I swear the people who decide what ports go onto laptops have never used a laptop in their life. I know now manufacturers would love to just sell you a dongle add-on or two that plugs into your USB-C port and has all of the other useful ports on it you actually need, but even before then… who needed only 1 USB-A and two lightning cable ports? When was Mini-DVI relevant?
Parallel Empires
Submitted 2 days ago by sentient_loom@sh.itjust.works to [deleted]
https://sh.itjust.works/pictrs/image/6e08b604-7611-49d9-8a82-c9d83ec96a69.jpeg
Comments
kryptonianCodeMonkey@lemmy.world 1 day ago
MBech@feddit.dk 19 hours ago
My Lenovo Legion from 2021 has 4 USB-A, 1 USB-C, 1 SD-Card reader, 1 minijack, 1 hdmi and 1 ethernet. They’ve absolutely nailed what is needed, maybe except the SD-Card, but I can kinda see a use for that for some people.
PalmTreeIsBestTree@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Back in the 90s, most laptops came with a docking station or had options to buy it separately that added any port a desktop had at the time. None of this is new.
outhouseperilous@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 day ago
Not a real tree.
ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 1 day ago
I never had issue with ports on non-Apple laptops. I currently have 2 USB-C (one with DP), 3 USB-A, HDMI, Jack and Ethernet. Pretty good taking into account that there’s plenty of good USB-C dock available so you only need the extra ports when on the move.
kryptonianCodeMonkey@lemmy.world 1 day ago
I misread for a second and thought you said it has 1 usb-a and 3 hdmi(!!!). For when you need a 4 monitor set up, and a mouse and NOTHING ELSE! Lol
Romkslrqusz@lemmy.zip 1 day ago
who needed only 1 USB-A and two lightning cable ports?
That MacBook has an additional USB-A port and an HDMI port on the other side
When was Mini-DVI relevant?
In the mid 2000s. DVI offered the advantage of digital signal and support for higher resolutions at a time when most other laptops still had a VGA port. Part of Apple’s option of “premium” technologies. HDMI didn’t really start to take hold until the late 2000s, and Apple eventually switched.
Apple have generally been willing to adopt the more novel / premium connections in their products. Consider the 2016 MacBook Pro - Apple went all-in on Thunderbolt / USB Type C at a time where that was a rather uncommon connection, but in the years that followed we got an awesome array of aftermarket hubs and adapters that also benefited ultrabook users as the rest of tech started to follow suit.
Don’t get me started on the iPhone USB-C port being limited to 500Mbps though.
jaschen306@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
I’m a normal dude and with the exception of FireWire, I have used and require each and everyone of those connections.
sentient_loom@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
I know now manufacturers would love to just sell you a dongle add-on or two that plugs into your USB-C port and has all of the other useful ports on it you actually need
I had to get one of these for my previous work laptop.
Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
Man, I still lament their destruction of the aux (headphone) port. They destroyed that for the entire industry.
MBech@feddit.dk 20 hours ago
I love the destruction of the aux. It forced me to get a wireless headset, and I no longer have to bother untangling wires, or buying a new crappy headset every 2-3 weeks because the wires would break. Also, the quality of the sound in my wireless headset is waaaay better than any wired I ever tried.
Sure, they cost more, but the quality and convenience are so worth it, and I wouldn’t have done the switch if I hadn’t been forced.
Kaerkob@lemmy.world 19 hours ago
They cost more, have to be charged, add a conversion step to the audio, often sound worse. Can I plug my Sony MDR-7506s that I’ve had for 30 years and use every day? Sure if I get a converter… But even that uses up a usb-c port that I could be using for something else.
piefood@feddit.online 1 day ago
Did it? All of the laptops I've gotten in the past 5 years still have those ports. But I don't buy Apple stuff.
CatDogL0ver@lemmy.world 17 hours ago
I also missed the headphone jack until I was running one day and I got tripped by the wire.
I still want more USB ports. Just two ports, Apple? WT fridge?
sentient_loom@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
It’s so dumb. I’m obviously going to keep using non-proprietary headphones. Even if I have to buy a whole docking station with an aux jack.
expatriado@lemmy.world 2 days ago
i have to deal with this with work laptops where i don’t get to choose, they gave me a thin one without RJ45 plug, and i suppose to be happy it is nice looking and sleek, but i rather it have beefy cooling
cRazi_man@europe.pub 2 days ago
I’ve refused a laptop and just use a desktop PC at work.
IT has been to our office recently and collected all the laptops. Everyone has complained that the laptops are working fine and are set up the way they like (Windows 11 capable too). IT says they have a lease contract with HP and the department doesn’t own the laptops, they need to be returned every 5 years for replacement.
I look forward to “old” office IT equipment showing up on eBay. 11th Gen Intel laptops are starting to show up on eBay for £200.
Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
That’s how every place I have ever worked has been. We are on a 3 year cycle at my current place.
user224@lemmy.sdf.org 2 days ago
jaybone@lemmy.zip 1 day ago
Yay vim!
What’s that stupid mouse sticker?
defaultusername@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 day ago
Pfft. It’s not even 2024.
