this post was submitted on 24 Nov 2024
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[–] [email protected] 194 points 1 month ago (8 children)

I dunno - I’m pretty sure I’d choose the modern MacBook Pro’s ports over any of these other options.

[–] [email protected] 120 points 1 month ago (3 children)

We’re mindlessly bashing Apple here, we don’t need your sensible reasoning!

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago

From my personal experience Apple products aren’t as great as the fanboys claim but are far far better than they haters say they are.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

Where do you see Apple bashing? Most comments are about the general state of notebook ports.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

If you got that kind of money to spend on a laptop, sure. I really don't.

Edit: to be clear, I know this is a stack of Mac's in OPs picture, but the development that the entry models have basically no ports at all is a more recent development. Having to pick the pro just to be able to connect your stuff without dongles or hubs is a bit insane considering the price (and price difference).

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

It really depends on what you use your laptop for. My 2013 MBP lasted 9 years and was how I got my work done. That comes out to 76¢ per day, and I make a fair bit more than that per hour.

But if you’re looking for a personal computer to surf the internet, yes, that could be cost prohibitive. But then it also matters less what device you buy.

As for ports, I’ve never needed a dongle on the 2013 model. I did need one for a USB A drive on the newest model, but this little thing has solved that problem easily. I didn’t even have to buy that since my monitor has USB A ports – I was just too lazy to reach around the back to use it every time. I’m not sure I understand all the complaints about the occasional need for a dongle.

[–] DJDarren 13 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I have an M2 Air, and all mine is missing from that is the SDXC slot, third TB4 and HDMI, and honestly, it's fine. A third TB4/USB would be nice for when I'm doing my radio show and have to plug in my controller and mic while also charing my phone, but I already have a hub so it doesn't bother me.

That said, the limited ports on my M1 mini are quite problematic. Two TB3/USB and two USB3, but one of them is lost to a DisplayPort cable for my second monitor. So I have a desktop computer that functionally has three USB sockets, which ain't great. But again, I have a hub, so it's not a huge problem.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago (2 children)

An ethernet port is essential for any computer.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Exactly! What are you going to do if your router dies (or you mess something up fiddling w/ things)? I may only need it once/year or so, but when I do, it's really important and I most likely can't find the dongle.

An RJ-45 port could totally fit on there if they used one of those flip-down things that Dell has on their professional line.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

Only issue I have is max 65W PD, which should be fine for most laptops, but some laptops can charge at 100W.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 weeks ago

It’s really not. I have one on my work laptop and have never plugged an Ethernet jack into it. That stays permanently in my dock and gets transferred to the laptop via USB-C. All other non-desk work is done via … WiFi. Shock! Literally can’t tell the difference when making money.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago (5 children)

Power, HDMI, a few USBs, and headphones, all you'll ever likely need.

There's no doubt a dongle for anything else.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

Yes, and it’s better to be downgrading USB-C ports with adapters than to be stuck adapting a USB-A port to USB-C or ethernet.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

SD card reader is nice to have if you fuck around with cameras and microphones.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

Yeah, that can stay too.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Cause I live toting a do gle around and risk breaking the laptop because of it.

I did enough of that in the 90's, TYVM

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

Username checks out.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Cause I live toting a do gle around and risk breaking the laptop because of it.

I did enough of that in the 90's, TYVM

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

in the ’90s*

[–] [email protected] -4 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Unless you want a desk setup. I have 2 monitors, kb, mouse, external dac, usb extension for thumbdrives, ethernet, usb soundcard for my mic and a kvm. That's dp, hdmi, 6 usb-a, ethernet and I still sometimes plug-in 1-3 devices to charge them.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 month ago (1 children)

With that many connections, using a dock or a monitor with thunderbolt seems more practical than having a ton of stuff plugged into your laptop.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 month ago (2 children)

It sounds like you need a desktop computer or a docking station.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

That's a use case for a laptop dock if ever there was one.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Like I already said to another user: No. There are more than a few use cases that require a mobile set up for demos for example but that you’d also want to use in a desk setting. For example, architects or sw dev.

Why are you making an effort to justify getting shafted by corporations?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

We aren’t justifying getting shafted by corporations. What I and the other person are saying is that at some point as your connections and cables multiply, you need to consolidate and streamline your setup for it to be more practical and actually mobile. I’m all for having all the basic necessity ports on my laptop, but when your desk ends up as a mess of cables and pulling out and putting back your laptop becomes bothersome with having to attach/re-attach everything every time, having a dock makes it much simpler. Subjecting yourself to setting up all those cables on both ends instead of just one end is the opposite of having a mobile workstation for quick setup and cleanup.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 month ago

You're still missing the forest for the trees.

There's no real reason why you'd have to choose having a few ports + a hub or tons of ports + the option of using a hub.

If you prefer to "consolidate" your devices to a single poinf of failure on an external device then by all means, go ahead. I just think that it's pretty crappy that options are being artificially limited and users of all people are making excuses for it.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

In this situation a hub is still better. You can pack all the stuff away plugged into the hub for easier set up. If your plugging that all into your laptop, you’ll need to plug it all back in again when you move.

[–] [email protected] -4 points 1 month ago

Which might be an issue for you but it's not for me. Also, I prefer the flexibility to have all of the ports I might need, natively.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Zero USB-A ports? Hell, no...

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

Yeah, props to Apple for bringing back the card reader and HDMI. When I bought my early 2015 MBP I specifically went with the older model because these ports were removed on the newer one which also came with the shitty butterfly keyboard as well which they've also since discontinued.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

Yeah M1+ Macs are great. I say this as a diehard Apple hater