New Apple Re-designed Displays Include 30-inch; No ADC

[James Fee]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.thinksecret.com/news/newdisplays.html' target='_blank'>http://www.thinksecret.com/news/newdisplays.html</a><br /><br /></div>"Apple is on the verge of announcing a new, totally re-designed family of three flat-panel displays with the addition of a 30-inch HD-ready model. In what appears to be a major change in direction for Apple, the displays will exclusively use a digital visual interface (DVI) connector and will not come with Apple's proprietary Apple Display Connector (ADC). Sources have confirmed the three new thin film transistor (TFT) active-matrix liquid crystal displays will be available in 20-inch, 23-inch and 30-inch sizes. The 20-inch model will have a maximum resolution of 1680 x 1050 pixels with a viewable area of 20.1 inches. The 23-inch, HD-ready model will have a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels with a viewable area of 23.0 inches. The 30-inch, HD-ready model will have a maximum resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels with a viewable area of 29.7 inches."<br /><br />Of course this is a rumor, but notice something missing? No longer will Apple offer a 17-inch display, but don't fear. According to Think Secret, the price point for these displays will be less than the current ones. Also all models will now come with two FireWire ports, in addition to the two existing self-powered USB ports on current models. Many displays have USB, but this is the first ones that I recall that will have Firewire.

[bdegroodt]

Holy smokes! 30" from Apple. I already drool at the existing lot. My poor pocketbook.

For those of us (me) that don't understand the need for Firewire/USB on a monitor, can you explain?

[rlobrecht]

All they are doing is housing a hub (usually USB but I guess FireWire in this case) inside the housing of the monitor. It makes the ports easier to access. I know I would like to have a feature like this for use with my Dell tower. Their front mounted USB ports are almost unusable (they point at an angle downwards, and my tower sits on the floor. I have to get on my knees to plug anything into them.)

[bdegroodt]

All they are doing is housing a hub (usually USB but I guess FireWire in this case) inside the housing of the monitor. It makes the ports easier to access.
Does that mean you could plug a camera in an watch pictures/video without the need for the computer (kinda like connecting a camera to the TV)?

[James Fee]

Their front mounted USB ports are almost unusable (they point at an angle downwards, and my tower sits on the floor. I have to get on my knees to plug anything into them.)
The pictures provided by Think Secret show the ports on the back of the display. That might be the best location. We have dual 19" Dell flat panels here at work and their USB is on the side. Well that isn't a good solution if you have two displays because one set of the ports is inaccessable due to being blocked by the other display.

[Jason Dunn]

Does that mean you could plug a camera in an watch pictures/video without the need for the computer (kinda like connecting a camera to the TV)?

Nah, I doubt it - you'd need to connect the monitor to the Mac, and then the ports are just daisy-chain connections. It allows you to connect your camera to the port on the monitor instead of the front of your Mac (or wherever). It's cool that they're doing this with Firewire!

[SassKwatch]

http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5523&highlight=cringely

Does this rumor maybe add a smidgeon of fuel to Cringely's fire in the article discused above? Perhaps Apple is planning a longer term makeover into 'media' company.(??)