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Best vertical stand for MBA

The TwelveSouth BookArc is a nice stand. The only negative I have encountered in using mine is something TwelveSouth can't fix: The 'split' between Thunderbolt and Magsafe cables when using my TBD.

If you're looking for a classy and secure way to keep your MBA upright and in clamshell mode, you'll do no better. I actually have their BookArc for my MBP and another for my iPad as well, so I obviously think highly of the product.
 
I was using a pair of TwelveSouth BookArk stands for my MBA... connected to:
  1. Home: ATD
  2. Work: ACD
Both have a full set of peripherals (wireless: mouse, trackpad, keyboard)

I have since switched to a horizontal stand instead for each location: Landing Zone 2 Pro

My issue was that I like to shut off BlueTooth before I undock... but once I do so, I needed to remove my laptop from the stand, open it, logout, etc.

If I do not log out, I find that I am using my laptop (as a portable) at home... and it was constantly connecting/disconnecting from my wireless peripherals across the house.

Then... when I got to work... if BT was not already on... I generally would not realize it until I was already docked... and wondering why my peripherals were not connecting.

Using a horizontal dock has simplified things a lot. Irrespective of which mode my laptop is in (BT on/off), I just change settings in the horizontal position. I will also often use my laptop screen as a second display.

For me... going horizontal has simplified things.

The LandingZone is not the most beautiful thing in the world... but it works better for me than a vertical dock.

/Jim
 
Is it healthy to run a Macbook in clamshell mode like that? The fan has to work harder to push the hot air downwards.
 
I run mine in clamshell mode all day in the office using a bookarc and have no problems with overheating. One of the reasons the design works so well is that the machine has clear air all round it rather than being sat on a desk or on your lap.
 
sofianito said:
I'm looking for the best bang for the buck vertical stand for MBA...

I found the Twelvesouth BookArc for Air which looks nice.

Any other choices?
Click to expand...



I started with the BookArc, but did not like the amount of real-estate that it took up on my medium sized desk and the plugging of multiply cords. I moved to the Henge Dock and couldn't be happier. I've had it for about 1.5 years and it is still great. I like it because I only need to attach one cable (power) and the others are plugged in all of the time to the dock. While the Thunderbolt port only supports Mini DisplayPort ability, it is fine for me as it only goes to the monitor. Also, the single USB port works for me because I have it run to a powered hub that I keep various things plugged into.
So the two potential down falls are the USB is only 2.0 and Thunderbolt connection is only Mini DisplayPort. Depends on your set up.
 
Thanks for the suggestions!

How good is the BookArc's cable management? If for instance I unplug the MBA from the stand, how easy is it to take out the power cord and adapter from the built-in cable manager?

The Rain mTower is nice too. It is $10 more expensive than the BookArc but it is the only stand which support all MBA and (r)MBP sizes through provided rubber inserts. It doesn't have cable management feature though.

The Henge Dock looks good but it's the most expensive... Isn't the USB port a pass-through port? Also the laptop doesn't seem to have clear air at the bottom. Does it overheat?
 
flynz4 said:
My issue was that I like to shut off BlueTooth before I undock... but once I do so, I needed to remove my laptop from the stand, open it, logout, etc.

If I do not log out, I find that I am using my laptop (as a portable) at home... and it was constantly connecting/disconnecting from my wireless peripherals across the house.

Then... when I got to work... if BT was not already on... I generally would not realize it until I was already docked... and wondering why my peripherals were not connecting.
Click to expand...

This morning, I designed and tested a cheaper solution that fixes your issues :D

You would just need to press the power button and plug your laptop to the stand. No need to login on your laptop before using it in clamshell mode. It'll activate BT at boot time. Login out and in would also disable and enable respectively BT.

For that you need to:

1) Install Homebrew
2) Install blueutil with brew. It allows you to enable/disable BT with command line
3) Set a Login and Logout hooks for enabling/disabling BT when user login or logout.
4) Create a Launch Daemon to activate BT at boot


Et voilà :D... If you need detailed instructions, I'd gladly provide them :)
 
sofianito said:
Thanks for the suggestions!

How good is the BookArc's cable management? If for instance I unplug the MBA from the stand, how easy is it to take out the power cord and adapter from the built-in cable manager?
Click to expand...

It is a simple silicone/rubber loop shaped like a "C" (but more closed than that) and you just bend it and slip the cable in and out. I have 2 BookArcs; love them.
 
