[Macworld]

Post your comments for DisplayPort specification to add Apple's mini connector here

[hmurchison]

I figured Apple's connector would become the approved mini connector.

It makes sense for smaller devices and even with larger devices I question why a connector needs to be larger if it doesn't require screws.

This now means that MDP adapters will be coming from multiple sources. Mac users rejoice.

[montgomery_burns]

"from those who claim it's yet another "proprietary" doohickey. This, despite the fact that it’s based on the DisplayPort specification promulgated by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA)."

The ADC connector was "based on" DVI. Does that make ADC non-proprietary?

And Apple apparently misrepresented the proprietary status of its Mini DisplayPort connector when they first introduced it in October. They also seemed to have pulled a fast one on Peter Cohen. In his article, DisplayPort: What you need to know, Peter was swearing up and down that Mini DisplayPort is part of the official standard because someone from Apple told him so. This was about 1.5 months before Apple began licensing the mini connector specs, and almost 3 months before today's article. If the mini connector really was part of the official spec at the time, then why would third parties have to license it from Apple? So before VESA's announcement, people had every right to call Apple's mini connector proprietary.

[Inkling]

This is a marvelous start. Apple should follow it up by developing a replacement for current telephone-like Ethernet connector. It's large, ugly, clumsy, and difficult to connect or disconnect. The best solution would be something magnetic that automatically disconnects much the MagSafe power connector. Make the shape a +, an X or an O and it wouldn't conflict with the MagSafe.
Apple could create the connector and license it under the same generous terms as they have for the DisplayPort mini connector. They'd be first to the market with it and, within a couple of years, everyone would be using it. A simple adapter would let it work with existing wiring.
Keep in mine that WiFi isn't best for every situation. Gigabit Ethernet is much faster. Those in government, banking and medicine often have security issues with over-the-air networking. The current Ethernet was designed for the era of corporate desktop PCs. Computer staff wanted a connector that's hard to disconnect. With so many people now using laptops for their work, home and on-the-road computer, connecting needs to be made much easier and more compact.

[mrpopo]

No mention here whatsoever of in-built DRM. Am I wrong to point out that this is more than just a change in form factor?
Smaller than DVI is great but this is much more than just a new port standard, or should I say less?

[hmurchison]

mrpopo said:

No mention here whatsoever of in-built DRM. Am I wrong to point out that this is more than just a change in form factor?

Smaller than DVI is great but this is much more than just a new port standard, or should I say less?

If you wish to be correct overall you'd likely want to use "more"

[Dan Moren]

montgomery_burns said:

"This, despite the fact that it’s based on the DisplayPort specification promulgated by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA)."

The ADC connector was "based on" DVI. Does that make ADC non-proprietary?

Well, given that ADC also incorporated power and USB into a single connector, I think the relationship between it and DVI was far more complicated than the relationship between DisplayPort and mini DisplayPort.

Quote

And Apple apparently misrepresented the proprietary status of its Mini DisplayPort connector when they first introduced it in October. They also seemed to have pulled a fast one on Peter Cohen. In his article, DisplayPort: What you need to know, Peter was swearing up and down that Mini DisplayPort is part of the official standard because someone from Apple told him so. This was about 1.5 months before Apple began licensing the mini connector specs, and almost 3 months before today's article. If third parties had to license the mini connector from Apple, then how could it be considered part of the official DisplayPort spec?

It's confusing, I'll give you that. The wheels of technical specifications grind exceedingly slow, and it seems likely that VESA and Apple have been talking about the status of mini DisplayPort for some time. What it seems like to me (and this is just from logical "putting-the-pieces-together" thinking) is that Apple created the mini port, and then lobbied VESA for it to be included into the specification. That's by no means uncommon: Apple created the technology behind FireWire, which was later adopted as the IEEE1394 standard. Seems more an issue of policy than technology to me at present. But the upshot is that everything will hopefully be happy together in the near future.

[folklore]

Are there mini displayport to composite video connectors? Apple doesn't seem to sell them, and I occasionally (3-4x a year) need them.
And is there a technological reason why the dual-link DVI adaptor is so bleedin' expensive? $100 seems very steep for something that my current (~2 year old) MBP can do straight out of the box.

[hmurchison]

[quote name='folklore']Are there mini displayport to composite video connectors? Apple doesn't seem to sell them, and I occasionally (3-4x a year) need them.

And is there a technological reason why the dual-link DVI adaptor is so bleedin' expensive? $100 seems very steep for something that my current (~2 year old) MBP can do straight out of the box.Yes. The Dual Link DVI adapter requires power thus you need a USB connection with it as well.

[folklore]

hmurchison said:

>Yes. The Dual Link DVI adapter requires power thus you need a USB connection with it as well.

Taking power from USB makes the cable worth $100? I'm still not seeing $100 in that cable.

So the dual-link adaptor takes up a USB port. And there's only two to begin with (on the MacBook and 15" MacBook Pro). Huh. Well, that's... uh... that's an interesting definition of "progress," I guess. Again given that my current 15" MBP has support for dual-link DVI straight out of the box.