WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.040 Modern desktop PCs usually have back sides full of enough holes to give a tryptophobe 00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:09.760 an aneurysm, but those ports have all gone through a lot of different iterations over 00:00:09.760 --> 00:00:16.360 the years. Sure, we might rely on many staples like HDMI and USB now, but many more didn't make 00:00:16.360 --> 00:00:20.680 it. What about the ports that were just the absolute worst? 00:00:20.680 --> 00:00:26.120 What happened to those guys? You might think it's a bit cringe to start dunking on things like old display connectors 00:00:26.120 --> 00:00:30.120 or proprietary Apple ports, but in some cases they kind of deserve it. 00:00:30.120 --> 00:00:36.280 For example, the high-density interconnect 45 or HDI 45 was released on March 14, 1994 00:00:36.280 --> 00:00:43.120 with the PowerMac 6100, 7100, and 8100 computers to use with the AudioVision 14 display and 00:00:43.120 --> 00:00:48.440 then never used again, meaning this connector enjoyed a fulfilling life as long as those 00:00:48.440 --> 00:00:55.400 PowerMac models were being produced, so for a whole two years. 00:00:55.400 --> 00:01:00.720 But during that time, the HDI 45 had the distinction of carrying the signal for your speakers, 00:01:00.720 --> 00:01:04.840 microphone, and video in stunning 480i on a single cable. 00:01:04.840 --> 00:01:09.560 If for some reason you didn't want to use this glorious connector, the AudioVision 00:01:09.560 --> 00:01:16.520 14 also had an S-Video import port on the side, which wasn't supported by Apple and 00:01:16.520 --> 00:01:19.800 went unused. Why did they include it in the first place? 00:01:19.800 --> 00:01:23.600 The answer is lost to the sands of time. 00:01:23.600 --> 00:01:27.120 You know what hasn't been lost though? Molex. 00:01:27.120 --> 00:01:33.840 Why is the Molex power connector stuck around for so long? The answer is that it is cheap, and that's pretty much it. 00:01:33.840 --> 00:01:37.400 It certainly didn't survive because it was easy to use, as anyone who's ever tried to 00:01:37.400 --> 00:01:41.640 pull apart a male and female Molex connector can attest, because the bond of true love 00:01:41.640 --> 00:01:46.160 is unbreakable. One of those little, like, squeezy things that would push them apart. 00:01:46.160 --> 00:01:53.160 That was a high-end feature. Fun fact, the standard 4-pin connectors that we call Molex today are actually based on 00:01:53.160 --> 00:01:59.200 a design from AMP, which now goes by TE Connectivity, called the Maitan Lock, which was itself 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:04.360 based on a pin-and-socket design originally produced by the Molex connector company. 00:02:04.360 --> 00:02:08.840 But the Maitan Lock design did little to address many of the original's problems. 00:02:08.840 --> 00:02:12.880 Back when they used to be standard power connectors for hard drives and disk drives, the pins of 00:02:12.880 --> 00:02:17.280 Molex connectors would often be pushed out of the back if they weren't perfectly aligned 00:02:17.280 --> 00:02:22.800 with the pin holes. The connector also had deceptive little handles on them that no human hands could really grip 00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:26.640 onto nicely and tell power supply manufacturers made things a little bit easier with these 00:02:26.640 --> 00:02:34.360 little pinchy-tab things I talked about earlier. On top of all that, the connectors had a penchant for just breaking, if manufactured in a subpar 00:02:34.360 --> 00:02:38.240 manner, which many, many were. Remember, these are cheap. 00:02:38.240 --> 00:02:43.680 While Molex became a vernacular term used to refer to any number of similar 4-pin connectors, 00:02:43.680 --> 00:02:47.040 Molex, the company, is alive and well. 00:02:47.040 --> 00:02:52.080 And the connectors that we all think of when we say, Molex, still infest most desktop PCs 00:02:52.080 --> 00:02:59.160 to this day. Thank you, Molex. Thankfully, the world is starting to heal from the infestation of another horrible port, 00:02:59.160 --> 00:03:02.160 MicroUSB. 