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15" owners, how do you deal with only 2 USB ports?

15" owners, how do you deal with only 2 USB ports?

Here are my commonly attached (or 'virtually' attached) devices:

Smart phone - bluetooth
External storage - Firewire/NAS/cloud
Printer - network attached
Camera - USB
Little camera - SD card slot
Flash drive - USB (becoming less used due to other storage solutions)

As you can see, I very rarely use 2x USB slots at the same time. Unlike my desktop, my USB slots are permanently occupied for the most part for items such as mouse, keyboard, webcam, other devices (eg. ebook, satnav, ipod etc.). On my older laptop, the 2x USB ports were frequently occupied by the external mouse and external DVD drive but since the acquisition of the MBP I barely use a single one and if I do, I always unplug the device if not in use.

Life has been alot simpler (and less messy) with the MBP even without esata, USB 3.0 which would've been nice but they weren't deal breakers. With alot of the Windows laptops which were more feature rich, for me it was like having features for features sake and not actually using them alot (if at all).
 
I think that Apple should have at least 3 usb ports on a 15". However, that is not to say that 2 on a 15" is intolerable. I survived with 2 usb ports on a laptop for nearly two years without any major issues.
 
For those who asked I currently have 17" MBP. I use it mainly as a desktop machine simple because I get tired of carrying around, hence me looking at the more portable 15.4" :) Also my 17" has the 1680x1050 res so moving to the hires 15.4" would be relatively pain free for me.

My normal peripherals are:

FW800 Sata toaster drive thing
Ethernet cable to NAS
USB TV tuner (it's my laptop and tv)
Some combination of iPod/iPhone cable, external USB drive, external bluray, thumb drive drive, USB mouse for gaming, HD camera dock (only when importing)

More often than not I have 1 USB port free, but it would be so darn annoying to have to disconnect one of my other two whenever I have to use a different device.

I'm almost considering getting another 17" but that doesn't have the SD reader which means my extra USB port will be used for that, not to mention I have to keep track of where put that little reader lol

The challenges aren't life or death, just little inconveniences that add up over time
 
You may find the spacing a bit more limiting than the number - two narrow USB peripherals can coexist, but with one wider one (as many memory sticks are) you may need the other port to be empty. Fortunately I've not found this to be a big issue - once or twice I've had to unplug one peripheral for a minute, but that's all, but your requirements may differ. I could probably live with the MBA's single USB if that didn't also double as the ethernet port...
 
It's not an issue if I'm actually mobile with it. I guess I could plug in a printer and a USB flash drive or iPhone at most when mobile.

Stationed on my desk I have a 10-port USB hub made by D-Link that works great for plugging in all of my USB devices.

Even with external HDDs I use the firewire connection. FW400 is so much faster than USB2. I can't believe I waited as long as I did to make that switch. My next external will definitely be FW800.
 
As many people have already stated, quite easily. My MacBook Pro is my home computer as well as my mobile computer. I have the Magic Mouse, which uses bluetooth, I rarely sync my phone that often (using the wall charger at home). Most of the transfers to my Hard Drive are done through FireWire 800 and over the home network to a storage server.
The only problem with my MacBook Pro is the fact that my battery is pretty **** :( I have the UniBody MBP it lasts me a couple of hours at most which really annoys me.
 
2 USB ports work perfectly fine for me

I would go so far as to say that macbooks have the greatest touchpad ever, you literally dont need a mouse. the only time i really use a mouse is when gaming on certain games....dont see how this is a deal breaker
 
Bluetooth mouse, first port is dedicated to my audio interface, second is hubbed (powered) which has a dongle, midi keyboard, USB hdd and a port spare. I was worried about as well but I've had no problems.
 
yea it is a bummer ;/
The other thing that bothers me more is the spacing, having my mouse plugged in takes up almost all the room so I can't fit say a usb drive.

jancpaacc.jpg
 
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