
Apple Losing USB Is a Loss for Music - mrzool
http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/1346-apple-losing-usb-is-a-loss-for-music/?mbid=social_facebook
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nomel
> Still, if you're a Mac user planning to upgrade to the new MacBook Pro, you
> should probably prepare for the fact that you're going to need to be
> carrying around a lot of dongles for the foreseeable future.

USB-C is the future of USB, for very ease of use (reversible), size (phones
are already transitioning), performance (multi-protocol capable), and power
(up to 100W!!!) reasons.

Like all transitions to new ports, it will be a bit painful. But complaining
about dongles for USB drives seems a bit silly since all of those drives will
eventually use USB-C, like the many thumb drives available [0] (if you have
existing drives, then sure, but obsolescence is a _requirement_ of
technology).

0:
[http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&Is...](http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&IsNodeId=1&N=100007960%20601211669)

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finnyspade
Whoever wrote this article appears to misunderstand what those ports on the
new macbook actually are. They are USB ports!

USB-C to be specific

While yes it's an uncomfortable transition period, the idea of a common socket
for all connections is amazing! This isn't Apple killing USB in favor of
thunderbolt (which happens to run over the same connector), it's apple using
the latest USB spec.

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perfectfire
They didn't lose USB. As I understand it, Thunderbolt 3 is completely
compatible with USB 3.1 Type C and backwards compatible with adapters with all
previous versions of USB.

Also, bam[1]! Problem solved.

[1] [https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Type-C-Smartphones-Tablets-
SD...](https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Type-C-Smartphones-Tablets-
SDDDC-032G-G46/dp/B00V62XBY8)

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msimpson
A USB-C hub solves the dongles, and cheap high-capacity flash drives are
already on the market. How is this a problem?

However, the removal of MagSafe is disappointing. I'm not even a Mac user and
I would love to see a standardized version of that port, if not even a knock-
off adapter for standard DC ports.

~~~
pitaj
I'm thinking of something that adapts a USB-C port into a "magsafe" kind of
attachment.

~~~
msimpson
That's already a thing, apparently:
[https://griffintechnology.com/us/breaksafe-magnetic-usb-c-
po...](https://griffintechnology.com/us/breaksafe-magnetic-usb-c-power-cable)

And while there are a few DC port adapters trying to fill this gap for non-Mac
laptops, I haven't seen anything too convincing yet.

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dwarman
The big loss is to musicians who use iOS for creating music. This involves
several often expensive hardware boxes, such as quality audio interfaces and
most modern synthesizers, none of which are USB-C compatible. So we are
looking at much more expense than mere single dongle hell.

~~~
TheSpiceIsLife
USB-C should be backward compatible with these devices, you just need the
right cable, right? Or am I misunderstanding what you're saying?

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cpr
Wow, this is overwrought. Just buy another inexpensive USB-C stick drive and
bam!, you're done.

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dear
Why can't Apple just make a magnetic USB-C?

~~~
ChickeNES
Griffin already does:
[https://griffintechnology.com/us/device/laptops/breaksafe-
ma...](https://griffintechnology.com/us/device/laptops/breaksafe-magnetic-usb-
c-power-cable)

~~~
prodigal_erik
"Please note that BreakSafe is for charging power only; data and video are not
supported."

