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Apple Technology

Apple Imagines Mac-Inside-a-Keyboard Device Evocative of 80s Home Computers (macrumors.com) 231

Posted by msmash from the shape-of-things-to-come dept.
Apple appears to be exploring the possibility of integrating a fully functioning Mac within a keyboard, reminiscent of home computers of the 80s, such as the Commodore 64 and Sinclair ZX Spectrum. MacRumors: The concept was revealed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in a new Apple patent application called "Computer in an input device," which describes a thicker Magic Keyboard-style chassis with "all the components of a high performance computer" integrated under the hood. The patent describes the premise for such a device, which could be plugged into a separate external display via a single I/O port designed to receive both data and power, and wirelessly paired with a trackpad or mouse for additional input.
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Apple Imagines Mac-Inside-a-Keyboard Device Evocative of 80s Home Computers More

Apple Imagines Mac-Inside-a-Keyboard Device Evocative of 80s Home Computers

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  • Been there, done that (Score:5, Interesting)

    by SpinyNorman ( 33776 ) on Friday February 25, 2022 @12:28PM (#62303361)

    The Acorn Electron was another of these 80's all-keyboard designs. I've got my name in the ROM of the Electron!

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by kenh ( 9056 )

      Oh, how innovative - like the RPi 400, TRS-80, Apple II (all variants), OSI, Sol, Commodores, etc...

      Will they also bring back cassette tape storage? Maybe bump it up to MP3 recordings, for program/data storage?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ljw1004 ( 764174 )

      The Acorn Electron was another of these 80's all-keyboard designs. I've got my name in the ROM of the Electron!

      Congrats!

      Just to check, your name isn't ABE is it? or BECCA? :) or any of the other first names that would appear in random hexadecimal strings...

      abba
      abbe
      abe
      ace
      acee
      ada
      becca
      bee
      cabe
      cade
      cece
      dace
      dea
      dede
      dee
      deedee
      ed
      eda
      edd
      efa

      • No :-) I'm one of the developers. I don't recall them telling us at the time our names were there - I found out much later by googling myself!

    • You worked on making the original Acorns? Wow. Thanks for your work, it was the first computers I ever had access to. I played the hell out of Elite and learned basic programming concepts on one.

      • Thanks! Yes - I was co-developer of Acorn ISO Pascal. That was my first job out of college - a lot of fun!

  • single I/O port? so need an apple display or brake (Score:3)

    by Joe_Dragon ( 2206452 ) on Friday February 25, 2022 @12:29PM (#62303365)

    single I/O port? so need an apple display or breakout box with an lot of mark up.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by kenh ( 9056 )

      It's just a single port connection for video & power, they didn't say ONLY one port.

    • It's probably more than just a single I/O port. That port would also be the charging port. In theory, it could work with any standard USB-C docking station, even one made for current model Dell laptops. If done right, a whole line of desks or workspaces with built-in USB-C routing, ports, and displays could become universal - just bring your laptop, mini PC, or iPad Pro and plug in.

      I'm not saying I like it. But if they at least use real standards I won't complain as much.

      • It's probably more than just a single I/O port. That port would also be the charging port. In theory, it could work with any standard USB-C docking station, even one made for current model Dell laptops. If done right, a whole line of desks or workspaces with built-in USB-C routing, ports, and displays could become universal - just bring your laptop, mini PC, or iPad Pro and plug in.

        I'm not saying I like it. But if they at least use real standards I won't complain as much.

        This is Apple, who never meet a standard they couldn't ignore in favor of their own proprietary design. My guess "plugged into a separate external display via a single I/O port designed to receive both data and power" means their own special plug and cable, that works with their own monitors.

        • Their own current monitors connect with Thunderbolt, so it would require the laptop to have Thunderbolt support over USB-C. Third-party screens that work with Apple devices will probably also support USB-C with Displayport alternate mode and USB-PD for power for standard Windows laptops. Single cable power/dock combos are already common. Just not for "desktop" computers.

          • Their own current monitors connect with Thunderbolt, so it would require the laptop to have Thunderbolt support over USB-C. Third-party screens that work with Apple devices will probably also support USB-C with Displayport alternate mode and USB-PD for power for standard Windows laptops. Single cable power/dock combos are already common. Just not for "desktop" computers.

