Seriously... it's 2009 and no way to dock a MacBook Pro...?
And no... I don't mean some 3rd-party solution that grotesquely clamps itself on to either side.
The word "Pro" is in the title of the product... it is also your higher-priced flagship model - you MUST know that professional power-users are going to purchase these units and plug in all SORTS of peripherals.
There REALLY SHOULD (at least in MY humble opinion) be an Apple-designed solution to users that want/need to "dock" their computers. Maybe a high-end model that has a concealed multi-pin bar on the bottom that connects with the dock... I mean honestly, between Ives and the entire Apple industrial design team, I am sure they could find an elegant solution to docking a laptop. I'd rather have one, persistent unit that I connect my ethernet, audio in/out, USB (over 6 devices and a hub), firewire drives and the occasional firewire camcorder, video out, power/charging... there's a whole host of reasons people need to keep things connected to a docking station instead of repeatedly plugging & unplugging numerous connections.
I'd love to think they already have a solution - or many - in the works... or even completed... but if that's the case, then why not implement...? Is the demand for "dockability" not high amongst Apple portable users...? I dunno. I just wish there were an elegant solution.
The word "Pro" is in the title of the product... it is also your higher-priced flagship model - you MUST know that professional power-users are going to purchase these units and plug in all SORTS of peripherals.
There REALLY SHOULD (at least in MY humble opinion) be an Apple-designed solution to users that want/need to "dock" their computers. Maybe a high-end model that has a concealed multi-pin bar on the bottom that connects with the dock... I mean honestly, between Ives and the entire Apple industrial design team, I am sure they could find an elegant solution to docking a laptop. I'd rather have one, persistent unit that I connect my ethernet, audio in/out, USB (over 6 devices and a hub), firewire drives and the occasional firewire camcorder, video out, power/charging... there's a whole host of reasons people need to keep things connected to a docking station instead of repeatedly plugging & unplugging numerous connections.
I'd love to think they already have a solution - or many - in the works... or even completed... but if that's the case, then why not implement...? Is the demand for "dockability" not high amongst Apple portable users...? I dunno. I just wish there were an elegant solution.
Comments
http://www.notebooks.com/2008/12/11/...book-pro-dock/
In fact Apple is pretty much anti hardware unless that hardware is stategic.
I don't think that they sell it separately yet.
There REALLY SHOULD (at least in MY humble opinion) be an Apple-designed solution to users that want/need to "dock" their computers.
I agree... and whats with the non-removable optical drive???
I agree... and whats with the non-removable optical drive???
Adding a removable optical drive would ruin the anorexic nature of the laptops.
Adding a removable optical drive would ruin the anorexic nature of the laptops.
what about removing the optical drive all together?
what about removing the optical drive all together?
Even better, build it into the dock station.
Why is the dock needed exactly? What does it do that I don't with a USB hub and a DVI connector to my display?
- Video connection
- USB connection
- FireWire Connection
- Auido in/out connection
- Power connection
- Ethernet connection
Docking would be a one-click operation.
Manual connection of 6 cables is ugly and cumbersome.
Some of us have MANY things to connect/disconnect.
Why is the dock needed exactly? What does it do that I don't with a USB hub and a DVI connector to my display?
One quick click-in-place connection and disconnection. No hunting for loose cables or moving equipment around so that you can see the connectors. If you had a true dock you wouldn't be asking the question.
Adding a removable optical drive would ruin the anorexic nature of the laptops.
Exactly. Remember the G3 Powerbooks with their expansion bays? Very handy (because you could have instead a floppy drive, a hard drive or a second battery) but really FAT by today's standards.
what about removing the optical drive all together?
They already did it (Macbook Air). But no docking solutions for that either, just optional external optical drive.
If you had a true dock you wouldn't be asking the question.
So true. And it is not like Apple is foreign to the dock concept. Some of you here certainly remember the DuoDock, right?
One quick click-in-place connection and disconnection. No hunting for loose cables or moving equipment around so that you can see the connectors. If you had a true dock you wouldn't be asking the question.
