iMac in Paris?

[MacRumors]

ThinkSecret provides (http://www.thinksecret.com/news/tsnotes15.html) notes that despite Apple's (unusual) announcement that a new iMac line (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2004/07/20040701175119.shtml) will be announced and released in September, that Apple Expo Paris (August 31st) will act as the launching ground for the new iMac.

Ship dates aren't expected until September 15th, however.

ThinkSecret provides no new details on the revision to Apple's consumer line, though previous hints have suggested dramatic changes (http://imac.macrumors.com/) (G5, new case design).

[letterbox]

i think this is to be expected, however, this is still good news. whee, i'm new in the market for an imac (new g5) but hey it would be nice to see a revised ibook or pb line, however i don't think that will happen as there were just updates.

first stab at first post.

jay

[MacsRgr8]

I knew it.

I have been to MacWorld Paris for the last couple of years..... them not being the most exciting ones.

This one will be gr8! And I won't be able to make it. :(

Still... Let Steve bring 'em on! :)

[CrackedButter]

I thought this was common knowledge anyway, because when Steve did a search for Paris using spotlight at WWDC, then iMac and then everybodies birthday for the month of September, he was hinting at something, thats the impression i got?

[BWhaler]

Let's hope Apple delivers on this and has demo units at schools so they can salvage the 2004 Back to School buying season.

[mpw]

I thought this was common knowledge anyway, because when Steve did a search for Paris using spotlight at WWDC, then iMac and then everybodies birthday for the month of September, he was hinting at something, thats the impression i got?

He also did a search for 'half dome' and made a big deal that the only half dome noted was a map reference? Is he trying to make a point about the ability of Spotlight or should we read more into there being no other 'half dome' and expect a new case design at the 'imac' 'birthday' in 'paris'??

[mactarkus]

Let's just hope they keep the familiar iMac name and don't go with "Le Mac" or "Mac Royale"!

[letterbox]

I thought this was common knowledge anyway, because when Steve did a search for Paris using spotlight at WWDC, then iMac and then everybodies birthday for the month of September, he was hinting at something, thats the impression i got?

Yes, I thought it was quite funny... Paris>iMac>Birthday... :rolleyes: Apple doesn't intentionally leak or anything of the sort to create hype :p

[danieluk]

[Windowlicker]

Let's just hope they keep the familiar iMac name and don't go with "Le Mac" or "Mac Royale"!

guess you didn't go to burger king.. :rolleyes:

[g4cubed]

I thought this was common knowledge anyway, because when Steve did a search for Paris using spotlight at WWDC, then iMac and then everybodies birthday for the month of September, he was hinting at something, thats the impression i got?
Good point crackedbutter. I thought of Paris when it was first announced the imac was coming in Sept., but didn't catch the spotlight hints.

[Zaty]

I, too, think it's pretty obvious that the new iMac will debut at Paris Expo. First, they have to announce something there (any other new hardware is unlikely, excluding the iPod), and secondly, the keynote taking place on August 31 is another clear indication.

[Akira]

Thanks for ruining the suprise. :mad:
;)

Apple Expo Paris (incl. keynote) will be the way I spend my holiday this year :)

[AmigoMac]

We are not expecting the iMac anymore, we just wait Steve-o keynote and the One more thing reaction... but Steve, I'll be happy with a new BT mouse, I don't care if it is 1-Button but bring Scroll-pad á la iPod :cool:

[SillyWillyBob]

He also did a search for 'half dome' and made a big deal that the only half dome noted was a map reference? Is he trying to make a point about the ability of Spotlight or should we read more into there being no other 'half dome' and expect a new case design at the 'imac' 'birthday' in 'paris'??

He also did a search for Yosemite... does this mean the new iMac will headless? and blue and white?

[mpw]

I, too, think it's pretty obvious that the new iMac will debut at Paris Expo. First, they have to announce something there (any other new hardware is unlikely, excluding the iPod), and secondly, the keynote taking place on August 31 is another clear indication.


Do you think there'll be a new iPod launched at Paris only a month after the mini is finally launched?
What new features does anyone expect / hope for?
I assume it would follow the mini’s metal body design and controls and it’s a given it’ll get 60GB. Any chance it’ll get Bluetooth and a better battery? I’ve read about the new Bluetooth standard that would allow full stereo headphones at the same time as syncing can you imagine how cool Apple’s take on ‘proper’ can’s would be.

[Roller]

Let's hope Apple delivers on this and has demo units at schools so they can salvage the 2004 Back to School buying season.

Unfortunately, I think they've already missed this one, at least insofar as potential switchers goes. I doubt if the average back-to-school buyer who never used a Mac before will put off their purchase into mid-September. And institutional school purchases will have been complete well before then.

The best thing Apple could do this time around would be to come up with a cheap (well under $1,000 - not $999) rugged iMac that doesn't have a built-in monitor.

[isgoed]

Thanks for ruining the suprise. :mad:
;)

Don't watch rumor sites

[ifjake]

i didn't catch that spotlite hint. that's pretty slick. i've been trying to get my mother to get an iMac as the next computer, if they get a next computer. form factor alone makes it so attractive for my mom, she can put this thing just about anywhere and it looks good. we can get out of that closet turned study. plus i know the ease of use of Mac OS X will help her finally use a computer for more than just email.

[how_quare]

I Assume the new iMac will be released in paris (I too think it will be a flat screen with the guts in the back (hangable screen/touch screen anyone?)

However thinksecret is predicting a 15th september release... however a local apple reseller states:

"iMac G4 - Out of Stock
New models of the iMac G4 are due to be released on September 5th.

Ring us to reserve yours now!"

http://www.campusit.co.nz/index.cfm?prodid=1211&packageid=2448&area=shop&moduleid=100000012&s=779,781,100000728&single=1

So is this the date of the release and shipping or just shipping or just relase?

(appleinsider has also received this from me but cld not be bothgered joining two boards so emailed them details...)

[SeanMcg]

Anybody notice this little tibidt from the ThinkSecret article:
Remember last year's "premature specification," when Apple inadvertently posted specifications for its new Power Mac G5 to the Apple online store, days in advance of the 2003 Worldwide Developers Conference? Gossip at this year's WWDC confirmed the obvious: the web developer responsible for the accidental leak was unceremoniously "steved."

I know we're on rumor-based sites here, but the comment "Gossip...confirmed the obvious" should give one pause. If it is obvious, why does it need confirmation? And while I don't doubt that the developer got canned, please don't try to convince me with the proof of "gossip."

It may be a good enough standard for the New York Times and Jayson Blair, but not me.

[isgoed]

iMac in Paris
this sounds like so many sequels:

Rugrats in Paris (2000)
An American Werewolf In Paris (1997)
Last Tango in Paris (1972)
An American In Paris (1951)

[Jo-Kun]

the new iMac should have been released in July... but it wasn't ready... thats why this abnormal mac announcement is there...

it will be a G5 iMac in September...

a journalist told me that since he gets mac info and software for free all the time because he writes about them (just greceived FinalCutProHD from him, original full version, free sample from apple...)

[CrackedButter]

RE: the post about new iPods, i also heard they would be released when Apple tops 100 million sales. Ita a given now that HP will release the same generation of ipods otherwise they would of released them now. They did say a summer release and summer is now here. Its either next week for the 100 million milestone or Paris.

You'd want the heat taken off the ipod mini wouldn't you with bigger capcity drives? Wouldn't you?

[whooleytoo]

He also did a search for Yosemite... does this mean the new iMac will headless? and blue and white?

Maybe he meant it'll be shipping in the (water)Fall? :D

[gooddog]

[QUOTE=how_quare]I Assume the new iMac will be released in paris (I too think it will be a flat screen with the guts in the back (hangable screen/touch screen anyone?)

****************

It will not be a thick monstrosity.

It will basically not be there at all :)

minimally speaking ...

Here's what I mean:

The 23" HD Cinema display will have a stand similar to the new displays, but the foot of it will be less than 1 inch thick and house the
drives in a horizontal attitude.

The G5 chip and mobo will form the riser of the stand and be somewhat broader and still aluminum to facilitate cooling.

It will be nicknamed the

"Stealth Mac" by me (gooddog) first,

because it will seem as if the computer part actually disappeared from the form factor entirely, leaving only a stylish display on a classy stand with a keyboard and mouse on the desktop -- especially the black version.

Also, to reduce the acoustic signature, it wil have no fan ---
the riser will be a huge heat fin
in effect.


Keyboard will be bluetooth and backlit in violet with a
BT mouse ( 1 button ).

The display will be simply the new 23" HD Al display and -so- removable to hang on wall ---VESA

and one more thing ....

it will be wi-fi to the iMac body and
to other wi-fi sources ( like pic iPod with wi-fi built in and AP Express video sources ).

Colors : silver Al ano

and

BLACK OX ano -- the Stealth.

And that's why the Powerbooks were made so thin -- this will be a PowerBook, slightly morphed to taper down at the top of the riser.

Go ahead -- tell me I'm wrong ... :)

--------

BUT WHEN WILL KEYNOTE BE UPDATED ???? :(

--gooddogdisappeared

[Sabbath]

It seems the iMac has to be released in Paris given Apples latest announcement but its good to get confirmation. I really onder how they are going to look, if only AI would post there artist impression. Now I just need to convince my gf to go to Paris in September :D

[erik1975]

I justed ordered my Paris Keynote Pass a few days ago. This is going to be one heck of an event. What a great 'first keynote' for me to choose to go to live!

I assume there will be other Macrumors users at the Paris Keynote as well?

[Macmaniac]

Something tell's me the eMac may see an update soon as well, the Apple store seems to have short supplies of them, and there is a long wait for a new one to ship. hmmm maybe Apple is going to boost the entire bottom line.

Oh and of course all these rumors point to the imminent release of G5 PB's ;)

[freedom]

Has anyone seen any mockups of the G5 iMac?
What do you think it will look like?
I hope Apple will do the unexpected [as usual…]!
/Freedom

[JJTiger1]

Try to remember that the traditional entry level iMac's cost less than the entry level desktop unit.

So, if you are expecting serious new features in an iMac that are optional to the entry level desktop, you should expect to pay serious more money than a traditional entry level desktop unit.

Wishing for BlueTooth this and BlueTooth that ... in an iMac ... better wish for an extra pile of money beyond the cost of an entry level desktop unit.

