wireless keyboard & mouse on iMac?
my, we are all frantically looking at 2 small, non-descript images and trying to second-guess a lot of specs for the new iMac ...
what i want to know about is the input devices ... they've negated the need for any monitor cabling ... not even slinky ADC ....
so i'm guessing/hoping/feeling for a nice new pearlescent keyboard and mouse ... mouse still uses a USB connector to link it to the keyboard, with either a central connector where the current cable some out on the Pro kybd, or at either side, to accomadate left & right handers ... and by keeping it USB 3rd party developers will still have a market for 2,3,5 button mice for the mac ...
but i think the kybd is going to have a wireless connection .... i'm using my old g4 keyboard right now, the old small one, and there is a little 'ledge' where the USB connector goes, with some circuitry .... now if airport antennae can go firt in dinky laptops easily, i think some kind of wireless transmitter could be the thing to go in a similar area in the new keyboard
just think about this whole idea of extended viewing - the new LCD monitor can be tilted or swivelled round far more than most conventional monitor setups ... so mebbe Apple sees the user being able control this didgiatl hub far more flexibly than most computers .... it becomes intregated in the living room/kitchen/den as much as the TV does on a swivel base .... the remote control means you can control a TV or other device from most places in the room .... what if you can just put the keyboard on your lap and use it in the same free way?
hmm, so mebbe the issue of powering a USB mouse from a wireless keyboard is too hard (Tesla, Piezo etc al be quiet, I'm musing ....) Mebbe the keyboard will have a touch strip, similar to those ribbon controllers on many recent MIDI devices, but squarer, so you can use the side of your finger and nail to emulate a mouse if using it away from the iMac? Or a trackpad like on the current iBook? Or even (god forbid) to save on keyboard real-estate and make it more crystalline and sexy, one of those daft marshmallow-like controllers in the centre of the QWERTY layout, like some PC laptops use?
Please, i hope you guys can speculate or expand on some of these ideas. I know we only have 11 hours until we know exactly what's going to be on offer, but it sure is fun to try and work out some of the missing elements of the puzzle ...
what i want to know about is the input devices ... they've negated the need for any monitor cabling ... not even slinky ADC ....
so i'm guessing/hoping/feeling for a nice new pearlescent keyboard and mouse ... mouse still uses a USB connector to link it to the keyboard, with either a central connector where the current cable some out on the Pro kybd, or at either side, to accomadate left & right handers ... and by keeping it USB 3rd party developers will still have a market for 2,3,5 button mice for the mac ...
but i think the kybd is going to have a wireless connection .... i'm using my old g4 keyboard right now, the old small one, and there is a little 'ledge' where the USB connector goes, with some circuitry .... now if airport antennae can go firt in dinky laptops easily, i think some kind of wireless transmitter could be the thing to go in a similar area in the new keyboard
just think about this whole idea of extended viewing - the new LCD monitor can be tilted or swivelled round far more than most conventional monitor setups ... so mebbe Apple sees the user being able control this didgiatl hub far more flexibly than most computers .... it becomes intregated in the living room/kitchen/den as much as the TV does on a swivel base .... the remote control means you can control a TV or other device from most places in the room .... what if you can just put the keyboard on your lap and use it in the same free way?
hmm, so mebbe the issue of powering a USB mouse from a wireless keyboard is too hard (Tesla, Piezo etc al be quiet, I'm musing ....) Mebbe the keyboard will have a touch strip, similar to those ribbon controllers on many recent MIDI devices, but squarer, so you can use the side of your finger and nail to emulate a mouse if using it away from the iMac? Or a trackpad like on the current iBook? Or even (god forbid) to save on keyboard real-estate and make it more crystalline and sexy, one of those daft marshmallow-like controllers in the centre of the QWERTY layout, like some PC laptops use?
Please, i hope you guys can speculate or expand on some of these ideas. I know we only have 11 hours until we know exactly what's going to be on offer, but it sure is fun to try and work out some of the missing elements of the puzzle ...