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Comment by nottorp | Hacker News Reader

Are you sure? You^H^H^H your grand-grand-grand-grand children will probably be able to get an usb-g to usb-f to usb-e to usb-d to usb-c to usb-a adapter chain.

Hey, what happened to usb-b?

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USB-B is the thing that's on the other side of cables with USB-A. A large, square-ish port that got even larger when it was extended for USB 3, with a connector that got even larger. That's the port that mini-USB and micro-USB are mini and micro versions of.

You can find USB-B ports on e.g. laser printers (where size doesn't matter) or on some older USB drives (where you'd want USB 3 speeds).

Oh right. I've had it for printers but I already forgot.

I think i even had a sata to usb box using the huge usb 3 version.

Those were fine-ish, but their micro versions can't die in a nuclear explosion fast enough...

USB-B is the other end of a USB-A cable that plugs into the peripheral rather than plugging into the computer. But peripherals all started getting so small that they switched to USB-mini/USB-micro, and the only large peripherals left are printers, which is pretty much the only place you'll see it used. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_hardware#Connectors

Yes. It's important to remember that we've already lost connectors from < 100 years ago. Now USB-A does have a lot more mass production and popularity for it today which does have something going for it. But remember that changeovers happen quickly and 200 years is enough time that anyone who cares about the legacy dies and there's no market to sustain the adapters. 200 years from now you'd expect all physical connectors to have disappeared with wireless variants taking their place.

A is the “host” side and B is the “device” side of that connector. A full-size USB-B connector is most commonly seen on printers; micro-B for old android phones.

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