New iMacs Still Coming Before Holidays?

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com)

AppleInsider believes (http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/10/17/due_next_from_apple_refreshed_20__and_24_inch_imacs.html) that Apple will still be introducing new iMacs before the end of the year. The site had previously reported (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/08/27/ipods-notebooks-and-imacs-before-the-holidays/) that the updates would be "speed bumps" rather than major internal or external changes.

The iMac has traditionally shared an internal design with Apple's notebook computers so it's conceivable that they could see the same NVIDIA chipset revisions the current MacBooks and MacBook Pros have seen. The iMac, however, has already been using the faster 1066MHz front-side bus since its last revision in April.

The low end iMacs currently ship with ATI Radeon graphics cards with an NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS as an upgradable option. Apple has said they would start building in Mini Display ports into all their machines from now on. Firewire's fate on the consumer machines remain unclear.

Article Link (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/10/17/new-imacs-still-coming-before-holidays/)

[noahmateen1234]

I believe they will update the iMac and Mac Pro before the holidays. As for another even, I don't see why they would. They will have much of the same hardware as the MB and MBP just received. Hopefully the new iMacs come out in November so I can get my dad to buy one, then I can take his 22" and use dual monitor with my brand new MBP!! He really wants an iMac and if they release new ones then he will probably pull the trigger and buy one. Hopefully they will come with 2gb DDR3 ram standard up to 4 or 8gb. Also have a 9400 stock and upgradeable to a 9600gt.

[yoman]

I am interested what kind of bump would it be?

Better video cards?
More ram?
Slightly faster processors?

[yoman]

I believe they will update the iMac and Mac Pro before the holidays.

I wonder if the mini will be quietly updated as well....hmmm....

[137489]

Apple releasing everything now... What in the world will be in store for Macworld. All that would leave is the Mac Pro and the Mini. Macworld sees new products, so maybe a tablet. But given SJ's keynote on touchscreen, I doubt it. Netbook, nah Stevie did not seem thrilled with that aspect either.

so that just leaves software....

[Darkroom]

let's hope that they also replace the $1.99 screens in the current iMacs... i'm on my 4th, and it still sucks...

i wonder if the new iMacs have LED displays, if they'll throw one of those into mine when i send this in for a screen replacement... assuming the new LED displays don't also suffer from gradients and bleedout...

[Fuchal]

Yay, I'm waiting for these to buy.

[MasterNile]

Doesn't really matter to me when they release the new iMacs I just hope they're out by Jan/Feb so I can get my 24" refurb'd iMac for less :D

[TheManOfSilver]

I'm thinking quiet update, including LED backlight (environmental status), DisplayPort (given after Steve's comments) and the new Nvidia chipset to make use of Snow Leopard's support for OpenCL (since Snow Leopard may come out before the next iMac refresh). Only I imagine the full lineup will get a discrete graphics chip rather than just the 9400M since power use is not such an issue in the iMac.


so that just leaves software....
Don't be so sure. The Mac Pro could still see a major refresh (aren't the server-class Nehalem chips due out by then?) plus rounding out the ACD lineup.

Then, they can finally bring out Apple TV Take 3 (or a renamed item) that truly solidifies Apple's place in the living room (maybe with or without actually producing HDTV's as other rumors have suggested).

[sn00pie]

Perhaps will see the new aluminum style get carried over to the iMacs? Along with LED backlit displays and pretty much all the new stuff in the Macbook line.

I'll probably be picking one up for home when the new ones are released. The current models are good but for $1299 I'd like to have abit more power and grunt under the hood. :)

[Halsey12]

Perhaps will see the new aluminum style get carried over to the iMacs? Along with LED backlit displays and pretty much all the new stuff in the Macbook line.


Aren't they already aluminum and what the new MacBooks were based on? Aluminum and black with glass?

[happydude]

get ready for apple to continue to rape the consumer market by killing imac support of firewire as well . . .

how about working on those 17" MBPs?

or the 12" :D

[TheManOfSilver]

get ready for apple to continue to rape the consumer market by killing imac support of firewire as well . . .

Maybe, maybe not ... the iMac's the one consumer product that has more room for extra ports and stuff ... I'm thinking they may include the one FW800 port as in the new MBP.

[Mykbibby]

how about working on those 17" MBPs?

Amen, brother. I ordered a 15 inch, despite wanting a 17 inch really badly, and am still baffled as to why Apple didn't update it. Perhaps they wanted to leave a matte screen option to all the baby whiners...

[Adamo]

I'd honestly love a new iMac 17", despite how small of a chance of getting one would be thanks to the 17" MBP which doesn't interest me in the slightest (not least because of cost). My only choice now is a white iMac 17" which I think I prefer the look of - my guess this new update is just a specs boost, nice to see/hear simply as it means they're keeping on top of their game.

[Chaos123x]

Well I guess if your in the market for a iMac you better buy it now before apple offers a refresh that are crippled without FireWire.

[Jak3]

well, the way I see it is as follows

if they do update anything more before the holidays it would either be the iMac or Mini, or both. Why? because they are consumer items and the holidays are about the consumer. Mac Pro can be left for MacWorld as only the lucky get a 2300$ computer for christmas. I'm guessing that might be where the 17" MBP gets an update as well, MacWorld.

[fuziwuzi]

I am interested what kind of bump would it be?

Better video cards?
More ram?
Slightly faster processors?

they might be switching solely to nvidia GPUs, as i am unsure that amd/ati support cuda instructions as yet. and cuda instructions may be needed for OpenCL in 10.6

[ravenvii]

Wow, I am about to get an iMac. Guess I better wait, then!

[kobefan234]

is now the time to sell?

[MacsBestFriend]

if they do my parents wil be POed because my mom just got a new one!

[Peace]

get ready for apple to continue to rape the consumer market by killing imac support of firewire as well . . .

I'm keeping my 24" 3.06GHz Al. iMac. At least it has a firewire port.;)

[kaiwai]

they might be switching solely to nvidia GPUs, as i am unsure that amd/ati support cuda instructions as yet. and cuda instructions may be needed for OpenCL in 10.6

I'm surprised they are moving to Nvidia considering the fiasco recently with the failure rate of their 8400/8600 GPU's. With that being said, I'm surprised they didn't atleast refresh the white Macbook with the x4500 graphics card from Intel. Lord knows the Nvidia graphics cards are battery sucking hogs. I sure as hell am not going to purchase a laptop with a battery life barely eeking over 2 1/2 hours (but the vendor making exaggerated claims of 5 hours on their website)

[minik]

I'm keeping my 24" 3.06GHz Al. iMac. At least it has a firewire port.;)

haha.. I have the same model and it's the best iMac yet.

So what else for MWSF '09?

[pismodude2]

It should have Blu-ray and a multitouch touchscreen. And double as a dock for the new MacBooks. That'd be SWEET!

[Aldaris]

Dock? I think the patent thats been surfacing is in direct relation to the newly announced cinema display- I hope that they update all the displays and either put in a new video port in all there other products by the holidays, or atleast maybe a new 99.00 converter box- the new displays are sexy...

Anyway- I really do hope it's a silent update with more fun stuff, but keep that firewire 800- really how many consumers in the mac world have an external hard drive with some sort of firewire on it?

Please steve it's not a dying port... ... ... (Yeah, I cast my lot with the whinny "where's the FireWire folks")

Edit:
More in depth dock scenario- All the patents I have seen have matched the new displays except for having to store the macbook/pro into the actual display, seriously- charger, usb periphrials, sound, isight... anyone else besides me see it?

[ChrisA]

Wow, I am about to get an iMac. Guess I better wait, then!

Or buy on e now before you find the next iMac a crippled without Firewire.

[davebarnes]

I want/need 8GB of memory.
I want 27-inch.

The Mac Pro is overkill and too expensive.

I am very happy with my iMac (2.8 GHz, 24-inch), but I need more memory when trying to run Adobe's CS3 and VMWare's Fusion.

I want a 27-inch iMac with a 2160 x 1350 display.

Price is not an issue.

[corinhorn]

The new iMacs sure as hell better have FireWire.

[ryan.stewie]

Or buy on e now before you find the next iMac a crippled without Firewire.

god, you are all a bunch of whiners. Who cares about firewire, its dying. Most cameras/HDD's now use USB and if you have one that doesn't get an adapter, ITS JUST FIREWIRE, ITS NOT A DEAL BREAKER!

[ravenvii]

Or buy on e now before you find the next iMac a crippled without Firewire.

I don't really care about Firewire, though. I haven't used the Firewire port in my MacBook Pro even once. A Firewire port is always nice to have, but it's not a deal breaker.

[puffnstuff]

HDTV tuner and hdmi ports

[corinhorn]

god, you are all a bunch of whiners. Who cares about firewire, its dying. Most cameras/HDD's now use USB and if you have one that doesn't get an adapter, ITS JUST FIREWIRE, ITS NOT A DEAL BREAKER!
It may not be a deal breaker for you but for several of us who still use FireWire, it is a deal breaker.

[wetrix]

How about 2 or 3 more USB ports on the iMac? Printer, time machine, keyboard..oh and mouse, usb drive, iPod connector.

[Chaos123x]

god, you are all a bunch of whiners. Who cares about firewire, its dying. Most cameras/HDD's now use USB and if you have one that doesn't get an adapter, ITS JUST FIREWIRE, ITS NOT A DEAL BREAKER!

There is no adapter you twit.

FireWire is the newer faster technology so you can't hook a FireWire device into a slower USB port and think it would work.

[Eric S.]

It should have Blu-ray and a multitouch touchscreen. And double as a dock for the new MacBooks. That'd be SWEET!

No possibility.

god, you are all a bunch of whiners. Who cares about firewire, its dying. Most cameras/HDD's now use USB and if you have one that doesn't get an adapter, ITS JUST FIREWIRE, ITS NOT A DEAL BREAKER!

There is no viable FireWire to USB adapter.

[corinhorn]

How about 2 or 3 more USB ports on the iMac? Printer, time machine, keyboard..oh and mouse, usb drive, iPod connector.
You know that you can buy a hub don't you?

[corinhorn]

It should have Blu-ray and a multitouch touchscreen. And double as a dock for the new MacBooks. That'd be SWEET!Ugh. What good would a touch screen do on an iMac?

[localoid]

god, you are all a bunch of whiners. Who cares about firewire, its dying. Most cameras/HDD's now use USB and if you have one that doesn't get an adapter, ITS JUST FIREWIRE, ITS NOT A DEAL BREAKER!

And what magical "adapter" would that be that changes a USB port into a FW port?

[rillo]

Mini! Mini! Mini! Please!!!!

[LagunaSol]

Dear Apple,

I'm ready to buy a new 24" iMac the minute you announce it. BUT...

No FireWire = No Sale

Also, more than 3 USB ports would be nice. Geez, use some of that massive amount of case real estate. I'm sick of hubs all over my desk.

[ryan.stewie]

And what magical "adapter" would that be that changes a USB port into a FW port?

i wish you'se would all stop screaming at me:

http://usbfirewire.com/uadapters.html

[corinhorn]

i wish you'se would all stop screaming at me:

http://usbfirewire.com/uadapters.html


That thing again? Even if it did work, you have the bottleneck and inefficiency of USB.

[rotorblade69]

There will be at the very least a firewire 800 on the iMac.
BUT dropping the firewire in a "desktop all in one" iMac would be crazy. If Apple did this it would be NUCKING FUTS really really really bad. As in someone needs to put the crack pipe down, and step back.




BUT BUT BUT. IF they did it would have to be because they want a to make the imac a true consumer (seems consumer may mean no firewire) product and then the mini is either then replaced dropped or renamed what ever you want to call it to make room for a small mac pro'esq like tower or true pro mini tower.

