I think a big reason to move away from Thunderbolt is the reliance on Intel. With USB C Apple has the flexibility to support USB on non Intel platforms.
"USB 2.0 also employs an infamous non-reversible Type-A connector. Many people complain that it's rare to properly plug in the connector on the first try."
Ugh! I hated this. I know there is a 50-50 chance of getting it right the first time....but it seemed like 90% I got it wrong. Thank you Apple.
Obviously MacBook is not for pros, it's for coffeeshop dwellers.
I am disappointed for the lack of MagSafe. Yes USB-C now handles power as well as data, but the whole premise of MagSafe was to avoid disaster should someone trip over your cord, which was very good selling point.
Perhaps the weight of the new MacBook is an issue with MagSafe? Will 2 pounds provide enough resistance when the MagSafe is pulled on to release it without dragging the MacBook with it? I don't know.
Lot of complaining about Apple's innovations, here and in the press.
I remember getting my "white" G3 iBooks back in the day. I thought is was so cool. Especially compared to the corporate colors of "Funeral" black and "Pallbearer" gray of the laptops from Dell and HP.
It was so refreshing and elegant.
I look at the gold macbook as a masterful piece of engineering but also it is beautiful.
I for one will trust Apple in their evolutionary pursuit of perfection.
the problem is, w/ current USB the change of getting it right/wrong is not 50% -- it often takes me 3 attempts to get it right. how can that be possible since it implies one attempt was the correct orientation? dunno, but it is...and im not alone -- people often joke about it taking three attempts. its just a poor plug design.
While it's definitely time to move on from the old Type-A connector, it was designed in the era of ports with thumbscrews (VGA, serial and parallel ports), so at the time it was revolutionary. We just expect more now.
Actually no. Two would have been ideal as one could charge the device and have another device connected. You could be charging and hook up a display. Having no available putts whole charging is what bothers me
Or... keep the one 3.1 port, but also keep a magsafe connector port(which is very neat and handy); use a magsafe connector adaptor via a USB3.1 cord to power brick! Should work shouldn't it?
Actually no. Two would have been ideal as one could charge the device and have another device connected. You could be charging and hook up a display. Having no available putts whole charging is what bothers me
These are not simple USB ports, if they added 2 they would not be the same, having full USB C to both sides of the machine would be very difficult 100w power in out and video is not likely, but Apple would neve have two identical ports on different sides with different functions. As others have done.
Actually no. Two would have been ideal as one could charge the device and have another device connected. You could be charging and hook up a display. Having no available putts whole charging is what bothers me
These are not simple USB ports, if they added 2 they would not be the same, having full USB C to both sides of the machine would be very difficult 100w power in out and video is not likely, but Apple would neve have two identical ports on different sides with different functions. As others have done.
Actually no. Two would have been ideal as one could charge the device and have another device connected. You could be charging and hook up a display. Having no available putts whole charging is what bothers me
You can charge and have it outputting to an external display at the same time.
If you can't see it, then you still have a 50% chance of getting it right and a 50% chance of getting wrong. This isn't "rare".
I'd say 50% is a best case scenario. If you can't see and you are not holding the plug quite right it can take many attempts. If the first attempt doesn't work you assume the plug is upside down and so you try the other way. If that doesn't work you know that in one of the two cases you got the direction right but the 'aim' was off. To correct that you may have to try two more times, and even then you may not get it right. I speak from experience and a plug which is slightly rounded to prevent it catching, and which can be inserted either way gets a big fat thumbs up from me.
If Apple and/or other gadget,laptop manufacturers are planning to standardize on USB-Type C connector than they should add at-least 2 USB-C rather than 1 connector as provided in new Macbook announced by Apple. Because now one connector carries burden of power and connectivity so when one connector overused and go bad than whole laptop,gadget go useless, unusable until spend much to get it fixed.
1) I would have liked if Apple included a second USB-C port, specifically on the other side, but it's silly to say what a company should do.
2) I've never had a USB port "go bad" from being "overused" and I can't recall that ever being an issue with anyone else's system in which I've had to assist.
You can charge and have it outputting to an external display at the same time.
Hopefully soon we'll get displays with USB-c so all you need is one cable to your laptop. For me, that is all I need. If I can buy USB-C thumb drives, that will help too.
"Rare"? I think not. In a worst-case scenario, you have a 50% chance of getting it right. I wouldn't call a 50% chance "rare".
That's like saying I drive my car half of the time and my wife drives my car the other half of the time and claiming that I rarely drive my car.
Actually if you add in the fact that the product you are plugging the cable into could also be oriented in either direction the 50% chance of getting in right now goes down to 25%. I have cable which indicate which side is up (if you said one side it the proper up side) the computes and UBS docks and such can flip the connectors depending on their design. I have run into this, i go to plug in and find that the matting connector is actually flip from that I expected.
With that I have to agree I spend more time trying to get the connectors oriented. Other connectors usually give you a visual clue of orientation the USB really does not unless you look inside the connector and you can not easily do that.
"Rare"? I think not. In a worst-case scenario, you have a 50% chance of getting it right. I wouldn't call a 50% chance "rare".
