I have an FA account, although I doubt that I’ll use it anytime soon.

Anyway, I wonder if the scrappy few computer companies which have decided to choose a particular Linux default distribution (like System76 picking Ubuntu) have ever thought about offering an iMac-like all-in-one PC?

I’m asking that because one of the main criticisms by both Linux and Windows users of the different iterations of the “Mac platform”, particularly the iMac, is that it isn’t expandable or extensible on the hardware level. It’s just whatever is offered to you in that all-in-one package by Apple.

However, while it is a weak point to many who are more accustomed to more-flexible home computing environments (the sysadmins, the gamers, etc.), it is also a very strong point or attraction for many others who want a “KISS” approach for their hardware: a monitor, a keyboard, and a mouse, with as few wires with which you would need to entangle yourself.

Of course, the Mac Mini-like small-form-factor computer could whet that whistle, and most of the aforementioned Linux-geared desktop vendors are already selling such systems.

However, the Mac mini is simply a computer that is meant to work with any type of peripheral hardware; the iMac, on the other hand, is a computer that emphasizes whatever is present on the screen (the GUI) above all else, even placing all the hard drives, USB ports, on/off switch, and other such components to the side and back of the monitor.

Really, that’s what the iMac is: a truly media-oriented home computer that isn’t really meant to be portable, or expandable, but simply a voyeur for whatever media is present on the screen.

So it would be particularly interesting to see if a made-for-Linux all-in-one PC can be developed by a desktop computer manufacturer.

What could come out of that, though? What if System76 were to start selling an iMac-like Ubuntu PC? How would it influence the GUI design? Which crowd or audience would be willing to buy such a computer?

One can only wonder about the possibilities…