Dongle thread for the new Macbook Pro's

[VirtualRain]

As someone who travels frequently doing presentations, I need HDMI, VGA and a presentation pointer (typically USB-A) as well as the ability to swap presentations via USB sticks with co-presenters (also USB-A).

I've found this, which seems convenient...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GPY3IU...TF8&colid=3U0TODJ4J6PTB&coliid=I1KTIBENAFFH83

Coupled with this for VGA...
https://www.amazon.com/VicTsing-Gol...F8&qid=1477847103&sr=8-1&keywords=HDMI+to+vga

But I'm curious if anyone has any other thoughts?

 

[Pootmatoot]

This one seems to have a lot of positive Reviews on Amazon Japan:

https://www.amazon.co.jp/【国内正規代理店品】J5-create-Delivery対応マルチアダプター-USB3-0×2ポートハブ-JCA374A/dp/B01H3OSIHW/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1477833181&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=usb-c+ethernet+displayport

This one Looks promising but it's just getting available
https://www.amazon.co.uk/ProLink-ad...&qid=1477833754&sr=8-1&keywords=prolink+usb-c

Gosh, it seems to really hard to deliver a Quality product.

A lot of ports can really anger the OS if they suddenly vanish... they were designed to be permanent internals.

It's harder than it looks to make dongles that can be randomly pulled.

 

[FoxMcCloud]

I did a USB-C to USB-A for my mouse and other miscellaneous uses.

I also did a Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 for my Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter (I hope it works like that) at my desk. If that's not possible with that adapter, can someone chime in?

I did not do the multi port adapter since it can only charge with 60W and my MacBook Pro is 15" and requires the 87W

If your monitor is DVI you could get a USBC to DVI cable. Then it's just one cable rather than 3, which is what I intend to do. I use 2 monitors at work so I'm going to get a USBC to DVI and then use the digital AV adapter to get a HDMI and a spare USBA for keyboard.

I'm hoping you can multi monitor like that.

 

[bbchucks]

I got this one for the MacBook 12' - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HA9AVX4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It was hard to find a dock that has HDMI with SD Card Reader and Gigabit/Ethernet. Anyone got one?

 

[Baldrake]

Can anyone confirm - looking at picking up two extra wall chargers for the 15" MBP.

To power the computer from the wall, you need the brick, a USBC charger cable, and a cable from the brick to the power outlet. The Apple Store sells these as three separate parts.

Am I correct that the "brick to power outlet" part from my existing chargers can be used with the new bricks? I.e., that I don't have to buy that part again?

 

[Grolubao]

This is the one I just bought.

https://smile.amazon.com/HyperDrive...2_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=PMN61A7HKMKFXGS79HV7

I have several Hyper products. Good company.

This is probably the one that looks the best. Compact

 

[Brookzy]

Can anyone confirm - looking at picking up two extra wall chargers for the 15" MBP.

To power the computer from the wall, you need the brick, a USBC charger cable, and a cable from the brick to the power outlet. The Apple Store sells these as three separate parts.

Am I correct that the "brick to power outlet" part from my existing chargers can be used with the new bricks? I.e., that I don't have to buy that part again?

You are correct.

Also, the USB/USB-C chargers come with this, so you can still connect to an outlet without buying anything separately. People are just pissed that it's shorter.

 

[Hank Carter]

By removing the SD slot on the new MacBook Pro models Apple just screwed every photographer I know (including myself). You can add to that countless video editors.

Yes, you can use an adapter and it may seem like a trivial thing, but it's the sort of little thing that rubs people very, very wrong and breeds a lot of resentment, because it makes your life just a little more inconvenient.

Between the removal of the headphone jack on the iPhone and now the removal of all widely used ports on the MacBook Pro lineup we are going to be drowning in adapters.

If you plan on charging your iPhone from your computer you will need a USB-C -> USB-A adapter to use your existing Lighting cable. Yes, you could buy a USB-C to Lighting cable, but that would lock you out from the billions of existing USB-A ports we charge at in daily life (Airports, the office, cars etc). Add to that a Lighting -> Lightning Splitter / 3.5mm adapter if you insist on using your existing headphones and want to recharge at the same time.

