Classic Merit Megatouch meets Classic Apple

The Merit Megatouch Bar/Table Top Game Machine

The Merit Megatouch Maxx (Saphire)

Megatouch Force

Maybe its nostalgia, maybe its a truly great piece of software/hardware, but I have always loved these machines.  I remember vividly playing photohunt at a local dive bar at a time when touchscreen technology seemed quite futuristic.  With less processor power than an iphone and resistive touchscreen technology that connected via serial cable, its amazing that I still see these machines being used frequently in bars and taverns.

Merit Ion Megatouch
(Courtesy of Jester's Amusements)

While I don't really know much about the various product lines that Merit offered, I do know that the most common machines I saw were the CRT Merit Maxx (with its jewel themed updates) and the newer Megatouch Force.

I'm putting together a game room and a Merit Megatouch was something I hoped to incorporate right from the start.  At first I looked at the modern LCD versions (such as the Aurora or Ion Lines).  In my opinion, the prices were astoundingly high for the level of hardware.  When I looked at older machines in various conditions, I again saw very high prices and a ver slow depreciation.  This didn't bother me so much, as it gave me an excuse to DIY it and truly make it my own.  Unfortunately, I found out that Merit does not license its software.  Thus, the reason for the high prices is really the software as well as excellent customer support from Merit.

Choosing parts is also somewhat of a pain as Merit is very protective of its software (as is its right).  Buying individual parts requires making sure your hardware and physical security key matches up with the Merit supplied hard drives.  The best bet is to obtain a working machine with defective screen and/or in physical disrepair, but functional inside (easier said than done).

So here is the motherboard:

Megatouch XL with Maxx Diamond conversion

Its technically and old Megatouch XL that was upgraded to the Megatouch Maxx
I again want to point out (both for my own protection and to state a fact).  This is a native Merit board, HDD, I/O card, and security key (the object with the battery and tag in the lower left corner of the motherboard).  The AT power source is new and replaces a defective one.  This is in NO WAY a hacked board and there is absolutely NO use of cracked or stolen/pirated or otherwise altered software.  Instead this is a genuine Merit Megatouch with some working parts (motherboard, I/O, HDD) and some non-working/damaged parts (powersource, touchscreen, CRT, enclosure) that I am replacing with available alternatives.

Booting is slow, the fan is loud, but it works

There is something very rewarding about repurposing old hardware that is otherwise destined for the trash.  This is especially true with "classic" hardware.  While "classic" is obviously in the eye of the beholder and difficult to define, to me it means, "a device that performs its original function in such a manner that it can not or at least has not been significantly improved upon, even if that function is currently considered obsolete."  With the iMac G4, from a mechanical engineering perspective, it "did its job" perfectly.  It allowed for nearly effortless manipulation of an LCD monitor.  Thus, making it easy to have the LCD conform to all potentially desirable viewing heights, angles, and tilt.  New technology may eliminate the need to change viewing angle to make a screen readable (IPS).  It may/will replace the need for LCDs with superior and more customizable viewing technologies (ex holograms, project glass).  But, if your goal is to have an all in one computer with a 15 - 20" LCD screen viewed on a desk, I don't think it has ever gotten better than the iMac G4.  People who love classic cars would likely say the same thing about their passion.  Similarly, Merit has barely changed the formula and, even in the iPad age, can still sell its touch devices for thousands.  This is because these Megatouch Machines "do what they do" perfectly.  They play simple, entertaining touch games that are both nostalgic and timeless.

The 17" ELO 1715L

A 300 watt AT PSU was easy enough to find for a few dollars.  The touch screen was somewhat of a happy coincidence.  The original touch screen was a 3M and I actually found an old touchscreen controller for this device.  However, I also an old 17" 4:3 LCD touch monitor from ELO.  While I was fairly certain the VGA would scale up easily to 17" from the original 15" CRT, I did not know if the touch screen would work or if I could calibrate it for 17".  I had forgotten that this particular touch monitor had both a usb and serial port option for touch control (I was planning on getting a USB to serial adapter), but did not need it.  It seemed to work, but clearly needed calibration.

