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Quanta to Produce New iMacs
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I disagree. I find the Cinema Displays to be completely non-adjustable. I always kept mine in its most vertical position which for my preference wasn't vertical enough. Who would want to tilt it back? That IS the only adjustment.
I suppose if you're a very tall person or sit in a very high chair, you might want to tilt it back.
You're the one bringing up the TAM.
Can you get vertical CD/DVD drives that are as fast as the horizontal ones?
Such has been your pattern.
It's not only a matter of rotation. It's a matter of adjusting both the angle and the position of the screen. Have you played with one of the new iMacs? You can move the screen up and down as well as tilt it for a lot more versatility than the TAM or Cinema Display designs allow.
All I'm saying is "LCD and keyboard connected by a hinge" is not some brilliant, innovative design.
I do understand and agree with your point.
In my case, I have my display lower than my head. So tilting back is nice.
And with my TAM it is taller than my head, so I tilt if forward a little.
So I completely understand where you are coming from. BTW, with the Sony concept, you can do both.
And for the record, I do like the FP iMac concept. It is nice to have a floating display. But depending on your work environment, other solutions can be just as effective. That is all that I am saying. And that an all in one design would be nice.
Sushi
Please see the URL.
Yes I have.
And I am well aware of the display adjustments available. A member of my family has one.
Let me ask you this. How often do you adjust your monitor on a day to day basis?
Most folks that I know, set it, then leave it alone.
Check out the URL. The LCD and keyboard connected by a hinge is not what I was talking about.
BTW, just for starters, the Sony has a built in TV tuner and some other nice home entertainment center features.
Sushi
Successes with the iLamp: the adjustable 17" display has made my neck and back happier than they've been in years, the size is just right, it usually runs very quiet, and build quality and reliability (at least on the specimen I live with) is excellent.
Failures: the DVD slot is too low, interfering with the keyboard unless you put the base on something like a UFO. The screen also interferes if in its lowest position. All the ports and power switch are inconveniently located (again, UFO fixes this, but...). Internal HD is one of the Deskstars with the bizarre every-ten-minutes cooing gurgle sound. It's way too cumbersome to get inside the case to to handle what should be simple tasks, like replacing an internal HD.
Wish list: Go one step more on the display and make it act like a Radius. Recycle that wonderful arm design for the Studio Displays. Return to making proper keyboards.
I kind of liked the original Apple flat panel display. I never had one and don't remember what it was called (Studio?) but it had a piston like device for raising and lowering and would tilt and swivel too (much like the iMac). I was a bit baffled when they abandoned that for the current display design.
Again, I think the fully adjustable display is the best feature of the iMac. The volleyball base does nothing for me. That could be redesigned in lots of ways that wouldn't affect the functionality of the display.
Which is a perfectly good reason to limit your options in setting it in the first place?
Then why did you attach that pic?
And this relates to how we mount the LCD screen how?
By the way, I can't read Japanese.
Because I expected you to go to the URL!
My point is the all in one design.
If you will go back through the messages, I was commenting on this concept. See picture below.
With this concept, there is plenty of real estate for the motherboard, drives, TV tuners, etc.
So going full circle, while I like the current FP iMac, I would like to see an all in one design including speakers, TV tuner, etc. By using a Cinema Display form factor, I think that it is possible to do this.
Sushi
Attachments
Originally posted by sushi
Because I expected you to go to the URL!
I don't know Japanese, you insensitive clod!
Same "all-in-one design" as the PowerBook I'm using...
The current iMac is an all-in-one design as well, technically. It is all connected. I don't see why you want to consolidate it into a denser unit, however. The neck gives it a sturdy handle, as well as maximum adjustability for the screen. Yes, it could be locked into place, but that's a good design change that we can expect from Apple.
I've been commenting on it too.
The current design does at well. The design of the base can be modified almost without limit without functional change. It can be turned into a thin slab, a flatter dome, or just about any design you want. That leaves plenty of real estate for the motherboard, drives, TV tuners, etc., while allowing faster and cheaper horizontal drives and more options. And it doesn't turn the screen into a 40 pound brick.
While sacrificing versatile monitor placement, increasing cost, and making it ugly as hell, sure.