00:03:02.160 --> 00:03:07.120 Designed to take up less space than its predecessor, MiniUSB, MicroUSB was supposed to have an 00:03:07.120 --> 00:03:12.680 estimated lifespan of 10,000 insertions. Oh, that was a funny joke. 00:03:12.680 --> 00:03:18.640 In reality, the tiny port, haha, we're going for size now, huh, too, was so weak that it 00:03:18.640 --> 00:03:23.360 would often end up mangled well before it could hit the big 10-0-0-0. 00:03:23.360 --> 00:03:28.400 If the near microscopic clips that kept it nestled into its destination device got improperly 00:03:28.400 --> 00:03:32.520 bent or shaved down over time as, you know, friction does, you'd have yourself a cable 00:03:32.520 --> 00:03:38.900 that might just fall out if you looked at it the wrong way. If the port on your device ended up mutilated, which inevitably it would because, again, 00:03:38.900 --> 00:03:43.300 friction, you'd be looking at either replacing it yourself with a very difficult soldering 00:03:43.300 --> 00:03:48.660 job or replacing the device entirely, as most people, unfortunately, would do. 00:03:48.660 --> 00:03:54.020 Thankfully, MicroUSB has been largely replaced by the much more user-friendly USB Type-C 00:03:54.020 --> 00:03:58.220 connector, which does have its own set of problems, but nobody's perfect. 00:03:58.220 --> 00:04:04.300 And that ain't even the half of it. As much as MicroUSB may have sucked, at least it was actually a standard. 00:04:04.300 --> 00:04:07.900 Something that can't be said about PCK's front panel connectors. 00:04:07.900 --> 00:04:12.660 For decades now, every PC builder has been forced to reckon with a jumbled mess of single 00:04:12.660 --> 00:04:18.460 or coupled wires with tiny bits of plastic on the end labeled in a miniscule font, which 00:04:18.460 --> 00:04:22.060 then had to be matched up with average spikes of metal on the motherboard, marked with even 00:04:22.060 --> 00:04:27.900 smaller letters. These cables for ants? 00:04:27.900 --> 00:04:32.180 Some motherboard manufacturers have taken pity on prospective builders and included little 00:04:32.180 --> 00:04:37.660 plastic guides to help out, but if you didn't buy a motherboard from one of the good ones, 00:04:37.660 --> 00:04:40.900 by the time the motherboard is in the case, you'd best have a flashlight and a magnifying 00:04:40.900 --> 00:04:45.660 glass handy to find where your wires are supposed to go, lest you find yourself with a non-functioning 00:04:45.660 --> 00:04:53.660 power button. Speaking of ports that aren't functioning anymore, our last, worst connector is the mysterious 00:04:53.660 --> 00:04:58.980 and short-lived Micro DVI. Carrying a video signal, but not audio? 00:04:58.980 --> 00:05:03.980 It was not much smaller than a standard USB or HDMI port, both of which it actually resembled 00:05:03.980 --> 00:05:08.060 depending on where it was used. So where was it used? 00:05:08.060 --> 00:05:11.300 Only on two laptops released in early 2008. 00:05:11.300 --> 00:05:15.780 The original MacBook Air, where the Micro DVI port could easily be mistaken as a USB type 00:05:15.780 --> 00:05:22.700 A port, and on the ASUS U2E subcompact notebook, which featured the port disguised as an HDMI 00:05:22.700 --> 00:05:26.220 port, what is going on here? 00:05:26.220 --> 00:05:30.540 Apparently, a port in two form factors was confusing for everyone else as well, because 00:05:30.540 --> 00:05:35.940 by the time summer arrived in 2008, the sun had already set on this abomination of a standard, 00:05:35.940 --> 00:05:44.060 and Micro DVI's house had been foreclosed for good. Are there any other PC ports, cables, or connectors you simply cannot stand? 00:05:44.060 --> 00:05:47.100 Let us know in the comments down below and maybe we'll roast them in a future video 00:05:47.100 --> 00:05:51.340 too. And if you thought this was going to be about game ports and still want to know more about 00:05:51.340 --> 00:05:56.100 that, then why not check out our video on why PC game ports still suck. 00:05:56.100 --> 00:05:59.740 Thanks for watching guys, like, dislike, check out some of our other videos, I already said 00:05:59.740 --> 00:06:03.500 comment, but comment with some video suggestions if you want to, and don't forget to subscribe 00:06:03.500 --> 00:06:04.000 and follow.