First run - Touchscreen not Calibrated

The Menu Control connected to Momentary switch

I need to thank "Dark Paladin" and his work with Merit Megatouches.  In his project, which can be found here:

http://home.comcast.net/~dark.paladin/megatouch/

He reveals the 4 important pins including the two grounds at the top left and second from left, as well as the setup pin (top right) and Touchscreen calibration pin (second from right on top).  Using a momentary switch to temporarily ground these switches will send you to the Setup and Touch Calibration Menus respectively.  His design is definitely worth a read to anyone considering a similar project.

Touch Screen Working ... Photo Hunt Time

Some issues such as I/O, Sound, and Quieting the fan still need working out.

But the first thing to consider is the permanent housing.  The motherboard is way too bid for the iMac G4 and too wide for the iMac G5.  However, the other white plastic desktop of the era I feel would make an ideal home.  I am referring to the 17" Flat CRT based eMac.  Elimination of the CRT will give plenty of room for the PSU, Motherboard, I/O and HDD.  Cooling mechanisms and air flow are already present in the chassis.  In addition, my current 4:3 17" LCD should fit perfectly.  Despite this transition, because the CRT in the eMax is actually flat, it should be indistinguishable from the outside.

The I/O hub can be fitted with the momentary switches and the existing on/off button can be used.  The existing front speakers seem perfect for this mod.

Broken eMac = Future Megatouch?

Although it is bulky, there is a classic look to it and it will allow for a single contained unit.  I have picked up the broken eMac seen above.  The front bezel needs repair or replacement, but it otherwise appears to be in good shape.

All in all, I think this will make a very fun project while I await small form factor Ivy Bridge Boards for my new Pro iMac G4 mod.

Please feel free to ask any questions and as always, thanks for reading.
TO BE CONTINUED ........

Options for a "PRO" iMac G4 Mod

When I began this project, my motivation wasn't just to retain the concept of the iMac G4, but to find a way to reuse the LCD screen.  I felt the same way about the iMac G5, and although their Power PC processors had become largely obsolete, the displays were more than adequate.

The 20" LCD was almost identical to the one found in the iMac G5 and in the aluminum 20" Apple Cinema Display (these are all TMDS and swappable).  The expansive 20.1" display had a 1680x1050 resolution as a result of a 16:10 aspect ratio.  The iMac G4 contained one of the first flat screen LCDs on an all-in-one computer at the 20" for the first for that size.  Then a funny thing happened, LCD monitors seemed to stagnate in many respects.  LCDs were remarkably sharp compared to CRT Televisions and as computers used small screens compared to TVs, I suppose many felt the resolution to be adequate.  Innovation continued in the form of LED backlighting and increasing screen sizes, but in some ways, resolution seemed to go backwards.

Courtesy of extreme.pcgames

I loved the 16:10 aspect ratio, you were able to see more of the page without having to scroll.  Having the extra vertical room was better for me in almost everything except for one thing - watching movies, an activity I rarely did on my computer monitor.  The extra horizontal space, look up more room on the desktop and went largely unused for me.  For many sizes there was a decrease in the area as well as a lower resolution.  The less pixels required for the same size made this especially appealing to manufacturers and for the most part 16:9 has become dominant.  For 20" the pixel loss was very significant, the 20.1" 16:10 1680x1050 as compared to the 20" 1600:900.  The result is that I have not seen any modern 16:10 20" LCDs at all, though 22" are common.

Higher contrast ratios, IPS screens, LED backlighting can not be found in a screen that fits within the existing housing of the 20" monitor.  What is more concerning is that tablets and smartphones, in particular the retina display of the iPhone and especially the iPad, have changed the way people view LCDs and pixel density is increasing in desktop displays once again.  Although Apple has generally been ahead of the curve with higher resolutions (began in 2009) on their displays, this is now becoming industry standard.

