What is the minimum I/O that you believe a laptop should have? I've noticed a distressingly large number of people defending the 2016 Macbook Pro having only two USB-C ports.
I can understand defending such a small number of ports if you only intend to use your laptop on docks, but the majority of macfags do not use docks.
Uh... Ten?
No, twenty.
Eight I/O?
How many I/Os is too many I/Os?
4 USB ports, HDMI/VGA, Ethernet, SD and power are enough for me. Alternatively drop two of the USB ports and have a dock.
I like what Apple tried with USB-C, but ditching old ports is asking for trouble. Perhaps in 5 or so years, when USB-C is more common, it would make more sense.
If we take the future into account I'd be fine with 4 USBC ports, as long as they don't do a HP and lock it down so you have to use their charger. A dock that plugs into one of the ports and clamps to the bottom of the laptop, while providing legacy IO would be great. We could get to a point where all laptops use the same charger, or the same charger banks. That's mostly where phones are and using your friend's charger when you forget your own is incredibly convenient.
...
Oh wait...
The people willing to shell out $2000+ for a laptop are probably not going to bat an eye at having to buy new accessories either.
I could live with 2 USB-C ports and a breakout box if the price of all laptops designed that way was lowered to compensate. They don't.
My current laptop has:
3 USB 2.0
Ethernet/VGA/SD/2 audio
Standard power jack (EIAJ master race)
Display monitors are strongly advised, otherwise you won't be able to see anything.
It all depends on your design philosophy
Apple's is minimalism so that means the absolute bare minimum general-purpose I/O ports and then leave the rest to expansions
A competing philosophy is utilitarianism the utilitarian approach would be to include at least 1 general purpose I/O port, 1 dedicated display interface, 1 network interface, and 1 storage interface. Again, just "at least one" there could be more than one of said interfaces but there must be at least one of the essentials.
I personally like the utilitarian approach the best, and I think most people would agree. The one thing that bothered me the most about Apples design philosophy with the new Macbook is the lack of dedicated Ethernet port.
From the way you described it, it sounds like apple/minimalists are more concerned with aesthetics than results.
exactly!
Couldn't you argue that they have failed at designing minimalism, since functional use of the product now requires a spaghetti soup of different cables and attachments?
They failed at practical minimalism. However, the succeeded at aesthetic minimalism, which is really the only thing Apple gave a fuck about when designing this.
At that rate they might as well remove the keyboard entirely and have everything controlled by touch panels and a microphone.
I still hate macfags tho
But why? A computer is fundamentally a device created based on function, it is meant to perform and create results. Making it a device for aesthetics isn't just stupid, it goes directly against the core principle of what computers were invented for in the first place.
Its based on a contrived notion that minimalism = elegance which isn't true in the slightest for computers. But that doesn't stop retards from thinking the basic design of laptop hardware needs to be "streamlined" anymore than it already is
If you're talking about cyberpunk, you can still have practical aesthetics if you, for example, genuinely do use salvaged old hardware or chose to use old hardware for security reasons.
So this is what a Macbook amounts to then?
...
This is what I would need for minimalist work
-Four usb
-One vga/display port/hdmi
-One e-sata
-One Express card slot
-One jack for audio
-Two Giga Ethernet
-Two Hdd compartment
-SD card reader
-One serial port
The majority of macfags are completely retarded that's not new they would give away their mother just to have the final word about how apple is great.
As many as necessary.
That's utilitarian.
Well it's just what I need for my work.
No more no less.
Some small group of people really have a use of that much.
Well I use serial everyday but the rj-11 modem I never had to use it.
On thing that is great tho are connectors at the back of the laptop.
It has more on the side as well.
That looks really cool. Is it worth picking up? The mk3 doesn't seem too expensive.
I can get by with 2 usb ports, but i'd prefer 2 usb + 1 ethernet.
Also, who the fuck cares about how thin a system is? That only makes it even more and more frail.
Apple's approach to minimalism has reached a new low since the lone USB-C port Macbook, and other manufacturers are just happy to fucking copy their bullshit. Many systems are now ULTRA THIN crap with fixed RAM, connectors all bundled in the mainboard and batteries being internal and a bitch to replace or even disconnect. This makes the laptops heavily prone to obsolescence in a flash.
