1999: Once upon a time there was a compact computer called the Macintosh. It used small disks, a small keyboard, and a small screen.
Then a company called Radius invented a revolutionary device: a full page display for the Macintosh. Unlike conventional displays, this was a portrait monitor – taller than it was wide.
Radius Full Page Display with Mac Plus
There were even rumors that Apple might build a compact Mac with a built-in portrait display, although that never quite happened. Apple did build some prototypes, though, and one eventually made it to auction in 2014.
However, Apple did sell a Portrait Display, a 15″ monitor 640 pixels wide and 870 pixels high. It could comfortably display an entire sheet of paper at actual size, making it quite popular in offices.
Mac Portrait Display on Mac IIci
For those seeking the rough equivalent of a compact Mac with a built-in full page display, it could be used on the Mac LC or LC II with a third-party video card or an LC III or Mac IIsi using built-in video. This made for a very nice page-oriented computer.
The iMac
The iMac, in any speed, is a lot of computer – fast G3 processor, good sized hard drive, good graphics, decent sound, and a very nice price point for a Macintosh. And it has already found a place in the business world.
But unless you’re willing to use the somewhat fuzzy 1024 x 768 setting, it doesn’t come anywhere close to displaying a full vertical page. For that you want either a vertical monitor (an idea that has never really caught on with the public, although writers and editors love them) or one displaying at least 1152 x 870.
To do that, you either want a sharp b&w screen (again, something none to popular with the buying public but so easy on the eyes) or a larger color screen. Based on considerable experience with color monitors ranging from 13″ to 21″, it’s pretty safe to say that you need a very sharp 17″ screen to handle 1152 x 870. Better yet, an 18″ or 19″ screen.
The Business iMac
No, I’m not really proposing that Apple build an iMac with a 17-19″ screen. After all, if it’s not relatively compact, it really isn’t an iMac.
Instead, Apple should market it with a different name: a G3-based Mac visually related to the iMac, Power Mac G3, and new blue-n-white monitors, but also distinct.
The Business Mac should contain a multiscan screen capable of displaying crisp text at up to 1152 x 870, allowing display of two full pages side-by-side. Better yet if it could do 1280 x 960 or 1280 x 1024, but that shouldn’t be essential.
Update: I used a 1280 x 1024 Dell LCD for years and eventually replaced it with a 1600 x 1200 Dell LCD, which I use to this day (2018). Given the choice between monitor height and monitor width, I generally prefer height. Then again, until recently I’d never used a 1920 x 1080 display, which is so nice for having windows open side-by-side. But then I’m a technical writer and researcher, and I want to see as much text as possible when I’m researching or writing. Your needs are probably different.
Apple could market this Mac to several markets as a plug-and-play alternative to traditional computers with separate monitors and CPUs. It would be as easy to set up as the iMac, albeit somewhat larger and more expensive.
Looking at the 333 MHz iMac Rev. D selling for $1,199 and the 300 MHz Blue & White Power Mac G3 selling for $1,599 plus about $500 for a monitor, a target price of $1,600 sounds reasonable. Except for the power supply and screen, the insides could be identical to those in the iMac – the onboard video already supports resolutions well beyond 1152 x 870, although the iMac’s built-in 15″ screen can’t display them.
Using iMac insides, a larger screen, and shipping with 64 MB of memory could make this the ideal business Mac, a popular home computer, and a good choice for educators.
And at a projected price of $1,600, it would make an excellent alternative to the Power Mac G3 for those who don’t need expansion slots.
keywords: #portraitdisplay #imac
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