A good example is the evolution of the "smaller" sized iMac.  The 20" iMac G4 was released in 2003 and it was the largest size available and continued to be so into the iMac G5s and into the intel era right until the end of the white polycarbonite iMacs, where the 24" size appeared making the 20" the middle size.  The aluminum iMacs kept the 20"16:10 size with the larger 24".  With the appearance of the unibody aluminum iMacs apple went to the 16:9 aspect ratio.  However, they did not stick with the 20" size in 16:9 and the 1600x900 resolution.  Nor did they upgrade to the 22" 16:10 size and its resolution 1680x1050 (identical to the 20.1" iMac's resolution - thus actually less dense).  They went to a 21.5" 16:9 LCD that is true high resolution: 1920x1080 (1080p = HD).  There is now even talk of High DPI LCD Screens that go beyond HD.

The iMac G4 has 2 features that make great to use - its ergonomic arm and its LCD.  The ergonomic arm is especially useful with a touchscreen.  In my touchscreen variations, I have loved using this design and incorporating a touch screen remains my highest priority no matter which direction I go in.  However, as the LCD becomes more dated, I'm considering trying a radical redesign for my "Pro" Mod.  As of now these are the possibilities as I see them:

1) The 20" iMac G4 mod with some improvements:
- A better cooling system and processor/RAM upgrade
- Native PSU
- Touchscreen
- Possible iSight Cam

Four Possible Touchscreens

I discussed this in my Touchscreen post and I have obtained a 3M 16:10 20" capacitive screen that seems to work with OS X.  It has a significant thickness to it and can not fit inside the housing as is.
The easiest solution is to place it in front of the display or cut the front bezel (the bezel is about the same thickness as the capacitive touch overlay).  This should work and if done properly may not look bad.  I am worried about the weight and ruining the elegant look with a touchscreen jutting out somewhat.  Also,  placement of the controller and wiring down the neck would have to be worked out.

2) LED backlighting
I am currently working on this method and will discuss it in my next post.  But, the general idea is to upgrade the lcd with led backlighting which will allow me to use a thinner diffuser.  This may allow me to fit the touchscreen inside the LCD housing and will help alleviate the additional weight.

The iMac's Diffuser

Unfortunately 16:10 20" LED monitors do not exist, thus, I will have to alter a larger diffuser and backlight in order to fit in the housing.  I can't just add LEDs because the entire purpose is to use a thinner diffuser allowing for the touchscreen to fit.  In theory this method would allow the 20" iMac to have a touchscreen added without any notable external change.

3) New, Larger LCD with Custom Housing
- Adding a 21.5" screen would be ideal, high resolution screens with LED backlighting and IPS would truly be an upgrade.  Also, 21.5" LCDs with optical touch screens do exist and some of these can be multitouch OSX compatible.  But this wouldn't fit in the current LCD housing.  While it may be possible to enlarge the front housing, the back would have to be done custom.  While 3D printing and prototyping services are available, there are certain drawbacks to using the original design.
- The weight would be very different.  Also, the screen would likely use LVDS, so fitting the controller board so that DVI/HDMI would go through the existing TMDS wires in the neck would be advantageous.  Thus, the existing shape may not be ideal.
-  As the 21.5" screen is notably wider, it may start to look awkward.  Elimination of the surrounding clear plastic and wide bezel would help the proportions.
-  This would be very expensive and difficult to reproduce.

4) Redesign using a different LCD Housing:
- I have secured a different housing to the iMac before and made it into a successful mod.  So it can be done even with non VESA complaint monitors.

Apple Cinema Display Mod Housing Secured

- Obviously keeping the dome is critical.  It is what gives the iMac G4 its identity and allows the LCD to be pulled forward and rotated in a way that a base alone would not allow.
- The LCD housing would have to look modern, have an apple style, be able to fit a 21.5" LCD and have a weight and width similar to the original G4's housing.  While I know nothing about the weight issue, the obvious candidate is the housing from the 21.5" iMac.

