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Comment by LeonM | Hacker News Reader

People should really stop complaining about the dongle situation.

Just about any portable device can be bought with USB-C or wireless. For fixed desk hardware (keyboard, mouse, monitor, ethernet) you should use a TB dock anyway.

Yes, if you do presentations you probably need a dongle for the projector, but that has always been a mess anyway (VGA, HDMI, DP, DVI, it's never the same connection as your laptop).

Yes, if you use a camera you'll need an external SD card reader, but you'll need that for many other computers too.

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People should really stop defending the dongle situation ...

My 4K monitor bought in 2016 doesn't have a USB C input so I need to purchase a $20+ USB-C to HDMI or DP cable if I want to use a monitor?

My iPhone SE bought in 2016 uses Lightning so I have to buy a $20+ Lightning to USB C cable to charge that as well? I guess I should throw out all of the other Lightning to USB-not-C cables I've had to purchase over the years?

My Apple USB keyboard bought in 2016 also uses USB-not-C so I guess I have to buy an adapter for that too?

Meanwhile my 2013 MBP is perfectly capable of connecting to a monitor and keyboard and charging a phone without paying for add-ons.

On top of that you suggest we "should" be using a $200+ TB dock anyway?

How about Apple doesn't require users to buy $300+ of adapters to use their latest laptop with modern peripherals?

In 2016 there were already usb-c peripherals that you could've opted for though. I've used a thunderbolt/usb-c monitor since then, which uses 1 cable for video data and mbp charging. This convenience alone has sold me on usb-c as the future.

This is not an Apple situation. I own a Lenovo laptop and I also had to invest in ~450 euro in peripherals (TB dock, extra chargers, cables). That's just the reality if you want multiple places (work, home, on the road) to work comfortably with a laptop.

> People should really stop complaining about the dongle situation.

You're not really refuting anything below, just essentially saying to people: you know, I know better than you, you don't really need these things (the same thing Apple is saying).

> Just about any portable device can be bought with USB-C or wireless. For fixed desk hardware (keyboard, mouse, monitor, ethernet) you should use a TB dock anyway.

Never had a need for a dock before...

> Yes, if you do presentations you probably need a dongle for the projector, but that has always been a mess anyway (VGA, HDMI, DP, DVI, it's never the same connection as your laptop).

I dunno, HDMI is pretty standard these days.

> Yes, if you use a camera you'll need an external SD card reader, but you'll need that for many other computers too.

No my current MBP, though, which is the point here.

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