Famed DJ and Music Journalist Complains About 2016’s USB-Less MacBook Pro
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Apple’s latest MacBook Pro features a Touch Bar instead of function keys and four Thunderbolt 3 slots instead of USB ports. It may be the future, but the reviews have been mixed so far. It does come with a headphone jack, however..
In any event, the disposal of the traditional USB port in favor of the Thunderbolt 3 makes sense on paper. The Thunderbolt 3 is faster and more efficient, capable of handling transfers of 40 gigabits per second. But it’s proving to be a problem in a world that’s used to dealing with USBs.
This is especially the case with digital DJs for example, who are commonly pictured with MacBook Pros resting on top of their decks, usually with a sticker covering the Apple logo. Philip Sherburne, a well-known dance music journalist and DJ, complains about how inconvenient a USB-free MacBook Pro is in a Pitchfork article.
In it, Sherburne notes that he uses USB ports in everyday life to transfer photos from his camera, share audio files, record interviews, and power his laptop fan. Other equipment, including MIDI controllers and external hard drive similarly rely on USB. Now, he laments, his desk is going to become a tangle of adapters, which he’ll need to connect his older devices into his MacBook.
The switch to the Thunderbolt 3 has negative ramifications for DJs as well. Sherburne warns that “In the DJ world, things will similarly have to change. Currently, many DJs store entire virtual crates full of music on miniature flash drives, which connect directly to the Pioneer CDJ turntables that have become the industry standard.”
While he admits that being forced to use adapters isn’t the end of the world, Sherburne questions Apple’s motivations in forcing such an abrupt transition to the Thunderbolt 3. It’s inconsiderate, he muses, and possibly even eco-unfriendly, by leading to the disposal of non-biodegradable USBs and cables.