- There are many technical details that would make this impossible.  But here is a very quick mock-up:

As I have the 20" touchscreen and have already begun, I am going to pursue the original design and housing with the touchscreen and LED backlight, but I may pursue the 21.5" based iMac in the future.  I would love to get opinions and suggestions, so please comment below.  Thank for reading.

Step by Step Apple Cinema Display LCD Housing / 20" iMac G4 Touchscreen Mod

This guide details how to attach the cinema displays LCD hosing to the top of the neck without the forward displacement caused by using a VESA mount.  This technique can be used with other monitors.  Since the base components depend on what you intend to use this for, I have not gone into any details on the base here.


iMac G4 20" / Apple Cinema Display Parts List:
iMac G4 20" (Can be broken)
Apple cinema display 20" with PSU
5 wire resistive touchscreen
5 pin male to female touchscreen extension cable

Tools:
Rotary dremel with many cut off blades and sanders
Tin snips
Needle nose pliers
Mini screwdriver set
Allen wrench for cinema display stand
Full set torx screwdrivers or attachments
Soldering iron with solder
Wire cutter and stripper
Pliers
Duct tape
Gorilla glue
Cold weld
Multimeter with continuity check
Several sheets of grey styrene

I. Opening the Apple Cinema Display (This site is an Excellent Resource)
- remove stand by first unscrewing Allen bolt on each side then the 3 small torx-6 screws on underside of stand.  Pull to remove
- insert a small flat screwdriver and pry off the white side panels on both sides
- disconnect the power/brightness panel
- unscrew all the mini screws
- use a mini screw driver to lift off side metal panels
- unscrew top large screw on both sides
- use flat mini screw driver to pull on sliding tabs on both sides at the bottom of the monitor.  Pull tabs out - monitor should open
- disconnect 2 pin front led indicator
- slide monitor out feeding the cable through the hole in back until entire monitor is free.

Courtesy of The Ignition Project

II. Disconnect the cable.  The white cable splits off into several connectors that plug into the monitors boards.
- disconnect the black power connector by pressing down the latch
- disconnect the 5 pin cable from control board with needle nose pliers
- unplug the mini USB and FireWire cables that come from rear cable
- disconnect the 30 pin JAE connector that plugs into LCD by pressing in on clip on both sides simultaneously
- remove cable that attaches JAE connector and connects immediately to control board using needle nose pliers

III. Free the cable
-  using wire clippers or scissors all outer shielding (tan plastic) must be removed from cable.  remove all string.
- the big plastic block can be removed by slowly cutting with wire clippers or dremeling with cut off blade VERY carefully
-  in the end you should wind up with 4 independent cables surrounded by silver mesh ending in 4 white plugs
       a) The 30 pin JAE plug (with it's attachment) joins up with the 5pin connector to form 1 cable ending with DVI connector
       b) The power cable (black latch at one end, other end plugs into PSU)
       c) FireWire cable
       d) USB cable

IV. Opening the iMac monitor
- unscrew 3 torx-6 screws at bottom of monitor housing (be careful not to strip the screws)
- slide out front which should contain the LCD itself
- disconnect the wires including front led (try not to damage for later use), microphone, inverter cable, and 30 pin JAE connector to LCD
- use torx screwdriver to remove four screws holding bezel onto neck
- remove wireguard
- slide wires through hole and place monitor housing to the side

V. Open base
- almost all torx except for bottom plate - phillips.  will not get into, can remove everything (would leave drive tray)
- at top unscrew and free neck from base (save all screws)

VI. Wiring the neck
-  There are two options here I detail the differences in this post.  I'll discuss the one I went with the "hybrid method"

- Open the neck using taped together miniscrewdrivers
-  Find the microphone/led cable.  It is labelled.  The lcd side breaks into two parts.  One with 2 wires (LED), one with three(microphone)
-  This wire is tapped to another inside of the neck.  Gently cut the tape holding the wires together.

