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Apple Offers Superior Displays With Inferior Connectors


Apple is to be commended on its new display lineup. The price points are fantastic, and the whole package is really compelling.

The only thing that is still really frustrating about Apple displays is the proprietary Apple Display Connector. Comparable TFT monitors from other vendors usually include industry standard DVI (digital) and VGA (analog) ports, which adds a tremendous amount of value for customers who want to use a display with multiple computers. Apple really ought to do the same.

Power Macs should sport two DVI ports, and the rest of the lineup (including iBook, iMac and eMac) should sport a single DVI port. A single DVI-to-VGA adapter should be bundled with every Apple computer (as it is currently with those with DVI connectors).

Apple displays should offer industry-standard DVI, VGA and USB ports, so any Mac user can buy them – and the Wintel world can too.

Apple should address the cable clutter issue with a single “umbilical” cable that has power, DVI and USB connectors at each end – just like ADC, but with independent industry standard connections fanning out at either end of the single bundled cable. We really don’t care how thick that cable is! It is much more valuable to us to be able to use the display with whatever computer we require.

This way, we could mix and match computers and monitors more easily and, more importantly, PowerBook users and the rest of the world could buy Apple displays without having to also buy (and, in the case of mobile users, carry) a ridiculously expensive DVI-to-ADC adapter.

Until then, third party displays from Sony et al will continue to appeal to us because, while their plastics aren’t as beautiful as Apple’s, their DVI and VGA ports are much more useful to us. How ironic that if I need to plug a larger monitor into my 12″ PowerBook G4 (which I do), it has to be a non-Apple monitor!

Apple, please kill the ADC and shift to 100% DVI, and watch your sales climb.

By Jason O'Grady

Founded the PowerPage in 1995.