CHARLES ANGELICH wrote in a message to WAYNE CHIRNSIDE:

 CA> I would like to have a chance to hit whoever is responsible for the
 CA> _lack_ of goof-proofing of IDE cables on the head with a rolled up
 CA> newspaper at least 100 times or until they were
 CA> unconscious. I've plugged cables in off by two myself and I
 CA> can't see a good reason they didn't put an offset slot in the
 CA> connector to let you know when you 'miss' all those little pins
 CA> (reaching into a place where you can't even _see_ the pins
 CA> etc.). 

 CA> I suppose a bunch of short cable extensions to allow me to do this
 CA> in the light of day where I can see what I'm doing might help but
 CA> no one does that either. :-\ 

It's not the design engineers as much as the bean counters -- non-shrouded
connectors are *cheaper*,  they still work,  and it's a very competetive
market out there.

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