It's a good laptop that runs great with linux.
Doesn't matter. Laptops are just secondary machines for when you can't be on your REAL work machine.
What if a laptop was a real work machine?
Handy for wireless mice dongles, flash drives, etc.
Mainly for charging, but can function as an extra USB port
Works with all modern TVs and monitors without needing an active converter
Supports normal headphones, does both audio input/output
Older software requires disks, can burn /mu/ CDs to play in your car
BONUS POINTS
I forgot to mention, no webcam or embedded microphone.
sage for double post
If by real work, you mean heavy computer processing requiring big memory and a strong CPU, then that laptop is not longer a laptop but a luggable workstation.
Still a laptop.
Why not USB 3.0?
USB-C works with 3.0/3.1 devices, and in my experience legacy 2.0 support is hit-or-miss on some computers. 2.0 also draws less power.
For real, these things are way too fucking heavy for everyday usage. You have to be crazy to lug one around, if you are really going to make it your main machine and your life is highly hooked into the wired.
To be fair I think the fact that it was hand painted and completely consistent without brush strokes is kinda cool.
Bullshit, even macfags aren't eating it up.
6x USB 3.0,
2x SATA with topkek speeds,
1x Ethernet,
2x Thunderbolt 2 or 3, I don't know what the fuck is different and if they are compatible, and DisplayPort if that's not the same shit,
1x SDXC card reader,
1x standard power input,
1x analog 3.5mm audio output,
1x optical audio output,
1x monitor with at least 220 dpi density and at least 15 inch size,
1x touchpad that actually works,
1x keyboard that doesn't suck ass,
1x WLAN with topkek speeds,
hardware controls to cut off WLAN,
1x high quality microphone with hardware controls to disconnect it.
Too bad nobody produces these laptops, not even coming close.
Forgot to add, 2x USB-C
ideal laptop has no i/o ports, no bluetooth, no wlan, no wireless of any kind, memory soldered on board (to make certain physical access memory attack techniques more difficult) and runs temple os.
You shouldn't listen and believe everything on the web.
At this rate, I think by the year 2020 new macbook will strip away their screen, keyboard and all jacks (include usb and power jack).
You'll need to have bluetooth earpiece to navigate the siri OS through voice and siri will describe these cool internet memes for you, without powerjack the new macbook's service life is only as long as one single charge but it wouldn't be a problem because apple products have good second hand value.
Minimum? One general purpose.
Reasonable? 2 to 6 general purpose, plus dedicated video/audio/network
Too much? Over eight general purpose.
A minimum of two different IO chipsets with four ports. They can be homogeneous so long as it's an open standard like USB and not Tbolt
Laptops without RS-232 are actual cancer.
The (erroneous) belief is that a thin laptop is easier to transport. Of course, anyone who actually needs to use a laptop in an enclosed space will know the truth; thickness is the least concerning dimension.
I don't think that there's a problem with something like the new Macbook Pro with 4xUSB-C. Once that new standard gets adopted you have 4x I/O that are flexible and crazy fast.
The problem is that they are crippling the low end models.
At least two USB 3 type A female ports and at least one USB 2 port on a separate controller.
My laptop has the above and a shitty proprietary VGA port, an HDMI port, GbE port, SD, and power.
I'd carry around an inch-thick laptop if it had a headphone port facing parallel to the edge of the case so I could stuff it in a bag without worrying about the damn thing snapping off.
I want real serial, parallel, VGA, Ethernet, modem ports, DIN external keyboard connector, floppy drive.
Also a 14-inch 4:3 screen with matte coating. And a real keyboard, not the cheap lame crap they have these days.
The thinner the laptop is, the more books you can carry with the laptop inside a bag. It's the difference between a thick textbook and a few sheets of paper or just a few sheets of paper and a notebook.
Nothing runs great with linux. The laptop is disgusting too
It's the difference between half and a quarter textbooks. Meaningless.
You know you could recreate it just by dipping the canvas in a bucket of paint right?