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by pak 3511 days ago
The upgrade from floppy to optical only, or optical to bigger hard drives and SSDs and fast WiFi, are leaps in capability that don't even compare to the marginal gain of USB-C over USB3/Thunderbolt 2... especially when that "upgrade" is paired with the number of ports on an entry-level MBP dropping from 7 to 2 (not counting audio, which thankfully survived).

With only 2 ports, you need a ridiculous number of big dongles or hubs to get serious work done, and any pro user with >1 external HD, display, or gigabit wired is rightfully wondering what the hell Apple was thinking.
2 comments
wvenable 3511 days ago
> you need a ridiculous number of big dongles or hubs to get serious work done

Wouldn't having a single multi-port hub actually be superior? Instead of a bunch of cables connecting your laptop to multiple different devices you have one cable to the hub. Much easier to get up and move with.

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pak 3511 days ago
As of right now, the USB-C hub situation is actually pretty dire, as in the only all-in-one solutions are $100+, or not yet released [1] [2]. My past experience with non-powered USB hubs has taught me they're pretty hit-or-miss with a new device, so I don't see how cramming audio, video, and pass-thru power into them is going to help that situation.

See the first five minutes of this video [3], which actually involves Apple's "Digital AV Multiport" adapter, to see the near-term experience of "dongle hell."

[1]: http://www.bourgedesign.com/

[2]: http://www.macrumors.com/2016/11/03/owc-debuts-13-port-thund...

[3]: https://vimeo.com/189525997

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outworlder 3511 days ago
Optical audio did not survive, though.
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