Last week, people were hating on the MacBook for being so stripped-down, and many of us were defending its design as a series of worthwhile trade-offs. Now, someone has introduced an accessory--which is totally optional--and people are reverse-hating on it?
The HydraDock does not take anything away from the MacBook. The MacBook is still a gorgeous, ultra-ultraportable machine, which truly doesn't "need" more ports for many people's use cases. (I'm eagerly looking forward to receiving my own, in a few weeks...)
However, some people would like the *option* to have more ports when they're at a desk. In many ways, a dock like this is perfect, because it allows you to have the elegance of only one port on your machine, while still retaining the ability to connect multiple devices and an external display when at a desk...and leave them there when you're not.
My work laptop is a Lenovo ThinkPad X230. I love its 12.5" size, which I've decided is perfect for me. I appreciate that it's smaller and lighter than my coworkers' laptops when we travel for business, when walking downtown, etc. But, at my desk, I have it in a dock. I have an external (Apple) keyboard, a Logitech mouse, two external displays, my iPhone dock, and various other device cables for charging and data transfer. I appreciate that I can leave that all behind when I'm on the train, when I'm at home, when I'm traveling, when I'm out and about. It's about options!
I wish I could close up most of the ports on my ThinkPad, because I honestly rarely use them--they just fill up with lint and dust most of the time. As a result, I never saw the single USB-C port on the MacBook as a serious liability. But it was also because I knew someone would make something like the HydraDock.
I don't think the makers of the DynaDock intended for people to take it with them everywhere. It's just for that one place where you find yourself working most often, whether it's a desk at your office, home office, dorm room, etc.
And please, people: can we all recognize that laptops are inherently ergonomic nightmares? No health expert would recommend laptop posture as the optimal way to position your body for extended periods of time. Some people will say, "But I feel fine/I'm doing it right/I've never had problems." That may be correct for you, and for right now, but give it time. If you work 8 hours a day on a laptop, and you don't compensate by assuming good posture, doing stretches, and taking breaks, you're going to see long-term problems. Devices like this just make sense: you don't sacrifice portability, but you have the option of convenience/expandability/good health when you want it.
TL;DR: Like some people were saying of the MacBook itself...this product isn't for you, and you don't have to buy it!
