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chrisford · May 18, 2004, 04:54 PM

I've got a 12" Powerbook that I love.

I've got a 20" Apple Cinema display (that I love).

I wanted to use the (Apple) Powerbook with the (Apple) display. So I tried to.

And you can't. Not without buying a DVI - ACD converter. And a Mini-DVI to normal DVI converter.

So that's - erm - 85 quid for the first and another 15 for the latter.

100 quid. To use an Apple display with an Apple Powerbook.

Am I missing something here?

chrisford

(Flame-proofing comment : I love Apple. But once every so often they just take the piss...)

ibook_steve · May 18, 2004, 05:29 PM

The mini-DVI to DVI adaptor should have come with your Powerbook. That should not have cost you a thing unless you lost it. As for the DVI to ADC adaptor, yes it is a pain for Powerbook users or anybody without an ADC port on their machine to use it, but there's no way your Powerbook's battery could supply enough juice for both your machine and the display. Therefore, the ADC has to be split between the DVI signalling and power. Since not everybody uses an Apple display with their Powerbook, it's not like Apple is going to include the adaptor or give you some sort of discount. If it bothers you that much to spend 85 quid (however much that is in US dollars), spend 4 or 5 times as much on a new standard DVI display that doesn't require any adaptors. No one's forcing you to use the Apple display.

Steve

chrisford · May 18, 2004, 05:39 PM

Whoah! Easy fella!

In a painfully literal way, I suppose that you're right: no-one is forcing me to use the display (that I paid for).

And I suppose that you could say that it would prove uneconomical to include an adaptor that allows me to use the display (that I paid for).

And whilst I take your advice, I'm not sure that spending a few hundred quid (times it by about 1.6 to get American dollars) is the best solution. Thanks tho'.

chrisford

Originally posted by ibook_steve:
The mini-DVI to DVI adaptor should have come with your Powerbook. That should not have cost you a thing unless you lost it. As for the DVI to ADC adaptor, yes it is a pain for Powerbook users or anybody without an ADC port on their machine to use it, but there's no way your Powerbook's battery could supply enough juice for both your machine and the display. Therefore, the ADC has to be split between the DVI signalling and power. Since not everybody uses an Apple display with their Powerbook, it's not like Apple is going to include the adaptor or give you some sort of discount. If it bothers you that much to spend 85 quid (however much that is in US dollars), spend 4 or 5 times as much on a new standard DVI display that doesn't require any adaptors. No one's forcing you to use the Apple display.

Steve

Dr.Michael · May 18, 2004, 05:47 PM

There is one more thing:

Your 12 inch Powerbook will be significantly warmer with the cinema display (because of more gpu load). So be prepared to hear the fan more often.

Thats why I gave back my 20 inch cinema display. So the 100 $ for the dvi2adc connector is only the second best joke.

Link · May 18, 2004, 05:55 PM

Oh stop being a wuss. You bought the damn display and should have known that it doesn't come with an AC adaptor. Apple even brags about this, and expecting a laptop to power a 26v monitor is insane.

teknopimp · May 18, 2004, 10:03 PM

get over it. apple used to get $150 (a hundred euros?) for the adapter and they dropped the price last year to $99. maybe you can find a used one on ebay for less

rag on a muffin · May 18, 2004, 10:15 PM

well i just had a blackout, which was obnoxious. but anyways, i dont blame you for not wanting to pay for the adc adapter, but its basicly a power adapter. it the same price as all the other power adapter.

SplijinX · May 19, 2004, 08:04 AM

Unless you are really adamant about having a full Apple system, you can always return the Cinema display (assuming you purchased it recently) and just buy a regular 20� LCD. Not sure what the saving are, if any, but the 17� on the Apple store website seems out of line with the cost of other 17� LCDs out there.

Anyone know if there are any significant benefits with Apple Cinema displays in terms of performance?

chrisford · May 19, 2004, 10:44 AM

Hey -

Thanks all for the comments - I guess I'm being a wuss (a wuss? Dammit, I'm British... we don't say wuss...) but I was keen to use what I had with what I had. I bought the Apple display a while back, so I don't think I'd be able to return it. Not without feeling guilty anyway...!

Anyways... cheers all for the comments - even the slightly uptight ones.

c

Originally posted by SplijinX:
Unless you are really adamant about having a full Apple system, you can always return the Cinema display (assuming you purchased it recently) and just buy a regular 20� LCD. Not sure what the saving are, if any, but the 17� on the Apple store website seems out of line with the cost of other 17� LCDs out there.

Anyone know if there are any significant benefits with Apple Cinema displays in terms of performance?

ManxStef · May 19, 2004, 12:25 PM

I can sympathise with you at least a bit - think everyone's being a touch harsh

It certainly is a fair bit of money to get your display working but it "comes with the territory" of owning a Mac I suppose! You may want to take a look at the Dr Bott DVI -> ADC adaptor as it may work out a bit cheaper (though probably not by the time you're sourced it in the UK and done the typical ripoff 1:1 USD to GBP conversion)?

I'm in the mood for a rant anyway; I've been waiting for my Powerbook for over a week already and Apecode's just told me the following:

19 may 04 30 10 departed direct Apple Shanghai
13 may 04 30 60 departed from product source Kuehne & Nagel Shanghai
13 may 04 05 00 boxes scanned Kuehne & Nagel Shanghai
13 may 04 00 05 Data received from supplier Apple Shanghai

So it's been sitting in Shanghai for SIX DAYS doing nothing! Grrrrrrrrrrr. And relax

Arty · May 19, 2004, 03:49 PM

Originally posted by ManxStef:

I'm in the mood for a rant anyway; I've been waiting for my Powerbook for over a week already and Apecode's just told me the following:
19 may 04 30 10 departed direct Apple Shanghai

13 may 04 30 60 departed from product source Kuehne & Nagel Shanghai

13 may 04 05 00 boxes scanned Kuehne & Nagel Shanghai

13 may 04 00 05 Data received from supplier Apple Shanghai

So it's been sitting in Shanghai for SIX DAYS doing nothing! Grrrrrrrrrrr. And relax

Kuehne & Nagel has made my life miserable on SEVERAL occasions... be prepared!

Link · May 19, 2004, 04:22 PM

Heheh, yeah sorry for the harshness because I *DO* know how you feel and I've been down this road before (I sent in my powermac for repair once RIGHT when my display got back from repair.. so I had my nice big 22" cinema sitting on my desk in front of me for about a week but I couldn't use it because my PC didn't even have a DVI port)...

ugh makes me really appreciate it after having spent a few weeks on a 17" crt again :|