-  Cut this wire in half inside the neck and remove the cut wire from both ends of the neck.  (There is no use for these very small wires and this cable is the same size as the larger gauge power cable wires which will be taking its place). 
- Cut the connector off the black power cable.
-  Place the 3 wires (without the connector) into the neck start at the bottom hole and then through the top hole.
-  Pull through so that there is at least 18" of wire on the lcd side of the neck.
Close and seal the neck in the same fashion it was opened
-  Remove the native iMac's 30 pin JAE connector by cutting the wires.  (The pins in the connector are too fragile and not worth saving).
- Remove the pins gently from the iMac's inverter connector.
-  It should now look like:

-  Take the USB, DVI, and 5pin connector cable fome the apple cinema diaplay and cut off at least 12" from the LCD side.
-  You will now need to solder the power connector back on from where it was cut.
-  Solder the iMac G4's black wire (the one that has 3 wires that split into green, red, and shield) onto the ends of the Apple Cinema Displays JAE connector wires.  Use the soldering iron itself to melt the plastic covering as these wires are otherwise impossible to strip.
-  Solder 5 wires from the iMac G4's Gray cable onto the ends of the Apple Cinema Display's 5 pin connector.
[Although it probably doesn't matter which color wire you choose as long of you solder the bottom end onto the same wire, I used the wires that served the same function in the native iMac.]
-  Solder the USB onto 4 remaining wires from the gray cable
-  Solder 5 wires from the inverter cable to the male end of the 5 wire touch screen extension cable.
-  Repeat this process for the bottom half.  Making sure to solder the same wire to the bottom half that you chose for the top. REMEMBER TO PUT THE DVI CABLE THROUGH THE HOLE IN THE BASE BEFORE YOU SOLDER.
- Wiring the neck is detailed in greater depth in this post


VII. Making the Monitor casing
-  Unscrew the metal bracket that pokes out of the back of the Apple Cinema Display's Case

-  Using a flat screw driver pry up the metal plate that is glued down to the back of the Apple Cinema Display's housing.
-  Remove the inverter from the iMac G4's monitor housing
-  The inverter is held on by several screws
-  Using needle nose pliers pull out the 4 bolts in the iMacs back case that the inverter screw into
-  Place the Apple Cinema Display inside of the iMac G4's housing.  With the bol's removed it should fit flush and snug
-  Turn it over - The back of the apple cinema display should be visible in the iMac G4s hole where the neck used to be
-  Using a pencil trace that hole.

- Using a flat head screwdriver you will need to separate the iMac G4's metal housing from the white plastic it is glued to.  (To do this you will likely snap the white plastic several times).

-  Using tinsnips and a rotary or multimax dremel cut out a bracket from the center of the metal casing that includes the circular neck attachment.  Be patient, this is difficult to cut and will take some time.

Comparison of original and new bracket

If you are planning on incorporating a touch screen, trimming weight will be important.  Consider further cutting this bracket down to a smaller size.

Further Cut-down bracket

-  Using tinsnips cut out the hole that was traced on the back of the apple cinema display
-  Place the neck through the hole to ensure that it will fit
-  If small modification is needed use the dremel with either a cutting or sanding part.

With hole cut

-  It should now look like this
-  Position the bracket inside the apple cinema display and use the screws to secure the new monitor housing in place.
-  Make sure that the monitor is not rotated.

-  Trace around the bracket to record the proper position
-  Remove the monitor and bracket from the neck
-  Using grey styrene cut out small fill-ins for the two lines that come off the new hole as well of a circular fill in to the Apple cinema display's original hole
-  Glue these in place
-  Now position the bracket in place and Cold Weld vs Gorilla Glue the new bracket firmly down to the inside back of the apple cinema display's housing


VIII. Further Modification for use with touchscreen (This is only for people who wish to add the same touchscreen I did).
-  Cut further weight from the bracket as documented above
-  Trace the touchscreen dimensions on the front of the Apple Cinema Display's Bezel
-  Dremel out the inner portion of the front bezel
-  Fuse the LED cables from the two different monitors
-  This step is documented in great detail in this post.


