This is not directly aimed at you but rather the hilarity of the situation.
> only one USB-C port [...] if I hooked up an external drive, the computer would run out of power before the transfer completed.
Absolutely crazy how we ended up accepting supposedly professional devices that work like this. Choose between having power or being able to use a external hard drive (unless you purchase accessories of course). Mean while, desktop computers are built to be customizable in every single way.
I agree that it was outrageous that the MacBook (2015-2019) only had one USB port. However, Apple never called it Pro. The MacBook Pro has at least 2 USB ports.
> only one USB-C port [...] if I hooked up an external drive, the computer would run out of power before the transfer completed.
Absolutely crazy how we ended up accepting supposedly professional devices that work like this. Choose between having power or being able to use a external hard drive (unless you purchase accessories of course). Mean while, desktop computers are built to be customizable in every single way.