4 ms·

Apple with their stupid single port is just idiotic This is on a single specific device. The best port selection with usb-c is on the 2015 chrome pixel laptop

Apple with their stupid single port is just idiotic This is on a single specific device. The best port selection with usb-c is on the 2015 chrome pixel laptop. 2 usb-c, 2 usb-b You mean USB-A. Just having a single usb-c has caused endless pain, all so apple could sell stupid dongles. Nobody I know using MacBooks has a particular problem with this. A dongle would be required in most cases to connect to an external display in any case; it's not like Apple are selling more dongles.

reaperducer 8y ago
Nobody I know using MacBooks has a particular problem with this. A dongle would be required in most cases to connect to an external display in any case; it's not like Apple are selling more dongles. Agreed. My wife has a MacBook with a single USB-C port. Having only one port has exactly zero impact on her. The only thing she uses it for is for charging, and very occasionally plugging in a tiny hard drive to look at her iPhoto library which is larger than the computer's built-in SSD. Everything else in her lifestyle is wireless. And that's where Apple has been going for a long time. She is Apple's target market for a single USB port device. If you're the kind of person whose lifestyle or workflow necessitates more than one port, you buy a computer with more than one port. Doesn't seem like rocket surgery. I don't understand why OC is so upset. As for Apple selling more dongles, I don't think that's what's behind it. Apple would probably rather have the shelf space for higher-margin in-house products than use the space for SKUs from another company. I doubt Apple is making bank on USB-C dongles.
- camgunz 8y ago
  Apple's USB-C dongle is the least functional, most overpriced dongle there is. It has to have a huge margin.
  - reaperducer 8y ago
    Apple's USB-C dongle... Which dongle do you mean? Apple has about five different USB-C dongles, each for a specific purpose. Do you mean the $19 USB-C to old USB dongle? How is it less functional than any other USB-C to old USB dongle? It seems to achieve its stated purpose. What functionality do other USB-C to old USB dongles have that it lacks?
    - camgunz 8y ago
      I mean the first Google result when you lookup 'apple usb-c dongle' [1]. It's $70. [1]: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJ1K2AM/A/usb-c-digital-av-multiport-adapter https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJ1K2AM/A/usb-c-digital-a...
      - reaperducer 8y ago
        If you're on HN, you should know that Google results are tailored to the person, not the search query. The first Google result I got for the same query was the previously mentioned $19 dongle.
        camgunz 8y ago
        > If you're on HN, you should know that Google results are tailored to the person, not the search query. Incognito FTW But they're all overpriced, because they cost $.80 to make. That's the essence of the whole dongle thing, the margins on them are gigantic. It's why Apple's iPhone connectors were proprietary for so long, it's why they're moving away from analog headphone jacks, it's why the MacBook only has one USB-C port. I honestly don't know how this is controversial at all.
- icebraining 8y ago
  What does she do when she has low battery and needs to look at her iPhoto library?
  - reaperducer 8y ago
    Hasn't happened, to my knowledge. The MacBook has way more battery than she needs. (It's a home computer, not a work computer.) And she's a human bring, not a squirrel on crack, or a nerd caught in a social media feedback loop, so she never "needs" to look at her iPhoto library right now. She can wait 30 minutes for a partial charge to see pictures of her family or cats or whatever.
    - icebraining 8y ago
      Is the condescension really warranted for a simple question?
      - reaperducer 8y ago
        Any condescension is your perception only; not my intent.
      - dijit 8y ago
        I didn't read it as being directed at you; just a statement of fact, not everyone is glued to technology like the average demographic on HN, it's weird to hear that someone can be unable to use their laptop immediately and they're comfortable with that.
        icebraining 8y ago
        It's a statement of fact that the average demographic of HN are not human beings?
- aekotra 8y ago
  > Apple would probably rather have the shelf space for higher-margin in-house products than use the space for SKUs from another company. Are you for real? The margins on their dongles are astronomical!
pdpi 8y ago
> A dongle would be required in most cases to connect to an external display in any case Is it? You'd need to be using a display that provides neither DisplayPort nor HDMI. HDMI tends to be available on even somewhat older displays, and most modern ones I've dealt with definitely have both.
- MBCook 8y ago
  The equivalent Macs to the MacBook One would have had mini-DP. I don’t think they had HDMI. So you’d need an adapter.
  - pdpi 8y ago
    Even then, you often don't need any adaptors — the Dell U2415 I use at home has both DP and miniDP ports, and packed a miniDP to DP cable — I could use that out of the box both with my macbook (by using a DP port) or my desktop computer (by using the miniDP port)
Rebelgecko 8y ago
OTOH literally everyone I know with the new MBP has this problem. They used to be able to use the HDMI port, but now they need a smattering of adapters for HDMI and minidisplayport. They also have trouble with the adapter not working when hotswapping ethernet cables
- Milner08 8y ago
  I just have a Thunderbolt 3 hub and it connects everything I need to a single port. Its actually much more convenient than before.
  - Latteland 8y ago
    which one do you have? as reported in this discussion, it's not that uncommon to have problems.
    - Eugr 8y ago
      Not the GP, but I also have similar setup and I use CalDigit TS-3 at home and Kensington SD5200T at work - zero issues. I don't use 4K displays though, just 1080p.
  - Eugr 8y ago
    Same here. Now with a single connection I get 2 external displays, USB peripherals, Gigabit Ethernet connection, external speakers AND it also provides 85W of power to charge my MBP...