            I would hope so instead of deciding on some hybrid Mag Safe design.

        • Bad guess. The linked patent application says, " 7. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the singular input/output port comprises a USB type-C port. "

        • This is Apple, who never meet a standard they couldn't ignore in favor of their own proprietary design. My guess "plugged into a separate external display via a single I/O port designed to receive both data and power" means their own special plug and cable, that works with their own monitors.

          F***ing idiot. That's how I run my MacBook Pro. I use a USB-C charging cable that came out of the box with my monitor to plug into the monitor, and another USB-C cable that came out of the same box connects the monitor and the MBP. Nothing else plugged in. There's actually NO APPLE CABLE plugged into my Apple computer.

          • This is Apple, who never meet a standard they couldn't ignore in favor of their own proprietary design. My guess "plugged into a separate external display via a single I/O port designed to receive both data and power" means their own special plug and cable, that works with their own monitors.

            F***ing idiot. That's how I run my MacBook Pro. I use a USB-C charging cable that came out of the box with my monitor to plug into the monitor, and another USB-C cable that came out of the same box connects the monitor and the MBP. Nothing else plugged in. There's actually NO APPLE CABLE plugged into my Apple computer.

            ADB. Lightening and its predecessor, proprietary SSD interface, Mag Safe. I suggest you learn a bit about Apple's history before you show your ignorance. I run my MacBook teh same way but still have that useless MagSafe taking up space that could be used for USB-C.

        • Basically behind all standards we have and had: Apple was the/a main driving force.

          You are simply an idiot.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Xenx ( 2211586 )
            To be fair, Apple is also the company that insists on their own proprietary connector for their phones when the industry has basically standardized on another. They even migrated the iPad away, but keep the phone locked in.

            But yes, within the context of this computer patent, Apple worked with Intel on Thunderbolt and that would be the connector they would almost certainly use.

          • Basically behind all standards we have and had: Apple was the/a main driving force.

            You are simply an idiot.

            ADB. Lightening and its predecessor, proprietary SSD interface, Mag Safe. Apple has had plenty of Apple - only interfaces instead of using standard ones, even if, as a tech company, they're on standards committees. I suggest you learn a bit about Apple's history before you show your ignorance.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Chaset ( 552418 )

          I hate it when Apple does proprietary crap just as much as the next guy, but I'm having trouble finding justification for your statement.

          For one thing, the "single I/O port" is obviously USB-C/Thunderbolt which is being currently being used on all their machines as well as a bunch of other vendors. Do you somehow think that's proprietary to Apple? I plug my Lenovo USB-C dock into my MacBook and it works fine.

          Going back, vast majority of the "proprietary" stuff Apple had seems to be when the existing stand

          • I hate it when Apple does proprietary crap just as much as the next guy, but I'm having trouble finding justification for your statement.

            You mades some good points, especially how Apple often makes a better proprietary soolution than the standard. My main point, which sort of mirrors yours, besides making a small joke and forgetting the Apple Fanboys have no sense of humor, was Apple has often gone their own way if they decided it was a better solution. Nothing wrong with that, and it may be a good thing, but it often adds to the costs and limits choices. Sometimes an existing standard would work well. Take MagSafe 3. Apple could have desi

    • I'm no fan of Apple but you could use the thunderbolt standard for the video, Bluetooth for your keyboard and mouse, and Wi-Fi if your internet and then you don't have a single port while adhering to industry standards.

    • Look what USB-C has done with laptops and breakout boxes... there's now enough bandwidth for everything to fit into that port.

    • single I/O port? so need an apple display or breakout box with an lot of mark up.

      What a nonsense. If it has a single USB-C port and bluetooth then my brand new 3840x2560 pixel monitor will supply it with power, and it has two spare USB-A ports. My printer is wireless, my backup drives are wireless, iPad / iPhone connect wireless, so no problem.

    • single I/O port?

      Don't worry, I'm sure the next version will have wireless charging, only connect to devices over Bluetooth or WiFi and probably have all the keys replaced by rows of touchbars. Apple seems to suffer from severe trypophobia.

    • Yeah, because nothing else has been using DisplayPort over USB-C for years now. And USB-PD doesn't exist either. Also, WiFi and Bluetooth don't exist.

