Accessory after the Mac

September 14, 2023 9:09 AM

Begone, 6+-year old computer, there is a shiny new M2 MacBook Air in the house. I have long experience using Apple and MS Office technology as a trainer/presenter in higher ed, but left that almost four years ago when USB-C was newish. I don't know the current terrain for good peripherals. What useful accessories would you use for these tasks? What little charger/dongle/battery/thingie has made you smile with its nicely designed utility? What is The One True Adaptor?

Is there a new wireless keyboard that is Just So Great? Is a Magic Trackpad worth it to you? Which external drive(s) do you use and trust? What's a good USB-A to USB-C adaptor? What are the USB-C accessories that work so well they're an extension of the laptop? Who makes a charger that will power this and charge one or two other things that is also small and wonderful? I doubt I'll need a battery that would charge the laptop, but have you found one that's a good value? Would you recommend a clip to hold an iPhone onto the screen for better video in calls?

I have some older USB peripherals (and Firewire drives even!!) that I'm used to. For my desk, an Apple USB-A wired keyboard and a Logitech mouse with the USB-A mini-dongle that work just fine with this Anker USB-C hub, though it dangles from my laptop stand in an unsightly fashion. The hub has lots of ports and it's not too big. I won't need all those ports everywhere, though. What smaller version works for you? What about an ethernet adapter? Something for HDMI or unpredictably old projectors?I have lots of older USB-A accessories, which I can use with the hub. Sometimes though I'll want to plug in something when I'm on the sofa or a plane or train without the Anker hub.

I do lots of web browsing, some web writing, lead and attend Zooms, email, write with Word, do super-basic Excel, use Powerpoint and Keynote in my training/presenting, and every few months a video editing project (Blackmagic Design's free DaVinci Resolve FTW). In addition it's time to seriously evaluate a few thousand photos and edit the best and purge the rest.

I'm happy with my Tenba DNA 8 messenger bag from a few years ago.

posted by conscious matter to Computers & Internet (9 answers total)

Best answer: I find a proper *Thunderbolt* dock (not just USB-C) to be completely essential for desk work; almost nothing gets plugged directly into my computer anymore. Everything goes into and out of the dock, including power, Ethernet, and a monitor that runs 4k@60Hz.

I really like the Magic Trackpad for multitouch gestures, but the wireless aspect bugs me (why is this necessary?) so it just stays plugged in. (The battery is surely shot by now.)

A good compact mechanical keyboard is worth it even if you’re not typing a ton or coding. 75% size are my favorite, I find they’re the most similar to the efficiency of a laptop keyboard so my arm isn’t moving much between home row and trackpad.
posted by supercres at 9:19 AM on September 14, 2023 [3 favorites]

Best answer: I love the Magic Trackpad and use it as my primary "mouse" every day when I'm at the desk.

The best hub for home isn't a hub, but is a USB-C or Thunderbolt monitor that has power delivery and the ports you need. I use an old Apple Thunderbolt display with a Thunderbolt 3 - Thunderbolt 2 adapter, but it doesn't do power delivery so I also have a charger plugged in.

My favorite charger can output 100W, has 2 usb-c and 2 usb-a connectors. I have three sprinkled throughout the house. When I travel to other countries, I change the cable coming out the back of it to the figure 8 cable that applies in that country and I never worry about adapters falling off the wall. I can also then charge my phone, laptop, ipad, and something else every night.

I carry a smaller travel charger for day to day use that has 2 usb-c ports. I switched all my charging cables to usb-c, but have a cheapo usb-c to usb-a adapter for the charger for my headphones, since I can't seem to find a reliable way to replace that.
posted by advicepig at 9:26 AM on September 14, 2023 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Keyboards can be a personal thing, but I love the Logitech MX Keys for Mac, especially if you have multiple devices. I prefer trackballs to mice, and their MX Ergo trackball is great, though I wish it also supported 3 devices instead of just two.
posted by Runes at 9:43 AM on September 14, 2023

Best answer: I use the apple keyboard both small and extended at home and work and a magic mouse always, I have apple thunderbolt monitors at both of my homes and a large dell monitor at work - the laptop keyboard (and monitor for that matter) only get used as primaries when i am traveling or on the go.

a couple things I use every single day:

- elements tech brief from alpaka
- invizi 100w converter (multi port)
- USB Cables from Ikea (inexpensive and work well)
- iPad Mini
- iphone 14 with Monocarbon Case (literally makes the iPhone better)
posted by specialk420 at 10:40 AM on September 14, 2023

Best answer: I have a couple modern Thunderbolt displays that I use with my 2019 MacBook Pro.

The displays work well for devices that do not require a lot of power, but for my needs they don't have enough USB-C ports for the videoconferencing camera and storage gadgets I connect to it. I also have some devices that require USB A/B style connectors.

So I use a dock to extend its connectivity. I have an older, powered Thunderbolt 3 version of the dock OWC sells, and I'm happy with it.

For storage and Time Machine backups, I have been using bus-powered LaCie SSD USB-C drives. Data transfer is fast. Any SSD external storage will be reasonably fast for most needs. Bus-powered drives reduce cable clutter, but do require ports that can provide sufficient power to run.

To quickly and easily unmount storage from my MacBook Pro before unplugging it and bringing it to the office, I use an app called EjectBar. Otherwise I'd have to script something by hand to safely unmount and disconnect external drives. I like being able to just unplug safely with one click.

I use an Apple wireless keyboard and Logitech wireless mouse. The trackpad was too fiddly and especially when using Windows via Boot Camp.

That's not an issue for M*-based Macs, which cannot natively run Windows at this time (a VM option does exist but is not usable for various AAA games I play), but a mouse might be a consideration depending on the applications you're using on your Mac.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 11:20 AM on September 14, 2023

Best answer: What do you people use for headphones? I have airpods (3rd gen) and both lightning and 3.5mm in cord bag... i would love to have a good set of something that just worked well across all devices.
posted by specialk420 at 1:01 PM on September 14, 2023

Best answer: CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Element Hub. It's not cheap, but it seems all similar hubs are expensive and this has been rock solid. My display and peripherals plug into that, and there's a single cable running from it to my MacBook, for power, display, everything.
posted by fabius at 6:10 AM on September 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Absolutely stupid, but since most thunderbolt cables have pretty hefty connectors, I bought these 90 degree adaptors so my Caldigit Thunderbolt Dock's cable was directed to the back of my Macbook Air and not sticking out the side of it. Works like a charm, it's just a dumb wiring extension.
posted by Kyol at 6:36 AM on September 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks to all - I'm saving up for the multi-device chargers. A monitor will need to wait for a tax refund or a long-term client!
posted by conscious matter at 3:05 PM on October 26, 2023