XPost: comp.os.linux.advocacy

On Thu, 19 Jun 2025 21:14:03 -0000 (UTC), Robert Heller wrote:

If you *never* moved the the extension cable and lived in a [vacuum]
it would last forever.

The metal would evaporate in a vacuum.

It would be very slow -- maybe take thousands of years to degrade -- but
it wouldn’t be “forever”.

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On 2025-06-19 6:14 p.m., Alan wrote:

On 2025-06-19 14:02, Tyrone wrote:

On Jun 19, 2025 at 3:24:42 PM EDT, "Farley Flud" <ff@linux.rocks> wrote: >>

Consequently, when my USB keyboard kept disconnecting on one of my
GNU/Linux machines I suspected only the keyboard. I ripped it out
and replace it with another. But the problem recurred.

So I yanked out the USB extension cable and plugged the keyboard
directly, i.e. with no extension.

Maybe if you stopped ripping and yanking cables, they would last longer. I >> have MANY 40 year old audio cables that still work fine. I have 10 year old >> USB extension cables that still work fine.

I have a 90 year old E. H. Scott radio (that I have owned for 53 years) that >> has the original AC cord and plug.

When ARE you going to grow up?

I do tech support for a living, and consequently, I see a lot of other >people's tech; computers, peripherals, cables.

And so many of them are so badly treated.

I've got cables I've had for literally decades, and they're clean and >perfect.

Same here. I had my Commodore 64 in storage for around 25 years, with all
the cables in a ziplock back. Took it out a couple years ago and although I
replaced the PSU as they are known to go bad on these, the remaining cables
for other components were all fine including the unit itself. Yeah, many
decades old AV and misc cables around, all working fine.

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XPost: comp.os.linux.advocacy

On Fri, 20 Jun 2025 01:15:15 -0400, c186282 wrote:

He just shouldn't buy the 2-star rated, cheapest,
stuff from Amazon.

I do not. I usually purchase Belden cables but the brand name
no longer carries much significance. Belden most likely buys
cables made in China and then adds their name to the product.
Most likely, all of the cables listed on the 500+ pages on
Amazon are all made in the same Chinese factory. This is how
the new global marketplace works.

Also, what sort of nincompoop would waste time actaully submitting
a review for a cable? A negative review, as if the cable failed
immediately after unboxing, I could understand. But if the cable
does its simple and trivial job then only an idiot would bother
to rate it 4 or 5 stars. Moreover, true cable quality can only
be ascertained after 10-20 years of operation and only a lunatic
would report back after 2 decades with a 5-star review.

A cable is a copper or aluminum stranded wire that is soldered to
a connector at each end. The stranded wire allows the cable to
repeatedly flex without experiencing work fatigue. Solder, which
contains lead and tin, provides complete oxidation resistance
at the joints. Furthermore, the entire cable is coated in a
moisture-proof polymer.

All of this leads to the inevitable conclusion: Any cable should
last forever (in a practical, not literal, sense).

But the reality is that even the best cables, at least for me,
will routinely fail. That's why I always solder my own audio
cables. My home brew stuff *will* last forever.

A common problem is that the metallic shroud on the female end
of a USB extension is too loose or too easily expanded which results
in a poor connection.

Perhaps the incentive is gone. With billions of computers on
the planet and 500+ pages of cables on Amazon, how is a cable
company to effectively compete? A very well made cable with a
high price tag will just sit on the shelves while its cheaper
competitors will be the winners. That's why we have junk
everywhere.

Even high-end motherboard manufacturers, like Asus or Gigabyte,
produce junk. For example, I will always install short USB
extenders on my motherboard USB connectors to avoid damage from plugging/unplugging. I fear that those USB connectors will fail
after a mere hundred or so plugging/unplugging cycles.


--
Hail Linux! Hail FOSS! Hail Stallman!

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XPost: comp.os.linux.advocacy

On Fri, 20 Jun 2025 00:47:33 -0400, c186282 wrote:

Buying "Amazon" brand ?

You bet! They work. This is typed on an Amazon Basics keyboard. Typically
I wear the characters off the keys before the keyboard fails. I'm looking
at a logitech wireless board where E, T, I, O, and N are gone. Not being a touch typist after all these years I only know that by reference to the
Amazon keyboard that has the legends.

I also buy Basics cables and they work too. I suppose I could go to Best
Buy and get the gold-plated unobtanium cables guaranteed to transmit
signals FTL.

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