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Poll: 15" MBP - SD Card Slot or Third USB Port?

What would you rather have?

  • SD card slot

    Votes: 30 30.6%

  • Third USB port, i'm always running out of USB ports

    Votes: 22 22.4%

  • Bring back the expresscard slot you cheap Apple bastards

    Votes: 46 46.9%
  • Total voters
    98
groove-agent

groove-agent

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 13, 2006
2,100
2,062
Could someone please explain to me the purpose of the SD card slot? I'd rather have a third USB port. Wouldn't you?

I thought maybe you could use it as a new age floppy drive. However in each scenario I could think of, it would be more useful just to store the data on the hard drive.

Maybe it was to copy pictures from your camera. Isn't it just as easy to copy them via the USB port in the device itself?

I don't understand. I'd rather have a third USB port if you're going to do away with the expresscard slot.
 
I don't think you needed a whole new thread. If you have to ask what benefit a feature brings then I take back what I said, you don't need the machine.

The SD card slot is great if you shoot with a camera that uses such media. However, since most of what I do is with CF cards, the SD card slot appeals to me because you can boot from it.

If you need tons of USB ports then maybe you need to learn the benefits of BT keyboards and mice and not tying yourself down to a desk at all times. ;)
 
I like the SD slot for copying my camera's images. I just pop out the card, pop in a new one, and work away. I don't have to pack cables, and I don't have to worry about the battery of the camera.

I tend not to have a ton of USB devices.
 
jessica. said:
I don't think you needed a whole new thread. If you have to ask what benefit a feature brings then I take back what I said, you don't need the machine.

The SD card slot is great if you shoot with a camera that uses such media. However, since most of what I do is with CF cards, the SD card slot appeals to me because you can boot from it.

If you need tons of USB ports then maybe you need to learn the benefits of BT keyboards and mice and not tying yourself down to a desk at all times. ;)
Click to expand...

I just wondered what people used the SD slot for. I suppose if you take alot of pictures and swap multiple SD cards it would be useful. For me, I have a point and shoot camera and simply USB the pictures onto my hard drive at the end of the day. I would imagine that a pro photographer would make better use of it.
 
SD Card Slot for me. I'm a semi-professional photographer, have a gallery of over 20,000 photos, and all my cameras use SD Cards (even my 500D DSLR). USB is TOO SLOW for transferring 5MB photos, SD Card slot is much faster. I have never found myself to use more than two on a notebook, heck, I rarely use one.

Granted, the expresscard/34 slot is useful as multiple adapters are sold, however I believe putting adapters in there spoils the finish of the machine overall, having an SD Card Slot there just makes it all flush.
 
JoelKelly said:
It's not 'silly' if you're a professional photographer.
Click to expand...

What about CF? Before we could use a reader and read all of the cards out there. Plus it could double as an esata port or 3g port.

Now we are limited to one card, SD. No extras as mentioned before.

Silly I think. Its a step backwards.
 
Want a 3rd USB port simply because it would allow me to plug in 2 things! Damn ports are too close together!
 
I actually don't mind that Apple has introduced SD-card slots into their MBP 13-inch and 15-inch lines.

I'd really like a 13-inch MBP with an SD-card slot, however I've already got a perfectly fine uMB (CE). And I honestly can't justify upgrading it already.
So, I'll have to stick with my USB-SD-card reader, for a year or.. three, I hope.

But that is my point of view, and I've 'only' got a d40x. I can, however, imagine that some people are heavily bummed by the fact that they've removed the expresscard slot.

They could've given the consumer a BTO option, however that would complicate production and thus costs. Perhaps they should have left EC in the 15-inch, and put SD in the 13-inch.

Instead of a third USB-slot, I'd rather have had two more spaced out USB ports. To be honest, I can't get an USB stick and a mouse to fit together. Or my SD card reader and a mouse, for that matter. (The SD card slot would have solved that problem, but I'll just leave that out for my CE 'sentiments').

The real problem is that one cannot make everyone happy. :(
 
Compared to what an average Dell contains Macbooks are pretty low on external ports. If Dell can do all the following on the Studio XPS 16 laptop then surely Apple can provide more options.

(2) USB 2.0 compliant ports
(1) USB 2.0 compliant / e-SATA port with PowerShare
15-pin VGA video connector
IEEE compliant 1394a port
Integrated network connector 10/100/1000 LAN (RJ45)
54mm Express Card slot
Display Port
HDMI Port
AC adapter connector
Audio jacks (2 line-out, 1 Mic-in)
8-in-1 Media Card Reader
 
kellen said:
What about CF? Before we could use a reader and read all of the cards out there. Plus it could double as an esata port or 3g port.

Now we are limited to one card, SD. No extras as mentioned before.

Silly I think. Its a step backwards.
Click to expand...

Most cameras (emphasis on MOST) use SD cards nowadays, even high-end DSLRs'. As I said, I think that the expresscard/34 slot did ruin the flush of the uMBP though.

Just to stop arguments, they should give the option on CTO's. Expresscard, or SD Card slot.

Either way, I still don't see the point in 3 USB slots. You guys plugging in mice and keyboards so you can sit 1ft further away from your laptop which has all these things built in? Most I've used is 2, and that's in rare cases (Mobile Broadband stick, and external MyPassport) and the MyPassport was only in there to copy a couple of files, after that it was out. I don't see why you'd need 3.
 
hideous.ape said:
Compared to what an average Dell contains Macbooks are pretty low on external ports. If Dell can do all the following on the Studio XPS 16 laptop then surely Apple can provide more options.

(2) USB 2.0 compliant ports
(1) USB 2.0 compliant / e-SATA port with PowerShare
15-pin VGA video connector
IEEE compliant 1394a port
Integrated network connector 10/100/1000 LAN (RJ45)
54mm Express Card slot
Display Port
HDMI Port
AC adapter connector
Audio jacks (2 line-out, 1 Mic-in)
8-in-1 Media Card Reader
Click to expand...

You need to bear in mind :

Dell put ports all along the back, and usually just have 2 USB ports, and a VGA port, and a card reader on the left handside. Apple have decided not to ruin the flushness of the uMBP's by sticking a load of un-needed ports on the back.
 
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