QuickTime 7.5.7 for DisplayPort Allows Standard Definition Playback

[Veri]

FW = Anticipating withdrawal of a dying technology

Any reliable source for this? When Apple moved from dedicated graphics on the Mac Mini to a GMA950, was it anticipating the withdrawal of, err, dedicated graphics? Similarly, can you accept that Apple might make a decision on business (upsell!) rather than technical grounds?

not to mention that the new USB ports are just as fast;

Hm.. 480>400.. the megahertz myth has evolved. USB's sustained throughput is lower, and its host CPU usage is higher. Many places will explain why, but nothing beats trying it for yourself: buy a Firewire 400 and a USB enclosure and compare. I use drive in Firewire enclosure for regular backup (speed/reliability) and USB drives for backups to take offsite (interop).

and no ordinary PC user knows about it after all;

The target audience of the Macbook is the neophyte PC convert? Scary. Last three mid-range XP/Vista-based laptops that passed by me had Firewire (800, no less). One was even an Acer.

I have ZERO complaint with the 24" glossy screen in the market...my iMac.

It's a fine screen - better than the screens in all the other iMacs, Macbooks and Macbook Pros, since the rest are TN panels, so the comparison is moot.

Apple has taken a bold decision, and nobody seems to care apart from the most rabid conservative designers;

Glare, glossy, eye strain, etc. Affects some, not others. Maybe not you. That's good. Not all humans were created equal. Moreover, some people have the privilege of working in a fixed position they have chosen. Others would be laughed at by clients if they said "let me just angle my laptop to get rid of that reflection".

DisplayPort = is industry-standard, and the mini aspect is simply a design feature;

Possibly part of 1.2 standard. In what way is a slightly smaller connector a "design feature" (ignore Air)? The mini DVI port on my iMac is horrible, lacking the sturdiness of a screwed-in DVI connector. It served little more than an opportunity for Apple to sell for $30 (UK) what eBay confirms is produced for much less.

Beach ball = it's almost nonexistent nowadays.

I think in the past 6 months I've got beachballs mostly from either Safari or misbehaving USB devices. Less of a problem since I've switched to Firewire where I can. This doesn't surprise me from a $ PoV - manufacturers aim to create the cheapest, Friday-afternoonest USB controllers, but people looking for the bottom of the barrel don't use Firewire.

 

[rtheb]

That actually isn't true... It's the controller locking out the external super-drive, modders have replaced the internal controller and it then works fine on... any computer.

http://www.tuaw.com/2008/06/24/mod-use-your-macbook-air-superdrive-on-any-machine/

If you read to the end of the linked thread
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/420281/
you'll see that I was one of the modders who got the MacBook Air Superdrive to work on other Macs and PCs.

The Apple IDE to USB bridge with apple's proprietary firmware is causing the lockout on other computers.

So pray tell how is that not a lockout by Apple unless you MOD it?

 

[benpatient]

I guess by explicitly stating that HDCP is disabled for standard definition content, it's a tacit confirmation that HDCP will be enforced for HD content when it's available for iTunes. In terms of HD content, I thought the standard used by Blu-ray is that under an unsecure connection it'll just output at a lower resolution, 480p or something so better than the average DVD, rather than refuse to play at all like how Apple did it before. Hopefully, Apple implements something similar to allow downscaling, although I think Apple's HD content comes with a separate SD version anyways.

that's for an unsecured DIGITAL connection, but those don't exist in the marketplace because nothing that has an unsecured digital output (say a non-HDCP DVI port) has been allowed to license Blu-ray, or HD satellite or HD cable or anything else "official" and HD.

You can connect a Blu-ray player to a 1080i, 720p, or in some cases 1080p analog (component or VGA) output device and watch full-resolution HD movies. My HD satellite DVR is outputting 1080i and 720p (and if I wanted to 1080p) through component to my Panasonic commercial plasma display. Since the display is only 768p, there is no reason for me to send a 1080p signal, even though some 1080p content is available through VoD PPV on the satellite.

But I've got 3 "HD" sources set up running through analog means (2 component and one VGA) and they will all play "copy protected" HD content without any issue. I am not using HDCP or HDMI as long as I can help it strictly on principle. I'm glad Apple fixed this problem, but they are still being more restrictive than anyone else out there right now...nobody else is blocking HD output through analog connections, so I don't want to hear about how the studios are "making them do it." I can rent an HD movie from my xbox 360 and watch it over component or VGA on my TV. No HDMI or HDCP needed.

drm enforcement≠cool, apple.

 

[benpatient]

just reading some threads and i wanted to say that my father-in-law's two laptops, both cheap and both PCs (one a dell the other an HP) have mini FW400 ports on them. He asked me what this funny little port was a couple months ago. I plugged in one of my 7200rpm external hard drives with USB and FW connectors and showed him what that little port could/would do.

Pretty lame that Apple dropped the FW from their best-selling computer just as it's getting to be ubiquitous in PC land.

 

[rtheb]

Glossy = EVERY PC fan on this rumor always loved to brag about the "XBrite" screens and all, when every Apple display was matte...and to be honest, I have ZERO complaint with the 24" glossy screen in the market...my iMac. Apple has taken a bold decision, and nobody seems to care apart from the most rabid conservative designers;

Is this a mirror or a display?

 

[diamond.g]

Is this a mirror or a display?

Both, at the same time!

 

[Mindflux]

Is this a mirror or a display?

A display. Want proof? Plug it in and hook it up to a machine.

 

[benpatient]

Look, Apple just wants to make sure that you aren't the victim of a sneak-attack from behind!

Nobody can walk up behind you when you're "using" a screen with that much reflectivity.

You could also use it to do a pretty fun thing I like to call "trace the reflection in photoshop.

You have to be really still, and you just open a blank, black document in photoshop, put it full screen, and trace over what it reflecting back at you with an appropriate brush. It's GREAT for self-portrait work.

The next Warhol or Picasso will be born at a shiny-screened iMac with a wacom pen and a copy of photoshop.

 

[rtheb]

A display. Want proof? Plug it in and hook it up to a machine.

How do I hook it up to my 1st Gen MacBook?

 

[diamond.g]

How do I hook it up to my 1st Gen MacBook?

I'd use duck tape. It makes everything work.

(or maybe a converter, but the duck tape is more fun)

 

[AidenShaw]

The next Warhol or Picasso will be born at a shiny-screened iMac with a wacom pen and a copy of photoshop.

...or Dalí - just give Gala a keyboard

Dalí i Domènech, Salvador