reaperducer 8y ago

Nobody I know using MacBooks has a particular problem with this. A dongle would be required in most cases to connect to an external display in any case; it's not like Apple are selling more dongles. Agreed. My wife has a MacBook with a single USB-C port. Having only one port has exactly zero impact on her. The only thing she uses it for is for charging, and very occasionally plugging in a tiny hard drive to look at her iPhoto library which is larger than the computer's built-in SSD. Everything else in her lifestyle is wireless. And that's where Apple has been going for a long time. She is Apple's target market for a single USB port device. If you're the kind of person whose lifestyle or workflow necessitates more than one port, you buy a computer with more than one port. Doesn't seem like rocket surgery. I don't understand why OC is so upset. As for Apple selling more dongles, I don't think that's what's behind it. Apple would probably rather have the shelf space for higher-margin in-house products than use the space for SKUs from another company. I doubt Apple is making bank on USB-C dongles.

camgunz 8y ago
Apple's USB-C dongle is the least functional, most overpriced dongle there is. It has to have a huge margin.
- reaperducer 8y ago
  Apple's USB-C dongle... Which dongle do you mean? Apple has about five different USB-C dongles, each for a specific purpose. Do you mean the $19 USB-C to old USB dongle? How is it less functional than any other USB-C to old USB dongle? It seems to achieve its stated purpose. What functionality do other USB-C to old USB dongles have that it lacks?
  - camgunz 8y ago
    I mean the first Google result when you lookup 'apple usb-c dongle' [1]. It's $70. [1]: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJ1K2AM/A/usb-c-digital-av-multiport-adapter https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJ1K2AM/A/usb-c-digital-a...
    - reaperducer 8y ago
      If you're on HN, you should know that Google results are tailored to the person, not the search query. The first Google result I got for the same query was the previously mentioned $19 dongle.
      - camgunz 8y ago
        > If you're on HN, you should know that Google results are tailored to the person, not the search query. Incognito FTW But they're all overpriced, because they cost $.80 to make. That's the essence of the whole dongle thing, the margins on them are gigantic. It's why Apple's iPhone connectors were proprietary for so long, it's why they're moving away from analog headphone jacks, it's why the MacBook only has one USB-C port. I honestly don't know how this is controversial at all.
icebraining 8y ago
What does she do when she has low battery and needs to look at her iPhoto library?
- reaperducer 8y ago
  Hasn't happened, to my knowledge. The MacBook has way more battery than she needs. (It's a home computer, not a work computer.) And she's a human bring, not a squirrel on crack, or a nerd caught in a social media feedback loop, so she never "needs" to look at her iPhoto library right now. She can wait 30 minutes for a partial charge to see pictures of her family or cats or whatever.
  - icebraining 8y ago
    Is the condescension really warranted for a simple question?
    - reaperducer 8y ago
      Any condescension is your perception only; not my intent.
    - dijit 8y ago
      I didn't read it as being directed at you; just a statement of fact, not everyone is glued to technology like the average demographic on HN, it's weird to hear that someone can be unable to use their laptop immediately and they're comfortable with that.
      - icebraining 8y ago
        It's a statement of fact that the average demographic of HN are not human beings?
aekotra 8y ago
> Apple would probably rather have the shelf space for higher-margin in-house products than use the space for SKUs from another company. Are you for real? The margins on their dongles are astronomical!

pdpi 8y ago

> A dongle would be required in most cases to connect to an external display in any case Is it? You'd need to be using a display that provides neither DisplayPort nor HDMI. HDMI tends to be available on even somewhat older displays, and most modern ones I've dealt with definitely have both.

MBCook 8y ago
The equivalent Macs to the MacBook One would have had mini-DP. I don’t think they had HDMI. So you’d need an adapter.
- pdpi 8y ago
  Even then, you often don't need any adaptors — the Dell U2415 I use at home has both DP and miniDP ports, and packed a miniDP to DP cable — I could use that out of the box both with my macbook (by using a DP port) or my desktop computer (by using the miniDP port)

Rebelgecko 8y ago

OTOH literally everyone I know with the new MBP has this problem. They used to be able to use the HDMI port, but now they need a smattering of adapters for HDMI and minidisplayport. They also have trouble with the adapter not working when hotswapping ethernet cables

Milner08 8y ago
I just have a Thunderbolt 3 hub and it connects everything I need to a single port. Its actually much more convenient than before.
- Latteland 8y ago
  which one do you have? as reported in this discussion, it's not that uncommon to have problems.
  - Eugr 8y ago
    Not the GP, but I also have similar setup and I use CalDigit TS-3 at home and Kensington SD5200T at work - zero issues. I don't use 4K displays though, just 1080p.
- Eugr 8y ago
  Same here. Now with a single connection I get 2 external displays, USB peripherals, Gigabit Ethernet connection, external speakers AND it also provides 85W of power to charge my MBP...