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Apple Imagines Mac-Inside-a-Keyboard Device Evocative of 80s Home Computers
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The first thing to wear out on my MacBook Air (after 8 years of daily use) was the keyboard.
A laptop is already basically a computer in a keyboard. I can't imagine that this is that far of a stretch.
A laptop is already basically a computer in a keyboard. I can't imagine that this is that far of a stretch.
Please no. It's completely unsuitable for a whole bunch of the use cases that the Mac Mini currently serves.
But they learned from that experience and brought back perfect keyboards again. Don't be too hard on them.
The application specifically mentions having a singular input/output port for for data and power, out of all the claims that would be the only possibly unique one (if the application is actually approved.) The basic concept is presented as needing external power, but also stated it could have internal battery to just maintain sleep state, or a bigger one to actually operate it.
It's a somewhat interesting concept that they're probably playing around with, and filed an application just in case there's some actual real use case down the road.
The one component of a computer that can be shrunken down only so much is the keyboard, so just glom on the internal hardware onto that I guess. if you took out the screen and battery of a regular notebook computer it could be pretty cheap and convenient with only the single cord to plug in. I mean most of us will just have a notebook computer instead, but who knows. IMO it's an interesting R&D idea, this general form factor existed in the past so let's see if it could serve a purpose today with modern hardware.
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I'm pretty damn sure Intel has cleaned up its act, and is in the process of pumping out very similar chips to the M1 in the near future. And not just Intel, every man and his dog jumped on board the ARM and SoC train when Apple released the M1, and the world was shocked by how good they were.
May I present.... the Mac Mini.... and the Mac Pro. Ready for your consumption. I'm not quite convinced on this Mac Mini In A Keyboard idea.
I believe those are dependent claims (which are basically optional), though that is pretty cool! The main claim is:
I believe the only possible unique aspect is the singular input/output port for data and power.
That being said, it's simply an application. During the review process certain parts may be accepted or rejected, Apple may revise the claims, etc. so if this application ultimately gets approved it may be significantly different than it is now.
I ran into her on computer camp
(Was that in '84?)
Not sure, I had my Commodore 64, had to score
Datarock "Computer Camp Love"
if this had decent switches (current magic keyboards are okay, the laptop keyboards feel better even though their supposed to be the same) and if you could plug this into a 27 inch display, I could see the potential. I guess. Honestly though, a new mac pro that's like the old cube is probably more of my long term desktop goals.
That’s a computer, . . . . that has a keyboard.An ARM based computer inside a keyboard style case you say? Been done before, but factor in 30 years worth of component miniaturisation and losing the internal PSU and floppy drive and there could be something in it...
Otherwise we could say a laptop is also a keyboard ( a “Mac inside a keyboard device”). I think the patent’s design difference and intent is pretty well removed from many of the “it’s been done before” examples posted in this thread. (I said many, not all)
My two year old Samsung Thunderbolt monitor does this via a single Thunderbolt 3 cable: sends 85W power for charging to my MBP and carries audio/video from it. I love the single cable convenience!
Having a single cable coming from a monitor to a keyboard computer however might make it easier to accidentally disconnect the cable. I move my wireless keyboard quite a bit to make room for paperwork, etc. so having it tethered with power as well seems a dicier proposition. I could make it work though, I suppose, if the connection is solid and not a traditional USB-C style connector. A small battery that keeps the computer going in case of accidental cable disconnect would be cool to help with this.
Patent troll copying the Raspberry Pi 400.
https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/raspberry-pi-400-unit/
You apparently do not know what a "patent troll" is, and more importantly, is not.
That said, not sure how this design won't loose a patent fight based upon prior art.
Meanwhile @mi7chy, you may want to go back on time: the Apple 1, ZX80 and Acorn Atom where three of the original sorts of these keyboard based computers...
I had one for the Commodore 64. The first TV we hooked it too was from the late 70s, and a year after we got the Commodore we got the 1541 floppy drive (before that we just played games on cartridges), but the TV had so much magnetic field, it wouldn't read the discs.
Got a different TV, non-issue. Then got a Commodore Amiga 500 in the later 80s with a dedicated montior.
IMO it makes perfect sense. Why not make the new Mac mini integrated into a keyboard base? Just add a monitor and away you go. HDMI, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt? Doesn't matter, all are accessible from a single Thunderbolt port. Sell the computer as a base unit and then the keyboard topper separately or bundled, the customer can pick if they want the standard keyboard or the one with numeric keypad and it just snaps on top. A Thunderbolt monitor can provide single cable simplicity that receives power, video and data over one cable. Could also make the wedge base snap onto the back of a monitor instead of snapping a keyboard on top of it.
The guts of the current M1 (and presumably near future) MB Air probably already fit just fine inside such a keyboard base, sans battery of course.
As for the patent... Not so sure how well it would hold up. Like others have pointed out, many computers of the past where the computer base and keyboard in one. Of course, none this compact or elegant, but that's just evolution of the technology. On the flip side of that, Apple did it first way back then.
