# Flat screen iMac



## benp (May 16, 2001)

all the apple monitors are now LCD which might lead to the next set of iMac flat screened wouldn't that be so awsome!!!


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## OS X-ite (Jun 7, 2001)

That would be awesome, but is it possible? Sorry, but i doubt it ^^*


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## Matrix Agent (Jun 7, 2001)

Thats what would make a flat screen iMac even better, informed people like you and I would even find it hard to believe. These are the types of opporatunities that Apple likes to have.


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## davidbrit2 (Jun 8, 2001)

If Apple came up with a flat iMac, what would they call it? How about the iPlaque? Of course, then it would have to have a wall hanging bracket on the back.

But anyway, it seems like I'm the only one that would take a CRT over an LCD any day. Why?
1. Cheaper - a few square feet of desk space aren't worth several hundred dollars
2. Better color reproduction
3. Higher resolutions
4. Better multiscan capabilities - not that crappy pixel smoothing or stretching that LCDs do

Of course, in a laptop, where portability is the focus, this is obviously not the case. If only someone could make a lightweight, flat CRT.


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## Matrix Agent (Jun 8, 2001)

The iMac's target audience is consumers. Who buys LCD's? Mostly consumers, and non color specific professionals. The fact is, to consumers, an LCD is better than a CRT. Consumers dont care about refresh rates, anti-aliasing or resolution changes. They worry about how "advanced" there equipment is. To them an LCD is somthing out of the "future". You know, the kind of things they just can't wait to show their friends. Now imagine putting an LCD inside the iMac. Now, many individuals would view it as a cutting edge machine, reguardless of its other hardware specifications. The iMac would once again be somthing worth "showing off". You see, you get the same effect from the superdrive. Now both of them are technologies that most of us problably dont need, but some of us feel that just having one is fun. The iMac owner can say,"Look at this, its flat screen!" his friend says, "wow, Apple's aren't so bad after all" (at least thats how it would work in a perfect world) The owner of a power mac G4 can say "look i burned a DVD of my home movies!" While he problalby didn't need to do this, he did anyway.

Apple's products sell because of "cutting edge" features, an LCD monitor is a perfect match for consumer level goods. They're in love with the flatness.


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## OS X-ite (Jun 8, 2001)

I Like the way you guys think, but just to put in my two cents; i think an LCD iMac would probally be a mistake . . . The target audience for iMacs are the people who aren't interested in spending $3,000 for a computer Monitor & Tower, so i just think its unlikely that apple would jack-up the price of an iMac to make it look better when they could just do away with those wretched Flower Power & Blue Dalmation patterns! i think sales would skyrocket without those disturbing iMac patterns


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## roger (Jun 8, 2001)

I agree with OS X-ite. The LCD is a nice feature, and prices are coming down, but I bought my iMac because it was inexpensive, and did what I needed it to do.

You can actually make your own LCD iMac now. Buy an iBook, plug in an LCD monitor and keyboard. There is the small issue of keeping the iBook open, but you can pick it up and take it with you.   

I suppose thinking about it the new iMac could be just a docking station for the iBook. However, as OS X-ite said, I believe that this would be moving the product away from the existing market place, and towards the Cube targetted market placed (a cool looking machine, no?). And we all know how well the Cube is selling....

R.


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## Matrix Agent (Jun 8, 2001)

I would like to make a point of saying that Apple would only use LCD's if they could keep iMac's at the same price.


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## crazyeric (Jun 9, 2001)

the thing is that LCD screens are so expensive.  the iBook is as cheap as it is because of the incredible availability of smaller LCD displays.  anything over 12 inches is currently being eaten up by dell and gateway.  apple lost their primary suppler of larger LCD's to dell.


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## Matrix Agent (Jun 10, 2001)

an article was released at www.mosr.com 
it appears the the next-gen will be flat
it goes on to say how there was impossible reports about a portable tablet section of the iMac
Though its not possible today, think of what a great idea that is!


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## jbartlett (Jun 12, 2001)

It seems that our buying folks are getting word that the current iMac will be discontinued in the near future. The rumor mill has it that an announcement will be made at MacWorld in July. It'd be an amazing and swell thing if it really happened and if the price were really great. If it's anything like the one on the acorn site, I'll be right in line for one!

J


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## Matrix Agent (Jun 12, 2001)

Acorn site? What do they have there?


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## PassY (Jun 25, 2001)

ok

i work @ an apple dealer, and i also repair iMac.

the main problem with the iMac is, that in the lots of iMac, there is so much "radio noice"(from cpu etc etc) inside it, that your monitor isn't stable. so why the hell make something new, if the old thing isn't working fine.