[localoid]

i wish you'se would all stop screaming at me:

http://usbfirewire.com/uadapters.html

It pays to read the details. The following is taken from the site:

It sounds great, but is it Mac compatible?
Unfortunately our cable is not Mac compatible. However, it is compatible only with Windows XP. This product is not Windows Vista compatible as of yet. We are currently trying to find a work-around for this.

And... like corinhorn said:

That thing again? Even if it did work, you have the bottleneck and inefficiency of USB.

[flopticalcube]

i wish you'se would all stop screaming at me:

http://usbfirewire.com/uadapters.html

Only good for video transfer and in Windows only. No OSX drivers.

FW800 is blistering fast compared to USB2.0 and considering its the ONLY way to expand disk space on an iMac, it would be (an even bigger) mistake to remove it.

[vaizki]

i wish you'se would all stop screaming at me:

http://usbfirewire.com/uadapters.html

It's not mac compatible and the fact that they offer separate NTSC and PAL versions makes it sound very suspicious to me.. :eek:

Not to mention that it's impossible to gain the sustained transfer rates of Firewire if there's USB in between.

[Rocketman]

The Apple Insider article on dead ports killed by Apple was interesting. Notably the internal use of ADB (a Woz invention) until 1995. :)

I have posted before and I reiterate now, what Apple should make is a base station, nowadays attachable via 802.11, ethernet, or USB, that has ports and the appropriate software to address legacy drivers and hardware devices from days old. SCSI, ADB, RS-422, heck even Power Computing Parallel ports, and more. Call it a "hobby" project below the priority of Apple TV. The good news is once you get a feature working on it all three interface standards would have to die before the device became obsolete, so it would have legs!

Then we can buy a dongle to attach our 2020 Macs via microwave to a dongle that feeds to legacy Ethernet.

Driving our pen plotter over serial port using software drivers in use under OS 4.2.

Rocketman

[DaftUnion]

get ready for apple to continue to rape the consumer market by killing imac support of firewire as well . . .

I'm not one of those people that piss and moan about everything Apple does.

That said...I could care less if they dropped support of firewire in the MacBook but if they drop it in the iMac, I'll be very PISSED since I have lots of devices that make use of the firewire ports on my iMac G5.

[macthetiger85]

The iMac will have the same specs as the MacbookPros. The 15"=20" and 17"=24"

The difference will be in hard drive space (probably no SSD option) and that's it. Expect 1 firewire 800 port and of course a faster processor as well as the MBP.

The mini if it gets an upgrade will be same specs as the macbook - maybe even with the nvidia (but probably not) but i would bet no firewire on the mini

unless they make it comporable to the air's specs and they try to make it AEBS size.

Who knows at this point, it's such an expensive computer for the specs it offers today. It's ridiculous and anyone who buys it now is getting ripped off - the technology is over 2 years old since it was old tech when the computer was released!

[gothamm]

i still don't understand the appeal of an imac....

mac pro yes...but imac...

how is it a better choice over a notebook?

it basically has the same hardware as the notebooks...

im assuming its for people who want less mobility :eek:

[corinhorn]

how is it a better choice over a notebook?



Some people don't want notebooks.

[Pooshka]

Macworld leftovers: Mouse, iLife & iWork, iPhone 3.0, Snow Leopard preview, MobileMe Share feature, Safari 4.0, iChat for PC, etc.

[corinhorn]

Macworld leftovers: Mouse, iLife & iWork, iPhone 3.0, Snow Leopard preview, MobileMe Share feature, Safari 4.0, iChat for PC, etc.I'm interested to see what happens to iLife since Apple has rendered much of it dead for the MacBook.

[techpr]

Let me tell you something, I will be very &@%@ mad if Apple remove Firewire in the next iMacs. Seriously...

Hope they update the Mac Mini as well.

[minik]

I'm interested to see what happens to iLife since Apple has rendered much of it dead for the MacBook.

Why?

[donga]

Let me tell you something, I will be very &@%@ mad if Apple remove Firewire in the next iMacs. Seriously...

that'd be pretty stupid for them to remove firewire from iMacs, but you never know....

[AJ1BostonMASS]

So the macbook not having firewire and the MBP having one is not an issue really

If they had the iMac without firewire and only on the Mac Pro that would mean two things

1.It would mean they want firewire only as a pro and they are sticking to it.

2. The iMac is the consumer desktop in apple and they would be stupid not to have firewire because new and older cameras and other things have firewire connections and that would be the dumbest thing ever

[MrSmith]

i still don't understand the appeal of an imac....

mac pro yes...but imac...

how is it a better choice over a notebook?

it basically has the same hardware as the notebooks...

im assuming its for people who want less mobility :eek:
Bigger screen and easier-to-use keyboard?

[ryan.stewie]

Only good for video transfer and in Windows only. No OSX drivers.

FW800 is blistering fast compared to USB2.0 and considering its the ONLY way to expand disk space on an iMac, it would be (an even bigger) mistake to remove it.

Thankyou for kindly correcting me.

[zedsdead]

The iMac question really is only interesting when discussing wether or not Apple will put LED's in the displays (or at least in the 24", Apple clearly has them now).

The speed bumps can work if Apple decides to offer the 3.06 as the standard processor, but that will leave off any BTO options for processors, which as far as I know hasn't happened in a long time (if ever, I am not sure).

I really would like the option to drop the Superdrive in exchange for a second hard drive. It would be great to have the main drive be a SSD, while a second drive be a large HDD for media. All Apple would have to do is make the USB port compatible with the Macbook Air Superdrive.

As far as Firewire goes, I believe they will consolidate it and leave only the Firewire 800 on the iMac, just like they did for the Macbook Pro. Maybe they will add another USB port in its place which would be nice.

Also, the LED's are thinner and run cooler I believe, so they likely could get a really good graphics card in there as well. The BTO for the 8800 is pretty good, but it would be nice if that was at least the standard card. They cannot do another iMac update and keep the ATI 2600 series in them.

It seems a minor bump is coming, which will require no event.

As far as Macworld goes:
(1) Mac Air (new Mac Mini)
(2) 20" & 30" LED's
(3) iLife '09
(4) iWork '09
(5) Snow Leopard Update (which really isn't big, but we can probably get an idea of a release date and price)

The Mac Pro will likely get an update right before either the holidays or shortly after Macworld. The Nehalem chips for servers are ready by the end of the year, which I believe the Xeon is part of.

[ravenvii]

Who knows at this point, it's such an expensive computer for the specs it offers today. It's ridiculous and anyone who buys it now is getting ripped off - the technology is over 2 years old since it was old tech when the computer was released!

Why? The current iMacs has pretty current technology when it was released in April. The only thing I'll concede on is the graphic cards, but they're not that old, only about a year and a half old now (about a year old at the iMac's release).

Bigger screen and easier-to-use keyboard?

x2

[vaizki]

If they remove FW from iMacs, they should put in Expresscard slot(s)..

USB is not enough expansion for iMac since we don't have an alternative desktop option.

[ryan.stewie]

Why? The current iMacs has pretty current technology when it was released in April. The only thing I'll concede on is the graphic cards, but they're not that old, only about a year and a half old now (about a year old at the iMac's release).



x2

Don't forget that theres no tower full of cords and hazards! :)

[Hatchet]

I'm new to macs as I purchased my first in July and if they completely change the iMac before Christmas, I'll feel totally behind the times. They have a good way of making your stuff feel obsolete by changing their systems every few months. (good for business, bad for buyer's remorse) :)

[kaiwai]

i still don't understand the appeal of an imac....

mac pro yes...but imac...

how is it a better choice over a notebook?

it basically has the same hardware as the notebooks...

im assuming its for people who want less mobility :eek:

Because some of us have a MacBook and an iMac - we like having a desktop, we like using a computer without looking like the hunch back of notradame. I use it because it has a better processor, 2.6Ghz, faster hard disk, more memory, etc. etc.

[corinhorn]

Why?I don't know why they made iLife semi-pointless on the new MacBook. You will have to ask Apple that.

[macthetiger85]

Why? The current iMacs has pretty current technology when it was released in April. The only thing I'll concede on is the graphic cards, but they're not that old, only about a year and a half old now (about a year old at the iMac's release).



x2

I was talking about the Mac Mini

[Peace]

I'm interested to see what happens to iLife since Apple has rendered much of it dead for the MacBook.

Well we know Snow Leopard is going to come out in a little under a year ( WWDC09 ) and Apple is moving everything over to cocoa. I'm guessing the iLife suite is being rewritten in cocoa too.

So there might be a point release with some new stuff but the real good version won't be out until Snow Leopard is.

[dolphin842]

The Apple Insider article on dead ports killed by Apple was interesting. Notably the internal use of ADB (a Woz invention) until 1995. :)

1995? I recall my 12" PowerBook (mid 2004) had an ADB trackpad. It surprised me when I first found out :o!

Actually, for the FireWire crowd (myself included), seeing an iMac refresh is a good thing, as it'll give us an indication as whether or not Apple is seriously deprecating FireWire, as opposed to it being left out due to 1st-gen weirdness. As I said in a previous post, could it be that the Kensington lock needed to be in a particular place to hold down the hard drive? I'm as concerned as any other person who has FireWire-based hardware, but let's see if Apple really does intend to nix FireWire before the mass protests start;).

[dolphin842]

Because some of us have a MacBook and an iMac - we like having a desktop, we like using a computer without looking like the hunch back of notradame. I use it because it has a better processor, 2.6Ghz, faster hard disk, more memory, etc. etc.

++

Also, some have to use big ergonomic keyboards or assistive devices, so portability, while desired, doesn't make much sense.

Of course, by Apple's logic, if notebooks continue to be the most popular form of computing, then we might see desktops deprecated along with FireWire :p

[dwardin9]

I feel that mid to late November is an optimal time for a spec bump for the iMac and macmini. If you wait for Macworld you will see the rest of the cinema displays updated as well as the macpro. The 17'' macbook will soon follow in february. The main focus for Macworld is Snow Leopard. This is Apples baby and they want to sell it and sell it hard. They can Vista bash all they want but Macworld is put up or shut up time. Steve knows it and they are going to crank it out for a spring release time period.

End rant/

[Eidorian]

FireWire 800 is a more recent addition to the entire iMac as well.

[Primejimbo]

if they do my parents wil be POed because my mom just got a new one!

Welcome to the computer age where stuff is outdated when you leave the store.
It's not a bad thing if you don't have the latest/greatest thing.

[ravenvii]

I was talking about the Mac Mini

Oh, my mistake. I concur with you 100% on that point, then. The Mac mini is ancient technology.

[Quillz]

I feel that mid to late November is an optimal time for a spec bump for the iMac and macmini. If you wait for Macworld you will see the rest of the cinema displays updated as well as the macpro. The 17'' macbook will soon follow in february. The main focus for Macworld is Snow Leopard. This is Apples baby and they want to sell it and sell it hard. They can Vista bash all they want but Macworld is put up or shut up time. Steve knows it and they are going to crank it out for a spring release time period.

End rant/
I disagree. Macworld is targeted the consumers, and the fact is most consumers couldn't care less about all the underlying tech in Snow Leopard. They'd be far more interested to hear about the revamped 17'' MacBook Pro and the new and improved iMac. I think any Snow Leopard news will be at WWDC, likely weeks before the OS is actually deployed.

[fltman]

god, you are all a bunch of whiners. Who cares about firewire, its dying. Most cameras/HDD's now use USB and if you have one that doesn't get an adapter, ITS JUST FIREWIRE, ITS NOT A DEAL BREAKER!

I care about firewire. My DV-cam is FW, my hard drives are FW, my scanner i FW. The USB->FW adapters you are referring to is windows only and has really bad performance.

[Axemantitan]

This guy has been accurate so far, so maybe we will see Mac Pros updated before the Holidays and iMacs MWSF.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=6126754&postcount=213

[palmerc2]

I have the early '08 model iMac,

intel core 2 duo, with the ATI GPU, right before the penryns came out.

Will I be able to run snow leopard without any problems?

