TromboneAl
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2006
- Messages
- 12,880
Of the four USB devices on my desk, no two have the same connector.
Except for size considerations for small devices such as a watch or a very small camera, I can see no justification for different connectors on USB cables. Am I missing something?
Didn't we learn this lesson in the 1700's?
Credit for the idea of interchangeable parts generally goes to the French gunsmith Honore Le Blanc. In the mid 18th century he proposed making gun parts from standardized patterns (an idea that reappears in Java Beans!) Since all the parts would follow the same part, a broken part could be replaced by another, identical part.
LeBlanc didn't get very far with his ideas. Other gunsmiths saw this idea as a threat to their livelihood and opposed it. However, Thomas Jefferson was taken with the idea and brought it to America. Here it gained a more favourable reception and in 1796 the famous American inventor, Eli Whitney was give the contract to make 10,000 muskets using the new methodology.
Except for size considerations for small devices such as a watch or a very small camera, I can see no justification for different connectors on USB cables. Am I missing something?
Didn't we learn this lesson in the 1700's?
Credit for the idea of interchangeable parts generally goes to the French gunsmith Honore Le Blanc. In the mid 18th century he proposed making gun parts from standardized patterns (an idea that reappears in Java Beans!) Since all the parts would follow the same part, a broken part could be replaced by another, identical part.
LeBlanc didn't get very far with his ideas. Other gunsmiths saw this idea as a threat to their livelihood and opposed it. However, Thomas Jefferson was taken with the idea and brought it to America. Here it gained a more favourable reception and in 1796 the famous American inventor, Eli Whitney was give the contract to make 10,000 muskets using the new methodology.