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## zaustin (Jun 25, 2001)

that's why the monitor is shielded from the internal components.

Anyway, if Apple can sell a portable with a 12 inch LCD for 1299 and make money, then they should be able to make a desktop with a 15 inch LCD for a similar or even lower price.  They could standardize all the components in the new iMac because of the space savings from losing the CRT monitor.  Who knows, maybe they'll release LCD iMacs but keep a CRT model for the 799 (or lower?) low end.

My 2 cents.


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## rmundschau (Jun 25, 2001)

Okay, here is my vision of the ultimate iMac.  It has a LCD touch screen that is removeable from the base.  The two parts stay in contact through airport.  The monitor has its own processor to render the screen from directions from the host.  OS-X was built to handle just this sort of scenario.

I can see the ad now.  A woman is browsing the the internet on a sexy new computer.  She calls out to her husband working in the garage.  "Honey, you should see this.".  He's busy workin on the car, so he says, " I can't right now." .  The woman pulls the monitor off the computer and walks to the garage.  "Here look" she says,  "its just what we were looking for".   
Man looks at monitor showing mechandise.  "Great! Let's get 5.".  The woman pops a stylus from the monitor and writes in the order information and places the order right there. 

Now that would be cool, and I bet apple could do it for $1600


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## PassY (Jun 26, 2001)

> that's why the monitor is shielded from the internal components.



Where, i don't see anything which looks like a shield or something, and the problem is not in the crt, but in the components in the boards, and i don't think it's cheap to shield every chip


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## endian (Jun 26, 2001)

A flat-screen iMac is exactly what Apple needs! Their entire non-portable lineup has been pretty stagnant for the past year, since the Cube came out. New G4 towers (with a new case) and a flat-screen iMac will probably be the big announcements at MWNY.


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## Klink (Jun 26, 2001)

PassY, I'd be interested to know why you say the iMac CRT is unstable due to RF interference from the components of the mother/daughterboards. Are you seeing RF artifacts coming across the CRT?


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## PassY (Jun 27, 2001)

all the radio signals (from all high-speed components (cpu or whatever))  disturb all other components (like video), 
i'm not saying the crt is buggy (sometimes u need to change videoboards because they cannot work any more because of these radio signal)

but why, only >500mhz  iMacs has this problem, because it's just a noise hell in there of high freqeuncy (english is not my best language).


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## PassY (Jun 29, 2001)

next week there is a new iMac, and this is 100% correct


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## joelmason (Jul 1, 2001)

Just my 2 cents worth but since Apple has said that LCD is the future I doubt that they would produce a machine that backs away from that technology. I expect MacWorld NYC to reveal a new iMac that is a genetic mutant of the old iMac and the Cube. The price of LCD screens is coming down and Apple will probably pull it off at current price points, if not lower. If Apple and Jobs can produce a new iMac that has half the cool factor of the TiBook and new iBook then Mr. Dell will have reason to worry even more. Pull this one off and 2001 (the first year of the real millenium) will be the year that the PC market tanked with the exception of Apple who against all odds and blew the competition away. What a way to start a new millenium!


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## Klink (Jul 1, 2001)

Let me apologize to all the members in this thread for skewing off topic a bit but I'm uncomfortable with PassY's explanation of RF in the iMac line.

PassY I mean no disrespect, but I find it difficult to swallow for an assuming Apple Certified Technician to say that RF is killing the video cards. I would think if RF was such a problem that it would effect numerous components right at the getgo and not slowly degrade components to a useless state (And I've never seen this happen with strong RF on any device, speaking as a fellow Technical Engineer). You would see this immediately with crashes, freezes and general naughty behavior. The machine would probably not even boot with such amounts of RF like you state. Couldn't it be more of a heat related issue with the +500MHz iMacs? Isn't this when they went fanless and went with a passive airflow design to dissipate heat within the unit?
I just have to balk at you're conclusions because I feel the Apple Technical Engineers have usually made exceptional quality hardware devices. Really some brilliant designs. iMac's included.

Just a note: zaustin's	 comment on shielding was correct. The crt is effectively shielded from the motherboard. At the bottom of the crt is a metal panel that extends the length and width of the entire motherboard. The motherboard itself is housed in a metal bowl like structure. When these 2 structures are assembled it effectively makes a nice Faraday cage to squash EMI from the crt. There is also a half cage built around the CPU daughtercard. Most Mac models have exceptional shielding.