[Eidorian]

I have the early '08 model iMac,

intel core 2 duo, with the ATI GPU, right before the penryns came out.

Will I be able to run snow leopard without any problems?Why would you have problems? :confused:

[Quillz]

I have the early '08 model iMac,

intel core 2 duo, with the ATI GPU, right before the penryns came out.

Will I be able to run snow leopard without any problems?
You should be able to run Snow Leopard just fine. Any Intel computer running Leopard (and nearly all Intel computers can run it) should have little trouble with Snow Leopard, considering that the latter is actually designed to take full advantage of the Intel processors.

[dolphin842]

^^^^^
Just to clear up any latent confusion that may result, any Intel Mac can run Leopard.

[conradzoo]

^^^^^
Just to clear up any latent confusion that may result, any Intel Mac can run Leopard.

Hmmm... the first gen intel macs were Intel core duos and not able to run 64 bit. Isn't Snow Leopard 64 bit only, or will it run nevertheless, but with limitations?

[dolphin842]

The earlier message I replied to suggested that some Intel Macs may not be able to run Leopard (the current version, 10.5), which is not the case, so I wanted to clear that up by saying that any Intel Mac can run Leopard. As for Snow Leopard, we don't know the requirements for sure. While Snow Leopard is touted as 'full 64-bit,' I don't think that is meant to be taken as '64-bit only,' just that all the underlying systems, frameworks, etc, are 64-bit whereas they weren't before. I have an original Core Duo iMac myself, so I'll be watching developments just as much as anyone :)

[dAlen]

I wonder if the mini will be quietly updated as well....hmmm....

so quietly you wont even know they did it. ;)

Peace

dAlen

[jahsavi]

I feel like since apple uses both 800 and 400 on imacs they will only include the 800. It's too big of a leap from imac to macpro. Macbook/pro it's not as big.

..thats what I think.

[fuziwuzi]

I'm surprised they are moving to Nvidia considering the fiasco recently with the failure rate of their 8400/8600 GPU's.

same dude :|

[XxHOVESKOxX]

Man I hope these updates comes soon........I am really excited to buy my first iMac computer....... i hope they upgrade the Processor Speed, HDD, add more RAM maybe up to 8GB's.......

[DaveTheGrey]

I don't think the imac will loose it's firewire port. It's more a MBP like Desktop than a MB like one.

[Michael CM1]

I don't think the imac will loose it's firewire port. It's more a MBP like Desktop than a MB like one.

I'd bet you're right. There's a lot more room to add ports on an iMac versus a MacBook, so that won't be as much of an issue. I think a lot of people are whining beyond belief about the MacBook not having it. I mean it's as if some people are making up peripherals just to whine. "MY FLASH DRIVE USES FIREWWIRE!!!" Um...no it doesn't.

With USB 3 on the verge of being released/finalized next year, I see less and less the point for firewire. I think there should be an option for it, but it took PC makers FOREVER to adopt it as a standard component, which is a major reason most stuff prefers USB.

[Henri Gaudier]

Normally I'd be excited by this news. Our day to day G5 2.1 is feeling old but if the laptops are anything to go by ... who cares? Big price increases in Europe, no firewire. It kills it off for me entirely. I chose FW for my DV cam and HD's because they're intrinsically Mac and are better. I even paid more for them than the USB ones! And now Apple says forget about it .... buy some others. Just to be in the exact same position. So much for it's green credentials. Supporting products, extending the lives of the HD's etc we already have is green.

[iSlave]

I'll say it now, if there's no firewire 400 on the new iMac then I'm selling up and building a Hackintosh (or maybe even head back to Windows). Omitting Firewire basically kills my upgrade path for any video work so there's no point buying Apple hardware.

[christian_k]

It's not mac compatible and the fact that they offer separate NTSC and PAL versions makes it sound very suspicious to me.. :eek:

Not to mention that it's impossible to gain the sustained transfer rates of Firewire if there's USB in between.

This adapter only supports standard resoulution recordings. It cannot be used to transfer high definition (HDV) content recorded on MiniDV tapes. Some camcorders are able to downscale the content in this case, but you will be limited to standard PAL/NTSC resolution.

So even if you are willing to use Windows for the transfer it is not a solution for the best cameras.

Christian

[christian_k]

they might be switching solely to nvidia GPUs, as i am unsure that amd/ati support cuda instructions as yet. and cuda instructions may be needed for OpenCL in 10.6

There will be OpenCL support for ATI chipsets. ATI/AMD has announced this in the public. They have "stream" which is very similar to cuda, OpenCL will replace vendor specific solutions for GPU based computing.

I wonder if there will be OpenCL on Intel chipsets, they still sell the low end MB with GMA X3100 and the MacMini that even has a GMA950.

Christian

[BenEndeem]

I will be watching this closely because my iMac G4 needs replacing and I'm awaiting the next update. I hope they do.

[flottenheimer]

I am predicting that:

1.
The keyboards will be "updated" to feature black keys. That will go much better with the look of the beautiful iMac cabinet.

2.
The stand (foot) on the iMac cabinet will also be redesigned to look like the one on the new 24" ACD.

3.
And maybe, just maybe, they'll have yet another shot at trying to design a mouse that most people will actualy like to use - IMO, Apple are incredibly lousy at designing mice.

[lewchenko]

If apple removed firewire from the iMac it would be a travesty. It would essentially mean that Apple considered any form of video editing to be a PRO only activity.

Forget those cute home animal and christmas movies etc... NOPE - its banned on macbooks and iMacs.

I would say that over 95% of consumer camcorders in the market place and in peoples home use the standard FW400 connection, with some using USB for still image shots.

iMovie on the macbook without a FW400 connection is useless, as people keep on saying that they cant get it to import video from their camcorders via USB (probably as the USB is for single shot mode!)

That makes iDVD a little less useful as well.

There is no way most average consumers are going to stump up the extra money *a considerable amount too* to jump to the pro models.

Also if apple does remove it from the iMac, it proves one thing for sure - they ignore their customers and spit in their faces.

If I had bought a new macbook without realising the loss of the FW400 port first, and then subsequently found iMovie to be uselss, I would be asking for a refund or compensation for shipping a useless iLife suite claiming it could edit movies ... with no ability to connect to my camcorder.. thats fraud.

OR stick a huge warning on the box of the macbook..

"WARNING - This computer can not connect to standard Camcorder interfaces known as ilink, IEEE1394 or Firewire. Video editing software supplied (iMovie and iDVD) is therefore useless."

[MrCrowbar]

Will it ship with keyboards with black keycaps and black mightymice with an aluminum scroll ball?

Actually, I hope they replace the mighty mouse, i hate that thing.

[proc]

i wish you'se would all stop screaming at me:

http://usbfirewire.com/uadapters.html

Have you bothered to read the specification at all? It says clearly that is ONLY works with Windows XP. Not Mac OS or even Windows Vista for that matter, it also says that it is only supported on very few cameras and if that's not enough for you, it's not likely to be a viable solution as USB simply does NOT have the effective and unstalled bandwidth of a Firewire connection among other things which are also important for realtime video-editing. In this case it's probably even worse considering that this seems to be USB1. As you (should) know USB1 provides 12 Mb/s bandwidth as opposed to at least 400Mb/s for Firewire: a difference of more than thirtyfold.

Learn to know the matter before you give 'advice' to people who, obviously, know the matter better than you do!

[MrCrowbar]

I am predicting that:

1.
The keyboards will be "updated" to feature black keys. That will go much better with the look of the beautiful iMac cabinet.

2.
The stand (foot) on the iMac cabinet will also be redesigned to look like the one on the new 24" ACD.

3.
And maybe, just maybe, they'll have yet another shot at trying to design a mouse that most people will actualy like to use - IMO, Apple are incredibly lousy at designing mice.

Agreed on all points (did't notice the 24" ACD stand was different). Black keyboard would be awesome. Personally, I'd love it if they ditched the mouse and gave you a glass trackpad instead.

Here's what the mighty mouse can do:
- left-click
- right-click (awkward because you need to lift your left finger)
- 2D scrolling
- Exposé (squeeze)
- Dashboard (press on the scroll ball)
- move pointer (terrible by default, but can be fixed by software)
- needs regular cleaning on the bottom to keep working

Here's what the glass trackpads can so:
- left-click
- right-click (2 finger tap or hot corner)
- 2D scrolling (2 finger dragging)
- Exposé, all windows (4 finger swipe down)
- Exposé, desktop (4 finger swipe up)
- Application switcher (4 finger swipe sideways)
- next, previous (3 finger swipe sideways)
- rotate (2 ginger rotate)
- zoom (2 finger pinch)
- move pointer (fast and pixel precise, the Apple software for them is great)
- nu underside cleaning necessary.


People who want/need a real mouse have bought non-Apple mice before. Microsoft Mice have nice Mac drivers, Logitech dropped the ball lately. But you can costumize it with apps like USB Overdrive or Steermouse.


I'd love to see a new bluetooth keyboard with black keys, a matching numeric keypad that magnetically attaches to the main keyboard, and a matching glass trackpad that I can snap on either to the side or the bottom of the keyboard.

Hint to Apple engeneers: A trackpad is much thinner than a mouse. :p

[daneoni]

If they update them now...what will be left for MWSF 09?

[gnasher729]

i wish you'se would all stop screaming at me:

http://usbfirewire.com/uadapters.html

I checked the link, and here is what I found:

1. It costs $119. I haven't used FireWire in the last two years, but if I needed a FireWire connection, adding $119 to the price of a computer makes a lot of difference.

2. The ad says "not Macintosh compatible". It is also not Vista compatible :-)

3. It comes in an NTSC version and a PAL version. So what the hell is going on there? A USB to FireWire adapter as I understand it wouldn't even know that there is such a thing as NTSC or PAL.

My conclusion: I wouldn't touch it.

[joemama]

god, you are all a bunch of whiners. Who cares about firewire, its dying. Most cameras/HDD's now use USB and if you have one that doesn't get an adapter, ITS JUST FIREWIRE, ITS NOT A DEAL BREAKER!

I swear its this type of ignorance that get me so worked up. Explain this to me then, genius:

My TV broadcasting lab has approximately 30-plus white iMacs. When it comes time to purchase new ones, how are my students going to edit digital video if our miniDV cameras cannot connect to the computer?

We have Canon Opturas, Eluras, ZR800s, ZR900s, GL2s and some Panasonics. You think school systems are going to buy all new cameras that have USB?

You know what the school system will do? They will CHEAPER PC's instead. Steve Jobs, you really need to re-think this one. Maybe firewire is "dying" slowly, but you have to keep it around for at least 5 more years until USB cameras are the norm.

[gnasher729]

i still don't understand the appeal of an imac....

mac pro yes...but imac...

how is it a better choice over a notebook?

it basically has the same hardware as the notebooks...

im assuming its for people who want less mobility :eek:

At work, I sit at a desk. There I want a keyboard that is flat on the desk, and a monitor that is a lot higher so I can look at it without destroying my spine over the years. Health and Safety would get a scream attack if I used a notebook for work. I also have a 20 inch and a 27 inch monitor. The 27 inch is great when a group of people needs to discuss something.

And yes, I don't care much about mobility at work. The one time I needed to use my computer in another office 60 miles away, I just packed the iMac into its original box (we have one box left standing around just for that purpose) and put it in the boot of the car. Takes two minutes to pack and unpack.

[Abu Tech]

My guess (and its only a guess!) is that they will keep FW800 for a while in iMacs/MBP, but eventually phase them out when USB 3.0 becomes the norm.

[superleccy]

I really do hope Apple replace the current iMacs very soon, because I think it's disgraceful that Apple are still selling "so-called consumer targeted" computers with Firewire ports.

Firewire is not just unnecessary, it's dangerous and stupid. Let me explain.

Firewire confuses consumers by giving them the choice of two different interfaces when purchasing peripherals, and users could easily damage their machine by attempting to plug a USB lead in a firewire socket, or vice-versa!

