Future Hardware Design

geobegeobe
Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
Hello, I am sitting at my computer looking at the wired mess that covers my iMac and Digital Lifestyle. I have pretty much all the digital lifestyle devices and the iSub and I recall one of the original iMac commercials boasting just 1 wire. In future models of the iMac, I would like to see some cable management or something to help us as users.



I have the Flat Panel iMac and the following would help future models.



Pro Speakers- Make the base ever so slightly larger to accomadate the actual speaker and embed them in the right and left side of the silver apple. Remove mono speaker from inside altogether.



Make the neck a little taller and place a built in iPod base just above the Apple logo. The door could be similiar to the CD tray but a smaller design.



Microphone - ok, no wires here but they could move the Mic to the top of the flat panel to get it away from the speakers. This would help prevent the echo when using iSight or Audio conferencing.



Wireless keyboard and Mouse would be nice, however charging it would require a connection of some sort. I do believe that apple has figured out how a firewire connection doesn't drain a battery when the computer is in sleep, so if they had a small port on the front for the keyboard and mouse, that might work.



This design is nice, I like it.

http://www.theapplecollection.com/de...G5-iMac-ad.jpg



Unrelated to "Wires" Enhancements-

TV connection and PVR software would be nice.

FM Radio

1 FW 800 port

1 FW 400 Port

4 "USB 2" ports in back and on keyboard

Taller neck and 19" Flat Panel

Monitor can rotate 270 Degrees

Slot loading DVD-RW





iPod Feature Requests



I would like the following feature requests added to next iPod.



1) Be able to attach round Apple Pro Speakers to iPod jack.

2) Be able to browse files stored on/in Hard Drive



Of course the others already mentioned numerous times.

Larger Color Screen.

Play video

Microphone
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 21
    cubedudecubedude Posts: 1,556member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by geobe

    Pro Speakers- Make the base ever so slightly larger to accomadate the actual speaker and embed them in the right and left side of the silver apple. Remove mono speaker from inside altogether.



    Internal speakers suck. Well, so do the Pro Speakers, but I think that it would be better to not make the iMac larger.
  • Reply 2 of 21
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by CubeDude

    Internal speakers suck. Well, so do the Pro Speakers, but I think that it would be better to not make the iMac larger.



    I agree. Why not make speakers that CLIP ON to the side of the iMacs display? So we can have sound that pont where the screen it pointed?
  • Reply 3 of 21
    shatteringglassshatteringglass Posts: 176member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Placebo

    I agree. Why not make speakers that CLIP ON to the side of the iMacs display? So we can have sound that pont where the screen it pointed?



    I don't know about clip-ons. They would look awkward on the iMac...
  • Reply 4 of 21
    ensign pulverensign pulver Posts: 1,193member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Placebo

    I agree. Why not make speakers that CLIP ON to the side of the iMacs display? So we can have sound that pont where the screen it pointed?



    Because it would look like hell?
  • Reply 5 of 21
    dmband0026dmband0026 Posts: 2,345member
    I like it...except for the internal speekers. Go wireless, except figure out a way to power them with no batteries or power cables. Its impossible. But it would be sweet.
  • Reply 6 of 21
    telomartelomar Posts: 1,804member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by DMBand0026

    I like it...except for the internal speekers. Go wireless, except figure out a way to power them with no batteries or power cables. Its impossible. But it would be sweet.



    Cableless power isn't actually impossible as much as impractical at the current time.
  • Reply 7 of 21
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    Actually, the speakers want to be on the display. People who want really good seperation will buy 3rd party speakers anyway. However, the speakers DO NOT want to be clip on units, YUCK! Ruins the design. The speakers want to be seamlessly integrated into the display panel: Just make the panel a little wider and integrate some flat panel technology into either side. Done. Two less wires and even more desk space, which is the point of an AIO design, I assume.
  • Reply 8 of 21
    yevgenyyevgeny Posts: 1,148member
    Speakers on LCD == ugliest design possible. Additionally, they would be really cheap speakers. If you want a good listening environment and wirelessness, then buy some good wireless headphones.
  • Reply 9 of 21
    macroninmacronin Posts: 1,174member
    Make the base somewhat bigger, put a woofer in there (for bass frequencies <subwoofer> aka the older Performa tower w/ internal sub)...



    Make the sides of the flat-panel wider, place ribbon tweeters...



    Done deal...



    ;^p
  • Reply 10 of 21
    dmband0026dmband0026 Posts: 2,345member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Telomar

    Cableless power isn't actually impossible as much as impractical at the current time.





    Why is that? I think it would be really cool to have something like that. What are the downsides of it?
  • Reply 11 of 21
    yevgenyyevgeny Posts: 1,148member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by DMBand0026

    Why is that? I think it would be really cool to have something like that. What are the downsides of it?



    Well, you broadcast the power in all directions, so your body gets as much power as your speakers. Because you broadcast power in all directions, such speakers are incredibly energy inefficient.
  • Reply 12 of 21
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Well, tight focus microwave beams are a cinch, but the people hear 'microwave' and start freaking out, like it's going to cook their baby or something.



