• Dave@lemmy.nz
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    2 days ago

    My understanding it’s the other end of a one way USB cable. Normally the cable is attached like your mouse or keyboard, or commonly these days USB C, but if you are plugging in USB and it’s not USB C but the cable unplugs at either end, one will be USB A and the other USB B so you can’t put it in backwards like you could if they both has USB A.

    Early android smart phones used USB B micro or mini, but printers have no need to keep the plug small.

    • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      Yeah, C had two major innovations: it was symmetrically functional, and it was symmetrically functional. Everybody knows about how A was kinda a pain because you’d try to plug it in upside down a lot, but A also was unidirectional. You never see male A to male A cables despite A being so common, meanwhile C to C is the default C cable, even things that would have used an integrated cord often just slap a port on instead