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arn said:
Among the many image resolutions for computer displays in the market today, a common resolution for computer displays is 640*480. Such resolution for a display refers to a display having an overall screen measuring 640 pixels wide by 480 lines high

Check out the resolution. It looks to be pretty old. Computer displays haven't used 640 x 480 in a while. Handhelds are only beginning to get resolutions like that, so you couldn't really say it is a common resolution for handhelds.
 
DGFan said:
Any technology that was sold as part of the Newton is now unpatentable. There is a one year statutory bar on getting a patent on an invention that is sold in the US (translated - you have one year from the date of first sale to apply for a patent).

I'm pretty sure that the time limit is on filing for the patent, not obtaining it; otherwise, there would be a lot more technology in the public domain.
 
sinisterdesign said:
ok, i'm all for cool little gadgets, but this is not anything particularly novel or widely useful. i remember seeing my first portrait monitor YEARS ago on a Mac & thought it was the coolest thing. you could drag your cursor across the landscape monitor onto the portrait monitor & you had this "L" shaped desktop. but apart from the "wow" factor in the 80's and people working for a newspaper, i can't get too pumped about this if this really is a new patent.

i'm a designer & i design a ton of portrait-oriented ads, flyers, etc., but i can't name one program that i don't have a butt-load of menus on either side of my portrait oriented layout. so i tilt my 640x480 monitor, now what do i do w/ all my menus?

...would be nice for porn, though... ;^)

"now what do i do w/ all my menus?"

You get one of the smaller, (17" maybe) cheaper, (much now) discontinued displays for your palettes and live large.

I'm one of those weird photographers that shoot more verticals than horizontals (cause I do mosty people) so this is something I've ranted about for years- And to eliminate scrolling on web pages (I'm thinking 23" at least )......priceless.j :D
 
otter-boy said:
I'm pretty sure that the time limit is on filing for the patent, not obtaining it; otherwise, there would be a lot more technology in the public domain.

Yes. That's what I meant when I said "you have one year from the date of first sale to apply for a patent".

However, almost all patents are published at 18 months. And, even without publishing, most patents are received within 3-4 years of filing. So anything on sale earlier than 4-5 years ago is probably not going to be patented if it hasn't already been.
 
Maxx Power said:
I've had my eyes on one of these monitors for a long time now:
http://www.eyegonomic.com/page.dsp?page=131

wow, those really ARE gorgeous displays. i love my 22" Cinema, but that aluminum frame would look really sweet on my brushed aluminum-topped desk.

Apple always raises the bar w/ their design (Ive was one of the best aquisitions they ever made), but companies catch on & catch up. it takes them a while, but there are some beautiful CPUs & monitors on the market now. i'm anxious to see how Apple can raise the bar over something as sleek & well designed as these eyegonomic monitors...
 
It is about time!

I have been waiting for years and years for this. It is a mystery why it has taken so long. An iMac with a rotating screen is a no brainer! I want a rotated 20 inch for my PowerMac.
 
They didn't

wordmunger said:
How can Apple apply for a patent for this? Those Radius Pivot monitors were around for years. How can Apple possibly claim to have invented it?

There is absolutley no way to jump from the patent description to what you infer. The need to maintain pixel correct information for picture integrity with different "screen" orientations is what this is about. Getting the information displayed accurately on a widescreen Mac to a handheld device and as a bonus, the type of rotational screen that Radius had while ensuring that geometry and information capabilities are maintained is at the heart of this. How Radius did it and what Apple have applied for are not the same thing- at least Apple would hope that's the case and I am sure their patent attorneys have done their homework on this to ensure there is no patent violation. It's hard to imagine that Apple is unaware of the Radius monitor.
 
rjwill246 said:
It's hard to imagine that Apple is unaware of the Radius monitor.

Not only that, but if Apple is aware of it they have to bring it to the attention of the USPTO in an Information Disclosure Statement. If they do not the attorneys risk being barred from ever prosecuting another patent before the USPTO. No lawyer that I have ever met is willing to risk that.

This whole nonsense about unethical lawyers is based on bad NBC shows and the <1% of real lawyers you hear about in the news.
 
It's practically already there

Am I the only one who thinks that the iMac's look as though they _should_ be able to rotate? I've seen people walk up to it and try to rotate the screen...

How hard can it be to work that into the current design? Basically just have a groove/nipple to prevent the screen from being slightly off in either direction, then with a little effort it just slides out of the groove and rotate 90 degrees... but knowing apple, you'd b e able to spin it 360 degrees THAT WOULD BE COOL!

You just need rotating cuff connectors and *boom* spin all you like!
 
adzoox said:
To reply to the post about the Samsung 15" - the newer 20" LCD portrait display they offer is FAR advanced - it is the nicest display beyond Apple displays I have seen to date.

And the post that said it wouldn't be useful hasn't used a 20" rotating display. I would have to agree, the 15" 640x480 displays of the past were lackluster at best.

I drooled over that very display a few months ago and thought, That would be wicked in an iMac! (I have a 17" iMac.) However, based on my few minutes with it, the actual rotation mechanism is not perfect. Maybe Ive and the boys could work on it. (Doesn't Apple have a huge investment in Samsung's LCD division?) And I have to agree with the post above: the iMac screen does look like it can be rotated.

