My Commodore PET suggests they all get together for a cassette party.
The good ole days. I wish I had kept my PET. It'd probably be a rusty mess by now, but still...
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Apple Imagines Mac-Inside-a-Keyboard Device Evocative of 80s Home Computers
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The good ole days. I wish I had kept my PET. It'd probably be a rusty mess by now, but still...
It's not a strange design. Having the computer in a separate case was the strange design, certainly from the perspective of home computers. Millions of still-working C64s, ZX Spectrums, Amigas and Atari STs are testament to the fact that maybe Gen X just looked after their tech more.
This. Some of us buy mechanical keyboards for our Macs, which let seriously fast typists type 20-30% faster than the chiclet-style Apple keyboards. For those of us who get paid for the work of our fingers, being able to finish a job 20-30% sooner makes a BIG difference. Imagine how silly a desktop would look with a mechanical keyboard plugged into this wireless computer/keyboard.
Just make an iPad work with a monitor properly and use the on-screen keyboard. I want a DEX like environment from my phone since they are powerful enough for most things. Apple could make things more streamlined, but they are just trying to segment and keep their existing markets. We need more viable disruptive competitors.
Honestly, a Touch Bar on a device like this would be kinda nice, you could use it to connect the device to wifi and then connect it to an AirPlay device without having to make a physical connection.
Not really. If you look at the internals of a MacBook Air, it's mostly battery. Cut out that and the trackpad and it' be just a bit thicker than an existing magic keyboard.
I think the thing that'd keep apple from shipping this is the cable mess; even a single USB-C cable going to a separate hub or one built into a monitor seems off for them.
Agreed. I wonder how the heck have they managed to word the patent so it reads like a unique design
Because the Patent Office doesn’t get paid for rejecting patents, while the patent lawyers make good money out of the ensuing mess.
Wait, if this exactly like a 80’s Home Computer how can they get a patent for it? Doesn’t a patent require you to have a completely novel idea?
Anyway I could definitely see the new Mac Mini be an M1 inside a thick Magic Keyboard…
It would make for some interesting marketing too, now that Apple is allowing themselves to indulge in occasional nostalgia I can picture the promo video beginning with an Apple engineer dusting off an old Apple II from their garage ?
Anyway I could definitely see the new Mac Mini be an M1 inside a thick Magic Keyboard…
It would make for some interesting marketing too, now that Apple is allowing themselves to indulge in occasional nostalgia I can picture the promo video beginning with an Apple engineer dusting off an old Apple II from their garage ?
Ray Jay Johnson and Mason Reese are waiting in the wings and ready.
The patent's office does not really validate if the patent makes any sense. You can patent almost anything. Then you have the legal basis required to sue and bully anybody who does not have the ressources to pick up a fight with you. That's a 101 course on how patents works in the U.S.A.
I mean, no one would be forcing you to buy it, you could just pick up any of the other computers they sell.
This concept allows better use of all those huge 4k and 8k tv screens making their way into houses. HD tvs still have too small a resolution, so they are not ideal monitors. but this could wirelessly connect to both your internet connection and your 4k/8k tv. If it has a decent battery, no cable needed on the keyboard unit.
Think of this as a variation of the iPad but based around a keyboard - not for power users or heavy IO, but more for web app use (do your email / banking / shopping / internet research from your sofa). And when you move from your room to room, you take the keyboard with you as it works in any room with a decent tv display.
As for connecting perifials, many TV already have enough ports to act as both monitors and hubs for this concept. You might even pull your internet via the ethernet plugged into the tv…
Think of this as a variation of the iPad but based around a keyboard - not for power users or heavy IO, but more for web app use (do your email / banking / shopping / internet research from your sofa). And when you move from your room to room, you take the keyboard with you as it works in any room with a decent tv display.
As for connecting perifials, many TV already have enough ports to act as both monitors and hubs for this concept. You might even pull your internet via the ethernet plugged into the tv…
Apple is exploring the possibility of integrating a fully functioning Mac within a keyboard, reminiscent of home computers of the 80s, such as the Commodore 64 and Sinclair ZX Spectrum.
The concept was revealed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in a new Apple patent application called "Computer in an input device," which describes a thicker Magic Keyboard-style chassis with "all the components of a high performance computer" integrated under the hood.
The patent describes the premise for such a device, which could be plugged into a separate external display via a single I/O port designed to receive both data and power, and wirelessly paired with a trackpad or mouse for additional input.
By including the computing components in the keyboard, Apple suggests this could allow a user to carry a single device that can provide a desktop computing experience at any location having one or more external displays.
In some embodiments, the device includes a trackpad "coupled" to the enclosure, while in others the device is foldable and the keyboard area includes an "accessory display" showing graphics, or the keyboard itself is virtually displayed from a projector contained inside the enclosure.
The rest of the patent explores in detail various configurations of internal computer components within the space afforded by the keyboard chassis.
Apple has filed patents for keyboards in the past, including one that uses a touchscreen panel similar to the Touch Bar that extends to the entire keyboard layout, but this is the first patent to suggest actually incorporating a computer into the keyboard itself.
As with any filed patent, the technology is unlikely to appear in any product soon, if at all, but it does offer an interesting look at how Apple is considering Mac designs that could ultimately replace or be offered alongside the Mac mini, which allows users to bring their own display, keyboard, and mouse.
(Via Patently Apple.)
Article Link: Apple Imagines Mac-Inside-a-Keyboard Device Evocative of 80s Home Computers
This would pair nicely with AirPlay.
They can't patent the concept, but they can patent their implementation if it differs enough from all previous examples.