My Complaint about 'the new iMac'

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
Obviously it's still all conjecture, but it seems failry clear we're gonna get a new iMac. However, the only thing that bothers me is the screen - not the size though. Everyone talks about a 15" LCD, well - LCD is good, but what I really want is a widescreen iMac, preferrably LCD. Now do you think we'll get onme of these? Like the PowerBook screens? From my point of view, I want an iMac on which I can burn CDs, watch DVDs (and maybe burn DVDs). But most importantly of all, if I'm to watch DVDs I want to watch them as they were filmed - widescreen. For a company pushing the idea of a digital hub, surely an iMac which best supports the new film medium is what they should go for - therefore, widescreen. Am I right, also, in thinking, that a wider casing would give Apple more space to play around with in terms of packaging, after all - it worked with the new PowerBook.

Mike
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 26
    I don't understand why anyone would want to watch a DVD on a desktop that is 15 inches. I would rather watch a VHS tape on a bigger TV than a DVD on a little computer screen.



    To me, it makes sense to watch movies on the portables, as nothing feels better on a long plane ride - but I just can't see it ever being a priority on an iMac.
  • Reply 2 of 26
    Stand alone DVD players are so widespread now that many PC manufacturers provide them for their increased memory and to future proof their machines (not necessarily for watching movies, even though it is a benefit), although the addition of DVD on a laptop is a huge bonus, as it allows the machine to be used as a portable entertainment product which many people carry with them on journeys etc... <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" />

    [quote]

    I don't understand why anyone would want to watch a DVD on a desktop that is 15 inches. I would rather watch a VHS tape on a bigger TV than a DVD on a little computer screen.

    To me, it makes sense to watch movies on the portables, as nothing feels better on a long plane ride - but I just can't see it ever being a priority on an iMac. <hr></blockquote>





    Good point mate, I wrote my reply before I had seen the second message.



    [ 12-18-2001: Message edited by: Graphite ]</p>
  • Reply 3 of 26
    Jesus ****ing Christ can't we wait until the ****ing thing ships before we bitch about it? Also what's Apple to do? Make and all in one that has what everyone wants? Why not just make one desktop and one laptop and be done with it?
  • Reply 4 of 26
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    Widescreen and/or super-huge screens don't always make sense for computers. The model for a great computer screen has little to do with the cinema paradigm. The TiBook is 3:2 aspect ratio probably because of size considerations. A good choice for the Ti because it gives a lower profile to the portable screen yet still lets it be relatively large. The conventional 15" 4:3 ratio has more surface area (and screens are available in it at much higher resolutions but this is all an aside since the mac will probably stick to 1024x768).



    A wide screen is not really better for a computer on which people need to work. Text pages are usually long, not wide. HDTV has chosen 16:9 probably because the ratio corresponds closely to our field of view, and should be pleasing to look at, but many films go even wider, at up to 2.5:1. Apple made the cinema display 16:10, also very close to the human field of view and just a tad taller than HDTV. However, for a desktop with a small screen (of 15" viewable) the 4:3 ratio is best because it maximizes viewing area for the majority of tasks.



    Ideally you want to display two full size pages side by side with a little room left over for toolbars and palettes. Since a 15" screen won't do that whether it's a wide or conventional screen, it's far preferable to have the layout that maximizes screen area.



    We'll gladly take a 4:3 ratio 15", thanks.
  • Reply 5 of 26
    [quote]Originally posted by Scott H.:

    <strong>Jesus ****ing Christ can't we wait until the ****ing thing ships before we bitch about it? Also what's Apple to do? Make and all in one that has what everyone wants? Why not just make one desktop and one laptop and be done with it?</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Amen!
  • Reply 6 of 26
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    [quote]Originally posted by Scott H.:

    <strong>Jesus ****ing Christ can't we wait until the ****ing thing ships before we bitch about it? Also what's Apple to do? Make and all in one that has what everyone wants? Why not just make one desktop and one laptop and be done with it?</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Couldn't agree more.
  • Reply 7 of 26
    I guess I'll postpone posting my worries regarding the G6.
  • Reply 8 of 26
    kcmackcmac Posts: 1,051member
    Is it really $%#&tching to be hopeful of a certain feature? I would love to see a wide screen. Don't care if it corresponds to HDTV.



