Live data from Hacker News

USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)

overengineer.dev

281–290 of 530 posts

Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)

#281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is missing Ethernet, which seems to be important to the author. Having heard positive things about caldigit, I got their USB-C Pro Dock and I get frequent screen blanking with my M1 Mac, and often some of the USB ports fail to work. I don't use the ethernet port, but I think it is a Realtek (so likely the same thing the author is complaining about) I have spoken to caldigit support and so far they have replaced th…

I’ve got the TS 3 Plus dock (which has Ethernet) and it has been working flawlessly on my 2020 MBP (Intel) the entire time. I _think_ there was a firmware update in the early days that unlocked the 85 or 90 watt charging. I had heartburn about the price, but it’s been worth every penny. I’m not pushing 4K though, so mileage may vary. I’ve got a 27” TB2 Apple Cinema Display via TB2 to USB-C and a Dell via Display port…

I have the TS3. It's been great BUT.... the Mac has not been great with it in the following ways.

(1) I keep my MBP closed. It take 10-30 seconds for it to wake up on keypress. That's so long that I often have no way to tell if it noticed I pressed key.

(2) If XCode is debugging and the screen sleeps then MacOS 12 never recovers unless I disconnect the cable, open the lid, get it wake up on the laptop monitor, and then plug it back in and finally close the lid.

I get why #2 is rare and therefore not fixed but still (T_T)

Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)

#282
post #279

If you want a decent dock you have to spend a bit of money. I went through this pain before accepting the cost and buying a CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Element Hub[1]. Run's two 4k displays at 60Hz, any peripheral and charges my laptop. So good I bought a second. 1. https://www.caldigit.com/thunderbolt-4-element-hub/

While I agree that's a great dock, IIUC, it's not technically a USB-C dock, it's a Thunderbolt dock. I know it's the same cable but IIUC it's not USB-C?

USB-C is the connector type, so yes Thunderbolt 4 uses USB-C. The transport standard is USB-[some number], current gen being USB-4 (which is actually based on the TB3 standard).

Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)

#283
post #3

Sad to see Anker on the list. I used to think of them as a pretty reliable electronics manufacturer in a sea of low quality chargers and hubs.

I didn’t realize that they were just another one of those rebranding companies. I thought people ripped off Anker, rather than the competition and Anker pulling from some other common source.

Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)

#284

I went a different way and purchased a 24" monitor which has the hub built in. Support for the standard display ports, USB / USBC and ethernet. I have one single USBC cable connecting to the laptop for power, ethernet and everything else. Seems like this is the way forward for me at least.

These are surprisingly hard to find. Not impossible, there just don’t seem to be a lot of them so quality options are in short supply. I had a dell one for a few years I loved. 2x USB3.0 ports in the back hosting 2x external HDD’s, power for my computer, and my monitor, all through one USB-C port. It was brilliant. Damn thing only lasted about 2.5-3yrs though. I was bummed to see it go.

Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)

#285
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most frustrating part is that I want no logo. It’s the worst of both worlds; no brand reputation, yet still covered in ads.

Just curious.... why?

I'm not the same user, though I also prefer no/minimal logos on devices or clothing.

The practical advantage of no logos is that this avoids judgement. People may look down on you for spending so much to get an item from a brand, while other people might look down on you for spending too little. You could just not care about others' judgement, though other people could still treat you differently. Separately, there is the ethical issue of whether one frames visible logos as 'free advertising,' which might not be desirable to do.

The sociology text "Class: A Guide Through the American Status System" by Paul Fussell also explores why some people deliberately wear brands, while others avoid them.

On a (potential over-analysis) of why some people deliberately have branded items: ""Legible clothing" is Alison Lurie's useful term to designate things like T-shirts or caps with messages on them you're supposed to read and admire. [...] When proles assemble to enjoy leisure, they seldom appear in clothing without words on it. As you move up the classes and the understatement principle begins to operate, the words gradually disappear, to be replaced, in the middle and upper- middle classes, by mere emblems, like the Lacoste alligator. Once, ascending further, you've left all such trademarks behind, you may correctly infer that you are entering the purlieus of the upper class itself."