BookArc for MBA WTF?

Last week, I bought the the Twelve South BookArc along with my MBA in a US Apple store. Now that I am back to Spain I just opened the box and didn't find the built-in cable management...:mad:

Should I contact my local Apple store or Twelve South? Any hint appreciated.
 
sofianito said:
Last week, I bought the the Twelve South BookArc along with my MBA in a US Apple store. Now that I am back to Spain I just opened the box and didn't find the built-in cable management...:mad:

Should I contact my local Apple store or Twelve South? Any hint appreciated.
Click to expand...

The cable management is just the circular cut-out in the slot the computer sits in, no?

What were you expecting, the cable shown in the picture?

From their website:
TwelveSouth said:
Since the new MacBook Air has ports on both sides, a built-in cable manager has been incorporated into BookArc. It routes your power, external monitor, headphones and any other cords behind the back of your Mac for a clean, neat workspace. Along with keeping your cables orderly, the handy cable management system also holds your cables in place, making it easy to get your MacBook Air in and out of BookArc. Say goodbye to cables falling from the desk to the floor every time you unplug them from your MacBook Air.
Click to expand...

It does look like they have one cable for power, monitor and keyboard in the pictures/videos I've seen. Like this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvAXuUK91rA
 
Last edited:
ItHurtsWhenIP said:
The cable management is just the circular cut-out in the slot the computer sits in, no?

What were you expecting, the cable shown in the picture?

From their website:


It does look like they have one cable for power, monitor and keyboard in the pictures/videos I've seen. Like this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvAXuUK91rA
Click to expand...

Yes, I was expecting the white cable shown in TwelveSouth's pictures:
BookArcAir_cablemgmtback_gallerymain.jpg
 
sofianito said:
Yes, I was expecting the white cable shown in TwelveSouth's pictures:
Click to expand...

I've been looking for that cable for a while, still haven't found it yet.

I ordered myself a BookArc (that came in the mail today, actually), and it didn't come with any cables, but I wasn't expecting it to.

EDIT - Found it. It's a 3-in-1 cable that comes with the Apple Cinema Display. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-27-in...Cable-New-922-9743-for-A1316-27-/181130423785

Check out the second picture.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC007LL/A/apple-led-cinema-display-27-flat-panel
 
Last edited:
ItHurtsWhenIP said:
I've been looking for that cable for a while, still haven't found it yet.

I ordered myself a BookArc (that came in the mail today, actually), and it didn't come with any cables, but I wasn't expecting it to.
Click to expand...

So you mean the cable shown in the picture is just a cable that has nothing to do with the product?
 
sofianito said:
So you mean the cable shown in the picture is just a cable that has nothing to do with the product?
Click to expand...

Sorry, I edited my post to add more.

Yes, it's just to show that the cables sit in the circular cut-out. That's what they mean by management, that there's somewhere for them to be organized..

The cable is from the Apple Cinema Display.

MC007_AV1
 
w00d said:
Pretty sure that is the cable that comes with an Apple 27" monitor.
Click to expand...

ItHurtsWhenIP said:
Sorry, I edited my post to add more.

Yes, it's just to show that the cables sit in the circular cut-out. That's what they mean by management, that there's somewhere for them to be organized..

The cable is from the Apple Cinema Display.

Image
Click to expand...

Oh I see... :eek:. Thanks a lot for the clarification :)

I'll add the ACD to my wish list... :D
 
ItHurtsWhenIP said:
No problem..don't forget the magsafe to magsafe 2 adapter. :)
Click to expand...

Not sure whether ACD is better than ATD, but it looks like the ATD includes the MagSafe to MagSafe 2 converter... This will saves me some bucks if both displays are equally good... :)
 
sofianito said:
Not sure whether ACD is better than ATD, but it looks like the ATD includes the MagSafe to MagSafe 2 converter... This will saves me some bucks if both displays are equally good... :)
Click to expand...

From Apple Q&A page..http://store.apple.com/us/question/...play-and-the-cinema-display/QDCY4TXCTTYD977HD

The differences between the two are:

Cinema display needs 3 connections to work, Thunderbolt display uses 2.

Cinema display works with Mini Display port, Thunderbolt display only works with Thunderbolt port.

cinema display has 3 USB 2.0 ports on the back, the thunderbolt display has 3 USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800, an additional Thunderbolt port and an ethernet port.

apart from that, they look identical, have the same screen resolution and cost exactly the same.
 
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