Matrox Launches DS1 Thunderbolt Docking Station for $249 - Page 2

OldSchoolMacGuy · Dec 12, 2012, 04:16 PM

Pretty worthless. It offers very little. Where is the Firewire, eSATA, and others? For that price it should include much more. It doesn't save much time for most users.

iCaleb · Dec 12, 2012, 04:18 PM

If possible it would of been nice to see a bunch of TB ports on the hub it self.

This thing is almost useless.

Confuzzzed · Dec 12, 2012, 04:18 PM

Is it backward compatible with a floppy disc drive?

LotusLord · Dec 12, 2012, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 92jlee

What is the point in this product?

All macs (apart from air) have built in LAN, USB, display out and in/out audio.. Whats the point? If you need more USB plugs get one of those splitters/extentions etc..

The big deal here is that you can just leave your peripherals plugged into this and only plug in one cable at your desk, rather than however many. Docking solutions are common on professional notebooks from PC manufacturers (the HP 8560w I'm typing this on is connected to a dock that offers pretty much every type of connection you may want (including serial, parallel, eSATA, ethernet, vga, dvi, full size display port) it also has a slot for an additional hard drive.

Eidorian · Dec 12, 2012, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by willcapellaro

Which is a failure - the port or the standard? People use the port all the time. The protocol just hasn't caught on yet, but it's not like there are unused ports just wasting board and device space.

Wha..?

Like as a Thunderbolt port or just as a Mini-DisplayPort to some other video output?

skyhawkmatthew · Dec 12, 2012, 04:23 PM

Why no Thunderbolt (or at least mini DisplayPort) passthrough?
Why no FireWire?

tmanto02 · Dec 12, 2012, 04:25 PM

Yeah this is straight up **** rolled in glitter! usb 2 and no thunderbolt passthrough! woo!

blackhand1001 · Dec 12, 2012, 04:32 PM

What the hell is up with the price. You can get a netbook with all those ports and more for less money.

APlotdevice · Dec 12, 2012, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Confuzzzed

Is it backward compatible with a floppy disc drive?

Yes.

Apple fanboy · Dec 12, 2012, 04:36 PM

Would this device mean you could hook an Xbox up to your iMac and use the screen? Even if the answer is yes it looks overpriced for what it is.

bdkennedy1 · Dec 12, 2012, 04:40 PM

Thunderbolt serves solely as a revenue stream for Apple. No one really needed Firewire but as long as that port was on there, people were going to buy the accessories anyway.

"Thunderbolt sounds so cool I have to buy stuff to use it!"

coolspot18 · Dec 12, 2012, 04:41 PM

No eSATA, too few USB ports, I think this is a fail.

wkw · Dec 12, 2012, 04:43 PM

I'm not feelin' it. Why bother with USB 2? needs esata and fw800

Ralf The Dog · Dec 12, 2012, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdkennedy1

Thunderbolt serves solely as a revenue stream for Apple. No one really needed Firewire but as long as that port was on there, people were going to buy the accessories anyway.

"Thunderbolt sounds so cool I have to buy stuff to use it!"

Professionals needed Firewire, just as professionals need Thunderbolt. Not every technology is for every demographic.

Glassed Silver · Dec 12, 2012, 04:43 PM

What a joke...

Glassed Silver:mac

lordofthereef · Dec 12, 2012, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wikus

How many years has it been since Thunderbolt was announced and launched?

These prices are outrageous. Thunderbolt is a total failure.

If I am not mistaken, Thunderbolt is still exclusive to Macs? THAT is the reason it is a total failure. There are so few people using them, relatively speaking, that there is not a potential to reach hundreds of millions of users you could target if this went to PC. It's good technology, but it is essentially proprietary.

Stetrain · Dec 12, 2012, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 92jlee

What is the point in this product?

All macs (apart from air) have built in LAN, USB, display out and in/out audio.. Whats the point? If you need more USB plugs get one of those splitters/extentions etc..

It's the same reason that many laptops that also have all of the above ports also have a docking connector.

Connecting one cable at home and work to dock your notebook into your keyboard/monitor/mouse/speakers/network can be very convenient.

TMay · Dec 12, 2012, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wikus

How many years has it been since Thunderbolt was announced and launched?

These prices are outrageous. Thunderbolt is a total failure.

TB was introduced in a product on Feb 24, 2011, which would be about 20 months. As a docking system on the 27 inch TB display, it has been very well received, and hardly a failure.

Haswell gives equal status to Thunderbolt and USB 3.0, and TB components for peripheral makers have or will get a die shrink to lower cost.

Once you factor in the roadmap for TB, more channels and optical up to 100m, and the existing advantages of low latency, isochronous channels, and Displayport compatibility it becomes obvious that TB will be the choice over USB 3.0 for video and audio professional, and any others that required high quality data streaming.

dubprocess · Dec 12, 2012, 04:56 PM

I just don't understand why these Thunderbolt docking stations have been either delayed or been the biggest pieces of crap.

TMay · Dec 12, 2012, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordofthereef

If I am not mistaken, Thunderbolt is still exclusive to Macs? THAT is the reason it is a total failure. There are so few people using them, relatively speaking, that there is not a potential to reach hundreds of millions of users you could target if this went to PC. It's good technology, but it is essentially proprietary.

Not exclusive by any stretch. Apple got a head start.

Total failure is not using your fave Google for the correct answer.

D-a-a-n · Dec 12, 2012, 04:58 PM

What, only 2 usb ports.. Man oh man, what were they thinking?
Btw, the use of aluminum on such a bad designed product is just stupid and gimmicky. It probably doesn't even add that much strength.

