iMac Laptop Mod Idea?

[lifeinhd]

Hey guys,

I have decided that I really must have a 20" Mac laptop, and I can't wait for Apple to release one. I figured I could buy a PowerBook 17" with a dead screen as the basis, then extend the lower body casing and have a new custom top piece constructed. I would also extend the monitor casing. This just leaves me with the issue of what monitor to use. I seem to recall Jobs saying, at the debut of the 17" PowerBook, that it used the same screen as the 17" iMac G4. I'm not sure if he meant the same panel, or the same entire assembly. Assuming it's the latter, that should mean that the connectors are the same between the 17" PowerBook and 17" iMac G4, correct? If so, it should be safe to assume that the connectors on the 20" iMac G4 and the connectors on the 17" iMac G4 screens are the same (because why would Apple spend more to get new logic boards for the 20" models, right?). So, my question is thus: Is it really the exact same assembly used in the 17" PBG4 and the 17" iMac G4, or is it just the same panel (which might imply a different inverter board or something else to that effect)? Perhaps if anyone could provide pinouts of the two displays, that might prove helpful?

Thank you.

 

[Willie Joker]

Panels are common from one computer to another, but, the exact inverter and internal video cables typically are not.

 

[J&JPolangin]

...seems to me that would be a very "thick" "laptop"... interesting proposition though...

Why just not try and make a prev gen 20" iMac with a portable power source and use a BT keyboard/mouse? p)

 

[mac88]

...seems to me that would be a very "thick" "laptop"... interesting proposition though...

Why just not try and make a prev gen 20" iMac with a portable power source and use a BT keyboard/mouse? p)

Not a bad idea. You could have someone prefabricate a housing for the BT keyboard and attach it to the bezel of the iMac. This could act as the clamshell of the "laptop". The power source (battery) may be tricky to supply that much power. Seems like a lot of work though.

 

[lifeinhd]

...seems to me that would be a very "thick" "laptop"... interesting proposition though...

Why just not try and make a prev gen 20" iMac with a portable power source and use a BT keyboard/mouse? p)

Well, my thought was that if Apple can make a PowerBook that thin, why can't I? If necessary, I suppose I could extend the lengths of the inverter cables and store the inverter in the main body of the computer, esp. considering I should have all that extra room in there....

I wonder just how thick the actual panel+backlight+anything that I'm missing that HAS to go into the screen area is?

 

[lifeinhd]

Not a bad idea. You could have someone prefabricate a housing for the BT keyboard and attach it to the bezel of the iMac. This could act as the clamshell of the "laptop". The power source (battery) may be tricky to supply that much power. Seems like a lot of work though.

As for batteries... my thought was to have two bays, then I can swap out one battery when it dies, and still keep going with the other battery, so I could have three or four batteries and go for 6 hours or whatever.

 

[mac88]

Might be a tight fit for everything. I would love to see a mock up of what you are looking for. May help people with a layout better and/or ideas.

 

[J&JPolangin]

...seems to me that would be a very "thick" "laptop"... interesting proposition though...

Why just not try and make a prev gen 20" iMac with a portable power source and use a BT keyboard/mouse? p)

Not a bad idea. You could have someone prefabricate a housing for the BT keyboard and attach it to the bezel of the iMac. This could act as the clamshell of the "laptop". The power source (battery) may be tricky to supply that much power. Seems like a lot of work though.

...I'm thinking, carbon fiber to tie the whole thing together (strength and light weight to what you'd be making) then use two of the new 17" MBP batteries and you're all set!

 

[UltraNEO*]

Hey guys,

I have decided that I really must have a 20" Mac laptop, and I can't wait for Apple to release one. I figured I could buy a PowerBook 17" with a dead screen as the basis, then extend the lower body casing and have a new custom top piece constructed. I would also extend the monitor casing. This just leaves me with the issue of what monitor to use. I seem to recall Jobs saying, at the debut of the 17" PowerBook, that it used the same screen as the 17" iMac G4. I'm not sure if he meant the same panel, or the same entire assembly. Assuming it's the latter, that should mean that the connectors are the same between the 17" PowerBook and 17" iMac G4, correct? If so, it should be safe to assume that the connectors on the 20" iMac G4 and the connectors on the 17" iMac G4 screens are the same (because why would Apple spend more to get new logic boards for the 20" models, right?). So, my question is thus: Is it really the exact same assembly used in the 17" PBG4 and the 17" iMac G4, or is it just the same panel (which might imply a different inverter board or something else to that effect)? Perhaps if anyone could provide pinouts of the two displays, that might prove helpful?

Thank you.

Excuse me....

You're talking about larger screen and panel sizes but I'm wondering what resolution you'll be using on those displays. An old PowerBook 17 used to have a maximum resolution of 1440 by 900, which is the standard resolution on the MacBook Pro 15" today. Currently, I have a MacBookPro 17 and it's screen resolution is 1920 by 1200 - same as a modernday iMac 20".

 

[lifeinhd]

Excuse me....

You're talking about larger screen and panel sizes but I'm wondering what resolution you'll be using on those displays. An old PowerBook 17 used to have a maximum resolution of 1440 by 900, which is the standard resolution on the MacBook Pro 15" today. Currently, I have a MacBookPro 17 and it's screen resolution is 1920 by 1200 - same as a modernday iMac 20".

Hehe, I didn't even think about this. The resolution of an iMac G4 20" is 1680x1050. Perhaps I ought to look into getting a modern 20" iMac panel, but then I can't be as sure as to whether or not it will connect without any modification.

EDIT: the Apple site says the current 20" iMac has a resolution of 1680x1050, not the 1920x1200 you mentioned (that's reserved for the 24"). In addition, I looked up the resolution of the old 17" MacBook Pro (before they switched to exclusively high-resolution) and it's 1680x1050. So, basically, this mod makes little sense unless I can get a 1920x1200 resolution 20" panel. And, of course, this panel would have to be thin enough to fit into the 3/8" thick panel casing on on pre-unibody Apple laptops. How annoying but just the same, thank you for pointing this out.

EDITx2: I just looked at Newegg, and they don't seem to have a 20" monitor capable of doing more than 1680x1050. So now I'd be REALLY hard-pressed to find a good panel for this mod

 

[lifeinhd]

So I did a bit of research, and I learned not only that there is currently no such thing as a 20" desktop monitor on the market with a 1920x1200 resolution, but I also learned why this is. Apparently, laptop users are expected to sit close to the screen, therefore they need a small screen with a high resolution, whereas desktop users are expected to have more space and thus can have a bigger monitor with a lesser resolution. I've also decided that if I were to actually create a 20" behemoth, I wouldn't be sitting too close to it so that I could actually see the entire thing at once, therefore I can settle for a lesser resolution. 1920x1200 resolution monitors start at ~20-24", and there is no way I want a screen that big on a laptop. So, I guess I'd have to settle for a desktop 20".

The original question still remains, however: Are the connector types the same between the 17" PowerBook and the iMac G4s? If someone could help me out with this, that would be greatly appreciated.