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thadoggfather

macrumors P6
Original poster
Oct 1, 2007
16,217
17,280
finally paid up for a digital av adapter ,and hdmi>dvi en route for driving a 24" display (HP ZR24w). Not the best, not the worst though either and 16:10 gloriousness. it should be cheaper if not included but thats apple for you and greed winning. and 12" next to my 24' looks great, delicious even in terms of expanding this thing out.

anyways i had a 2011 air and a thunderbolt dock for a while. between downsizing the 13.3" to this 12", getting retina (though dabbling with rMBP 13" in between), and now this digital av dock reminds me of my thunderbolt dock but shrunken down to the basics: display, power, and usb3 which is all i do.

i have a usb 3 hub too.

I'm continuously sort of admiring power+data over one cable now that I'm putting it to use. got a usb-c to a black monoprice cable on the way too for on the go situations. i also sold my thunderbolt dock for above what i got mine for used, so the dongle is less of a blow to the wallet.

consider me a skeptic turned a fan!
 
Researching a travel set-up for a client & the overpriced adapter is the only choice right now. No third party equal just yet. We'll choose some type of mini hub to go with it (2port) for a card reader/external SSD combo.

Even if it had more ports, you'd still hang wire, so it's really just another way to get it done.
 
Researching a travel set-up for a client & the overpriced adapter is the only choice right now. No third party equal just yet. We'll choose some type of mini hub to go with it (2port) for a card reader/external SSD combo.

Even if it had more ports, you'd still hang wire, so it's really just another way to get it done.

It took me a short while to realize this - the whole argument about the single port is really a complete over-reaction as long as you're willing to get the Apple adapter to permit charging while you have other connections to the machine.

And my oldish SIIG USB 3.0 hub (which never worked very well on Windows machines) worked perfectly on the rMB.
 
It took me a short while to realize this - the whole argument about the single port is really a complete over-reaction as long as you're willing to get the Apple adapter to permit charging while you have other connections to the machine.

And my oldish SIIG USB 3.0 hub (which never worked very well on Windows machines) worked perfectly on the rMB.

One quirk I noticed about the Apple adapter is that it doesn't provide a lot of power to the USB-A port. I have a DisplayLink USB monitor that I use with my Windows PC when traveling. I've occasionally use it with my Macs. It works fine with the straight USB-C to USB-A adapter (I.e. when the Mac is powering the device directly), but if I plug it into the three-port adapter (USB-C, VGA, USB-A) it doesn't draw enough power to turn on. Apple also says that the Apple Superdrive pre-2010 doesn't work with it.

I know Apple is trying to phase out ports and wired connections, but I'm a bit surprised they didn't come out with something more like the hubs we see on KickStarter (since there is obviously a market for one), or alternatively put in a second USB-C port so you can charge with one and have something else plugged in. I'm guessing that they will do so when they transition the MacBook from niche to mainstream, just as they did with the MacBook Air.

For now, I'm good with a few adapters around mostly for "security" (I've found that I use connected peripherals less and less with my Mac, which I guess is Apple's point).
 
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