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Retina Display

Exciting new multi-monitor feature coming to Chromebooks

GeneralEdward Kiledjian

Every professional understands the power of a dual screen setup. The additional real estate enables a more fluid and productive work process.

I use a tone of platforms (mainframe & mini to Mac, Windows and Linux) and I find that ChromeOS handles multi-screen setups with ease and grace. Every time I have hooked an external display to a "good" Chromebook (something that costs $500 or more), it has worked flawlessly immediately without having to fiddle or fine tune.

I have successfully connected 2 external monitors to my Pixelbook at work using a Lenovo USB hub but this isn't something most people will have access to and therefore the 3 monitor option normally isn't used.

We know the sultan of search, El Goog, is working on an elegant solution to solve this 2 external monitor issue using a technology called display daisy chaining. This is something that is known in the industry but not currently supported on ChromeOS. The idea is to connect one USBC monitor to your Chromebook and then connect the second USBC monitor to the first one (as long as the monitor supports it).

This means you can connect (eventually) one cable to your device and everything just works. Technically this daisy chaining will be able to go beyond 2 external monitors to a larger number (as long as your device hardware can push the required number of pixels).

This is a request we have regularly seen in the Chromium forums

How do we know it is coming? We know it is coming because we can see a commit for Multi-Stream Transport Support or something called Hatch.

The commit enables a chip to support the Multi-Stream flow and there is a good chance this won’t be enabled on existing older Chromebooks. We know that generically Multi-Stream required DisplayPort 1.2 and a handful of Chromebooks already have it so… There is hope for existing customers. We will just have to wait and see.

Many of you know I love my Pixelbook and may be wondering… “Does the Pixelbook support displayport?”

The answer is that the Pixelbook does support Displayport. The USBC ports on the Pixelbook are of type 3.1 Gen1 and support PowerDelivery (PD), DisplayPort (DP) and HDMI.

We don’t know which version of ChromeOS this will be enabled in yet. That’s all for this article dear readers. Stay tuned for more cool tech news as I find them.

Apple iPad Mini 2 tablet specs leaked

technologyEdward Kiledjian
Apple's iPad Mini

Apple's iPad Mini

I know you are really hoping for a retina equipped iPad mini but industry rumors aren't pointing in that visually appealing direction. Most unnamed industry insiders believe the retina iPad mini will only be released next year, so what will Apple's next mini iteration bring?

It's a safe bet to assume it will cone in the same form factor we know and love but will pack: 

  • a TouchID sensor
  • a 64-bit A7 chip
  • same color combinations as the iPhone 5s

Indeed leaked parts we have seen coming from China seem to show a ring around the home button which would indicate a TouchID sensor. Why would Apple jump from the A5 processor (powering the current crop of iPad minis) to the A7? simple... Apple wants to quickly change its mobile ecosystem to a 64-bit environment and is willing to bite the bullet and add it to almost everything it can. 

My biggest gripe with the iPad mini is the lack of retina display and simply adding this would entice most users to invest in the newer device but we aren't hearing any rumors of a 7.9" retina display being manufactured by any of the usual suspects. It is possible Apple has locked down the information and will shock everyone with a retina display but that looks like a very faint possibility way out in the future.

However if they manage to pack an A7, TouchID, slightly better battery performance, multi-band LTE and a retina display, I'll pre-order a device now.

Apple doesn't pre-announce launch events to early but most of us expect the announcement sometime around mid October.  

Right now, I wouldn't buy a Macbook Pro, iPad or iPad mini. Wait until mid-October to see what uncle Tim brings right before the holiday shopping period.

Apple may launch new Retina iMac in October

technologyEdward Kiledjian

Digitimes is reporting that Apple will launch a new Retina display equipped iMac in October. Their source said Apple is bringing the Retina display to all of its products so this is a natural extension. Apple may use the fall launch of the Iphone 5 as the platform to announce the new iMacs.

Some have even speculated that the rest of the Macbook line (air and pro) may also get a Retina display makeover before holiday shopping starts. This is Apple so we’ll have to wait and see if this turns out to be true.