"Brand names today possess a totemistic power to confer distinction on those who wear them. By donning legible clothing you fuse your private identity with external com- mercial success, redeeming your insignificance and becoming, for the moment, somebody. [...] And this need is not the proles' alone. Witness the T-shirts and carryalls stamped with the logo of The New York Review of Books, which convey the point "I read hard books," or printed with portraits of Mozart and Haydn and Beethoven, which assure the world, "I am civilized."

On why some people deliberately avoid logos: "X people are independent-minded, free of anxious regard for popular shibboleths, loose in carriage and demeanor. [...] Since there's no one they think worth impressing by mere appearance, X people tend to dress for themselves alone, which means they dress comfortably, and generally "down." [...] If the Xs ever descend to legible clothing, the words-unlike BUDWEISER or U.S.A. DRINKING TEAM-are original and interesting, although no comment on them is ever expected. Indeed, visibly to notice them would be bad form."

The TL;DR of the whole hypothesis by Fussell is that some people avoid having brands on their physical stuff because they don't want others to see a logo on an item; connect the logo to values of a corporation as part of that corporation's "brand identity"; and make assumptions about that person's personal identity based on that brand identity.

Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)

#286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup when you see both the price and the size of these docks, you gotta wonder why even bother with buying a laptop in the first place. If the goal is to hook up two 4K monitors, I'd rather have, say, a desktop computer powered by a threadripper.

> why even bother with buying a laptop in the first place. If the goal is to hook up two 4K monitors That might not be a full-time goal. Some want a machine that works on the move but can be expanded to bigger screens and such when at certain locations (office and/or home). A laptop and dock allow this compromise. It is a compromise, not one suitable for all. But it is the list inconvenient option for many.

> Some want a machine that works on the move but can be expanded to bigger screens and such when at certain locations

I wouldn't say "some". Probably 90% of developers I know require exactly this, in fact off the top of my head I can't think of any who don't. Even the permanent, full-remote, no-really-there-is-literally-no-office types want to sit in a different room sometimes or work from a coffee shop.

It's pretty rare to have a "workstation" setup that cannot be moved.

Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)

#287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

See, that's crazy, because Sonnet "makes" an identical board. Same case too. Only difference is the logo. https://www.sonnetstore.com/products/echo-11-thunderbolt-4-d... And $40 cheaper than the Kensington branded one. So even though it's thunderbolt and it works for you - it really is the same thing TFA is talking about.

And it still costs as much as a computer.

As has often been said, that dock really is a computer.

I don't think that's a good thing though. No adapter/hub should be this complex IMO. I don't know how the ubiquity of USB got us to this point, it seems worse than before.

Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)

#288
I got tired of dealing with the fact that every one of these "do everything in one box" docks are a mixed bag of variously questionable components and just bought a "pure" tb4 hub[1], which is a thing that exists now but didn't really before. It's a lot nicer to be able to just pick the usbc or tb components I need plugged into it rather than have to take shitty NIC 1 because DP transcoder 2 is good.

I also bought usbc-to-hdmi cables instead of dongles and am very happy with both of these decisions. Everything works a lot better now.

[1] this one: https://plugable.com/products/tbt4-hub3c

Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)

#289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Remind me to never buy a laptop without a healthy array of dedicated external ports. This is lunacy.

Yup when you see both the price and the size of these docks, you gotta wonder why even bother with buying a laptop in the first place. If the goal is to hook up two 4K monitors, I'd rather have, say, a desktop computer powered by a threadripper.

Presumably people have a dedicated workstation that they use most of the time, but not infrequently want to have a portable computer that they can take places (cafes/trips/transport/co-working spaces/etc).

I find it surprising that the appeal of the above would be confusing for anyone.

Re: USB-C hubs and my slow descent into madness (2021)

#290
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most frustrating part is that I want no logo. It’s the worst of both worlds; no brand reputation, yet still covered in ads.

Just curious.... why?

I live in a world overrun by capitalism and inundated with ads. The inescapable consumerism is sickening. That it’s the norm to run ads on practically every consumer product is absurd, and I feel gaslit that apparently everyone else is comfortable with it. We pay to remove ads from many services—why does my thousand-dollar bicycle still have a permanent billboard on the side? Have I not paid enough? Removing a logo from my life is one small reprieve from the dystopia.
Post reply on HN