Furthermore, it encourages people who record family movies on their ancient 6-month-old DV camera to not go and buy a new one that supports USB. And when things go wrong, it encourages the use of "Target Disk Mode" to recover data and diagnose problems, when really users should be depositing their iMacs with their nearest Apple Store or Authorised Service Centre for two weeks.

Also, the extra component cost of including a Firewire controller on the iMac is really affecting Apple's bottom line. Alright, so I don't personally own any Apple stock, but the markets have been in a mess lately and investors could really do with a bit of a break!

Finally, please will people stop telling me to "quit bitching". Just because you own half a dozen firewire devices that you use every day (because, apparently "the performance is better" or "there isn't a USB equivalent" - yeahright) doesn't meant to say that I don't have to suck up to Apple if I want to.

SL

[RemarkabLee]

FireWire

I have external hard disks, a DV camcorder & an external dual channel sound card, so I need FireWire. Apple need to recognise a lot of people have invested good money into peripherals that they intend to keep for years to come - especially in todays financial circumstances when people are probably not going to buy so many 'toys' as they once did.

For their notebooks, the notion that 'if you want to use firewire, you must be considered a pro user' is ridiculous. Having said that, if the decision was based purely on physical limitations, in my opinion it would have been a far better solution to go with one of the following alternative scenarios:

1, Ditch the ethernet port for a FW port, forcing MacBook owners down the wireless only option. Potentially could cause an equal amount of upset, but at least wireless is an alternative as opposed to no workable alternative for FW only peripherals.

2, As 1, but enable ethernet to run via the FW port or USB port (ala Macbook Air which uses USB for ethernet). Not sure if there are technical limitations of this method.

3, Ditch the ethernet port for a proprietary interface (potentially shrunk down like displayport), allowing a breakout dongle/connector which would potentially allow both FireWire and ethernet to run simultaneously. Not an elegant solution, but better than nothing.


iMac

I have the intention of purchasing an iMac as my only computer, so I would require it to handle at least the peripherals that I own currently (see above).

My prediction would be to see new iMacs featuring the same Nvidia chipset used for the Macbook Pro, specifically using the integrated part for graphics on the entry level iMacs, with discreet graphics for the higher end models. I hope Apple and Nvidia work together to optimise the drivers as much as possible with particular regard to Apples Core APIs - as clearly today ATi have the advantage here.

I also predict LED backlit displays for the iMac 24" and I hope the overall quality of the iMac part is on par with the ACD panel. The backlighting alone does not assure the overall quality of the panel - as the differences in the new Macbook and Macbook Pro demonstrate (not sure which site it was with the photographs, but the image quality of the MBP was clearly superior at off-centre viewing angles - possible due to the use of additional coatings used on the MBP.)

I hope Apple allows a BTO to include another step up for graphics and hard disk space 1.5TB?

A large glass multi-touch pad for the iMac would be quite nice quirky feature and could be the tipping point for potential purchasers. Could be a relatively cheap thing to produce and may be a more suitable alternative than touch screen iMacs that some people are lusting after for some odd reason... Black keyed keyboard would be nice, backlit? Why not eh?

Oh and at least a BD-ROM Superdrive, but I doubt we'll see that before Snow Leopard.

Ideally I'd like to wait for a Nehalem based iMac but that is probably a year away...

[Yvan256]

If there's a Mac mini update then it's going to have the nVidia 9400M and that mini-DisplayPort. Steve said that all their new computers are going to have these two things. Finally the end of crappy GPUs in the low-end Macs! :D

I do hope they keep FireWire 400 on the Mac mini. :o

[CelloTape]

The rumor is saying that [the updates would be "speed bumps" rather than major internal or external changes.]

Doesn't removing firewire counted as somekind of major external changes since everyone keep talking about firewire and seems to take it seriously as if it is something major? :p

[Rexkwondo]

I have 6 Macs around the house and most of them have FW peripherals (including a NEW FW-only video camera). I have been waiting for an iMac refresh... I've been with Apple since the IIc, but if FW isn't there, it's a non-starter for me. Other things that they've done have disappointed me (they can't make everybody happy, after all), but this one would take the cake...

[macthetiger85]

If there's a Mac mini update then it's going to have the nVidia 9400M and that mini-DisplayPort. Steve said that all their new computers are going to have these two things. Finally the end of crappy GPUs in the low-end Macs! :D

I do hope they keep FireWire 400 on the Mac mini. :o

the only way the mini will keep firewire anything is if they dont touch it and let it get older and older.

I've got one and use it as a beefed up Apple TV but I bought it back in August 07 - wasn't so old then.

[MrCrowbar]

FireWire
1, Ditch the ethernet port for a FW port, forcing MacBook owners down the wireless only option. Potentially could cause an equal amount of upset, but at least wireless is an alternative as opposed to no workable alternative for FW only peripherals.

2, As 1, but enable ethernet to run via the FW port or USB port (ala Macbook Air which uses USB for ethernet). Not sure if there are technical limitations of this method.

3, Ditch the ethernet port for a proprietary interface (potentially shrunk down like displayport), allowing a breakout dongle/connector which would potentially allow both FireWire and ethernet to run simultaneously. Not an elegant solution, but better than nothing.


4. Ditch the "line in" on Macbooks. There's already a microphone on the laptop itself. If you need more, the new micrphone earbud from Apple are compatible it seems, so you have a working microphone. Or you can get a bluetooth headset. Or you can buy a Griffin iMic ($30) that plugs into USB, gives you far better sound and has a mic/line in. I think some iBooks didn't have a "line in" either. But they had FireWire.

[corinhorn]

4. Ditch the "line in" on Macbooks. There's already a microphone on the laptop itself. If you need more, the new micrphone earbud from Apple are compatible it seems, so you have a working microphone. Or you can get a bluetooth headset. Or you can buy a Griffin iMic ($30) that plugs into USB, gives you far better sound and has a mic/line in. I think some iBooks didn't have a "line in" either. But they had FireWire.
I think some audio professionals would take umbrage with your argument.

[superleccy]

4. Ditch the "line in" on Macbooks.

FFS! Don't give them any more stupid ideas!!!

[mca7]

it will probably be a speed bump, those new Nvidia chips and for no good reason they will take out all firewire ports and leave you only one usb.

[iMacmatician]

i still don't understand the appeal of an imac....

mac pro yes...but imac...

how is it a better choice over a notebook?

it basically has the same hardware as the notebooks...

im assuming its for people who want less mobility :eek:
Bigger, higher-resolution display
Higher specs (CPU)
Larger hard drive

Well we know Snow Leopard is going to come out in a little under a year ( WWDC09 ) and Apple is moving everything over to cocoa. I'm guessing the iLife suite is being rewritten in cocoa too.iMovie '08 isn't Cocoa? :eek:

This guy has been accurate so far, so maybe we will see Mac Pros updated before the Holidays and iMacs MWSF.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=6126754&postcount=213No - LED Cinema Display came this month (not Spring 2009), and the MacBook Pro got a total redesign this month (not early summer 2009).

The "new computer platform" at MWSF, I think, is quite believable though.

AppleInsider has been accurate so far, so maybe we will see iMacs updated before the holidays and Mac Pros after that.

http://images.appleinsider.com/2008rm-080827.png

[Joe The Dragon]

If there's a Mac mini update then it's going to have the nVidia 9400M and that mini-DisplayPort. Steve said that all their new computers are going to have these two things. Finally the end of crappy GPUs in the low-end Macs! :D

I do hope they keep FireWire 400 on the Mac mini. :o

The mini will need to come if with mini-DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter makeing you pay $30 - $100 to use your display on desktop is bad and makes the efix look like a good buy.

The $700 - $800 mini will need NVidia 9400M or higher + 256 vram that IS NOT FROM system ram and 2gb ram mini 1GB of ddr3 is to small.

also going to on board video in the low imacs is a bad move as well.

[azentropy]

I think some audio professionals would take umbrage with your argument.

You mean the audio professionals that can't use the Macbooks anyway now because they lack Firewire?? At least with that solution there is a USB workaround. There isn't a workaround for the lack of FW.

There is plenty of room on the current design to add at minimum a 4pin FW port. Yes it is still a step backwards, but still better than NO FW port and no option to add FW.

[costabunny]

I do hope the iMacs get a refresh as I want to get one for my mum (chrimbo pressie). She's stuck on an old HP desktop and wants to escape to my world (Macs).

x-ing fingers here for a few nice additions before I commit to ordering it for her.

[dollydolman]

I am planning to get an iMac in the near future so I hope they do upgrade them. Only thing I don't want to happen is for the price to go up, £800 is about as far as I am willing to go for it.

[Eric S.]

If they update them now...what will be left for MWSF 09?

Mid-range tower.


:rolleyes:

[econoline06]

let's hope that they also replace the $1.99 screens in the current iMacs... i'm on my 4th, and it still sucks...

i wonder if the new iMacs have LED displays, if they'll throw one of those into mine when i send this in for a screen replacement... assuming the new LED displays don't also suffer from gradients and bleedout...

Sorry to hear about your luck with the screen. My 20 incher looks fabulous. Anyway, the rest of the Apple lineup now shares the same look as the iMac, so I'm not convinced that Apple would change it aesthetically. It seems that they put the iMac (aluminum) out there as a "benchmark" of how they wanted everything else to look, IMO.

[econoline06]

Mid-range tower.


:rolleyes:

lol, you know, I used to be REALLY against a mid-range tower, but the more I think about it the more I could really dig getting one. You know, quad-core, better video card options, and the ability to use whatever screen I want (I would get an Apple display though, they are fantastic). Do I think they will release a mid-tower? Nah.

[econoline06]

Agreed on all points (did't notice the 24" ACD stand was different). Black keyboard would be awesome. Personally, I'd love it if they ditched the mouse and gave you a glass trackpad instead.

Here's what the mighty mouse can do:
- left-click
- right-click (awkward because you need to lift your left finger)
- 2D scrolling
- Exposé (squeeze)
- Dashboard (press on the scroll ball)
- move pointer (terrible by default, but can be fixed by software)
- needs regular cleaning on the bottom to keep working

Here's what the glass trackpads can so:
- left-click
- right-click (2 finger tap or hot corner)
- 2D scrolling (2 finger dragging)
- Exposé, all windows (4 finger swipe down)
- Exposé, desktop (4 finger swipe up)
- Application switcher (4 finger swipe sideways)
- next, previous (3 finger swipe sideways)
- rotate (2 ginger rotate)
- zoom (2 finger pinch)
- move pointer (fast and pixel precise, the Apple software for them is great)
- nu underside cleaning necessary.


People who want/need a real mouse have bought non-Apple mice before. Microsoft Mice have nice Mac drivers, Logitech dropped the ball lately. But you can costumize it with apps like USB Overdrive or Steermouse.


I'd love to see a new bluetooth keyboard with black keys, a matching numeric keypad that magnetically attaches to the main keyboard, and a matching glass trackpad that I can snap on either to the side or the bottom of the keyboard.

Hint to Apple engeneers: A trackpad is much thinner than a mouse. :p
As much of an Apple fanboy as I am (oh, and I am...), I really have to agree with you regarding Apple's mice. When I first fired up my brand new iMac and used the mighty mouse I thought "wow what a cheap mouse...". My biggest complaints were the click feel was just not on par with other mice (I know thats vague), and the cord was ridiculously short and stiff (keep your minds outta the gutter!). I have been using the same Kensington mouse now for over 3 years and it is fantastic! I am looking for a new mouse though, wireless bluetooth of course.

[econoline06]

Regarding new iMacs, I have read a few posts where people bring up the point that Apple wouldn't release technology into the iMac before the Mac Pro. While I somewhat agree, I also have to bring up the point that the iMac is Apple's flagship model. It has all the advertised features they tout and is their most iconic computer (arguably of course). Any thoughts on that? I know the MacBook is their most popular (according to Apple anyway)...but the most popular and your flagship can be two different things.

