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Thanks Apple for making an non functional port layout

M. Malone

M. Malone

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 11, 2004
677
2
As title says.

I got the new MacBook. Why are the ports so tightly packed next to each other?

I have a 32GB Kingston Data Traveler 150 USB drive
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And when I put it in, I can no longer use the USB next to it or the display port.

I really hope I'm missing something here, maybe I'm not seeing it, but this killed the usability of the ports. Especially when I want to transfer something from my flash drive to my hard drive.

I can force the second USB in but I worry if that would damage the ports.

any advice?
 
Same problem here, if I use one port to connect my LED cinema display I can't use the other one with my SanDisk 4Gb thumb drive.

They should have thought about this but in the end it's not a major nuisance.
 
It is not Apple's fault. You just need a smaller thumb drive.
Click to expand...

Well, for some people nothing that goes wrong could ever be Apple's fault I guess... Only thing I can say is that I use this TD almost daily to give presentations on pc laptop systems hooked to a projector and I've NEVER encountered a problem there. But hey, that can't possibly be because they put their USB ports in sensible places, right?

It's amazing how many the times the answer to a question about the functionality of Apple products is countered with an argument along the 'quit moaning, just throw some more money at it' line. I thought everything had to 'just work'?
 
Xenophon said:
Well, for some people nothing that goes wrong could ever be Apple's fault I guess... Only thing I can say is that I use this TD almost daily to give presentations on pc laptop systems hooked to a projector and I've NEVER encountered a problem there. But hey, that can't possibly be because they put their USB ports in sensible places, right?

It's amazing how many the times the answer to a question about the functionality of Apple products is countered with an argument along the 'quit moaning, just throw some more money at it' line. I thought everything had to 'just work'?
Click to expand...
It does "just work", just not with your huge drive. That drive wouldn't work in my old dell laptop either. It is pretty common when having more than one USB port, to place them close together (either 1 above the other, or the MBP configuration).

Buy a PC next time if that drive is so critical to your computing experience.
 
Apple wants to keep the ports neat... I guess it looks better than the other laptops that usually have USB ports on at least 2 sides to avoid congestion. :rolleyes:
 
Having the ports all on one side makes them easy to access, and avoids the all too common PC-centric searching rigmarole... now I wonder where the USB port is.. left, back right or front?

On the other hand, having them tightly packed makes it hard for some over sized connectors to be used.

A usb dock solves the problem.
 
Close your eyes, click your heels three times, and all of the money in your wallet will materialize on Steve Jobs's desk :)
 
Placing the ports that close together is STUPID.

It's FORM over function - again.

Sure buy a usb hub or extension ... more money to waste on unnecessary accessories, plus it gives you more junk to carry in your bag, both an inconvenience.

When all Apple's Engineers has to do was get their head out of their *sses and realize, 'hey, those ports look too close, lets fix that'.
 
It is Apple's fault. The USB ports are positioned too close together for many USB accessories. As far as I am concerned good design includes usability. This layout is not good design.
 
mouse cord issue

Because the ports are on the left, it's a real stretch for a right handed mouse user with the corded Apple mouse too...
 
I've had PC desktops with the ports too close together too. It's all bad design, PC, Mac, or anything else. It just happens. The extenders are useful for that purpose but kind of annoying to carry around w/ a laptop. The person who made the point about a corded mouse is right, it would be nice to have one on the back for that reason, but I generally use the touchpad anyway.
 
People really need to stop blindly defending Apple's design over function mentality. The USB port placement is poor. Many devices like USB memory or USB data devices from cell carriers are large enough to block the adjacent ports. I bought extension cables but the OP has a point. At some point more emphasis needs to be placed on function even if some style tradeoffs are necessary.

Cheers,
 
I don't know. I have a MacBook Pro 13", and use it regularly with an external monitor off the mini Displayport, and have an Apple Keyboard and iPod cable plugged in. They all fit fine. Are there any combinations of Apple products that won't fit? Why would Apple go far out of its way to accommodate devices that are relatively far outside the norm at the connector when they already have a system that works in all the first-party cases, and with many third-party accessories as it is?
 
The USB port spacing on the MPBs meets the USB 2.0 design spec. To meet the USB 2.0 connector design spec, the maximum width for the overmold boot on a USB "A" plug is 16 mm. Also, the standard center to center pitch for side by side USB sockets is 16 mm. Apple meets this spec. Check any PCI or PCIe multiple port USB card, and you will find that the connector spacing is identical to the MPB's.

It is the wide USB flash drives that are out of spec. There are high speed USB flash drives that meet the spec. I have Sandisk and OCZ high speed flash drives that coexist with standard USB connectors in the side by side configuration, and I also have Sandisk titanium drives that are too wide.
 
drambuie said:
The USB port spacing on the MPBs meets the USB 2.0 design spec. To meet the USB 2.0 connector design spec, the maximum width for the overmold boot on a USB "A" plug is 16 mm. Also, the standard center to center pitch for side by side USB sockets is 16 mm. Apple meets this spec. Check any PCI or PCIe multiple port USB card, and you will find that the connector spacing is identical to the MPB's.

It is the wide USB flash drives that are out of spec. There are high speed USB flash drives that meet the spec. I have Sandisk and OCZ high speed flash drives that coexist with standard USB connectors in the side by side configuration, and I also have Sandisk titanium drives that are too wide.
Click to expand...

Spec's? That's not the issue and doesn't have anything do with this.

REAL WORLD DAY TO DAY USE is what a laptop computer should be designed for. Apple did this for 'form' not function - Fact.
 
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