Goodbye, VGA 356
jones_supa writes "Leading PC companies have expressed their will to finally start kicking out legacy display interfaces. Intel plans to end support of LVDS in 2013 and VGA in 2015 in its PC client processors and chipsets. While the large installed base of existing VGA monitors and projectors will likely keep VGA on PC back panels beyond 2015, PC and display panel makers are in strong support of this transition. The DisplayPort connector interface provides backwards and forwards compatibility by supporting VGA and DVI output via certified adapters, while also providing new capabilities such as single connector multi-monitor support."
That's one heck of a "long goodbye" (Score:4, Informative)
Oh, I wouldn't say goodbye just yet.... 2015 is still a long way to go. Recently, the monitor at my parents failed (a 2 or 3 year old 1280x1024 LCD panel... All CRTs before that lasted way longer. This LCD craze does have its downsides). Their computer has an old GeForce 4 MX 4400 or so with only a VGA port. I went to a local electronics shop and found a 23" Full HD LCD panel for an incredible 149€. I bought it, but then I got worried. Wait, the box doesn't mention VGA at all only DVI. I was a bit scared I'd have to upgrade to DVI, not that it matters, I have tons of older video cards with DVI so it would just have been a bit extra work.
Turned out that when I opened the box, only a VGA cable was included. DVI connector was there, and I'm pretty sure that it would work. For me it was ideal, for someone planning to connect to a DVI-only machine would probably have needed to go back to buy a cable.
Also keep in mind that a lot of laptops only have VGA. As far as I know there are no VGA-DVI adapters (DVI-VGA does exist). Since these days 5 year old computers and older fullfil the need of most computer users, don't expect VGA monitors to disappear soon. Companies will cater the needs of those "left behind".
DisplayPort? Haven't even seen a computer having that by default... Macs perhaps? I don't know, we only have a iMac and since the monitor is built-in, I didn't bother looking for display connectors.
No, wait... I think my fathers new Alienware laptop has a displayport. Totally forgot about that. It's less than a year old though.
Re:That's one heck of a "long goodbye" (Score:5, Informative)
The phrase "certified adapter" means "video quality degraded to crap and DRM added."
Just FYI.
Re:That's one heck of a "long goodbye" (Score:5, Informative)
And slow your stuff down to usb1.1 spec. Oh and zero power there. I have a USB flash stick that will not work off of a Keyboard USB port. Not enough power there.
extra usb ports on your keyboard are like stick on air vents for a car... There for show only.
Re:I'm sticking with VGA (Score:5, Informative)
Re:That's one heck of a "long goodbye" (Score:3, Informative)
More like the adapters are defined in the DisplayPort specs rather than just being after-market addons like a DVI to component adapter would be. You can't add DRM to VGA (although you can degrade it, as you pointed out).
Re:That's one heck of a "long goodbye" (Score:5, Informative)
The problem isn't the OS, it's the port: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PS/2_connector [wikipedia.org] (see the "hotplugging" section).
You *must* power down the machine before plugging in a PS/2 device, or risk blowing up the port controller/fuse. I have killed at least one motherboard this way (PS/2 devices no longer work on it).
Re:That's one heck of a "long goodbye" (Score:3, Informative)
This has nothing to do with USB vs PS/2.
This has to do with masking.
http://www.dribin.org/dave/keyboard/one_html/ [dribin.org]
The bottom line is that keyboards don't have a dedicated circuit for each key - they use a bunch of small grids and detect key presses at the ends of rows/columns in the grid.
Multiple key presses within a grid can cause masking - where a keypress simply isn't recognized at a physical level. Ghosting can also happen, where a keypress is recognized when there isn't one.
How the grids are laid out plays a big role in whether or not a user will experience the problems.
If you have masking in a game, you can try rebinding your controls. A typical masking scenario involves trying to press something like:
W for forward
A for strafe left
CTRL for crouch
Shift for run/walk
If you remap one of the controls to another key you can often get around the masking. I would recommend moving control over to C or Alt if either are unused. Your options will depend on the game and the amount of claw hand you are willing to suffer. You could also always map a control to the mouse. Side buttons are great for shit like a crouch toggle, a grenade toss, etc. Middle click is the bees knees for scope zoom.
Re:YOU CAN'T SPELL VAGINA WITHOUT VGA !! (Score:5, Informative)
YOU CAN'T SPELL VAGINA WITHOUT VGA !!
C-U-N-T.
(If this gets modded as 'Informative' I'm putting it on my resume.)