Leverage the Arm for New Monitors

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
Having spent a couple weeks using an iMac G4, I would say the monitor engineering is the most specific differentiated advantage in the Apple hardware product line today. If you have not used one, it is suprising how many uses you have to shift, zoom, tweak etc... the monitor. It is unique and instant.



That said... would it not make sense for Apple to release a new line of monitors leveraging th technology? One of the problems with LCD's is the need to be dead solid perfect for optimal viewing, (forget claims of massive viewing angles-there always seems to be a visual sweet spot)



Apples monitor line is badly overpriced, but with this added feature, it might be worth the premium.



I assume the physics of the joint would work for larger mass monitors. The joint would have to grow accordingly.



Add a widescreen form factor, fold in component video support for external source DVD viewing, and throw in the ability to pivot, and you would have a compelling display device that has utility beyond the computer.



Shoot holes in this idea? <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    jet powersjet powers Posts: 288member
    It would literally have to be a lever. The base (because it has no computer in it) of an LCD would be too light to let the monitor roam free like the arm of the iMac.



    A counterweighted arm might do it, but then you lose some of the space-saving features why people buy LCD's in the first place.



    ting5
  • Reply 2 of 18
    scadboyscadboy Posts: 189member
    I totally dig the idea, the problem I can forsee is that, well, I think the base would have to be about the size of a flatscreen iMac. Or, at the very least, Maybe an Airport Base station with added weight. A wall-mount option would be pretty bad ass, too.



    Seems almost wacky enough for apple to do, and I'd buy it.



    [Edit]



    Something just occurred ot me? Way way way way way back, before the first Apple 15" Studio Display, that awesome Purple and Blue monster with Analogue inputs, I recall seeing a photograph of a prototype called ?Manta.? It bore the same goldish paint of the 20th Anniversary Macintosh and it had a pivot arm/lever. Unfortuneately, the photo in question didn't show how the pivot arm interfaced with the desk, that is it didn't show a base or elaborate on how it would solve the problem in question. But it does show that Apple's had this on their mind for some time. So, maybe?



    ciao,



    michael



    [ 07-11-2002: Message edited by: scadboy ]</p>
  • Reply 3 of 18
    I believe the iMac G4 weighs 24 pounds. I'd guess 20 in the base. It wouldn't be too hard to design a compact base of that weight. Clamping and mounting technology would work as well.



    Hey! They must have some old Cube cases they could fill with unused AOL CD's to get the weight...?
  • Reply 4 of 18
    Heck, mount Steve on it if he doen't give us new powerMacs at MWNY
  • Reply 5 of 18
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    The arm is great, but it's iMac's signature. An arm for the studio and cinema LCD's would have to be a little different.



    I'm thinking a dense (therefore heavy but small)base, with a partially counter-weighted arm (therefore only slightly protruding); the same tensioning system inside. The whole thing looks kinda like those designer's lamps as if it had two pivots or an elbow. I think it'd make for an interesting see-saw aesthetic when you see it in action.



    USB (and possibly firewire) connectors in the base, it could be made so standard ADC and a firwire plug are pair (so they look like one cord) but break out at the end so you can hook them to the bak of your powermac (out of view)
  • Reply 6 of 18
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    This is actually a great idea. Good thinking, Alaskan66!



    He's right, you know: LCDs have to be positioned just so and you need to be in that sitting "sweet spot" for most clarity and color and all.



    But, if you're anything like me, some times I sit at my iMac and I'm in a "sit up straight, lean in and get some serious work done" mode.



    Other times (like tonight), I'm leaning back almost a yard from my desk, I've got my legs propped up on my desk and I'm slouching to some ungodly level in my chair.







    With this cool arm/monitor design on my G4 iMac, I can sit how I want, when I want, in whatever posture I'm feeling like at the time, etc. and can position the screen accordingly.



    I'm sure all the owners of the 15", 17" and two Cinema Displays would like that same luxury, right?



    Surely there's a way it could be done. Perhaps not a DIRECT lift of the LCD iMac mechanism, but something close to it, modified appropriately for larger, monitor-only usage?



    It's Apple...you know whatever they came up with would be really slick and attractive. I don't worry about it from that standpoint. Design/appearance-wise, they've been hitting 'em out of the park the past couple of years!



  • Reply 7 of 18
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    Here's an idea I had (don't judge the design/looks...it's just a swiped/modified 17" Studio Display...wasn't going for looks here).







