Traditional USB Type A connectors require that the plug be inserted in a particular orientation.
However, the plug is also symmetrical-enough that it’s hard to figure out, by feel, what the correct orientation is. The result is that when plugging a USB plug into something out-of-sight, like a socket on the back of a computer, it can be very frustrating to get the plug in. If one decides — incorrectly — that a misaligned plug isn’t going in because it’s just the wrong way around and flips it, something quite easy to do, then one faces more fumbling around until one flips it again. Irritation over this has driven a number of jokes.
All USB connectors up until Type C required that a user plug the plug in in some orientation and had some degree of this problem — Type B, mini USB, micro USB — but USB Type A plugs were both nearly identical and often on the back of things, where the socket was out of sight.
USB Type C connectors eliminated the problem by simply making the plug support being plugged in in either orientation.
Speed:
There are different speeds of USB connectors. USB A connectors are (sometimes, though not always) color-coded to provide various information to a user about what they support:
There are a number of colors, but blue USB 3.0 is probably what the parent is talking about. Many computers have some ports that support a higher speed, and are marked in blue. In OP’s picture, you can see some ports that are black (USB 2.0) and one that is blue (probably USB 3.0).
I’m not following…
Orientation:
Traditional USB Type A connectors require that the plug be inserted in a particular orientation.
However, the plug is also symmetrical-enough that it’s hard to figure out, by feel, what the correct orientation is. The result is that when plugging a USB plug into something out-of-sight, like a socket on the back of a computer, it can be very frustrating to get the plug in. If one decides — incorrectly — that a misaligned plug isn’t going in because it’s just the wrong way around and flips it, something quite easy to do, then one faces more fumbling around until one flips it again. Irritation over this has driven a number of jokes.
All USB connectors up until Type C required that a user plug the plug in in some orientation and had some degree of this problem — Type B, mini USB, micro USB — but USB Type A plugs were both nearly identical and often on the back of things, where the socket was out of sight.
USB Type C connectors eliminated the problem by simply making the plug support being plugged in in either orientation.
Speed:
There are different speeds of USB connectors. USB A connectors are (sometimes, though not always) color-coded to provide various information to a user about what they support:
https://www.corsair.com/us/en/explorer/diy-builder/storage/usb-port-colors-explained/
There are a number of colors, but blue USB 3.0 is probably what the parent is talking about. Many computers have some ports that support a higher speed, and are marked in blue. In OP’s picture, you can see some ports that are black (USB 2.0) and one that is blue (probably USB 3.0).