http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/ Engadget Comments for Apple ponies up free Mini DisplayPort spec licenses http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/Dec 1st 2008 10:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/What will be the approval process for this be like for this? I think...
1) Product must have white wire, similar to iPod headphones.
2) If product is battery-powered, battery must be non-removable.
3) Must not display any media players on the monitor other than iTunes.
If rules are violated, free license will be revoked :-X and companies product will be banned in next firmware.

Hey....it could happen :-P :-P.

]]>Dec 1st 2008 11:02PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/notice a trend in apple?
there's always a regular to start off with.
and then a mini(ipod).
and then a nano.
so whats next? nano displayport? i wonder how much smaller it will get with apple leading the way...]]>Dec 1st 2008 11:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/release product to great fan fair.
everyone buys it all at the same time so no one can test it out and realize its broken OTB
then they release a series of firmwares to fix the problems.
2 years later... most of it is ironed out.
]]>Dec 2nd 2008 4:02AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/Then I realized ":-/, the original DisplayPort isn't huge either"

like JerkFacedFed says (scroll down) "Yes, the VESA creates a standard port, then Apple cant fit it on their mobo so they create a useless mini version and then call it a standard. Then the idiots at engadget think they are being generous by allowing their "standard" to be freely used. Genius at work."]]>Dec 2nd 2008 4:46AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/
What Apple should have done is put an HDMI port on there that could operate beyond the HDMI spec when connected to devices that called for higher resolutions or data rates. This would have proved far more useful to customers and might have pushed the HDMI spec forward at the same time.

But no. Apple cuts corners and basically ruins the MacBook by leaving out Firewire, while inventing yet another ridiculous connector instead of reusing an existing standard. They never learn. They already blundered by requiring a new connector for Firewire 800, while USB is about to enter its third generation with the same (or, in the case of USB 3, backward-compatible) connectors.

Use some common sense, Apple.]]>Dec 2nd 2008 5:33AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/Dec 2nd 2008 7:57AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/Dec 3rd 2008 3:57PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/Dec 1st 2008 10:47PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/Dec 1st 2008 10:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/Dec 2nd 2008 12:02AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/
Oh wait..]]>Dec 2nd 2008 1:00AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/Dec 1st 2008 10:50PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/
what's the point of using mini-displayport?]]>Dec 1st 2008 10:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/Just like those retards on message boards.]]>Dec 1st 2008 10:55PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/Dec 1st 2008 11:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace,_extend_and_extinguish

It's particularly sad as one of the great things about DisplayPort was its license-free and royalty-free nature. After Apple have subsumed the standard, expect licence fees for their mini-DP to burgeon.

]]>Dec 2nd 2008 5:23AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/Dec 1st 2008 10:52PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/Dec 1st 2008 11:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/
I'm cool with Apple being proprietary and all, if that's your cup o' tea, but quit trying to make everyone else's junk proprietary. Some of us work on different platforms daily!

At least yay for progress! 'Free' when it comes to licensing isn't a term oft heard.]]>Dec 1st 2008 10:54PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/
Then people like the poster above. You are willing going to take this? You're seriously going to pay extra money simply because Apple wants it from you? You're not going to speak out about a company changing a plug for no other reason than to create revenue by forcing you into their products for common use? You want to know the real reason why Apple is not going to charge a license for this port? So on court day they have a "oh look what we did" mark so they don't look like a monopoly. Sure, they hold a small margin in the overall PC market. But when you buy into the Apple ecosystem you're in deep, far worse than buying into a Windows machine. ]]>Dec 1st 2008 11:05PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/
Let's get one thing straight. I am a multimedia editor happily running a Lenovo T61 at home, but the University that I work with wants to have what's cliche, overpriced, and "what all the cool kids want" in the form of Macs for editing media (I work with audio and video more than photography). I HATE editing on a Mac. And I think that the standard port should have been used - that seemed like a huge no-brainer. The statement that Jobs made about HDMI being a "bag of hurt" is probably the stupidest one he's made in a while. I find it hard to believe anyone takes him seriously after that one (especially those who work in broadcast media...well, any type of media). So before you go spreading rumors about "posters" saying this or that, I suggest you actually think about what they are saying. If I could - I'd teach the University something more about editing - AVID runs on "not" Macs.

As for my personal opinion, the funky crowd can have their Macs and the adults can have their "PCs" (Windows or Linux). ]]>Dec 1st 2008 11:50PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/
- Proprietary connectors are more expensive. Apple wouldn't lower the retail cost, so they're just eating their own margin by using mini displayport without a good reason.
- They also take time to develop. As does everything. They had to design the connectors, prototype and modify them. There are expenses associated with that. And unless it's necessary, you're paying people for not doing anything productive.
- There has been some talk of extending the standard to include mini-DP. Evidently there is a reason, even if you or I don't know it.
- They're giving out the dimensions for free. All this is is a redesigned connector. It's still DP. Now, if any other companies are experiencing the same problems that led to Apple designing mini-DP, they can use these dimensions to ensure compatibility.

I can't really see how this can be seen in a negative way. There's obviously a reason that Apple did it, and if there is, it's a fair bet that other companies will run in to it. This allows them to solve the problem in a compatible way. Perhaps a standard amendment would have been less controversial.

