I honestly have no problem with making everything go through USB C instead of a bunch of different ports, it’s the number of ports that’s the issue
Just give me 9 USB C ports and we’re good
Thank you! Same for phones. Why don’t you give me 2 USB C ports if you must take away my headphone jack? What if I want to change and listen to music?
Also it’s the highest form of bullshit that I can’t just plug two computers into each other with a USB C and transfer a file at like 10 gb/s.
In fact I have a conspiracy theory that they intentionally make sharing a file directly between two devices with no 3rd parties difficult so they can control and surveil what is shared more easily.
It’s possible and the fact that it’s not more common isn’t a conspiracy. Technical overview on this StackOverflow question.
As with many things there’s a spectrum from intentional malice to not being paid to care to not even considering it.
I think especially in laptops not having that feature is really missed by even a lot of “normal people” and the necessary hardware would cost what, a couple dollars max?
I think the fact that other methods (WiFi direct, Bluetooth file sharing, etc) are so poorly or slowly supported, when the “how do I get this file to you?” question is so common, is evidence enough to suggest that there have been a number of conversations following this form at various companies.
“Let’s support WiFi direct”.
“Why would anyone want that when they have onedrive/icloud? wink nudge”I am pleased to hear it’s coming with USB 4 however. Maybe the sneakernet isn’t dead afterall.
Framework has 4. They are a bit too expenseive for me, but yeah. (I understand the economics of scale yada yada)
All higher end USB-C MBPs also had 4 USB-C (Thunderbolt) ports.
*slaps top of the port* Each of these ports can fit so many ports.
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But which usb-c cable is the shitty usb 2.0 speed one that came with your phone and is only good for charging, and which cable is actually a good fast one for sending data, and what kind is that one you bought in an emergency one time because you were travelling and really needed a cable but the box only had Italian on it?
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I did the painstaking task of organizing all of my cables last year. I had old VGAs, VGA-DP/HDMI adapters, v1 hdmi cables and a bunch of micro-b (worst form factor imo) usb charging cables. I put all the good cables together and labeled them. For the rest, I collect all of that ewaste in a box along with random lithium batteries and broken small electronics then make a semi annual trip to the local recycling center.
Exactly this, a year ago for a VJ show I had doubles for six different types of cables and all I needed was to hook up my computer to a projector, lights, monitor and couple of controllers
I’ve since updated a lot of stuff to be wireless, but having everything use the same connector would multiply the redundancy and save time, mental load and stress (especially when you are packing up after the show and try to keep track of everything)
Could’ve just said “don’t buy apple products”, and buddy I’m way ahead of you.
Not like any of the other laptop makers are better for ports
Hell, my not old thinkpad has an Ethernet port
I think only the t14 series has ethernet port. All other models don’t have it. Keyboard is pretty shit on the t14 too
and yet, there it is with an ethernet port
Other makers give you options.
You want ports? Buy the model with the ports.
Weird, I seem to have 3 USB-A, 2 USB-C, and one Ethernet, HDMI and mini-display port each on mine that isn’t an apple. I just included connectivity in my search when I was looking.
Also check out framework laptops if you want to just pick exactly what ports you have. If they were around when I got mine, that’s what I’d have gotten.
I remember being in uni quite a while now back, albeit not THAT long ago, where my trusty T-Series refurbished Thinkpad with “all ports ever made” came to rescue all the sleek MS workstation and apple folks when inevitably their “3 necessary adapters” failed to connect to “last refurbished in 2005” projectors we had
What tech manufacturers consider obsolete and what is obsolete are two very different things. I want all my tech to be some cyberdeck cassette-futurism bullshit where, if I were inclined, I could rig up some generalized I/O port to spit out 1s and 0s to whatever. I don’t want sleek, I want 12 hour battery life at full load and also I can use it to beat somebody up
I want all my tech to be some cyberdeck cassette-futurism bullshit where, if I were inclined, I could rig up some generalized I/O port to spit out 1s and 0s to whatever. I don’t want sleek, I want 12 hour battery life at full load and also I can use it to beat somebody up
That reminds me of those huge flashlights that took six D batteries and you could club a rabid deer. I would love love love my tech to withstand such forces.
The old maglites. Those were so much fun when I was a little kid. The batteries felt like they lasted 30 minutes before they died though
If we’re being honest, the flashlight felt like a secondary feature
Homestly, old Macbooks/Powerbooks from as far back as the mid 2000s are still so sleek. Like, who gives a fuck if they’re .4mm thicker, who doesn’t prefer that?
Nah, the bottom two are too thick. They could get it thinner while still keeping the ports though, except maybe the ethernet port.
Bottom part of a ethernet port can be below the shell if you design it right because the connectors are all on top. I’ve had several laptops like this.
There also was fold-out Ethernet ports, like this laptop, or the pop-out PCMCIA cards
I’ve literally never felt that a laptop that wasn’t designed to be a “desktop replacement” was too thick.
Apple finally wised up a bit with the M1+ laptops. They gave us most ports back (other than RJ45 sadly) and made it thicker.
