iMac or Cinema Display owners with limited desktop space have a new way of keeping Time Machine hard disks, USB hubs, and other space hogs off the desk and out of the way.

Twelve South, a Mac-only accessory design house located in Charleston, South Carolina, has just introduced the BackPack (US$29.99 or US$149.99 for six), a small adjustable shelf that uses friction and gravity to stay in place on the aluminum arm that holds up the body of the iMac and Cinema Display. BackPacks adjust to the width of the arm, so you can install two of them if desired.

While most Mac users will probably opt for hiding a hard disk, Twelve South shows BackPacks being used to display action figures and hold a flower vase (water in the vase is not recommended). My personal favorite in the BackPack gallery is a Mac mini perched behind a Cinema Display.

BackPack is a clever and well-designed product, and is available either at Apple Stores or through the Twelve South website.

Since Apple made the design decision to forgo glare-free screens on MacBooks, iMacs, and Cinema Displays, a common problem for lots of users is reflection of light off of displays. It seems to be particularly bad if you sit with your back to a window, and it can cause both figurative and literal headaches.

RadTech has come out with some cool products for Macs over the years. For example, I've owned at least one of their ScreenSavrz "LCD Display protection, cleaning, and refinishing systems" for each MacBook I've had. The company is always in touch with the pulse of the Mac community, so it didn't entirely surprise me when they recently started selling ClearCal Anti-Glare films for MacBook, MacBook Pro, 24" iMac, and the 24" Cinema Display.

ClearCal is similar to the films you can get for iPhone and iPod touch screens, but in addition to protecting your screen, it also provides a solution for those pesky reflections. As you can see in the marketing shot to the right, it appears to do a decent job of making your Mac screen anti-glare. You can even remove the ClearCal a few times, wash it, and re-install it.

RadTech has an installation video if you're interested in seeing how easy or difficult it is to apply the ClearCal film to your display. Pricing starts at US$19.95 and peaks at US$25.95 for the 24" iMac and CInema Display. As soon as I replace my old iMac with a new 24", I'm installing a ClearCal so I can see more of my screen and less of the glare from the picture window behind me.

The e-mails have been arriving here at TUAW headquarters for a good portion of the morning with many asking the same question: "What happened to the 20-inch Cinema Display?"

It's true. A check of the direct link to the 20-inch Cinema Display's page reroutes you directly to the main Apple page. The portion of the Apple site dedicated to displays, however, not only still lists the 20-inch Cinema Display, but its departed brethren the 23-inch Cinema Display.

Oh where, oh where, have the 20-inch monitors gone? It leaves a devastatingly slim choice for people wanting an Apple-branded monitor. The new 24-inch LED Cinema Displays won't play nice with either the Mac Pro, iMac, Mac mini, or any other machine that doesn't have a Mini DisplayPort connector -- which pretty much means it's the unibody MacBook family or nothing. The price of the 30-inch Cinema Display is most likely out of reach for a lot of people, as well.

What to do? Take no fear, Amazon still has the 20-inch Cinema Display in stock with free shipping. There's also a host of very nice third-party panels out there. I supplement my MacBook with a 20-inch display from Acer that I picked up at Best Buy for less than $150.

Anyone else have any recommendations for a good non-Apple branded monitor? Let us know in the comments!

Thanks to all who submitted this!

Apple's LED Cinema Displays, announced at a special event in October, are finally available on the Apple Store online, and at Apple retail locations, which should make Cory happy.

The LED Cinema Display, which is more suitable as a laptop docking station more than another monitor for your desktop Mac, sells for $899. Shipping is free from the Apple Store online.

I went to the San Diego-area UTC Apple Store on Sunday, and saw a display model. The color was sharp, and looked identical to the display on my 24-inch iMac. Compared to the MacBook Pro next to it, the pixel density is looser (making objects of the same pixel size seem larger on the Cinema Display than on the laptop), typical for Apple's desktop displays. Unlike the iMac, the stand for the display had a tapered foot that was thinner at the front than in the back: Something I hadn't noticed before.

Additionally, adapters that connect the new Mini DisplayPort to DVI and VGA are also available, and will ship within 24 hours.

An update from the commenters: The Mini DisplayPort adapters are for MacBook Air, and won't help connecting a Mac Pro (for example) to this new display. Sorry, my mistake. Also, not all retail stores have the displays, so you might want to give them a call first before heading over there.

While some of us are waiting to purchase the new 24" LED Cinema Display, Apple has quietly pulled the old 23" Cinema Display from the online store. Apple is still selling the 20" and 30" Cinemas, but they have put the words "Ships: Discontinued" on the 23" model.

I'm sure these are very sad words for the folks who don't like glossy screens; however, this could also mean local retailers (and Apple Stores) might have 23" models on sale very soon (did someone say black Friday sales?).

If you still want a 23" model, you can check Apple's online refurb store where they are currently being sold for $749 (US).


Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Just in case you missed the Apple event today, they released some pretty neat upgrades to their notebook line, and a new 24" LED Cinema display. While we were not invited to the fun party, our sister blog, Engadget was -- and they took some awesome hands-on photos.

So far, they have played around with all of the products except the MacBook Air. You can see the hands-on pictures by clicking the links below:

• New MacBook Pros
• New MacBooks
  
• New Cinema Displays
  

You may have noticed from the pictures (i.e. the one above) that the new MacBooks/Pros only have glossy screens (and by glossy, we mean like a mirror). Apple tells me that the screens are in fact glass, and not a plastic overlay.

We want to know how you feel about Apple's move to all-glossy screens. Be sure to express your thoughts in the comments, and take part in our poll.

In a move that surprised everybody and nobody simultaneously, Apple has released a brand-new 24-inch LED Cinema Display to spruce up the languishing product line.

