• lambalicious@lemmy.sdf.org
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    2 days ago

    As someone who daily drives a laptop for work and does field work on server facilities, finding a modern replacement that has both a RJ45 port and square USB (USB-A?) ports available on both sides, has been a pain in the hassle.

    And I’m not even crying over the loss of VGA any longer. That one I can live without.

    • Petter1@lemm.ee
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      1 day ago

      Or just a little dongle with both of these ports which can be plugged in on any usb-c on any side?

      🤷🏻you are even more free these days without even realising, I never saw any laptop at any age having more than one ethernet.

      • lambalicious@lemmy.sdf.org
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        1 day ago

        Or just a little dongle with both of these ports which can be plugged in on any usb-c on any side?

        Dongles break, slide off, cause disconnects, can cause internal damage to the connector if the cables you have to connect are heavy, etc…, I already have the bad experience of having to use a USB hub to attach storage.

        When it comes to engineering, I’m of the opinion that built-in > bolt in.

        • Petter1@lemm.ee
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          1 day ago

          Heavy cables are just stupid no matter the port used, or dongle. Dongles do not brake faster than normal ports do. Normal ports do internal damage just the same way. “Cause disconnects”, only if damaged.

          I don’t have problems with my dongle (which I had to use like only 2 times a year, anyway)

          • Mr_Dr_Oink@lemmy.world
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            1 day ago

            Wait!.. You don’t have problems with something you only used twice in a year? No way!

            Its clear you and the person you replied to have different use cases for your devices, and perhaps what they are saying is just as valid as what you are saying.

            • Petter1@lemm.ee
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              7 hours ago

              😌 I “need” it only twice on my daily driver a year.

              There are many more devices I use in various situations with various ports and dongles. Heavy cables are a pain for all of them, no matter if dongles or no dongles. In fact dongles often prevent internal damage, since they often have a short flexible cable on the thunderbolt side.

              But I guess doing something just a little different does need a lot of time to get used to, especially at the age of boomers 🤷🏻

              • Mr_Dr_Oink@lemmy.world
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                7 hours ago

                That’s the issue then. You think it’s boomers who dont like change as opposed to capitalists removing functionality to sell it back to you in a separate package. I would aregue its zoomers not being able to identify when they are being conned.

                • Petter1@lemm.ee
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                  5 hours ago

                  Lol, I would literally choose 4x thunderbolt multi function ports than 10x dedicated only one use case ports. Not because of capitalism but because of functionality.

                  • Mr_Dr_Oink@lemmy.world
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                    4 hours ago

                    Ok. Cool, but like i said, your use case and the person you responded to are obviously different.

                    That doesnt have to be “because boomer” or be someone is objectively right or wrong. Because thats not the issue.

                    You are just trying to be right about something that is completely subjective.

                    I argued that taking the ports away and replacing them with usb ports is not as cut and dry as sayi g that is better. It depends on your own personal needs.

                    I accept that a port that can be anything you want is great and may have some advantages over a dedicated port that has only one function. But there are downsides.

                    You need to carry around a bunch of adapters to get what you need. You are limited to those 4 ports. Remember that most laptops had multiple usb ports alongside multiple display and audio ports so you have lost more than ypu have gained.

                    You also are still limited to 4 devices or you need a docking station which adds more bulk. And that docking station has limited power unless you connect an external power source.

                    I feel like you are looking at your needs and severely oversimplifying this debate. Which isnt helpful and doesnt make you right by default.

            • lambalicious@lemmy.sdf.org
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              23 hours ago

              The PITA is that I use RJ45 pretty much every day. It’s not just a matter of “oh there’s wifi everywhere”; 99% of wifis everywhere are not open, or are actually not connected to the networks I’m working on, or I need the physical connector to diagnose wire / networking issues; and the performance of wifi on Linux on refurbrished machines tends to be subpar and they tend to not allow for “developer mode” options (playing with your MAC, WPA supplanting, etc).

              If Tesla, the actual Tesla, had given us technology instead of the thief Elon Edison, then perhaps we’d somehow have point-to-point wireless RJ45 that would function everywhere, and I wouldn’t need the connector.