The density required of a desktop machine with the features you cite will necessitate a great deal of both volume and weight. You can't just bolt that onto the back of a Cinema Display and call it a day. First off, most of that wants to be horizontal. Unless you want to put the ports on the side, bottom, or top, that will take an engineering workaround.
The current iMac dome has a diameter of 10.6 inches. Let's round this off to 10 inches. According to Euclid, the volume of a sphere is 4/3 pi times the radius cubed. For a 10 inch sphere, that would be 4189 cubic inches, but the iMac dome is half a sphere, so we end up with 2094 cubic inches.
On a 17" Studio Display, the height and width is fixed at 17.3 and 17.6 inches, respectively. This means that to fit the current innards of the iMac to the back of the existing 17" Studio Display, we would need to add 6.9 inches of thickness.
The obvious question is, "How can they get PowerBooks so thin?". Well, you could do the same thing to the iMac, but then you'd basically have a tablet, only it's fixed in place, doesn't have a battery, lacks a touch screen, and costs the same as a PowerBook. Oh, and forget getting a G5 in there before you can get one in a PowerBook.
Lot's of reasons. Here are a few:
- Easy to transport
- Sturdier/More durable
- Integrated speakers with fewer wires
- Can store in a smaller area.
Yes, I would agree for moving from desk to desk/short distances. But not in a transportable mode. The current FP iMac is terrible in that regard -- it is way too fragile.
I agree.
What's the difference between a FP iMac concept and the all in one with a Cinema Display when it comes to overall weight?
I see no difference between the two if they both weigh the same.
Please look at the pictures of the URLs that I posted. There are alternatives...today...that are selling very well.
Most electronics devices today are not affected by orientation like before.
Movement while in operation may be an issue, but orientation is not an issue like it used to be.
I see nothing wrong with an all in one computer that is 6-10 inches deep.
Neither do many other folks who are buying the Sony, Hitachi, Gateway, and other company products of a similar nature.
Besides, if it is that deep, then you can mount the optical and magnetic HDs in a horizonal mode as well.
And just because it looks like a Cinema Display, does not mean that it can't have more movement of the display. Remember how unique the TAM was in its day? And with components getting smaller and lighter everyday, who knows what will be available.
Sushi
Integrated speakers are going to be an issue too. The iMac speakers are pretty big orbs, after all.
The neck is stronger than you think. The screen isn't, but if you don't have foam or something protecting the screen while you're transporting the iMac, you're an idiot. Either with your design or Ive's.
It's not a matter of overall weight. It's a matter of having a heavy slab bolted to the back of a flat panel monitor.
I CAN'T READ JAPANESE!!!!!
There's no variation in price-performance based on orientation?
If you want Apple to be another Sony, Hitachi, or Gateway, that's your problem. Apple's job is to be better, and right now, an improved base-screen design is better.
Originally posted by sushi
Besides, if it is that deep, then you can mount the optical and magnetic HDs in a horizonal mode as well.
Oh, a side-loading optical drive. Brilliant. You have to reach around behind and to the side of your iMac to put a CD in the drive. And if you don't have clearance on the side of the iMac, it can't have a tray, resigning you to either turning the iMac to put a disc in or fumbling around until you reach the slot.
Explain how we'll be able to change both the position and tilt of the screen with your design. You need a base and arm for that.
It seems like most of your problems can be fixed by altering the base-screen design, and that once altered, a bolt-to-the-screen design will have no significant advantages and many disadvantages aesthetically and functionally. So, while I must congratulate you for your Photoshop work and your spirited defense of your design, it is nonetheless not better than a base-screen design.
That's okay.
As I said, please look at the PICTURES!
If you do, you will see a base unit with an adjustable display. Also, they have vertical optical drives as well.
No, usually it is the same device, just mounted differently. Use my TAM for example. It uses 2.5" HDs in a vertical mount. Last week, I mounted a new 20GB one since my old one died. No problems there.
The only issue that I know is optical drives. And these days, it seems this is becoming less of an issue. Afterall, Sony is an OEM plus they use them in their own computers in a vertical orientation.
Motherboards, power supplies, RAM, video cards, etc. don't care about orientation.
I want Apple to increase market share.
To do this, they need designs that folks want to spend their hard earned $ on.
I don't want Apple to be another Sony, Hitachi or Gateway. However, there are different solutions/variations besides a base-screen design like the current FP iMac. I was just trying to give some examples to open up your mind to possibilities.
