A timely warning about digicams and cables
Since it's likely that many people will be getting new digital cameras during the holiday season, this warning about a USB Faux Pas from EDN's Brian Dipert is timely.
Dipert reports that different brands of cameras have micro-USB-style connectors that look compatible but aren't--and he found that the combination of a Panasonic camera with a Kodak cable damaged the camera.
I can't agree with Dipert that there ought to be a law, but I wouldn't mind a court ruling that Kodak and Panasonic are at fault here.
Companies that need a USB-like connector with additional vendor-specific pins should work with the USB Implementers Forum to get a new connector standard defined. Creating plugs and sockets that can damage, or be damaged by, other USB-like products is just wrong.
Peter N. Glaskowsky is a computer architect in Silicon Valley and a technology analyst for the Envisioneering Group. He has designed chip- and board-level products in the defense and computer industries, managed design teams, and served as editor in chief of the industry newsletter "Microprocessor Report." He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. 
