Forums | MacLife

ukimalefu wrote:

In case you weren't paying attention, Uncle Steve said that ALL Macs will include the new display port eventually. But that doesn't help people who want to use the new 24" display, with speakers and camera, with any other current Mac.

No, it doesn't. It also doesn't allow anyone using another brand of computer to buy it or use it. It also sucks if you want to use it with a KVM.

No it does not but then, right or wrong, most product transitions tend to screw at least some customers.

Most Likely Scenario: Apple won't or at least won't be able to give anyone any grief over adopting Mini DisplayPort or the moniker

Pretty Unlikely Scenario: Apple won't or at least won't be able to give anyone any grief over adopting Mini DisplayPort but will try over the moniker

Most Unlikely Scenario: Apple won't allow others to adopt Mini DisplayPort

ScifiterX wrote:

Most Likely Scenario: Apple won't or at least won't be able to give anyone any grief over adopting Mini DisplayPort or the moniker

Pretty Unlikely Scenario: Apple won't or at least won't be able to give anyone any grief over adopting Mini DisplayPort but will try over the moniker

Most Unlikely Scenario: Apple won't allow others to adopt Mini DisplayPort

You list that last one as the most unlikely and yet that is exactly what they did with MagSafe. I don't think they have the same rights to mini DisplayPort that they have to MagSafe but it does show their tendency. I am still flabbergasted that they haven't licensed MagSafe yet. I thought for sure when I bought my MBP in January 2007 that I would have seen third-party MagSafe adapters long before now. That is a HUGE disappointment. Especially as someone who owns an iGo.

Frank

ScifiterX wrote:

And that was something specifically developed by Apple to be proprietary, frankly. Apple never claimed it was an industry standard.

I know and I'm not saying they should make it available for other laptop makers. What I am saying is that they should license it to third party accessory manufacturers so that I can have some options when I need a power adapter for my MBP.

Frank

ScifiterX wrote:

People (at least a certain company) have made third party MagSafe adaptors without violating licensing agreement using original Apple parts.

http://www.macworld.com/article/58446/2 … gsafe.html

Yes, but with that solution you are paying for a complete Apple power adapter plus their cost. They are basically cutting off the MagSafe portion and splicing it to what they have. I can't imagine anyone that would want to pay for that.

ScifiterX wrote:

Um Bat, DisplayPort was created by VESA, the same people that created the FDMI (Flat Display Mounting Interface). Apple has to license from VESA. They can't license technology that they themselves have licensed to other companies.

Um Sci, you forget I've covered DisplayPort heavily since '06. (And it's not like it's in Mister Pixar Disney's interest..)

You forget things like sponsorship/membership in various, sometimes conflicting industry Workgroups and more.

Beyond that the IS NO DRM THERE, it simply new hardware capable of more bandwidth, period. It's the equivalent of a Dual Channel DVI plug in a Mini DVI sized package not simply some proprietary standard.

Fail. DisplayPort supports its own UDCP (DisplayPort Content Protection) and, as of v1.1, HDCP.

Up until about six months ago I really thought UDI would be the next-generation PC high-definition interface.  And why not, it was royalty free, electronically compatible with DVI (and HDMI), and supposedly, cheap to implement.

DisplayPort, on the other hand, is not electronically compatible with any of the DVI derivatives, introduces a separate copy-protection scheme and still doesn't have a shipping product.  UDI technically doesn't either, but since it's built on DVI, the only real hurdle is pushing the manufacturers to implement.
...

Philips, the company behind the DisplayPort Content Protection scheme, has deep relations with virtually every major PC manufacturer.  Not surprisingly, Philips also has the most to gain from DisplayPort as DPCP is not royalty free.  HDCP, the de facto DRM standard on HDMI, DVI and UDI, is licensed by a subsidiary of Intel.
...

Intel is technically still members of the Unified Display Interface Work Group, though the only PC manufacturer actively exclusively involved in the project is Apple.  Silicon Image, a heavy advocate of HDMI and all things HDCP, is quite possibly UDI's strongest proponent left.   However, the reason many vendors jumped to the DisplayPort camp was to avoid royalties from HDCP and HDMI certification aggressively promoted by Silicon Image.

Of course, with the DisplayPort 1.1 ratification yesterday, VESA has brought the whole train full circle.  For interoperability with HDMI devices, vendors will need to adopt HDMI certification.  Instead of just HDCP, we now have DPCP and HDCP -- neither which are interoperable but we will most certainly get a third-party technology to bridge that gap which will certainly not be royalty-free.   And finally, instead of refining the DVI platform further, as with HDMI and UDI, DisplayPort introduces a new electronic setup that vendors have no experience dealing with yet.

It certainly is ironic to see the DVI and HDMI pitfalls VESA promised to avoid take center stage in the DisplayPort 1.1 ratification.

Challenge Joe the Videocarder, eh? Lots moar.

frankly wrote:

Bat wrote:

Too bad the guessed-at $800 Mac didn't happen. Perhaps the economy's continuing downturn will bring some changes, else Apple might return to being a boutique brand.

Yeah, because we see how bad that's working out for them

And Lord knows, consumer spending on expensive electronics items is only increasing these days, so just extrapolate last year's trends... not.

"I'd like a loan to buy $4,000 of... what? No more credit?"  

ed sp

Last edited by Bat (2008-10-16 5:02 pm)

Bat wrote:

Edit: DisplayPort references (me), 2006-7

Search results here expire, so your link is broken.

robco wrote:

Apple could license MagSafe, but then they'd lose it as a competitive advantage.

Again, I'm not talking about them licensing it for use in other laptops. I am simply talking about licensing it to third parties to make adapters for the MacBook lines. That has nothing to do with their competitive advantage.

Frank