The original iMac was a run away best seller. When Apple was going to introduce its replacement, how many outside of Apple would have guessed at the design that they came up with? Not many I would venture.
Now Apple is poised to do it again. Create a new brilliant design of which who knows what it might look like.
Actually, this solution is easy to use and works well.
Also, by my comment about having space, they could then have a horizontal optical drive that opens to the front as well.
I am sure that there are other solutions out there such as a gimbal design.
Thanks, but not mine.
It's from pjtro2.
I like what voicegy suggested:
One thing for sure, it will be fun to see what Apple has up their sleaves!
Sushi
BLUE
I want a bondi blue one! I think that colours should make a comeback!
Also, totally agree with some of the other posters regarding the graphics abilities. With forthcoming games such as tomb raider angel of darkness needing a 1.2ghz G4 as minimum (see the inside mac games site), we need a big processor boost and especially a graphics overhaul.
I'd love to see a 1.6 and 1.8 ghz imac, with a 128mb graphics chip in the top level one, maybe even a gamers special edition imac.
I want a bondi blue one! I think that colours should make a comeback!
Also, totally agree with some of the other posters regarding the graphics abilities. With forthcoming games such as tomb raider angel of darkness needing a 1.2ghz G4 as minimum (see the inside mac games site), we need a big processor boost and especially a graphics overhaul.
I'd love to see a 1.6 and 1.8 ghz imac, with a 128mb graphics chip in the top level one, maybe even a gamers special edition imac.
Re: BLUE
I still have and use my Bondi Blue iMac. Love it!
On a humorous note, here are some rejected iMac designs:
http://www.dailyprobe.com/arcs/012102/imac.shtml
Sushi
Totally agree for consumer models.
I still have and use my Bondi Blue iMac. Love it!
On a humorous note, here are some rejected iMac designs:
http://www.dailyprobe.com/arcs/012102/imac.shtml
Sushi
It cqan be done with both Nvidia and ATI hardware on peecees, so the limitations would have to be elsewhere. It would certainly complicate the arm design and add weight if they wanted to maintain the same strength, and that would be the simplest explanation for omitting the feature.
Not just rotating.. having an LCD that's adjustable both in height and angle is a virtual necessity, given the narrower ideal viewing angle of LCD screens.
It's far better to have a monitor that can adjust to your sitting position, than having to adjust your sitting position to view the monitor's image at it's best. I should think that would be important for anyone who wants to avoid neck and back cramps after extended use.
That's the key point isn't it, different people want different things from a computer/monitor/mouse etc., so the key is flexibility. Which is why I love the FP iMac so much, the user can adjust it the way THEY want. (erm... except I wish I could tilt mine back more!!
)
being flexible is right and currently the only thing flexible is the neck ,they need flexibility with graphics card, a pci slot or two, & purchase with/without monitor. Now we have a flexible imac. One more thing get away from sterility & bring back shapes & colors. Anyways Quanta will be building the thing in a new factory in China. anyone say QA?
Jeez.. you lot are sooo lacking in imagination.
What's the best feature of the iMac? The adjustable arm.
And what's better than an adjustable arm? Loads of 'em!!
One to hold the monitor, another to hold the optical drive. One for the keyboard, another for the mouse (so using your new iMac will be a bit like dancing a waltz!) Oh, and one for the coffee cup holder.
And if you need to move it about, no problem! It's got adjustable legs too! (Anyone any good with Photoshop?)
You heard it here first!
What's the best feature of the iMac? The adjustable arm.
And what's better than an adjustable arm? Loads of 'em!!
One to hold the monitor, another to hold the optical drive. One for the keyboard, another for the mouse (so using your new iMac will be a bit like dancing a waltz!) Oh, and one for the coffee cup holder.
And if you need to move it about, no problem! It's got adjustable legs too! (Anyone any good with Photoshop?)
You heard it here first!
I'd happily settle for just an upgradable graphics card (though one extra PCI would be nice). As 'low end machines' the iMacs are shipped with a low to medium end graphics card that mean's they become obsolete for gaming very quickly.
By the way, since Quanta already make the PowerBooks in Taiwan, why would making the iMacs in China be any worse?
Cheaper labour doesn't necessarily mean poorer workmanship.
