Extended desktop for iMac G5's

This is the one thing I don't like about apple.. Marketing dept seems to control too much of the house. While we're at it, why not release photobooth for all, or for at least people with the stand alone isight? Why not include front row with the remote control and have it work with the ipod dock that supports the remote, so that not IR having macs can use it?

Seriously apple, why artificially cripple a completely capable machine just to upsell? Release an official update!

I know it's capable, a friend of mine has used the "hack" (it's only one bit for crying out lout) on his Rev A iMac for over a year flawlessly.

Apple should enable it on older G5s -- it is disabled to make the PowerPCs look better. It has *absolutely* nothing to do with the hardware in the iMac G5s.

I have a Rev. A iMac G5 -- it is the lowest spec iMac G5 ever made. I've installed the firmware hack and used it for a very long time, giving me dual monitors with my iMac. There was never even so much as the slightest of hiccups. The hack is 99.999999999% safe. In all likelihood, it's 100% safe, but it's impossible to be that certain, so we'll leave a smidgen of the tiniest doubt in there.

Release an update, Apple.

I vote for the spanning iMac G5 monitors. :) Technical mombo jumbo aside..... PLEASE?

Yeah, it's just locked in the firmware. I used the Screen Spanning script and had an external 21" Sony CRT at 1600 x 1200 for a few months. It was great.

does the intel imac support theater mode? (i.e. a windowed video on the primary display is shown full-screen on the secondary display)

If you want a spanning desktop just get the dr.span hack. It's quick an easy. I've used it on many iMac's, eMac's, and ibook's. Not one problem. Think of it as an unlocking instead of a hack.

I wonder how Front Row looks one an iMac when it's spanning? Can Front Row be on your secondary monitor/TV while your desktop is on the iMac?

Tony: No, but you could have returned your PowerBook after the keynote, as your purchase date was well within the 14 days of the receipt of the product.

http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/salespoliciesEdIndividual.html

The hack isn't really much of a hack, pretty much all it is doing is switching a bit in the firmware from 0 to 1. Dual display support is a feature of the hardware that Apple decided to disable in firmware. I have used Screen Spanning Doctor for over a year an a half on my iBook and on multiple eMac's with no problems at all.

Although I agree the hardware of the iMac G5 is able to do monitor spanning and that Apple cripples its consumer hardware (the ibook is another example) I disagree in that the only difference between the G5 and dual core iMacs is the processor. As was pointed out, the graphic chip is different but most important the chipset, logic board and all internals are different.