[Eric S.]

Apple is now a consumer appliance company. Anything that starts with "i" is one of their flagship products.

[tom.]

This would be nice, fingers crossed!

Would be good to see LED backlit displays, and new CPUs.

Good luck bringing displayport to the MP btw.

[iMacmatician]

Regarding new iMacs, I have read a few posts where people bring up the point that Apple wouldn't release technology into the iMac before the Mac Pro. While I somewhat agree, I also have to bring up the point that the iMac is Apple's flagship model. It has all the advertised features they tout and is their most iconic computer (arguably of course). Any thoughts on that? I know the MacBook is their most popular (according to Apple anyway)...but the most popular and your flagship can be two different things.It did go to Intel before the Power Mac (and 667 MHz RAM, and 320 GB HDD etc.). But even an updated iMac would still be behind the Mac Pro in power.

[Ambrose Chapel]

I wonder at what point the 24" screen will trickle down to the mid-range iMac - I think it's happened with every iMac so far with the larger screen eventually comprising 2 of the 3 models. It would be even better for the current iMacs given that the 24" screen is higher quality than the 20". I wonder if Apple will wait for a more substantive refresh (Nehalem?) before doing this.

As for what's left for MWSF, iLife & iWork 09 I think is a given. Announcement of the MBP 17" (though perhaps not shipping for a few more weeks). If the Mac mini is actually being redone, this would be a perfect time to show it off. And the public unveiling of Snow Leopard (hopefully with a release date but more likely Steve saying "coming this Summer" or something like that).

[corinhorn]

And the public unveiling of Snow Leopard (hopefully with a release date but more likely Steve saying "coming this Summer"And then a few weeks after Steve gives the "Coming this summer" announcement, Apple will inform us that Snow Leopard will be delayed 8 months so they can work on the next model of the iPhone.

[joaoeduardo87]

I wanna know if mac mini is going to get a refresh too cause the new displays wont fit on it? i wanna know hows its going to be and if it is going to cost the same i might just get one..

[corinhorn]

I wanna know if mac mini is going to get a refresh too cause the new displays wont fit on it? i wanna know hows its going to be and if it is going to cost the same i might just get one..If the Mac Mini is going to be updated,my guess is that the update will come MW2009.

[RemarkabLee]

I think some audio professionals would take umbrage with your argument.

I see your point but there would be plenty of audio enthusiasts/amateurs who would also be annoyed, me included. I use both digital in and out on my mini and I would use them equally on a laptop if I decided to go down the mobile route instead of a desktop.

[RemarkabLee]

I wanna know if mac mini is going to get a refresh too cause the new displays wont fit on it? i wanna know hows its going to be and if it is going to cost the same i might just get one..

Well considering the Mac mini is designed for a cheap entry into the Macintosh for switchers who ordinarily would have an existing monitor, they would at least provide a displayport to DVI or D-SUB (VGA) monitor adaptor, so I wouldn't worry about it. Whatever they decide to produce, it should connect to your monitor - even if it may not connect to your FireWire devices :mad: ;)

[macswitcha2]

The low end iMacs currently ship with ATI Radeon graphics cards with an NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS as an upgradable option.


Hey, is this person saying that my new imac I bought this year which has Chipset Model: ATI Radeon HD 2400, 128 MB can be upgraded to NVIDIA GEForce 8800 GS? If so, how do I do this?

[Eidorian]

Hey, is this person saying that my new imac I bought this year which has Chipset Model: ATI Radeon HD 2400, 128 MB can be upgraded to NVIDIA GEForce 8800 GS? If so, how do I do this?It's saying that you can order it as a build to order option from Apple.

[RemarkabLee]

Hey, is this person saying that my new imac I bought this year which has Chipset Model: ATI Radeon HD 2400, 128 MB can be upgraded to NVIDIA GEForce 8800 GS? If so, how do I do this?

It's a factory option, you can't upgrade yourself.

[macswitcha2]

It's a factory option, you can't upgrade yourself.

Is it possible to send the machine back and get it upgraded?

[Kilamite]

Is it possible to send the machine back and get it upgraded?

Need a new logic board. Set you back about $900.

[RemarkabLee]

Is it possible to send the machine back and get it upgraded?

It was only a BTO for the 24" iMac. You have a 20" iMac if you have a 2400 ATi card.

And no, Apple do not offer an upgrade service for 24" iMac owners... Unless you give them the money for a new iMac 24" with the 8800 ;)

[EVH]

I want/need 8GB of memory.
I want 27-inch.

The Mac Pro is overkill and too expensive.

I am very happy with my iMac (2.8 GHz, 24-inch), but I need more memory when trying to run Adobe's CS3 and VMWare's Fusion.

I want a 27-inch iMac with a 2160 x 1350 display.

Price is not an issue.

That is so contradicting :p

Save for the Pro with a 30" display, trust me.. it's amazing.

[macswitcha2]

Need a new logic board. Set you back about $900.

So with a new MB my current mac could receive a better graphic's card?

[Kilamite]

So with a new MB my current mac could receive a better graphic's card?

Potentially. Apple don't sell logic boards and offer it as an upgradable service.

But, if you needed a new logic board because of a fault, you could see if they could upgrade the logic board to a higher spec and you pay the excess. Never heard of that working though. Just a thought.

[One Ohm]

I hope for an eSATA Port on the new iMac...

I really think Apple should have an ExpressCard/34 slot standard. That way the user can decide what ports they want.

I know...I'm dreaming on both fronts....

[Gaelic2]

Well I guess if your in the market for a iMac you better buy it now before apple offers a refresh that are crippled without FireWire.
Does anyone have any idea why Apple quit firewire? There has to be some reason why they dropped such a port. I remember all the gnashing of teeth and crying when Apple stopped using disc drives, but it was old technology then and they were the first to drop it in lieu of hard drives. I don't see any correlation in fire wire ,however. I am probably missing something, maybe a new USP protocol?
:confused:

[buccsmf1]

I am interested what kind of bump would it be?

Better video cards?
More ram?
Slightly faster processors?

yes, yes, and yes. and i would guess thats about it

[kieran12]

Some people have mentioned what could apple release at Macworld?

How about Snow Leopard 10.6. I'm probably being too optimistic but I think it is a possibility.

[k2k koos]

I think it's time for a poll.
i personally think the iMac is ideal for a lot of project studio's, and other semi-pro applications, and sees a lot of use of firewire devices in those situations.

Do you want firewire ports to stay on the iMac?

- Yes absolutely!
- No I don't use it at all
- Maybe, not really that bothered
- What is firewire?

:apple:

[Kilamite]

Some people have mentioned what could apple release at Macworld?

How about Snow Leopard 10.6. I'm probably being too optimistic but I think it is a possibility.

Isn't coming out till June (roughly).

[corinhorn]

Does anyone have any idea why Apple quit firewire? There has to be some reason why they dropped such a port. I remember all the gnashing of teeth and crying when Apple stopped using disc drives, but it was old technology then and they were the first to drop it in lieu of hard drives. I don't see any correlation in fire wire ,however. I am probably missing something, maybe a new USP protocol?
:confused:We won't truly know if Apple is dumping FireWire until the new iMacs are introduced.

There is a new USB standard coming that will supposedly be much faster than FireWire, but it is not here yet, which is why I think Apple should keep with the presently faster and reliable FireWire.

[flottenheimer]

We won't truly know if Apple is dumping FireWire until the new iMacs are introduced.

We'll we do know actually. It hasn't been dumped. A FireWire 800 port is included on the brand spanking new MacBook Pro.

[corinhorn]

We'll we do know actually. It hasn't been dumped. A FireWire 800 port is included on the brand spanking new MacBook Pro.

Have you looked at the new MacBook?

[Tadros86]

I understand not having firewire on a macbook, but not a Macbook PRO! I own a 2007 MBP and was thinking about upgrading in a couple years, not having firewire completely killed that idea! I was hoping they would finally ADD another firewire port on the PRO models so I can have more space to work with. I am an audio engineer and to me firewire is the greatest invention ever, its not slow like USB and my whole studio gets connected to my MBP over one cable. Without this port I can't use any of my audio interfaces.

Apple you are stupid, you can't call a MBP a Pro model anymore cause so many of the professionals in their fields use firewire, whether it be backing up on externals, or using outboard gear like I do, and you just royally screwed all of us.

[illegallydead]

we can only hope that if and when they update the iMacs, they do leave the Firewire. Hopefully they will assume correctly that the iMac is not a pure consumer machine, as many Semi-Pros or Pros do use it due to :apple:'s complete lack of a desktop solution between the price and performance points of the iMac and the Mac Pro Mac Consumer Tower .

Losing FW on the iMac would mean that people who are even ever so slightly in the realm of :apple:'s definition of "Pro", and therefore use FW, would be forced into buying the Mac Pro, which is both stupidly overpriced for that kind of lower-end but higher than iMac group, not to mention likely a bit overkill performance wise. Needless to say this would cause even more user hate of :apple:, as the price difference between an iMac and a Mac Pro is MUCH larger than between a MB and MBP...

[Kilamite]

I understand not having firewire on a macbook, but not a Macbook PRO! I own a 2007 MBP and was thinking about upgrading in a couple years, not having firewire completely killed that idea! I was hoping they would finally ADD another firewire port on the PRO models so I can have more space to work with. I am an audio engineer and to me firewire is the greatest invention ever, its not slow like USB and my whole studio gets connected to my MBP over one cable. Without this port I can't use any of my audio interfaces.

Apple you are stupid, you can't call a MBP a Pro model anymore cause so many of the professionals in their fields use firewire, whether it be backing up on externals, or using outboard gear like I do, and you just royally screwed all of us.

The MacBook Pro has FireWire 800. It is just the MacBook and the Air that doesn't have FireWire in Apple's current lineup.

[twoodcc]

well i hope that this is true. if this happens, i say just a silent update on a tuesday

[illegallydead]

I understand not having firewire on a macbook, but not a Macbook PRO! I own a 2007 MBP and was thinking about upgrading in a couple years, not having firewire completely killed that idea! I was hoping they would finally ADD another firewire port on the PRO models so I can have more space to work with. I am an audio engineer and to me firewire is the greatest invention ever, its not slow like USB and my whole studio gets connected to my MBP over one cable. Without this port I can't use any of my audio interfaces.

Apple you are stupid, you can't call a MBP a Pro model anymore cause so many of the professionals in their fields use firewire, whether it be backing up on externals, or using outboard gear like I do, and you just royally screwed all of us.

Dude... You do realize that the MBP still has 1 FW 800 port, don't you? Yes, they crippled the MB, but the Pro line is fine (for now :rolleyes:) Another FW port would be wonderful, perhaps on the new 17" since they have the room?


Looks like I was beat to the punch :rolleyes:

[jczaja]

I'm in the same boat as most of the audio guys.. If Apple doesnt include firewire on the new iMacs, there's no way in hell I'll be buying one.. My audio interface (Metric Halo 2882 +DSP) is firewire and I dont plan on ditching it any time soon. I know A LOT of audio guys who use the iMacs for running Logic Studio which is an Apple product. It'd be really silly for them to not include it!

-Jay

[RemarkabLee]

I'm in the same boat as most of the audio guys.. If Apple doesnt include firewire on the new iMacs, there's no way in hell I'll be buying one.. My audio interface (Metric Halo 2882 +DSP) is firewire and I dont plan on ditching it any time soon. I know A LOT of audio guys who use the iMacs for running Logic Studio which is an Apple product. It'd be really silly for them to not include it!

-Jay

+1

I have an M-Audio FireWire Audiophile and its a great bit of kit.

[depulse]

i wish you'se would all stop screaming at me:

http://usbfirewire.com/uadapters.html

Maybe read the specifications next time before posting:

"It sounds great, but is it Mac compatible?
Unfortunately our cable is not Mac compatible. However, it is compatible only with Windows XP."

[Stridder44]

i still don't understand the appeal of an imac....

mac pro yes...but imac...

how is it a better choice over a notebook?

it basically has the same hardware as the notebooks...

im assuming its for people who want less mobility :eek:

I bought some frosted flakes today and the guy next to me bought cheerios.

frosted flakes yes...but cheerios...

how is it a better choice over frosted flakes?

it basically has the same nutrients as frosted flakes...

im assuming its for people who want less sugar :eek:


See what I did there?

[iMacmatician]

I think we will see a Mac mini update at the same time as the iMac update. "Santa Rosa Special" 1067 MHz FSB...

[Eidorian]

I think we will see a Mac mini update at the same time as the iMac update. "Santa Rosa Special" 1067 MHz FSB...Hopefully we'll get a 9400M G Mac mini instead of an uprated Santa Rosa one.

The Mac mini is in dire need of an update.

[Eric S.]

I bought some frosted flakes today and the guy next to me bought cheerios.

frosted flakes yes...but cheerios...

how is it a better choice over frosted flakes?

it basically has the same nutrients as frosted flakes...

im assuming its for people who want less sugar :eek:


See what I did there?

Sorry, no. Are you implying that less sugar equates to less mobility? Because to me one seems good and the other bad.

[jczaja]

i still don't understand the appeal of an imac....

mac pro yes...but imac...

how is it a better choice over a notebook?

it basically has the same hardware as the notebooks...

im assuming its for people who want less mobility :eek:

Well yeah... If only the MacPro's were lets say... $1000 cheaper? Then factor in a display and it's even more expensive! Believe me, I'd love to own a MacPro but I can't justify the price when the iMac has more than enough power for my situation (running Logic Studio) and the included 24" screen is a nice bonus. I dont use a boatload of CPU hogging audio plugins in Logic Studio. I also like the form factor of the iMac and dont need mobility for my home studio and if i need to do recording in the field, I'll use my MBP.. So for some, yeah, it's a better choice..

-Jay

[marbles]

well , we've had the iPod event going on (raising awareness) and we had the macbooks a few days back ,.....the thing is , to me the iMacs look ok ,and that's where this rumour starts to go awry for me , I mean the Mini is where it's at, oh , and the MacPro , only that I think the MP is for Macworld .....

It makes sense to me at least for the MM to get an update , now, ...especially while it's almost spending money like a looney season!! ...get your wares on the shelf MrJobs , lets have that new Mini for Christmas , please :)

All these recent events will have surely made all the switchers sit and take notice (again) and turn their noses up at the new MB & MBP for being "too expensive" or whatever ....bring on the new Mini , unibody stylee :cool:




edit >..... and then bring the new iMac's , MBP 17" and the Macpro out at MW , total sense to me , the casual switchers with a few hundred in the back pocket during thecoming holiday season will spot down the $£$£$ for a reasonably priced mac , especially with all the recent exposure..., and then the 'more pro' folk will get the meat & potato's in the new year , job done , thanks for listening ..out.

[Axemantitan]

Bigger, higher-resolution display
Higher specs (CPU)
Larger hard drive

iMovie '08 isn't Cocoa? :eek:

No - LED Cinema Display came this month (not Spring 2009), and the MacBook Pro got a total redesign this month (not early summer 2009).

The "new computer platform" at MWSF, I think, is quite believable though.

AppleInsider has been accurate so far, so maybe we will see iMacs updated before the holidays and Mac Pros after that.

http://images.appleinsider.com/2008rm-080827.png

One new LED Display came out this month. The existing models were not updated, but likely will later. The original poster also said that MB's and MBP's would be updated this month, but that a total redesign would be in early summer. You could argue that even greater changes to the laptops could come then.

[viccles]

I wish they'd put more USB ports in the imac. I love mine, but that is the only complaint I have. 3 isn't enough for me!

[corinhorn]

I wish they'd put more USB ports in the imac. I love mine, but that is the only complaint I have. 3 isn't enough for me!

What's wrong with hubs?

[bikemonkey]

I'm in the same boat as most of the audio guys.. If Apple doesnt include firewire on the new iMacs, there's no way in hell I'll be buying one.. My audio interface (Metric Halo 2882 +DSP) is firewire and I dont plan on ditching it any time soon. I know A LOT of audio guys who use the iMacs for running Logic Studio which is an Apple product. It'd be really silly for them to not include it!

-Jay

Yeh, that would especially suck. At least if it happened to me, all I'd loose out on is a crappy maudio FW410. Heh. It'd be an excuse to upgrade.

Although, it's still stupid Apple removed Firewire on the Macbooks, as I now think they're a better audio laptop than the pro. Even the new graphics chip will probably handle most audio/video projects.

[queshy]

I'm waiting for snow leopard to upgrade my white 24" iMac. There's still no reason for me to upgrade, the newer models are just a bit faster and I prefer the matte screen anyways.

[Purple Pelican]

So Apple is not going to be using ATI on anything in their consumer line anymore... Interesting.

[Olen V.]

I read in appleInsider that possibly new iMacs will have LED Displays and
that maybe Apple launch a version in black. Then I found this: http://applediario.com/2008/10/18/hay-cambios-en-el-panorama-de-los-imacs/

[corinhorn]

I read in appleInsider that possibly new iMacs will have LED Displays and
that maybe Apple launch a version in black. Then I found this: http://applediario.com/2008/10/18/hay-cambios-en-el-panorama-de-los-imacs/That thing looks like something Dell would produce.

[ajbgmex]

If they remove FW 400 or 800 I will not buy a new iMac no matter how cheap they get, I use my firewire ports for my beloved external iSight, I truly hate the built-in iSight with all my guts, it sucks, and an external HD.

[mcgowan7]

I can't wait for a refresh to the iMac, but one question.

Lets speculate on what the CPU speed will be?

I thought 3.06 is the highest clock speed for the Montevina chipset? Sure they could make that the standard, but would they introduce a FASTER than current offerings? Does one exist in the Montevina platform?

[zedsdead]

I can't wait for a refresh to the iMac, but one question.

Lets speculate on what the CPU speed will be?

I thought 3.06 is the highest clock speed for the Montevina chipset? Sure they could make that the standard, but would they introduce a FASTER than current offerings? Does one exist in the Montevina platform?

It is as far as I know, but Apple could simply make the 3.06 the standard in the higher 20" and the 24", and just not offer a 24" option.

[Works4Me]

Steve's stubbornness on this issue with regard to MacBooks, is going to cost Apple revenue. If they don't include it on the new iMac, the same will happen. Sometimes I think he's the one under the influence of a reality distortion field.

[bigwig]

I think FireWire is obviously dead. If, as Apple claims, FW400 is being dropped in favor of USB2 by device manufacturers, where is the market going to come from for upgrades to FW3200 devices? Since Apple is now in bed with Intel and Intel owns and controls USB, why wouldn't Intel pressure Apple to abandon FW entirely in favor of its (IMO inferior) USB3 standard? I have no doubt that Intel owning USB is why FireWire never got traction on PCs. That, plus eSATA on the hard-disk side of things, spells doom for FW.

[DaBrain]

let's hope that they also replace the $1.99 screens in the current iMacs... i'm on my 4th, and it still sucks...

i wonder if the new iMacs have LED displays, if they'll throw one of those into mine when i send this in for a screen replacement... assuming the new LED displays don't also suffer from gradients and bleedout...

Other then LED back lighting when is the last time Apple actually gave us a better display? Im curious? :confused:

[Eidorian]

I can't wait for a refresh to the iMac, but one question.

Lets speculate on what the CPU speed will be?

I thought 3.06 is the highest clock speed for the Montevina chipset? Sure they could make that the standard, but would they introduce a FASTER than current offerings? Does one exist in the Montevina platform?Given that the iMacs aren't laptops you can be a little more flexible with the processors. I'm sure Apple might overclock one to 3.2 GHz while keeping the TDP around 45-55W.

[DaBrain]

How about 2 or 3 more USB ports on the iMac? Printer, time machine, keyboard..oh and mouse, usb drive, iPod connector.

Giving more does not seem to be the trend. ;)

[DaBrain]

Ugh. What good would a touch screen do on an iMac?

Why it would be a Great finger print magnet!--))) ;)

[Dustman]

How about Apple updates the Mini before the holidays. At 649 CDN, you get a 1.8 ghz, 1 GB, 80 GB, CD-R, and a GMA 950. Anyone else think that's just a little embarrassing? I mean... a GMA 950?! ITS 2008!

Slightly more OT:

What more can they really do to the iMac right now? I suppose they can put that Nvidia logic board in there, but in terms of processor speed and RAM, theres not really a whole lot of room for improvement. They're actually a pretty good deal right now (excluding base model).

Anyone else ready for Apple to bring colors back to the iMac? :cool:

[iMacmatician]

The original poster also said that MB's and MBP's would be updated this month, but that a total redesign would be in early summer. You could argue that even greater changes to the laptops could come then.I highly doubt it. Even Nehalem's not coming until the end of 2009. This latest redesign was very significant in many areas.

I can't wait for a refresh to the iMac, but one question.

Lets speculate on what the CPU speed will be?

I thought 3.06 is the highest clock speed for the Montevina chipset? Sure they could make that the standard, but would they introduce a FASTER than current offerings? Does one exist in the Montevina platform?3.2 GHz 55 W in the top model? There's also the slim possibility of an overclocked 1333 MHz FSB version of the Montevina/NVIDIA chipset, but I think that will come, if at all, in 2009.

[DaBrain]

Have you bothered to read the specification at all? It says clearly that is ONLY works with Windows XP. Not Mac OS or even Windows Vista for that matter, it also says that it is only supported on very few cameras and if that's not enough for you, it's not likely to be a viable solution as USB simply does NOT have the effective and unstalled bandwidth of a Firewire connection among other things which are also important for realtime video-editing. In this case it's probably even worse considering that this seems to be USB1. As you (should) know USB1 provides 12 Mb/s bandwidth as opposed to at least 400Mb/s for Firewire: a difference of more than thirtyfold.

Learn to know the matter before you give 'advice' to people who, obviously, know the matter better than you do!

Agreed! Ya know it's funny how some here mock the complaints about those that need/want Fire wire, but they have never used it, so there for they deem it unnecessary!

I wonder how they would feel if they had several hundred to thousands of dollars tied up in their peripherals only to find that unless they now forked over an additional $700 they would not be able to use them any more on the new macbook?

I love Apple, but IM getting very leery of them taking things away, yet charging more. What happened to their innovation.

Remember all they Hype on aggressive pricing? Well now we know just what aggressive means to apple.

I prefer functionality and could care less how the inside of a laptop looked!

The bigger they get the more they seem to forget where they came from and the more IM reminded why I left microsloth.

I hope things turn around and they truly introduce some new innovative functional computers.

Some of the mock ups I have seen posted here are truly innovative and someday hope to see an Apple product like those. IM reminded of that curved very thin transparent screen iMac posted many months ago. Now that thing was truly amazing. Is it doable? Don't know but what a looker it was--)))

Well here's hoping for some true innovation and great Apple computers in the future! ;)

[Mr. lax]

It's time to upgrade?

[bbain]

I, for one, would be very upset if Apple dropped FW support in the iMac. Without FW, both my external hard drive and my mBox 2 Pro wouldn't be usable. I'd have to go back to ProTools on a PC, which would suck. There are a significant number of external audio interfaces that use FW to get reasonable bandwidth for multi-tracking.

Bill Bain
Atlanta
iMac 17" Core Duo, still on Tiger since Digidesign was so slow about certifying Leopard that I'll wait for Snow Leopard.

[johnmcboston]

It's time to upgrade?

Good question. Do I get this update, or wait until Snow Leopard is on whatever new imac there is at that time (newer than what I have)... hmmmm

[Rocketman]

So, when will the iMac also be unibody aluminum and glass to be ecologically superior?

How many graphics co-processor optional units will fit in an iMac? I understand they are installed behind the screen.

Rocketman

[queshy]

I read in appleInsider that possibly new iMacs will have LED Displays and
that maybe Apple launch a version in black. Then I found this: http://applediario.com/2008/10/18/hay-cambios-en-el-panorama-de-los-imacs/

Hah. They just took the old white iMac and made it black.

This "rumors" thing is getting crazy now. Good thing we have MR to separate the good stuff from the junk. These days everyone has their "own rumor" because it drives traffic (as it just did by me clicking on it...).

[MacTraveller]

is now the time to sell?

Yes. You go first. You sell first.

And then when the dipsticks like you sell, it will lower the AAPL price for the rest of us, who will then have an opportunity to buy it on the cheap.

Go ahead.

[MacTraveller]

So, when will the iMac also be unibody aluminum and glass to be ecologically superior?


November 2008: Steve Jobs introduces the.... "iMac Brick"

[tom5304]

Yes. You go first. You sell first.

And then when the dipsticks like you sell, it will lower the AAPL price for the rest of us, who will then have an opportunity to buy it on the cheap.

Go ahead.

Whoa! Easy there, Bitter Guy.:rolleyes:

[Eidorian]

So, when will the iMac also be unibody aluminum and glass to be ecologically superior?

How many graphics co-processor optional units will fit in an iMac? I understand they are installed behind the screen.

RocketmanWhile I do have some hopes of using GPUs for more general purpose computing lets not get to ahead of ourselves.

A nVidia iMac would more then likely have the 9400M G as the chipset and then another discrete solution alongside that. I doubt you'd have the 9400M G as video option though.

Steve Jobs mention the using the GPU as a general processor and people suddenly think it's new. :confused:

ATI, Intel, and nVidia have all jumped on bandwagon pushing GPGPUs for quite some time now. I've been folding@home on my GPU since last year.

[MattInOz]

i still don't understand the appeal of an imac....

mac pro yes...but imac...

how is it a better choice over a notebook?

it basically has the same hardware as the notebooks...

im assuming its for people who want less mobility :eek:

When most professional software in Industries like Architecture and construction is still basically single core and the parts that are multi-core are the real high end a rare parts of the workflow. Then big new fresh screen, 2 cores and decent keyboard and mouse is what you need.

Neither the MacBook Pro or the Mac Pro come close to the iMac in matching that spec.

Even as the software becomes multi-core aware basic workflow is still going to driven by the single thread looking at the screen. the iMac still wins it really is a bit of all-rounder.

Thou would be nice to see one of those mobile quad-cores in the updated iMac.

Which i guess we'll get to see before the end of year if steve is going to meet his eco objectives which he's already said he will

[ghalimacman]

I hope they also redesign the iMac. I currently can't chose betwen the new mbp and the current iMac, so the redesign would be helpful.

[Rybold]

They better announce it soon enough before Christmas so that I have time to ask Santa for one! :)

[xbjllb]

I understand not having firewire on a macbook, but not a Macbook PRO! I own a 2007 MBP and was thinking about upgrading in a couple years, not having firewire completely killed that idea! I was hoping they would finally ADD another firewire port on the PRO models so I can have more space to work with. I am an audio engineer and to me firewire is the greatest invention ever, its not slow like USB and my whole studio gets connected to my MBP over one cable. Without this port I can't use any of my audio interfaces.

Apple you are stupid, you can't call a MBP a Pro model anymore cause so many of the professionals in their fields use firewire, whether it be backing up on externals, or using outboard gear like I do, and you just royally screwed all of us.

I am sorry, you've reached a number that has been disconnected. Apple no longer is a pro company interested in servicing content creators; call us ONLY when your kid needs a crap iPod or iPhone or wants to steal HD movies directly to their hard drive.

:apple:

[Morriss]

Re: FW on iMacs. Given what happened to the new MBs, wouldn't it be consistent for Apple to remove FW on iMacs? This is after all a consumer desktop model. If people want FW, you can always upgrade to the Mac Pro's. Apple's reasoning seems to be that most average users don't take advantage of FW and that only pro's need it. Therefore, in the future, only the MP and the MBP will have it. How does that sit with everyone?

[xbjllb]

Yes. You go first. You sell first.

And then when the dipsticks like you sell, it will lower the AAPL price for the rest of us, who will then have an opportunity to buy it on the cheap.

Go ahead.

There's always a greater fool out there, isn't there?

There is no such thing as paper wealth; there never has been.

:apple:

[MrZebra]

How does that sit with everyone?

You can see it youself going through a few threads in this board.

[SactoGuy18]

I expect the next-generation iMacs and Mac Pro desktops at the next Macworld Expo.

Because iMacs and Mac Pros aren't power-restrained like their laptop models, we may finally see Blu-ray disc support, including the latest nVidia or AMD/ATI chipsets that decode h.264 video with full HDCP support.

Why now? Two reasons: 1) Apple officially supports the Blu-ray format and 2) now that Blu-ray console players and discs are rapidly dropping in price (you can get the two-disc version of Iron Man on this new format for under US$30, that's a major enticement, and many retailers now sell players for well under US$300), the additional cost is much less of an issue.

Also, Apple has to start realizing that Internet Service Providers are starting to impose monthly download caps on the amount of data; this cap could hurt sales of HD movies and TV shows through the iTunes Music Store. Besides, a video encoded for iTMS is still vastly inferior in quality to the video on a real Blu-ray disc.

[Jon the Heretic]

Who wants to bet Apple will drop Firewire in the 20" model at least (maybe even in the pricey 24" model that still has a decent display). Who wants to bet I won't buy one should they do that? And yes, I am in the market for a new iMac.

[Jon the Heretic]

I love Apple, but IM getting very leery of them taking things away, yet charging more. What happened to their innovation.

Taking away is not innovation; it is just cost cutting. And while that may be necessary from time to time, confusing this with innovation is not terribly bright.

I blame the Apple consumer for applauding Apple for this in the past (and remember Apple rarely lowers prices significantly as a result; their profit margin just goes or stays up!) The consumer is to blame because they reinforce both good and bad behavior indiscriminately, applauding both innovation and short sightedness as if the two were two sides of the same coin. Oh yes, it is our fault.

When the floppy was dropped from the first iMac, thousands of Mac Lemmings lined up and clapped their hands, jeering at all of the thousands of poor saps who had to buy external USB floppy disks. because it wasn't *quite* dead yet. Was the floppy old technology? Sure was. Are they dead now? Yup. But were they dead when Apple dropped it? To quote Monty Python, "I'm not quite dead yet!" So, Apple clubbed anyone who said otherwise.

Depending on the model, the floppy was not quite dead for another 1 -2 years *after* Apple killed it, because they had NO *simple* way to get info off the computer until combo CD writers were added. There were no USB thumb drives yet (at least no affordable ones), and there was no Firewire (just slow as crap USB 1.1 you could hook to a slow as crap hard drive), and no CD or DVD burning except at the high end. When confronted with this obvious problem, Steve told us we should use the internet to transfer files---which was a total bitch and a half for many Mac users. When Apple actually gave us an affordable alternative to floppies---CD-Rs across the line, then the floppy could safely be declared dead. If they had made this standard while simultaneously dropping the floppy (adding something, not just taking away) THAT would have been innovative...but taking away with no acceptable alternative is just hubris that cost many consumers more than Apple saved. But hey, that's just our money, not Apple's; maybe that is "business innovation" -- new ways to screw customers -- but technological innovation it is not.

Dropping Firewire is even more egregious because it is a SUPERIOR technology to USB 2.0...and despite what "Steve" wrote, Firewire is the dominant and best way to hook up a video camera (HD or SD) to a computer. I even bought a firewire card for my company-owned Thinkpad. If USB 3.0 were here already and on Macs and actually LIVED up to the hype (something USB 2.0 never did), then MAYBE this move would have made sense. If eSATA was added for hard drive support, dropping FW starts to make sense at least for hard drives. But dropping this important feature, costs consumers MORE money, for something which has no acceptable alternative (except if you live in the reality distortion field - "just e-mail the files"..snort!) is just greed and wishful thinking. It is definitely not "innovative". This dilutes the meaning of the word such that innovation is no more than the sound you make when your lips form the words.

Reward Apple when they do good; don't reward them when they do poorly. Never reward them with your paycheck without considering what behavior you are reinforcing, You'll see more good works in the future when you do this consistently. Be indiscriminate, it is your fault if Apple takes away something you really need, forcing you to spend hundreds or thousands more than the $5 to $20 Apple saved.

[SactoGuy18]

Who wants to bet Apple will drop Firewire in the 20" model at least (maybe even in the pricey 24" model that still has a decent display). Who wants to bet I won't buy one should they do that? And yes, I am in the market for a new iMac.

I don't think so. Unlike laptops, iMacs and Mac Pros aren't constrained by power and size issues, so they can retain the IEEE-1394 ports. Besides, many external hard drives sport IEEE-1394 connections, vastly more than the External Serial ATA (eSATA) connections you're starting to see on a few computers.

[Morriss]

I don't think so. Unlike laptops, iMacs and Mac Pros aren't constrained by power and size issues, so they can retain the IEEE-1394 ports. Besides, many external hard drives sport IEEE-1394 connections, vastly more than the External Serial ATA (eSATA) connections you're starting to see on a few computers.
Yes, but Steve Jobs says you don't need FW anymore because all of the new cameras have USB 2. The man has spoken. From now on, there will only be FW on pro desktops and notebooks.

[SactoGuy18]

Yes, but Steve Jobs says you don't need FW anymore because all of the new cameras have USB 2.

But define "new camera." If you're talking digital still camera, you don't need more than USB 2.0 anyway unless you're talking seriously high-end, multi-thousand dollar digital SLR's from Canon and Nikon. Besides, with many new computers, they have built-in memory card readers, which makes this whole point superfluous.

But many external hard drives still sport IEEE-1394 ports, and since a lot of new computers already have the IEEE-1394 port installed, there's still a valid use for IEEE-1394 ports for fast backup of data from computer hard drive to external hard drive.

[zedsdead]

Firewire is going to remain on the iMac's. Firewire 400 may drop off, but 800 will be there, which can work as a 400 port with an adapter.

[dollydolman]

They better announce it soon enough before Christmas so that I have time to ask Santa for one! :)

Lol Santa is going to have to splash out a lot of money to get one of those...oh wait he makes them in his workshop lol. Apple should sue him for using their designs lol.

[Srai-W]

Yes, but Steve Jobs says you don't need FW anymore because all of the new cameras have USB 2. The man has spoken. From now on, there will only be FW on pro desktops and notebooks.

I am really stuck on this. Not that I am looking at an iMac (I'm waiting for the Mini to be updated :o ) but it is really a difficult one to predict. Notebooks are smaller, have different constraints compared to a desktop. My initial thoughts were that they would drop it off the lower end 20" models (as someone else has pointed out) and keep it on the 24". But the problem I have with that is that it complicates things. Wouldn't this create problems with the manufacturing? Unless they were to somehow just use a USB port in place of the Firewire???

Any thoughts on this? :confused:

[Morriss]

But define "new camera."
I'm just quoting what his reasoning is regarding his decision to remove FW from the MB. I, in no way agree with him. If this is his logic, then why should any consumer Mac have FW. Besides, there are a lot of cheap PC's with FW. Surely the talented designers/engineers at Apple could have fit in one FW port if they really wanted to.

[iMacmatician]

Who wants to bet Apple will drop Firewire in the 20" model at least (maybe even in the pricey 24" model that still has a decent display). Who wants to bet I won't buy one should they do that? And yes, I am in the market for a new iMac.I think the gap between the 20" iMac and the 24" iMac will only increase.

20" — 24"
No Firewire — Firewire
Dual-core — Quad-core (2009/2010)
9400 GPU — 9600 GPU (9800 BTO)

I think the 20" iMac will be the desktop version of the MacBook while the 24" iMac will be the desktop version of the MacBook Pro.

