The iMac Channel

iMacTV, Take 2

Dan Knight - 1998.09.24 - Tip Jar

Last week I suggested Apple produce a set-top version of the iMac with a DVD player, infrared keyboard, and the ability to display as clearly as a TV screen allows. (See I Want iMacTV.)

Earlier this week, Somnath Banerjee of State of the Macintosh wrote an article, cMac and Mac game credibility, proposing something similar but different: a consumer Mac geared toward the game player.

For the sake of simplicity (and consistency with my previous article), I'll call the new machine iMacTV.

Here are my design goals for iMacTV:

retail price $999 or less
output to Mac monitor, VGA monitor, digital TV, or analog TV
DVD player and decoder
infrared keyboard with trackpad and USB port for mouse
good 2D and 3D graphics engines
64 MB RAM - plus one empty socket
300 MHz G3 (should be entry level when iMacTV ships)
LocalTalk/PhoneNet port for inexpensive networking (speed is sufficient for multiplayer games, 4x faster than a 56k modem)
one IR game controller

You start with the iMac motherboard, boosting it to a 100 MHz bus, moving to a 300 MHz G3, and making 64 MB your standard configuration. By next summer, that will pretty much be a solid entry level computer system.

Users can attach it to their TV (regular or digital) or a monitor, either Mac or VGA. They can connect it to other iMacTVs in the home using phone wire - or to older Macs with PhoneNet adapters.

Instead of spending $400 on a decent DVD player, $300 on a powerful game machine, and $800 on an entry level computer, the iMacTV combines all these into a single package. It should include a coupon for a special price on Virtual PC, just in case they want to play DOS or Windows games.

The unit should look like consumer electronics, which means not beige or Bondi-and-ice. Black and brushed aluminum are the typical looks for VCRs, DVD players, and other serious audio and video hardware, so Apple should adopt that look for iMacTV.

If possible, Apple should leave the mezzanine slot open. With the upswing in digital video, adding a video input board (possibly including FireWire, S-video, and NTSC composite) could make the iMacTV an excellent video editing system - and a way to dub all your old analog tapes to digital or make them into QuickTime movies.

Of course, you'd still have the USB ports, an internal hard drive, and all the other great features that would make iMacTV not just a great consumer video device, but a real Macintosh, too.

Fix Home Button Delay, Tablet the Ultimate Mobile PC, iPad Notebook a Possibility, and More, iOS News Review, 2012.02.10. Also using your iPad at work, two photo editors, a new iPad text editor, Macally's magnetic iPad 2 stand, and more.
White MacBook Goes End-of-Life, Logitech Touch Mouse Supports Gestures, Firmware Updates, and More, The 'Book Review, 2012.02.10. Also MacBook Air better than any Ultrabook, docks for MacBook Pro models, Intel offers improved SSDs, and more.
Mac and iOS Browsers: Options Galore, Freeware Forum, 2012.02.10. Safari is adequate on Mac and great on iOS, but the range of good alternatives is stunning. LEM writers share their favorites.
Apple's Support Lead Shipping, Smartphones Outsell PCs, OS X Ported to ARM by Intern, and More, Mac News Review, 2012.02.10. Also the power of Tex-Edit Plus, Google and Twitter are already censoring the Web, Snow Leopard Security Update, and more.
LogMeIn: Remote Screen Sharing for the Rest of Us, Alan Zisman, Zis Mac, 2012.02.09. Configuring the Mac's built-in screen sharing to work over the Internet can be difficult or impossible. LogMeIn makes it easy.
15 Years Ago Motorola Unveiled the PowerPC G3, Low End Mac Round Table, 2012.02.06. The G3 processor was optimized for real world Mac software and made a big leap forward in efficiency.
Don't Kill Caps Lock, Learning to Love the iOS Keyboard, and an Adaptive iPad Keyboard, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2012.02.06. The Caps Lock key has a useful function, the iPad's keyboard really is useful, and checking out an adaptive keyboard for the iPad.
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