VIII. Putting in the LCD
-  Place the cables through the bottom opening of the Apple Cinema Display
-  Reconnect to the LCD
-  Lift the LCD screen into the bezel.  As you do this try to keep the wires from stacking on top of each other (This can be a pain) otherwise it will not close easily.  (If you are using the touchscreen, try to leave that connector/cable accessible towards the bottom of the screen)
-  If you are using the touchscreen - place it in the modified front bezel and wrap the ribbon cable inside the bezel around the LCD and connect it to the 5 pin connector.
-  Leave the on/off brightness cable sticking out the side
-  Connect the LED cable (if you are using the modified original iMacs, wrap the ribbon cable around the bottom of the LCD.
-  Push in the pins at the bottom to close the display.  You should not have to use any force.  If you do readjust the wires behind the LCD.

iMac G4/Cinema Display Mod - Improvements

So far this mod is as close to perfect as I have gotten, but there are a few things that I felt could be improved.  For one - with the touchscreen and iMac bezel in place there is a one area where I was getting "monitor drift" that is the neck would slip down an extra inch or two when positioned in a certain way.  Secondly I did not love that the touchscreen is located in front of the cinema displays bezel or that it was held on by mounting tape.  Thirdly, despite doing a better job hiding the touchscreen wire, I still found it somewhat unsightly.

My initial intention was to make the touchscreen easily removable, but having used this mod with the touchscreen, I would never remove it.  So I decided to integrate it into the display.  However, the 5wire resistive touchscreen although only a few mm thick will not fit under the bezel.

I looked for film to film touchscreens but could only find them in 18.5" or 21.5".  Plus chances are its not a 5wire.  I know everyone wants capacitive, but 5wire resistive is very durable and for the price, very reasonable.  For those interested the screen I use:

http://cgi.ebay.com/20-1-5-Wire-Resistive-Touch-Screen-Panel-Kit-USB-16-10-/270694746748?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f06aa0a7c#ht_6098wt_1235

The company ships fast and it packages it very safely in a plexiglass lined box.  So here is how to integrate the touchscreen.  Again this is only for people that are using this particular touchscreen.

To start I wanted to decrease the weight a little bit to compensate for the touch screen.  I decided to remove the top portion of the bracket.  Although this gives less surface area for the glue to hold.  The weight is actually supported by the aluminum frame itself - so this part protects from rotation more than anything.  I used cold weld epoxy and am confident that even without the top of the bracket its not going anywhere.  But I still had to figure a way to mount the touchscreen flush against the lcd.

So to solve this I actually cut out part of the front bezel of the apple cinema display.  I positioned the touchscreen in the center, traced around the screen and dremeled that area out.  This allowed me to put the touchscreen flush against the lcd screen and the monitor is still securely held by the remaining bezel.  The touchscreen is also firmly held in place by the square cut for it.

Previous Method

New Method

To the left you can see the difference.   The new bezel is pictured on the bottom.  You can see the front is much thinner as well as having the smaller bracket.

The original method is on top.  Again, unless you are planning on using a touchscreen and it is similar to this one, I would recommend using the original method.

One complication of this is that the Cinema Displays LED indicator gets cut off.  This gave me the opportunity, however, to use the native iMac G4s LED.  As they use different 2 pin connectors of opposite sex, I had to create a hybrid using the LED wires.  I can then plug the LED wires coming from the Apple Cinema Display's Control Board into the ribbon LED from the native iMac G4.  The ribbon cable easily fits between the touchscreen and the bezel.

Hybrid LED cable

iMac G4 Bezel with LED

I then used tape for two reasons.  One, I wanted to make sure the touchscreen doesn't fall forwards (even though its wedged in there very snugly).  And secondly, I wanted to give an area where I could put an epoxy to adhere to the iMac G4s front bezel (without gluing directly to the touch screen), which becomes the new front, replacing the Apple Cinema Displays front which was largely dremeled out.

