| Cult of Mac

Retired DJ and TV writer rocks head-spinning gear list [Setups]

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Three setups in one makes for hot fun in the Arizona sun.
Three setups in one makes for hot fun in the Arizona sun.
Photo: Tyler Botha

Arizona-based Tyler Botha, aka theallseeingeye on Reddit, is a TV-focused copywriter for a San Francisco startup and a retired pro DJ. The setup and epic gear list he sent to our attention does triple duty with a capable “WFH Desk,” a powerful “Gaming Corner” and a remarkably complete “DJ Desk.”

Talk about “complete.” Botha’s gear list, represented in the links below, is probably the longest one ever published in a Cult of Mac Setups article. You don’t have to be a DJ to appreciate it, but it helps.

Last chance! Enter to win a mini Vava USB-C hub for MacBook Pro/Air [Cult of Mac giveaway]

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VAVA USB C Hub
Tiny but mighty: The Vava USB-C hub greatly expands your MacBook's capabilities.
Photo: Vava

This week, we are giving away two tiny but mighty USB-C hubs from Vava worth $75 each.

The Vava five-port hub turns your MacBook’s two puny USB-C ports into five powerful ports, allowing you to connect two 5K external monitors to your MacBook Pro or Air. You also can hook up external hard drives, printers, memory sticks and more, making you more productive and connected.

If you’d like your shot at winning one, be sure to enter this week’s giveaway below.

This may be the best USB-C hub you can buy for your iPad Pro

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The sun finally came out, so I took this photo outside.
The sun finally came out, so I took this photo outside.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Ever since I got a 2018 iPad Pro last year, I’ve gone through a drawerful of USB-C hubs. And finally, I’ve found one that works. Or rather, one that works without any odd, annoying or inexplicable behavior. It’s the Kingston Nucleum, it doesn’t have quite enough ports, and it’s just great.

Best USB-C accessories for Macs and iOS devices

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Anker PowerCore+ 20100 USB-C
USB-C battery packs, chargers, hard drives, cables and hubs will future-proof newer Macs.
Photo: Anker

USB Type C — it’s no longer a novelty but an emerging connectivity standard for Apple products. As a newer, more powerful variation of the same USB we all know and love (well, kinda), USB-C features higher power and faster data transfer than its predecessors via a smaller connector.

While older USB Type A and B were a great gift for Mac users — few mourned the passing of ADB and SCSI — USB is often finicky. Just plugging in an old-school USB cable can prove challenging, since you must position the connector just so for it to slide smoothly into the port. That often means several tries to achieve the proper angle and orientation.

Those obstacles disappear with USB-C because, in addition to its smaller size, it is designed to be reversible — with no up or down orientation, just like a Lightning cable — and the cables can have the same type of connector on both ends.