USB 3.1 sightings

[(o)(o)]

Which brings us back round to the point that you pretty much have to carry some sort of dock with you if you think you might ever need to plug in both the PSU and another USB device at the same time.

Buy a MacBook Air / Pro.

Problem solved.

[pogo]

Demographic targeting.

This device is limited in practical functionality.

But that doesn't mean it doesn't have a market. Less focused on power users.

Those weened on iPads and the like are used to such compromises.

Yes, it fits in a niche. The bigger Macs and the iOS devices are still available for those who want them.

There’s perhaps another reason for Apple adopting it so suddenly and enthusiastically: to encourage other people to make adapters, displays, drives with USB-C / USB 3.1 adapters. Medium to long term the next version of USB is pretty much inevitable, much like previous versions have been. But Apple’s move could push manufacturers to adopt it more quickly, persuaded that Apple, a major and high profile PC maker, are switching to it 100%.

[Little stoned kiwi]

If anything, it's an attempt by Apple to herd and corral people into using their cloud services.

[gumboot]

You can barely touch a computer without somebody trying to corral you into using their cloud services, these days. If it's not Apple it's Google, and if it's not Google it's Amazon or Microsoft.

[xav]

Which brings us back round to the point that you pretty much have to carry some sort of dock with you if you think you might ever need to plug in both the PSU and another USB device at the same time.

Buy a MacBook Air / Pro.

Problem solved.

Problem solved by using a machine that doesn't have a USB-C port at all, you mean.

I don't think it's entirely unreasonable to want to plug in both a PSU and a single other device at the same time without recourse to a dock.

I don't much care whether or not other people feel that they can survive quite happily with only the one port. Good luck to them. I was merely stating that only having one USB-C port is far more limiting than having two. That doesn't mean that I want 3, 4 or 20 of them. I just think that power should either be supplied via a different port entirely, or that there should be a second port so that plugging into the mains doesn't have to limit your ability to use other devices as well.

But now if I or anyone else here uses a laptop it has nothing or just one thing plugged in, other than power.

(Emphasis mine)

'Nuff said.

[Chontler]

apparently apple invented it!

http://www.cultofmac.com/315671/it-turn ... ted-usb-c/

[(o)(o)]

Which brings us back round to the point that you pretty much have to carry some sort of dock with you if you think you might ever need to plug in both the PSU and another USB device at the same time.

Buy a MacBook Air / Pro.

Problem solved.

Problem solved by using a machine that doesn't have a USB-C port at all, you mean.

I don't think it's entirely unreasonable to want to plug in both a PSU and a single other device at the same time without recourse to a dock.

Same could be said of the iPad.

Looking at the equivalence of the two devices gives an impression of the target audience.

Apple want full spectrum dominance of the market IMO.

Every market position from light user to server class workstation.

2015 MacBook bridges a seam between iDevices and Mac - shares enough similarity of both segments.

[Darkflame]

Apple want full spectrum dominance of the market IMO....Every market position from light user to server class workstation.

They putting decent stylus support in one of their products yet then?
"iPad for artists" sort of thing.

Photoshop might be losing ground a bit these days, but its still pretty heavily a "mac" thing with surely a large Apple user base buying products primarily to use it.
Its frankly bat shit crazy they haven't catered to that sector, and can only guess its because Jobs didn't personally like stylus's.

[pogo]

Apple want full spectrum dominance of the market IMO.

Dominance? No, that ship sailed long ago. Apple have been doing well, growing Mac sales while the rest of the PC industry is shrinking. But they still only have market share in single digits globally. They don't want dominance at any cost; they are happy for the rest of the industry to compete on price by cutting margins to the bone. They’ll keep on making distinctive products that people are willing to pay more for.

This does not make them overpriced; to get similar specs in the Windows world you have to pay as much or more:

Storage speed is one area where Apple is still firmly ahead of the curve. Even now, few PC makers are shipping machines with PCI Express storage rather than SATA, and the ones who are charge a huge premium. Jumping from the standard 128GB SATA drive in Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon to its 512GB PCIe drive (the only PCIe option offered) costs an extra $700; Apple ships PCIe-equipped laptops starting at $900.

[(o)(o)]

Apple want full spectrum dominance of the market IMO.

Dominance? No, that ship sailed long ago.

