Apple patents 'chameleon' computer case

[Mac Reporter]

Apple has patented the concept of the chameleonic computer - a machine whose shell changes colour at the user's whim.

The patent, number 20040156192 was filed in February 2004 and finally granted on 12 August.

Describing an "active enclosure for computing device [sic]", the patent covers "a computing device [which] includes a housing having an illuminable portion. The computing device also includes a light device disposed inside the housing. The light device is configured to illuminate the illuminable portion".

The light source is a collection of red, green and blue LEDs, capable of being used to generate any colour entered as an RGB value.

Might this be a feature of the next generation of iMac? At this stage, it's too early to say. Having maintained a single colour scheme - white and chrome - for its consumer computers, Apple may now be looking at returning to the iMac's most successful period, when the machine shipped in a range of bright colours.

Read more at The Register.

[opd]

uhm, like, mood Macs?!!! Touch me, feel me, whooooooooaaaaaa....

[weremermaid]

I want! Hope it can do fractals also!

C

[Zauber]

It's more of "fanciness" than necessity. Having an illuminated keyboard (just like the one's on the 15" & 17" AlBooks) and a TWO button mouse is waaaaay better than that if their going to add it as a feature on the new and much awaited iMacs...

I surely would like to hear much better news than that. :dry:

[Tantantiniiin]

Ah, light contolled pala.

There is an optical mouse that does that already, bought it at Columbia computer store in Gen Santos. Small and cute, but the changing colors is just one band. I wonder how they will do it if its a whole casing. They will probably be using a whole lot of refractions to spread the light all around the case, or simply, just like the illuminated sign boards, with the light at the base changing colors.

A more expensive (very expensive, if I may speculate) way for apple to do that is by using not LED, but rather, POLED. Its a polymer encased organic light emmitting diode. This means, it can be used to generate the colors it stated, and on the surface itself, not just refracted from any light base.

Tantin