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Do you all remember barrel plugs on laptops. They would often degrade. Either the cable side or the device side of the connection or both. That was the most annoying part of barrel plugs. They would last 8 years and then stop working consistently.
In theory if you are going to design something new, you are going to take the most annoying part of the past technology and solve that problem. If the existing technology is perfect in every way except that one area, it would be silly to solve other problems.
We've had a couple generations of plug solutions come about since then, and we still have the same problem. And the timeline of these thing is shorter than the 8 years it took to degrade a barrel plug.
So why haven't we solved this?
China makes power cords/plugs cheap, so if after 8 years you can just buy a new one for $6USD.
They still get bad on the device end. About half the people I know how iphones that are finiky with charging no matter the cable the use. My very favorited rooted chromebook is about to give up the ghost because it can't charge consistently. I have to use my desktop some times.
Which brings me to my idea. The plug used on desktops I've never seen run down. Of course desktops don't deal with a lot of movement, strain, or plugging and unplugging. But I do wonder if a miniaturized version would hold up well. The key is it's stabilized with a stiff rubberized male end and plastic housing female end. Something that would really hold it firm with no play.
The capacity for movement is what kills these plugs.
If you've got a refrigerator that's 30 years old there's a good chance it's still running, but the ones today break after the warranty runs out. Just more enshittification to keep us constantly buying things.
Funny you should mention refrigerators.
About 45 years ago I got a Sears Kenmore mini-fridge for college.
My mom still has it in her basement and it still works fine.
What's the application of the barrel plug?
Is it designed for thousands of repetitive cycles of plugging/unplugging, or is it designed for occasional removal?
Most barrel plugs are designed for occasional insertion, and the have cheaper strain relief features and much cheaper less flexible wiring components, but USB cords are designed for thousands of physically rigorous insertion cycles, but they are massively produced in cost efficient bulk production cycles.
Many of the older power supply connections have been upgraded to USB-C.
Also, those older barrel laptop connections could take a severe beating. They were stepped on, and had office chairs roll over them, and were forced into ackward desk environments and bent at extreme angles, etc.
Also, 8 years is the span of time between 4th grade and 12th grade. So, this non trivial span of time is also a relative eternity.