UltraTek Flipper USB plug can't be stopped
By Paul Miller 
posted July 14th 2010 11:31AM
posted July 14th 2010 11:31AM
posted July 14th 2010 11:31AM
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genius now why didnt i think of that
@critique
because we're wasting time on here instead of being productive
@critique
Now we can all plug it in Doggie Style!
@critique
+1 also for a simple photo and short video. Product is demonstrated successfully.
It's a transexual plug
This is the best scientific breakthrough since James Dyson solved the horrific phenomenon known as "Fan Buffeting" in our lifetime!
@critique
its nice and all but you're gonna loose out on real estate for an extra 4 pins in the future. Think usb3.0 onwards and you'll have a problem with this design
@rutter9 i think because many of us thought it was part of the design so people woulnt mess up. sort of like you cant put it in the wrong way. but now i guess there isnt a wrong way any more
I cant believe that took humankind 10 years to develop something so simple!
@critique Thought of it for long. But I don't think that the problem is big enough for this to actually take off.
@iamdeadfish
You rock, dude. I am jaded and almost never laugh out loud at something I see on the internet. +1 to you, sir.
@critique I thought about it 10 yrs ago and thought about it every damn time i couldnt get behind a computer and had to guess the correct position! I also thought of Win7!
Yes. Very yes.
@Wolfticket
Strongbad FTW
GENIUS
cant remember how many usb sticks I broke because I stuck them in the wrong way
@tehslax
That's what she said.
@tehslax
All sexual innuendos aside, if you're breaking usb devices because of this, then you're waaaaaay too agressive with your plugging. Srsly, you can plug it hard, or you can plug it gently
@tehslax
What DrTrent said. You don't always have to plug it hard. In fact, sometimes that's not right.. to do.
@DrTrent
I know people who believe that if it doesn't go in softly, it must be made to go in roughly
@zangetsu2
Win
I am such a dork to get excited over something like this. Surely I am not the only one.
well finally! I thought it was hardware limitation that nobody tried this. Now USB will take over the world'!
makes you wonder why they didn't make it like this from the start.
@Wiggy Fuzz
Probably size and cost. Which would be tough on smaller laptops. But there is plenty of room on PCs and Macs, and even on regular dongles. But this thing has value.
I always stick it in wrong.
(That's what she said)
@dibs oddjob
I think you misunderstand, this isn't the part you plug it into it's the male end which would be on the device you are plugging in. So this would plug into any standard USB plug on any computer
I'm sold. Should make plugging in more simple when in the dark, on the office floor, in your underwear while trying to plug in your USB Webcam for chatroulette.
@Distant just make sure the connections on the cable's plug are on the bottom, facing up, and 99% of the time you will be right. it's the generally accepted standard.
@maveric101
What if the USB port is sideways?
BAM.
@Distant then make sure the connections are on the left, facing right. it's the same as if you were looking a horizontal USB port on a horizontal motherboard and rotated the motherboard right. that's how the USB ports are oriented on the back of your/anyone's desktop tower.
fs
why is there some kid presenting this? doesn't give ya confidence does it
@dagetz
So easy, a kid can do it.
@dagetz
Most kids run circles around us mature folk when it comes to gadgets. :)
@NHAnimator Most adults are infants.
@dagetz that kid was the one that most likely thought of this.
@critique That made me laugh, very loud. I was thinking that they should have had some blonde do the demo, but then she might get the credit.
If this blends, i'm sold
I believe a certain company in Cupertino has already patented this.
@sharkync Nah, they'll just come out with it 2 years from now and call it magic/revolutionary/buzz-word du jour.
@sharkync All your patents are belong to us...
Can I plug it in upside down inverse backwards loop-de-loop corkscrew wumba jumba blah?
Yeah. I'm gonna go with the big E on this one. I'm pretty sure I'm batting below the Mendoza line on plugging these things in correct the first time.
Add to that the fact that manufacturers flip them even on products within their own line.
I don't get why they didn't design the USB to be both ways to start with or be less symmetrical.
@Schmich
Because that is exactly what you'd EXPECT them to do.
YES! this should be in every new computer!
This is the only news that I've cared about all week from you guys
Wow, now you really can't put it in the wrong way!
The USB plug design was a FAIL. This plug should have been designed in such a way that there was a defined difference on one side that you could feel which way the plug was oriented without looking at it while working blind behind a PC tower. like how most PS2 keyboard/mouse plugs had a flat side on the top. A well defined standardized bump on the top side of the USB plug would have probably been sufficient or some kind of keying of the metal plug itself that could be felt would have probably worked well for both USB cables and thumb drives.
Orientation of the port should have standardized too, maybe already is not but followed? Motherboard sockets for the most part seem to always orient the same way, but when it comes to slot bracket or case mounted ports, they always seem to differ, im sure this may even happen between the same model of case/device, since the port is symmetrical it can be mounted either way and still function so its totally up to the will of the laborer assembling the case if they are paying attention at all
You could just look for the USB symbol on the plug and make sure it faces up.
@fourthletter ive seen plugs with no USB logo, and some cheapies that have it on the wrong side. you also can not feel for the logo because many companies will have the embossed logo on one side, and their brand logo embossed on the other. both sides feel the same, making it necessary to actually LOOK at the cable. One should not need to do this if they are working in a rats nest of cables behind their PC trying to get a plug in the PC where you might not be able to easily look at the end of the plug, or maybe loose orientation of the direction of the plug when you have to drop it though a hole in the top of back of a desk.