next Apple pro Laptops and port replicator ...

cesarcesar
Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
The Powerbook Duo and the DuoDock was an awesome idea from apple.



It will be great that apple intoduce a port replicator like de DuoDock for the next revision of Powerbus, that will be the best solution for creative professionals that need mobility. It's a pain in the a** to hook all the cables (mouse, AC, network, DVI, iPods) to a laptop when returning to a Desk and would be nicer than having all the cables hanging arround....



The Powerbook duo and the duodock used to rule in mobility, I just hope apple continue to innovate and re-launch a much improved duodock..



Any comments?



have fun!

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 13
    relicrelic Posts: 4,735member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by cesar

    The Powerbook Duo and the DuoDock was an awesome idea from apple.



    It will be great that apple intoduce a port replicator like de DuoDock for the next revision of Powerbus, that will be the best solution for creative professionals that need mobility. It's a pain in the a** to hook all the cables (mouse, AC, network, DVI, iPods) to a laptop when returning to a Desk and would be nicer than having all the cables hanging arround....



    The Powerbook duo and the duodock used to rule in mobility, I just hope apple continue to innovate and re-launch a much improved duodock..



    Any comments?



    have fun!



    Since Jobs came back into the picture, Apples focused has been to simplify design. The days of cool docking stations or dual batteries is over. This sucks I know because man I would love a docking station for my Powerbook 12 inch. Yes I know Bookendz makes one, but it's in after thought cheesy design. The answer to your question is no! Think Apple notebooks as B&O, expensive, simple to use and elegant but low on geek features. This is the major reason why I own other computers beside Apple. I needs my geek fix man and last years crap tech just doesn't fly 100% of the time.
  • Reply 2 of 13
    hellasketchyhellasketchy Posts: 6member
    When I started shopping for a PowerBook, I asked about this in the Apple Store. They suggested a Bluetooth keyboard, Bluetooth mouse, and Airport Express to hook up the speakers and printer. But that's an incomplete solution and you end up spending time powering the Bluetooth accessories on and off. And you've still got at least 2 cords to plug in (power, display, plus probably USB), and the Airport speakers will only play iTunes.



    The 12" Bookendz docking station isn't bad actually, I used it but ended returning it and the 12" PowerBook because of fan noise when hooked up to a 20" display.



    15" PowerBook doesn't have fan noise when hooked up to a 20" display so it's what I use now, but the docking station from Bookendz is 21" wide! Seriously it looks like a baby Cylon and costs $250, forget about it. I run everything I can through a USB cable that comes out of a USB hub on the monitor, which cuts down on cable clutter at least a little bit. But I find myself tied to the desk more than I wanted to be.



    It's a shame Apple doesn't see the market for a docking station for laptops. IBM/Lenovo Thinkpads come with a standby/power button on the docking station which is ideal. I have worked in offices filled with nothing but Thinkpads + docking stations. You end up working differently, and bringing the Thinkpad with you more often. Maybe I'm lazy but the "switching cost" of unplugging my PowerBook is a little high - plus I hate the wear and tear I'm giving it every time I connect all those plugs.



    PS - Anyone looking for extra storage for a PowerBook without having to hook up a Firewire drive should look at the Ximeta Netdisk. It's a lot easier to use and more elegant than a NAS. I got one recently and it's great - to the Mac it looks like a Firewire drive, but you can plug it into a wireless router. You can even format it in Mac OS Extended so there's no issues with truncated file names, etc. It also comes with a USB connection so you can transfer large files quickly when you are first setting it up. I use it for backups, video, and iTunes.
  • Reply 3 of 13
    keotkeot Posts: 116member
    I agree with Relic, the design philosophy for Apple products is simplicity.



    I'm sitting here in-front of my PowerBook with only a power cable plugged in. My music is being streamed via AirTunes from a wireless Linux server sharing my music files from its large hard drives.



    The only chance of a Dock appearing is when a wafer-thin PowerBook arrives.
  • Reply 4 of 13
    outsideroutsider Posts: 6,008member
    I've been using Powerbooks for 10+ years and I wish they would make a dock connector part of their 'simple' design. \
  • Reply 5 of 13
    cesarcesar Posts: 102member
    just think about the iPod dock... imaging something similar for the next gen Powerbook.



    just think about.... returning to the office from a meeting or a coffee shop, take out the powerbook from your its case and slice into the Powerbook Docking Station by apple.



