the mainframe arena. There was lots of free software available. The saying that went along with that free software was:
If it breaks then you get to keep both pieces.
https://english.stackexchange.com/a/250982
Years later, I worked in the open systems arena as the Internet was emerging. And along with that revolution came "open source" software.

Our strategy group wouldn't let us use "open source" software.

With the recent log4j and NPM issues, finally I understand why.


Thank you, John O.

Sunday, January 09, 2022

USB-C vs Lightning

My last Android phone, the Essential PH-1, used USB-C. Obviously, my iPhone uses Lightning.

For my usage, they're pretty much the same. I just use the cable for charging. And I charge overnight.

But a couple of articles have raised my interest.

This comment triggered my research:
USB C sucks, Apple lighting is the best even tho I’m not a fan of apple, it’s so much more durable
USB C wins hands down on technology. This article (archive.is) does a good job of summarizing the technology.

But, look closely at the chart they used.


Vention doesn't mention that the representations of the "Interface drawing" are fundamentally different.

That "Interface" for the Lightning is inside the device. That "Interface" for the USB-C is dangling at the end of a cable.

Here's a real world example of the difference from reddit:
The apple phone charger chips or breaks and you get a new charging cable, the design is reversed for USB-C, so if the reciever [sic] in a device chips or breaks you now need to replace the reciever [sic] for a phone or other gadget instead of getting a new cable...
Pocketnow has some similar comments:
USB C's design protects the pins and connectors on cables, but there might be some durability concerns over the tab inside a device.
from Pocketnow.com

I think it's clear which will win in the long run but it's going to be like Beta vs VHS without the porn.