Notebook, screen makers set standard

Notebook display shortages may be alleviated by a new agreement between notebook PC companies and display manufacturers on a standard for current and future notebook displays.

Compaq, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Toshiba participated in the working group that hammered out the new specification. The companies said the new standard should help improve notebook PC display availability, because PC manufacturers won't have to worry about stocking large inventories of soon-to-be obsolete displays.

Previously, each manufacturer used a proprietary technology to connect displays to its notebook models, which meant that notebook manufacturers were vulnerable to even the slightest fluctuations in availability.

Shortages of notebook displays have been common in the last few years, especially as laptop prices have come down and systems become more widely available.

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