Squire
 
sinisterdesign said:
wow, those really ARE gorgeous displays. i love my 22" Cinema, but that aluminum frame would look really sweet on my brushed aluminum-topped desk.

Apple always raises the bar w/ their design (Ive was one of the best aquisitions they ever made), but companies catch on & catch up. it takes them a while, but there are some beautiful CPUs & monitors on the market now. i'm anxious to see how Apple can raise the bar over something as sleek & well designed as these eyegonomic monitors...
I loved them too....the eyegonomics look far better than the apple displays...but I called today and lo and behold they are not recommended for graphics/ video or color critical work. Damn.
 
How can people rate this as positive? Not that it's negative....but so far is doesn't mean anything!

Anyways, a while back there was a company (I forget which) that came out with that laptop where the large screen folded in half, and swivled in together so they stacked making the laptop compact. Perhaps Apple is making something along this line.
 
Good G*d!!!

sinisterdesign said:
wow, those really ARE gorgeous displays. i love my 22" Cinema, but that aluminum frame would look really sweet on my brushed aluminum-topped desk.

Apple always raises the bar w/ their design (Ive was one of the best aquisitions they ever made), but companies catch on & catch up. it takes them a while, but there are some beautiful CPUs & monitors on the market now. i'm anxious to see how Apple can raise the bar over something as sleek & well designed as these eyegonomic monitors...

Those displays are absolutely fabulous! :) If Apple doesn't get on the ball and contract Eyegonomic to design the next gen displays, I will strongly consider the Eyegonomic 24" display. It's beautiful!!!
 
sinisterdesign said:
i'm a designer & i design a ton of portrait-oriented ads, flyers, etc., but i can't name one program that i don't have a butt-load of menus on either side of my portrait oriented layout. so i tilt my 640x480 monitor, now what do i do w/ all my menus?
This would be great for Xcode, I've been thinking about that old Radium display when I use it. Generally you have everything in one window and no subpalettes that ened space on the side, and you want to see the maximum amount of vertical text (so you can see a whole function for example). I would love it if they brought this back. And figure out how to make it work on a PowerBook!
 
portrait display

My god angryangel, you read my mind, i was about to ask if anyone remembered a portrait display apple did years ago. I remember seeing it on this guys Mac museum (which i intend to create myself one day :p) i never fiddled with it though, so i never knew if it rotated or not. very cool idea though, if you want to work in protrait.

doesnt LaCie do a tft monitor on an articulated arm, i believe that twists in all manner of directions too?
 
I remember when my old work first bought the Radius monitor -- I thought things couldn't get any more advanced than that. It felt too clunky though.

:confused: narco
 
found it:

LaCie rotating monitor

looks damn ugly though!

sorry if somone posted it before, i was too lazy to read the entire thread ;)

NB, like dobbin said, if this type of arm was implimented elegantly on an iMac, it would look amazing! It could finally have all the funtionality that those little iMacs had on the pixar produced ads (you see it twists slightly, in a way the iMac can't)

pixar ad 1
pixar ad 2

(also, if anyone knows what song that is on the adverts, id love to know!)
 
I will reserve my judgment to see how Apple will actually use this patent. Having ergonomic products is always a good idea.
 
iZac said:
My god angryangel, you read my mind, i was about to ask if anyone remembered a portrait display apple did years ago. I remember seeing it on this guys Mac museum (which i intend to create myself one day :p) i never fiddled with it though, so i never knew if it rotated or not. very cool idea though, if you want to work in protrait.

doesnt LaCie do a tft monitor on an articulated arm, i believe that twists in all manner of directions too?

I have on my Mac IIsi :) a portrait display (15", letter-size). In the day, it was great for looking at lots of music staffs together of a large group at once. However, I don't think it could be made to work in landscape mode like a Radius pivot, but maybe a software add-on did that in future models.
 
arn said:
"In fact, any displays having this horizontal format (i.e., its width being greater than its height) would provide ease and convenience for certain computer operations including showing TV images, operating drawing programs and performing spreadsheet calculations. Nevertheless, displays with a vertical format (i.e., its height being greater than its width) are better suited for certain other operations such as word processing, program coding and Internet access."
Return on the Newton? The Apple tablet? The vPod?

I'm intrigued about the line "computer operations including showing TV images", especially in light of the fact that this patent seems geared for handhelds. As far as I know, the Newton never had this functionality, so it COULD be suggesting a future product. Perhaps an iBook-iPod hybrid with a 640x480 color touch screen running on a G3 variant. Yes, I know I'm reading a lot into it.
 
Old News/New News

We had a Radius Pivot in our office many moons ago...probably circa 1990. Whatever Patent it had is probably about due to expire.

And for more modern rotations, I currently have a Palm T3 in my pocket with this feature.


In reading through Apple's patent application, what it appears to be saying is that there's more than one way to accomplish the rotating function, and a less computationally-intensive method would be a Good Thing(TM). As such, they're not proposing patenting the idea of a rotating screen, but simply one particular technique of doing so.

Be this all said, I was disappointed when the original LCD iMac came out and lacked the rotating screen feature, in the context that to Engineer the articulating arm to allow doing so is IMO a straightforward, technically low risk, task. And the most straightforward way of driving the screen is to simply have two video cards, one dedicated to each layout...given that a basic PC videocards retail for as little as $25, the cost for the feature really shouldn't be outrageous.

-hh
 
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