upvote

points

by mmmlinux14 hours ago |
comments
upvoteby Tallain12 hours ago|
next
[-]
It's a real shame they got rid of target display mode. But then people would hold onto iMacs even longer.

Today, you can use software like Luna or Duet, or native screen sharing to control an iMac from another Mac (or vice versa). I have a 2019 iMac, bought for pennies and upgraded after to max out; way better value than buying the display on its own or a comparable monitor alone. The screen quality is just great.

I use it both as a daily driver and as a "thin client" for all my other machines with the software above.

reply
upvoteby romeinaday11 hours ago|
parent|
next
[-]
opendisplay - https://github.com/peetzweg/opendisplay - can make a old iMac's screen useful again. In my case, a 2015 27" iMac can be used as a monitor for my modern Mac laptop, connected via ethernet cable.
reply
upvoteby Tallain10 hours ago|
parent|
[-]
Very cool, I like this a lot. Will be giving it a try!
reply
upvoteby worthless-trash9 hours ago|
parent|
[-]
I've had good success with https://juicycrumb.com/product/docklite/#imac-model

There is a g4 model too there if thats the version you have.

reply
upvoteby mrheosuper6 hours ago|
parent|
prev|
next
[-]
They are never as good as native input. There are a lot of compression going on that reduce image quality and increase latency.

Also they require software on both sides, so if you want to use your imac to display your computer BIOS, no.

reply
upvoteby evanjrowley12 hours ago|
parent|
prev|
[-]
I wonder if Apple dropped it because of some proprietary licensed IP, such as Intel WiDi, making the feature possible.
reply
upvoteby K7PJP8 hours ago|
parent|
next
[-]
No, it was when the displays went to Retina. There was no way to drive them at 5K externally. Thunderbolt didn't have the bandwidth to do so.
reply
upvoteby reverius4211 hours ago|
parent|
prev|
[-]
They dropped it before the switch from Intel chips; my 2015 iMac could do it (I think) but my 2019 Intel iMac can't.
reply
upvoteby dubya13 hours ago|
prev|
[-]
I think this disappeared with Retina displays.

I'm still using a 2019 iMac 27" and starting to think about Linux again.

reply
upvoteby ryandrake12 hours ago|
parent|
[-]
I've got a 2014 Retina iMac and a 2017 Retina iMac. Both of them run flawlessly but are now past Apple's support window. And third party software developers are mostly already adopting a "LOL we don't care" attitude about them. The hardware works impeccably, but software developers refuse to lift a finger to make their software run on them anymore. The Apple ecosystem is infuriating. With great sadness, I retired both of them a few months ago and am now running a boring Linux box with a pretty standard DPI monitor. I miss the Macs but their window of usefulness is way too short.
reply
upvoteby notsydonia45 minutes ago|
parent|
next
[-]
Unpopular opinion no doubt but I think iMacs were way better with Intel chips. I still resent that my fantastic 2012 (yes) iMac finally became unusable due to software incompatibility. It was a beast of a machine. I actually did put Linux on it but it's not particularly satisfactory. If Apple were the 'eco-conscious' company they claim to be, they'd somehow make it so their machines lived forever...or longer. I'd love a new iMac but had to switch to Mac Mini/BenQ monitor after experiencing vertigo with the new gen iMacs.
reply
upvoteby reverius4211 hours ago|
parent|
prev|
next
[-]
My 2019 iMac is actually great with Linux on it. It had some issues (built-in WiFi not working, sleep resume bugs) but Claude fixed them for me.
reply
upvoteby dghlsakjg7 hours ago|
parent|
prev|
[-]
Those retina Mac’s are intel, no?

You could just run any other OS if any of the free OS upgrades that Apple provides aren’t good enough.

reply