I’ll check that when I get to the office tomorrow.
But part of the problem is that the Dell docking station also uses it’s own weird proprietary connector that also uses two side by side connections, similar to this one (I always assumed they were USB-C, but apparently they’re also Thunderbolt):
So that cable can’t be plugged into anything on the HP laptop.
That’s weird. I’ve used several other Dell USB-C docks that just used one USB-C connection. The one you pictured required two side-by-side USB-C ports, which some Dell notebook computers have.
And the HP laptop has two side by side USB-C ports, but they’re spaced just a bit closer together, so that cable won’t fit.
This is very much starting to feel like a scheme to force people to use the manufacturer’s own proprietary cables/docks, as @LSLGuy said.
Proprietary FTW. Bastards!!
It is an HP Thunderbolt 4 G6 dock, which strangely isn’t anywhere on the dock itself but I finally found on a tag on the cable that goes from the dock to the laptop (which is also not detachable, but that’s less annoying than the power cord not being detachable). Pretty sure this is the same one:
https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-thunderbolt-4-ultra-180w-g6-dock
I think @thorny_locust has only worked on actual farms, not in cube farms. 
Thanks for the link. The photo shows the dock without any cables but you said there was a cable permanently attached to it.
True; though I’ve seen enough pictures that the explanation made sense.
I have done other jobs, if not recently; but none involving cube farms; if only because, in some cases, cube farms weren’t common yet at the time.
Apple’s computers, more often than not, are elegantly designed not just on the outside but also for easy access to their components. Not so much the 2006-vintage PowerBook G4, though. I have two of them, last of the PowerPC era.
To remove and replace the internal HD (or indeed pretty much anything other than the battery or the RAM) you have to remove about 21 screws, and except for the smallest ones, no two of them are exactly alike, so unless you’ve got it memorized you have to make a road map of which screw goes back into each orifice. Two of them require a Torx screwdriver. But what kicks it from annoying to stupid design is that there’s a ribbon cable that threads through a hole under the RAM chips and fits into a socket on the piece you need to lift up and off the base of the computer. Unclipping it is no hassle, but when it comes time to reassemble it, whoa! You’re holding the entire keyboard / trackpad base in mid-air about 3 inches above the bottom tray, and you have to get your hand in there and thread that damn ribbon cable up through the hole; it has no extra play built in that would let you thread it through first and then lower the keyboard / trackpad assembly down on to the base. The entirety of it is made of lightweight aluminum and over the years it tends to develop small bent places and misalignments that makes it not want to slide back down smoothly.
It’s predecessor in my chain of Macs was the “WallStreet” G3 laptop. I’d empty the left and right expansion bays (pull release tab and they pop right out), reach my hands inside for the keyboard release, and the keyboard flips forward and there’s your RAM, your hard drive, and your CPU daughtercard right at your fingertips, with CardBus and modem not very difficult either. It’s successor, my MacBook Pro of 2011, you flip over on its back, remove three identical long screws and seven identical short ones and the back comes off and there’s everything, easy to work on.
Stupid $#@!# ribbon cable!
I don’t know about everyone else, but when we watch TV in the evenings, we only have a small lamp on. I hate bright lights on in the living room. If it were just me, I wouldn’t even have the lamp on, but my husband likes it. We do turn on more lamps/lights when we have guests. We don’t make them sit in the dark! Anyway, why aren’t TV remotes backlit? We usually DVR everything we watch and I’m the one that FFs through commercials. We just bought a new TV and the remote’s FF, Rewind, Play, and Pause buttons are much smaller than the old one. I had the old one memorized by touch, but this one is tough. I have to hold my phone in front of it so I can see the buttons. I just ordered a replacement remote that is backlit. But I shouldn’t have had to. That should be a standard feature. IMHO anyway.
Bt, but, but … you don’t understand! Shaving that few cents off each remote made some MBA’s bonus. [/s]
I just needed to use my nebulizer - something I break out maybe every 3 years or so.
The solution comes in these tiny vials that are all joined together. 1) you have to pull off the one you want to use, without accidentally opening the one next to it. 2) Each strip of vials comes in a foil pouch. You’re supposed to use that strip within a few days of removing it from the pouch - meaning if you don’t need all of the doses, some have to be thrown away.
The one I had to open yesterday had 25 doses in a single foil pouch. While I immediately put the unused strips away, in theory I guess I’m supposed to throw all of those away in a week or so. WTF???
YES!!! Some universal remotes are but the ones that come with the TV are not.
We were watching something yesterday and apparently there’s some kind of universal rule mandating that they be gray on black.
There seems to be a lot of stuff labeled in grey on black; or in black on dark grey, or even in slightly raised black on black. I have to turn a flashlight on several things in the house to read them.
I suppose somebody who either never actually uses the things, or who has extremely good eyesight, thinks they look prettier that way. I wish upon such people an early onset of old people’s vision.
The things I hate are very light gray on white in tiny type on things like light bulbs or USB transformers. They are often so unreadable (with my 70-year-old eyes even with glasses) that I have to take a picture with my phone and zoom into the image to make out the writing.
Not a product design but a property design.
10 yesrs ago my city decided to revitalize the bad part of town, they torn down all the old buildings and a bunch of new businesses opened up. The problem is the new businesses are all doing great business except the underlying problems still remain so I’ve quite literally see homeless people fist fighting in the middle of a busy intersection multiple times.
What also happened is one of the businesses is a brand new IMAX theater and it’s the closest IMAX to my house. For whatever reason it’s got the worst parking layout. Instead of the parking lot being in front of the theater, instead there’s two parking lots far away from the entrance. There’s a free parking garage across the street but since it’s free there’s no security and poor lighting so I don’t trust that place at all and also it’s a LONG walk since it’s a weird wide street. There’s also a normal parking lot but it’s behind the theater for some reason, so to get to the entrance of the theater you have to park behind the theater, and go through what I call “Crime Alley” a long service alley where the trucks dropping off theater supplies use and also it’s poorly lit.
I have no idea why they just didn’t make the entrance something right next to the main parking lot. I’m guessing they thought the parking garage would be the “Main” parking but it’s actually 3x the distance from the theater to there then it is from the crime alley parking lot. Poor design all around.
My vision care insurance card has type so small I can barely read it without putting on reading glasses. Which is why I need the card.
Outlawed in the EU and GB, I’m glad to say. USB 3 (not perfect, I know) is now the standard. Extensions and convertors are readily available.
We bought an induction cookbook several years ago.
It’s black.
So are all the labels for the controls, all of which are simply places to press. Ditto the “burners”.
It’s nearly impossible to use without the hold light turned on.
I much prefer the red plaid Better Homes & Gardens cookbook.