Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

OWC: Mercury On-The-Go FW800+USB2 up to 1.0TB. Bus Powered, no external power supply needed. Macworld ‘Editor’s Choice’, CNET ‘Very Good’ Starting from $99.97, 500GB $159.99. Click here

Poker Mac Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

The Mobile Mac

Cheap Is as Cheap Does: A Crappy Cable Cripples a Capable Display

- 2006.11.08 - Tip Jar

Last month I hired a new paralegal, and the first thing I needed to do was upgrade our extra computer from a 15" XGA (1024 x 768) to a 19" SXGA (1280 x 1024) monitor.

We have a pair of excellent Samsung 19" LCD monitors in the office already (the midlevel DVI/analog models), and my initial plan was to just order another Samsung. Then I checked my email.

A local computer store was having a sale on laptops and LCD monitors, and the email listed a 19" dual input (DVI and analog) LCD for an unbelievable US$200, which is cheaper than even the analog-only Samsung. I went to the store after work and was impressed by the display model, which was indistinguishable in image quality from the Samsung right next to it, so I bought it on the spot.

Strike 1

The monitor was a ViewSonic, a brand I'd known for years and had no reason not to trust, yet when I hooked the monitor up to the Compaq PC that our paralegal was to use, I was shocked at the horribly distorted image and moving, wavelike lines all over the monitor.

My first thought was that Windows didn't correctly recognize the monitor, so I downloaded a newer driver, but it made no difference whatsoever.

I moved the monitor over to the Mac in my associate's office and connected it using the cable already attached to the Mac's Samsung monitor. The image was perfect.

Moving back to the PC, I tried using the VGA cable that usually connects the Samsung LCD on my desk to my laptop, and, sure enough, the problem was the cable that came in the box with the ViewSonic display.

For giggles, I tried the ViewSonic cable with my laptop and the Samsung monitor - and had the exact same distortion and image problems.

Fortunately, my associate's Mac is running on DVI, so I dug up the box from her monitor and found an unused Samsung VGA cable to fill in the gap. All was well.

Strike 2

The same weekend I was swapping out the 19" Samsung from my home computer for a 19" widescreen monitor for my daughter to use, and in that same trip to the computer store I had purchased a 19" ViewSonic widescreen with built-in speakers.

Since that monitor was to be connected by VGA, I was worried that I'd run into the same problem, and sure enough, the second ViewSonic monitor came with a VGA cable so bad as to make it unusable. To make matters worse, I had used my extra VGA cable at the office, so the only choice was buy a different cable or exchange the monitor.

Not sure which would be the more economical option, I packed the monitor back up and went back to the store. A high-end VGA cable rated for a 19" monitor cost $50, while there was a 19" Samsung widescreen on sale for $250, which was only $30 more than I'd paid for the widescreen ViewSonic.

You're Out

It took a bit of arguing and a demonstration of both ViewSonic VGA cables to convince the store to take the monitor back and not charge a restocking fee, but I prevailed and brought home the Samsung 19" widescreen LCD. As always, Samsung's video cable was more than up to the task, and a crisp and beautiful image was the first thing I saw when I turned it on.

...it really doesn't matter how good an item is if corners are cut that take away from its usefulness.

The lesson here is that it really doesn't matter how good an item is if corners are cut that take away from its usefulness. The ViewSonic monitors are truly excellent monitors, and had I been using them with DVI or had an existing high-quality VGA cable, I'd have no complaints. The normal aspect-ration ViewSonic is doing a great job on my paralegal's PC and is a pleasure to work with, but it and the widescreen version I have at home are completely unusable with the included VGA cable.

Why bother including a cable if the quality is so poor as to render the monitor unusable? This is worse than not including it at all, as it may make a buyer think it's a defective monitor.

Even though the monitor itself is of excellent quality, the hassle of figuring out the problem and having to add the cost of an after-market cable tipped the value equation to favor a more expensive Samsung monitor that came with an adequate cable.

Quality Matters

It doesn't matter what the product is; there must be a certain standard of quality for all of its components.

It reminds me of a classmate from law school who bought a Dell laptop. The laptop was small and light, but the display latch was so flimsy that it broke after barely a week of gentle use. He returned the computer and bought a different brand.

It doesn't matter how good the rest of the design might have been or what cool and powerful features were packed into that small and light case. All that mattered is that the latch was too delicate.

Companies need to wake up and realize that while cutting costs is an important part of doing business today, they can't be too aggressive in shaving pennies. I'm sure ViewSonic's bean-counters are very pleased at the low-cost VGA cables that are going into ViewSonic monitor boxes, but in the long run I think that decision will end up costing far more than it saves. LEM

Andrew J Fishkin, Esq, is a laptop using attorney in Los Angeles, CA.

Recent Best Tools for the Job Columns

Links for the Day

Recent Content on Low End Mac

Recent Deals

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2009 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
  LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
  Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
  Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
  PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
  Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.

Custom Search

Amazon.com

Navigation

Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Video Cards
Email Lists

Favorite Sites

MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
   Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
   Mac FAQ
Abandonware
   Petition
Mac vs. PC Info

Affiliates

The Apple Store
Mac Connection
B&H
MacMall
TechRestore
ExperCom
Crucial Memory
batteries.com

Advertise

All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For price quotes and advertising information, please contact at BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.

Open Link

Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We recommend Firefox for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox than any other browser.