Magister@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Same! Work gave me a Dell laptop, on one side there is a USB-C/TB, on the other side there is 2 USB-C/TB and HDMI. I needed to buy a small usb-c dock with PD, usb-a, second HDMI, RJ45, etc to work with it at home. At least it is easier to unplug and carry.
TheBat@lemmy.world 2 days ago
I use Deck dock at home sometimes.
expatriado@lemmy.world 2 days ago
no hdmi on mine, usb-c only, i have to use an adapter for presentations :(
b000rg@midwest.social 1 day ago
My work laptop has two USB-A and two USB-C ports, and that’s it. And once of those C’s gets used to charge it. Plus, it’s so thin that the battery lasts an hour and a half just idling on desktop. I’m just glad I mostly work on hardware stuff so I hardly ever have to actually use it.
Aquaphobi@lemmy.zip 1 day ago
Idk why yall are talking about this is clearly perpendicular
sentient_loom@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
They’re emotionally parallel.
But now my OCD is triggered, thanks.
interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml 1 day ago
Don’t worry igotchu Image messed up the colours because there’s an hdr bug on sharex & win10, someone please fix that
cannon_annon88@lemmy.today 1 day ago
I feel like you should shuffle some things around and make loss out of this.
sentient_loom@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
At first I was angry when I read this (because I’m sick of loss), but then I thought it’s oddly fitting.
BootLoop@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
They’ve returned to fatter laptops with more ports. People did not like those thin MacBooks for a number of reasons.
absentbird@lemmy.world 1 day ago
The air is still very thin.
Grace_Schlick@lemmynsfw.com 1 day ago
Air is such a strange device, I don’t know why you wouldn’t get an iPad or an actual work computer.
panda_abyss@lemmy.ca 1 day ago
Those book spines are top tier design
Unlike my game of thrones blu rays which have three motifs.
LodeMike@lemmy.today 1 day ago
The bottom one costs 2x the top one
HexesofVexes@lemmy.world 2 days ago
I miss thicker netbooks. Easy enough to repair most things, and it had every port you could ever want.
I hate the new “ultra-light” fashion. Give me thick, durable, powerful, and ported!
sentient_loom@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
I still use my T420 because of the nice keyboard. Something like that plus usb-c would be amazing.
altasshet@lemmy.ca 1 day ago
Same! Personal daily driver for 14 years and counting. You might be able to get USB-C via an Express Card? Haven’t looked into it, but those might exist.
ur_ONLEY_freind@lemmy.zip 1 day ago
Someone should make a movie series of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Dozzi92@lemmy.world 20 hours ago
The Decline is definitely my favorite tune from NOFX.
evujumenuk@lemmy.world 2 days ago
USB-A, FireWire and that video output converged to Thunderbolt, which also means I can connect several displays to e.g. a 2021 MacBook Pro. The separate headphones and microphone jacks got merged as well. After the whole Touch Bar brouhaha, the card reader and HDMI also made their return.
So the one connector we did lose is Ethernet. Which, to be fair, is a bummer indeed. Luckily, we can easily push a Gigabit over Wi-Fi nowadays.
vk6flab@lemmy.radio 2 days ago
You can push Gigabit Ethernet through USB-C too, so a single USB-C connection will likely be our future port allowance 😇
errer@lemmy.world 1 day ago
It’s a bummer you really have to mash the RJ45 into the USB-C port now, totally ruins the connector in my experience, but I guess that’s the price of progress.
ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Copium…
ebolapie@lemmy.world 1 day ago
you can push a gig over wifi now, but what’s that going to cost you?
evujumenuk@lemmy.world 23 hours ago
I don’t know, since I didn’t have to specifically buy anything to get that throughput. So, in my case, it cost me nothing.
It was just an ISP-provided router and an older Mac Studio. I didn’t check but there’s a good chance the wireless link actually supports even higher bandwidth; at the time, I was bottlenecked by the 1 Gbps connection to my ISP.
EtherWhack@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Ignoring the fact that this is on par for Apple… (Which does tend to disseminate to other brands due to popularity)
The only issue I have is the deletion of the dedicated dock port, which should have less wear and tear due to fewer insertion cycles. (you’d only use it at the office, home or otherwise) The other ports being combined into fewer ones is just part of technological evolution toward mobile efficiency. If you are on the go, whether on-site support or between locations, you aren’t going to be lugging around 2-3 monitors; a printer; scanner; etc. You’d normally want something lightweight and easy to manage, so you can be in and out quickly.
If you don’t move around while working or whatever, a desktop PC should fit all of your connection needs.
sentient_loom@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
Don’t care. Want ports.
zakobjoa@lemmy.world 2 days ago
I cannot remember the model, but I had a notebook once that was flatter than an RJ45 but had sort of a fold-out one. It sat flush with the case and when you pushed it, it popped out and opened slightly. Didn’t seem too flimsy, but surely less sturdy than one entirely encased.
piefood@feddit.online 1 day ago
Like this? fold-out rj45
zakobjoa@lemmy.world 21 hours ago
Yes!
Flamekebab@piefed.social 1 day ago
Laptops used to have parallel ports, what happened‽
ordnance_qf_17_pounder@reddthat.com 2 days ago
That crumbling column is actually so cool.
ArrrborDAY@lemmy.dbzer0.com 21 hours ago
“The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire” by Gibbons.