Today's entry level desktop unit is a G5-1.8 ghz duallie, at $1999 USD.
=-=
Maybe the new iMac will be ... :eek:
=-=
JJ

[blakemsf]

I can't wait until I see the new iMac G5. I will order a lab of 21 iMacs to replace the existing G4 400 Towers. I hope they drop the 15inch and start the bottom line at the 17inch with at least the 15inch price around $1000-$1200.

[JOD8FY]

RE: the post about new iPods, i also heard they would be released when Apple tops 100 million sales.

But what about the "Cram and Jam" promotion? People who bought now would have the old iPod and the ones who bought later would have a newer iPod?

JOD8FY

[MrToast]

Go ahead -- tell me I'm wrong ... :)

Wow gooddog, that sounds really cool.... Too bad I don't have my SolidWorks at work anymore or I'd render us up a preview... :P

MrToast

[Sabbath]

I justed ordered my Paris Keynote Pass a few days ago. This is going to be one heck of an event. What a great 'first keynote' for me to choose to go to live!

I assume there will be other Macrumors users at the Paris Keynote as well?

How do you order Keynote Passes, I've seen the expo passes but not the keynote ones, I thought it was just que up firsst come first served :confused:

My gf has given me the go ahead to go to Paris! We were planning a trip to Paris so we have just decided the date and extended the trip one day.

[CrackedButter]

But what about the "Cram and Jam" promotion? People who bought now would have the old iPod and the ones who bought later would have a newer iPod?

JOD8FY

O did i not mention that this would only apply OUTSIDE the states!

[nagromme]

I can think of a million cool things Apple could do, and I'm 100% convinced of the value of an All-in-One iMac. And of a headless iMac. And of a really cheap low-end G4 iMac Mac... and of a new sub-PowerMac prosumer G5 iMac :) So who knows WHAT might be coming!

I'll settle on a general prediction:

Simplicity AND flexibility.

Look at the new pro displays to see that trend :) The iMac has always had simplicity. Flexibility could become part of the new hardware design, or it could be done by offering more different models (like G4 AND G5 iMacs, or iMacs AND some new line altogether).

[Tulse]

The display will be simply the new 23" HD Al display and -so- removable to hang on wall ---VESA

and one more thing ....

it will be wi-fi to the iMac body and
to other wi-fi sources ( like pic iPod with wi-fi built in and AP Express video sources ).

Colors : silver Al ano

[...]

Go ahead -- tell me I'm wrong ... :)

OK -- you're wrong. :)

Seriously speaking, a) the $2000 23" display is way too expensive to go in a low-end consumer machine, b) WiFi is too low bandwidth to drive the video for a 2.3 million pixel display, and c) aluminum is the look for the pro line -- white has been the standard for the consumer line.

[Jo-Kun]

Oh and of course all these rumors point to the imminent release of G5 PB's ;)

mmm its easier to make a G5 i/eMac compatible than PB... just because there are more possibilities to cool an i/eMac... than there are for a PB... or does anyone know of a small & effective liquid cooling system for notebooks??

I hope they get the fanless design from the last G3 iMac's back into the i/eMac... eMac's are more noisy than my G5... and I have more fans inside...

I think consumer mac's schould be as silent as posible... Pro Macs can be louder... except for people who are in recording studio's (thread found on this forum)

J

PS: Power=AL e/i=Plastic or Steve is thinking about a makeover... than we will see a difference...

[macridah]

I hope the new iMac will life up to the hype. I held off buying a dual 2Ghz to wait for the new iMac. It would be nice if the new iMac is at least 2Ghz or has a 2GHz model, the LCD is HD or I wouldn't mind if it was headless so I could buy the new LCD's.

crossing fingers.

[svenas1]

Maybe they'll bring back colours again. A la iPod mini... Plain brushed alu for the pro line, anodised colours for the consumer line.. Could be neat!

[MacsRgr8]

I justed ordered my Paris Keynote Pass a few days ago. This is going to be one heck of an event. What a great 'first keynote' for me to choose to go to live!

I assume there will be other Macrumors users at the Paris Keynote as well?

< sad :( >

Like I said before.... won't be able to make it... can't be there.. left out.. been there.. wanne be there this time..

< snnniiirrrffffff > :( :(

[sinisterdesign]

good catch w/ the Spotlight foreshadowing. i never got around to watching the whole keynote, did he do any job postings while he was up there forshadowing the soon-to-be-available positions to backfill the people that caused the iMac date to slip? that would have been a nice touch.

a new,slicker, cheaper iMac would be nice. Apple has gotten a lot of good press lately, but the casual PC user that's on the fence about switching will always fall back over the fence to PC's b/c of the price. you have to already know that Macs don't suck like Windows before you shell out that extra cash.

but i'm just hoping for a new iPod Maxi (iPod Classic, iPod Sr., iPod Royale, whatever you want to call the original iPod) that will blow everyone out of the water again. the water is getting kind of crowded right now.

[ThomasJefferson]

Whatever. I buy one the next day.

Now I can leave my iBook locked up at school (1/4in thick steel cabinet), and just carry a CD of my keynote presentation.

There is joy in mudville.

[J-Squire]

I was just checking out the Paris Expo today and realised that it is on at the exact time that I am in Paris during my 3 month world trip. I couldn't believe it! So my friend and I registered for the Keynote. Is it seriously free? I thought I would have to pay! Can someone confirm that all I had to do was register, and then show up? It just seems too good to be true.

I really can't wait!

[sorryiwasdreami]

He also did a search for Yosemite... does this mean the new iMac will headless? and blue and white?

Please do explain.

[discstickers]

Please do explain.

The Blue and white G3 was code-named Yosemite.

[Freg3000]

Please do explain.

A revision of the Power Mac G3 was codenamed Yosemite.

http://www.apple-history.com/frames/body.php?page=gallery&model=g3blue

Edit: As usual, one minute too slow. :)

[discstickers]

I Assume the new iMac will be released in paris (I too think it will be a flat screen with the guts in the back (hangable screen/touch screen anyone?)

However thinksecret is predicting a 15th september release... however a local apple reseller states:

"iMac G4 - Out of Stock
New models of the iMac G4 are due to be released on September 5th.

Ring us to reserve yours now!"

http://www.campusit.co.nz/index.cfm?prodid=1211&packageid=2448&area=shop&moduleid=100000012&s=779,781,100000728&single=1

So is this the date of the release and shipping or just shipping or just relase?

(appleinsider has also received this from me but cld not be bothgered joining two boards so emailed them details...)

It was established a long time ago that resellers generally have no idea about Apple's relase dates, especially this far in advance and for this big a product.

[jrv3034]

Maybe they'll bring back colours again. A la iPod mini... Plain brushed alu for the pro line, anodised colours for the consumer line.. Could be neat!

I agree. A big part of the original iMac was all the color it introduced into a world full of dull-beige PCs. I think that's one of the things the G4 iMac lost in its all-white incarnation. Don't get me wrong, the G4 iMac is stunning, but it's not "cute/fun", it's sleek and modern.

I had the same thought a while back. The G5 iMac will probably bring back the colors, but in a brushed aluminum "mini" style. I think the whole consumer line (iMac, eMac, iBook) will eventually move to this. The iPod Mini is flying off the shelves, thanks in part to the color variety.

[sorryiwasdreami]

The Blue and white G3 was code-named Yosemite.

Ah yes. Thank you. I remember using those blue and white G3's in design school in 97'-98.' However, I didn't know the Yosemite nickname.

[danieluk]

[stoid]

Will they bring back Flower Power and Blue Dalmatian? :eek:

[MacsRgr8]

I was just checking out the Paris Expo today and realised that it is on at the exact time that I am in Paris during my 3 month world trip. I couldn't believe it! So my friend and I registered for the Keynote. Is it seriously free? I thought I would have to pay! Can someone confirm that all I had to do was register, and then show up? It just seems too good to be true.

I really can't wait!

Confirmed!
It is true. even the Kenyote! (you also have to register for that.... you didn't forget, I hope?)

[Zaty]

Ah yes. Thank you. I remember using those blue and white G3's in design school in 97'-98.' However, I didn't know the Yosemite nickname.

This Yosemite thing might be a clue b/c have you seen what colour the Aiport Express box is? Yes, blue and white. So perhaps blue and white will be the new signature colour for cosumer machines. A blue iMac or iBook would be nice. :)

[J-Squire]

Confirmed!
It is true. even the Kenyote! (you also have to register for that.... you didn't forget, I hope?)
Definitely didn't forget. I will be receiving my special badge with 'K' for keynote in August.

[The Red Wolf]

Guys... I've registered for the expo, but can't find a registration for the keynote (like there was last year) on the apple-expo.com site. Anyone know whether you need to register for the keynote or not?

You have to get at least a User Conference Pass. The prices go up from there, but they include the Keynote. The general Expo Only pass which is cheep doesn't.

[LimeiBook86]

Unfortunately, I think they've already missed this one, at least insofar as potential switchers goes. I doubt if the average back-to-school buyer who never used a Mac before will put off their purchase into mid-September. And institutional school purchases will have been complete well before then.

The best thing Apple could do this time around would be to come up with a cheap (well under $1,000 - not $999) rugged iMac that doesn't have a built-in monitor.

My classroom (Commercial Art and Graphics design) has been using Gateway 333mhz Pentium II's for the last 6 years or so. These machines are horrible and my teacher was about to order 10-20 iMacs for the classroom. I happened to e-mail her just in time and she is going to wait and tell the school about these new iMacs. Luckily she has proof that new ones are coming, thanks to Apple's web site.

Hope these new ones are good ;)

[Zaty]

Do you think there'll be a new iPod launched at Paris only a month after the mini is finally launched?
What new features does anyone expect / hope for?
I assume it would follow the mini’s metal body design and controls and it’s a given it’ll get 60GB. Any chance it’ll get Bluetooth and a better battery? I’ve read about the new Bluetooth standard that would allow full stereo headphones at the same time as syncing can you imagine how cool Apple’s take on ‘proper’ can’s would be.

Well, I'm not saying there will be a new iPod in Paris, I just wanted to point out that there won't be any other hardware annoucements. The current iPod design is more than one year old, so an update in the next few months seems likely. I don't see a problem with the mini launch a mere month before the keynote, the mini is a seperate line. Those who have been waiting for the mini will buy one or have alreday ordered one, regardless of the fact that an update of the rest of line is happening soon.