    A 23" display, mighty mouse and keyboard connected to the Powerbook Docking Station... COOL!!
  • Reply 6 of 13
    andersanders Posts: 6,523member
    Wouldn´t all that require double wiring of everything. From every DVI, USB, Firewire, Line in and out, Ethernet and modem port you would have to wire seperate wires to the dock port?



    If thats the case (hehe) I understand why they haven´t done that. I, for one, welcome our simple one inch thick overlord over this:



  • Reply 7 of 13
    dstranathandstranathan Posts: 1,717member
    PowerBook Nano subnotebook!
  • Reply 8 of 13
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,425member
    Docks..or at least the principal of Docks are very nice. I'm seeing though that Docks have a fairly low attach rate to notebooks.



    Had consumers and business people really jumped into Docking their laptops they'd be more prevalent.
  • Reply 9 of 13
    thttht Posts: 5,450member
    If Apple reenters the business market, ie, the MS Office market, a port replicator is likely to follow. Really can't expect a port replicator to come any sooner than that.



    If the trends are true, that laptops are slowly encroaching into the desktop market, I can't but think port replicators will be a required port in laptops in a couple of years.
  • Reply 10 of 13
    gongon Posts: 2,437member
    Right now it's still too much trouble to pick up my iBook and go. It has power, USB (to hub), VGA and network connected.



    If I switched to wireless networking, then it would be three plugs, and pretty user friendly and durable-appearing plugs at that. The network cable is more trouble than the others together. VGA would be, but the mini-VGA port de-fangs it.



    I believe this is the set of peripherals most people want to connect. Mouse, keyboard and any other USB peripherals are behind the hub. Firewire would add one cable. If it was just camcorder owners, I could call Firewire folks a small niche, but then there are external hard drives and iPods.



    When Wireless USB matures, we might get by with a measly two cables: screen and power. Still, we pay a lot in bandwidth at least for the wireless network, and it won't work if you still have to access a hard drive.



    For now I believe the most painless way to "dock" is to have a wireless network and a desktop computer. You only plug one cable, power. Wake desktop from sleep. Access fileshares in both directions as necessary.

    Hmm. You could also firewire the laptop into the desktop - with power, that's two cables; boot the laptop into Target Disk mode, and boot the desktop off the "firewire drive"... 8) Well, maybe that's not very practical.



    Anyway, for work purposes having two computers is a horribly expensive investment. Or if you make it horribly expensive, then you need the power anyway.
  • Reply 11 of 13
    webmailwebmail Posts: 639member
    Why don't you buy bookendz ? It's a perfect port replicator for the powerbook.



    You guys seriously need to get out more ;-)

    http://www.photo-control.com/bookendz/





    Quote:

    Originally posted by cesar

    just think about the iPod dock... imaging something similar for the next gen Powerbook.



    just think about.... returning to the office from a meeting or a coffee shop, take out the powerbook from your its case and slice into the Powerbook Docking Station by apple.



    A 23" display, mighty mouse and keyboard connected to the Powerbook Docking Station... COOL!!



  • Reply 12 of 13
    mynameheremynamehere Posts: 560member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by webmail

    You guys seriously need to get out more ;-)



    That's why we want a dock...so we can get out...with our laptops and not have to fiddle with every connection.



    Also, doesn't constantly unplugging and plugging in all those cables eventually wear down/break the ports or connectors?
  • Reply 13 of 13
    cubistcubist Posts: 954member
    Yes, a dock connector should be designed to allow a large number of connect-disconnect cycles.



    The RJ45 is not a bad connector for connect-disconnect, but the problem is the way Apple has soldered it to the motherboard - it's not physically attached well enough, so beware. USB connectors were designed for a large number of cycles, so that's OK. The VGA connector is a problem, but as another poster commented, the mini-VGA probably makes that better.



    Long-term, a Mac could be like a large iPod; you would plug it in a dock and use a keyboard and monitor. When on the go, it could be a tablet.
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