      This thing isn't a Mac Pro. And if you don't find it's specs meet your needs, don't buy it. I don't know what is so hard about that.

  • Another stupid patent (Score:5, Informative)

    by wbr1 ( 2538558 ) on Friday February 25, 2022 @12:29PM (#62303367)
    What ever happened to prior art? Even the c64, vic20, early TRS-80s, and the Mattel Aquarius were all computers inside a keyboard chassis.

    • Fuck you, this is breathtaking innovation... (Score:4, Funny)

      by NoNonAlphaCharsHere ( 2201864 ) on Friday February 25, 2022 @12:47PM (#62303457)
      Until I read TFS, I couldn't have even CONCEIVED of such an innovation. Upon reading the summary, my eyes were opened, and suddenly, electrictly, religiously, My Eyes Were Opened (TM) to the amazing (future) potentialities of desktop computing. Not since the Diesel Powered typewriter have I ever been so flabbergasted by modern innovation. Or maybe the TRS-40.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by kenh ( 9056 )

      Patent on the HDMI/power connection?

    • I guess that Apple didn't bother patenting it the first time, when they did the Apple II?

    • Don't get your panties in a twist.

      I think it would be cool to pair this with a pair of apple glasses for the screen.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by ljw1004 ( 764174 )

      What ever happened to prior art?

      Did you read the patent? It's not for "computer-inside-keyboard" in general. It's very specifically for:

      Triangle aluminium case with hinge at back; when you swing it open the keyboard raises itself. There's a trackpad, a built-in power supply, wireless charging, single USB-C, vent and fan over the CPU with thermally conductive base.

      That combination hasn't been done before. The question to ask is solely: is this combination obvious to someone skilled in the art?

      • I would have put more than 1 USB port in there, but hey...
        And of course the concept is obvious to someone skilled in the art, though the mechanism for raising the keyboard might not be.

      • That combination hasn't been done before. The question to ask is solely: is this combination obvious to someone skilled in the art?

        I could burp, fart, and sneeze at the same time while banging a prostitute in Sri Lanka. I may have been the first to perform that combination but the question is whether or not the combination was obvious enough to prevent anyone else from being allowed to do it.

      • Is it obvious? Well, all the other computer companies, Dell,HP, Acer, and so on, they are all making them, so itâ(TM)s obvious. Oh wait, they donâ(TM)t!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Ken D ( 100098 )

      For that matter the patent describes a modern smart phone with airflow added.
      An enclosure with an input device on the exterior, and computing on the inside with a singular I/O port for port and data communications (e.g. USB C) and airflow...

      So a non-water tight smart phone

  • Wait wait ... I got a super new idea .. (Score:4, Funny)

    by 140Mandak262Jamuna ( 970587 ) on Friday February 25, 2022 @12:30PM (#62303373) Journal
    Instead of connecting to an external display, add it to the keyboard! But a dust cover lid for the key board, and open it, voila! there is a display hidden on the under side of the lid! And let us add a brick battery, then ditch the power cord too!

    All in one portable computing solution, screen, battery storage, key board touch pad all in one tidy package! Great idea of what!!!

    • That's a great idea! You could also make that keyboard removable, and allow users to "touch" the screen. You could call it something like a "touchscreen."

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by fermion ( 181285 )
      Essentially what we are talking about is a thick MacBook air or a mini stretched out with a keyboard. A single port makes sense as everything is directed through USB C. Yes you need adapters, but only the ones you need and could make the machine $500.

      As it is opposite of a iPad, it is a product that creates a new space. Hook up to a 4K tv and you have a streaming device with a keyboard.

      The challenge to Apple is always heat. They will want to make this with no moving parts, so no fan.

  • A faster Raspberry Pi (Score:5, Insightful)

    by thegarbz ( 1787294 ) on Friday February 25, 2022 @12:31PM (#62303375)

    Apple's imagination isn't what it used to be.

  • If this gets rubber stamped. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Fly Swatter ( 30498 ) on Friday February 25, 2022 @12:33PM (#62303385) Homepage
    Then it is proof the US Patent Office needs to be entirely overhauled.

    It is a smaller Commodore 64, or a Trs-80. Prior art.

