The Pulse-Pounding Origin Story of USB-C
Unsung Science
CBS News
4.9 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 18 August 2023
⏱️ 43 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
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Summary
There’s a new kind of jack in town—well, new as of 2014—called USB-C. This single, tiny connector can carry power, video, audio, and data between electronic gadgets—simultaneously. It can replace a laptop’s power cord, USB jacks, video output jack, and headphone jack. The connector is symmetrical, so you can’t insert it upside-down. It’s identical end for end, too, so it doesn’t matter which end you grab first. USB-C has the potential to charge your gadget faster and transfer data faster than what’s come before, too. And the brand doesn’t matter. My Samsung USB-C cable can charge your Apple MacBook and his Surface tablet. The only question left: Where did it come from? Who invented it? And why?
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I'm going to guess that you know what USB jacks are. |
| 0:07.9 | It is the most successful interface in the history of personal computing, and it's migrated |
| 0:13.6 | into every device under the sun. |
| 0:16.5 | Everything from toothbrushes to power tools to, obviously, automobiles, right? |
| 0:21.9 | I'm also going to guess that you don't love USB cables. |
| 0:25.5 | They have three different possible shapes at the end, so you always grab the wrong one, |
| 0:29.6 | and half the time you plug it in upside down. |
| 0:32.3 | It only goes in one way. |
| 0:34.4 | The world's manufacturers listened. |
| 0:36.9 | They've collaborated on a new improved super cable that can replace power cords, video |
| 0:42.3 | cables, audio cables, and USB cables. |
| 0:45.8 | The connectors are symmetrical, so you can't insert them the wrong way. |
| 0:49.4 | The ends are identical too, so it doesn't matter which end you grab first, and these |
| 0:53.8 | cables are interchangeable among gadgets and brands. |
| 0:57.9 | It's called USB-C, and I found the people who created it. |
| 1:01.9 | I'm David Boag, and this is Unsung Science. |
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