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Apple's idea of elegance has always been the same. Do you think it was always convenient to not have a floppy drive? It's hard to imagine now, but there was a

Apple's idea of elegance has always been the same. Do you think it was always convenient to not have a floppy drive? It's hard to imagine now, but there was a time when the floppy was as important as an SD drive or a USB port.

pak 10y ago
The upgrade from floppy to optical only, or optical to bigger hard drives and SSDs and fast WiFi, are leaps in capability that don't even compare to the marginal gain of USB-C over USB3/Thunderbolt 2... especially when that "upgrade" is paired with the number of ports on an entry-level MBP dropping from 7 to 2 (not counting audio, which thankfully survived). With only 2 ports, you need a ridiculous number of big dongles or hubs to get serious work done, and any pro user with >1 external HD, display, or gigabit wired is rightfully wondering what the hell Apple was thinking.
- outworlder 10y ago
  Optical audio did not survive, though.
- wvenable 10y ago
  > you need a ridiculous number of big dongles or hubs to get serious work done Wouldn't having a single multi-port hub actually be superior? Instead of a bunch of cables connecting your laptop to multiple different devices you have one cable to the hub. Much easier to get up and move with.
  - pak 10y ago
    As of right now, the USB-C hub situation is actually pretty dire, as in the only all-in-one solutions are $100+, or not yet released [1] [2]. My past experience with non-powered USB hubs has taught me they're pretty hit-or-miss with a new device, so I don't see how cramming audio, video, and pass-thru power into them is going to help that situation. See the first five minutes of this video [3], which actually involves Apple's "Digital AV Multiport" adapter, to see the near-term experience of "dongle hell." [1]: http://www.bourgedesign.com/ http://www.bourgedesign.com/ [2]: http://www.macrumors.com/2016/11/03/owc-debuts-13-port-thunderbolt-3-dock/ http://www.macrumors.com/2016/11/03/owc-debuts-13-port-thund... [3]: https://vimeo.com/189525997 https://vimeo.com/189525997
pier25 10y ago
Nobody used floppy drives or optical ones when Apple removed them. Most people still use USB-A accessories. See the difference?
- wvenable 10y ago
  People still used floppies in 1998. USB keys didn't exist at the time and nobody was going to waste a whole burnable CD for a document or a CS assignment. See the similarities?
  - pier25 10y ago
    Yes, but IIRC in 1998 it was pretty clear floppy disks were on their way out. I had my first PC with an optical drive around 1994 and there was no question that was the way of the future. Mice and keyboards work perfectly well on a USB-A connection, there is really no need to force everyone to buy dongles or to upgrade all your peripherals to USB-C.
    - wvenable 10y ago
      Floppy disks weren't replaced by burnable CDs, they were replaced by USB drives which didn't exist in 1994 or 1998. So the question of what was the way of the future wasn't even known when Apple removed the floppy drive. In fact there is some parallel here; we all know that USB-C is the way of the future. Every phone, every laptop, every desktop will eventually have these ports for everything. It will replace every proprietary DC power plug. But right now, just like it was in 1998, the future isn't quite here yet.
- nicky0 10y ago
  People very much used CDs and DVDs when they removed them. The Air was widely mocked for it.
  - pier25 10y ago
    I didn't. The superdrive on my MBP 2007 died pretty fast and I never missed it. When I bought my 2011 MBP I removed the superdrive and installed a second hard drive. And that was just one model, the Air. If you wanted an optical drive you could buy a white macbook or a MBP. Now there are no options.

pak 10y ago

The upgrade from floppy to optical only, or optical to bigger hard drives and SSDs and fast WiFi, are leaps in capability that don't even compare to the marginal gain of USB-C over USB3/Thunderbolt 2... especially when that "upgrade" is paired with the number of ports on an entry-level MBP dropping from 7 to 2 (not counting audio, which thankfully survived). With only 2 ports, you need a ridiculous number of big dongles or hubs to get serious work done, and any pro user with >1 external HD, display, or gigabit wired is rightfully wondering what the hell Apple was thinking.

outworlder 10y ago
Optical audio did not survive, though.
wvenable 10y ago
> you need a ridiculous number of big dongles or hubs to get serious work done Wouldn't having a single multi-port hub actually be superior? Instead of a bunch of cables connecting your laptop to multiple different devices you have one cable to the hub. Much easier to get up and move with.
- pak 10y ago
  As of right now, the USB-C hub situation is actually pretty dire, as in the only all-in-one solutions are $100+, or not yet released [1] [2]. My past experience with non-powered USB hubs has taught me they're pretty hit-or-miss with a new device, so I don't see how cramming audio, video, and pass-thru power into them is going to help that situation. See the first five minutes of this video [3], which actually involves Apple's "Digital AV Multiport" adapter, to see the near-term experience of "dongle hell." [1]: http://www.bourgedesign.com/ http://www.bourgedesign.com/ [2]: http://www.macrumors.com/2016/11/03/owc-debuts-13-port-thunderbolt-3-dock/ http://www.macrumors.com/2016/11/03/owc-debuts-13-port-thund... [3]: https://vimeo.com/189525997 https://vimeo.com/189525997

pier25 10y ago

Nobody used floppy drives or optical ones when Apple removed them. Most people still use USB-A accessories. See the difference?

wvenable 10y ago
People still used floppies in 1998. USB keys didn't exist at the time and nobody was going to waste a whole burnable CD for a document or a CS assignment. See the similarities?
- pier25 10y ago
  Yes, but IIRC in 1998 it was pretty clear floppy disks were on their way out. I had my first PC with an optical drive around 1994 and there was no question that was the way of the future. Mice and keyboards work perfectly well on a USB-A connection, there is really no need to force everyone to buy dongles or to upgrade all your peripherals to USB-C.
  - wvenable 10y ago
    Floppy disks weren't replaced by burnable CDs, they were replaced by USB drives which didn't exist in 1994 or 1998. So the question of what was the way of the future wasn't even known when Apple removed the floppy drive. In fact there is some parallel here; we all know that USB-C is the way of the future. Every phone, every laptop, every desktop will eventually have these ports for everything. It will replace every proprietary DC power plug. But right now, just like it was in 1998, the future isn't quite here yet.
nicky0 10y ago
People very much used CDs and DVDs when they removed them. The Air was widely mocked for it.
- pier25 10y ago
  I didn't. The superdrive on my MBP 2007 died pretty fast and I never missed it. When I bought my 2011 MBP I removed the superdrive and installed a second hard drive. And that was just one model, the Air. If you wanted an optical drive you could buy a white macbook or a MBP. Now there are no options.