    Apple:Yes but it has an internal air movement system for cooling!

    My Tandy 1000HX wasn't as small but the keyboard was built into the PC, oh wait so was the original Apple, Apple II and Apple IIc.

    • Especially the Apple IIc. Two serial ports, external video port, mouse/joystick port, external drive port. And a power connection.

      So in today's terms 4 USB ports and an HDMI port. And the power connection. Just add an Ethernet connection.

      So what is supposedly patentable?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by dmay34 ( 6770232 )

      Eh, things get rubber stamped all the time. Don't forget, Apple actually got a patent for "rounded corners" for the iPhone. You can get a patent approved for literally anything if you have a lawyer.

      Patents aren't important until they have to be defended. THAT is when you have to prove that it's actually something YOU invented.

      • Don't forget, Apple actually got a patent for "rounded corners" for the iPhone.
        Citation needed!

      • THAT is when you have to prove that it's actually something YOU invented.

        Or just pay to settle or give up, because Apple has more money for lawyers than your entire company is worth and will bury you in litigation until you're bankrupt.

        You know, maybe we should have some kind of government service that gives you some kind of exclusive right to an invention after making sure it's a real thing and hasn't already been invented. But I dream...

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by hey! ( 33014 )

        That was a "design patent" -- what in countries other than the US is called a "registered design". It covers ornamental, non-functional aspects of a design as long as they are non-obvious, although how to evaluate that is a matter of controversy.

        The infringement wasn't limited to the rounded corner *bezels* (not rounded corners per se) but other design elements, as can be seen by looking at one of the infringing devices [wikipedia.org]. It's clearly a design knock-off of the iPhone 4, but it's hard to boil that obviously

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by jbengt ( 874751 )
        Rounded corners was part of a design patent, not a utility patent,.and was only part of the design that was copied and ruled as infringing on the patent.
        That said, does anyone know if this is an application for a design patent or a utility patent?

    • If this is a design patent, those operate under somewhat different rules. They have a very short duration, and are for specific or fixed "expressions" of designs. In fact they really do kind of overlap with copyright. They are also a lot cheaper and easier to get than "real" patents. I used to know a crazy guy who had a "design patent" for a swimming usable headband audio player, otherwise I would never have heard of them nor known the difference.

      https://www.uspto.gov/patents/... [uspto.gov]

    • Then it is proof the US Patent Office needs to be entirely overhauled.

      Not really. It's proof that there are a lot of patents being filed and the patent office doesn't have either resources or expertise to deal with it.
      That said it doesn't matter if it gets rubber stamped. The courts will make the patent irrelevant.

  • what about a Raspberry Pi 400?
  • Like others have pointed out the "computer in a keyboard" has been done MANY times over the past 40+ years. How this is something new that can be patented is quite puzzling. Hell, the Raspberry Pi 400 came out not long ago and looks very similar. However, Apple is probably doing this to pair with some sort of VR or AR headset.

  • Detachable keyboards were a godsend. I was so happy when I could boot my tower to a side table and move my keyboard around my desk with no issue. Keyboard breaks? No problem, chuck it in the trash, get another one.

    There was a time when computers were grossly expensive, and putting everything all in one box made it better for the consumer but that time has passed.

  • So ... (Score:2)

    by PPH ( 736903 )

    ... a laptop. With a detachable screen.

  • Sure but... (Score:3)

    by nospam007 ( 722110 ) * on Friday February 25, 2022 @01:04PM (#62303529)

    I had an Apple built-in into the monitor, now they want to build one into the Keyboard like the Apple II I had...

    I think I'll wait until they put one in the mouse.

  • The kind of person that is likely to want a keyboard computer is very likely to have a large, modern TV.

    I would rather have a keyboard device that wireless connects to a TV, as well as a wireless mouse/trackball.

    Give it a battery good for a couple of hours. After all, it has no video audio, two of the larger power consumers.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by hazem ( 472289 )

      I would rather have a keyboard device that wireless connects to a TV, as well as a wireless mouse/trackball.

      I do essentially that with a cheap computer like and old Asus CN60 (Chromebox) that I put Linux on (thanks to https://mrchromebox.tech/ [mrchromebox.tech]). They're about $40 on eBay. Or something like a Pi. I plug that in a TV or monitor and use a wireless keyboard/trackpad combo like the Logitech K400.

