You will not find type B (NEMA 5-15) outlets in residential applications in Japan and Taiwan.
Only NEMA 1-15 (type A)
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But doesnât the US and Mexico use type A?
Type A = ungrounded
Type B = grounded
The Framework adapter isâŚgrounded
Outlets in North America accept both type A and type B.
Outlets in Japan and Taiwan look like this and only accept type A.
Iâm with you on the types. Iâm just thinking that if in the US they can use type A whatâs the issue with Japan and Taiwan that makes the apapter âbasically unusableâ.
Do you mean only 1% of US residential properties use type A whereas 99% in Taiwan do ?
I donât understand what it is you arenât understanding.
The adapter framework sells requires a ground. Outlets in Japan and Taiwan do not have a ground.
From my readings the adapter doesnât need a ground, it just has one, and people can use a C5 to Type A cable
I have several C13 to 2 pin Australian plugs. That donât have that ground cord.
Yes, and this is exactly why we need to ground it (e.g. earthing)
Because without earthing, there is no reference to the DC side what â0 voltageâ means, and thus in reality a ungrounded power supply will actually output AC 9.75V (and -9.75V) instead of 19.5V. if you reference to ground.
You can see my full post here.
Which is why I think the Type-B plug is very clever
Because in addition to fit its own 3-prong it also fits the 2-prong.
We wonât be having this conversation if all the outlets ever manufactured only have 3-prong -variants of the sockets. But people are stupid/lazy and they want to save cost, so they designed âtwo-prong onlyâ stuff, ranging from sockets to extension cords.
This, however, will be more annoying for countries like China, that use Type-I for the 3-prong and type-A for the 2-prong (the 2-prong wonât fit into the 3-prong), so people have to invent this ⌠thing so their power strip can stay compact.
The round EU plugs (Type E and F, sometimes C) is not naturally a problem, IF, as I said, every socket (not necessarily the plug) in the world is a 3-prong. But no, not this time.
Great Britain, however, probably set the best example here â absolutely everything is grounded, and every single plug is 3-prong. With a fuse, too. Apple even have to make a special wall-wart for this country.
(on the side note, why on earth is there 20 different plus styles? Canât we just agree on something?)
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I see threads like these and it at least makes me think there is still one benefit of living in the UK over most other places. 
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UK plugs arenât necessarily grounded. The most common solution for phone and laptop chargers is to have a dummy (plastic) ground pin for the sole purpose of opening the shutters.
I should also point out that the IEC C5 to type C europlug contraption pictured a few posts above, as well as the IEC C17 to type I ungrounded described above, are almost certainly illegal in their respective countries.
The point is because the AC side is not directly connected to the DC side, there is almost no chance the user, who is touching the laptop, will be shocked with mains voltage (100-240v AC).
A grounded power supply would prevent them from being shocked with the ~20v DC charging the laptop, but it is debatable whether this is actually a problem (Apple clearly doesnât think so; they stopped including the grounded extension lead in the box with their computers).
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There was a greater danger years ago when the mains adapter had a transformer, whereby if the transformer got hot or for some other reason the mains coils could touch the output, an earth was the safety measure.
One good thing about using an earth if one of the DC output lines is grounded is that any metal laptop case maybe grounded and will limit static build up or interference.
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well, what Iâm trying to say is that the sockets are quite good, as they are both standarized and grounded. And more safe. Because they are usually pre-wired in the house, you canât change them as easily as you can change the plug (or whatever that is plugged into the wall).
Regarding the UK plugs that donât have ground, well, you can choose to not buy them
It happens that some devices are designed without an earth and are supplied with a dead earth pin, plastic to save metal. These plugs are usually melded to the cable.
Even though in such cases the plugs could be removed the cable is still likely to be a two core and it is not safe to ground one side as that may conflict with other DIY attempts that have grounded the other âsideâ
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The 3-pin socket in the adapter begs to be turned 90 degrees. This would help the adapter to stay flat with the wall. This is especially important for the UK plugs.
See https://www.amazon.com/JORINDOďźPA0238ďźUK-3-Prong-Male-Power-Adapter/dp/B093BJWKJG as an example. With the current socket orientation the adapter will hit the wall. If the socket were turned 90 degrees, the adapter would stay really close to the UK wall socket. The same is true for US right angle C3 to wall adapters.
UK plugs are said to be the safest in the world, and if you know the history of the design, itâs clear why that might well be the case.
âŚit was designed by a woman with children.
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BS 1363 all the way.
Found itâŚthe âduck headâ they seem to call this:
(UK)
and (USâŚflips the right wayâŚbut the body isnât in the correct orientation)
and (CanadaâŚbut this doesnât flip the right wayâŚunlike the two above)
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Yup. This orientation. Thank you for the links!
Yup, and I appreciate that. I already had a couple nice 60W USB-C power adapters from my Chromebook Pixel 2015, that work swimmingly with the Framework
Will certainly consider the Framework one if I need a new one at some point though.