But I don't think Apple releases the new iPods when iTMS has sold 100 million songs.

[whooleytoo]

Surely it's not a coincidence that the advertising at the top of Macrumors (at least, when I looked at it) was cheap flights to Paris!!

[Dr. Dastardly]

I'm thinking that the imac will either be white or brushed aluminum. I think that they did away with differnet colors for the imac because it was to costly to produce and keep enough colors in stock. The iPod mini was a exception because it is only $250 rather than +$1000.
But seeing that the iMac is a consumer machine I think they will stick with white and save the brushed aluminium for the pro series. :)

[The Bartender]

But what about the "Cram and Jam" promotion? People who bought now would have the old iPod and the ones who bought later would have a newer iPod?

JOD8FY

They may be released, just not shipped until the promotion is over.

[The Bartender]

My classroom (Commercial Art and Graphics design) has been using Gateway 333mhz Pentium II's for the last 6 years or so. These machines are horrible and my teacher was about to order 10-20 iMacs for the classroom. I happened to e-mail her just in time and she is going to wait and tell the school about these new iMacs. Luckily she has proof that new ones are coming, thanks to Apple's web site.

Hope these new ones are good ;)

Congratulations to you... my graphics class will also be getting new Macs this year... fortunately they are Powermacs and not iMacs!

[dongmin]

He also did a search for 'half dome' and made a big deal that the only half dome noted was a map reference? Is he trying to make a point about the ability of Spotlight or should we read more into there being no other 'half dome' and expect a new case design at the 'imac' 'birthday' in 'paris'??Everyone knows about the 'imac,' 'paris,' and 'birthday' searches, but what about the others?

pixar - all widescreen
yosemite - return of the blue and white motif
keyboard - yes, it'll include a keyboard!
desktop - sits on the desk...
wallpaper - or mounts to the wall?
airport, wifi, 802.11 - airport express built-in
tiger - also in orange with black stripes, i.e. colors and themes!
half dome - keeping the half-dome form-factor?

[Machead III]

You have to get at least a User Conference Pass. The prices go up from there, but they include the Keynote. The general Expo Only pass which is cheep doesn't.\

Can you furhter explain? I have an Apple Expo pass, but how/where do I sign up for the User Conference or Keynote or whatever?

[g4cubed]

This Yosemite thing might be a clue b/c have you seen what colour the Aiport Express box is? Yes, blue and white. So perhaps blue and white will be the new signature colour for cosumer machines. A blue iMac or iBook would be nice. :)
Where did you see the boxes? At the Apple store? If this is true you might be right with the color scheme, if you add all the other hints. ;) I hope that there is an assortment of colors to choose from, like the ipod mini.


Will they bring back Flower Power and Blue Dalmatian? :eek:
Damn I hope not, those were the worst :rolleyes:

[DGFan]

I agree. A big part of the original iMac was all the color it introduced into a world full of dull-beige PCs. I think that's one of the things the G4 iMac lost in its all-white incarnation. Don't get me wrong, the G4 iMac is stunning, but it's not "cute/fun", it's sleek and modern.

I had the same thought a while back. The G5 iMac will probably bring back the colors, but in a brushed aluminum "mini" style. I think the whole consumer line (iMac, eMac, iBook) will eventually move to this. The iPod Mini is flying off the shelves, thanks in part to the color variety.

Which leads me to an interesting memory.....didn't Apple get a patent a while back on a computer enclosure that changed colors?

[Machead III]

This will be my first Expo :D Hopefully I'll get a free G5 with a 30" widescreen or somink :D

[DGFan]

My classroom (Commercial Art and Graphics design) has been using Gateway 333mhz Pentium II's for the last 6 years or so. These machines are horrible and my teacher was about to order 10-20 iMacs for the classroom. I happened to e-mail her just in time and she is going to wait and tell the school about these new iMacs. Luckily she has proof that new ones are coming, thanks to Apple's web site.

Hope these new ones are good ;)

For a class full of students I think the iMacs are a waste of money. Schools around me are shedding teachers because they have no budget yet your school is prepared to overspend on computers. What gives?

[&RU]

As for a G5 in an iMac, I have my doubts - the heat sink alone is about a sixth the size of the current iMac dome, and that dome is crammed. The G4 is also the differentiating factor between the Pro and Consumer lines. And don't forget that supplies of the G5 are strained as it is.

For those of you who are expecting "Panel Style" iMacs, I doubt that as well. The current style allows for the most cost effective way to change LCD sizes, and offer more choices - and we love our choices. Also, optical media access is difficult on vertical machines - anyone remember the 20th Anniversary Mac?

Sorry for raining on the parade, just my 2 cents.

[DGFan]

As for a G5 in an iMac, I have my doubts - the heat sink alone is about a sixth the size of the current iMac dome, and that dome is crammed. The G4 is also the differentiating factor between the Pro and Consumer lines. And don't forget that supplies of the G5 are strained as it is.

For those of you who are expecting "Panel Style" iMacs, I doubt that as well. The current style allows for the most cost effective way to change LCD sizes, and offer more choices - and we love our choices. Also, optical media access is difficult on vertical machines - anyone remember the 20th Anniversary Mac?

Sorry for raining on the parade, just my 2 cents.

Since this will be a totally new design they will likely be living with it for some time. What I mean is, if they decide to use a G4 you can probably expect it to have a G4 for the next 18-24 months. That's why I think they'll put a G5 in it even if they can only manage a 1.2Ghz or 1.4Ghz version. For many things a 1.5Ghz G4 might actually be better but it will be better in the long run.

[sorryiwasdreami]

Everyone knows about the 'imac,' 'paris,' and 'birthday' searches, but what about the others?

pixar - all widescreen
yosemite - return of the blue and white motif
keyboard - yes, it'll include a keyboard!
desktop - sits on the desk...
wallpaper - or mounts to the wall?
airport, wifi, 802.11 - airport express built-in
tiger - also in orange with black stripes, i.e. colors and themes!
half dome - keeping the half-dome form-factor?

Yes, half dome surfaced on the search. It was found as meta-data on the map of the famous rock formation at Yosemite National. However, you said "keeping" the half-dome form-factor. Here's what we may be overlooking:

Half-Dome. The current iMac is a Full-Dome. (Think Pantheon, Roman architecture, etc). A dome is half of a sphere, and this is why our brains connect and dismiss a half dome as a dome. Hence, half of a dome is 1/4 of a sphere. Visualize it.

Could he be hinting that the new iMac form factor will take half the footprint of the current, already space efficient, dome-shaped body?

Could it be a dome cut in half, right down the middle, where the flat side faces the viewer, and then tapers off to the back? The CD/DVD drive, USB, Firewire, headphone jack, ports, etc. would exist on this flat front face?

I haven't seen the boxes to the airport extreme, as someone mentioned being blue and white, but Yosemite and half-dome could be a bigger clue than we previously thought.

[Trekkie]

It will not be a thick monstrosity.

It will basically not be there at all :)

minimally speaking ...

Here's what I mean:

The 23" HD Cinema display will have a stand similar to the new displays, but the foot of it will be less than 1 inch thick and house the
drives in a horizontal attitude.

If it looks anything close to what you've described I will order two the day they are announced. I've been wringing my hands on selling a kidney for a G5 Dual and a 23" screen. It's a lot of money for me to invest when I 'play' and the G4 800MHz we have I get in trouble with the wife when I use it too much because she can't use 'her' computer (I have a PB G4 12")

Sounds awesome, can't wait to see.

[puckhead193]

I thought this was common knowledge anyway, because when Steve did a search for Paris using spotlight at WWDC, then iMac and then everybodies birthday for the month of September, he was hinting at something, thats the impression i got?

Wow, i never thought about that...but very interesting...
Why didn't they announce it earlier for schools to buy for sept. I would perfer to see new powerbook cause i want a new laptop, but life isn't perfect...

[iMeowbot]

He also did a search for 'half dome' and made a big deal that the only half dome noted was a map reference? Is he trying to make a point about the ability of Spotlight or should we read more into there being no other 'half dome' and expect a new case design at the 'imac' 'birthday' in 'paris'??
Or maybe he's just sick and tired of seeing the iMac G4 referred to as a "half dome" when its case is a full dome :D

[dongmin]

The G5 chip and mobo will form the riser of the stand and be somewhat broader and still aluminum to facilitate cooling.
...
Also, to reduce the acoustic signature, it wil have no fan ---
the riser will be a huge heat fin in effect.
...
And that's why the Powerbooks were made so thin -- this will be a PowerBook, slightly morphed to taper down at the top of the riser.

Go ahead -- tell me I'm wrong ... :) Tell me how you're going to put in the CPU, mobo, and a super-sized heatsink into the 'riser', which I take it to mean the neck of the stand?

Yes Powerbooks are thin, but they use a totally different chip and architecture. Can't apply the same design principals to the G5.

Nice fantasy, but a fantasy it is.

[mpw]

Since this will be a totally new design they will likely be living with it for some time. What I mean is, if they decide to use a G4 you can probably expect it to have a G4 for the next 18-24 months. That's why I think they'll put a G5 in it even if they can only manage a 1.2Ghz or 1.4Ghz version. For many things a 1.5Ghz G4 might actually be better but it will be better in the long run.

Having never opened a computer case i may be speaking out of turn but:
Would there be any point in apple introducing a (hopefully brilliant) new form factor now with 1.5 G4 (or even dual G4's) thus keeping a distinction between consumer and pro lines and then shipping an 'update only' in 12 months. Same case but with then plentiful 2.5 single G5 and Tiger while the pros have moved to a minimum spec. of dual 2.5+?

Like I siad I'm no expert but I am a consumer I'd be over the moon with a dual 1.5 G4 in a alloy clad case with slot loading optical drive. I hope they keep the present but screen arrangement, with say 17", 20" & 23" widescreens in the new alloy bezel style.

[dernhelm]

What! A product that is known to be released in September will be shown off at a large show on Aug 31st? Thank heavens for the hard-digging reporting at T.S., I _never_ would have guessed that!

Actually, though - I'm kind of looking forward to this one, because whatever they do to wedge a G5 into the iMac will likely tell us how long into next year before we see a PowerBook G5. I'm hoping for MacWorld in Jan, but I'm probably being a little optimistic.

