From: Farley Flud <fsquared@fsquared.linux>
Subject: Re: Another Ridiculous Cable Problem
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.advocacy,comp.os.linux.misc
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Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2025 11:25:09 +0000
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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!