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Apple Losing USB Is a Loss for Music

16 points by mrzool 10y ago

finnyspade 10y ago
Whoever wrote this article appears to misunderstand what those ports on the new macbook actually are. They are USB ports! USB-C to be specific While yes it's an uncomfortable transition period, the idea of a common socket for all connections is amazing! This isn't Apple killing USB in favor of thunderbolt (which happens to run over the same connector), it's apple using the latest USB spec.
nomel 10y ago
> Still, if you're a Mac user planning to upgrade to the new MacBook Pro, you should probably prepare for the fact that you're going to need to be carrying around a lot of dongles for the foreseeable future. USB-C is the future of USB, for very ease of use (reversible), size (phones are already transitioning), performance (multi-protocol capable), and power (up to 100W!!!) reasons. Like all transitions to new ports, it will be a bit painful. But complaining about dongles for USB drives seems a bit silly since all of those drives will eventually use USB-C, like the many thumb drives available [0] (if you have existing drives, then sure, but obsolescence is a requirement of technology). 0: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&IsNodeId=1&N=100007960%20601211669 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&Is...
perfectfire 10y ago
They didn't lose USB. As I understand it, Thunderbolt 3 is completely compatible with USB 3.1 Type C and backwards compatible with adapters with all previous versions of USB. Also, bam[1]! Problem solved. [1] https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Type-C-Smartphones-Tablets-SDDDC-032G-G46/dp/B00V62XBY8 https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Type-C-Smartphones-Tablets-SD...
dear 10y ago
Why can't Apple just make a magnetic USB-C?
- Terribledactyl 10y ago
  USB-C uses 24 rather small wires to transfer data and power, they probably have pretty tight tolerances, in terms of position (my magsafe 2 wiggles a little), and signal integrity. The port would be rather exposed.
- ChickeNES 10y ago
  Griffin already does: https://griffintechnology.com/us/device/laptops/breaksafe-magnetic-usb-c-power-cable https://griffintechnology.com/us/device/laptops/breaksafe-ma...
  - prodigal_erik 10y ago
    "Please note that BreakSafe is for charging power only; data and video are not supported."
cpr 10y ago
Wow, this is overwrought. Just buy another inexpensive USB-C stick drive and bam!, you're done.
dwarman 10y ago
The big loss is to musicians who use iOS for creating music. This involves several often expensive hardware boxes, such as quality audio interfaces and most modern synthesizers, none of which are USB-C compatible. So we are looking at much more expense than mere single dongle hell.
- TheSpiceIsLife 10y ago
  USB-C should be backward compatible with these devices, you just need the right cable, right? Or am I misunderstanding what you're saying?
msimpson 10y ago
A USB-C hub solves the dongles, and cheap high-capacity flash drives are already on the market. How is this a problem? However, the removal of MagSafe is disappointing. I'm not even a Mac user and I would love to see a standardized version of that port, if not even a knock-off adapter for standard DC ports.
- pitaj 10y ago
  I'm thinking of something that adapts a USB-C port into a "magsafe" kind of attachment.
  - msimpson 10y ago
    That's already a thing, apparently: https://griffintechnology.com/us/breaksafe-magnetic-usb-c-power-cable https://griffintechnology.com/us/breaksafe-magnetic-usb-c-po... And while there are a few DC port adapters trying to fill this gap for non-Mac laptops, I haven't seen anything too convincing yet.

16 points by mrzool 10y ago

Whoever wrote this article appears to misunderstand what those ports on the new macbook actually are. They are USB ports! USB-C to be specific While yes it's an uncomfortable transition period, the idea of a common socket for all connections is amazing! This isn't Apple killing USB in favor of thunderbolt (which happens to run over the same connector), it's apple using the latest USB spec.

nomel 10y ago

> Still, if you're a Mac user planning to upgrade to the new MacBook Pro, you should probably prepare for the fact that you're going to need to be carrying around a lot of dongles for the foreseeable future. USB-C is the future of USB, for very ease of use (reversible), size (phones are already transitioning), performance (multi-protocol capable), and power (up to 100W!!!) reasons. Like all transitions to new ports, it will be a bit painful. But complaining about dongles for USB drives seems a bit silly since all of those drives will eventually use USB-C, like the many thumb drives available [0] (if you have existing drives, then sure, but obsolescence is a requirement of technology). 0: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&IsNodeId=1&N=100007960%20601211669 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&Is...

perfectfire 10y ago

They didn't lose USB. As I understand it, Thunderbolt 3 is completely compatible with USB 3.1 Type C and backwards compatible with adapters with all previous versions of USB. Also, bam[1]! Problem solved. [1] https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Type-C-Smartphones-Tablets-SDDDC-032G-G46/dp/B00V62XBY8 https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Type-C-Smartphones-Tablets-SD...

dear 10y ago

Why can't Apple just make a magnetic USB-C?

Terribledactyl 10y ago
USB-C uses 24 rather small wires to transfer data and power, they probably have pretty tight tolerances, in terms of position (my magsafe 2 wiggles a little), and signal integrity. The port would be rather exposed.
ChickeNES 10y ago
Griffin already does: https://griffintechnology.com/us/device/laptops/breaksafe-magnetic-usb-c-power-cable https://griffintechnology.com/us/device/laptops/breaksafe-ma...
- prodigal_erik 10y ago
  "Please note that BreakSafe is for charging power only; data and video are not supported."

cpr 10y ago

Wow, this is overwrought. Just buy another inexpensive USB-C stick drive and bam!, you're done.

dwarman 10y ago

The big loss is to musicians who use iOS for creating music. This involves several often expensive hardware boxes, such as quality audio interfaces and most modern synthesizers, none of which are USB-C compatible. So we are looking at much more expense than mere single dongle hell.

TheSpiceIsLife 10y ago
USB-C should be backward compatible with these devices, you just need the right cable, right? Or am I misunderstanding what you're saying?

msimpson 10y ago

A USB-C hub solves the dongles, and cheap high-capacity flash drives are already on the market. How is this a problem? However, the removal of MagSafe is disappointing. I'm not even a Mac user and I would love to see a standardized version of that port, if not even a knock-off adapter for standard DC ports.

pitaj 10y ago
I'm thinking of something that adapts a USB-C port into a "magsafe" kind of attachment.
- msimpson 10y ago
  That's already a thing, apparently: https://griffintechnology.com/us/breaksafe-magnetic-usb-c-power-cable https://griffintechnology.com/us/breaksafe-magnetic-usb-c-po... And while there are a few DC port adapters trying to fill this gap for non-Mac laptops, I haven't seen anything too convincing yet.