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But you already have to connect a bunch of dongles and wires if you're using it at a desk... Personally I find myself almost always using my laptop in one of 3

by to3m 10y ago

But you already have to connect a bunch of dongles and wires if you're using it at a desk... Personally I find myself almost always using my laptop in one of 3 ways: - on my lap, in front of the TV, on dining table, etc. - no dongles or wires - away from my desk, but working - 1 wire for charger (maybe), 1 dongle for wireless full size keyboard and wireless mouse - at my desk - 2 wires for monitors, 1 wire for charger, 1 wire for speakers, 1 wire for USB hub... then from that, wires for keyboard and mouse and USB hard drive and all the rest It's not obvious to me that USB-C is going to make much of a difference to this one way or another. The lack of a Magsafe-type magnetic connector is a backwards step, in my view, and I can't say I'm overjoyed, in fact I'm quite the opposite, at the prospect of having to having to buy a whole new set of hubs, chargers and adapters. But I don't think my desk will be any more or less messier afterwards, and it's not like they're doing a Macbook and giving you only one port (assuming all 4 ports are equal of course).

UVB-76 10y ago
My use case is similar, and I'm bullish on USB-C improving this mess. At your desk, you just need a dock. Everything you currently connect to your laptop can be connected to that dock, and the cables hidden away, then all you need to connect to your laptop is a single USB cable. Away from your desk, why is the dongle for your keyboard and mouse a concern? Most dongles are tiny, and can be left plugged in permanently.
- to3m 10y ago
  It isn't, the point is just that you need 1 dongle for this now, and you'll need 1 dongle for it with USB-C. This isn't making stuff better, but it isn't making stuff worse. (Well, OK... it is making stuff worse, because you'll need to throw away all your old stuff and buy new stuff... oh, wait, you were thinking of keeping your old laptop? Well then, you'll need two sets of stuff! But the original point was solely about the cables and dongles.)
  - aandrieiev 10y ago
    Not really. Now you need to charge the Macbook with MagSafe and connect the dock to it. It's still two cables. USB-C allows you to charge your mac through the same cord it transfers data to/from. Not like it matters too much, but I see some point in it — I come to my desk, plug in only one cable from the dock and have it all set. Also I can easily see how demoing it from the stage falls under what Tim Cook calls "innovation" nowadays. Which seems to become more and more important to him.
MagnumOpus 10y ago
> It's not obvious to me that USB-C is going to make much of a difference to this one way or another If there is one cable for charging, displays, keyboards, speakers for EVERY kind of device rather than proprietary chargers /docking stations or a mess of thousand HDMI/DVI/VGA/sound/power cables, then within 2-3 years every good hotel room and every meeting room at your firm will be equipped with USB-C that is connected to displays, charging, sound and keyboard. THAT is what the big win with standards is.

by to3m 10y ago

UVB-76 10y ago

My use case is similar, and I'm bullish on USB-C improving this mess. At your desk, you just need a dock. Everything you currently connect to your laptop can be connected to that dock, and the cables hidden away, then all you need to connect to your laptop is a single USB cable. Away from your desk, why is the dongle for your keyboard and mouse a concern? Most dongles are tiny, and can be left plugged in permanently.

to3m 10y ago
It isn't, the point is just that you need 1 dongle for this now, and you'll need 1 dongle for it with USB-C. This isn't making stuff better, but it isn't making stuff worse. (Well, OK... it is making stuff worse, because you'll need to throw away all your old stuff and buy new stuff... oh, wait, you were thinking of keeping your old laptop? Well then, you'll need two sets of stuff! But the original point was solely about the cables and dongles.)
- aandrieiev 10y ago
  Not really. Now you need to charge the Macbook with MagSafe and connect the dock to it. It's still two cables. USB-C allows you to charge your mac through the same cord it transfers data to/from. Not like it matters too much, but I see some point in it — I come to my desk, plug in only one cable from the dock and have it all set. Also I can easily see how demoing it from the stage falls under what Tim Cook calls "innovation" nowadays. Which seems to become more and more important to him.

MagnumOpus 10y ago

> It's not obvious to me that USB-C is going to make much of a difference to this one way or another If there is one cable for charging, displays, keyboards, speakers for EVERY kind of device rather than proprietary chargers /docking stations or a mess of thousand HDMI/DVI/VGA/sound/power cables, then within 2-3 years every good hotel room and every meeting room at your firm will be equipped with USB-C that is connected to displays, charging, sound and keyboard. THAT is what the big win with standards is.