4 ms·

Personally, I've been waiting a couple of years for Apple to drop the USB-C bomb. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9360128 https://news.ycombinator.com/ite

by melling 10y ago

Personally, I've been waiting a couple of years for Apple to drop the USB-C bomb. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9360128 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9360128 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9490224 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9490224 The new USB-C iMacs ship in the spring. I'm not sure why PC's haven't started the transition. USB-C is a no-brainer.

skrowl 10y ago
You can't be serious in thinking PCs haven't started offering USB-C ports. Go to MicroCenter or Fry's and try to find a motherboard for a current-gen proc without USB-C.
- duskwuff 10y ago
  Most modern motherboards have USB-C, but they treat it as a special case -- you typically get one or two USB-C ports at best, and the rest are type A. (Often, some of those are even USB2.)
  - ashark 10y ago
    Probably a chicken-egg thing. I, for one, don't have a single USB-C device at home. Zero. Nothing that can plug into a USB-C port without an adapter. No plans to buy anything that does, unless I'm forced to by computer/phone manufacturers. I would be... unenthusiastic about a motherboard that emphasized USB-C over other ports. Includes it, so I have the option to start transitioning? Sure. Work's similar. There are a couple USB-C Android phones floating around, but the other end of their cables is—drum roll—USB-A.
    - melling 10y ago
      I think that's my point. PC vendors are slow to change. Not to worry, 2017 will be the breakout year for usb-c. Several hundred million phones will ship with it: https://www.cnet.com/pictures/phones-with-usb-type-c/ https://www.cnet.com/pictures/phones-with-usb-type-c/ It'll be common on Dell's, HP's, etc. Get ready for your usb-c headphones: http://www.androidcentral.com/htc-offering-free-usb-c-35mm-headphone-adapter-all-bolt-buyers http://www.androidcentral.com/htc-offering-free-usb-c-35mm-h...
      - toast0 10y ago
        PC vendors can't afford to tell users to throw away all of their accessories every time a sexier connector comes along. Some other vendor will include a ps/2 port or a parallel port or USB type A and if buyers want to keep using the stuff they have, they'll buy the new computer that has the ports they want. Apple can do whatever because if you buy the old model for better ports, you're still buying from them.
        melling 10y ago
        Absolutely no one said that they need to replace all their legacy ports. Adding a couple of the small USB-C ports to the front and back is all that's needed on desktops. On laptops, putting one on each side should be doable. A computer that you buy today will last 7-10 years. I guarantee that there will be lots of USB-C devices in 3 years.
  - zokier 10y ago
    That has always been the case with PC USB ports, when a new standard is introduced then PCs adapt it gradually.
    - bitwize 10y ago
      ... Until Apple adopts it at which point it becomes a standard feature. Apple is the driver for innovation in the PC industry. Not just their own, but industry standards as well.
  - moolcool 10y ago
    How many USB C devices do you have? What kind of cable do your keyboard and mouse use? Your thumb drives?
  - EpicEng 10y ago
    Probably because it is still a special case. I have exactly 0 USB-C devices and none of my stuff is old.
    - Baeocystin 10y ago
      Same here. After giving it quite a bit of thought, the only project of mine that could foreseeably benefit from USB C is the little peltier minifridge I keep a few cans of soda in, currently running off of a USB 3 connection, which isn't quiiiite enough power to keep things as cold as I'd like. tl;dr- I'm in no hurry for a new port standard.
  - mikepurvis 10y ago
    Which is exactly what this generation MBP should have done— maintained 2 conventional USB ports and the HDMI port, and then included two new USB-C ports. That would have been a far better and gentler transition.
popcorncolonel 10y ago
I'm ready for Microsoft to start using USB-C for their Surface lineup.

by melling 10y ago

skrowl 10y ago

You can't be serious in thinking PCs haven't started offering USB-C ports. Go to MicroCenter or Fry's and try to find a motherboard for a current-gen proc without USB-C.

duskwuff 10y ago
Most modern motherboards have USB-C, but they treat it as a special case -- you typically get one or two USB-C ports at best, and the rest are type A. (Often, some of those are even USB2.)
- ashark 10y ago
  Probably a chicken-egg thing. I, for one, don't have a single USB-C device at home. Zero. Nothing that can plug into a USB-C port without an adapter. No plans to buy anything that does, unless I'm forced to by computer/phone manufacturers. I would be... unenthusiastic about a motherboard that emphasized USB-C over other ports. Includes it, so I have the option to start transitioning? Sure. Work's similar. There are a couple USB-C Android phones floating around, but the other end of their cables is—drum roll—USB-A.
  - melling 10y ago
    I think that's my point. PC vendors are slow to change. Not to worry, 2017 will be the breakout year for usb-c. Several hundred million phones will ship with it: https://www.cnet.com/pictures/phones-with-usb-type-c/ https://www.cnet.com/pictures/phones-with-usb-type-c/ It'll be common on Dell's, HP's, etc. Get ready for your usb-c headphones: http://www.androidcentral.com/htc-offering-free-usb-c-35mm-headphone-adapter-all-bolt-buyers http://www.androidcentral.com/htc-offering-free-usb-c-35mm-h...
    - toast0 10y ago
      PC vendors can't afford to tell users to throw away all of their accessories every time a sexier connector comes along. Some other vendor will include a ps/2 port or a parallel port or USB type A and if buyers want to keep using the stuff they have, they'll buy the new computer that has the ports they want. Apple can do whatever because if you buy the old model for better ports, you're still buying from them.
      - melling 10y ago
        Absolutely no one said that they need to replace all their legacy ports. Adding a couple of the small USB-C ports to the front and back is all that's needed on desktops. On laptops, putting one on each side should be doable. A computer that you buy today will last 7-10 years. I guarantee that there will be lots of USB-C devices in 3 years.
- zokier 10y ago
  That has always been the case with PC USB ports, when a new standard is introduced then PCs adapt it gradually.
  - bitwize 10y ago
    ... Until Apple adopts it at which point it becomes a standard feature. Apple is the driver for innovation in the PC industry. Not just their own, but industry standards as well.
- moolcool 10y ago
  How many USB C devices do you have? What kind of cable do your keyboard and mouse use? Your thumb drives?
- EpicEng 10y ago
  Probably because it is still a special case. I have exactly 0 USB-C devices and none of my stuff is old.
  - Baeocystin 10y ago
    Same here. After giving it quite a bit of thought, the only project of mine that could foreseeably benefit from USB C is the little peltier minifridge I keep a few cans of soda in, currently running off of a USB 3 connection, which isn't quiiiite enough power to keep things as cold as I'd like. tl;dr- I'm in no hurry for a new port standard.
- mikepurvis 10y ago
  Which is exactly what this generation MBP should have done— maintained 2 conventional USB ports and the HDMI port, and then included two new USB-C ports. That would have been a far better and gentler transition.

popcorncolonel 10y ago

I'm ready for Microsoft to start using USB-C for their Surface lineup.