Historically, you’ve had two options to expand the port capabilities of your laptop: an inexpensive USB-C dongle or a more powerful, pricey Thunderbolt docking station. A third option is quietly emerging, trying to split the difference. A DisplayLink docking station (sometimes called a USB-C dock) uses data compression to offer the capabilities of a Thunderbolt dock over a standard USB-C or Thunderbolt cable. Why buy one? DisplayLink docking stations works great for normal day-to-day productivity, and in my experience the docks are cheaper and more stable than older Thunderbolt 3 desktop docks…