Apple has just announced that -- in addition to shipping all new computers with the Mini DisplayPort -- they're offering no-fee licenses to companies that develop products utilizing the connection, hoping to create a de facto standard. Of course, the VESA-approved DisplayPort hasn't been widely adopted, so it remains to be seen whether its miniature sibling will ever take off. At any rate, it looks like the company might have learned a thing or two back in the day, when FireWire's steep licensing fees slowed its progress as a serious contender to USB. You hear that, hardware developers? You...
Speaking of Mini DisplayPort, here's another entry from Apple in the shipping hall of shame. They're shipping the five-inch Mini-DiplayPort-to-DVI adapter in a box that's bigger than the MacBook's. Check out the waste. As Kevin notes, it might seem nitpicky, but when you compare this to how much Apple boasts on the MacBook's green packaging, it is kind of jarring: "The new MacBook packaging is up to 41 percent smaller than the previous generation. And smaller boxes are much better for the planet. Because smaller boxes mean we can fit more boxes on each shipping pallet — up to 25...
We hated Apple's tiny DVI ports because even though they used an industry standard, they were de facto proprietary connections. We were ready to hate Mini DisplayPort too, but we might not have to. That's because Apple will be licensing the Mini DisplayPort specification for free, meaning Apple might not be the singular assholes to use it (which is why their shrunken variations on DVI, while not technically proprietary, practically were). At the very least, even if vendors like Dell—an early supporter of DisplayPort—don't pick it up, it should mean a decent-sized ecosystem of Mini DisplayPort accessories, not just a...
If you live in the U.S., you've probably seen the latest Apple ad spot on television by now. The company is touting the new unibody MacBook as "green" for the environmentally conscious. I'm in that group myself with a hybrid car, a solar-powered attic fan and as a fanatic about recycling. No scrap of paper in our home is safe from the recycling bin, not even the puny little ATM and purchase reciepts I get at WaWa. We're getting ready to start composting in the near future as well. From my perspective then, it's nice to see Apple's green...
Filed under: Displays, Media PCs, Internet Releasing it's stranglehold on iTunes Fairplay DRM'ed content just a bit, Apple has issued a Quicktime 7.5.7 update, that allows standard definition videos to play on external displays without HDCP support. High definition content still toils under HDCP and DisplayPort content Protection (DPCP), leaving oldschool displays at least functional, but sadly low res. Any new MacBook / MacBook Pro owners out there making the non-HD supported Mini DisplayPort-to-VGA journey who can check in and let us know if it's working now? Grab the lastest version with your usual Software Update function or from the...
Releasing it's stranglehold on iTunes Fairplay DRM'ed content just a bit, Apple has issued a Quicktime 7.5.7 update, that allows standard definition videos to play on external displays without HDCP support. High definition content still toils under HDCP and DisplayPort content Protection (DPCP), leaving oldschool displays at least functional, but sadly low res. Any new MacBook / MacBook Pro owners out there making the non-HD supported Mini DisplayPort-to-VGA journey who can check in and let us know if it's working now? Grab the lastest version with your usual Software Update function or from the apple Support Download Website.Filed under:...
After the fuss over the baked-in DRM of the new unibody MacBook, Apple has updated QuickTime to re-enable standard definition playback on many external monitors, including some of Apple's own. The new Mini DisplayPort connector on both the new MacBook and MacBook Pro supports HDCP, a "feature" which stops people playing tagged video content on non-compliant monitors or projectors. The heavy handed implementation meant that some people couldn't watch certain (seemingly random) movies from the iTunes Store itself except on the notebook's built in display. An update to QuickTime (7.5.7) is now available to fix this. While HD content...
One part of the new MacBook experience that didn't exactly seem like much of an upgrade was the addition of HDCP for the new DisplayPort video connector, which left users unable to watch iTunes DRMed video content—HD or SD—on non-HDCP compliant external displays. This morning Apple released an update to ease the pain: now protected SD content will play on older DVI and VGA-connected displays. It's a step in the right direction, but the real mistake here probably wasn't including SD content under the HDCP umbrella—it was cramming the DRM tech into the laptops in the first place. [MacRumors]...
