5 ms·

He says dongles and cables are "a non-issue" and buys over 7 new dongles, 2 new custom cables, plus a new card reader?

wtbob 10y ago
Maybe what he meant was that he had no issue trading money for dongles, cables & a card reader.
geerlingguy 10y ago
If you have UHS-II cards and a nice USB-C card reader, that alone can make the experience a positive one, dongles or no. Truth is, I really really like USB-C so far (two months in), and will be happy once a few more of my legacy devices are USB-C native (or replaceable by a model that is). I just wish someone made a multiple port USB-C hub, not just another dumb USB-C-to-USB-A hub. I preordered an Arc Hub, but just as with stock options at a startup, there's a 50/50 chance I'll ever see any value there...
- WildUtah 10y ago
  The card reader was killed because people were using them to expand the nose-bleedingly expensive to upgrade soldered on 128k hard drives. Apple's seeking to drive up the selling price without adding quality.
  - routelastresort 10y ago
    I tried using a really fast and expensive 128GB card as extended storage. They're pretty much unusable, slower than a fast USB3 stick, and less practical than a Samsung T1 SSD or something like that. I don't mind the lack of an SD slot, but I won't buy another Macbook Pro until there's 32GB of memory. I have a late-2013 Haswell MBP with an OWC-upgraded SSD, and I prefer it over my work computer, a 32GB maxed-out Thinkpad running Linux... in pretty much every aspect.
  - 9935c101ab17a66 10y ago
    Nah, it definitely wasn't.
r00fus 10y ago
It's USB-C - a (very safe) bet on connectors aligned with the new industry standard. I thought about getting a 2016 MBP, and I'd just get a charging hub with legacy USB support and be happy.
turtlebits 10y ago
When they're cheap and small enough to leave on all your existing cables, then yeah, they're probably a non issue. May be even better in the new MBP because you don't have to care what port to plug into since they're all the same- I always end up trying to plug USB into the magsafe on my 2015 MBP since USB is in the same position on the right side.
nunodonato 10y ago
I laughed at this, so hard. I guess the distortion field is really strong :)
- g4k 10y ago
  If you haven't seen this clip, check it out. You might laugh even more: Apple Engineer Talks About New 2016 Macbook Pro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxhGXZoS8ws https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxhGXZoS8ws
  - JustSomeNobody 10y ago
    The laugh gets me every time.
- w0utert 10y ago
  Why? If you don't care about spending extra for the dongles, after you've bought them there basically are no downsides to having to use them for legacy devices anymore, but all the advantages of USB-C still remain. I don't understand why people get so worked up on the dongle thing anyway, for me it really is a non-issue, and I have only a single C-to-A cable. I do think Apple should not have been so damn greedy and just put a dongle in the box though, there really is no excuse for leaving it out considering the already crazy high price of the MBP 2016.
masklinn 10y ago
I guess the author has some perspective. They bought a >2.5k machine, the dongles aren't exactly going to break bank.
- vacri 10y ago
  Until they get borrowed or even "borrowed". Every other day in my office has a mac user wandering around looking for some sort of video adapter dongle or similar, asking if anyone knows who borrowed theirs. Person A isn't in the office, so person B borrows their adaptor 'just for now' and then absent-mindedly takes it home, leaving person A scratching their head the next day. The problem with dongles is more than just price-point.
  - gradstudent 10y ago
    Who cares? Dongles cost peanuts (relatively). Just buy more than your shop needs and have spares onhand
barneybooroo 10y ago
And apparently can't use two adjacent USB ports! Non-issue indeed...

wtbob 10y ago

Maybe what he meant was that he had no issue trading money for dongles, cables & a card reader.

If you have UHS-II cards and a nice USB-C card reader, that alone can make the experience a positive one, dongles or no. Truth is, I really really like USB-C so far (two months in), and will be happy once a few more of my legacy devices are USB-C native (or replaceable by a model that is). I just wish someone made a multiple port USB-C hub, not just another dumb USB-C-to-USB-A hub. I preordered an Arc Hub, but just as with stock options at a startup, there's a 50/50 chance I'll ever see any value there...

WildUtah 10y ago
The card reader was killed because people were using them to expand the nose-bleedingly expensive to upgrade soldered on 128k hard drives. Apple's seeking to drive up the selling price without adding quality.
- routelastresort 10y ago
  I tried using a really fast and expensive 128GB card as extended storage. They're pretty much unusable, slower than a fast USB3 stick, and less practical than a Samsung T1 SSD or something like that. I don't mind the lack of an SD slot, but I won't buy another Macbook Pro until there's 32GB of memory. I have a late-2013 Haswell MBP with an OWC-upgraded SSD, and I prefer it over my work computer, a 32GB maxed-out Thinkpad running Linux... in pretty much every aspect.
- 9935c101ab17a66 10y ago
  Nah, it definitely wasn't.

r00fus 10y ago

It's USB-C - a (very safe) bet on connectors aligned with the new industry standard. I thought about getting a 2016 MBP, and I'd just get a charging hub with legacy USB support and be happy.

turtlebits 10y ago

When they're cheap and small enough to leave on all your existing cables, then yeah, they're probably a non issue. May be even better in the new MBP because you don't have to care what port to plug into since they're all the same- I always end up trying to plug USB into the magsafe on my 2015 MBP since USB is in the same position on the right side.

nunodonato 10y ago

I laughed at this, so hard. I guess the distortion field is really strong :)

g4k 10y ago
If you haven't seen this clip, check it out. You might laugh even more: Apple Engineer Talks About New 2016 Macbook Pro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxhGXZoS8ws https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxhGXZoS8ws
- JustSomeNobody 10y ago
  The laugh gets me every time.
w0utert 10y ago
Why? If you don't care about spending extra for the dongles, after you've bought them there basically are no downsides to having to use them for legacy devices anymore, but all the advantages of USB-C still remain. I don't understand why people get so worked up on the dongle thing anyway, for me it really is a non-issue, and I have only a single C-to-A cable. I do think Apple should not have been so damn greedy and just put a dongle in the box though, there really is no excuse for leaving it out considering the already crazy high price of the MBP 2016.

masklinn 10y ago

I guess the author has some perspective. They bought a >2.5k machine, the dongles aren't exactly going to break bank.

vacri 10y ago
Until they get borrowed or even "borrowed". Every other day in my office has a mac user wandering around looking for some sort of video adapter dongle or similar, asking if anyone knows who borrowed theirs. Person A isn't in the office, so person B borrows their adaptor 'just for now' and then absent-mindedly takes it home, leaving person A scratching their head the next day. The problem with dongles is more than just price-point.
- gradstudent 10y ago
  Who cares? Dongles cost peanuts (relatively). Just buy more than your shop needs and have spares onhand

barneybooroo 10y ago

And apparently can't use two adjacent USB ports! Non-issue indeed...