Jimmy James · Dec 12, 2012, 04:59 PM

$249 to splice my cables?

dracoshafi · Dec 12, 2012, 05:01 PM

can you connect a games console in the HDMI port and have a thunderbolt cable connecting to a 27" imac and get output on the imac on it?

Thunderhawks · Dec 12, 2012, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SimonTheSoundMa

I'll give this a miss. Over priced and misses IO such as eSATA, Thunderbolt pass-thru, and Firewire.

Besides what you listed, so much space in the back left and only 2 USB slots?

Frobozz · Dec 12, 2012, 05:03 PM

While still pricey, this is at least feasible for me. A docking station like this is exactly what I'd want. Instead of plugging in 5 cables every time I sit at my desk with my laptop, I'd plug in 1.

Dec 12, 2012, 04:25 PM	#32
tmanto02 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia	Yeah this is straight up **** rolled in glitter! usb 2 and no thunderbolt passthrough! woo! __________________ iPhone 5 64GB • iPad (3rd Gen) 16GB Wi-Fi 13" MacBook Pro with Retina display, 2.5GHz i5, 8GB ram, 256GB flash storage • Mac Mini, 2.5GHz i5, 16GB ram, 128GB Crucial SSD + 500GB HDD, AMD HD 6630M
	0

Dec 12, 2012, 04:32 PM	#33
blackhand1001 macrumors 68000 Join Date: Jan 2009	What the hell is up with the price. You can get a netbook with all those ports and more for less money. __________________ Macbook 2008 HP Dv7t - 2.53 ghz, 9600m GT, WSXGA+, 120gb ssd, 250 gb 7200rpm Core i7 3770k, 8gb ram, 2x 120gb sdd raid0, 500gb hdd, GTX 460 Galaxy Nexus (VZW) Nexus 7
	3

Dec 12, 2012, 04:36 PM	#35
Apple fanboy macrumors 65816 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: United Kingdom	Would this device mean you could hook an Xbox up to your iMac and use the screen? Even if the answer is yes it looks overpriced for what it is. __________________ Late 2012 21" iMac 2.9GHz i5, ITB Fusion drive, 16GB RAM, 2 TB TimeCapsule, iPhone 5 32GB, iPad 4 32GB, iPad 2 16GB, apple TV 2, iPod touch 4th gen 8GB, Xbox 360 120GB. Macrumors Scavenger Hunt IV 2
	0

Dec 12, 2012, 04:43 PM	#40
Glassed Silver macrumors 6502 Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Kassel, Germany	What a joke... Glassed Silver:mac __________________ Last login: Sat May 5 22:52:51 on ttys000 Society-System:~ dumbnut$ rm -rf ~/Library/mind.db ~/Library/Frameworks/tolerance ~/Library/Frameworks/commonsense ~/integrity ~/individuality
	0

Dec 12, 2012, 04:58 PM	#46
D-a-a-n macrumors regular Join Date: Mar 2010	What, only 2 usb ports.. Man oh man, what were they thinking? Btw, the use of aluminum on such a bad designed product is just stupid and gimmicky. It probably doesn't even add that much strength. __________________ Zed's dead..
	2

Dec 12, 2012, 04:16 PM	#26
OldSchoolMacGuy macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jul 2008	Pretty worthless. It offers very little. Where is the Firewire, eSATA, and others? For that price it should include much more. It doesn't save much time for most users.
	1

Dec 12, 2012, 04:18 PM	#27
iCaleb macrumors 6502 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: USA	If possible it would of been nice to see a bunch of TB ports on the hub it self. This thing is almost useless.
	2

Dec 12, 2012, 04:18 PM	#28
Confuzzzed macrumors 68000 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Liverpool, UK	Is it backward compatible with a floppy disc drive?
	4

Dec 12, 2012, 04:23 PM	#31
skyhawkmatthew macrumors newbie Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Australia	Why no Thunderbolt (or at least mini DisplayPort) passthrough? Why no FireWire?
	1

Dec 12, 2012, 04:40 PM	#36
bdkennedy1 macrumors 6502a Join Date: Oct 2002	Thunderbolt serves solely as a revenue stream for Apple. No one really needed Firewire but as long as that port was on there, people were going to buy the accessories anyway. "Thunderbolt sounds so cool I have to buy stuff to use it!"
	0

Dec 12, 2012, 04:41 PM	#37
coolspot18 macrumors 6502a Join Date: Aug 2010	No eSATA, too few USB ports, I think this is a fail.
	0

Dec 12, 2012, 04:43 PM	#38
wkw macrumors 6502 Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Eugene, OR	I'm not feelin' it. Why bother with USB 2? needs esata and fw800
	1

Dec 12, 2012, 04:56 PM	#44
dubprocess macrumors newbie Join Date: Nov 2011	I just don't understand why these Thunderbolt docking stations have been either delayed or been the biggest pieces of crap.
	2

Dec 12, 2012, 04:59 PM	#47
Jimmy James macrumors 6502a Join Date: Oct 2008	$249 to splice my cables?
	2

Dec 12, 2012, 05:01 PM	#48
dracoshafi macrumors newbie Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: UK	can you connect a games console in the HDMI port and have a thunderbolt cable connecting to a 27" imac and get output on the imac on it?
	0

Dec 12, 2012, 05:03 PM	#50
Frobozz macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Hoboken, NJ	While still pricey, this is at least feasible for me. A docking station like this is exactly what I'd want. Instead of plugging in 5 cables every time I sit at my desk with my laptop, I'd plug in 1. __________________ 2011 MacBook Pro 15" HiRes Matte, 2.2GHz, 1GB, 512 SSD, 8GB / iPad 3G 32 / New iPad 64 / iPhone 5 64 Win7/64: Core i7 960@3.6GHz, 2 x AMD 6970, 256 SSD, 6GB "My first Mac was an Amiga." -- Me
	0

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