by Apple’s MacBook Air is thin, light, and great for traveling—but when you get to your desk, the ritual of plugging in a keyboard, an external monitor, speakers, and an external hard drive can feel anything but convenient. For ethernet users, the MacBook Air’s (as well as the Retina MacBook Pro’s) lack of an ethernet port can be problematic if you don’t have an Apple Thunderbolt Display or a Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter.
The DS1 from Matrox can help. This docking station has a single Thunderbolt connector, and when you link it to your Mac with a Thunderbolt cable, the DS1 provides connectivity for audio, gigabit ethernet, USB 3.0 (one port), and USB 2.0 (two ports). It does not have FireWire ports.
Matrox sells two different models of the DS1: one with DVI video output and one with HDMI video output. If you have a DVI or HDMI display, you can connect it to the DS1, instead of using a Mini DisplayPort adapter and connecting it to your Mac’s Thunderbolt port.
The DS1 creates what Matrox calls “one-cable convenience,” eliminating the need to connect and disconnect individual devices as you come and go from your desk. Simply unplug the Thunderbolt cable and power adapter from your laptop, and you’re free to take your MacBook wherever you need to go, without having to unplug other cables.
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