Docking Station and Apple

[Mac]

I am a switcher and was just wondering why Apple products don't have docking stations? Especially the PowerBooks that are supposed to be the professional line. Almost all other computer manufacturers have some sort of easy dock port underneath or in the back that replicates all plugs and outlets on the computer. With a very easy click one can have all plugs available.

It seems very strange that Apple who is so ahead on everything concerning laptops don't produce their own solution. I know there are 3rd party products, and yes I know that Mac users are a thrifty gang of dudes... but wouldn't this be wonderful to have?!

 

[Capt Underpants]

I am a switcher and was just wondering why Apple products don't have docking stations? Especially the PowerBooks that are supposed to be the professional line. Almost all other computer manufacturers have some sort of easy dock port underneath or in the back that replicates all plugs and outlets on the computer. With a very easy click one can have all plugs available.

It seems very strange that Apple who is so ahead on everything concerning laptops don't produce their own solution. I know there are 3rd party products, and yes I know that Mac users are a thrifty gang of dudes... but wouldn't this be wonderful to have?!

I guess it would be nice to have. Whats even more amazing is the fact that out of the 30,000 users that have registered here, you are the first one to think of registering Mac, one of the most obvious terms available.

 

[Applespider]

Not sure if it would be as worthwhile anymore. Docking stations have the display, keyboard, mouse, network cable and power plugged in.

With wireless mouse, keyboard and networking capabilities built-in to PBs why bother?

Colleagues at work have just been given new PC laptops with Win XP and it's been funny seeing how excited they were to get given them and their docking stations - only to be cursing various parts of them within days. So far, their weight, screens, unresponsiveness to turning on/off, sleeping capabilities and battery life have been criticised. Can hardly wait for the OS complaints to start

 

[tomf87]

Several reasons... Ethernet is faster than wireless, dual displays, external firewire drive, USB devices, and power.

That's the only thing I miss from the PC days. You could just dock it and have everything connected.

 

[Mac]

Username Mac

I guess it would be nice to have. Whats even more amazing is the fact that out of the 30,000 users that have registered here, you are the first one to think of registering Mac, one of the most obvious terms available.

Thank you Capt Underpants. I have just switched and as I have visited several forums I have taken the name Mac. I have so far never encountered anyone with this username. So I have taken it. I agree - strange than noone else has thought of it and I guess if you combine all the forums (and its members) where I have registered/visited we are talking close to 75-100.000 people. I have been the first one of all to take the Mac name.

If this accounts to my brilliance or others lack of it, I don't know. I thoroughly enjoy being a part of the Mac community though!

 

[7on]

I currently use a Bookendz, but an apple dock using one proprietary connection would be superb. Bookendz are reliable, but plugging my PB while asleep wakes it up and generally makes it unstable. What happens it the video out is detected by sleep so it wakes up before I open the lid. hitting the mirror key fixes it, but then m main display on my PB is wiped off. kinda irritating. Even the Bookendz people reccomend shutting down your laptop before docking/undocking, but where's the fun in that ;P
I haven't met anybody else who uses a dock though, PC or Mac so I guess it is a niche market. And I wouldn't have gotten a dock if all the connections were on the sides, like the new PBs. Oh, and the bookends dock makes the fans run constantly, mainly because that back footprint gets very hot itself.

As laptops slowly phase out desktops, I see docks becoming more of a necessity. Maybe with larger hdds built in and another optical drive.

http://www2.truman.edu/~jps137/web/workspace.jpg
I do need to update this pic...