Touch Screen flush with bezel

The touchscreen ribbon cable now goes internally and thus no cables are visible.  It connects to its 5 pin adapter and goes down the neck to meet the controller in the base. Its difficult to see in this picture, but the touchscreen is now flush with the remaining part of the Apple Cinema Displays front bezel.  Using epoxy the iMacs bezel was attached, sealing off our now heavily modified hybrid case.  The case still opens and closes like the original Apple Cinema Display, but now the touchscreen and iMac bezel are fully integrated.

The best way to see the difference is from the side.  Previously you had Apple Cinema Display with a few mm of touchscreen visible in front then the iMac bezel.  Now the new bezel interacts directly with the original case.  Plus, there is now no visible wire anywhere as everything is internal.

In addition, there is no "monitor drift" - NONE!! Not in any position.  If this is the effect of some weight removal or simply moving the touchscreen inwards a few millimeters - I can't be sure.   But, either way it worked.

As an added benefit the iMac G4s native LED looks great.  Sometimes the little things really do go a long way.

The only negative is that the touch screen is no longer "easily removable".  I decided that really the only use I have for a 20.1" 16:10 touch screen is for this mod.  Plus, after a few days it became clear that this mod is even better with the touch screen (in my opinion) and that I wasn't going to opt to remove it.  I will be posting a full parts list and step by step for this mod.  I will do my best to separate it into with and without touchscreen.

As a side note, you may notice some of these pictures use the apple cinema display that I had painted white.  After looking at the white version, I decided to stick with the original silver of the apple cinema display.  For one, I am not the best painter and it had already chipped in places.  Secondly, the silver really goes and it matches well with apples keyboard/mouse and even the mac mini.  Although using the original display would be ideal, I feel this has some advantages.  The presence of USB (and firewire if you wanted to hook it up), on/off switch, brightness control, more mod friendly (room for longer cables etc.).  As always, questions, critiques etc are welcomed.

Pressing the Cinema Display's Power Button

Completed Mod - The 20" iMac G4 / Apple Cinema Display Touch Screen Mod

I am thrilled with how this mod came out.  Not only does it look great, but I really believe that it will stand the test of time.  It is rock solid stable and an absolute pleasure to use.  And to be honest, relatively speaking, the mod was not that difficult.  It can be done in a few days.  For those interested, I can give very detailed instructions.

OK, I wanted to make it this all-in-one BADLY! But, after almost shorting out my itx mobo, I was in no mood to open the mac mini up and put it inside.  That said, the older generation mac mini would likely be superior to the mini itx in terms of fit.  However, the new mac mini is a no-go without serious modification to the internal faraday cage.  For now I am going to keep the mac mini external.  I may revisit this in the future, but for now, I put the power adapter, touch controller, and usb hub into the base.  I was also going to add the griffin powerwave adapter, but am considering trying to track down an iFire adapter (if the price isn't astronomical).  They both power the Apple Pro Speakers. but the iFire doesn't require external power.

Here are several additional pictures:
    The ports on the back are simply a USB (to connect the USB hub), an AC cord (the cinema display power adapter is at the top of the dome), and a DVI.


The 5 wire touch screen cable is still a little but of a work in progress.  I'm confident that Ill be able to hide it under the front bezel, but I am likely going to have to cut into the ribbon cable.  Because I do not want to damage the 20" touch screen, I have purchased, a much smaller 7" 5 wire resistive touch screen to experiment with.  But for now, this works fine.

This mod has really been my favorite so far.  It feels exactly like the original iMac to me, plus the touch screen.  This was certainly not the direction I expected to go when I restarted this project, but am very happy where I wound up.  Again any comments or even constructive criticism would be appreciated.  Thanks again and happy modding!!!

Update: Touch Panel wires hidden under bezel