I have not explored market, but PowerExpand+ 7-in-1 Thunderbolt 3 Mini Dock and Anker PowerExpand Elite 13-in-1 Thunderbolt 3 Dock really caught my eyes at CES 2020 release.
Really looking forward to the Elite 13-in-1, and replace my current docking station… eventually if Anker does not release I will need to check for non-Anker products.
I am familiar with the laptop + docking concept, you get to a regular place of work and connect in better keyboard, bigger / additional screens, better mouse, possibly an external drive for backup. To ease it up many vendors have proprietary docking stations, so I get the advantage of standardizing on USB-C and use it as your only docking cable, a little less proprietary.
The Linux method of a distributed computing model though has its appeals as it uses networking as the transport medium, not so much specialist ports and cables. So it is even less tied to a specific technology.
Like most things Linux, others years to decades later “invented” the same ideas like Apple sidecar.
So in the Linux ecosystem, say you’re on your main, processor-powerful, laptop, you’d then just set your DISPLAY parameter to your low-power device like a Raspberry Pi and then launch apps. The transport mechanism is the network, such as Wifi or an Ethernet hub.
What I do is not that, I keep two or three computers in parallel doing different things.
Say in Linux I wanted to make a smart TV, there are many methods but one is to get a 2nd-hand used Monitor which supported HDMI, a Raspberry Pi which similarly supported HDMI, I’d install a flavour of Linux (Raspbian) and browsers and media players, then I’d remote desktop into and tell it to begin something. I can remote using say VNC off my phone so my phone is the remote control. I’d then in effect have a 2nd monitor, or a smartTV, costing very little.
While it sounds complicated, this method is more resiliant as you have a shared-nothing architecture, if your main system broke, you have a fully independent backup system.
I can definitely agree that it sounds complicated. I have two “docking” setups, at home and the office, plus just my laptop and a travel monitor for going to the field.
There is a lot to be said for systems that “just work”. Linux and Windows have both gotten SO much better at that in general that Macs don’t have the massive advantage they once did. What you describe is cool if you can get over the setup hurdles, but I think there will still be a market for the docks for the rest of us.
Everywhere you go you take yourself.
If yourself is more useful then you’re stuck less often.
Sounds complicated but so are shoelaces to those used to slip-on.
Linux skills age slowly as while the UI changes the command line skill from 1970s hasn’t.
Give me your old expired Windows 7 laptop out of support and I’ll return you a fully working and patched regularly laptop.
This is how I have been using for personal use. The last computer I bought was in 2008.
Hmmm… now it seems that the max output is only 85W.
I used to use pine for my email and browse the web with links, I have been using linux over 20 years, for better or worse. My old expired Windows 7 laptop is already running Ubuntu, and it was easy.
But going through the process you are describing doesn’t sound fun to me anymore. If I had access to raspberry pis at these costs when I was 15-20 years younger, I would have been trying it for entertainment and productivity - now it just sounds like a headache.
I already have 4 RPis and use VNC to connect into those, but that is pretty much it, but these are used only for entertainment and networking, these have reduced my Windows PC usage considerably 
For work, it is still Windows 10, the dock station is limited on ports now, i did see and planning to do the thing you posted on one other thread of using RPi as a USB-C hub, just need to get some focus and time to work on it 
Scale up vs Scale out.
A Windows 10 based system is a scale-up, you add more peripherals, and so run out of ports. You have one computer running all the apps, it calls for faster cpu, lots of RAM, etc.
Linux is more of a scale-out architecture, it becomes effectively free as old hardware doesn’t die it just runs Linux and as it ages runs less and less concurrent apps until it’s just running a media player and often it’s last purpose before a death is as a backup NAS server.
Cloud computing is also scale-out, just rent more VMs, it has the advantage of load balancers, DNS, auto-scale, etc and guess what… it’s mostly Linux (I’d say exclusively but someone would correct me).
I get why docking, I get why a many-port hub, it is though causing problems like you need Windows to work with all the displays. There are alternatives. Like why not have that browser doing non-work stuff on a separate display from a separate computer, then the corporate spyware doesn’t notice it.
For work I have multiple pieces of software that require windows. So either a Windows base machine or a Windows VM - both need the power to be fairly focused in a single box. And that is multiple apps that interact directly, best with multiple monitors on the same box.
The tasks that can be offloaded to another computer aren’t big enough to really matter, but I have another computer with another monitor on my desk for things like that (plus being my NAS, etc) already.
I could really use something like this for my Dell XPS. Now most laptops that are compact are coming with less and less USB A ports leading up to USB C only laptops. Kind of inconvenient not to have multiple ports! This would be fantastic!
This would be perfect for me! i have two monitors for work and i hate using all the ports…
I can’t wait for this to arrive at my door! I guess I’ll be investing in 2 new monitors!
Did not know this would be so popular… Nice!
What device do you think this be driven towards? What it would perfectly complement?
MacBook Air, one of the lower end and this the dock to connect to power, two monitors, larger storage?
I’m thinking this is more ideal for older and more powerful laptops (without Thunderbolt 3). Cheaper ones bog down with two monitors, even though it’s possible.
is it out?
Not just yet… Should be soon, though!
LOL, I received a message saying that this post had been flagged as spam!
FYI – @ndalby, @TechnicallyWell
I agree. Stop spamming this forum Josh! 