    In any case, I am excited about the new iMac, whatever it is. If it is anything like the designs of the rest of the recent lineup, it will rule.
  • Reply 9 of 26
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    [quote]Originally posted by kcmac:

    <strong>IIn any case, I am excited about the new iMac, whatever it is. If it is anything like the designs of the rest of the recent lineup, it will rule.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Good to see another person with a positive outlook for the new iMac.
  • Reply 10 of 26
    applenutapplenut Posts: 5,768member
    [quote]Originally posted by mpw_amherst:

    <strong>Obviously it's still all conjecture, but it seems failry clear we're gonna get a new iMac. However, the only thing that bothers me is the screen - not the size though. Everyone talks about a 15" LCD, well - LCD is good, but what I really want is a widescreen iMac, preferrably LCD. Now do you think we'll get onme of these? Like the PowerBook screens? From my point of view, I want an iMac on which I can burn CDs, watch DVDs (and maybe burn DVDs). But most importantly of all, if I'm to watch DVDs I want to watch them as they were filmed - widescreen. For a company pushing the idea of a digital hub, surely an iMac which best supports the new film medium is what they should go for - therefore, widescreen. Am I right, also, in thinking, that a wider casing would give Apple more space to play around with in terms of packaging, after all - it worked with the new PowerBook.

    Mike</strong><hr></blockquote>





    so you want less screen space just so wideformat DVDs play without black bars? just imagine there are no black bars.
  • Reply 11 of 26
    [quote]Originally posted by applenut:

    <strong>





    so you want less screen space just so wideformat DVDs play without black bars? just imagine there are no black bars.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Excellent point. Also, those of us who do not own televisions, but have sizeable DVD collections (yes, there are a few of us out here), would LOVE to have a full widescreen DVD viewer. I have an old powerbook (Lombard w/SCSI), and I have been watching DVDs on it for about 2 years now.



    I would relish the ability to watch a DVD at home on an (almost) TV-sized image. I'm just guessing here, but a 15-inch widescreen gives you about the same image area as a 4:3 22" TV screen looking at a letterbox movie. As it is now, I have a 1024x480 image with a 16:9 movie. I would really like to see an 1152x768 image in a slim desktop machine. Now, if I want to have people over, I drag my 17" CRT from my G4 over to my desk with a 15' extension cable, only gaining about an inch in image size. I would love to watch movies on a semi-portable desktop with OSX DVD support.
  • Reply 12 of 26
    It's an iMac, it will never have a large enough screen. Just get used to it. Steve Jobs thinks consumers without the money to blow on a Powermac all like tiny displays. He will never offer a low end Mac with a reasonable sized display.
  • Reply 13 of 26
    imacfpimacfp Posts: 750member
    [quote]Originally posted by Junkyard Dawg:

    <strong>It's an iMac, it will never have a large enough screen. </strong><hr></blockquote>



    What the hell is large enough? Apple could give us a 22" LCD on the new iMac and some idiot would still say it's to small.



    Chris
  • Reply 14 of 26
    I have a question to the iMac bashers. How many of you actually use one?

    Seriously... how many people on this board use, as their primary machines, iMacs? I'd bet a very small percentage.

    Most of the iMac detractors seem to want to give it the features of a Pro machine (and keep it at a consumer price point).

    The new iMac will most certainly not please the majority of people on this board, but it wasn't designed to.
  • Reply 15 of 26
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    [quote]Originally posted by imacSE:

    <strong>



    What the hell is large enough? Apple could give us a 22" LCD on the new iMac and some idiot would still say it's to small.



    Chris</strong><hr></blockquote>



    That's exactly why everyone has something bad to say about Apple's stuff.
  • Reply 16 of 26
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    The widescreen issue is a minor quibble, eh? Let the designers design.
  • Reply 17 of 26
    kcmackcmac Posts: 1,051member
    Maybe that's why I am positive about the outlook for the new iMac. I love my iMac! I also love my iBook!



    Egads! They both have small screens...must be something wrong with me.



    No matter the new screen size, I expect it will be as crisp as the iBook and with an improved resolution over the current iMacs. I will probably order one as soon as it comes out.
  • Reply 18 of 26
    All of this crap about the iMac screen being too small or not wide enough is just that; full-fledged crap.



    People, some of us (myself included) would be absolutly THRILLED about getting an iMac. Some of us who can't afford to shell out a minimum of $2000 just for the Tower and Display. The iMac is a perfect machine of form and function for a cheap price. Yeah, you could get a Wintel, however what I don't pay at first I will have to pay later just to make sure the damn thing is stable.



    LONG LIVE THE iMAC!!!!
  • Reply 19 of 26
    [quote] Egads! They both have small screens...must be something wrong with me.

    <hr></blockquote>



    combination of good eyesight and agoraphobia.
  • Reply 20 of 26
    [quote]Originally posted by specialkbdc:

    <strong>I don't understand why anyone would want to watch a DVD on a desktop that is 15 inches. </strong><hr></blockquote>



    Um, well I can't argue for a 15" desktop, but it sure has been great having a 14.1" LCD laptop (pismo G3) to watch DVDs on while I save money for a new TV. I sold my old when when I moved cities and am planning on buying a very large flatscreen tube TV that don't come cheap. I hook it up to my stereo and its quite watchable. Very watchable in OS X actually.
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