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My wife just got the new macbook and freaking loves it. I have not heard a single complaint about the single port. She uses an adapter for the rare case where s

by ojbyrne 11y ago

My wife just got the new macbook and freaking loves it. I have not heard a single complaint about the single port. She uses an adapter for the rare case where she needs to plug anything additional in. Her biggest complaint is she sometimes forgets whether she has it in her bag or not because there is so little weight difference either way.

rsync 11y ago
I have an almost daily use-case of USB modem and AC power simultaneously. AFAIK there are not any USB modems in the new USB form factor. I haven't looked at what the adaptor chain looks like for "old USB and power at the same time" ... what does that look like ? I think a single USB port on the new 12" is designed to be flawed. Apple knows these things last 5+ years so the second release of the 12" will have a second USB port on the other side and X% of folks will re-buy that to remove the original flaw. That's one way to combat hardware that lasts "too long".
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- ggreer 11y ago
  I have a 12" MacBook and I don't think Apple will ever add a second USB-C port to it. There simply isn't space. From my review[1]: > Remember, the keyboard abuts the side. The only areas where ports wouldn’t intersect with the keyboard are already taken: USB-C on the left, headphone jack on the right. Adding another USB-C port would require sacrificing the headphone jack. I doubt that will happen any time soon. Apple's solution is to sell an adapter that lets you charge and use USB[2]. Not pretty, but fewer peripherals need wires these days. Heck, I use the MacBook as my primary dev machine and the only adapter I use is for my Yubikey. 1. http://geoff.greer.fm/2015/04/19/2015-macbook-review/ http://geoff.greer.fm/2015/04/19/2015-macbook-review/ 2. http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJ1K2AM/A/usb-c-digital-av-multiport-adapter http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJ1K2AM/A/usb-c-digital-av...
  - rsync 11y ago
    Thanks for your answer, but I don't understand ... The keyboard appears to abut both sides equally ... so while there may be an internal component in the current iteration that takes up internal space, it's not the external footprint of the keyboard that is determining port or no-port. Perhaps I am missing something ? Genuinely curious...
    - ggreer 11y ago
      The keyboard has depth from mechanical linkages, sensors, and a frame to mount everything on. It's also recessed so it doesn't touch the screen when closed. See a teardown for the exact details. Since the keyboard can't be made any thinner, the only way to add more ports would be to make the laptop wider or thicker. Neither is going to happen.
      - rsync 11y ago
        Then how do they have the port on the left hand side ? What I am saying is, the laptop (and the keyboard) are symmetrical left to right ... so if they can squeeze the port in on the left side, they should be able to squeeze an identical port in on the right side.
        ggreer 11y ago
        The headphone port is on the right. With the current form factor, there isn't room for both a headphone port and a USB-C port on one side. I said as much originally: > Adding another USB-C port would require sacrificing the headphone jack. Have you seen a MacBook in person? As soon as I did, I found this quite apparent.

by ojbyrne 11y ago

rsync 11y ago

I have an almost daily use-case of USB modem and AC power simultaneously. AFAIK there are not any USB modems in the new USB form factor. I haven't looked at what the adaptor chain looks like for "old USB and power at the same time" ... what does that look like ? I think a single USB port on the new 12" is designed to be flawed. Apple knows these things last 5+ years so the second release of the 12" will have a second USB port on the other side and X% of folks will re-buy that to remove the original flaw. That's one way to combat hardware that lasts "too long".

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
ggreer 11y ago
I have a 12" MacBook and I don't think Apple will ever add a second USB-C port to it. There simply isn't space. From my review[1]: > Remember, the keyboard abuts the side. The only areas where ports wouldn’t intersect with the keyboard are already taken: USB-C on the left, headphone jack on the right. Adding another USB-C port would require sacrificing the headphone jack. I doubt that will happen any time soon. Apple's solution is to sell an adapter that lets you charge and use USB[2]. Not pretty, but fewer peripherals need wires these days. Heck, I use the MacBook as my primary dev machine and the only adapter I use is for my Yubikey. 1. http://geoff.greer.fm/2015/04/19/2015-macbook-review/ http://geoff.greer.fm/2015/04/19/2015-macbook-review/ 2. http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJ1K2AM/A/usb-c-digital-av-multiport-adapter http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJ1K2AM/A/usb-c-digital-av...
- rsync 11y ago
  Thanks for your answer, but I don't understand ... The keyboard appears to abut both sides equally ... so while there may be an internal component in the current iteration that takes up internal space, it's not the external footprint of the keyboard that is determining port or no-port. Perhaps I am missing something ? Genuinely curious...
  - ggreer 11y ago
    The keyboard has depth from mechanical linkages, sensors, and a frame to mount everything on. It's also recessed so it doesn't touch the screen when closed. See a teardown for the exact details. Since the keyboard can't be made any thinner, the only way to add more ports would be to make the laptop wider or thicker. Neither is going to happen.
    - rsync 11y ago
      Then how do they have the port on the left hand side ? What I am saying is, the laptop (and the keyboard) are symmetrical left to right ... so if they can squeeze the port in on the left side, they should be able to squeeze an identical port in on the right side.
      - ggreer 11y ago
        The headphone port is on the right. With the current form factor, there isn't room for both a headphone port and a USB-C port on one side. I said as much originally: > Adding another USB-C port would require sacrificing the headphone jack. Have you seen a MacBook in person? As soon as I did, I found this quite apparent.