A non-issue, perhaps, for System Administrators (not System Administrator: a mythical creature to whom computer companies direct End Users, if any question more complex than "Did you plug it in?" and "Did you turn it on?" needs to be asked. not that kind of System Administrator, but the real kind.) whose job it is to know about these things. They automatically shop smart (Shop smart: the ability to choose the least expensive component that will do the job. This ability can be conferred iteratively if the original, non-functional purchase is relegated to a closet, but not if it has to be returned, especially over an international border. Shopping smart leaves you happy with yourself. Not shopping smart makes you unhappy with the manufacturers of the main unit and of the component.).
But I really doubt that it is a non-issue for End Users (End User: somebody like me, or even dumber, if that is conceivable) for whom a mature technology works 90% of the time without any specialized knowledge. It can continue to work, even though the End User knows nothing about, for example, USB. Part of the reason that you can buy a USB cable for $1 with at least moderate confidence is that both device manufacturers and cable manufacturers, through many years of trial, know what will work. A decade ago, a $1 or $5 USB cable was more of a gamble. Add to that the fact that this DisplayPort technology is rapidly changing. We had USB 2.0 for about a decade. But DisplayPort 1.1 (the kind that I assume is on the T510, nothing in the downloadable docs was informative. I have a Q in to Lenovo.) is rapidly becoming obsolete with the 2009 roll-out and January 2010 VESA-finalization of DisplayPort 1.2. This same upgrade authorizes a new plug, variously named "mini Display" or "mini DisplayPort" which will undoubtedly be another non-issue for SAs but not for all EUs. Test the theory? I looked at the user reviews of a cheap ($17) DisplayPort to HDMI adapter. Some say it works with Eyefinity (Knock-knock. Who's there? Eyefinity. No, sorry, that's too much. We ordered a *small* pizza.) and some say it doesn't. A non-issue for some. For me it meant another few minutes spent on looking up what Eyefinity is supposed to be. Probably not applicable to my eventual T510 setup, but it's still time, er, invested. Time is a non-issue to SAs, whose job it is to know all that stuff anyway. So there are some issues and non-issues with the technology (I now hesitate to add the word "new") in the T510. Nobody has suggested what concrete advantages it might have, today, over the old technologies DVI and HDMI. </rant> I also have a question in to Lenovo about the USB 3.0 driver in the T510 driver matrix. Does it mean the T510 now supports USB 3.0, and if so, through which existing port(s)? >To be fair, you can find HDMI cables for $85 too, and you can get >DisplayPort cables for $6 from Monoprice. I'm not claiming one >technology or monitor is better than the other, just that the cable >point is a non-issue. You just have to shop smart. > >Rob > >Jonathan Berry wrote: >> DisplayPort versus the old ways >> >> Thanks for the heads-up. I had read the wiki page on DisplayPort, >> but nothing really caught my imagination. Here's the scheme: >> >> I have a perfectly good HDMI monitor and a cable that cost $4.50. >> >> The per-unit royalty on HDMI is something like 4 cents. >> >> Here's a 6-ft Display Port to HDMI cable that costs >> $85: >> >> http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=40646&vpn=DP2HDMIMM6&manufacture=Startech.com%20Ltd >> >> Or if I want to get a DisplayPort monitor and pay a mere $24 for >> the cable, I'm looking at $400 for a 1920x1200 screen: >> >> http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=45554&vpn=NL773A8#ABA&manufacture=Hewlett%20Packard >> >> There are cheaper screens, but they don't have so many pixels. Do you >> really want to get an external monitor that's only, say, 1680x1050 ? >> >> I sure hope that DisplayPort has some breathtaking >> advantages over the old technology. DisplayPort could turn >> out to be the best thing since sliced bread. Or it could >> turn out to be a bit of a dud, like hand scanners or DL >> DVD+-R disks or DVD-RAM or bubble memory or 5" diskettes >> (not to be confused with 5.25" floppies) .... > -- happy Jonathan Berry and Erika http://members.shaw.ca/berry5868/fun.htm _______________________________________________ Thinkpad mailing list [email protected] http://stderr.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/thinkpad
