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IMac in Living Room

M

Mc1gers

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 13, 2012
10
0
Belfast, UK
Has anyone have an iMacs set up in their living room?

My other half is happy for me to get an iMac, but she doesn't want it in the living room. Which means for me to use this, I would have to keep it in the spare room or my bedroom, one of which appeals to me. With the iMac in the living room, I could use it while she is watching her tv programmes, it would also be useful for when my kids want to do homework, or play online.

Space is somewhat limited, but a small table for a 21" iMac would maybe help convince her (maybe even one on wheels that can be brought over in front of the sofa which would reduce the need for a dedicated chair as well (save more space)

Anyone have any setups they could post a pic of, or a table that would work (pref with an iMac on it for perspective)?
 
I don't have the exact setup you're looking for, but I occasionally take my iMac downstairs and set it it up in the back corner, so I can get on with stuff and watch TV. It becomes a sort of man cave and it's nice being able to watch movies/TV shows whilst on my iMac without having to mess around resizing windows etc. Here it is:
 

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Thanks for that - how portable is the iMac? I'm wondering if I could base it in the spare room most of the time, but then move it to the living room occasionally?
 
Mc1gers said:
Thanks for that - how portable is the iMac? I'm wondering if I could base it in the spare room most of the time, but then move it to the living room occasionally?
Click to expand...

It's very portable. Only one cord to deal with.

Not portable enough to take to be carrying around to Starbucks, but you'll be fine moving it inside your home with ease.

Although, this Panera patron might disagree: ;)

apple_imac_funny.jpg
 
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Mc1gers said:
Thanks for that - how portable is the iMac? I'm wondering if I could base it in the spare room most of the time, but then move it to the living room occasionally?
Click to expand...

Caliber26 said:
It's very portable. Only one cord to deal with.

Not portable enough to take to be carrying around to Starbucks, but you'll be fine moving it inside your home with ease.
Click to expand...

Caliber26 is right, you only need to make two trips. One to take the iMac and power cord down. Then take your mouse and keyboard down. The whole process of setting up and restarting only takes about 5 minutes, but I'm always scared of dropping it ;)
 
I wouldn't want to have an iMac (or any other desktop computer) in my living room or wherever the TV is. It'd be hard to set things up so that the glare and/or sound from one wouldn't affect the other. Moving an iMac around is possible, but unwieldy. Mine has five cables, not counting the power cord.

What I do when I want to do some light work while watching TV is bring my MacBook Air or iPad with me. Anything serious, though, and it's up to my home office, where it's quiet.

If that's not an option for you, you could consider a laptop instead of an iMac and keep a larger display where you use it the most.
 
musty345 said:
Caliber26 is right, you only need to make two trips. One to take the iMac and power cord down. Then take your mouse and keyboard down. The whole process of setting up and restarting only takes about 5 minutes, but I'm always scared of dropping it ;)
Click to expand...

Not that I've ever moved my iMac out of my home office into another room, but if I did, I would move the iMac itself first and then make the second trip for the keyboard/mouse/cord. Tripping on that power cord could prove to be disastrous. Especially if you're walking down a set of stairs.
 
Mc1gers said:
Has anyone have an iMacs set up in their living room?

My other half is happy for me to get an iMac, but she doesn't want it in the living room. Which means for me to use this, I would have to keep it in the spare room or my bedroom, one of which appeals to me. With the iMac in the living room, I could use it while she is watching her tv programmes, it would also be useful for when my kids want to do homework, or play online.

Space is somewhat limited, but a small table for a 21" iMac would maybe help convince her (maybe even one on wheels that can be brought over in front of the sofa which would reduce the need for a dedicated chair as well (save more space)

Anyone have any setups they could post a pic of, or a table that would work (pref with an iMac on it for perspective)?
Click to expand...

I recommend a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air instead :D

If you want to move an iMac forth and back, I'd probably buy a spare power cable so you can leave that in place all the time, possibly a spare keyboard + mouse.
 
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macmastersam said:
Why not consider a MacBook pro? You clearly could do with the portability and you can still watch tv and go on the computer at the same time!
Click to expand...

I have an old MacBook pro but I have a visual impairment, and feel 15" just isn't big enough screen for me to use, so I'm thinking an iMac instead of a MacBook pro replacement
 
We have a rolling desk at our house that we have an iMac on, we got it at a goodwill store. We have a rolling table too, but I just sit the MBP on it to AirPlay. You can't use it comfortably at a couch otherwise because it sits just a little higher and there's no room for your legs.

I'd get a simple desk instead. You can get one with those keyboard roller/holder things and tape the cord to the side so you don't have to worry too much about it and can just roll it to the living room when needed.
 
Mc1gers said:
I have an old MacBook pro but I have a visual impairment, and feel 15" just isn't big enough screen for me to use, so I'm thinking an iMac instead of a MacBook pro replacement
Click to expand...

While the iMac screen is beautiful it's fonts are small. Maybe consider the new rMBP. Larger fonts, beautiful screen and much easier to move around.
 
I have mine in the living room. My wife converted my office into a spare bedroom when her sister was visiting. Apparently, it is to remain a spare bedroom. :mad:;)
 
I had my desk and iMac in our living room for a few years, actually. I was working on a master's degree part time while working full time, and I wouldn't have seen my husband or son at all if I hadn't done my work in the living room! :eek:

It worked out fine, but it was nice to get it out when the thesis was done. Now I use my MBA if I want to be online in the living room.
 
Depending on how old your kids are, I would find any way to keep it in a public room. After using the internet as a kid in the 90s, I just can't see letting my kids have a computer in a private room.
 
I wanted to have the mac in the living room for work and play. Works really well. Ive used Expedit IKEA as the main table and then random IKEA stuff. Works well in one corner of our living room.


Didnt work out for the plant though. It died :(
 
I really wanted to have my iMac work area in the living room but I ended up with such a sprawl of stuff it becomes impractical. Once I add second display, printer, speakers, scanner, graphics tablet, external HDDs it stops looking minimalist and looks more like a mad scientist's lair. The cats would probably use it as a climbing frame too.

A couple of years ago I was glad about it though as after a break-in they took pretty much all the tech in my living room (TV, 360, PS3, Wii, all games, etc) but they stopped before exploring the rest of the house. The thought of them stealing my work machine and all the family material is terrifying!
 
I use an overbed table that is rated for 50 pounds. It handles the iMac, keyboard and mouse nicely for rolling from room to room. I am careful when flooring changes and there is a bit of a drop. I will say that I don't use the mouse that way (on the table) on a regular basis but it works fine for my rolling needs when they happen. Current setup is next to another portable desk that has a mouse tray.
 
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