Thanks to all who replied, to either this thread or my other related one, "OT:
Questions about (buying and) using a laptop docking station".
On Sunday, March 22, 2020 03:37:57 PM David Christensen wrote:
...
So, ~$110 for better wired network performance and the convenience of
one cable vs. five cables, on a machine that is overdue for replacement.
The saying is, "throwing good money after bad".
Perhaps. I need / want a docking station of some sort in any case (i.e., even
if I later upgrade the laptop), and this looks like a reasonable choice,
especially because I need VGA output to go through my KVM switch (which had to
match one of my (mini-)tower computers which has only VGA output (no HDMI).
(I need / want the docking station so I can easily unplug the laptop to take
it to various meetings (of which there are less of lately because of the
Covid19 thing).
I did learn about ExpressCards / Cardbus, and found a dual USB 3.0 ExpressCard
on ebay for under $10.
I've ordered both and I'll see what happens. If I have to upgrade the laptop,
that remains a possibility.