We suspected that it was ADB that caused Apple to not recommend the 15″ Flat Panel Display with the G4, since the G4 is the first desktop system to come without ADB ports. Several NoBeige readers explain that since the display uses ADB to allow the user to adjust settings such as color and brightness via desktop software, using the flat panel display without ADB means that the user has to forgo those controls. Fortunately, Griffin Technology provides a workaround for this problem through their iMate USB-to-ADB convertor.
Rumor has it that Apple is going to replace this old flat panel display, which is blue, with a new 15″ graphite model that includes USB connectors instead of ADB for controlling the display and has a digital video connector instead of the traditional analog VGA-style connector. The Apple South Africa Web site briefly showed this new display in a product listing a few weeks ago, but the mention was pulled and replaced with the old blue flat panel display. The release date is currently unknown.