That's like saying I drive my car half of the time and my wife drives my car the other half of the time and claiming that I rarely drive my car.
It's quite a bit less than 50%. it's about a 50% chance that you'll have it facing the correct way the first time, but due to the design it's often that people try it, find that it doesn't work so they flip it 180° thinking that it might work then. If that doesn't work they may blindly flip it again or look to see how the "duck fack" is oriented and then plug it in, with or with having to flip it 180°.
Obviously MacBook is not for pros, it's for coffeeshop dwellers.
I am disappointed for the lack of MagSafe. Yes USB-C now handles power as well as data, but the whole premise of MagSafe was to avoid disaster should someone trip over your cord, which was very good selling point.
With 10 hr battery life, this is much less relevant. Most people should be more than fine plugging the thing in before they sleep, and not needing a charger when out and about.
consider this %u2013 you want to connect a 4K monitor to a KVM switcher, it's very difficult to find anything above display port 1.1 and you need display port 1.2 or 3 even to have a fighting chance and few switchers come with anything higher than a series of USB2 connectors.So ATM you can't find a suitable Display port connector let alone Thunderbolt connector and precious little in the way of USB3 and now we have "good news everybody we are changing everything so the cable manufactures and hardware manufacturers can make a killing". Look forward to adding my Thunderbolt and USB3 cables to my big dusty box of USB2 (A and , Firewire400 and 800, (full size and mini), Magsafe type1, and iPhone first gen cables. P.S. does anyone want a serial to USB cable converter for a Wacom v1 A2, I'll throw in a SCSI card for free !
1) What is the case scenario in which you think hooking a brand new 12" MacBook to a KVM with an attached UHD display? This seems like a fabricated problem so you can pooh-pooh this new portable.
2) So they got rid of the expensive TB which requires timing chips in the cables. And I think they'll get rid of Lightning for the superior USB-C. But you think the entire reason for a move to the ubiquitous USB is so Apple can make more money for all the cable makers of the world, and somehow the least expensive and most ubiquitous cable type for modern computing is an evil plot by Apple to siphon money from your pockets? Makes perfect sense¡
Actually if you add in the fact that the product you are plugging the cable into could also be oriented in either direction the 50% chance of getting in right now goes down to 25%. I have cable which indicate which side is up (if you said one side it the proper up side) the computes and UBS docks and such can flip the connectors depending on their design. I have run into this, i go to plug in and find that the matting connector is actually flip from that I expected.
With that I have to agree I spend more time trying to get the connectors oriented. Other connectors usually give you a visual clue of orientation the USB really does not unless you look inside the connector and you can not easily do that.
I've found that all decent usb cables indicate which way is up using the usb symbol on the top side. Devices with usb also have that side up when the connector is horizontal.
If you can't see it, then you still have a 50% chance of getting it right and a 50% chance of getting wrong. This isn't "rare".
Clearly you don't use external USB devices much, or you have some kind of 6th sense. There have been jokes about how this works in reality for years. Cartoons even. Here's one article, and a cartoon:
[ ps for long-time compatriots: I've been here on AI for 13 years and this is the first time I've ever bothered to figure out how to embed an image in a comment! ]
If Apple and/or other gadget,laptop manufacturers are planning to standardize on USB-Type C connector than they should add at-least 2 USB-C rather than 1 connector as provided in new Macbook announced by Apple. Because now one connector carries burden of power and connectivity so when one connector overused and go bad than whole laptop,gadget go useless, unusable until spend much to get it fixed.
It won't cost much to replace. The part is modular, not attached to the logic board; you can tell Apple was considering replacements.
But that doesn't help the issue in question, which is if the port goes bad due to overuse being the only port you can't connect anything until it's back from the Apple Store, whether it's a simple job or not. And pay the $175 for an unattached port fix.
The particular device it's on now it makes sense for a single port, because that's the niche of the laptop. But if they decide to continue up the next few rungs it'll be a disaster, especially being that none of the hardware breakaway solutions have been actually mass manufactured yet much less shipped. I'm not even guessing whether they'll be available in two weeks or eight months. But it still means one function until whenever that is, and that's no great advantage over a second port.
Comments
"USB 2.0 also employs an infamous non-reversible Type-A connector. Many people complain that it's rare to properly plug in the connector on the first try."
Ugh! I hated this. I know there is a 50-50 chance of getting it right the first time....but it seemed like 90% I got it wrong. Thank you Apple.
Perhaps the weight of the new MacBook is an issue with MagSafe? Will 2 pounds provide enough resistance when the MagSafe is pulled on to release it without dragging the MacBook with it? I don't know.
Lot of complaining about Apple's innovations, here and in the press.
I remember getting my "white" G3 iBooks back in the day. I thought is was so cool. Especially compared to the corporate colors of "Funeral" black and "Pallbearer" gray of the laptops from Dell and HP.
It was so refreshing and elegant.
I look at the gold macbook as a masterful piece of engineering but also it is beautiful.
I for one will trust Apple in their evolutionary pursuit of perfection.