[DGFan]

Having never opened a computer case i may be speaking out of turn but:
Would there be any point in apple introducing a (hopefully brilliant) new form factor now with 1.5 G4 (or even dual G4's) thus keeping a distinction between consumer and pro lines and then shipping an 'update only' in 12 months. Same case but with then plentiful 2.5 single G5 and Tiger while the pros have moved to a minimum spec. of dual 2.5+?

Like I siad I'm no expert but I am a consumer I'd be over the moon with a dual 1.5 G4 in a alloy clad case with slot loading optical drive. I hope they keep the present but screen arrangement, with say 17", 20" & 23" widescreens in the new alloy bezel style.

First, I doubt the new iMac will be dual-anything. It's going to be a single processor. If anything differentiates the pro and consumer lines it is at least going to be the number of processors (in addition to processor speed).

And there doesn't seem to be much point in designing a new mother board for one iteration of a new product line and then turning around 12 months later and designing another one. It just doesn't make sense.

[iMeowbot]

Could it be a dome cut in half, right down the middle, where the flat side faces the viewer, and then tapers off to the back? The CD/DVD drive, USB, Firewire, headphone jack, ports, etc. would exist on this flat front face?
It doesn't seem very practical. If the screen were moved to the front, you'd have something nearly as space inefficient as iMac G3 and lose out of the nifty adjustability of usual LCD panels. If the screen went on top as with the iMac G4, it would retain the same problem as with the current model (screen, optical drive and keyboard are all in one another's way). Moving the bulk backward might help to counterbalance bigger/heavier screens in that type of configuration, but if the swivel characteristic is retained it wouldn't be as stable when pointed to the side.

[mpw]

Or maybe he's just sick and tired of seeing the iMac G4 referred to as a "half dome" when its case is a full dome :D

Good point... OK, what if you cut the 'Dome' in ½ across it's centre. You'd have a true ½ Dome with a flat elevation on one side. Now enlarge the ½ dome from 5.3" front to back to say 17" and make the flat surface the screen.

Maybe that would sell as well as the original iMac, widescreen eMac anyone?

[mpw]

First, I doubt the new iMac will be dual-anything. It's going to be a single processor. If anything differentiates the pro and consumer lines it is at least going to be the number of processors (in addition to processor speed).

And there doesn't seem to be much point in designing a new mother board for one iteration of a new product line and then turning around 12 months later and designing another one. It just doesn't make sense.

You're probably right but i was thinking they could use the m/board from the dual G4 PM still on sale in a case that's ready to accept the G5 m/board that may well be designed already waiting for the processor supply to catch up. Once the G5 chips are ready Tiger is likely to be on the prowl, I know they say it CAN run on a G3 but surley it'll be optimized for a 64 bit G5 world.

[steveyson]

I think the major point that isn't being spoken of is the fact that in order for this iMac to do really well, it needs to be totally different, just like the first iMac was colorful in a world of beige computers. I think that apple will do something totally different

[dizastor]

New iMac Paris... redesigned to look like a wine glass instead of a luxo lamp?

[lifeseeker]

Given that Apple has had a recent fascination with fundamental geometric shapes (cube, half-sphere) , I wouldn't be surpised by a cylindrical tower, or a conical base tapering to an attachment point for the display.

There's something aesthetically pleasing about these shapes we all studied in high school geometry.

[bar italia]

[QUOTE=how_quare]I Assume the new iMac will be released in paris (I too think it will be a flat screen with the guts in the back (hangable screen/touch screen anyone?)

****************

It will not be a thick monstrosity.

It will basically not be there at all :)

minimally speaking ...

Here's what I mean:

The 23" HD Cinema display will have a stand similar to the new displays, but the foot of it will be less than 1 inch thick and house the
drives in a horizontal attitude.

The G5 chip and mobo will form the riser of the stand and be somewhat broader and still aluminum to facilitate cooling.

It will be nicknamed the

"Stealth Mac" by me (gooddog) first,

because it will seem as if the computer part actually disappeared from the form factor entirely, leaving only a stylish display on a classy stand with a keyboard and mouse on the desktop -- especially the black version.

Also, to reduce the acoustic signature, it wil have no fan ---
the riser will be a huge heat fin
in effect.


Keyboard will be bluetooth and backlit in violet with a
BT mouse ( 1 button ).

The display will be simply the new 23" HD Al display and -so- removable to hang on wall ---VESA

and one more thing ....

it will be wi-fi to the iMac body and
to other wi-fi sources ( like pic iPod with wi-fi built in and AP Express video sources ).

Colors : silver Al ano

and

BLACK OX ano -- the Stealth.

And that's why the Powerbooks were made so thin -- this will be a PowerBook, slightly morphed to taper down at the top of the riser.

Go ahead -- tell me I'm wrong ... :)

--------

BUT WHEN WILL KEYNOTE BE UPDATED ???? :(

--gooddogdisappeared


I agree. A big part of the original iMac was all the color it introduced into a world full of dull-beige PCs. I think that's one of the things the G4 iMac lost in its all-white incarnation. Don't get me wrong, the G4 iMac is stunning, but it's not "cute/fun", it's sleek and modern.

I had the same thought a while back. The G5 iMac will probably bring back the colors, but in a brushed aluminum "mini" style. I think the whole consumer line (iMac, eMac, iBook) will eventually move to this. The iPod Mini is flying off the shelves, thanks in part to the color variety.
__________________

[danieluk]

[thatwendigo]

Go ahead -- tell me I'm wrong ... :)

Oh, how are you wrong? Let me count the ways!

The 23" display is more expensive on its own than the entire iMac flat panel line, dictating a price that would place the guts - even if they're just what's in eMacs right now - over the cost of an entry level PowerMac. On top of that, you're claiming that things that aren't even standard on the professional machines - Airport Extreme, BlueTooth, anodized aluminum - will be just part of this magical machine. Considered economically, this is a pipedream and nothing else.
In order to be passively cooled, Apple would have to use a lower-clocked single G5, and that's not at all going to fix the supposed performance gap between macs and PCs. On top of that, most modern graphics chipsets require active cooling to remove their heat, and that means that there couldn't be an update in the minimum level, even to a GeForce FX 5200 (which needs a fan).
Hangable displays would require cables to stretch to them, because there isn't a wireless technology that can handle them. On top of that, the only existing wireless displays barely drive 15" panels and can't display video, and those cost over $1000.
Apple has said there will be no G5 PowerBook for some time, so your statement that "his will be a PowerBook, slightly morphed to taper down at the top of the riser" is basically on target. In other words, it isn't happening.

[LimeiBook86]

Congratulations to you... my graphics class will also be getting new Macs this year... fortunately they are Powermacs and not iMacs!

Well I don't think it matters that much. iMacs or eMac or whatever, anything is better than those POS Gateways we have, Photoshop was not ment to run on those horrible things they call "computers". Now maybe our class can get some work done. :D

[erik1975]

Ditto - I must be missing something really obvious on the site but can't find any mention of the keynote or how to register...

Not sure if this is only because I am registering from the UK. But here is the link I used, after I registered in gerneal for the conference. All free I might add!

http://www.apple-expo.com/uk/keynote/

[iMeowbot]

I think the major point that isn't being spoken of is the fact that in order for this iMac to do really well, it needs to be totally different, just like the first iMac was colorful in a world of beige computers. I think that apple will do something totally different
But the interesting thing about the G3 iMac is that it really wasn't very different at all. It was in many ways a recycled Mac 128, shrunk as allowed by newer circuitry.

If it's going to have a colorful appearance of some sort, I'd much rather see a repeat of the PowerBook 1400 (kind of the iBook's predecessor) idea. That's the one that had a transparent panel in the lid that you could fill in with artwork of your own.

[macnews]

It doesn't seem very practical. If the screen were moved to the front, you'd have something nearly as space inefficient as iMac G3 and lose out of the nifty adjustability of usual LCD panels.

I agree with you here, but what you say next confuses me....

If the screen went on top as with the iMac G4, it would retain the same problem as with the current model (screen, optical drive and keyboard are all in one another's way). Moving the bulk backward might help to counterbalance bigger/heavier screens in that type of configuration, but if the swivel characteristic is retained it wouldn't be as stable when pointed to the side.

If one advantage of the G4 imacs is the "nifty adjustability of usual LCD panels," how does this mean they "retain the same problem as with the current model?". My screen doesn't get in the way of the optical drive or keyboard (nice long cord, or can go BT wireless). I will agree it is possible for the screen to be in the way of the optical drive but then that brings up the advantage of the "nifty adjustability of usual LCD panels." I just move the display out of the way for one second.

iMeowbot, don't get me wrong - I am not trying to pick on you. Some people have called for a headless iMac, where I much prefer the all in one aspect - or at least the screen being attached. I have used computers since 1982 and EVERYTIME except once I got a new monitor when I got a new computer. Only in 1998 when 17" monitors became more reasonable in price and I got more into graphic design did I upgrade my monitor. Now, with 17" being the standard I don't see much reason for larger ones. Some people will need them - I like the 23" LCDs for graphic design, but a 17" imac works well for home needs (word processing, email, internet and occassional work checking).

I also LOVE the mobility of the swivel arm imac. From an ergonomic point of view it is very nice and something I think many people over look. It took me a good month to get used to it. I would hate to see this mobility lost.

And before I get flammed from the headless crowd, I do agree a headless mac would be nice but why not make both?

[Macciee]

Yep be there or be...

Check out the La suite after Le NouveauxXXX iMac G!=
I´d say:

iMac: G5, 256mb, 128Mb gForce, 16*DVD-R duoble.

:cool:

[jrv3034]

[QUOTE=how_quare]I Assume the new iMac will be released in paris (I too think it will be a flat screen with the guts in the back (hangable screen/touch screen anyone?)

****************

It will not be a thick monstrosity.

It will basically not be there at all :)

minimally speaking ...

Here's what I mean:

The 23" HD Cinema display will have a stand similar to the new displays, but the foot of it will be less than 1 inch thick and house the
drives in a horizontal attitude.

The G5 chip and mobo will form the riser of the stand and be somewhat broader and still aluminum to facilitate cooling.

It will be nicknamed the

"Stealth Mac" by me (gooddog) first,

because it will seem as if the computer part actually disappeared from the form factor entirely, leaving only a stylish display on a classy stand with a keyboard and mouse on the desktop -- especially the black version.

Also, to reduce the acoustic signature, it wil have no fan ---
the riser will be a huge heat fin
in effect.


Keyboard will be bluetooth and backlit in violet with a
BT mouse ( 1 button ).

The display will be simply the new 23" HD Al display and -so- removable to hang on wall ---VESA

and one more thing ....

it will be wi-fi to the iMac body and
to other wi-fi sources ( like pic iPod with wi-fi built in and AP Express video sources ).

Colors : silver Al ano

and

BLACK OX ano -- the Stealth.

And that's why the Powerbooks were made so thin -- this will be a PowerBook, slightly morphed to taper down at the top of the riser.

Go ahead -- tell me I'm wrong ... :)

--------

BUT WHEN WILL KEYNOTE BE UPDATED ???? :(

--gooddogdisappeared

You mean something like this? (found it on spymac):

[jrv3034]

I Googled for "iMac G5" and liked this concept much better:

[lifeseeker]

And what about a transparent display as you see so often now in SCI-FI movies? Touch screen with see-through coolness!

[iMeowbot]

If one advantage of the G4 imacs is the "nifty adjustability of usual LCD panels," how does this mean they "retain the same problem as with the current model?". My screen doesn't get in the way of the optical drive or keyboard (nice long cord, or can go BT wireless). I will agree it is possible for the screen to be in the way of the optical drive but then that brings up the advantage of the "nifty adjustability of usual LCD panels." I just move the display out of the way for one second.

I like to leave the keybord near the computer. and if the riser legs are up the SuperDrive does collide with it on eject. The screen collision problem (my display has scratches on the bottom of the clear bezel from accidental eject-key presses) could have been avoided by using a slot loader or even a slightly longer display arm. The G4 iMac has quote a few if these little annoyances where form got in the way of function, just a little bit. Finding the power button, or plugging in USB and FireWire peripherals, is also much less convenient than it could have been if just a little more attention was paid to ergonomics rather than just design.

The UFO/iRise hub nicely solves all those problems (except for the display/tray collisions), but Apple could have added an inch there themselves without harming the looks. Why didn't they?

This stuff is in the same category as the annoying-but-not-fatal placement of buttons on the 3rd generation iPod. The folks at Apple obviously knew where those buttons belonged, since they got it right on earlier and later models; but "it looks cool" won out.

[Zaty]

Where did you see the boxes? At the Apple store? If this is true you might be right with the color scheme, if you add all the other hints. ;) I hope that there is an assortment of colors to choose from, like the ipod mini.



Damn I hope not, those were the worst :rolleyes:

I discovered it on the Swiss Apple Store:

[AliensAreFuzzy]

Pesonally I liked this design someone posted on a different thread a while back. (The far left look is pretty cool)

[Machead III]

Pesonally I liked this design someone posted on a different thread a while back. (The far left look is pretty cool)

If you were to put a G5 in that tiny thing, I think we would have another Chenoble on our hands.

Anyway, just signed up for the Keynote, now all I gotta do is book the flight :D

If it turns out Steve ain't going to the Leynote this year, and the iMac is really scheaduled for some other event, and I'm left with some random Apple France employee talking about the wonders of Airport Express... your all fired!

[Spades]

Pesonally I liked this design someone posted on a different thread a while back. (The far left look is pretty cool)

Looks interesting. Does it fly and shoot death rays too? ;)

[g4cubed]

I discovered it on the Swiss Apple Store:
Thanks, I like the colors.
You just may have the color scheme down ;)
Now for the design...

[dizastor]

lets hope they allow you to put at least 4 gigs of ram into the new iMacs.
If they do... i might be in the market for one...

[Freg3000]

Thanks, I like the colors.
You just may have the color scheme down ;)
Now for the design...

It also fits in with the recent abundance of a new type of brighter blue in Tiger:

http://www.apple.com/macosx/tiger/spotlight.html

[funkywhat2]

I can think of a million cool things Apple could do, and I'm 100% convinced of the value of an All-in-One iMac. And of a headless iMac. And of a really cheap low-end G4 iMac Mac... and of a new sub-PowerMac prosumer G5 iMac :) So who knows WHAT might be coming!

I'll settle on a general prediction:

Simplicity AND flexibility.

Look at the new pro displays to see that trend :) The iMac has always had simplicity. Flexibility could become part of the new hardware design, or it could be done by offering more different models (like G4 AND G5 iMacs, or iMacs AND some new line altogether).

I don't know if anyone has said this, but the new VESA mountable displays could lead towrds such a thing. Sell the iMac as a headless, but you can have the option of an integrated display via a special mount in the case. That way, you can have it headless, or with an upgradeable integrated display.

[nagromme]

Yes, I have long favored that kind of flexibility. A choice of mounts, ONE of which is the iMac swing-arm attached to the CPU.

Add a CRT and G4 option if you want the new iMac to also replace the eMac :)

[dizastor]

If it turns out Steve ain't going to the keynote this year, and the iMac is really scheduled for some other event, and I'm left with some random Apple France employee talking about the wonders of Airport Express... your all fired!

Airport Express would be better than a 2 hour keynote on a Security update. Maybe they'll intro iChat AVI... exclusively for windows. Maybe apple will port Calculator over to windows... just because they can.

[musicpyrite]

Maybe they'll intro iChat AVI... exclusively for windows. Maybe apple will port Calculator over to windows... just because they can.

Over my dead body!!!

[dongmin]

As for a G5 in an iMac, I have my doubts - the heat sink alone is about a sixth the size of the current iMac dome, and that dome is crammed. The G4 is also the differentiating factor between the Pro and Consumer lines. And don't forget that supplies of the G5 are strained as it is.

For those of you who are expecting "Panel Style" iMacs, I doubt that as well. The current style allows for the most cost effective way to change LCD sizes, and offer more choices - and we love our choices. Also, optical media access is difficult on vertical machines - anyone remember the 20th Anniversary Mac?

Of course this is all circumstantial evidence, but as far as rumors go, this is about as close to absolute certainty as you get.

1. If you read through this thread (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=73831&page=1&pp=25), it's pretty clear that Apple has been readying two new desktop models, the PowerMac 7,3 and the 8,1. The even numbers (first digit) have always designated a consumer desktop, the odds a Power Mac. The 7,3 is the recently announced 970fx G5 Power Macs. The 8,1 should be the first in a new line of iMacs sporting a brand new architecture.

2. Apple store is confirming "an all-new iMac line." While that could simply mean an across-the-line speed bump, the words "next generation iMac" make it sound like the changes will be a lot more radical than just a speed bump.

3. A brand new design would mean a brand new architecture (especially considering the "8,1" designation). Why would Apple design a new architecture, cooling, and case for the G4 when the G4 is basically maxed out?

4. In this Maccentral article (http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2004/06/09/apple/index.php?redirect=1086765595000), an Apple spokesperson goes close to confirming that they are currently working on putting the G5 into the iMac. "While [Apple spokesman] Boger didn't give a timeframe for an iMac G5, he did say the company faced similar challenges getting a G5 to work with their consumer desktop."

5. Tiger is going 64-bit. While Apple will retain the G4 for the iBooks and eMacs, it's clear that Apple is firmly migrating their hardware/software to 64-bits. My guess is that by the time Tiger actually ships, Apple will be shipping Power Books and iMacs containing 64-bit processors. There is an outside chance that Apple will use the e700 that's on the Freescale roadmap. But that processor, while 32/64-bit compatible, seems to be ways away.

[manu chao]

Since somebody mentioned the HP iPods, does everybody think that they will be compatible with the iTMS? If yes, wouldn't that run counter the aim of making the money with the iPods and not with iTMS? Or would the license fee, HP will have to pay, be big enough to take care of it?

[johnnowak]

If the iMac has a G4 in it, who thinks there will be a riot in Paris?

[Machead III]

If the iMac has a G4 in it, who thinks there will be a riot in Paris?

I'd storm Jobs' Bastilles.

[zakee00]

I Googled for "iMac G5" and liked this concept much better:
those two pics are VERY ugly, no offence. I PRAY that apple dosnt go swiss cheese on the imac too, i would be very sad :( and it is NOT going to be aluminum!!! that is what we know almost for sure.
EDIT: i just saw the 3rd headless pic, i think thats pretty cool...but that display would be very $$$$...

[AliensAreFuzzy]

Looks interesting. Does it fly and shoot death rays too? ;)

That's a BTO option.

[musicpyrite]

If the iMac has a G4 in it, who thinks there will be a riot in Paris?

Forget riots, I'd start a full scale nuclear strike on Cupertino!!!


and I like the Swiss Cheese iMac... I love cheese... :D :cool:

[ChrisH3677]

Pesonally I liked this design someone posted on a different thread a while back. (The far left look is pretty cool)

Oooooo!!! The interesting thing about this design is... they're almost a half-dome!! (cut horizontally, rather than the vertically discussed earlier) :D

[Steven1621]

I thought this was common knowledge anyway, because when Steve did a search for Paris using spotlight at WWDC, then iMac and then everybodies birthday for the month of September, he was hinting at something, thats the impression i got?

exactly, which is why they didn't debut the new imacs at wwdc

[Freg3000]

Forget riots, I'd start a full scale nuclear strike on Cupertino!!!


and I like the Swiss Cheese iMac... I love cheese... :D :cool:

This all reminds me of the threatened riots if Apple didn't release the G5 at WWDC '03. :D

[dizastor]

Over my dead body!!!

Steve could arrange that.

[iMeowbot]

Since somebody mentioned the HP iPods, does everybody think that they will be compatible with the iTMS?
That's a given. HP have already started shipping an HP-branded iTunes with their PCs.
If yes, wouldn't that run counter the aim of making the money with the iPods and not with iTMS? Or would the license fee, HP will have to pay, be big enough to take care of it?
The sample iPod displayed by Carly Fiorina was an Apple unit with blue instead of white plastic. Also, Apple stated that the HP player will display the Apple logo when it boots, and use the same codecs as iPod. It really looks as though HP will more likely be acting more as a reseller than a licensee with separate design or manufacturing.

Apple don't need to make very much from the relabeled iPods to come out ahead. The music store is already doing better than breaking even, so it's not really subsidized by the iPod any more.

[gooddog]

OK -- you're wrong. :)

-------------------------------------------

Whaaaaatt ???? !!!!! -- impossible.

--------------------------------------------

Seriously speaking, a) the $2000 23" display is way too expensive to go in a low-end consumer machine,

----------------------

a1) Who said "low end" ? The Stealth is
the PRO-sumer iMac :)

a2) Display too expensive ? They said that
of the 20" as well .

-------------------------------------------------

b) WiFi is too low bandwidth to drive the video for a 2.3 million pixel display,

-----------------------

b) H.264 / AVC built in the display :)

------------------------------------------------

and c) aluminum is the look for the pro line -- white has been the standard for the consumer line.

-------------------------

c) OK, white Stealth iMac or Black
Stealth iMac only.

----------BUT WHEN WILL KEYNOTE BE UPDATED ????? --------------------------------------

---gooddog :confused:

[gooddog]

You mean something like this? (found it on spymac):

-------------------------

It will have a foot almost equal to the current footprint.

Ives will not allow a rectangular riser -- it
will taper toward the top gracefully.

No perforations --- at least not in front, just a smooth, satin ano white or black OX finish and a throbing violet apple logo = power button.

So.... graceful ... not squat.

.... lose the speakers :)



---gooddog

[gooddog]

[QUOTE=jrv3034]I Googled for "iMac G5" and liked this concept much better:[/
QUOTE]

----------

I liked it too, but it is just not "radically different" enough to match the rumors.

It does have that 1950's hint to it though :)

---gooddog

[gooddog]

Tell me how you're going to put in the CPU, mobo, and a super-sized heatsink into the 'riser', which I take it to mean the neck of the stand?

---------------------------------------

The riser IS the "super-sized heatsink" . essentially.

Who says it will be a dual G5 or even the single G5 you are thinking of ?

We must think different.

If it were anything we can imagine , it would have no "WOW!" value.

It will be a single G5 of the kind that will go
into the G5 PowerBook eventually - only the riser will actually have more room and better vertical heat-dissipating characteristics , by far, than the PB has now.

Yes, G5 on the PRO-sumer iMAc *before* it goes on the PB.

There can be an overlap in this.

It may be the year of the notebook, but SJ is slowly cuddling up to Apple's version of "convergece" --- call it flexibility, call it what you will --- no one wants to pay for a large display twice ( once for desktop then again for TV , DVD's etc. ) ---

-------------------------------------------------------

Yes Powerbooks are thin, but they use a totally different chip and architecture. Can't apply the same design principals to the G5.

-----------------------

I would not carry my PB comment too far.
"Like a PB , but not identical" is better -- I was just
pointing out that the miniaturization of the laptops can be used for a Stealth concept
Pro-sumer iMac riser.

---------------------------------------------------

Nice fantasy, but a fantasy it is.

----------------

Apple routinely manufactures and sells lots of fantasy machines. :) :) :)

I own two and am poised to purchase my third :)

------------------------------------------------------BUT WHEN WILL KEYNOTE BE UPDATED ?????




---gooddog

[gooddog]

Wow gooddog, that sounds really cool.... Too bad I don't have my SolidWorks at work anymore or I'd render us up a preview... :P

MrToast

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Go get your SolidWorks Mr. Toast !!!!

I am being set upon by a small army of naybobs and thinkers-inside-the-box.

Remember to taper the riser nicely toward the top to avoid that squat BOXY look that Ives would NEVER countenance. And let the foot of the stand be trapezoidal as well, but in a subtle, radiused corners, satin-finish way, with the slot drive on the right side edge of the foot, to have a very clean, satin, minimalist face and a softly throbbing, violet Apple logo/power button on the black ox ano riser's face.

I'll keep the Phillistines at bay :)

---gooddog

[mac128k]

It's PARIS baby!!!! France. Not Hilton. G5 iMac's announced in gay Pa-REE!!! here's how it'll go down...

Stevie is introduced as "STEPHAN" as he takes the stage in Paris Aug 31st. Clad in trademark black shirt (but with thick ribbed turtleneck that the Parisians go ga-ga over) and Jeans. A look that Derrick Zoolander would call "Derelicte".

Lights dim...

He launches into 20 minutes of boring rehash of progress we all already know the company has made (OS X adoption, iPod's installed base and last quarter's sales, yada, yada, yada)...

Get's heckled in French ("TROIS point OHH", "TROIS point OHH", "TROIS point OHH") when he comments on recent PowerMac upgrades...plus heckling in English by a few "Freedom Fry" loving "stinking Amehri-cahns" i.e. "Yanks".

And then he pops the question...

"What do Quentin Taratino, France, and McDonald's have in common?"
"Answer: Le Royale with Cheese"

"Now after today, what does APPLE, France, and the rest of the world have in common?"
"No it's not the iTumes Music Store. It's...

LeMac Royale. But there's no cheese here!" (cue sly Jobsian grin)

(Cue the music "Stuck in the middle with you". Out pops a LeMac Royale (redesigned G5 iMac replacement) from a rising pedestal in the floor as Ive and the design team come on stage and dance to the music (all of them still having both ears however)).

Ive presents the new LeMac Royale design, explaining that the previous iMac Sunflower design, while good looking, was "gimpy" due to the now woefully underpowered G4 and the lack of expansion. And he explained how he motivated his design team, suggesting that if they didn't come up with something "insanely great" that he'd "get medieval on their a%%es."

After some Ivesian spieling, Jobs takes over again, thanking Ives for his "bloody good" work while secretly fantasizing again about Sheryl Crow. (didn't anybody think there was something going on there?)

Jobs goes on to introduce some new, cool, yet underwhleming peripheral products all priced from $79-99. And he introduces Michael Moore as the next board member of Apple Computer, replacing Al Gore -- whose 15 minutes have already expired. (Justification: all of Farenheit 9/11 was produced on Mac hardware and software. Go FCP!!!)

And then as Jobs heads out and the lights dim, a larger than life face-shot of Samuel L Jackson fills the screen behind him. Jobs strikes his "Magnum" pose and begins to quote Ezekiel 25:17 ..."The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. (cough--Bill Gates--cough) Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness. (Meeeee!) For he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers."

...and for those who stay for the credits, a special clip of "The Invicibles" plays for those still in their seat/logged on - featuring Bill Gates as the evil villain, taking a licking from...you guessed it...Samuel L Jackson's "Frozone".

And GOODNIGHT from Paris! :D

[bar italia]

It's PARIS baby!!!! France. Not Hilton. G5 iMac's announced in gay Pa-REE!!! here's how it'll go down...

Stevie is introduced as "STEPHAN" as he takes the stage in Paris Aug 31st. Clad in trademark black shirt (but with thick ribbed turtleneck that the Parisians go ga-ga over) and Jeans. A look that Derrick Zoolander would call "Derelicte".

Lights dim...

He launches into 20 minutes of boring rehash of progress we all already know the company has made (OS X adoption, iPod's installed base and last quarter's sales, yada, yada, yada)...

Get's heckled in French ("TROIS point OHH", "TROIS point OHH", "TROIS point OHH") when he comments on recent PowerMac upgrades...plus heckling in English by a few "Freedom Fry" loving "stinking Amehri-cahns" i.e. "Yanks".

And then he pops the question...

"What do Quentin Taratino, France, and McDonald's have in common?"
"Answer: Le Royale with Cheese"

"Now after today, what does APPLE, France, and the rest of the world have in common?"
"No it's not the iTumes Music Store. It's...

LeMac Royale. But there's no cheese here!" (cue sly Jobsian grin)

(Cue the music "Stuck in the middle with you". Out pops a LeMac Royale (redesigned G5 iMac replacement) from a rising pedestal in the floor as Ive and the design team come on stage and dance to the music (all of them still having both ears however)).

Ive presents the new LeMac Royale design, explaining that the previous iMac Sunflower design, while good looking, was "gimpy" due to the now woefully underpowered G4 and the lack of expansion. And he explained how he motivated his design team, suggesting that if they didn't come up with something "insanely great" that he'd "get medieval on their a%%es."

After some Ivesian spieling, Jobs takes over again, thanking Ives for his "bloody good" work while secretly fantasizing again about Sheryl Crow. (didn't anybody think there was something going on there?)

Jobs goes on to introduce some new, cool, yet underwhleming peripheral products all priced from $79-99. And he introduces Michael Moore as the next board member of Apple Computer, replacing Al Gore -- whose 15 minutes have already expired. (Justification: all of Farenheit 9/11 was produced on Mac hardware and software. Go FCP!!!)

And then as Jobs heads out and the lights dim, a larger than life face-shot of Samuel L Jackson fills the screen behind him. Jobs strikes his "Magnum" pose and begins to quote Ezekiel 25:17 ..."The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. (cough--Bill Gates--cough) Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness. (Meeeee!) For he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers."

...and for those who stay for the credits, a special clip of "The Invicibles" plays for those still in their seat/logged on - featuring Bill Gates as the evil villain, taking a licking from...you guessed it...Samuel L Jackson's "Frozone".

And GOODNIGHT from Paris! :D

Why do you take the time to type this all out?

[gooddog]

Oh, how are you wrong? Let me count the ways!

The 23" display is more expensive on its own than the entire iMac flat panel line,

-----------------------------------
gd-
They said the same thing about the 20" display and then the 20" iMac was released.

--------------------------------------

On top of that, you're claiming that things that aren't even standard on the professional machines - Airport Extreme, BlueTooth,

-----------------------------------------
gd-
But 802.11g and BT ARE standard on my new 12 inch powerbook ?????? So these are ready to migrate.

-----------------------------------

anodized aluminum - will be just part of this magical machine. Considered economically, this is a pipedream and nothing else.
In order to be passively cooled, Apple would have to use a lower-clocked single G5, and that's not at all going to fix the supposed performance gap between macs and PCs. On top of that, most modern graphics chipsets require active cooling to remove their heat, and that means that there couldn't be an update in the minimum level, even to a GeForce FX 5200 (which needs a fan).

--------------------------------------------

gd-
OK, maybe a big , slow fan with perforations - BUT -- hey ! PERFORATIONS ONLY ON THE BACK OF THE RISER -- in a pleasing trapezoidal patch with , maybe, a nice shrubbery.

--------------------------------------------------

Hangable displays would require cables to stretch to them, because there isn't a wireless technology that can handle them.



On top of that, the only existing wireless displays barely drive 15" panels and can't display video, and those cost over $1000.

-----------------------------------------------------
gd-
Apple can do better than that - as always.

H.264/AV in a chip on-board the display :)

-----------------------------------------------------

Apple has said there will be no G5 PowerBook for some time,

--------------------
gd-
But the G5 iMac will be here in September :)

-----------------------------


so your statement that "his will be a PowerBook, slightly morphed to taper down at the top of the riser" is basically on target. In other words, it isn't happening.

----------------------------------
gd-
All the more reason to give it to us in an iMac.

Remember, Apple routinely manufactures and sells magical machines in spite of all pedestrian objections.


---gooddog

[jetlife2]

It's PARIS baby!!!! France. Not Hilton. G5 iMac's announced in gay Pa-REE!!! here's how it'll go down...

[snip]

And GOODNIGHT from Paris! :D

You sir are a "plus 3 sigma" author! Replete with entertaining references, very funny, and (gasp) correctly spelled! Thanks for the (no doubt considerable) effort. Nous esperons voir qu'il serait vrai...

PS my amex card is waiting for the "we'll be back soon" message from the Sto'..this AIO is what just our household needs to complement the G4 tower (which at that time will be relegated to headless backup server) and Rev C Pbook...

[gensor]

Why do you take the time to type this all out?
It has been confirmed that Lance is using an iPOD in the Tour de France. His new girlfriend Sheryl Crow gave it to him. OLN TV pointed out that he was using one in warm up.

The Stage of the Tour not on the offical tour
Lance Armstrong and his girlfriend Sheryl Crow stay over after he wins the tour on the 3rd week in July. They are special guests of Stefan Joobs. The lights dim, up from a pedalistal below stage rises Lance and Sheryl with the new iPod models in their hands. The iPODs are illuminous and glow in the dark. On another pedistal up pops Will Smith with another new iPOD model. The iPOD rules.

[Sun Baked]

Why do I keep thinking the new consumer desktop will be a mini-tower? :eek:

[volleygirl]

Why do you take the time to type this all out?

So why do you go and repeat the entire thing again? what a waste of 1's and 0's.
:rolleyes:

[mhouse]

Forget riots, I'd start a full scale nuclear strike on Cupertino!!!


and I like the Swiss Cheese iMac... I love cheese... :D :cool:

I want a G5 iMac too but...I wouldn't be surprised to see a radical case redesign but still incorporating the G4. Several reasons why...

1. Like we all know...G5s in short supply
2. Like we all know...G5s require huge heat sinks
3. Like maybe we don't all know...there are practically no eMacs left to sell either!

Now, this *could* be that people are grabbing them because there are no iMacs but I don't buy that notion. No one was buying many iMacs prior to this situation (if you look at Apple's last sales numbers) and I don't think people are suddenly going to droves to buy them just because Apple discontinued them.

And, Apple knew this situation was coming at least a month ago (one would think) and they could have ramped up production of the eMac to help unless...

Here is my prediction for better or worse: I think Apple is getting rid of the eMac line entirely. I think they are still sellling them only to get rid of them. The eMac exists *only* because Apple realized that schools (and later consumers) were not going to buy the 1299 flat panel iMac in the numbers that they wanted (and needed).

I think we will see a fast G4 in a new case that has some radical new usefulness in the design that will *once more* consolidate Apple's consumer desktop line back to iMac only. I think prices will go somewhere in the neighborhood of 799 - 1299.

[Porchland]

It's PARIS baby!!!! France. Not Hilton. G5 iMac's announced in gay Pa-REE!!! here's how it'll go down...

Stevie is introduced as "STEPHAN" as he takes the stage in Paris Aug 31st. Clad in trademark black shirt (but with thick ribbed turtleneck that the Parisians go ga-ga over) and Jeans. A look that Derrick Zoolander would call "Derelicte".

Lights dim...

He launches into 20 minutes of boring rehash of progress we all already know the company has made (OS X adoption, iPod's installed base and last quarter's sales, yada, yada, yada)...

Get's heckled in French ("TROIS point OHH", "TROIS point OHH", "TROIS point OHH") when he comments on recent PowerMac upgrades...plus heckling in English by a few "Freedom Fry" loving "stinking Amehri-cahns" i.e. "Yanks".

And then he pops the question...

"What do Quentin Taratino, France, and McDonald's have in common?"
"Answer: Le Royale with Cheese"

"Now after today, what does APPLE, France, and the rest of the world have in common?"
"No it's not the iTumes Music Store. It's...

LeMac Royale. But there's no cheese here!" (cue sly Jobsian grin)

(Cue the music "Stuck in the middle with you". Out pops a LeMac Royale (redesigned G5 iMac replacement) from a rising pedestal in the floor as Ive and the design team come on stage and dance to the music (all of them still having both ears however)).

Ive presents the new LeMac Royale design, explaining that the previous iMac Sunflower design, while good looking, was "gimpy" due to the now woefully underpowered G4 and the lack of expansion. And he explained how he motivated his design team, suggesting that if they didn't come up with something "insanely great" that he'd "get medieval on their a%%es."

After some Ivesian spieling, Jobs takes over again, thanking Ives for his "bloody good" work while secretly fantasizing again about Sheryl Crow. (didn't anybody think there was something going on there?)

Jobs goes on to introduce some new, cool, yet underwhleming peripheral products all priced from $79-99. And he introduces Michael Moore as the next board member of Apple Computer, replacing Al Gore -- whose 15 minutes have already expired. (Justification: all of Farenheit 9/11 was produced on Mac hardware and software. Go FCP!!!)

And then as Jobs heads out and the lights dim, a larger than life face-shot of Samuel L Jackson fills the screen behind him. Jobs strikes his "Magnum" pose and begins to quote Ezekiel 25:17 ..."The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. (cough--Bill Gates--cough) Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness. (Meeeee!) For he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers."

...and for those who stay for the credits, a special clip of "The Invicibles" plays for those still in their seat/logged on - featuring Bill Gates as the evil villain, taking a licking from...you guessed it...Samuel L Jackson's "Frozone".

And GOODNIGHT from Paris! :D

That was funny a month ago when you posted it the first time. Now you're just kicking a dead horse.

[zakee00]

ok, G5's dont REQUIRE huge heatsinks at all. the only reason the powermac g5 has huge heatsinks is because it is designed to be quiet. like, really quiet. the fact that there are two of those babies right next to eachother also. if apple put real liquid cooling (liquid nitrogen :D jk) in the new imac, then it would only need like 1 fan and some breathing holes. but yeah, i would guess g5's (1.8GHz single) are pretty hot, but not moresoe than a P4 3.4GHz, and dell slaps those in LAPTOPS. a g5 imac is very do-able.

[ChrisH3677]

\The eMac exists *only* because Apple realized that schools (and later consumers) were not going to buy the 1299 flat panel iMac in the numbers that they wanted (and needed).

ROFLMAO!! :D :D

You don't have kids do you? The eMac is God's gift to parents (and schools for that matter).

Sure it will be superseded one day by LCD model maybe even September. But when it is, you will see a huge side market for screen protectors (if Apple don't put some sort of perspex cover on the screen)

To suggest it *only* exists because the iMac is too dear for schools and families, is very very laughable. That is only a small part of it.

When I bought my (secondhand) iMac CRT for the kids, I had considered iBooks and iMac FPs. But my wife said no way - the kids would destroy the screen in no time. And looking at all the greasy fingerprints on the CRT already... she was right.

The eMac exists because of its robustness.

[mhouse]

ROFLMAO!! :D :D

You don't have kids do you? The eMac is God's gift to parents (and schools for that matter).

Sure it will be superseded one day by LCD model maybe even September. But when it is, you will see a huge side market for screen protectors (if Apple don't put some sort of perspex cover on the screen)

To suggest it *only* exists because the iMac is too dear for schools and families, is very very laughable. That is only a small part of it.

When I bought my (secondhand) iMac CRT for the kids, I had considered iBooks and iMac FPs. But my wife said no way - the kids would destroy the screen in no time. And looking at all the greasy fingerprints on the CRT already... she was right.

The eMac exists because of its robustness.

I like the eMac too. But if you look at the history of the device, I think a good case can be made that Apple didn't intend for the thing to exist.

Its looks an awful lot like a studio display with a cpu slapped in it. It doesn't have any of the design hallmarks that most other Apple machines have. It weighs considerably more than a G3 iMac and yet has no handle.

It debuted *after* the flat panel iMac as an *education only* model. Apple brought the machine out after educators complained that they couldn't afford the flat panel iMac (which was very true) and, as you say, because it was too fragile for smaller children. It was released as a general consumer machine only after Apple saw that the flat panel iMac was not going to sell in the numbers that the G3 iMac did.

I'm not criticizing the eMac at all. I like it a lot. What I'm trying to say is that I don't believe Apple *intended* to have two AIO "consumer" machines. Why would they? Have they ever had two AIO lines running in the past? I mean other than when Macs were all AIO.

I think they may use the new iMac roll out to consolidate the lines.

[Zaty]

I want a G5 iMac too but...I wouldn't be surprised to see a radical case redesign but still incorporating the G4. Several reasons why...

1. Like we all know...G5s in short supply
2. Like we all know...G5s require huge heat sinks
3. Like maybe we don't all know...there are practically no eMacs left to sell either!

Now, this *could* be that people are grabbing them because there are no iMacs but I don't buy that notion. No one was buying many iMacs prior to this situation (if you look at Apple's last sales numbers) and I don't think people are suddenly going to droves to buy them just because Apple discontinued them.

And, Apple knew this situation was coming at least a month ago (one would think) and they could have ramped up production of the eMac to help unless...

Here is my prediction for better or worse: I think Apple is getting rid of the eMac line entirely. I think they are still sellling them only to get rid of them. The eMac exists *only* because Apple realized that schools (and later consumers) were not going to buy the 1299 flat panel iMac in the numbers that they wanted (and needed).

I think we will see a fast G4 in a new case that has some radical new usefulness in the design that will *once more* consolidate Apple's consumer desktop line back to iMac only. I think prices will go somewhere in the neighborhood of 799 - 1299.

