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USB and other connections

A

aicul

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 20, 2007
809
7
no cars, only boats
What was apple thinking when they placed the USB connections behind the iMac ?

Either I have to stand up and walk round my desk, or I have to rotate the iMac on my packed desk. And 27" need some space to turn.

This post is not about the absurdity of this choice (elegance just kills a user-centric need), but it is about asking out load where could Apple have more intelligently and elegantly placed the USB connections.

I thought about this a bit and my idea would be on the edge. But clearly that may have some technical constraints.

Any ideas ?
 
aicul said:
...
Either I have to stand up and walk round my desk, or I have to rotate the iMac on my packed desk. And 27" need some space to turn.
...
Click to expand...
For USB devices that are permanently connected the back ports are fine.

For a USB port that has devices you change all the time, get a short high quality USB extension cable. Make sure it's USB 3.0 if you will be using it for USB 3.0 devices. At a quick glance, Amazon has ones at least as short as 1.5 feet.
 
aicul said:
What was apple thinking when they placed the USB connections behind the iMac ?

Either I have to stand up and walk round my desk, or I have to rotate the iMac on my packed desk. And 27" need some space to turn.

This post is not about the absurdity of this choice (elegance just kills a user-centric need), but it is about asking out load where could Apple have more intelligently and elegantly placed the USB connections.

I thought about this a bit and my idea would be on the edge. But clearly that may have some technical constraints.

Any ideas ?
Click to expand...

My idea is they're ideal where they are, obviously most users agree because iMac sales continue to grow while PC's continue to shrink.
 
Personally I've always thought having all the input connections at the bottom (where the RAM door is on pre-2012 iMacs) would be a good compromise between form & function.

For the most part all the plugs and wires would still be pretty well hidden, but when you need access to them all you have to do is tilt the monitor up instead of swinging the iMac around/physically getting up.

rkaufmann87 said:
My idea is they're ideal where they are, obviously most users agree because iMac sales continue to grow while PC's continue to shrink.
Click to expand...
I can't tell if you're actually serious or not, but there is so much wrong with that argument.
 
I have to go along with either an extension cable or a small USB 3 bus of sorts. I have a type of cable that plugs into two USB 2 ports and at the other end is four cables for 4 usb 2 devices. Perhaps something similar exists for USB 3.

As for location - I wouldn't want it on the bottom where it could be pulled out, nor on the front where it is clutter or on the side where it sticks out. Either it should be in the base or on the back (for my tastes).
 
I am fine with the 4 ports on the back so you can hide the wires and maintain the clean lines. But I would have liked an extra port or two somewhere more accessible, for things like USB sticks that you won't be leaving plugged in all the time and to which you require easier access. I'd have voted for a front-mounted USB port I think.

(That said, they would have had to make the stand tilt adjustment much stiffer, so the screen would not constantly keep moving every time you plugged and unplugged a memory stick.)

As it is, I wonder how many iMacs have scratched rear panels, from people fumbling around trying to get a USB stick in and missing the slot. USB steel on iMac aluminium is surely going to result in scratches.
 
I fully understand the logic of the USB behind when something is continually connected to the iMac. Clean and tidy.

However, most everyone has to do with the USB sticks and SD cards. Mainly because they cannot easily store data on their immediate portable (iPhone).

So an easy to access USB and SD slot would seem to be part of the user-centric concept Apple sells. That's what I miss.
 
"What was apple thinking when they placed the USB connections behind the iMac?"

They were thinking "styling", and nothing more.
It's not any more complicated than that.

For my Mac Mini, I bought a couple of USB3 "extension cables" from monoprice.com. They are 3' cables with a male connector on one end, and a female connector on the other. They work just fine for me.
 
aicul said:
What was apple thinking when they placed the USB connections behind the iMac ?

Either I have to stand up and walk round my desk, or I have to rotate the iMac on my packed desk. And 27" need some space to turn.

This post is not about the absurdity of this choice (elegance just kills a user-centric need), but it is about asking out load where could Apple have more intelligently and elegantly placed the USB connections.

I thought about this a bit and my idea would be on the edge. But clearly that may have some technical constraints.

Any ideas ?
Click to expand...

I think this dates back to the time that the iMac had a keyboard connected to USB by cable and the keyboard had an extra USB port for devices to plug in for temporary use (usb sticks, usb drives, cameras etc).

Everything that's permanently connected to USB is nicely on the back side and out of sight, all other things would be temporarily connected through the keyboard.

That's what I could think of.
 
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