Ok so I am totally wanting to make the switch to apple at work but there have been 3 factors that have prevented that from happening.
1.) the person who signs off on purchases HATES anything that is apple. I dont even think he would use an ipod. Yeah I know its dumb.
2.) I run and love my dual 17" displays and would not want to go back to a single display setup
3.) until 5 min ago I thought the only mac that could do dual displays was the mac pro which at a starting price of 2799 is cost prohibitive at almost 3x's the cost of a new dell.
Well I had this idea of how cool it would be if the IMAC's let you do a video out to a second or even third monitor. With a price tag of around 1300 for a 20" it would be a tough sell but one I thought I could pull off. I then got this super gushy feeling as the image of 17" 20" 17" displays danced in my head. SO much desktop real estate!!!! SO I decided to see if the apple store had a chat function to talk to a sales person. IT did and here is what I found out.
T: Hi, my name is Tomeca F. Welcome to Apple!
Good morning.
Would you like help with your shopping?
me:Hi Tomeca my name is Chris
I had a bit of a configuration question
im currently primarily a windows user that runs a dual monitor setup
T:I'm happy to assist with that.
Me:I LOVE MY DUAL MONITORS
the only real option I have seen in replicating this is the mac pro
or can you take an imac and use the video out to connect to another monitor
if so what is the limit
T:One moment while I research that for you.
Neither one support 2 displays.
Me:really
so the only mac that supports multiple displays is the mac pro
T:No.
It doesn't either.
Me:are you sure
b/c it lets you buy two displays in the apple store
for the Mac Pro
and it shows dual DVI ports on the back of it
T:That is what took me so long, I was double checking.
Me: "All Mac Pro graphics cards support two Apple displays, each up to 30 inches."
T:That is the older one.
Me:really
so the new ones dont support that out of the box
WOW
T:That is what my supervisor checked and found out.
Mr:ouch
so what do people do who want to run a dual or more display setup?
T:I don't know.
Me:hmm
well thank you very much
T:You're welcome.
Me:have a nice day
T:You too!
Thank you for visiting the Apple Store. We appreciate your business.
Thank you for choosing the Apple Store. If you have any additional questions, please chat us again.
Like WOW. She has to be Wrong. I think I might have to pay a visit to the apple store in November when I am in C'bus and see what the Genius bar comes up with.
5 comments:
She was clearly giving you support from the Moron Bar. SHe is wrong. Flat out wrong.
In fact, when I read your conditions for not buying a Mac, I thought immediately that "not supporting dual monitors" was weird, since I have been doing dual displays for 10 years. And within the past 3 to 5 years I have been able to pull this off with ONE of the higher end "standard option" cards for desktop models. As far as the laptops are concerned, the video out has served as both a separate display and a mirror display. In fact, many Mac laptops for years have had a button on the function row which lets you flip between those two modes!
As far as iMacs are concerned, even on the tech spec pages for them on the Apple site it clearly says it has a "Mini-DVI output port with support for DVI, VGA, S-video, and composite video connections via adapter". And the Apple site specs are like Shakira's hips... They don't lie.
Seriously, if that was a major factor in you not buying a Mac, then you should have spoken with me earlier. That said, I don't think you can push out a signal to two additional monitors from the one built in with the iMac, so I wouldn't hold my breath for the 17" / 20" / 17" scenario.
Also, just so you know, Macs support multi-button mice, too. Like, since forever.
From the iMac specs page, middle column.
- Mini-DVI output port with support for DVI, VGA, S-video, and composite video connections via adapter.
- Support for external display in extended desktop mode
* Digital resolutions up to 1920 by 1200 pixels
* Analog resolutions up to 2048 by 1536 pixels
- Support for external display in video mirroring mode
Solution found.
http://us.kensington.com/html/14499.html
You should listen to me more. LOL.
Can we have a new post sometime soon?
Wondered why staleblog was such a deprivation agony for MommaSue? Like, is she dependent on ChrisKnodel.net to fall asleep at night? Or has she run out of bathroom mags? It's sad when the older gen is so dependent on next gen news. At least MommaSue can jump in her buggy and jet down the road to see that reality which is beyond the virtual. The blog is all we've got! Scottish Pappa-son Dick in Airdrie! Hi Sue! :)
Post a Comment