TranceAddict Forums (www.tranceaddict.com/forums)
- Production Studio
-- Mac-cessories
Mac-cessories
Dudes
I need to expand the USB count on my Macbook.
There's the obvious solution of a USB hub but ideally I want something non powered for portability.
Is there such a thing as a Thunderbolt USB hub to give me an extra 3-4 USB slots? I can't seem to find anything sensible which I find odd. The only real option is the Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock which is exactly what I don't need.
The other option is to buy a normal USB hub, but that means pushing 3-4 connected devices down one USB socket which I'd rather not do. TB has the bandwidth to do that though.
If you have a recent Macbook it has USB3, meaning it has plenty of bandwidth to spare.
If you get a USB 3 hub you won't notice much difference to one running on thunderbolt unless you are pushing MASSIVE amounts of data across it. Obviously the only issue is power which I would imagine would also be an issue with thunderbolt though I may be wrong.
USB 3.0: 900mA at 5V for a maximum power output of 4.5W
Thunderbolt: 18 V 550 mA (9.9 W max.)
Well, there's the Thunderbolt Display. Pretty expensive hub, but well worth it in terms of screen real estate, color, resolution, and additional ins/outs. I bought one for my wife a few years ago, and it's pretty killer.
Actually USB3 does have plenty of bandwidth so that might be less of an issue.
And a thunderbolt display whilst nice, isn't exactly portable 
Something else I might want to look for is a wireless mouse that isn't the Apple Magic Mouse that doesn't require a dongle. Do they exist?
| quote: |
| Originally posted by tehlord And a thunderbolt display whilst nice, isn't exactly portable ![]() Something else I might want to look for is a wireless mouse that isn't the Apple Magic Mouse that doesn't require a dongle. Do they exist? |

Problem is I have the hands of a strangler so the magic mouse/logitech one cause cramp.
I also really don't get on with the buttonless nature of the magic mouse, I like to feel a good microswitch 
I guess there's nothing exotic about the wireless nature of the magic mouse and I probably just need to find something like the MX510 that's served me well for nearly a decade (oh my god, it's been that long) that's made out of blue teeth.
I have huge bass player hands and I was used to having physical clickers and a wheel, so I thought I wouldn't like the Magic Mouse, either. But, after I used my wife's mouse for a while, I decided to go for it. I got used to it very quickly and now I wish I had one for my PC. But, it's a different feel, so probably not for everybody.
I'm useless with new stuff like that, I've had the Macbook a couple of weeks and I still go for the buttons on the bottom of the trackpad even though they're not there.
I just grabbed a Logitech M555b though, which I'm sure will suffice.
That'll actually keep one of the USB sockets free anyway.
I got used to the magic mouse pretty quickly. It is strange at first, but it doesn't take long to adjust. Now your average mouse just seems big and chunky. Don't really use the gestures much but I wouldn't swap back now.
The gestures are what I love about it!
Its nice for scrolling, and for swiping back and forward pages in safari, but other than that I've not set anything up.
I like the click of a microswitch.
fucking oldskool
I tried the magic mouse but I prefer the stock trackpad on the MBP, its just so damn good I don't even feel the need for a mouse most of the time.
Yeah, maybe the mouse would be a bit faster but its one more thing to lug around and I already have too much!
I must admit I do like the two finger scrolling on the trackpad and the swipe for back and forward on the browser.
MBP trackpad is the best ever
My only real complaint is that it doesn't like being clicked towards the edges of the pad much.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by tehlord I like the click of a microswitch. fucking oldskool |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Andy28 Oh it does click, the whole face of it is like 1 big button, just depends on where your finger is to determine a left or right click. |
M555b turned up
Very nice.
A little small for my hands, but very usable and solid.
Powered by: vBulletin
Copyright © 2000-2021, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.