In addition to a new form factor that brings their look in line with newer iMacs (and now the new MacBook and MacBook Pro models announced today), the displays have an iSight camera, speakers, and a MagSafe power connector to charge your laptop. They have a native resolution of 1920 by 1200 pixels.

Also, the displays are more environmentally friendly, moving away from the mercury-vapor backlights to newer LED backlights now available throughout Apple's line of laptops. The surface of the display is glass, with a glossy finish.

The display includes three USB ports, but no FireWire ports featured on older Cinema Displays.

The new 24-inch display will be available in November for $899.

Update: "Old" Cinema Displays still appear to be on Apple's website, so it looks like other screen sizes in the older form factor will continue to be available. For how long, we don't know.

[Via Engadget.]

[Update 1:15 pm -- And this is why we don't often post product rumors... indications are that this is coming from someone posing as our "reputable source," and other sites have received and debunked the rumor. We tried to reach the source for verification but were not able to do so. Our apologies if this turns out to be complete bunk. -Ed.]

We don't often post product rumors hereabouts, although we're certainly not above reporting on them and linking to them; it's just not the regular beat. That said, when an email comes in from a reputable source (thanks, Mr. X) with supposed details on Tuesday's product announcement... well, we gotta let you all know. Pile on the disclaimers (this is a rumor!) and here we go. Our source says that there are plenty of new products coming on Tuesday:

Two new iMacs, with 20 and 24 inch screens, and entirely covered in brushed metal (!) plus the previously hinted new keyboard design and a slightly slimmer enclosure. Even more surprising, our source says the iMacs are shipping with a 2.4GHz Intel Penryn chip. Intel's first 45-nm CPU was originally slated to ship at the end of the year, and it's not clear that Apple could get enough parts to actually build these puppies before October, so take this with a grain of salt. The machines might ship with the dual-core Conroe part instead.

Three new Apple Displays at 20, 24, and 32 inches. These are supposed to have an iSight camera built in.

The Mac Pro will get a speed bump as the Xeon/Woodcrest chips are swapped out for Penryn chips, running at a brisk 2.4, 3.0, and 3.33GHZ.

Lastly, the long-expected end of life for the Mac Mini may finally come around as the machine is expected to be dropped from the product matrix. *sniffle*

Again, this is all unconfirmed. We'll know for sure on Tuesday!

We're going to break from tradition this week and highlight a rig that is not a part of our flickr pool. At right we see former Vice President (and Apple Board member) Al Gore flanked by three huge Apple displays. We can only imagine where the computer powering those things is located in that cluttered office.

By the way, does anyone know where I can get an enormous tree frog for my wall?

"Al Gore's American Life" photographed for Time Magazine by Steve Pyke.

If you'd like to see your own rig featured here, simply upload photos into our group Flickr pool. Each Sunday we'll comb through the most recent entries and declare a "Rig of the Week!"

If you're going to be buying on of those new Mac Pros, you're going to want to get snazzy monitor to get with it. And who makes the snazziest monitors around? That's right, Apple! Luckily, Apple dropped the prices of their monitors across the board. The 20-inch and 23-inch displays got a price cut of $100 (making them $599 and $899 respectively) while the monster 30-incher sheds 200 bucks for its price to retail for $1799.

All of this has me wondering what will be announced on the 15th at NAB.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Some guys (or girls) have all the luck. While it's true that I own many Macs, the vast majority of them (ok, all but two) weren't manufactured in this decade...and most of those don't really work. So you can understand why I'm jealous envious of prunejuice's (great name) snapshot featuring a Powerbook G4, 2GHz BlackBook, 23" Cinema Display, G4 Mac mini, DP G5 Powermac and bevy if iPods. Sheesh.

"prunejuice" posted by (who else) prunejuice.

If you'd like to see your own rig featured here, simply upload photos into our group Flickr pool. We'll select an image every day to highlight.

It's not anything too major, but still notable. Eagle-eyed shoppers at the online Apple Store may have noticed a change in the 30" Cinema Display's specs. Specifically, brightness has been boosted to 400 cd/2 (from 270 cd/m2). Also, the contrast ratio is now 700:1 (from 400:1). The price remains the same, which is somewhere in the "you-can-get-four minis-instead" range (that's $2499US).

Oddly enough, these specs match exactly those of the 30" Dell UltraSharp 3007WFP. Do what you will with that information.

[Via Infinite Loop]

I wouldn't turn down either the Apple 30 inch Cinema HD Display or the Dell UltraSharp 3007WFP (also 30 inches) if someone wanted to give it to me. However, CNET has pitted these two monstrous monitors against one another to see which one is truly the best.

Dell wins on price (it is $300 less than the Apple offering) and inputs, but overall quality of image and color reproduction puts the Apple display in the winner's circle, though only by a hair.

It would seem that both monitors are good, but the Apple monitor is better.

[via Engadget]

Flickr user, TUAW reader, and slayer of the living dead Zombie Killer is responsible for today's Rig of the Day. His home studio features two 20" Cinema Displays, a dual 2.0GHz Power Mac G5, a couple guitars, a couple of basses and a whole rack of fun stuff. The snapshot has been carefully notated, so you can check everything out.

"Studio" posted by Zombie Killer.


If you'd like to see your own rig featured here, simply upload photos into our group Flickr pool. We'll select an image every day to highlight.

Today's rig features a Cube with a case that has been modded to be clear. Nice Cinema Display, turntable and an original iPod (cool). It's pretty hardcore geek to want to stare at a computer’s interior parts, but I like it.

"My Desk!" posted by scottdog1515.

If you'd like to see your own rig featured here, simply upload photos into our group Flickr pool. We'll select an image every day to highlight.