ddhr.org - USB device direction

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USB device direction (3)

May 2, 2007

My main complaint about USB devices is that it's nearly impossible to figure out which way to plug them in. And no matter which way is right, the first way you try is always wrong.

I noticed my co-worker observe a USB stick before he plugged it into his laptop. He seemed to notice something, flip the thing over, then plug it in. That's when I realized the method to his madness: He discovered that USB plugs have a top and a bottom. On the shiny metal part that plugs into the computer, there are four rectangular openings, two on the top and two on the bottom. One side of the device has openings that are filled with some other object or material. The other side has openings that are completely open. This is the top. When plugging the device into a computer, the top is almost always facing you. There are probably exceptions to this rule (such as USB ports that are vertical), but that's not my problem. #technology

Comments

#1	Rich	May 3, 2007
	On vertical slots, the top usually goes to the right. On Dell ultrasharp flat panel monitors with the usb hub on the left side, the top of the usb key points away from you. And as you pointed out, with horizontal slots, the top is up.

#2	Dave	May 5, 2007
	Actually, on my Dell monitor, the top points towards me. What's with that?

#3	Rich	May 6, 2007
	Ok, I guess I should be more specific and say the 1907wfp and 1707wfp flat panels currently in production the usb key must be inserted with the key away from you. It wouldn't surprise me if this is the opposite on some of their screens. Dell likes to change around the position of its usb ports. My least favorite was a series of (i think) optiplexes where the front ports were under the logo on the front, at about a 35Â° angle from vertical. Not only that, but depending which hardware revision, the top of the usb key had to either point up or down, as if it wasn't already hard enough to plug them in straight.