Batman & Robin

I’m continuing to build out my M1 MacBook Pro workstation, and recently picked up the CalDigit TS3 Plus. I’ve now tried it at two stations and am already loving it. If the MacBook Pro is Batman, this thing is Robin. It’s much, much smaller than I expected, which makes it easy to toss in a bag for a hotel stay or a day trip. In that way, the power cable is a hassle, but much more portable than most peripherals.

Yesterday I hooked it up via the “Thunderbolt 3” Host port and confirmed it charges my laptop (Holy Smokes!…no power brick needed!), and hooked my external monitor up to the Thunderbolt 3 Downstream port for now (I need to read up a bit on optimum usage of the various USB-C ports vs. Thunderbolt). Then came the USB-A peripheral party: my Canon multifunction printer (which I suppose could go wireless eventually), my ScanSnap ix500, my Logitech webcam, and finally my beloved Focusrite 2i2 to power my monitor speakers. A quick switch of the audio outputs, and BOOM, POW, SHAZAM — no more laptop speaker music. Woohoo!

I also added my ethernet cable and the back was quickly filled up. I was pleased to see that the front audio ports popped up clearly in my system preferences, which will come in handy. I’m also so happy to have an SD card slot at the ready from now on for video editing as I move toward some upcoming YouTube projects.