[hugh]

Accurate or not, that's a pretty good idea. Being able to detach the screen and plug the computer into a bigger monitor would suit perfectly the way I use my laptop at the moment.

Plus, with the screen removed the "brick" is presumably a computer in a keyboard form factor, just like in the good old days.

[jws]

A detaching laptop screen seems unlikely. The mechanical stresses on the attachment device sound too extreme.

This also sounds like a new series of monitors which Apple probably won't do until they can have LED backlights in the big screens.

[mariorz]

I don't get it. I plug a bigger monitor to my laptop when I'm at my desk. Why the need to detach the laptop screen?

[mechanical_fish]

I'm not expecting this to actually happen... but I would instantly buy a Mac laptop that let me physically separate the screen and the keyboard while continuing to use them both. Then I could set the screen up on a portable stand at approximately the right height and distance while the keyboard lived closer to me and lower down, perhaps even in my lap.

Right now the best I can do is to carry an external keyboard. But it's a pain to have to tote around redundant hardware. Of course, it's also a pain to be in pain after spending too much time using an un-ergonomic laptop.

[wheels]

The main limiting thing there for me that's annoying is that Mac OS seems to require me to use my laptop's screen as the main one putting the menubar there instead of on my larger external monitor.

[raganwald]

You know abhout this "drag and drop" thing? Open up the Displays preference pane. You see the two (or more) screens and you can drag them around to decicde how to arrange your virtual desktop.

Now drag the menu bar to whichever screen you like. And remember, Google is your friend.

[wheels]

Ah, didn't realize that you could drag the menubar separately.

[raganwald]

In your defense, a lot of "elegant" GUI designs are like this: they lack affordances, so you have no idea that they can be manipulated. But once you learn them, they seem to make sense.

The common alternative, some sort of configuration wizard with 1,000 controls, seems worse. But only just.

[wheels]

In some cases it's just a little more thought -- like here if, for instance, the border of the menubar was highlighted as the mouse rolled over it, it would be pretty obvious, in my opinion.

[raganwald]

I haven't tried this, but someone says that if you go into the Spaces view--the one where you can drag windows between all four of your spaces--you can drag the menu bar in there as well!

[antidaily]

same here. and I know some use there laptop screen as a second monitor. so this is a bad idea on many fronts.

[scott_s]

Why bother detaching the screen? Close the lid and put it on a dock.

[hugh]

That's what I do now (except for the dock, I just plug everything in) but if I had one of these I could save: (a) on buying a separate keyboard and (b) on desk space.

OK, it's not a huge advantage, but it's neat.

Only downside: unless they're very clever with the design, a brick-keyboard isn't as good to type on as a regular keyboard. But hey, maybe they'll be clever with the design, so it tilts downwards properly.

Hmm, and I just thought of another nice way to use it: on my lap, on the couch, plugged into my big-ass TV.

[Raphael]

Better yet, transmitting the video output to your TV.