Best.
the problem is, w/ current USB the change of getting it right/wrong is not 50% -- it often takes me 3 attempts to get it right. how can that be possible since it implies one attempt was the correct orientation? dunno, but it is...and im not alone -- people often joke about it taking three attempts. its just a poor plug design.
While it's definitely time to move on from the old Type-A connector, it was designed in the era of ports with thumbscrews (VGA, serial and parallel ports), so at the time it was revolutionary. We just expect more now.
Actually no. Two would have been ideal as one could charge the device and have another device connected. You could be charging and hook up a display. Having no available putts whole charging is what bothers me
Or... keep the one 3.1 port, but also keep a magsafe connector port(which is very neat and handy); use a magsafe connector adaptor via a USB3.1 cord to power brick! Should work shouldn't it?
Actually no. Two would have been ideal as one could charge the device and have another device connected. You could be charging and hook up a display. Having no available putts whole charging is what bothers me
These are not simple USB ports, if they added 2 they would not be the same, having full USB C to both sides of the machine would be very difficult 100w power in out and video is not likely, but Apple would neve have two identical ports on different sides with different functions. As others have done.
Actually no. Two would have been ideal as one could charge the device and have another device connected. You could be charging and hook up a display. Having no available putts whole charging is what bothers me
These are not simple USB ports, if they added 2 they would not be the same, having full USB C to both sides of the machine would be very difficult 100w power in out and video is not likely, but Apple would neve have two identical ports on different sides with different functions. As others have done.
FWIW, the new Macbook doesn't need 100w of power.
You can charge and have it outputting to an external display at the same time.
1) I would have liked if Apple included a second USB-C port, specifically on the other side, but it's silly to say what a company should do.
2) I've never had a USB port "go bad" from being "overused" and I can't recall that ever being an issue with anyone else's system in which I've had to assist.
What about ethernet?
Actually if you add in the fact that the product you are plugging the cable into could also be oriented in either direction the 50% chance of getting in right now goes down to 25%. I have cable which indicate which side is up (if you said one side it the proper up side) the computes and UBS docks and such can flip the connectors depending on their design. I have run into this, i go to plug in and find that the matting connector is actually flip from that I expected.
With that I have to agree I spend more time trying to get the connectors oriented. Other connectors usually give you a visual clue of orientation the USB really does not unless you look inside the connector and you can not easily do that.
It's quite a bit less than 50%. it's about a 50% chance that you'll have it facing the correct way the first time, but due to the design it's often that people try it, find that it doesn't work so they flip it 180° thinking that it might work then. If that doesn't work they may blindly flip it again or look to see how the "duck fack" is oriented and then plug it in, with or with having to flip it 180°.
Obviously MacBook is not for pros, it's for coffeeshop dwellers.
I am disappointed for the lack of MagSafe. Yes USB-C now handles power as well as data, but the whole premise of MagSafe was to avoid disaster should someone trip over your cord, which was very good selling point.
With 10 hr battery life, this is much less relevant. Most people should be more than fine plugging the thing in before they sleep, and not needing a charger when out and about.
Sorry if someone already posted that, but I'm sittingin the chair at my dentist and writing this on my iPhone, so I haven't read all the posts.
1) What is the case scenario in which you think hooking a brand new 12" MacBook to a KVM with an attached UHD display? This seems like a fabricated problem so you can pooh-pooh this new portable.
2) So they got rid of the expensive TB which requires timing chips in the cables. And I think they'll get rid of Lightning for the superior USB-C. But you think the entire reason for a move to the ubiquitous USB is so Apple can make more money for all the cable makers of the world, and somehow the least expensive and most ubiquitous cable type for modern computing is an evil plot by Apple to siphon money from your pockets? Makes perfect sense¡
I've found that all decent usb cables indicate which way is up using the usb symbol on the top side. Devices with usb also have that side up when the connector is horizontal.
Clearly you don't use external USB devices much, or you have some kind of 6th sense. There have been jokes about how this works in reality for years. Cartoons even. Here's one article, and a cartoon:
http://lifehacker.com/5847279/how-to-plug-in-a-usb-cable-correctly-every-time
[ ps for long-time compatriots: I've been here on AI for 13 years and this is the first time I've ever bothered to figure out how to embed an image in a comment! ]
If Apple and/or other gadget,laptop manufacturers are planning to standardize on USB-Type C connector than they should add at-least 2 USB-C rather than 1 connector as provided in new Macbook announced by Apple. Because now one connector carries burden of power and connectivity so when one connector overused and go bad than whole laptop,gadget go useless, unusable until spend much to get it fixed.
It won't cost much to replace. The part is modular, not attached to the logic board; you can tell Apple was considering replacements.
But that doesn't help the issue in question, which is if the port goes bad due to overuse being the only port you can't connect anything until it's back from the Apple Store, whether it's a simple job or not. And pay the $175 for an unattached port fix.
The particular device it's on now it makes sense for a single port, because that's the niche of the laptop. But if they decide to continue up the next few rungs it'll be a disaster, especially being that none of the hardware breakaway solutions have been actually mass manufactured yet much less shipped. I'm not even guessing whether they'll be available in two weeks or eight months. But it still means one function until whenever that is, and that's no great advantage over a second port.