People like you, who naturally hate Apple and everything they do, is why Engadget's such a mess. Any positive news is jumped on by people with no logical reason to dislike the particular action, and any negative news is defended by fanboys like they're fighting for their lives.
]]>Dec 2nd 2008 12:13AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/
The kool-aid compels you!]]>Dec 2nd 2008 12:17AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/
If you see a flaw in my deductions, point it out.]]>Dec 2nd 2008 12:19AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/
Low Rank in 3, 2, 1....]]>Dec 2nd 2008 12:21AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/a) It would be stupid to create this adapter without a really good, fair minded reason
b) Therefore, Apple must have had a really good and fair minded reason.

Genius!]]>Dec 2nd 2008 12:23AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/Dec 2nd 2008 12:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/
All companies are MONEY MOTIVATED. They have to be, in fact by LAW THEY HAVE TO BE. In capitalism you must have educated and smart consumers who realize that a product is designed simply for cash flow. You should pay for something if it increases your productivity, entertainment, etc. But miniDisplayPort does none of that, in fact it does nothing but negatives. It forces the user into spending money on a dongle, which they also have to carry around. The standard DisplayPort certainly does not take up extra space to cause a need for a thinner port. Additionally since the ports are compatible without conversion (the dongle does nothing but rearrange the pins) that means miniDisplayPort is electrically identical.

KarlW you strike me as someone who actually believes companies are generally good, as if they are not money motivated. I'm sorry, but the world does not operate in such a manor. Educate yourself.]]>Dec 2nd 2008 1:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/
Yes, and releasing the spec for free is clearly going to bring them millions.

If they did actually want to lock people in to proprietary connectors and dongles, there wouldn't be this royalty-free license. The most logical answer is that normal DP didn't fit their needs, so they had to design an alternative connector.

Yes, companies are designed to make money (otherwise they'd be charities). However, it's not as simple as you make it seem. Logic comes before all else, and there is no logical reason, given that the spec is free, to claim that mini DP was a diabolical plot to make money with no practical benefit to system design.]]>Dec 2nd 2008 1:15AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/
But oh well, clearly they have a good reason. You know like... well wait. It's electrically identical, normal DisplayPort takes up virtually no more space... hmm... well there is that nice dongle thing they sell.... hmm... it's all coming clear now. This isn't hard. MiniDisplayPort is a money grab that cost Apple virtually nothing. It follows their previous history as well, the previous books had a mini DVI that was pointless as well. ]]>Dec 2nd 2008 2:11AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/Dec 2nd 2008 2:45AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/Dec 1st 2008 10:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/Dec 1st 2008 11:05PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/It appears "mini display port" is unneeded, and unwanted.]]>Dec 1st 2008 10:59PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/
HDMI has licensing fees, DisplayPort does not.

And I really doubt that Apple has the legal ability to modify a spec and then charge people for access to it. Sounds like IP theft with a paint job to me.]]>Dec 1st 2008 11:08PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/Dec 1st 2008 11:20PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/
i think i'd rather pay an extra dollar for a laptop with a widely adopted standard than 1 dollar less and hope that display port (or mini display port) becomes more common.]]>Dec 2nd 2008 11:23AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/
Seriously. The hard drive/battery access takes up the entire front end of the Macbook. The mainboard doesn't even go there.

The two USB ports, Mini DisplayPort, Magsafe/AC power port, Audio in, Audio out, and Ethernet hog all the space available. If you look at the guts, you'll see that there's simply no more room. You can't add even half of a port-- There's simply no space. The other side of the MacBook has the optical drive,

Where would you propose they pull the space for an extra firewire port AND a full-size DisplayPort?

I suppose they could have made it a bigger computer, but frankly, I like the compact size.

This isn't "Apple trying to get money from selling adapters" -- It's sacrificing full-size ports in favor of a smaller form factor for the computer as a whole. If you don't like that design, then get the other version of the MacBook. It's really Just That Simple.

Me? I'm glad I moved up to the Aluminum. Yes, I had to shell out $30 for an adapter, and yes, I would like more space between the USB ports, but other than that, this is an truly excellent computer and will serve me for years to come.




]]>Dec 2nd 2008 11:37AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/Dec 1st 2008 11:00PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/Dec 1st 2008 11:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/Dec 1st 2008 11:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/Dec 1st 2008 11:35PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/Dec 1st 2008 11:38PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/Dec 1st 2008 11:50PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/Dec 2nd 2008 12:10AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/Dec 2nd 2008 12:26AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/
Yes. We know. That was the joke.]]>Dec 2nd 2008 1:02AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/Dec 2nd 2008 2:30AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/apple-ponies-up-free-mini-displayport-spec-licenses/
It's suprising, to me, to see so many HDMI supporters on Engadget simply because "it's more widely adopted." Am I the only person to have headaches switching inputs on the TV and having to unplug/re-connect the HDMI cable because the signal is lost from time to time, and it tells me to re-establish the connection? HDCP = not your friend. :( I'm more in favor of a connection that won't judge my connection; just send the video feed, and perhaps query for the proper screen resolution...don't try to DRM it up.]]>Dec 2nd 2008 6:50AM