|
Hidden Capabilities (9/21/98)
|
 
|
| | |
Ah, yes-- the mysterious "Perch slot" lurking inside every iMac. What mysteries does it hold? What ancient secrets could be coaxed from its hidden depths? What brave company will ignore Apple's requests not to develop expansion products for that slot and make some cool stuff anyway? The answer to the last question, at least, is Griffin Technology. According to an article at TheiMac.com, Griffin is hard at work readying the first iMac expansion card, Apple warnings notwithstanding.
Griffin, the folks who are also working on the $40 iMate USB-to-ADB adapter, also have this neat thing going called the iPort. The iPort pops into the iMac's hidden Perch slot and yields two familiar ports peeking out through the knockout panel next to the USB ports: a monitor port, and a DIN-8 serial port. While the monitor port only supports video mirroring (and not extended-desktop multiple monitor support), it will allow the use of monitors at resolutions up to 1280x1024, while the iMac's internal display maxes out at 1024x768. The serial port is a standard Mac modem/printer port, and it supports all standard Mac printers (both straight serial and LocalTalk), external modems, and MIDI devices. Best of all, the iPort is due out in a few weeks and will reportedly only cost a measly $60.
One thing we're unclear on; in a Tech Info Library article, Apple says that they do not support "modification to the iMac logic board other than for approved upgrades such as memory;" any "unapproved" modifications will void the warranty of your iMac. So given that Apple won't even publicly acknowledge that the Perch slot even exists, can we assume that installing a Perch card such as Griffin's iPort qualifies as a warranty-voiding unapproved upgrade? Something to ponder. But there are plenty of people who would gladly toss their iMac's warranty out the window if it meant they could install, say, a 3Dfx Voodoo chip into their little blue friend...
| |
| |
 |
SceneLink (1033)
|  |
 |
|
And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
| | | |
|
| |
|
 | | The above scene was taken from the 9/21/98 episode: September 21, 1998: Next year's consumer portable may well include Newton-style handwriting recognition-- and it may not. Meanwhile, unsanctioned peripherals are already starting to arrive for the iMac's hidden and secret Perch slot, while the man behind the iMac's design lends some springtime-fresh insight into the machine's form and function...
Other scenes from that episode: 1032: That's All She Wrote (9/21/98) So here we are, caught in that murky Twilight Zone between the Newton MessagePad and the eMac, waiting for Apple to release a compelling portable system that will be both low-cost and kick-ass. Apple's drifted somewhat from its promise to release new handhelds to replace the Newton in 1999, seemingly focusing on the upcoming consumer portable to fill that need instead... 1034: Now That's Flushing Cache (9/21/98) Lastly, a quickie about the iMac's design. Thanks to a link from NoBeige, we stumbled across a nice article at PC World about Jonathan Ive, the veep of Apple's Industrial Design Group, and the gentlemen largely responsible for the distinctive design of Apple's new consumer device...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
|
|
