Comment by brikym
3 hours ago
Some government needs to force some standards. Power tools are the worst. Each company is trying to create a network effect and it's anticompetitive.
3 hours ago
Some government needs to force some standards. Power tools are the worst. Each company is trying to create a network effect and it's anticompetitive.
That would be bad. The reality is that government can't micromanage technology. We could be in an alternate universe stuck with NiCad battery packs and 6v lantern batteries because the laws weren't kept up to date - particularly because the NiCad manufacturers and lantern battery manufacturers dumped money on politicians to cement their position.
I think the most I could get on board with was the mandating of USB C by the EU. You can have whatever connectors you like so long as you have the USB C. And then of course we can get lost in what "USB C" actually is.
Government "micromanaging" technology is why you can actually plug things into the phone network. Things like modems. For the internet. Before the government slapped AT&T, you leased the phone and it was wired into the wall and they could take you to court for connecting anything "unauthorized" into the wall.
It's also why PC compatibles ever happened at all.
It's also why Apple phones finally have a standard port. Which you admit.
Interoperability is not natural, and IP laws make it trivial for companies to utterly block as we are dealing with today. Interoperability often requires regulation to force companies to allow people to interact with "their" standards.
The government can manage interfaces in a way that enables standardization and interoperability without limiting capabilities.
Fortunately you can get adapters to take 18/20 volt batteries to any other (18 and 20 volt rechargeable are the same cells, but they measure the voltage differently). Likewise most 12v systems have adapters.
There are two issues: some manufactures put more smarts in the battery than others. So never run the battery completely dead which some combinations allow. Never charge the battery with other than the OEM charger.
Don't buy the off-brand batteries (which sometimes are counterfeit that look like the real thing) since they sometimes are not safe.
Well anything up to 240W can fit into USB-PD.