    Some sort of circular base, HEAVY. Then a clear, acrylic (like what is currently found on the Apple Displays, G4 handles, iMac display halo, etc.) "wing" that spans out, then goes up and connects to a rocker cam halfway up the sides of the display.



    This allows for forward/backward tilt. The whole unit rests on a circular base and swivels 180°.



    The trick (and this is where my idea probably falls short) is in the base: something heavy/solid enough to support the display, BUT not so large and bulky that the benefits of buying and LCD are negated.



    Is there some sort of outer space mineral or compound that weighs about 20 pounds when it's only 4" diameter and half and inch tall?







    Anyway, here it is. Quick and dirty, but I hope it makes sense. I'm tired...



  • Reply 8 of 18
    cindercinder Posts: 381member
    tee hee, wrong thread.



    <img src="graemlins/embarrassed.gif" border="0" alt="[Embarrassed]" />



    [ 07-12-2002: Message edited by: cinder ]</p>
  • Reply 9 of 18
    alcimedesalcimedes Posts: 5,486member
    i like it paul, only problem as i can see it is that it just wouldn't capture that same feel the iMac does. there's just something cool about a floating screen, and it works so dang well to adjust.



    i'm digging this idea, just not sure how you could implement it in the same way with other monitors.



    see, although i think your sketch has merit there, it would end up being just like a laptop lcd adjustment. although you can get a laptop to that sweet spot like the iMac, it's just not the same doing it.



    -alcimedes
  • Reply 10 of 18
    max8319max8319 Posts: 347member
    we'll have to wait till MWNY (or the belated PM release) to see what apple does with the monitors



    i get the feeling, however, this will only be a small update, a color change or the like...



    while i do like the idea, i can't imagine seeing a 23" ACD HD (?) pulled completely forward and the base (whatever it may be) still holding it without getting worried....it would really scare me that my $3500 display would fall.



    but i do like the idea!
  • Reply 11 of 18
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    Yeah, that's a tough one. You'd almost have to have a pretty substantial base (especially for the Cinema Displays).



    Know what's funny? Ever since the LCD iMac came out, I truly try to "Think different" when I'm imagining ideas or concepts.



    I mean, EVERY mockup of a flat-panel iMac we ever saw (including ALL the ones I contributed) were essentially Studio Displays with the guts "glommed on" to the back (the EXACT thing Jobs said he DIDN'T want, for several good reasons).



    Then, when I saw the LCD iMac for the first time (the night before the keynote in that leaked Time magazine article), I was like "OF COURSE! WHY didn't any of us think of that?!?! It's so SIMPLE and OBVIOUS!!!"







    So now, I try to think of the most NON-obvious thing (not counting my submission above, which is pretty stock and pedestrian, I realize) because it's probably what would happen.



    I mean, NOBODY saw or predicted the whole "chrome arm with the screen attached to it" approach.



    So if Apple were to redesign their LCD display line to incorporate swivel/tilt capabilities, it would probably be NOTHING like the iMac, AND it would be something so cute and obvious...yet NONE of us here would ever predict or nail it.







    I do remember those older flat panel displays from Apple a few years ago, that came on a cylindrical pedestal. Those things were HEAVY and supported that 15" LCD really well.



    It was a bit bulky though, and not as slick and sleek as their stuff seems to be lately.



    But I think it's really nice to have an LCD that's adjustable. And I never thought so until I got this iMac. Out of everything cool about it (the speakers, SuperDrive, mouse, slide-out tray, quietness, etc.), I have to say my absolute favorite feature is the design of the display and attachment arm.



    No matter how I feel like sitting, the screen can be put into a perfect, comfortable position.



    Looking back, I'm SO glad I never went with a G4 tower and Studio Display set-up, because I'd totally hate not to have that flexibility.
  • Reply 12 of 18
    junkyard dawgjunkyard dawg Posts: 2,801member
    Nice design, psactes! I like how it wouldn't require any counter-balancing.



    Also, one of the criticisms of Apple's LCDs is that they are too low on the desk for proper viewing height. Pscates design allows for adjustment of everything EXCEPT the viewing height. The only way to make viewing height freely adjustable is with a pivoting arm, but I can't see Apple adding all sorts of complicated counterweights to their LCDs...but it would be an interesting option.
  • Reply 13 of 18
    cdong4cdong4 Posts: 194member
    great design pscates... only thing is that it just swivels and tilts, not pivoting left to right action.. Wall mount would seem to be the only way to get the same effect. I don't want a LCD with big ol' base like the iMac. About configuring an ACD like so, yeah the weight would be ridiculous, currently they are pretty damn heavy for lcd displays.
  • Reply 14 of 18
    lowb-inglowb-ing Posts: 98member
    I think going with parts simmilar to the imac might save some r&d and production costs.

    what about this:

    instead of a jointed arm, use a straight one instead. The second joint, where the screen is attached, remains the same, so you can still tilt the thing up and down. to adjust height, the arm telescopes. This way the screen's centre of gravity stays the same, regardless of how you adjust it. This means the base doesn't have to be that big or heavy.

