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0 points_delirium11y ago0 comments

It's probably a diminishing use-case, but I personally still need an ethernet port. There's a surprising number of times when I visit somewhere (offices, universities) and they can't figure out how to get me logged onto the guest wifi, but I can just plug in to the wired network without a problem. Also some hotels have only ethernet, though that's getting less common.

0 comments

thejosh11y ago

Yeah, go and buy a thunderbold ethernet cable, they are really cheap and work fantastically.

The only downside is on Linux you have to reboot if you unplug the ethernet, but apparently that's being improved in 3.15.

TazeTSchnitzel11y ago

I think the reason Windows and Linux seem to behave awkwardly with Thunderbolt is that Thunderbolt is actually PCI-Express, and they're not exactly used to hot-plugging PCIe devices! But that's just speculation on my part.

wolfhumble11y ago

What happens if you don't reboot?

thejosh11y ago

It doesn't work :).

1 more reply

abrowne11y ago

Or get a (third-party) USB 3 adapter.

TazeTSchnitzel11y ago

Yes, I suppose the Ethernet is useful. But it doesn't seem worth sacrificing everything else for. Why not just get a USB or Thunderbolt Ethernet adapter?

smackfu11y ago

"Oh, you want to hook your Firewire drives up to it? That's another adapter. Oh, you want to play or burn CD's? You need to get an external drive then. You want to use your old Magsafe power bricks? Sorry, we changed the connector. You want to lock up the computer while it's at your desk? Sorry, there's no Kensington slot anymore."

At which point the SSD and Retina display sound nice, but that other stuff seems like it's going to a pain in the neck on a daily basis.

TazeTSchnitzel11y ago

Apple tend to deprecate and remove stuff often and quickly. The PC world and Microsoft don't. For those of us who like living on the cutting edge, we're fine with it, but it's not really for everyone.

Remember when the iMac was the first USB-only computer, and had no floppy drive? Both were really unpopular at the time.

(Lack of Kensington is stupid though, I'll agree on that.)

1 more reply

_deliriumOP11y ago

Huh, I hadn't seen the Thunderbolt ones. The USB ones are notorious for not really working (they seem to have driver issues). Hopefully the Thunderbolt ones are better?

TazeTSchnitzel11y ago

Thunderbolt is just PCIe under the hood, so it would hopefully work as well as a PCIe Gigabit Ethernet one.

Although the fact it's Apple-made is probably more important, since they'll have made sure it works.

acdha11y ago

I'd second the thunderbolt recommendation but I would question the concerns about USB – until upgrading to Thunderbolt, I had no problems with daily heavy usage (along with several coworkers). The main drawback is that the USB devices can't go over 100Mb.

jmnicolas11y ago

I don't know for MACs but for 2 years at work I used a Windows laptop with a USB to Ethernet adapter and it ran absolutely fine.

morituri11y ago

Or you can get an Airport Express or similar adaptor, and use it in bridge mode.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

thejosh11y ago

Yeah, go and buy a thunderbold ethernet cable, they are really cheap and work fantastically.

The only downside is on Linux you have to reboot if you unplug the ethernet, but apparently that's being improved in 3.15.

TazeTSchnitzel11y ago

wolfhumble11y ago

What happens if you don't reboot?

thejosh11y ago

It doesn't work :).

1 more reply

abrowne11y ago

Or get a (third-party) USB 3 adapter.

TazeTSchnitzel11y ago

Yes, I suppose the Ethernet is useful. But it doesn't seem worth sacrificing everything else for. Why not just get a USB or Thunderbolt Ethernet adapter?

smackfu11y ago

At which point the SSD and Retina display sound nice, but that other stuff seems like it's going to a pain in the neck on a daily basis.

TazeTSchnitzel11y ago

Remember when the iMac was the first USB-only computer, and had no floppy drive? Both were really unpopular at the time.

(Lack of Kensington is stupid though, I'll agree on that.)

1 more reply

_deliriumOP11y ago

Huh, I hadn't seen the Thunderbolt ones. The USB ones are notorious for not really working (they seem to have driver issues). Hopefully the Thunderbolt ones are better?

TazeTSchnitzel11y ago

Thunderbolt is just PCIe under the hood, so it would hopefully work as well as a PCIe Gigabit Ethernet one.

Although the fact it's Apple-made is probably more important, since they'll have made sure it works.

acdha11y ago

jmnicolas11y ago

I don't know for MACs but for 2 years at work I used a Windows laptop with a USB to Ethernet adapter and it ran absolutely fine.

morituri11y ago

Or you can get an Airport Express or similar adaptor, and use it in bridge mode.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse