Using iMac 27 inch screen as a monitor with a Windows laptop

[sasguru]

Anyone done this? What laptop is it?

[bobspud]

Anyone done this? What laptop is it?

To get the terminology straight:

Imac = a monitor with an embedded Mac onboard and runs windows in its own right
Thunderbolt Display = Proprietary Display with daisy chaining ability
Mac Display a monitor that will plug into anything with the right adapter.

I have two Thunderbolt displays and I plug them into my mac book pro however windows will only use one of two thunderbolts. that said I run OSX and just use parallels to run a small PC vm for Visio and Office.

[yasockie]

To get the terminology straight:

Imac = a monitor with an embedded Mac onboard and runs windows in its own right
Thunderbolt Display = Proprietary Display with daisy chaining ability
Mac Display a monitor that will plug into anything with the right adapter.

I have two Thunderbolt displays and I plug them into my mac book pro however windows will only use one of two thunderbolts. that said I run OSX and just use parallels to run a small PC vm for Visio and Office.

Thunderbolt is not that proprietary, it's just that there's very non-Apple devices with it for now. A notable exception is Sony Vaio, but their solution, while based on TB is proprietary and allows for docking and using external GPU etc. Still you should be able to use that laptop in conjuction with iMac.

Finally does iMac not have any more standard inputs such as DVI?

[bobspud]

I think you can put a non TB monitor onto the end of a chain on TB displays but it has to be the last thing in the chain.
So yes if you have an Imac you could plug a Cinema screen into it for the second display. or you could have two TB screens.

Apple sell display adapters

Apple Displays & Graphics for Mac - Thunderbolt Technology Computer Monitors & Graphics Upgrades - Apple Store (U.S.)

[sasguru]

The answer to my question is "Yes". Hurrah! To any laptop with a mini display port connector.