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"All so Apple could sell stupid dongles" I hear this charge a fair amount, but it seems really unlikely that Apple moved to USB-C solely to "sell stupid dongle

"All so Apple could sell stupid dongles" I hear this charge a fair amount, but it seems really unlikely that Apple moved to USB-C solely to "sell stupid dongles," for the fairly obvious reason that you don't need to buy your dongles from Apple. USB-C is indeed still a mess, but it's a non-proprietary mess. As far as I know, Apple's 100% USB-C laptops are the first machines Apple has shipped in their history that don't have a single proprietary connector on them; there's something distinctly ironic about how annoyed we all are over it. I don't think going in on all USB-C was a great idea, but I think it's less of a problem with laptops than it is with phones; I think it would certainly be possible to label USB-C ports in some fashion to indicate their capabilities; and I think a laptop with 2 USB-C ports on each side, like several of Apple's MacBook Pros have, is really not going to create hardships for most users. (Although they should really have a micro-SD card slot on at least the 15" model. C'mon, Jony, get over yourself.) "Stupid single port" Well, again to be fair, there's only one laptop Apple sells with a single USB-C port on it, the 12" uber-thin MacBook. That machine is kind of a radical experiment in some ways, an attempt to build a laptop using the principles of the iPad. (That's not just a pet theory of mine; I've heard from more than one source in a position to know that there were internal prototypes of the single-port MacBook that used Apple's Lightning port.) I'm glad it exists, but I'm also glad I don't own one, and I'm not at all glad that Apple has infected the rest of its laptop line with that keyboard. (Again: get over yourself, Jony.)

aekotra 8y ago
> I hear this charge a fair amount, but it seems really unlikely that Apple moved to USB-C solely to "sell stupid dongles," for the fairly obvious reason that you don't need to buy your dongles from Apple. This is classic techy naivety. When Apple marketing looks at what percentage of their customers almost certainly going to buy dongles exclusively from them, what number do you think they come up with? If you're under 50% you are WAY off. Tens of millions of dog-loyal Apple customers don't even suspect that using another company's dongle is even an option. And how insane is the markup on Apples dongles? Use your head, man.
- chipotle_coyote 8y ago
  My head in general tells me that people who make arguments that take it for granted that the majority of Apple customers are idiots are not arguing in particularly good faith.
  - aekotra 8y ago
    Being unaware does not mean you're an idiot. People who don't care or give a shit about technology or available hardware offerings are not idiots. They just stick with what they think they can rely on. I assume you know that. Now who's arguing in bad faith?

aekotra 8y ago

> I hear this charge a fair amount, but it seems really unlikely that Apple moved to USB-C solely to "sell stupid dongles," for the fairly obvious reason that you don't need to buy your dongles from Apple. This is classic techy naivety. When Apple marketing looks at what percentage of their customers almost certainly going to buy dongles exclusively from them, what number do you think they come up with? If you're under 50% you are WAY off. Tens of millions of dog-loyal Apple customers don't even suspect that using another company's dongle is even an option. And how insane is the markup on Apples dongles? Use your head, man.

chipotle_coyote 8y ago
My head in general tells me that people who make arguments that take it for granted that the majority of Apple customers are idiots are not arguing in particularly good faith.
- aekotra 8y ago
  Being unaware does not mean you're an idiot. People who don't care or give a shit about technology or available hardware offerings are not idiots. They just stick with what they think they can rely on. I assume you know that. Now who's arguing in bad faith?