iMac in TDM for nMP

[Matt Leaf]

Had this thought today...

Something about the form factor of the current TBD irks me considering the iMac 27" is currently a thinner design.

Can't help but thinking using Target Display Mode is a really nice option, combining two computers into one, with Command F2 making it really easy to switch between the two machines.

You could get the base iMac 27", use the Mac Pro predominantly with the iMac in display mode, then, say if you were rendering or putting out some compute heavy task, just Command F2 and switch to the iMac, keep working (or come up with a whole range of reasons to work between two computers in this way).

In lieu of Apple releasing a new form factor Thunderbolt Display it's an option, I guess, although a slightly more expensive one. And in a funny way it's a way to squeeze a 21.5" display out of Apple also, even though they don't currently offer one.

At least if a new display comes out you'll be able to sell the iMac for a decent price and upgrade, whereas the TB display may depreciate quite rapidly.

 

[keigo]

Had this thought today...

Something about the form factor of the current TBD irks me considering the iMac 27" is currently a thinner design.

Can't help but thinking using Target Display Mode is a really nice option, combining two computers into one, with Command F2 making it really easy to switch between the two machines.

You could get the base iMac 27", use the Mac Pro predominantly with the iMac in display mode, then, say if you were rendering or putting out some compute heavy task, just Command F2 and switch to the iMac, keep working (or come up with a whole range of reasons to work between two computers in this way).

In lieu of Apple releasing a new form factor Thunderbolt Display it's an option, I guess, although a slightly more expensive one. And in a funny way it's a way to squeeze a 21.5" display out of Apple also, even though they don't currently offer one.

At least if a new display comes out you'll be able to sell the iMac for a decent price and upgrade, whereas the TB display may depreciate quite rapidly.

The 27" iMac is close to double the price of the thunderbolt display.

Not to mention the power usage.

The base model of 21.5" will be closer in term of price.

But I like your idea if the price of the iMac drop more.

 

[Miguel Cunha]

Very good thought, indeed, specially if one already owns an iMac!
I'll keep that in mind.

 

[ActionableMango]

With TDM, you'll need separate keyboards and mice. With screen sharing you don't.

 

[k-hawinkler]

With TDM, you'll need separate keyboards and mice. With screen sharing you don't.

How do you screen share? TIA.
Say I have a MacBook Pro and an nMP without an attached display.
So, how could I share the nMP virtual screen so that I can run tasks on the nMP from the MacBook Pro?

 

[brucem91]

I've done this before, to an extent.

Total setup at the time involved the iMac and Dell Laptop in my signature, and a third macbook. iMac was rendering an animation that took about a week to finish. Meanwhile I had my Dell plugged into the iMac via TDM to use the big screen. Finally to check the progress of the render, I used a third computer (MacBook) to remote into the iMac and check the frames in the Finder. I supposed I probably could have not needed the MacBook, but it was cool.

 

[ActionableMango]

How do you screen share? TIA.
Say I have a MacBook Pro and an nMP without an attached display.
So, how could I share the nMP virtual screen so that I can run tasks on the nMP from the MacBook Pro?

Enable screen sharing in the nMP preferences. In the MBP, the nMP will be there in Finder. Click it and log in.

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11153

 

[k-hawinkler]

Enable screen sharing in the nMP preferences. In the MBP, the nMP will be there in Finder. Click it and log in.

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11153

Thanks.
So in order to do that I first need to have a screen attached to the nMP, right?

Well, I found this. http://support.apple.com/kb/ph4469
I think I found my answer. Thanks.

 

[cbm]

Thanks.
So in order to do that I first need to have a screen attached to the nMP, right?

No. I run a Mac Mini without a display, and use Screen Sharing to control it. It defaults to a fairly low resolution of 1280x1024, but that's totally usable for what I'm doing with it. I understand that there are third-party screen resolution switchers that will let you go bigger, but I have never felt the need.

 

[k-hawinkler]

No. I run a Mac Mini without a display, and use Screen Sharing to control it. It defaults to a fairly low resolution of 1280x1024, but that's totally usable for what I'm doing with it. I understand that there are third-party screen resolution switchers that will let you go bigger, but I have never felt the need.

Thanks.