I have a Macbook Pro with one magsafe power, three USB-C ports, one headphone jack, and one HDMI. I walk up to my desk where I plug exactly one USB-C cable in. This connects to a dock that gives me all my disks, thunderbolt, ethernet, speaker, two external monitors, power, and a bunch of USB ports if I need them.
When I need to walk away, I hit one item on my menubar to dismount the disks, then unplug the one cable and walk away.
When away from desk, I don’t need modem, ethernet, firewire, or anything else. I take a single power brick that has 7 USB ports that doubles as an overnight charger. If I have to give an in-person presentation, I plug into the HDMI. The only extra thing I’ve had to carry was a tiny USB-A to USB-C adapter that cost $4.
On that same MB, I run Parallels with latest Windows and Linux versions, and have built all kinds of apps on all those platforms without any trouble. I do this for a living. It’s not a casual hobby and it’s about as ideal a system as I can wish for.
I really don’t understand this fetishization of ports. I used to have laptops with all that bullshit extra stuff I never used when away. It added extra weight, and took forever to sort out all the cables and plugs each time I sat down or walked away.
Don’t miss it one bit.
I do agree that docks are great, however being compatible with docks and having a good selection of ports are not mutually exclusive. As someone who uses docks and the ports on their laptop depending on the scenario, I really wish the industry would stop moving towards extinguishing one of the two workflows
Yeah, thunderbolt dock is really really great. I use one for my professional work machine as well
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I mean I still buy old LG cell phones when mine break because they still have a headphone jack
Recently I found out about sony xperias.
- Decent price second hand
- decent specs, snapdragon CPU
- Unlockable bootloader
- Very good camera, not bricked by unlocking the bootloader
- LineageOS support on some models
- Headphone jack
- Double SIM + eSIM
- micro SD card
- Large battery
- Easy to repair
Which one do you have?
I bought a second-hand xperia 5 III last week. Edit: Flashed lineageos and a magisk module to use the stock camera.
The naming scheme is confusing, the first number is the price range, where 1 is the most expensive, 5 the sweet spot, 10 the “budget” model, then the second number is the generation, I < II < III < IV < V < VI.
Huh. Interesting. I’ve got a Redmi that I can feel is starting to falter. The most annoying thing about it is the amount of random shite loaded onto it that’s hard to get rid of. And the camera is garbage.
Would you mind showing me an unedited photo it takes? I’m considering jumping ship, but I’m not sure where to go. LineageOS sounds nice.
If you’re not put off by Chinese electronics, you can still get a phone with all the extras (card slots, notification leds, headphone jacks, IR blasters).
I’m using an ulefone power armor 26, it’s a beast that’s overkill in every possible sense, but there are more normal phones from redmi or xiaomi that are every bit as good as a samsung or an iphone.
Do you think the ulefone is more durable than a xiaomi or oneplus? They do seem a bit overkill… How do you find apps, just dl from play store or f-droid and no issue?
The ulefone brands rugged lineup is definitely more durable than any normal consumer model. I’ve taken mine snorkeling up to ~10ft deep in the ocean several times, it is 100% waterproof. The only other Chinese brand I’ve had experience with was a Huawei that my brother loved. I can’t speak to the quality of xiaomi or oneplus since I haven’t gotten one due to the fact that they typically don’t have 4g band 71, which is what my carrier (tmobile) is using for their rural spectrum.
As far as apps, the ulefone runs stock android 13, the Google Play store is preloaded, and yeah I use fdroid as well.
Wow that’s rad, mind sharing which model or year phone? Or which are worth picking up and why?
I enjoyed the v-series of LG phones. They stopped at the V60 before they stopped making phones. I had been hooked since the v20
happy with my thinkpad with USB-C, a couple of USB-Bs, HDMI, ethernet, and a headphone jack
oh look … both my laptop and my digital hub get hot enough to melt my desk!
I am writing this from a Framework, and the swapable ports were a large driver. Yes, you can use a dock; in fact I’m typing this right now from a dock. But I keep the extra plugs with my laptop bag so I can use them on the go. By far HDMI is my most used to take over hotel and rental TVs. Also my USB-A ports give me an ad-hoc A-to-C connector, useful for phones. Really Framework made it’s own first party dongle adapters and built them into the chassis. Apple could do this tomorrow and we’d make iDongle jokes by the afternoon.
If I had to venture a guess, the feeling everybody has is a loss of flexibility that a portable device with many different ports provides. Unless you lug around all those adapters, there are a wealth of older devices you cannot use. I expect this to shrink away as USB-C grows to become the dominant standard the way USB originally did. At the same time, there is no reason to be so stingy with the number. Cram like 6 USB-Cs to a side, even if only two are the super special 3.2boogaloomintychocolatecandymountaincharlie-USB that is
enough to run a full docking station.i really resent that frameworks dont ship to where i live, definitely a mild annoyance to not have the treats unfortunately
I actually like sleek tech for personal use. I don’t need a ton of ports in my free time and rather prefer something that looks simple than an ugly mess of ports.
My work computer is a different thing, but even then I use a dock, and I still keep the monstrosity out of sight in my free time.
