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Comment by tmuir | Hacker News Reader

Why are there recent Macs without HDMI ports? You'd think that would be ubiquitous by now.

Part of the point of things like Chromecast is to avoid having to hook things up to a TV.

But you're giving up the freedom to decide what content you consume. Chromecast is the media equivalent of AOL. I know what I want to watch/listen to, so let me decide, instead of hamstringing me with apps, or making me jump through hoops to circumvent the restrictions.

Plus, if you're watching a movie, or otherwise streaming for a considerable length of time, you're on wall power anyways, so whats one more cable?

Function > Form.

Mini-Displayport to HDMI / DVI / VGA adapters are less than $10.

Did they ever do anything about the audio jack? I always thought it was wack how they not only forced you to buy a dongle, but also a 3.55m to rca cable.

Some mini-dp to HDMI adapters also pass audio through (including I believe the Apple branded one as well as one I bought after confirming reviews on Amazon), but I've also bought a couple that do not

Not if you buy them from Apple.

What does that have to do with anything? Chromecast isn't an HDMI port competitor...

Oh, come on. Chromecast is a way to display PC content on a TV. An HDMI cable allows you to display PC content on your TV.

Perhaps you mean't Chromecast doesn't compete very well with HDMI?

No, I meant that chromecast's value proposition isn't "if you don't have an HDMI port, you can use this to watch things!", so I don't understand the comment about Macs and HDMI ports. My computer has an HDMI port and I wouldn't dream of that making my chromecast redundant.

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