[dannyboxer]

I think the 20" iMac will be the desktop version of the MacBook while the 24" iMac will be the desktop version of the MacBook Pro.[/QUOTE]

Good idea.

[Xtremehkr]

My iMac G5 is getting painfully slow, and makes a lot of noise when it is running now, I think something is going to fail before it turns 5.

I am ready to get a new iMac any time now, unfortunately, I know that there is a next gen processor coming from Intel that is supposed to be substantially faster. It would be really hard to overlook the major update coming and buy a new iMac with only a minor update before christmas. Besides, if I wait until Snow Leopard is released, I won't have to pay for that update either.

The new iMacs are exponentially better than the old G5 though, I hope my patience holds out, everytime I play around with the new iMacs I'm amazed at how fast and smooth they are when operating.

[Jon the Heretic]

I don't think so. Unlike laptops, iMacs and Mac Pros aren't constrained by power and size issues, so they can retain the IEEE-1394 ports.

Interesting...so you think all of the many MacBooks and iBooks that have had Firewire had problems with power and this was due to the existence of the FW port, and that there was no space for them on those motherboards? I don't recall haven't heard anything about this "problem" on past models. Even Jobs himself fails to mention this as a reason: He just falsely claims that all video cameras are USB 2.0 now. (Well, after this little trick, and the upcoming withdraw of FW on the iMac, this may become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Get used to dropped frames and ridiculously slow editing of HD video---USB 2.0 isn't even all that great for SD on a MiniDV cam, much less for HD. Apple should be pushing for FW3200 or FW1600 not dropping FW where they think they get a chance).

I think Apple knows this but has decided that the consumer interest in editing movies has passed. Witness what a piece of poo iMove 08 is compared to its far more capable prior release. Slightly "simpler" at the expense of making it almost useless for all but the most trivial purposes. I think Apple has decided the "pro" video editor types will pay for a more expensive computer with FW and will pay for better software like Final Cut. Dropping the low end solutions pushes those doggies towards the new target demographics. Apple has also said DVD is dead. For everyone else, well, USB 2.0 is "good enough", because when you are streaming your YouTube video, it will look so bad compared to your old iMove 06 edited DVD that a few dropped frames is going to be the least of your worries. Oh yeah, Blu ray isn't just dead, it was still born. So saith Jobs, all hail his wisdom.

[Eidorian]

I don't think so. Unlike laptops, iMacs and Mac Pros aren't constrained by power and size issues, so they can retain the IEEE-1394 ports. Besides, many external hard drives sport IEEE-1394 connections, vastly more than the External Serial ATA (eSATA) connections you're starting to see on a few computers.I've never heard of any problems with FireWire on Mac laptops. Care to enlighten me?

[mtrctyjoe]

i still don't understand the appeal of an imac....

mac pro yes...but imac...

how is it a better choice over a notebook?

it basically has the same hardware as the notebooks...

im assuming its for people who want less mobility :eek:

less $$$, bigger screen

[Dustman]

While I do have some hopes of using GPUs for more general purpose computing lets not get to ahead of ourselves.

A nVidia iMac would more then likely have the 9400M G as the chipset and then another discrete solution alongside that. I doubt you'd have the 9400M G as video option though.

Steve Jobs mention the using the GPU as a general processor and people suddenly think it's new. :confused:

ATI, Intel, and nVidia have all jumped on bandwagon pushing GPGPUs for quite some time now. I've been folding@home on my GPU since last year.

On the contrary. Apple has included integrated graphics in the iMac before. I think it'd be a great idea for them to bring back the affordable iMac since Apple's recent choice of integrated graphics was a pretty good one.

[Eidorian]

On the contrary. Apple has included integrated graphics in the iMac before. I think it'd be a great idea for them to bring back the affordable iMac since Apple's recent choice of integrated graphics was a pretty good one.I was tossing around the idea of a sub-$1,000 ($999.00) 9400M G iMac. It's possible but I have my own doubts.

[Xtremehkr]

If they took FireWire off iMacs, how would people use Time Machine? I believe that you have to use FW for the external drive that you use for Time Machine. If I had to buy a time capsule with my new iMac, I would probably just stop using TM and back up using something I already have through USB.

[shanmugam]

what is the chance of 17" iMac white reappearing with the specs of MacBook white? :rolleyes:

may be priced @ $799 or $899? :p

[fishface17]

NOOOOO!
i just bought my first imac like 2 weeks ago
Darn you apple!!

[marbles]

If they took FireWire off iMacs, how would people use Time Machine? I believe that you have to use FW for the external drive that you use for Time Machine. If I had to buy a time capsule with my new iMac, I would probably just stop using TM and back up using something I already have through USB.

if this is true how do folk

with the new MB get on ?

[RTee]

NOOOOO!
i just bought my first imac like 2 weeks ago
Darn you apple!!

I hear you mate, mine arrives today! I ordered it over a week ago...

[Kebabselector]

I believe that you have to use FW for the external drive that you use for Time Machine.

Time Machine works fine with my USB hdd on both MacMini's and my MacBook.

[ryanhawiya]

I'm thinking that they will wait to update the iMacs at MacWorld. Maybe along with the trackpad of the MBAIR

[Ambrose Chapel]

My iMac G5 is getting painfully slow, and makes a lot of noise when it is running now, I think something is going to fail before it turns 5.

I am ready to get a new iMac any time now, unfortunately, I know that there is a next gen processor coming from Intel that is supposed to be substantially faster. It would be really hard to overlook the major update coming and buy a new iMac with only a minor update before christmas. Besides, if I wait until Snow Leopard is released, I won't have to pay for that update either.

The new iMacs are exponentially better than the old G5 though, I hope my patience holds out, everytime I play around with the new iMacs I'm amazed at how fast and smooth they are when operating.

I am in the same position - I have a 3.5-year-old Rev B iMac G5 that is starting to feel s-l-o-w. I am getting antsy to upgrade but have decided to hold out for Nehalem. From everything I've read about it, it will be a performance leap worth waiting for. Given that I only upgrade every few years, might as well make sure my next Mac will be a good one for that entire time. But it looks like it's going to be another year before the iMac-ready chips are available (Clarksfield in Q409, apparently). By then it would almost certainly come with Snow Leopard and a new version of iLife preinstalled. I can wait if you can! Just stay away from Apple stores, lest you start playing with one of the iMacs and lose your resolve ;)

[zedsdead]

I am in the same position - I have a 3.5-year-old Rev B iMac G5 that is starting to feel s-l-o-w. I am getting antsy to upgrade but have decided to hold out for Nehalem. From everything I've read about it, it will be a performance leap worth waiting for. Given that I only upgrade every few years, might as well make sure my next Mac will be a good one for that entire time. But it looks like it's going to be another year before the iMac-ready chips are available (Clarksfield in Q409, apparently). By then it would almost certainly come with Snow Leopard and a new version of iLife preinstalled. I can wait if you can! Just stay away from Apple stores, lest you start playing with one of the iMacs and lose your resolve ;)

Definitely wait. A G5 should hold you fine till then. Quad-Core may be in the iMac by then as well.

[Cheffy Dave]

Wow, I am about to get an iMac. Guess I better wait, then!

Oh yeah, I'll wait with you, Santa Please be good to ravenvii and cheffy_dave

[TimBrandt]

Now a bit of topic, but still not :)

When is the famous "The Holidays"? Does it start on a specific date each year, or is it more like "around Christmas"? Or can it mean several different times of year? I mean... isn't there like a bunch of holidays each year?

I'm from Denmark, so what do I know :)

[RyanR.]

Now a bit of topic, but still not :)

When is the famous "The Holidays"? Does it start on a specific date each year, or is it more like "around Christmas"? Or can it mean several different times of year? I mean... isn't there like a bunch of holidays each year?

I'm from Denmark, so what do I know :)
I would say from a US perspective that when they say holidays they mean Christmas. Which means they should be out by black Friday. (The Friday after thanksgiving.)

[TimBrandt]

I would say from a US perspective that when they say holidays they mean Christmas. Which means they should be out by black Friday. (The Friday after thanksgiving.)

Awesome. Thanks a lot :)

[ryanhawiya]

What ever happened to that old rumor of patents that Apple made of the MacBook dock in the screen. It looked like an iMac, but you slid your laptop in the side. I would love to have that :D

[Adamo]

Someone made it up, that's what! Funny idea though, interesting anyway. :)

[kaiwai]

Because some of us have a MacBook and an iMac - we like having a desktop, we like using a computer without looking like the hunch back of notradame. I use it because it has a better processor, 2.6Ghz, faster hard disk, more memory, etc. etc.

I hope not, the reason I buy an iMac is because I like sitting here watching television, and have it is as the complete device (as to avoid having to hang out with my flat mates).

[guyfromtatooine]

To me, iMac needs 9800 :rolleyes:.

[logics8]

this is getting soo obsessed with the imac upgrades What about PRO, XSERVE?

[MacFly123]

Here is the new wireless keyboard that will come with the new iMac with glass multi-touch track pad :D

[Shivetya]

Re: FW on iMacs. Given what happened to the new MBs, wouldn't it be consistent for Apple to remove FW on iMacs? This is after all a consumer desktop model. If people want FW, you can always upgrade to the Mac Pro's. Apple's reasoning seems to be that most average users don't take advantage of FW and that only pro's need it. Therefore, in the future, only the MP and the MBP will have it. How does that sit with everyone?

I would lose my backups. Currently I FW my time machine and would not be happy to have to switch it to USB... which is already eaten up by my keyboard, mouse, ipod, and cameras


Whats next, forcing us to buy their overpriced wireless backup for time machine?

[Shivetya]

I was tossing around the idea of a sub-$1,000 ($999.00) 9400M G iMac. It's possible but I have my own doubts.

I want to see a 27" $2,199 iMac. With that new 27" monitor out there its only a matter of time before its an iMac

[budidi]

Here is the new wireless keyboard that will come with the new iMac with glass multi-touch track pad :D

great ideia:D

[bigwig]

I want to see a 27" $2,199 iMac. With that new 27" monitor out there its only a matter of time before its an iMac
I thought the new monitor was 24".

[zedsdead]

Here is the new wireless keyboard that will come with the new iMac with glass multi-touch track pad :D

That is exactly what I want. Looks awesome!

[MrSmith]

That is exactly what I want. Looks awesome!
Looks good, in theory. As long as the track pad's better than the annoying thing on my G4 iBook.

[zedsdead]

Looks good, in theory. As long as the track pad's better than the annoying thing on my G4 iBook.

I haven't gotten to test the Glass Trackpad on the notebooks yet, but my Multi-Touch Macbook Air trackpad is amazing.

[Loge]

Here is the new wireless keyboard that will come with the new iMac with glass multi-touch track pad :D

Don't take away the number pad, or are we now saying that is now a Pro feature?

I'd prefer a completely separate external glass track pad.

[dannyboxer]

Here is the new wireless keyboard that will come with the new iMac with glass multi-touch track pad :D

whoah that looks nice

[Le Big Mac]

Re: FW on iMacs. Given what happened to the new MBs, wouldn't it be consistent for Apple to remove FW on iMacs? This is after all a consumer desktop model. If people want FW, you can always upgrade to the Mac Pro's. Apple's reasoning seems to be that most average users don't take advantage of FW and that only pro's need it. Therefore, in the future, only the MP and the MBP will have it. How does that sit with everyone?

1) One of the bajillion threads on the subject shows the guts of the macbook and why getting a FW plug in would have been difficult (i.e., drop something else). The iMac doesn't have that limited space.

2) The rumor suggests only speedbumps, which means no case redesign. Why would they drop a FW port just on a speed bump?

3) That said, if they introduce new ones w/o FW, I'm jumping on a refurb immediately.

[Le Big Mac]

If they update them now...what will be left for MWSF 09?

tablet? netbook? bigger iPhones?