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How many USB-C ports are you guys using, and how many do you think most users use?
Six USB ports in continuous use, and would need a seventh if I could not have an internal backup drive.

I also need a port free for key drives/SD reader/the DVD drive, etc.
 
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10G speed for internal NVME SSD is suuuper slow.
I don’t understand why few make TB3 or TB4 connection to the SSD.
Sure it would cost more and the drive would need to have some active cooling, but I used a 10G connection for an enclosure for NVMe.
Threw it in the trash….
Very slow when I wanted to run Stellaris from the external SSD.

Apparently, RayCue is selling a 40Gbps version of its hub. I wonder if it enhances the nVME bandwidth or if it's just a pass-through?

I bought the 10G version before they even announced higher speed versions. It's fine for what I need ... an nVME SSD for my Time Machine backups.
 
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If they want USB-A, they can buy a used Intel Mac mini on the cheap. Or, they can buy a used power Mac cube and get a disc drive as a bonus.
Or...they could buy the Satechi hub that started this thread, or a CalDigit TS4, the new Kensington Thunderbolt 5 dock or a number of other reputable brand docks. Even the new OWC Thunderbolt 5 hub, which uses one of your Thunderbolt 5 ports and gives you 3, manages to throw in one more port...a USB-A type port.

Which speaks to a powerful testimony in favor of USB-A. The strong brand name computer dock and hub makers have a clear vested interest in closely studying their market, which includes a range of Mac and PC users. They look at what these people want, need and use, and aim to offer that up. I suspect they have a much better handle on the user market for adding ports than most of us. And in the spirit of 'voting with their feet,' these people put out a lot of products that add USB-A ports. The same is true for displays with hub functionality.

Actually it's true, not forever. Just a really really really long time if new devices have to continue supporting both USBA and USBC until all devices that only support USBA are totally gone (maybe several decades).
A 'does the tail wag the dog' issue. Which is the tail and which is the dog, the computer using public or the equipment manufacturers? Apple often acts like it's the dog, whereas the Windows PC world (much larger and a huge influencer on hardware) seems to consider the user the dog.

In the meantime, all new devices will be bigger, less elegant, and with added cost because they have to support two standards. The smaller, more elegant, or cheaper the type of device, the more of an issue this is, but it will always be an issue to a degree because these are three things that the market tends to demand.
Yes, but the same is true of HDMI ports. Apple tried to get rid of those on notebooks, IIRC, and got considerable backlash from the user base. I prefer a USB-C DisplayPort Alt Mode connection myself.

That's why although there have necessarily been devices that do support both, it's decreasing and will only decrease more.
Yes, particularly where there's a need - like the very thin/slim and light notebooks. My old 2017 12" MacBook has one USB-C port and one audio port...that's it. So of course I bought a dongle to give it more ports.

The purpose of my post was not to try to artificially declare it the winner (not that anything we say here determines anything; only the market does), but merely pointing out the somewhat obvious fact that a transition would take an insanely long time if we have to wait for all devices with an existing standard to die out everywhere completely before making a device with only a new standard. I think everyone can agree this is not a realistic expectation since the market won't allow for this.
Yes, I think so, too. But it will take a long time, because some USB-A peripherals can potentially last a really long time (e.g.: mice, keyboards). But in time, more systems will require you use an adapter, hub or dock. Especially the slimmer notebooks. It starts with the fact a notebook can't practically offer as many ports as some people want so a hub or dock becomes a common accessory. That's not so much USB-A going extinct as moving from the computer to the dock, etc...

While I was one of those hoping the M4 series Mac Minis would still have a USB-A port or two (even at the cost of being a little bigger), I can see the case for it being the way it is. And I can see the case where some people would find additional USB-C ports more useful than adding 3 USB-As.

But I get the sense some people (not you), not just from this thread but some others discussing these things, are eager to dance on USB-A's grave. :D
 
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PRO: Power button cut out. Brilliant.
CON: Speed. 10g speed for internal nVME?! Takes up my last Thunderbolt-C connector too (2-Cinema Displays) and what is with the obsolete 480mb USB-A?
 
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This product is something best served with Thunderbolt and yet it's still using the basic USB 3.2 Gen 2. What's the problems with Thunderbolt that makes it a dud with accessory makers?
 
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The benefits that USB provided over Serial, Parallel, PS/2, and the other standards that it quickly replaced were always pretty obvious. Outside of the small hiccups that came with early implementations, USB quickly proved itself to be much easier to use, much faster, and much more expandable, than the standards that came before it. That's why RS-232 and the like are now only used by specialty/industrial hardware and nostalgia freaks nowadays. As early as 1998, even with the limited number of USB devices on the market at the time, it was quite easy for me to answer the question of "why should I use USB in place of <insert legacy connection here>"?