Most of us are probably going to end up carrying around some sort of dock to make up for the loss of widely used ports on the new MacBook Pros, which completely negates any gains made by Apple shaving off another few mm in thickness. Remember when you could just slip your MacBook Pro in a sleeve and go? Say goodbye to those days, because you're either going to be carrying around a small dock or multiple adapters or special cables.

You are probably going to need:

USB-C -> Magsafe syle power adapter.
USB-C -> HDMI
USB-C -> Mini displayport
USB-C -> USB-A
USB-C -> Micro-B SuperSpeed (external USB3 drives)
USB-C -> Thunderbolt2 ($49)

It's completely insane.

People are constantly sharing data via USB sticks and external drives and everything is going to need an adapter, until you spend hundreds of dollars rebuying everything. It is going to take YEARS until USB-C has anywhere near the market penetration that USB-A has. Just because you may decide to upgrade all of your peripherals does it mean that the rest of the world will follow suite anytime soon.

Would it really have killed them to keep the SD slot and at least ONE USB-A port for one more generation to ease the transition, just like they did with Firewire and Thunderbolt?

 

[Pootmatoot]

By removing the SD slot on the new MacBook Pro models Apple just screwed every photographer I know (including myself). You can add to that countless video editors.

Yes, you can use an adapter and it may seem like a trivial thing, but it's the sort of little thing that rubs people very, very wrong and breeds a lot of resentment, because it makes your life just a little more inconvenient.

Between the removal of the headphone jack on the iPhone and now the removal of all widely used ports on the MacBook Pro lineup we are going to be drowning in adapters.

If you plan on charging your iPhone from your computer you will need a USB-C -> USB-A adapter to use your existing Lighting cable. Yes, you could buy a USB-C to Lighting cable, but that would lock you out from the billions of existing USB-A ports we charge at in daily life (Airports, the office, cars etc). Add to that a Lighting -> Lightning Splitter / 3.5mm adapter if you insist on using your existing headphones and want to recharge at the same time.

Most of us are probably going to end up carrying around some sort of dock to make up for the loss of widely used ports on the new MacBook Pros, which completely negates any gains made by Apple shaving off another few mm in thickness. Remember when you could just slip your MacBook Pro in a sleeve and go? Say goodbye to those days, because you're either going to be carrying around a small dock or a half dozen adapters or special cables.

You are probably going to need:

USB-C -> Magsafe syle power adapter.
USB-C -> HDMI
USB-C -> Mini displayport
USB-C -> USB-A
USB-C -> Micro-B SuperSpeed (external USB3 drives)
USB-C -> Thunderbolt2 ($49)

It's completely insane.

People are constantly sharing data via USB sticks and external drives and everything is going to need an adapter, until you spend hundreds of dollars rebuying everything. But regardless it is going to take YEARS until USB-C has anywhere near the market penetration that USB-A has. Just because you may decide to upgrade all of your peripherals does it mean that the rest of the world will follow suite anytime soon.

Would it really have killed them to keep the SD slot and at least ONE USB-A port for one more generation to ease the transition?

The funny part is USB-C uptake will be driven mainstream by one thing: phones. And in this topsy-turvy world, by every phone bar Apple's own iPhone.

 

[shareef777]

This is what I use at home with my MacBook.

https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/usb-c/owc/usb-c-dock?_ga=1.8636535.376511375.1456469094

Thank you! Been looking for a dock that has ethernet/display and can charge at 80 watts FOREVER (i.e., since four days ago when I ordered the new MBP lol).

 

[Hank Carter]

The funny part is USB-C uptake will be driven mainstream by one thing: phones. And in this topsy-turvy world, by every phone bar Apple's own iPhone.

The irony is palatable...

 

[Brookzy]

By removing the SD slot on the new MacBook Pro models Apple just screwed every photographer I know (including myself). You can add to that countless video editors.

Yes, you can use an adapter and it may seem like a trivial thing, but it's the sort of little thing that rubs people very, very wrong and breeds a lot of resentment, because it makes your life just a little more inconvenient.

Between the removal of the headphone jack on the iPhone and now the removal of all widely used ports on the MacBook Pro lineup we are going to be drowning in adapters.

If you plan on charging your iPhone from your computer you will need a USB-C -> USB-A adapter to use your existing Lighting cable. Yes, you could buy a USB-C to Lighting cable, but that would lock you out from the billions of existing USB-A ports we charge at in daily life (Airports, the office, cars etc). Add to that a Lighting -> Lightning Splitter / 3.5mm adapter if you insist on using your existing headphones and want to recharge at the same time.

