Sure, it's not the real thing, but those of you aching for a taste of Steve's "
research project" touch Macs can now order up the latest and greatest iMacs retrofitted with touchscreens from Troll Touch. The company's been putting its PSRT touchscreens on all sorts of displays for years, and much like the
ModBook, the tech pretty much just works. Pricing for the new iMacs starts at $2499 for the base 2.0GHz 20-inch model and runs up to $3899 for the 2.8GHz 24-inch Core 2 Extreme, while those of you who want to upgrade your existing machines can get in on the action for $1099 (20 inch) or $1599 (24 inch). Shipping now, apparently.
posted Dec 4th 2007 3:53PM
I use Windows boxes and a couple of Linux machines, I am gonna have to start thinking about getting a Mac.
"The company's been putting its PSRT touchscreens on all sorts of displays for years"
Might want to try finding one of these other options instead. I've got an HP tablet touchscreen working quite well with both vista and fedora. I'm sure it wouldn't be a far cry to get the same setup going with a pc touchscreen monitor.
Nah, I would still go with a Mac. I have and haven't looked back.
Aaron, the only reason you're not looking back is because steve won't let you :p.
Why's that? Just run OS X on your existing Intel/AMD hardware, though you might need a guide to do it.
http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/index.php/FAQ
That should get you the information you need, assuming that you're interested... and yes, you can dual boot and even use virtualization in both directions.
- Chris
"pretty much just works"
nice.
It's a nice idea, but the screen's going to get really dirty from all the smudging
Interesting concepts, especially the ModBook... However, since I am not big on Macs, this is further down the line of a purchase.
M
your opinion has been noted. thank you so much for your input.
Okay... Are you making a list for XMas?
Does the 24 inch model come in a tablet?
Sure, with a luggage cart to put it on.
Now, if only they could make the monitor thinner. I'd buy one for sure. Yeah! I'm there!
Siva
you're kidding right?! or did i miss the point here?
http://www.apple.com/imac/specs.html
ummm what? this is almost as thin as a normal lcd and there is no tower... the computer is in the monitor!
yall crazzy!
Actually, I have a 24" iMac and a 24" monitor, and the iMac is thinner than the monitor.
...Is this supposed to be cool?
Yes
You know how annoying that would be? Mac OSX UI isn't designed for touchscreen, try dragging scrollbars, hitting menus, etc with your finger. I'd be very surprised if you could do it without frustration.
iPhone?
The iPhone UI was designed exactly for a touchscreen, OSX was not.
With Expose I believe it would be no problem.
I have no need or desire to touch my home PC's LCD display screen. What an irritation that would be, if I had to reach out and touch the screen every time I needed something done. Ugh. The screen would show touch wear in 6 months or less.
iPhone has OS X. Haven't you learned anything from the keynote when Jobs first introduced the iPhone?
If Mac OS X wasn't built for some sort of touch screen interface, explain Ink.
Multi-touch? It'd be a really big home version of the ipod touch with more of the functionality and none of the portability!
as i mentioned above, i've got a touchscreen working with Fedora (linux). Fedora was never designed for a touchscreen, but the drivers i'm using work perfectly and the touchscreen is as effective as it is in Vista Tablet. I would imagine that this company has also made some pretty slick software to accompany the touchscreen that allows for effective use in OSX.
Or they just used Ink, the system touch screen preference pane.
oops, that was supposed to be a reply to Rob.
Uhmm, my iPhone's screen just kind of cleans itself when I carry it around in my pocket. Probably no such convenience on a desktop. Especially so for people who hate smudgy anything.
This unit has a laser cleaner. It is embedded on the right side of the screen and basically by pushing a button in the bezel, it cleans the screen by vaporizing the oils and dirt right off! Just make sure you remove your fingers before pushing or else you may also remove some of your own fingerprints!
"and much like the ModBook, the tech pretty much just works"
It's been almost a year since the announcement, and the ModBook has yet to ship. So comparing this Touch iMac to a product that doesn't even really exist to prove that it "works" is a strange choice :)
I'm sure this is meant for Kiosk or POS applications. Having to reach out and touch this thing repeatedly in a desktop context would cause a lot worse RSI than the carpal tunnel from typing...
Does anybody use their computer to work with? I fail to see how a touch screen is going to be useful for people using real applications like databases, spreadsheets, any of the professional editing programs like Photoshop or any of the major business suites like Office 2007. Ergonomically, a vertical touch screen ... let's not beat around the bush here ... sucks. I kind of get it in terms of gaming ... but even then, I'd want the screen to be like a mildly tilted tablet. As far as real productivity goes ... what am I missing here?
I have no idea if they make a decent product, but I do know that Troll Touch has less than stellar customer support. I recently bought an eMac with one of their touch screens installed on eBay, but the seller didn't include the drivers for it. Troll Touch won't even respond to my emails requesting to know how I can get a copy of their software for use on this system. Their support email might as well be a black hole for all the good it has done me.
waiting for the real thing...
Macs were expensive before...now it isn't even in my reach anymore.
这价格,不如说牛点,20几万一个好了.™