Raise your hand if you ever went to plug a USB cord in (the right way), it didn't seem to go in, you flip it around and try again (the wrong way), said "what the hell" and turned it around and put it in the correct way. *raises hand
To everyone that says the side with the company logo is the top of the connector you ma be right in some cases but not all. I have encountered many cables from Microsoft keyboards and RIM phones that have the USB symbol on one side and the company logo on the othr side. It confuses the hell out of people because usually the USB logo must face up when you plug it in.
Not saying I wouldn't appreciate this, but what I'd really like is for someone to put an end to some of the flimsy slide-out connectors. Probably half of the ones I've used just retract when the slightest pressure is put on the tip, forcing the user to wedge the slider open while cramming it into a USB port.
Yes, I know that's beyond the scope of this. Still would be nice.
This is a problem for people? Just look at which side the logo is on, and that's up.
On the flip side, if it's like the thunderbolt connector, I don't much care for Apple but that unit is slick.
Sometimes it's not that easy. For instance, the microUSB plug on my Nexus 5 is upside down (meaning the top of the plug is up when the screen is facing down). Took me a few tries to figure that out.
Nice, I guess, but it's not that big a deal. I mean really, it takes only what, a few seconds to get it right? I appreciate the whole idea of just making things simpler and work better, but this isn't exactly something I think is worth much celebration. Really sort of "meh".
As someone who's used PS/2 connectors for years I have never complained about the orientation of USB plugs. If there's something before PS/2 that's worse then I don't even want to imagine it.
The reason why it was designed that way is to avoid switching of terminals and voltages, and avoid some crashes of the hardware because the ground and power connects at the terminal at the same time (R E A D). If this new USB (terminal) works when reversed, the terminals would increased then, allow it to enter on either side without crashing your hardware. (R A D A R), which is simply already available on some appliance anyways...😉