Most of us are probably going to end up carrying around some sort of dock to make up for the loss of widely used ports on the new MacBook Pros, which completely negates any gains made by Apple shaving off another few mm in thickness. Remember when you could just slip your MacBook Pro in a sleeve and go? Say goodbye to those days, because you're either going to be carrying around a small dock or multiple adapters or special cables.

You are probably going to need:

USB-C -> Magsafe syle power adapter.
USB-C -> HDMI
USB-C -> Mini displayport
USB-C -> USB-A
USB-C -> Micro-B SuperSpeed (external USB3 drives)
USB-C -> Thunderbolt2 ($49)

It's completely insane.

People are constantly sharing data via USB sticks and external drives and everything is going to need an adapter, until you spend hundreds of dollars rebuying everything. It is going to take YEARS until USB-C has anywhere near the market penetration that USB-A has. Just because you may decide to upgrade all of your peripherals does it mean that the rest of the world will follow suite anytime soon.

Would it really have killed them to keep the SD slot and at least ONE USB-A port for one more generation to ease the transition?

The problem with these connectivity arguments is that the only way to satisfy these issues is to never drop I/O. It is clear that Thunderbolt 3 is the new USB-A and without Apple dragging the industry by the scruff of the neck, we'd never progress to it.

People who want legacy I/O to stick around do not understand Apple, and do not understand that doing that is compromise (not the other way around!).

If you need all of those six things, buy something else. Because if it wasn't for Apple we'd still have ADB, FireWire, and ethernet ports, and laptops twice the size and weight.

 

[JTToft]

The problem with these connectivity arguments is that the only way to satisfy these issues is to never drop I/O. It is clear that Thunderbolt 3 is the new USB and without Apple dragging the industry by the scruff of the neck, we'd never progress to it.

People who want legacy I/O to stick around do not understand Apple, and do not understand that doing that is compromise (not the other way around!).

If you need all of those six things, buy something else. Because if it wasn't for Apple we'd still have ADB, FireWire, and ethernet ports, and laptops twice the size and weight.

- Well put!

Though, to be fair, they did still sell a FireWire equipped Mac until just a few days ago.

 

[Baldrake]

The problem with these connectivity arguments is that the only way to satisfy these issues is to never drop I/O. It is clear that Thunderbolt 3 is the new USB-A and without Apple dragging the industry by the scruff of the neck, we'd never progress to it.

People who want legacy I/O to stick around do not understand Apple, and do not understand that doing that is compromise (not the other way around!).

If you need all of those six things, buy something else. Because if it wasn't for Apple we'd still have ADB, FireWire, and ethernet ports, and laptops twice the size and weight.

There's some truth to what you say, but this is making things a bit too black and white.

If they provided a bare minimum of legacy ports for even a year, we'd all see which way the wind was blowing, and as we upgrade our peripherals, would go with USBC/TB. Then when the hard transition occurred, it would be a lot easier.

 

[schmidti91]

There's some truth to what you say, but this is making things a bit too black and white.

If they provided a bare minimum of legacy ports for even a year, we'd all see which way the wind was blowing, and as we upgrade our peripherals, would go with USBC/TB. Then when the hard transition occurred, it would be a lot easier.

I guess the redesign wouldn't have been possible to the extend we're seeing now

 

[Brookzy]

There's some truth to what you say, but this is making things a bit too black and white.

If they provided a bare minimum of legacy ports for even a year, we'd all see which way the wind was blowing, and as we upgrade our peripherals, would go with USBC/TB. Then when the hard transition occurred, it would be a lot easier.

It's not just a case of just adding legacy ports for a year. There isn't empty space in that case. There's no dummy ports like in a car that doesn't have the optional extras.

If they wanted to add a USB-A port, or an SD-card reader, something would have to give. It wouldn't be as thin, for a start.

Apple's version of transitional legacy is to keep selling the old one, and that is what they've done.

Making a crippled version for one year is not what Apple is about, and rightly so.

If you have a vision for the future, you have to go all-in. This is what I admire about Apple, and why I believe they are still being run by people who make the right calls: if Tim Cook's "bean counting" really ran the show, we would have a transitional legacy model so as to minimise the alienated/lost users who insist on an SD slot and USB-A. But no, they bit the bullet, took the (considerable!) heat and probable sales dip, because they know doing so will deliver the vision of the future sooner and better than if they messed around with transitional models.

