Skip to main content

Take a moment to admire this origami Ethernet jack

Take a moment to admire this origami Ethernet jack

/

Before it goes the way of the headphone jack

Share this story

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

Just look at that would you. Take a moment to admire the mechanical overkill of the pull-out Ethernet jack on this "new" Fujitsu laptop. It doesn't matter which Fujitsu laptop because the computer's not important, and Fujitsu has been doing this for years. What matters is that we pay our final respects to this marvel of excessive engineering before it disappears completely under a tsunami of Wi-Fis, or, you know, breaks.

The Ethernet jack went semi-viral recently after Twitter user decryption tweeted out photos of the "crazy origami port." The internet was quick to point out similar feats of engineering around the RJ45 plug.

Dell's approach, for example, is much more... Dell:

The Fujitsu jack is impressive, sure, but anyone who's old enough to remember PCMCIA expansion cards (later shortened to just PC Cards) can only shrug, as Lars Karlslund was quick to point out:

But as cool as these Ethernet cards were, they resulted in something like this in everyday usage:

A scenario any owner of a wireless mouse from Apple can commiserate with:

Oh, Apple.
Oh, Apple.

But I digress. 

In this age of perfectly hewn rectangular slabs, where the most impressive new computers — our phones — are nearly void of mechanical parts, let us pay homage to the few tactile joys that remain. Because soon the full-sized Ethernet jack will be just a memory, like the butterfly keyboards, spinning hard disks, and headphone jacks of yore.