When it comes to cables for all of the electronics in your life, knowing what kind of cable to get to do the job you need doing can seem like an overwhelming task to the average Joe. Most of the time, we’re looking for cables to charge our cell phones or cables to connect our televisions to the cable box. Most of us don’t know a bulk fiber optic cable from our cell phone cables, or a zipcord fiber optic cable from a siamese cable. At best, we know which ones do the job we need to have done.
Our cell phones have become a need in our society today instead of the desire they once were. Most technology starts out that way–a luxury item that works its way into the fabric of our daily lives. What a one time was an extremely expensive device only affordable to the elite few eventually becomes a necessity for the manner in which we live our lives. Cell phones are virtually imperative to our business, our pleasure, and, among other things, our navigation. Though they last for an average of only about two years, that’s about the time it takes for a newer, better version to arrive on the scene.
While we might like it too, our technology doesn’t function without power. Those same cell phones that thrill us when we take and send pictures of our children to their grandparents and video of our cats to the entire world are of no more use than a paperweight if they don’t have power. Everyone wants their cell phones to come equipt with a battery that lasts forever, but that technology doesn’t exist. So, instead, we’ll settle for the fastest charge we can get.
As far as the new Apple phones are concerned, to give an example, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus come equipt with a 5-watt charger in the packaging. The cables provided are USB cables that can be used to charge the phones through your computer or more conventionally, through a wall outlet via an adapter. The charging time varies on these phones. With the 5-watt charger, it can take four to five hours for a complete charge. However, simply by using a 12-watt charger that comes with an iPad or which can be bought at a store or online, the charging time can be cut in half. The more power conducted the quicker the charge.
But our cell phones aren’t the only devices in our lives that require power. Our televisions and cable or satellite hook-ups need the cables to carry the power to make them run. Hooking them up to function altogether has taken great ingenuity and the advances we see today are extraordinary. The use of a zipcord fiber optic cable, for instance, allows for two or more conductors to be held together by an insulating jacket. The zipcord fiber optic cable makes it possible to run two or more lines with the same cable, keeping them from getting tangled together.
In our lives today, we need power and with power comes cables. Knowing what kinds of cables work with which devices can seem like a daunting task, but as technology advances so does simplicity of function. Until it gets simple enough for everyone to understand, just ask your kids.