Some of my clients still have projectors with... vga ports.

Then you need ethernet and hdmi of course, regularly in the corporate world or at your friends house.

So yeah, dongle it is. USB-C dongle for sure, but still dongle.

Some of my clients still have vt220 terminals with... serial ports.

Then you need a 9600 baud modem and rj11 wire of course, regularly in the corporate world or at your friends house.

So yeah, dongle it is. USB 1.1 dongle for sure, but still dongle.

Even 10-15 years ago, proper serial ports were becoming extremely rare, but there are times when you need a proper one.

Around that time we resorted to pc card/express card serial ports for occasions when USB to serial isn't good enough, although they were relatively expensive (3-4 times more than a USB serial dongle).

(The use case in that scenario was field engineers connecting to a very wide variety of odd equipment, like fire alarm panels and door entry systems, that sort of thing - USB dongles were massively inconsistent and unreliable - different dongles would be compatible/incompatible with different kit, was a right mess).

Obviously, these days, express card slots are also quite rare.

(The alternative is hauling out my old IBM T22, which I think maybe came with Win98... mostly still works apart from the battery).

If you're going into an RJ45 serial connection (like I am at the moment), then an ideal laptop would have multiple RJ45s which could be used as either 10G or serial with a standard cat5 cable (not a specially wired one).

Do any (non-specialist) laptops still have VGA ports? I had a quick look on the Dell site and couldn't find any.

Those are seems to available on other markets. https://www.asus.com/Laptops/For-Work/ExpertBook/ExpertBook-... https://www.fujitsu.com/global/products/computing/pc/noteboo...

Framework means in theory I could have a laptop (Well in theory) with say 4 ethernet / serial ports (switchable) and SDI, and that's far more useful to me than USB-C.

The Admin Book A4

[1] https://habr.com/en/post/437912/

:-)

And of course that setup still requires Ethernet. Can't setup a wifi ap over wifi.

I'm normally happy if the power cable for the screen is still there...

Framework does not even offer a VGA module, do they?

I'd be fine with a pop out style port for those ports. Won't be flush while in use, but I'd happily accept that to trade off having to carry around dongles. I'd rather pack and carry a small "stick" of these modules stacked together than a bundle of dongles.

I give it three months tops before someone starts selling a Pez-like "dispenser" that stores these modules. If the module bodies were designed to stick together though, that would spark joy in my inner Marie Kondo.

1: https://www.kensington.com/p/products/device-docking-connect...

Ethernet, OK, I will give you that.

I personally really like the idea of what Framework is doing and wish more laptops followed suit, but that is a trivially solved problem you identified:

https://www.amazon.com/UGREEN-Connector-Extender-Chromecast-...

But again, the "dongle" argument is moot and not really a reason to either consider or avoid the Framework, for me at least. It's more about the device being open and repairable, and arguments about dongles are just attempts to justify one's current USB-C only device.

Agree completely. For me, Apple's USB-C only ports isn't an issue as everything I use plugs in via one or two TB3 cables (depending on personal vs work laptop) and daisy chains from the monitor or a TB3 dock so no dongles needed at all, but I still appreciate the design choice Framework made and think it's a good strategy.

Not to mention the dongle supports several ports.

But you know what is better than either ?

The framework laptop solution of letting me configure the port I want before going to my client.

I don't understand how one USB-C to VGA cable is more inconvenient?

YOU CAN USE YOUR USBC TO VGA CABLE IF YOU WANT.

Or, if you don't want, you can grab A VGA module out of your drawer you store all your retired dongles in, slide it into your laptop, and there you have it.

What I'm trying to say with this story is that for example monitor cable connectors are designed to fit tightly (vga and dmi even having screws) to give a constant signal, which you don't get from USB-C unless you stand still.

It just makes no sense spending lots of time trying to adapt to obsolete infrastructure for every person you visit. If necessary I even have a blackboard and color chalks in my car and get away with them.

When I go to the meeting room, if I don't need to use my projector, great, but I will never use VGA, too much hassle.

- some conf room don't have a projector, but flat screens, a smart white boards or some remote conf setup that needs you to plug in, and/or no walls that fits the bill for projection

- some conf rooms don't have a place to put for your projector and get a good picture. Their is own the ceiling.

- unless you buy a very good one, some conf rooms won't have the light for your projector to be readable

- it addresses only the projector problem, not ethernet, sd card, usb A, etc

- a good projector is way more expensive that a few dongles, are easier to break, harder to replace if lost/broken or if you forget it at home

Not to say it's a bad idea to _also_ have a projector.

Rather than try to sort out the cable confusion, they simply shipped me brand new monitors (which I wasn’t asking for). I also needed dongles to attach my keyboard and mouse, dongles for same were provided by IT.

My point: Dongles are still an issue, not everyone throws out their displays/keyboard/mouse every time apple comes out with some new version. My 2010 dell displays still work just fine, and it would be great if I could plug them straight into my laptop.

I got it at Target. Love how easy it makes going between my USBC only MBP and other random computers.