DVI, DVI-D, HDMI confusion

[MrFusion]

I am a bit confused by all these new names for video cables.
I have a macbook first generation, my boss has a Dell XPS 1330.
We want to buy a screen for each of us.
This seems to be a nice screen:
Dell UltraSharp 1708FP 17-inch LCD-flatpanel

But what kind of cables do we need? Will it work with the output?
I have a mini-DVI on my macbook, and a cable to regular DVI.
According to the Dell website, my boss has a HDMI port.
And the screen has a DVI-D port.

So will this screen work on our computers?

I remember from my mac mini that the cable was slightly different from the cable I use on my macbook, forcing me to buy a new cable.

 

[crazzyeddie]

HDMI can be converted to DVI with a simple adapter.

 

[appie57]

I am a bit confused by all these new names for video cables.
I have a macbook first generation, my boss has a Dell XPS 1330.
We want to buy a screen for each of us.
This seems to be a nice screen:
Dell UltraSharp 1708FP 17-inch LCD-flatpanel

But what kind of cables do we need? Will it work with the output?
I have a mini-DVI on my macbook, and a cable to regular DVI.
According to the Dell website, my boss has a HDMI port.
And the screen has a DVI-D port.

So will this screen work on our computers?

I remember from my mac mini that the cable was slightly different from the cable I use on my macbook, forcing me to buy a new cable.

DVI is only video signal, both analog and digital. There is DVI-I and DVI-D, I think the mac (and most graphic cards) have a DVI-I port. HDMI is digital video + digital audio. So, no problem connecting a DVI to a HDMI port with an appropriate cable. If you need audio, use a separate cable from your headphones port to whatever is needed (often 2 RCA plugs) .