 

[Hank Carter]

The problem with these connectivity arguments is that the only way to satisfy these issues is to never drop I/O. It is clear that Thunderbolt 3 is the new USB-A and without Apple dragging the industry by the scruff of the neck, we'd never progress to it.

Apple was a lot smarter in the past. When they made the transition from Firewire to Thunderbolt they kept both for one generation and then smoothly transitioned everyone out of it. But that was Jobs. He knew how to have his cake and eat it.

The industry is already moving to USB-C, regardless of what Apple is doing. But everyone else seems to be going about this in a smarter way.

There is no excuse for dropping every single industry standard connector on a machine and leaving your customers high and dry, just so you can make the machine 2mm thinner. And that goes double for a pro machine.

If you need all of those six things, buy something else. Because if it wasn't for Apple we'd still have ADB, FireWire, and ethernet ports, and laptops twice the size and weight.

You do realize that ADB and to a certain extent Firewire were Apple specific ports that the rest of the industry didn't really use? You probably also don't know that that a lot of the MacBook 100 was designed for Apple by Sony who at that time was the leader in miniaturization?

People who want legacy I/O to stick around do not understand Apple, and do not understand that doing that is compromise (not the other way around!).

I've been using Apple computers since the Apple II and original Mac. I think I get it, kid, which is why I am saying that it's a bad move on their part.

 

[Pootmatoot]

It's not just a case of just adding legacy ports for a year. There isn't empty space in that case. There's no dummy ports like in a car that doesn't have the optional extras.

If they wanted to add a USB-A port, or an SD-card reader, something would have to give. It wouldn't be as thin, for a start.

Apple's version of transitional legacy is to keep selling the old one, and that is what they've done.

Making a crippled version for one year is not what Apple is about, and rightly so.

If you have a vision for the future, you have to go all-in. This is what I admire about Apple, and why I believe they are still being run by people who make the right calls: if Tim Cook's "bean counting" really ran the show, we would have a transitional legacy model so as to minimise the alienated/lost users who insist on an SD slot and USB-A. But no, they bit the bullet, took the (considerable!) heat and probable sales dip, because they know doing so will deliver the vision of the future sooner and better than if they messed around with transitional models.

That Apple seems to lack a vision for the future - and even their current user base - is what concerns people.

You can see where Microsoft is going: technical convergence. It makes sense. What's Apple's vision of the future? It's like the MacBook Pro line is made for "professional" bloggers working out of cafes. But then they've gone 2mm thinner, which means they've tossed out one of the best-in-class non-mechanical keyboards for the MacBook junk butterfly mess that's worse for typing than the first generation Surface covers. So it can't be them.

Who exactly are the future people Apple is designing for?

 

[kristoffer4]

Can you get USB C to HDMI cables ?

 

[Brookzy]

Can you get USB C to HDMI cables ?

It's not a simple pin-to-pin connection so they usually come in the form of a USB-C to female HDMI adapter like the one Apple makes.

 

[Hank Carter]

Can you get USB C to HDMI cables ?

Don't forget to bring one along the next time you walk into an office and need to present something on your clients LCD TV or monitor.

 

[JTToft]

It's not a simple pin-to-pin connection so they usually come in the form of a USB-C to female HDMI adapter like the one Apple makes.

- A simple passive cable should be possible, though, since USB-C supports HDMI Alternate Mode. But I haven't seen one offered yet. They're either male-female adaptors or male-male cables with huge chunks on them.

 

[Brookzy]

Don't forget to bring one along the next time you walk into an office and need to present something on your clients LCD TV or monitor.

Were you complaining for all the years when it was DVI, Mini-DVI, or Mini-Displayport?

 

[Hank Carter]

Were you complaining for all the years when it was DVI, Mini-DVI, or Mini-Displayport?

No.

 

[Baldrake]

Making a crippled version for one year is not what Apple is about, and rightly so.

LOL, ok, so if we're viewing keeping around a USB-A and HDMI port for a year as "crippling" the mac, then I guess we don't have a lot of common ground.

To help your perspective though, I'm not a luddite. I have been waiting literally years to get TB3. So the 2015 model really isn't doing me any good.