Comments on: Which way is up? The USB Dance.

By: Mark Wilden

Mark Wilden — Sat, 24 May 2008 03:28:31 +0000

@Mike: Just follow the tip to its logical conclusion: mark the side of the port, too! If you can’t physically mark it, use a mental mnemonic.

///ark

By: Peter Johnson

Peter Johnson — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 17:00:01 +0000

Mike,
Although this was written as a quick tip for USB plugs, my main idea was to discuss how things such as USB plugs and push/pull doors can be designed to be more functional.

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 16:38:05 +0000

I for one don’t think this is very useful. First, it assumes that all USB ports lie horizontally, and secondly, it assumes all horizontally positioned ports have the same orientation. I have three PCs at home, two of which allow the USB thumb drive to plug in with one side up and the other allows the thumb drive to be plugged “upside down”. At school, all the computers have frontside USB ports that have the “upside down” configuration. Then there are computers you haven’t used yet and don’t know what configuartion they have

By: teem

teem — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 10:59:00 +0000

This solved the problem of USB plugs, but what to do to mark the USB socket itself, I have a LED on the upper side of my flash memory so I always know its upperside but I get confused each time when I try to insert it especially the usb socket is vertical so I have to try to put the upperside of my flash memory to the right and to the left directions everytime.

By: Sam

Sam — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 06:30:59 +0000

My USB-plugs all have a sticker on one side saying what they’re for (scanner, printer, external DVD player, keyboard, mouse,…). No problem with which way is up, and I know which one to pull out when I need to.

By: Mike J

Mike J — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 04:21:04 +0000

I honestly thought the power cord on my Macbook was one of the most annoying features. I’ve never had an issue with people “tripping over” my power cord on any of the 10 laptops I’ve had.. What I did do all the time was make a sudden move, and have to plug it back in. Seemed far more gimmicky than userful. But it’s nice to see innovation in regards to the things that we typically don’t think to innovate (power cords).

USB key/cords/whatevers that don’t label their upsides with the little dots or dimples drive me crazy. Good tip.

By: Techzi » Blog Archive » Life Hack: Stop doing the USB dance and mark your thumb drives

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 22:07:26 +0000

[...] This tip isn’t going to save you hours per day, but it’s a good way to cut out some frustration—though I’m pretty sure you could get away with just using a Sharpie instead of nail polish.Thanks, Peter! Which way is up? The USB Dance. [Web Explorations] [...]

By: Peter Johnson

Peter Johnson — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 16:31:11 +0000

The power connector on my MacBook Pro is a great example of good design. First of all it is a magnet so if someone trips on the power cord it will pull away from the computer instead of pulling the whole works down on the floor. Even better: You can attach it with either side up. And there's little LEDs on either side of the plug itself that tells you if you are charged (green) or charging (orange/red). Here's a link showing the power connector on the MacBook. MacBookPro Design.