On Monday, 27 September 2021 at 22:50:28 UTC+1, geoff wrote:
> On 28/09/2021 1:35 am, Whisky-dave wrote:
>
> >>
> >> geoff
> > Really there was 9, 15, 25 and 37 way and a 50 way which I never got to use.
> You found 9, 15, 25, 37, and 50 difficult to differentiate between ?
Not me persoanlly as I almost grew up with them.
But when someone asked me for a RS232 lead...
But tell me why most terminals needed a 25 pin lead when all they really needed was pins 2 , 3 and 7, a few devices
needed 8 and 20 sometimes crossed sometimes not.
Even in the early days of ethernet we had crossed leads and straight leads, then I think it was the an iBook
was the first computer that it didn;t matter as it auto dectected which wire transmitted and which recived.
Now few have to think whether they need a X or S lead , most now use wireless anyway.
Working in an electronics and computer lab we had so many adapters , gender changers, we also had SCSI,
while HP seemed to like IEEE standard, there were parellel printers, serial printers.Then we had
IBM AT to connect keyboards and mice with a DIN type connector similar to audio hi-Fi ,
Apple used a mini-DIN then PC went PS/2, then Apple went USB , then PCs went USB
and everything is mostly USB now, but we have USB A, B square, C, mini, micro....
There's also a range of mains connectors mayb ethe worlkd should settle on one of those.
We have UK Euro US and many other odd ones, and perhaps all cars should use the same tyre size.
Maybe electric cars should all have the same charging port, forget about any new fast charge options
that are in the pipeline.
> > Then was it crossed or straight was DCD used , then there was busy ackw
> > and x-on x-off and many other pins that I've luckily mostly forgot about.
> > all just for 8 bit communication, of course have a standard 25 pins when you only really needed pins 2,3, & gnd
> > did seem a bit wasteful expense wise.
> That's not the connector - that is one particular use and protocol
> being put through it.
Yes so now we have the USB 'protocol' but still have differnt connectors.
Same with HDMI .
> > I just don't think govenments should have much say in these sort of areas.
> Agreed.
Well perhaps if I believed anyone in govenment has a clue about technology I might trust them,
but from leaving CD, laptops , paperwork in cabs and public transport, sending out emails
to everyone on their list exposing translators and the like to terrorists, personlly I;d rather the best innovators
set standards for the future.
>
> geoff