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## PassY (Jul 1, 2001)

what i wanted to say is, that the video is unstable with +500mhz


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## mr_mac_x (Jul 1, 2001)

I have no idea how much RF junk is going on inside the iMac, and I really don't care. But if it really does have problems, wouldn't that be all the more reason to go to LCD?

I think they will go LCD, but not on the low ends. They have to not only keep the price down, but motivate people to get high-end systems. If there was only a few hundred dollars difference between the prices, what do you think the most people would get: a low-end iMac with a CRT, or a super-cool, high-tech, LCD iMac? For the people who want a cheap computer, they don't care if it has a LCD, and if that increased the cost, they would be more likely to go PC. But for the people who want a sweet Mac that they can show their friends but still afford, a LCD is a must. Apple would take a large sales hit if they didn't. The old iMac is just that: old.


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## lelereb (Jul 13, 2001)

...but we are sure to talking about the new flat iMac? Or we are talking about a new cube without the cube? It's possibible that this new Apple computer is the substitute of the cube, and not of the iMac.
I think that ATI Radeon, G3 600+ and the iBook combo drive will be a better upgrade for the iMac.


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## mr_mac_x (Jul 13, 2001)

> _Originally posted by lelereb _
> *...but we are sure to talking about the new flat iMac? Or we are talking about a new cube without the cube?*



That's a good point: they might completely ditch the iMac and do a Cube sorta thing, but with faster (like from 500 to 650MHz) G3 instead of a slower G4. That would make it a definite consumer product, and allow for a lower price than the Cube ever had. In the end, I think the Cube was down to $1299, and that would fit with what http://www.thinksecret.com reported about the new prices...


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## iceyg (Jul 19, 2001)

well, now since the new stuff came out...I think to see these flat screen's in September...(maybe X.I too?!) at the seybold San Fransisco.


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## Djk515 (Jul 19, 2001)

I don't expect to see any new iMacs at the Seybold Conference.  Seybold is a conference aimed at professional users.  Seybold will probably have things like Final Cut for X, TiBook upgrades, and Mounted rack G4 servers.  Steve will save consumer products like the iMac for Paris or San Francisco.


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## kieron (Jul 20, 2001)

> _Originally posted by davidbrit2 _
> *Of course, in a laptop, where portability is the focus, this is obviously not the case. If only someone could make a lightweight, flat CRT. *



take a look at http://www.candescent.com/.  Thin crt technologies still have quite a way to come but they're on their way.

However I think a flat screen iMac would be the way to go.  The iMac was successful because it was so different.  To a certain extent it was desirable.  The whole apple range has become more 'professional' looking and a flat screen iMac would reflect that.  Also iMac users are less likely to need great resolution flexibility so crt would not be so necessary. 

It makes little sense to release it anytime soon.  Wait until the economy settles down then we'll start seeing more innovation from apple. 

Kieron


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## davidbrit2 (Jul 20, 2001)

Wow! Those thin CRTs are impressive! I wonder how expensive they'll be...


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## ibelieve (Aug 7, 2001)

This may be the new iMac, from an secret source!

Hope i dont get sueed by anyone!


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## Murderer909 (Aug 8, 2001)

yeah but it probably isnt...considering an independent artist made that, and it is his rendering


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## ladavacm (Aug 8, 2001)

But it is a nice rendering, nevertheless


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## kino (Aug 9, 2001)

I hate to sink your boat....thats not possible...you know there is a computor behind the imac right?


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## Matrix Agent (Aug 9, 2001)

actually, in a other version of this rendering, the third lag of the tripod is mad from a cube shapped assembly. So it would be possible, but only if the computer was in the third leg, or was detached. But, its just a rendering. I'm sure mr. ive will think of something to knock everyone's socks off.


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## ibelieve (Aug 9, 2001)

It´s a nice idea, and ples dont tell me you can´t put a G4 behind and integrated in the LCD screen, look at the TiG4 PowerBook, it´s a hell of a lot smaller than this render 1:1!


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## Jamos (Aug 20, 2001)

Have you guys been blind? Apple has been consistantly jacking up the price on iMacs from 799 to 999, but manufacturing costs haven't gone up. Apple is obviously making the price higher so when they introduce some form of LCD iMacs the price won't be such a kick in the butt...the only thing that kept them from introducing the new LCD iMacs at MWNY was the price was still overrun a bit...but that wont be the case soon. Besides that, Apple's CRT supplier will no longer be suppling CRT's by the end of the year, but focusing its attention on LCD's. Apple will make an LCD iMac, but will keep a lower cost CRT iMac for the education market. I think it will be out sometime after, if not at, the next Macworld.


