Unfortunately, Apple’s not the only one.
I just went to pick out a new laptop. Had a heckuva time finding one with an onboard Ethernet port and an onboard serial port. And forget having a built-in DVD drive anymore.
Docking stations have been replaced by “hubs” that don’t charge the machine. Real useful.
On the bright side, in return for giving up all the things I needed, I can get Windows 8 and a touchscreen.
woopee.
The trend seems to be to make laptops operate more like tablets. That’s great if your intention is to fondle it for entertainment purposes. But if you want to actually get some work done on the machine, it’s getting harder and harder to find one that is built for that.
Try eBay. Get a Dell D series for short money. Wipe it clean if it has an OS. Load a really good Linux distro, add some memory and run WINE or similar to run Windows programs...if you have to have them.
All this for less than 1/4 of the cost of a MacBook.
I have 3 of them and they work wonderfully.
http://www.toshiba.com/us/computers/laptops/satellite/C50/C55D-B5310
Here are 3USB ports and LAN port on a solid Toshiba laptop that I recommended to a friend. It was available at Best Buy for $300.
Perfectly fine for average uses