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Gudd · 07-07-2018, 08:22 PM

Well I hope someone comes up with something on this soon. I use 3 external 1080p displays connected to a Dell D3100 Display Link dock and on Thursday needed to use my MacBook Pro instead of my Surface for a work job. Thats when I discovered that something which worked fine back in 2016 when I bought the screens and the docks no longer works.

So I've just spent the last 48 hours backing up my MacBook Pro to a sparse image on a USB drive using a cloning tool (yes, it really did take that long - don't know why) and am now part way through what Apple is saying is going to be a further 9 hours to restore my MacBook Pro back to March 21st which should be the last time machine backup before I installed 10.13.4. Then I obviously have to work out what I've lost and get it off of the clone.

To say I'm not impressed is putting it mildly, but it's not like there is an alternative. I literally know of no other solution to use 3 external screens (something that is pretty common place in IT roles) that would work between a MacBook Pro and a Surface Pro. I'd buy an eGPU if the Surface Pro supported it (and I fancied spending that much!)

--- OK, I'm going to rant OT now, but...

This bit is admittedly nothing to do with DisplayLink but what on earth is going on with computer companies and displays these days? If you've got a HiDPI screen on your laptop (it's getting hard not to these days) and multiple external "standard" res screens (or even one) you'd think you're trying to land a man on Mars it's that difficult.

Microsoft is clueless on this one. Stuff is tiny, or huge, or the mouse doesn't line up with what's on the screen or at best you need to log off and back on again, even when the external screen was connected at boot. Apple do it better, but can you connect multiple screens over DisplayPort cable? Hell no. Well, not unless you want to mirror everything to all the screens. And as for Linux, well, I haven't been able to come up with anything consistent enough to even work out what is going on there!!

People need more than just their internal laptop screen if they're doing much or are not on the road, I seriously wish someone could make all this stuff "just work" like it used to 4 or 5 years ago!!

Right, enough ranting.

07-07-2018, 08:22 PM	#405
Gudd Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2018 Posts: 10	Well I hope someone comes up with something on this soon. I use 3 external 1080p displays connected to a Dell D3100 Display Link dock and on Thursday needed to use my MacBook Pro instead of my Surface for a work job. Thats when I discovered that something which worked fine back in 2016 when I bought the screens and the docks no longer works. So I've just spent the last 48 hours backing up my MacBook Pro to a sparse image on a USB drive using a cloning tool (yes, it really did take that long - don't know why) and am now part way through what Apple is saying is going to be a further 9 hours to restore my MacBook Pro back to March 21st which should be the last time machine backup before I installed 10.13.4. Then I obviously have to work out what I've lost and get it off of the clone. To say I'm not impressed is putting it mildly, but it's not like there is an alternative. I literally know of no other solution to use 3 external screens (something that is pretty common place in IT roles) that would work between a MacBook Pro and a Surface Pro. I'd buy an eGPU if the Surface Pro supported it (and I fancied spending that much!) --- OK, I'm going to rant OT now, but... This bit is admittedly nothing to do with DisplayLink but what on earth is going on with computer companies and displays these days? If you've got a HiDPI screen on your laptop (it's getting hard not to these days) and multiple external "standard" res screens (or even one) you'd think you're trying to land a man on Mars it's that difficult. Microsoft is clueless on this one. Stuff is tiny, or huge, or the mouse doesn't line up with what's on the screen or at best you need to log off and back on again, even when the external screen was connected at boot. Apple do it better, but can you connect multiple screens over DisplayPort cable? Hell no. Well, not unless you want to mirror everything to all the screens. And as for Linux, well, I haven't been able to come up with anything consistent enough to even work out what is going on there!! People need more than just their internal laptop screen if they're doing much or are not on the road, I seriously wish someone could make all this stuff "just work" like it used to 4 or 5 years ago!! Right, enough ranting. Last edited by Gudd; 07-07-2018 at 08:26 PM.