Video connectors (was: CGA Modes (Wuz: Win 3.0))

From: John Ruschmeyer <jruschme_at_exit109.com>
Date: Wed Feb 4 08:49:28 1998

At 11:33 pm 2/3/98 -0500, you wrote:
>
><example, certainly is. I'm not saying we don't need 15 pins; I say we ne
><15 THICKER pins, and since this connector is typically the only connecto
><on the back of a VGA adapter, there's plenty of room.
>
>Par of the resoning was that it should have a connector that is not like
>any other. if it were a standard db9 or db15 you'd have people plugging
>into the serial port screaming it don't work. It's bad enough that you
>have people that will force things no matter what.

I truly believe that this is the reason, but can't help but be slightly
amazed that, of all companies, IBM would be concerned with idiot-proofing a
box. After all, weren't most of their boxes intended to go into shops where
an "adequate" support mechanism would exist to set them up?

The extreme of this is companies like Packard Bell who color code all the
connectors.

At the other end of the spectrum, you have Apple who uses the same DB-15 on
all monitors and DB-19 on all floppy drives. The result is the
all-too-frequent FAQs:

        - Can I use an Apple //gs monitor on a Mac?
        - Can I use my Mac (or //gs) monitor on my //c?
        - Can I use my 5.25" Unidisk on a Mac?
        - etc.

Heck, I'm amazed Tandy got along as long as they did putting every thing on
34-pin edge connectors and DIN plugs.

<<<John>>>
Received on Wed Feb 04 1998 - 08:49:28 GMT