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Apple Offering Free Licensing of Mini DisplayPort Spec

Arstechnica points to Apple's mini DisplayPort license which is available as a "no fee" license to interested parties. Apple introduced the Mini Display port with its new notebooks and 24" LED Cinema Display in October.

This licensing news adds some clarity to the debate about whether or not the Mini DisplayPort was a proprietary solution from Apple alone. The no fee license should allow 3rd party manufacturers to integrate the port into their own products and also to develop additional useful adapters. For example, Apple currently doesn't offer the appropriate adapter to allow customers to connect older Macs to their new 24" Apple LED Cinema Display.

Apple has said that they will be integrating the Mini Display port into all future products.

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42 months ago
Maybe they learned a lesson from their attempts to make FW a standard. As I understand it, licensing it was expensive.
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42 months ago
great news

i agree with you rdowns about how firewire might have played a role in this
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42 months ago
Still strikes me as backwards. Why not work with other manufacturers first to develop a standard, instead of coming up with one and hoping it gets picked up? Maybe someone smarter than me can explain this way of thinking.
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42 months ago
This is definitely good news. Apple said Mini and Micro DVI were "standards" as well, but because only they used it you had to go to them for adapters and it wasn't really a standard as we know it (the standard they were referring to was DVI, not the physical connection, which is misleading if you ask me).

Still strikes me as backwards. Why not work with other manufacturers first to develop a standard, instead of coming up with one and hoping it gets picked up? Maybe someone smarter than me can explain this way of thinking.


oh, i think you're smart enough. it is backwards. Apple thinking too much about keeping things under wraps.
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42 months ago
As someone who doesn't plan on upgrading my laptop in the near future, this provides some hope that I will be able to enjoy the new 24" cinema display! Yay!
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42 months ago

As someone who doesn't plan on upgrading my laptop in the near future, this provides some hope that I will be able to enjoy the new 24" cinema display! Yay!


Sadly you will need an active converter ($$$) as the new 24" display is most likely Direct Drive (only understands Display Port).
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42 months ago
Great news. Now to await less expensive options for converters.
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42 months ago

Still strikes me as backwards. Why not work with other manufacturers first to develop a standard, instead of coming up with one and hoping it gets picked up? Maybe someone smarter than me can explain this way of thinking.


Because other manufacturers are more interested in making it as cheap to make as possible which is a fight Apple has no desire to be a part of.

Apple figures they'll come out with something that they're happy with, and others will either follow along or they won't.

In this particular case, I think Apple is safe. This will probably catch on.
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42 months ago

Still strikes me as backwards. Why not work with other manufacturers first to develop a standard, instead of coming up with one and hoping it gets picked up? Maybe someone smarter than me can explain this way of thinking.


I think doing this would cost them money in the long run. They'd have to co-ordinate the manufacturers, engage in debates, discussions, meetings, etc. As it is, they have a solid consumer base that is growing and they have the ability to do in-house development on their own products at their own pace. By making their own product and then giving away the licensing freely they are accomplishing what they need to do without all the costs of collaboration.

Because of the loyal consumer base, manufacturers will start making products with the Apple standard and Apple has made sure that their standard is accessible, while still somewhat proprietary.
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42 months ago
Excellent - it definitely is pin-compatible with Display Port (see here for comparison).

It will be nice when a more-complete suite (DVI, VGA, HDMI, DisplayPort, Component?, S-Video? etc.) of (cheaper) adaptors are available on Monoprice ;)
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