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## Matrix Agent (Aug 20, 2001)

Good point!


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## kino (Aug 20, 2001)

funny, THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN

sorry to sink ur boat AND burst ur bubble


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## neutrino23 (Sep 17, 2001)

I think a lot of us got excited about the LCD iMac just because it would be a big departure from the current product and we are always rooting for Apple to do something fantastic.

An LCD imac would not be bad. Here in Japan most desks are much narrower in the US. Flat screen equipped computers and all-in-ones are popular because they save so much space. It is fairly common to see people use laptops as desktops because of the space it saves.

However, we shouldn't limit our thinking to LCDs. Perhaps, if CRTs are cheaper Apple could do something creative with a CRT? How about a wide aspect ratio CRT with an ultraflat surface in some sort of cool cabinet? (maybe 1280 x 768?) This could attract attention with the unusual shape and greater functionality while keeping costs down. While more expensive than a standard CRT this would have to be much cheaper than an LCD of comparable size. Does anyone know of existing CRTs with this form factor? In Japan there are lots of wide screen TVs but I don't recall seeing computer monitors like this.


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## simX (Sep 20, 2001)

I would like to just introduce a couple benefits of LCD's:

1) They consume FAR LESS power.  In the long run, you could save a lot of monet.

2) MUCH less space.

3) Cost is coming down, so the price hike won't be as high as expected, and I wouldn't be surprised if the base-LCD iMac remains at $999.  Also, Apple will probably leave a CRT-iMac in the $699 range, as a stripped-down version like they did before.  That way they will REALLY have an inexpensive Mac.

4) LCDs are increasing in color fidelity, and especially with Apple's studio displays, you can start viewing it at more angles.. I usually see no difference in color when looked at directly from the side... it's only from the top and bottom where the colors change dramatically.

Even though 3 and 4 weren't really benefits, I would just like to point them out.  CRTs ARE less expensive and have better color fidelity, but the gap is closing, and I think it's close enough to change to LCDs permanently, as the iMacs are the only thing left that are CRT based in Apple's product lineup.


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## MacSub (Sep 25, 2001)

Perhaps, in a few years?

If we want to talk about iMacs here's my two cents...CTR monitors for the next year, processer the new G5.
about the new G5's, I can't wait till January, anyone know how "real" this rumor is?  If G5's are a 10 pipeline with 1.6Ghz and NO ALTI-VEC, then I expect these processers to be on consumer intensive purchases, like iMacs...and not on PowerMacs.

However they probably will have A.-V. technology and will be on PowerMacs.

by the way, I really like this rendition of an iMac and I really hope that it happens, but if this "would-be" the new iMacs even in a year, the price would be too high for current iMac buyers.  This reminds me more of the Cube, I love the cube and this might be the 'REAL' step between iMac and PowerMac!  The price has to be right for this to work, but I think it can!  I'll be honest if this is the new 'CUBE', an high-end iMac then my office would be filled with them!  And all my junior business partners would have them too...in MY office.


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## ulrik (Oct 17, 2001)

Motorola officialy released the specs of the G5, complete with Altivec, 64 bit architecture, the new, high frontside bus (somewhere around 233 MHZ IIRC) and the megahertz counts. They produced first, stable version of the new chip. Apple commented that they will a special bus-pipeline from AMD and said first G5s SHOULD ship in february.

Don't forget, the G5 was planned to be ready mid this year, so yes, I am sure we will see G5s early next year...maybe paired with the rumoured release of the native 64 bit 10.2...


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## AdmiralAK (Oct 17, 2001)

Aaaaah the joys of computing 
At least when I got my G3 I made sure to buy a high end mac so it would not bite the dust as soon as my performa did. 

My father was el cheapo and would not buy me the 601 PPC pizzabox which had a PC emulation card in it too.. it was only $300 more than my performa! lol 

Anyway... next time I buy a mac the G6s will be out with 128bit architecture and altivec 4 which is gonna toast Intels 


Admiral


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## brodie (Jan 9, 2002)

such early predictions...but who was the first?


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## apb3 (Jan 10, 2002)

people have been talking about an lcd imac for over a year. All in all, I think apple came through pretty well with this one. I could care less about the iMac though. I only care about what it means for my next machine... if 800Mhz G4 is consumer, what's the pro gonna be to replace my current machine???


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