My office is way too organized these days for that. There is literally a printed label on my desk that reads "laptop stand" and my cables all have velcro ties on them to keep them from slipping behind the desk.
Maybe good organization is the solution to needing a dock
My office is way to organized these days for that. There is literally a printed label on my desk that reads "laptop stand" and my cables all have velcro ties on them to keep them from slipping behind the desk.
Maybe good organization is the solution to needing a dock
I know your response was based in humor, but I feel the need to say that a need for a solution where all peripherals remain connected to a docking station and the only quick connections you make are to dock and un-dock you laptop is not based on a lack of organization.
I am a VERY neat and organized person... but when I get a call saying "Hey, can you pop into this meeting for a few...?" and need to unplug everything (USB, FireWire, Power, CAT5, Video and power) and then come back and plug them in... it gets old REAL fast.
Besides... my Bose speakers aren't happy when I forget to "mute" them before plugging/unplugging them and so-on...
Making individual connections for every external cable is really such an early-'90s thing.
If Apple can design such incredible products as the iPod, iPhone, MacBook Air and more... then they can SURELY design a laptop with a well-designed dock.
My idea is to have a very close proximity wireless solution. Imagine a pad, with a concave bevel and the footprint to match the new MBPs, and you sit the laptop on it. Under the skin of the laptop there are transmitters & receivers that won't work very far from the pad but positioned directly on top would have the same speed as a wired connection. No direct connections to wear out, and elegant enough for Apple's standards.
Perhaps when we have wireless USB it will be better. Still though, even with 802.11n I often connect via GigE.
I wondered the same thing. Apple's last foray into docked solutions, the Duo models, was actually pretty elegant. But I'm not exactly sure on why they have so much disdain for docking solutions now a days.
If I had to venture a guess... it's the double-edged sword of Apple's (Jobs'? Ive's?) desire to create elegant and stunning presentations. If *WE* the end-user clutter our desks because of power-user needs, they look at that as being atypical.
They drool over the imagery of the MacBook Air just sitting there on the Anchor's news desk on tv.
I just wish they would take a slight detour outside of their desire to simplify the appearance (yet still keep the desire) and create a solution for us "real folks" that have a bazillion things to connect to our computers to get our jobs or hobbies done.
Again... this is Apple... it's in their DNA to create solutions that are aesthetically pleasing and functional. My worry is that the percentage of users that have this "need" are so low that we're not even a blip on their radar. And that is truly a shame since it was (initially) the "power users" and creative professionals that carried Apple through some dark times.
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Let's face it... I get it... Apple has to go where the numbers are. iPods used to be FireWire ONLY. Then they allowed USB sync'ing. Then they made the change (to placate the masses of WinPC users adopting iPods) to swap the included cable from FireWire to USB... so all the PC peeps didn't have to go spend $$$ on a cable... it shifted the burden to us Mac faithful to purchase the (not included) FireWire cable. Then they drop FireWire sync'ing. And lastly... and this irks me STILL... I cannot even CHARGE a 3G iPhone over FireWire... so I have to stay with my 1st Gen iPhone so it'll work will all my chargers, my original Bose SoundDock, my (custom-installed) car cradle and interface, etc... if I go 3G... I cannot use those items.
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But I digress... my point was/is... that Apple has to do what it needs to do to be successful and unfortunately, it seems that some of those decisions are going to upset the old-school, hard-core faithful. (me/us)
Apple's "dock" is wireless connectivity. Alas, it doesn't actually eliminate the desire for a dock.
Perhaps when we have wireless USB it will be better. Still though, even with 802.11n I often connect via GigE.
Sure - that'll work fine when I convince my company that they should go wireless just for *me*.
Seriously... I know many of you *CAN* get away without a dock... and more-power to you! That's great if you can be happy plugging-in 2-3 cables each time... but like I said... come talk to me when you need to connect 6 or 7 things every time. It would be FANTASTIC if I just had one, elegant, attractive Apple dock that I could nest my MacBook Pro into and *snap*... it's all connected and the wires are neatly tucked/routed out of sight... no cables dangling around when not docked.
One can dream.