The same isn't true of USB-C. The benefits that USB-C provide over USB-A are, comparatively, pretty incremental outside of a few specific areas (1 - fast-charging and other higher power-delivery applications, 2 - where plugging and unplugging devices often is needed, 3 - very high-bandwidth applications). Looking at the 13 devices I currently have plugged into my PC via USB-A right now, there is only one that might see some kind of an improvement if it were to be updated to use USB-C at its full specification - a TASCAM Model 12 mixer (which actually has a USB-C connection on the back of it, but it only communicates using USB2). For the vast majority of USB-A connected devices out there, moving to USB-C is very little more than change for the sake of change.
aside from the rectangular design and the one way orientation, I actually prefer USB-A because its larger size gives more grip to connect/disconnect the plug
 
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What's the problems with Thunderbolt that makes it a dud with accessory makers?
If you look at external SSD products and displays, I think with both you'll see a consistent pattern that Thunderbolt versions cost more. That can be a problem with a product like this, since the ports it offers can be exceeded by a cheaper dongle. The SSD slot is a nice touch. Also note a number of USB-C SSDs are, from what I understand, bus-powered by your Mac's USB-C port. IIRC, a Thunderbolt drive is more likely to need to be plugged into an outlet (not all do; OWC has this bus-powered Thunderbolt enclosure).

So, just how 'slow' is USB-C class external SSD performance? Not sure about the Satechi. When my 2017 27" iMac's hard drive (part of the 3-terabyte Fusion Drive) started messing up, I switched to a Samsung T7 Shield USB-C external SSD drive as my boot drive. I thought maybe it'd let me hobble along, waiting for an M3 Mac Mini.

I get it; people look at data transfer rates, and see a USB-C SSD listed around 800-900 Mbps, then a Thunderbolt 3 SSD at 2,800 Mbps, and a TB SSD around 6,000 Mbps, and think whoa, that USB-C is obviously slow and will feel a lot slower in routine use. Depending on what you're doing with it, maybe not so much. There are YouTube! reviews discussing this. If you don't do a lot of large file transfers, the difference may be less than you think.

It did better than 'let me hobble along.' To my subjective impression, it was a bit snappier than the Fusion Drive was. Over time I started getting frequent kernel panics (don't know why), and recently moved to an M4 Pro Mac Mini, but I was surprised by the performance.

People using an SSD for their Photos library, small files or a backup drive might be quite alright with a USB-C SSD.
 
Just got the new Mac mini recently, the only issue I have with this hub is that there are no type-a ports on the back, which is a pain if you are using a USB keyboard and mouse like I am.

Are we looking at the same hub? I count three on the rear of the hub. :oops:
 
It's unnecessary, but handy. My Logitech unifying receivers are still USB-A, as are all of my thumb drives.
Thumb drives are a super cheap upgrade these and then should last for a good few years. As for the Logitech unifying receiver, it's old tech no hopefully these will updated soon also. I guess the OPs point was adding all USB-A to the front seems like it will give this product a very limited life span.
 
For you it is not a problem - some people (like me) actually turn things off when not in use. I know the Mini draws little power so I could leave it on forever, however it's plugged in the same power multi socket as my monitor and I don't want to leave that on all the time.
So shut it down by pressing shut down in the menu. That’s the recommended way to do it anyway, convenience aside.
 
People using an SSD for their Photos library, small files or a backup drive might be quite alright with a USB-C SSD.
In that use case, the NVMe SSDs are overkill. SATA SSDs would work just the same and be cheaper. Why buy a fast SSD only to have the interface be the bottleneck?
 
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Tragically, no company is able to invent a Mac mini hub that stops the tech media from whining about the power button location.
 
How much wattage is needed to keep the Mac mini in standby? Keep in mind, a computer is never truly "off" (as in zero power consumption) unless it is unplugged. Power is needed to enable the power button to even work! As it isn't a switch in the traditional sense.
LOL, I haven't powered off my computers overnight since the 1990's. This is the biggest non-issue I have seen in very long time, but I guess people have an urge to complain about something.
 
My gripe with the power button is all the self-aggrandizing marketing around carbon neutrality. Even though the computer sips power in idle, it’s a matter of principle that the design will lead most to keep their Mac minis on overnight (when boots are now maybe 7 seconds).
LOL, I haven't powered off my computers overnight since the 1990's. This is the biggest non-issue I have seen in very long time, but I guess people have an urge to complain about something. Don't fall for all the carbon neutrality and green energy virtue signaling - it's mostly an accounting sleight of hand.
 
It’s not a problem.
I own one, and I’m almost certain that people who complain about them don’t actually own them. Forget YouTubers; those are just people with cameras.
 
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It's on the included remote controller, and I use it multiple times per day.
My SONY OLED has none, and because it uses Google TV, it locks up in various apps with the only way to reset it being to unplug it.

Unplugging a wall mounted TV isn’t always so easy. Samsung Frame has the same problem, with Tizen. For that one, I have to trip the breaker.

All of my other TVs have a power button.

Sometimes you NEED a power button.
 
So shut it down by pressing shut down in the menu. That’s the recommended way to do it anyway, convenience aside.
Shutting down isn't the issue, powering it back on is. I know I can set the power management to auto power on when power is restored, but occasionally I just want the monitor on (for my work laptop or my Pi).
 
It seems like a good hub with more than enough USB A ports. But don't think power button location is an issue. The price also is good. In general all Satechi products are good.
 
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While Satechi is still selling the same lame junk, RayCue or Orico already offer full 40 GBit/s.

Of course, only interesting for those who want to use the SSD and USB ports. Everyone else buys the Satechi brand name.
 
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