    Come on photoshoppers, give me a mockup!
  • Reply 15 of 18
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    Do you think Apple wants one consistent look for all it's displays? I ask because an iMac style arm would certainly be possible for the 15 and 17, but A little harder for the 22 and 23. Also, because the latter two are so huge, I think you find yourself in their ergonomic (not visual?)sweet spot very easily. You sit far-back or close-up, or straight up or slouched and they still look good and comfortable just because they're so huge. Likewise if 2 or 3 people gather round. The really big monitors don't need iMac type arms so much.



    I think partial (and therefore small) counter-weights would actually make for a very visually interesting way to mount Apple displays. They ARE too low and an arm could fix that. I've got a few of those chromed dumbells here. Take a 30 lbs dumbell, one of the ends (15 lbs) is about 6" in diameter. These are not that expensive. I think 10-15 lbs would be enough (even for larger displays) because you would split the weight with 'some' counterweighting in the arm.



    On the iMac, the arm attaches to a joint that's exactly perpendicular to the desk. You don't have to do 'exactly' the same for your displays. In fact, if you decided to use a small counterweight you couldn't really have the base's attachment rise perpendicular to the desk -- if you did, the counterweight clearance would mean that arm ALWAYS leaned forward from that point.



    What to do? Instead of having the joint rise perpendicularly from the base, have it rise up and back about 60 degrees from the desk surface (or 30 degrees back of perpendicular) Now, while the arm still sits leaned forward, the axis has been moved back, and the center of gravity is 'closer' to the base. Also the counterweight could be small and wouldn't have to protrude more than a couple of inches from the back of the arm. As you swing the displat upright, both the counterweight and the display approach the center, when you pull the display forward, it moves to you withotu getting as far from the center axis as it appears, and the counterweight balances it out more than it appears it should (cause it's so small and attached at a deceptive angle)



    This preserves the 'floating' sensation of using an iMac and adds an interesting visual dimension to the product. It truly looks like it's floating, as if some magic force is balancing it, because on superficial inspection it doesn't look like the weights and angles would do the job.



    It's really no more complicated than the current arm, you just have to play the angles and weights to bring the loads into line with what the current mechanism can handle. Nickle-plate the whole assembly or give it a nice satiny chrome -- icy white on everythng else. The only draw back is that the display will now weigh more. They'd even take up less desk space than the three feet designs which, while shallow, require a wide birth.
  • Reply 16 of 18
    shizumashizuma Posts: 10member
    Hey! How about a wall mounted LCD with a IMac style adjustable arm. A wall would give enough support and it would look really cool. Just a thought.

  • Reply 17 of 18
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    Cool, except lots of people's desks/set-ups are always up against a wall. Lots of "free floaters" out there, people whose set-up is in the middle or a room, espcially in the workplace.



    Probably a little more common at home to be up against a wall (I am).



    At least have it as an option. Just make sure you anchor into the studs and not just the drywall!







    CRASHHHH! BOOM! :eek:
  • Reply 18 of 18
    naepstnnaepstn Posts: 78member
    I'd love to see Apple's next line of LCDs be quite modular, with a few bases and mounting options. One one be no real base or arm at all, but just a mounting bracket on the back (to which the other arms and bases would attach). This could be wall-mounted flat like a picture frame. This would no doubt sell well in the Asia-Pacific market (especially Japan) where living space is notoriously small and people love solutions that make more effective use of limited space. Then they could offer a swing arm for wall mounting that would add various tilt, swivel etc. movements to it. And then, of course, there would be a desk-use base, and they could even offer a simple "third leg" wedge so that you can use it like the current LCDs, or an "LCD Easel" for the artists/graphic designers. :-)



    Unfortunately, for bases, you need quite a wide one (likely about the diameter of the width of the display) if you plan to have it allow for 90° or more rotation. A heavy enough base will stop it from tipping over on its own, but won't stop it from toppling over if bumped. I'm not really sure what people have against counter-weights. I think that they look very cool, and you could easily make a counter-weighting system that doesn't extend beyond the edges of the base, yet still be perfectly effective.
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