I find John Gruber's blogging format interesting and often agree with his quick takes but recently he attacked new laptops coming out with VGA ports. His comment that the VGA port is adding bulk and thickness to support a 15 year old out-dated technology.
Skating to Where the Puck Was in 1987
DARING FIREBALL | JUNE 6, 2012
Three brand new PC laptops. The Dell Inspiron R, the Sony Vaio T13112FXS (that name just rolls right off your tongue, no?), and the Toshiba Protege Z9... Read more
He is getting heavily criticized for overlooking the education market and many others. When I got a new laptop last year, one of my key requirements was for a VGA port. I understand that a digital connection HDMI, DVI, or DisplayPort is a better technology but there isn't a single room on campus that I have presented in has a digital connection to a projector. I've presented in dozens of different rooms across campus with projectors and every one of them relies on VGA only. Sure, I could carry an adapter but as a genuine, absent-minded professor, I will lose them and then then be stuck sometime unable to connect for class.
I bought a laptop last September with a VGA port, I would do it again in a heartbeat no matter how much I want a lighter, thinner laptop.
On a related note, quite a few years ago, I had a laptop that Dell replaced under warranty after trying to fix three times. They were going to replace it with an equivalent refurbished laptop. This was pretty good service and I tried to be patient. After two weeks, I called and heard that they had been searching but couldn't find a single laptop with a 3.5" floppy drive. It had also been a need for me since students would bring presentations in on floppy but technology quickly eliminated the need for it. (Between flash drives and wi-fi, there was no need for the floppy drive.) Every term is a new batch of students so there was no problem with installed legacy technology.
Classroom technology setups are not refreshed as quickly as students. There are still classrooms with genuine chalkboards! Sure, in the home and in high tech companies, VGA is dead. The funding crisis in education will slow he upgrade cycle so VGA will live on for a long time. Remember, the momentum of installed but obsolete technology can be hard to overcome. Just look at the QWERTY keyboard layout.
Also, if you are connecting at a variety of places such as research conferences, client sites, etc., you should be prepared to present using VGA. I'm still amazed at the number of people with new laptops using HDMI or DisplayPort ports but don't come with the VGA connector.
Sure, Mac laptops continue to sell well without VGA ports but that is a big part of why I didn't get one.
Skating to Where the Puck Was in 1987
DARING FIREBALL | JUNE 6, 2012
Three brand new PC laptops. The Dell Inspiron R, the Sony Vaio T13112FXS (that name just rolls right off your tongue, no?), and the Toshiba Protege Z9... Read more
He is getting heavily criticized for overlooking the education market and many others. When I got a new laptop last year, one of my key requirements was for a VGA port. I understand that a digital connection HDMI, DVI, or DisplayPort is a better technology but there isn't a single room on campus that I have presented in has a digital connection to a projector. I've presented in dozens of different rooms across campus with projectors and every one of them relies on VGA only. Sure, I could carry an adapter but as a genuine, absent-minded professor, I will lose them and then then be stuck sometime unable to connect for class.
I bought a laptop last September with a VGA port, I would do it again in a heartbeat no matter how much I want a lighter, thinner laptop.
On a related note, quite a few years ago, I had a laptop that Dell replaced under warranty after trying to fix three times. They were going to replace it with an equivalent refurbished laptop. This was pretty good service and I tried to be patient. After two weeks, I called and heard that they had been searching but couldn't find a single laptop with a 3.5" floppy drive. It had also been a need for me since students would bring presentations in on floppy but technology quickly eliminated the need for it. (Between flash drives and wi-fi, there was no need for the floppy drive.) Every term is a new batch of students so there was no problem with installed legacy technology.
Classroom technology setups are not refreshed as quickly as students. There are still classrooms with genuine chalkboards! Sure, in the home and in high tech companies, VGA is dead. The funding crisis in education will slow he upgrade cycle so VGA will live on for a long time. Remember, the momentum of installed but obsolete technology can be hard to overcome. Just look at the QWERTY keyboard layout.
Also, if you are connecting at a variety of places such as research conferences, client sites, etc., you should be prepared to present using VGA. I'm still amazed at the number of people with new laptops using HDMI or DisplayPort ports but don't come with the VGA connector.
Sure, Mac laptops continue to sell well without VGA ports but that is a big part of why I didn't get one.
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