back to article Apple preps touchy-feely iMac

Here's an Apple rumour that doesn't centre - for once - on the iPad. The Mac maker will this year release an iMac based around a 22in touch-sensitive display. No other details are known, but it's not hard to conceive of a new machine equipped with Intel's latest 'Arrandale' Core processors - the ones with graphics and memory …

COMMENTS

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  1. Sarah Baucom
    Thumb Down

    Point?

    Other than specialized systems, like kiosks, I can't see a multi-touch desktop being that useful. iPhones and tablets can be held in a natural way for touching with your fingers, but desktop monitors are vertical, and typically greater than arms-length away. Even if the user moved the monitor closer, or leaned forward, how long could anyone use a vertical multi-touch screen before their arms got tired?

    1. Sid James
      FAIL

      1000-pound gorilla

      indeed...it's called "gorilla arm"

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touchscreen#Gorilla_Arm

      and since they haven't solved the problem they had in the 80's with touchscreens these are no doubt going to go the same way.

  2. Adam T
    Alert

    Caveat emptor

    Given the number of times I've wanted to just reach out and punch something on my screen (usually a pop-up or crashed app), this could either be a great, or very bad, thing...:p

  3. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
    Coat

    Sticky finger!

    I for one don't want sticky and/or greasy finger marks all over my screen thank you very much!

    Touch has its uses but IMHO, not on screens like this.

    Ok, Mines the one with a bottle of Windolene in the pocket.

  4. Terry Ellis

    what would be cool...

    ...is if that had some kind of slide pivot so that the screen could be slid down and positioned closer to the desk at an angle of say 30° and come with some kind of stylus so you could draw directly on to the screen, like it was a proper drawing board.

    I don't think there would be much of a market for just manipulating on screen images etc using your hands. For one, arm ache would ensue and second, why not just press the right-arrow key.

  5. James Cooke

    Not in that form factor

    Can you imagine how tired your arm would get holding it up to a screen all day to interface with your computer. Maybe for a laptop where the screen can be angled a little more hosrizontally and is closer to a desk to rest your arm on.

  6. deadbeef

    USB 3.0

    "Will Apple seize the initiative and become one of the first vendors to ship a computer with integrated USB 3.0 - aka SuperSpeed USB?"

    One of the first? Asus, Gigabyte and others have been shipping motherboards using USB 3.0 for some time now and there are complete systems already out there using them. HP is already shipping a laptop with USB 3.0 (HP Envy 15).

    1. Pete 48
      FAIL

      You mean...

      You mean the HP Apple Macbook Pro 15" ?

  7. SlabMan

    Here's another rumour

    The Mac maker will shelve plans to release an iMac based around a 22in touch-sensitive display. This is after Steve Jobs commented, 'I've been using this for 5 minutes and my arm aches. You're fired'.

    Personally, I'd rather have a mousemat-sized multitouch trackpad

  8. Giles Jones Gold badge

    Touch screen PCs

    Touch screen PCs already exist. I would find them pretty annoying since I've spent ages trying to stop people touching the screen when pointing at something on the screen. It leaves greasy spots all over the screen.

    So unless the screen has some sort of coating to stop greasy marks then I won't be bothering.

    Personally I think lifting up your arm to touch a computer will be quite annoying. Having a tablet in your hand or flat on a desk is a more useful configuration.

    It's about time Microsoft stopped hyping Surface and got a product out.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Megaphone

      You mean a coating like this?

      http://www.apple.com/iphone/how-to/#basics.cleaning-iphone

  9. Eric Hood

    This should be good.

    Let us see people keep their arms out and level with their shoulders for more than 10 minutes of activity. They will soon come back to their keyboard and mouse.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Eeew

    "It's not hard to conceive of a new machine equipped with Intel's latest 'Arrandale' Core processors - the ones with graphics and memory controller modules built into the CPU package."

    It's very very easy to conceive of such- MacOSX benefits hugely from a proper GPU these days, so I'd rather avoid anything using another horrid Intel abomination pretending to be video hardware. It might be better than the 945 stuff that I am used to in my Netbook, but really, truly, compared to the pair of NVidia chips in my MBP? Driving a large-ish, hi-res-ish screen like that with Intel video hardware would mostly likely not be very nice.

    Ok, so that's a baseless prediction, but what's the worst that can happen? I'll be proved completely wrong, and Intel will make some video hardware which doesn't blow goats? I suppose it could happen, in theory...

  11. Michael Parker
    Joke

    I'll assume you MEANT the pun...

    'tap in to [the touch screen all in one market]'

    A pun too far...? :)

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Go

    I think it'd work

    I've seen my Mum reach up to try to drag the screen of her mac's laptop, in moments of forgetfulness - it makes sense, even if it's only an extra rather than the main way to interact.

    I can see touch screens as useful for certain activities.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    No chance

    It won't happen.

    The only way touch can work is if you are above the screen. That means standing up, as with a pub quiz machine, or sitting down with a mobile/tablet below your arm level. Any other way and your arms ache very quickly.

  14. WinHatter
    WTF?

    Greasy sausages on me screen.

    I hate that.

    Bloody hate it.

    Don't tooch me screen or I kill ya.

  15. Subtilior

    mount joy

    If I recall right, these iMac thingums have a standard mount connector in the back, so they can be attached to all kinds of multi jointed holders, so the touch screen thing could be useful in certain non-desktop scenarios, such as a mounted on-the-toilet computer.

  16. mafoo

    Arrandale..

    I think the word on the street is that Apple is refusing to use the Arrandale unless Intel delivers one without a integrated GPU due to how crappy the Intel ones always are.

  17. Kevin McMurtrie Silver badge

    App control

    A touch screen is very nice for app control, especially since Apple is pushing for Bluetooth peripherals. You can check e-mail, control music, start video chats, and perform quick maintenance tasks without the hassle of powering up the mouse. For this to make much sense the iMac will need a very low-power running state so it can be left running constantly without drawing more than a few watts. OS X, as it is now, can't spin down the boot drive and it doesn't seem capable of slowing down the CPU much.

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    Yes, but the real question is ...

    Will the tippex work on the screen as it does on paper.

    The whole of the UK finance/speculator sector is waiting for something like that yes?

  19. sT0rNG b4R3 duRiD
    Jobs Horns

    iFingerPrints

    on an iGlossyScreen = iLOLs.

  20. Cookie Monster
    FAIL

    Touch screens = gimmick

    Vertical touch screen = gorilla arm plus unreadable screen covered in fingerprints.

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