[pogo]

apparently apple invented it!

http://www.cultofmac.com/315671/it-turn ... ted-usb-c/

John Gruber clarifies:

My comments on The Talk Show about Apple’s role in the creation of USB-C were somewhat hyperbolic. It was a brief aside. I certainly didn’t mean to imply that no other companies contributed to the final spec. Only that from what I’ve been told, Apple ought to be getting (and taking) credit as the leading company behind USB-C’s innovations. Not that they “invented” it, but that they “basically invented” it. I completely stand by that. But there are a lot of politics involved. One reason Apple isn’t taking more public credit for their role: they truly want USB-C to see widespread adoption; a perception that it’s an Apple technology might slow that down.

I’ll also point out that USB-C is a very Apple-like design. It is reversible and thin; because it can handle power, high-speed data transfer, and video, it (obviously, given the new MacBook) allows for a significant reduction in ports on a laptop. Every aspect of USB-C fits Apple’s design goals. You can’t say that about any previous USB port.

Which all makes sense. The industry has been very reluctant to adopt any port/adapter that Apple has had a hand in, in the past.

[Chontler]

I hate having a slew of wires hanging out of anything, so it's cool. I just hope someone invents a MagSafe dongle for it.

[xav]

I don't think it's entirely unreasonable to want to plug in both a PSU and a single other device at the same time without recourse to a dock.

Same could be said of the iPad.

True, but then you're comparing a platform that's never had separate charging and accessory ports with a platform that's previously always had them. The expectations of both the hardware manufacturers and the software developers are therefore somewhat different.



Based on this thread, I predict the launch of the iCar to go something like this:

Apple launch a lightweight electric 2-seater sports car with a single combined charging & accessory port. In practice this means that the port is below the passenger seat, requiring you to remove the seat to charge it. Some people point out that it could have been a lot more flexible with a second socket for charging. The Apple apologists argue that it's not a problem because...

"Putting an extra socket on the car would have increased its size by four inches and just ruined the design."

"Most of the time I'm the only person in the car, so it's not an issue. I can keep the passenger seat in the boot in case I ever do need to give someone a lift."

"It's got a range of 400-500 miles. So long as you make sure it's fully charged before you pick up your passenger, there shouldn't be a problem."

"You can always buy the optional 'passenger dock' - a trailer that provides two extra passenger seats plus another port for charging! You just need to run a cable from it, through the sun roof, into the existing socket and you're good to go."

"If you want more seats you should just buy the iCamperVan instead. It's got six passenger seats. It still runs on petrol, and the seats are an older and less comfy design, but that's what you get for wanting an extra socket."

"The iScooter has always had its fuel cap under the seat, so clearly this just bridges a seam between their two-wheeled and four-wheeled platforms."

[Darkflame]

Apple want full spectrum dominance of the market IMO.

Dominance? No, that ship sailed long ago.

(Apple sales matrix insane shitloads image)

Dominance of the largest pie isn't dominance of all pies.
Your talking at cross purpose's.

"It's got a range of 400-500 miles. So long as you make sure it's fully charged before you pick up your passenger, there shouldn't be a problem."

If Apple pull of that mileage in an Electric car even Id be forgiving their other design choices.
Last time I checked Telsa is way ahead of everyone else right now at about 250miles. Most are at a 100mile range.

I'm not aware of Apple investing much in battery tech, at least not to the extent Tesla is, so I dont expect a game changing leap here.
Id expect them to make "pretty" Nissan Leaf like thing in terms of the car, with some added iOS dashboard stuff as the "revolutionary" part.

Much like their iWatch really. Fundamentally the same as everyone else in terms in terms of functions and lifespan yet a different interface.

Still, if Apple did pull that of, the anti-Electric car people would really run out of legit objections. Probably start claiming they like the smell of petrol.

[pogo]

I wrote earlier that third parties will come out with hubs. Here’s one:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/no ... ports-back

It's not that sexy, being rather on the large side for a hub especially for a laptop. but there’s a reason for that: as well as including all the things you need in a hub it includes a battery, so is also an on the go charger for your phone. Apart from that there’s a card reader, 3 normal USB 3 ports, two USB C ports (for power and the connection to the computer) and a mini DisplayPort. Starts at $79, the same price as Apple’s far more limited adapters (which have only one normal USB 3 port, no battery, no card reader).