  • Apple has found that existing iMac / Mac Mini / Mac Pro aren't being destroyed fast enough by spilled liquids like their laptops so they've found a way to make sure people can kill off their devices and upgrade more often. Shareholders will be thrilled!

  • Just got a USB-C monitor (Score:3)

    by gnasher719 ( 869701 ) on Friday February 25, 2022 @01:31PM (#62303629)
    I just got a USB-C monitor. Wallplug -> USB-C -> Monitor, Monitor -> USB-C cable -> MacBook Pro, and it supplies the MBP with power.

    If you took a keyboard, make it 10mm thick, with an M1 processor, and a bluetooth mouse, that should be doable and produce a reasonable powerful processor.

    PS. Quite disturbing that Google decided to show me adverts to buy Russian caviar. I wouldn't be interested at any time, but right now I find the idea very, very tasteless.

  • with a detached display? What's patentable about that?

  • Was rather convenient ... fond memories.

    Although ... throw a touchpad on there and you could call it a "laptop with external screen", lol

  • Of all things to put the motherboard in, why a keyboard? Keyboards and mice are consumable devices, and are the ones that get the gunkiest over time.

    If Apple needs to put the CPU into something different, why not make their Mac Cube again?

  • Why not? They have all of the pieces. Keyboard, M1, battery, hdmi, BT, wifi, usb-c port, macOS.
    If they keep it simple, it can be the lowest cost-of-entry Mac ever. There's a market.
    When it catches on, everyone will be copying them, as always.

    A smart keyboard added to another machine could also be interesting.
    Eventually all keyboards might end up with smarts like that.

  • you need a patent to re-create 80s computer?
  • No way they can get a patent on that. If so, we know for certain the patent office is as corrupt as hell and lazy bastards. So many prior art for that. Personally I wouldn't want it in the keyboard anymore, especially not in those awful apple keyboards.

    • It's lazy to just react without reading the patent.

      The device as described isn't just a Commodore64, it's a unique, new concept.
      I'm sure that Apple is well aware of the keyboard/computer all-in-one. Apple II yes?

      First kbd/cpu that I remember was the SOL-20 from 1976, a year before the Apple II in 1977.
      Atari 400/800 shipped in 1979. Sinclair ZX80 came 3 years later, as did the VIC-20 and TRS-CoCo.
      Digital Equipment introduced the VK100 GIGI in 1981.
      Commodore 64 didn't arrive until 1982.

      • Oh please it's just a computer in a keyboard, there is nothing new about it. And Apple ][ (which I owned one myself) wasn't a computer in a keyboard, it as a computer with a keyboard built in, it had a big back where you could put the monitor/tv on it.

  • This is a great way for them to sell MacBooks that have defective screens. Just dremel off the lid and sell them as MacKeyboard. For a higher price, of course.

    • The stupidity in this thread is incredible. If you have a MacBook with a broken screen that cannot be repaired economically, you leave the lid closed and call it a Mac mini. Thatâ(TM)s what people have done for years.

  • Reading the patent, instead of just bitching and Apple bashing, reveals some interesting elements.

    - In some embodiments, the power supply includes an inductive charging coil
    So that implies a battery, plus wireless charging.

    - The computing device can be foldable about an axis, parallel to the rear-facing wall.
    - The computing device can be foldable about an axis perpendicular to the rear-facing wall.
    Foldable. Interesting

    - The computing device can include a track pad coupled to the enclosure.
    No doubt.

    - The inp

  • Do it (Score:2)

    by Z80a ( 971949 )

    So everyone else will copy apple just like they always do and we get those neat computers back.

  • I grew up with my Apple //c; the computer built into the keyboard. This is normal to me :)

  • First of all, let me say that like a lot of people here, I grew up in the Commodore 64, TRS-80 Color Computer 2/3, Amiga 500, Atari ST era. So putting the whole computer inside the same case as the keyboard is not novel for me, I've lived with those for quite a while.

    But given Apple's track record with keyboards? That's absolutely not something I would like to buy. Not to mention that not everybody likes Apple's keyboards even though they're back to using scissor keys.

    I hope they still make a dedicated Mac

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