External display adapter: MacBook

I have a brand-new MacBook. This is the adapter to be used when connecting my laptop to an external display, such as the projection system in a classroom: it is a female VGA plug and needs a corresponding male VGA plug from the external display in order to work.

 

I am running into 3 problems as I teach in my smart classrooms.

 

1. It's hard to set up the laptop so that it's not sitting on top of some other piece of equipment.

 

This is a problem for me in classrooms I use this semester or will be using next semester: HPAC 218 (see here), HPAC 219 (see here), & SMITH 210.

 

It would be nice to have a very long cable that allows the laptop to be placed on the podium or on one of the desks. Best Buy sells a VGA cable for $15 (click here), but I don't know enough about the needs of the projection system to know if that cable would work. Would the quality of the image be good enough through such an inexpensive cable?

 

2. In HPAC 218, I have to disconnect the document camera from the projection system in order to connect my laptop. Can another connection be made available for use with laptops?

 

3. SMIT 204 has no cable at all, but a female plug built into the technology car: See for yourself. Even with a male-to-male adapter, I cannot plug my laptop into the projection system.

 

What do I need to connect to the projection system?

Done