    Which reminds me, I have to go feed the six-legged cat...
  • Reply 13 of 21
    resres Posts: 711member
    Speakers on the monitor or in the base is a very bad idea -- they would sound terrible. You really need to have more space between the speakers.



    A wireless mouse and keyboard would be heavier and always need recharging at inconvenient moments. I prefer that they stay tethered.



    I like the idea of an iPod dock -- that would be a very cool addition to the iMac.
  • Reply 14 of 21
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Yevgeny

    Speakers on LCD == ugliest design possible. Additionally, they would be really cheap speakers. If you want a good listening environment and wirelessness, then buy some good wireless headphones.



    Oh, I think NOT! A few possibilities exist to supply very good sound from very a very clean aesthetic.



    Firstly, you can just widen the bezel and use NXT or planar speaker technology. Make the screen bezel a little wider and put one single long slit on either side of the screen. Or even better. NXT tech could be used to turn the entire screen surface into one big driver. The speaker would literally be invisible.
  • Reply 15 of 21
    nervnerv Posts: 26member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by geobe

    Pro Speakers- Make the base ever so slightly larger to accomadate the actual speaker and embed them in the right and left side of the silver apple. Remove mono speaker from inside altogether.



    Make the neck a little taller and place a built in iPod base just above the Apple logo. The door could be similiar to the CD tray but a smaller design.





    Your plan would have the left and right speakers roughly 6-8" apart from one another and thus ruin the "stereo" effect (might as well have a single mono speaker). In addition, both my girlfriend and I have our respective computers plugged into our respective stereos. I'm sure we're not the only ones who use their Macs in conjunction with actual audio equipment. In our cases, the internal speakers would be an additional expense for hardware we'll never use.



    The iPod perch is also not such a good idea. The built-in perch would limit choices for some (can't use a first generation iPod with it) and would build in needless expense for others (for those who don't want to use an iPod) while the perch itself would certainly end up being planned obsolence at its worst. The third generation iPod uses a different connector than the others, the next generation iPod may use yet another connector and suddenly your iMac perch would be a useless port on your machine.
  • Reply 16 of 21
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Matsu

    NXT tech could be used to turn the entire screen surface into one big driver. The speaker would literally be invisible.



    Yeah, because there aren't enough people complaining about blurry text.
  • Reply 17 of 21
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Amorph

    Yeah, because there aren't enough people complaining about blurry text.



    There's a piece of glass in front of the LCD itself, isn't there? Otherwise, just think of it as the new anti-aliasing! hahaha
  • Reply 18 of 21
    curiousuburbcuriousuburb Posts: 3,325member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by MacRonin

    Make the base somewhat bigger, put a woofer in there (for bass frequencies <subwoofer> aka the older Performa tower w/ internal sub)...



    Make the sides of the flat-panel wider, place ribbon tweeters...



    Done deal...



    ;^p



    you're describing Spartacus, the Twentieth Anniversary Mac





    Quote:

    Although officially produced in celebration of the Twentieth Anniversary of Apple, the 20th Anniversary Mac was released close to a year after the fact, in late Spring, 1997. And a truly unique Mac it was. The Motherboard was similar to that of the PowerMac 5500, and it was based on the same 603e processor, running at 250Mhz. The real innovation of the 20th Anniversary Mac was its unique shape, and advanced sound and video features. It came with an integrated TV/FM Radio System, an S-Video Input, and a custom sound system designed by Bose, with integrated stereo speakers, and a separate sub-woofer (it also included a 33.6Kbps GeoPort modem). The Twentieth Anniversary Mac was a limited edition, and sold for nearly $10,000. Its price was cut to as low as $1,999 and it was discontinued in March 1998.



  • Reply 19 of 21
    telomartelomar Posts: 1,804member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by DMBand0026

    Why is that? I think it would be really cool to have something like that. What are the downsides of it?



    The major one has already been pointed out in that you end up irradiating anything nearby. You can try for a focused point to point stream, which is possible over very short distances, but there's always some dispersion that means you are also losing a portion of the energy in transit. It just becomes a pain and is quite costly to top it off.
  • Reply 20 of 21
    airslufairsluf Posts: 1,861member
    Kickaha and Amorph couldn't moderate themselves out of a paper bag. Abdicate responsibility and succumb to idiocy. Two years of letting a member make personal attacks against others, then stepping aside when someone won't put up with it. Not only that but go ahead and shut down my posting priviledges but not the one making the attacks. Not even the common decency to abide by their warning (afer three days of absorbing personal attacks with no mods in sight), just shut my posting down and then say it might happen later if a certian line is crossed. Bullshit flag is flying, I won't abide by lying and coddling of liars who go off-site, create accounts differing in a single letter from my handle with the express purpose to decieve and then claim here that I did it. Everyone be warned, kim kap sol is a lying, deceitful poster.



    Now I guess they should have banned me rather than just shut off posting priviledges, because kickaha and Amorph definitely aren't going to like being called to task when they thought they had it all ignored *cough* *cough* I mean under control. Just a couple o' tools.



    Don't worry, as soon as my work resetting my posts is done I'll disappear forever.
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