Not short lived at all, it’s literally one of the three standard connectors alongside A and C. USB is an inherently directional protocol, so one side if the host device and the other is the peripheral device. The difference between Type A and B plugs helped enforce that directionality. Prior to the C connector becoming the new standard regardless of direction, all USB cables had both a Type-A and Type-B connector. (A to A cables violate the spec, and are an abomination).
The miniUSB and microUSB connectors are both Type-B connectors, just physically smaller to accommodate smaller peripheral devices. There’s also technically a mini-A and micro-A, but they’re very uncommon since host devices are usually large enough for a full size plug, and now USB 3.0+ Type-C connections don’t require a directional cable the same way.
I have a bunch of USB hubs that plug into a USB-A outlet and then give you USB-A outlets. Are these not cursed because they’re a hub?
I also have a switchable USB hub from Amazon that lets you send your USB hub outlets to one out of four host devices. I use this to be able to have my mouse and keyboard plugged into my desktop or switch it to my laptop, if I have my laptop plugged into a USB dock.
That switchable USB hub uses USB-A to USB-A cables to connect the hub to the host devices. What cable should it use instead for this purpose? USB A to USB B? And the hub would have four USB-B inputs on the back?
So far the only downside I’ve seen is that the keyboard and mouse don’t work super well in the UEFI screen maybe one time in 20. And sometimes the keyboard would disconnect in other contexts, but that seems to have resolved itself.
I’m assuming for the $100+ the real one better be reliable.
What cable should it use instead for this purpose? USB A to USB B? And the hub would have four USB-B inputs on the back?
Yes. I have an older model of this one, which only connects to two computers, but this is even cheaper and connects to four. If you absolutely need USB 3, this one is only a little more expensive than yours and is built correctly.
Not short lived at all, it’s literally one of the three standard connectors alongside A and C. USB is an inherently directional protocol, so one side if the host device and the other is the peripheral device. The difference between Type A and B plugs helped enforce that directionality. Prior to the C connector becoming the new standard regardless of direction, all USB cables had both a Type-A and Type-B connector. (A to A cables violate the spec, and are an abomination).
The miniUSB and microUSB connectors are both Type-B connectors, just physically smaller to accommodate smaller peripheral devices. There’s also technically a mini-A and micro-A, but they’re very uncommon since host devices are usually large enough for a full size plug, and now USB 3.0+ Type-C connections don’t require a directional cable the same way.
I have a bunch of USB hubs that plug into a USB-A outlet and then give you USB-A outlets. Are these not cursed because they’re a hub?
I also have a switchable USB hub from Amazon that lets you send your USB hub outlets to one out of four host devices. I use this to be able to have my mouse and keyboard plugged into my desktop or switch it to my laptop, if I have my laptop plugged into a USB dock.
That switchable USB hub uses USB-A to USB-A cables to connect the hub to the host devices. What cable should it use instead for this purpose? USB A to USB B? And the hub would have four USB-B inputs on the back?
To answer my own question, here is a expensive version of what I’m talking about, which uses USB-A to USB-B. https://www.startech.com/en-us/usb-hubs/hbs304a24a
And here is the cheap version I have from Amazon, over $100 cheaper which uses the cursed cable… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHY8L11W/
The “cursed” thing is a male-A to male-A cable. A hub is fine because it’s male-A to female-A
Is there any risk of using the cheap A to A version?
So far the only downside I’ve seen is that the keyboard and mouse don’t work super well in the UEFI screen maybe one time in 20. And sometimes the keyboard would disconnect in other contexts, but that seems to have resolved itself.
I’m assuming for the $100+ the real one better be reliable.
Not inherently, but if you or someone else plugs one of those cables into the wrong ports, you could lose a USB controller.
Yes. I have an older model of this one, which only connects to two computers, but this is even cheaper and connects to four. If you absolutely need USB 3, this one is only a little more expensive than yours and is built correctly.