I totally agree, I always thought that the current eMac would be the last revision and the last computer to use a CRT despite the advantages a CRT has when used by kids. But let's face it, it's an outdated technology (which, of course, doesn't mean it's bad technology) and at some point Apple won't be able to get 17" CRTs anymore. That being said, I'm not sure if Apple drops the eMac when the new iMacs are out b/c I still think the new iMacs will be more expensive than the eMacs, at least at the beginning. Secondly, I don't think schools and other educational institutions will buy a brand new product that might still have some flaws as is often the case with first revision products. In a nutshell, the eMac will still be around for a few more years and will be phased out in early 2005. But I'm looking forward to Le Bleu Mac :)

[iMeowbot]

I'm not criticizing the eMac at all. I like it a lot. What I'm trying to say is that I don't believe Apple *intended* to have two AIO "consumer" machines. Why would they? Have they ever had two AIO lines running in the past? I mean other than when Macs were all AIO.
Yes, the Color Classics and LC5xx models were sold concurrently.

[ChrisH3677]

I like the eMac too. But if you look at the history of the device, I think a good case can be made that Apple didn't intend for the thing to exist.

Its looks an awful lot like a studio display with a cpu slapped in it. It doesn't have any of the design hallmarks that most other Apple machines have. It weighs considerably more than a G3 iMac and yet has no handle.

It debuted *after* the flat panel iMac as an *education only* model. Apple brought the machine out after educators complained that they couldn't afford the flat panel iMac (which was very true) and, as you say, because it was too fragile for smaller children. It was released as a general consumer machine only after Apple saw that the flat panel iMac was not going to sell in the numbers that the G3 iMac did.

I'm not criticizing the eMac at all. I like it a lot. What I'm trying to say is that I don't believe Apple *intended* to have two AIO "consumer" machines. Why would they? Have they ever had two AIO lines running in the past? I mean other than when Macs were all AIO.

I think they may use the new iMac roll out to consolidate the lines.

MHouse I agree... and disagree.

I agree that the eMac was probably a clever way of clearing 17" flatscreen displays.

But, I do believe it was intentional to have a CRT for that market. After all, the iMac CRT was still being sold as recently as February last year. Apple Store Feb 2003 (http://web.archive.org/web/20030207085903/store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore/) (this is from the archives of the Wayback Machine (http://www.archive.org/web/web.php))

Note too that in answer to your question about 2 AIO lines, they actually had three then! The iMac LCD, the iMac CRT and the eMac. In fact that situation lasted for nearly 12 months.

So Apple seemed aware that there was a market for a robust, low cost Mac. But, the robustness would have been the main reason. I would guess the availability of the 17" was an added bonus to an existing plan.

And yes the eMac doesn't appear to have been intended for the home market, but they probably found eMacs were outselling the iMac CRT, so hence the change of thinking.

On robustness or price, the iMac FP was never going to crack the average home or education market and I reckon Apple knew that and planned that, which is why I reckon they kept the iMac CRT and introduced the eMac.

Remember too, that the iMac FP and the eMac came out within a couple of months of each other - so the eMac could not have been a market reaction.

PS I don't think a handle on a eMac would make good design sense as it would encourage people to carry it that way which would be a health risk.

[Sun Baked]

I like the eMac too. But if you look at the history of the device, I think a good case can be made that Apple didn't intend for the thing to exist.

Its looks an awful lot like a studio display with a cpu slapped in it. It doesn't have any of the design hallmarks that most other Apple machines have. It weighs considerably more than a G3 iMac and yet has no handle.

It debuted *after* the flat panel iMac as an *education only* model. Apple brought the machine out after educators complained that they couldn't afford the flat panel iMac (which was very true) and, as you say, because it was too fragile for smaller children. It was released as a general consumer machine only after Apple saw that the flat panel iMac was not going to sell in the numbers that the G3 iMac did.It was designed separately from the iMac, this is quite noticeable if you look at the chipset it used -- which is the PowerMac chipset (UniNorth/Keylargo), while the iMac was running the consumer Pagea.

So it was designed more like an all-in-one PowerMac that just happened to look like the CRT iMac it replaced to the consumer (whoever that was.) The inside was a different story.

Of course the games they have been playing with the PowerMac G5 chipset recently have me thinking of that original eMac. And it's those changes that have be thinking off the typical AIO beaten path. ;)

[Savage Henry]

I think they may use the new iMac roll out to consolidate the lines.

Can't agree with you there mhouse. I personally don't think it will look too far from the current model, enough to distinguish it from anything on the market, but the specs will be zazzed up to the eyeballs.

eMac is perfect for schools and parents.

[JJTiger1]

Why do you take the time to type this all out?

I liked it. Maybe he did publish his work previously, maybe he didn't. I didn't catch the original. It's summertime. Everything is in "repeats".

... at least he didn't whine about G5 laptops.
=-=
1000 points for entertainment value. :cool:
=-=
JJ

[johnnowak]

That was funny a month ago when you posted it the first time. Now you're just kicking a dead horse.

It's BEATING a dead horse.

[JJTiger1]

{snippage} I think Apple is getting rid of the eMac line entirely. I think they are still sellling them only to get rid of them. The eMac exists *only* because Apple realized that schools (and later consumers) were not going to buy the 1299 flat panel iMac in the numbers that they wanted (and needed).{snippage}

An All-In-Wonder Mac has been a godsend for those of us who have children. Call it a Performa, Call it an iMac, Call it an eMac.
... just don't call it quits.

All-In-Wonders need to be heavy enough to stay on the table, right where they are supposed to be. So that junior or junior-ette doesn't knock it onto the floor.

All-In-Wonders need to have a durable screen surface because children are constantly touching the screen. Peanut butter removal requires a strong detergent.

All-In-Wonders need to have as few cords as possible. Cords crack at the connectors.
... wireless keyboards and mice would be a good option. Getting the children to stop fighting over who controls the keyboard and mouse takes some parental effort.

The goose-neck iMac was not the All-In-Wonder for children. Too fragile.
The goose-neck iMac was not the computer for professionals who require the power and expand-ability of a towermac.

The goose-neck iMac was not the computer for quasi-interior decorators. It doesn't match the drapes. :p
=-=
JJ

[Stella]

iPod minis are aimed at a different market to the regular iPods.

So, yes, it is possible.

Do you think there'll be a new iPod launched at Paris only a month after the mini is finally launched?
What new features does anyone expect / hope for?
I assume it would follow the mini’s metal body design and controls and it’s a given it’ll get 60GB. Any chance it’ll get Bluetooth and a better battery? I’ve read about the new Bluetooth standard that would allow full stereo headphones at the same time as syncing can you imagine how cool Apple’s take on ‘proper’ can’s would be.

[MikeTheC]

Why do you take the time to type this all out?

Why do you criticize someone because they're trying to be witty and entertaining? Are you just jealous because you didn't think of it first? :D

[Stella]

It would be suicide for Apple to release a G4 next gen iMac.. Most people know they are quite old technology. The gap between PCs and consumer Mac will be increased even more, particularly when these things are going to be around for quite a while.

There will be no incentive for people to buy a G4 next gen iMac - they are already paying through the nose for it, and for what - a relatively slow machine. Haven't the sales of iMacs slumped anyway?

To attract new customers, Apple have to create a machine that is appears to be good performance relative to an average PC. I'm very sure Apple can fit a low speed G5 into an iMac without much trouble.

The design. Ah yes - Apple design. I'm sure the design would be of pure genius, as always. Can't wait!


Hopefully, Apple can get the price to be around $US600 to $700 for the lowest model.

[JJTiger1]

iPod minis are aimed at a different market to the regular iPods.

So, yes, it is possible.

... and what do iPods have to do with predicting the future of the iMac?

Are you implying that you are wishing that the new iMac have a built-in holder-provision/station for the iPod?

That would be a great feature for an iMac, any Mac really. Built-in iPod docking station.

... iPod station already available with a new BMW attached. :D
=-=
JJ

[gerardrj]

They may be released, just not shipped until the promotion is over.

I think the word you are looking for is "announced".

You announce a product, then later you release/ship it to customers.

You can't release a product and not ship it, that's not a release.

[Trekkie]

For a class full of students I think the iMacs are a waste of money. Schools around me are shedding teachers because they have no budget yet your school is prepared to overspend on computers. What gives?

FYI there is a federal program called 'e-rate' that buys computers for a lot of schools, it's tied to the 'leave the child behind', er 'no child left behind' act of our fearless leader in the US.

You can't use it on anything but computing. I've seen a lot of schools go bonkers and buy networking gear that rivals the largest corporation. Of course they could have this networking gear for 20 years before they even get $1 to update again, so who knows.

[Sun Baked]

If Apple is introducing the Power5-UL-based PowerMac around the MWSF time frame, then there isn't a real big reason to hold back the consumer G5.

[MirrorMan]

Is it worth going for the 'ordinary' user or the potential switcher? I have been waiting for this update (my first Mac) for so long that I feel I would like to go.
Are most of the exhibits in French or English?
Is there much seating provided for the Keynote?
Can anybody recommend some reasonable accommodation convenient for the Expo?
Thanks for any help.

[gerardrj]

H.264/AV in a chip on-board the display :)
---gooddog

While I don't think it will happen, it's an interesting idea.

Here's some number to show why it won't work:

A 23" display (the new model) has a resolution of 1920x1200, or 2,304,000 pixels. Each pixel takes 3 bytes of information to represent all the colors for a total of 6,912,000 or ~6.6MB/s of bandwidth, this is right at the edge of the theoretical max speed of WiFi and only allows for 1 frame/update per second. A refresh rate of 60hz requires bandwidth of 414,720,000 or ~400MB/s.

You would need nearly loss-less compression of about 130:1 to get the data for the 23" display over WiFi.

The only feasible way for this to work is for Apple to design a completely new LCD panel that doesn't require a complete refresh every 1/60th of a second. Such a display would leave a pixel a given color until told to change it again.
Such a display would require a complete redesign of the system, display card, and display panel and moving large portions of functionality from the display card to the display itself.

You can't simply move the entire card to the display and just send the Quartz/OpenGL/etc commands over WiFi because sending the textures and such would be very slow over WiFi compared to the AGP port.

[Trekkie]

I discovered this (http://www.macsimumperspective.com/more.php?id=264_0_1_0_M) today.

To summarize their 'info' on the new iMac:

Some new iMac specs:



Single G5 Processor 1.6GHz, 1.8GHz, 2.0GHz
256MB RAM (minimum)
32MB VRAM (minimum)
60GB HDD (minimum)
SuperDrive standard on the top two models, optional on base model
One open PCI slot
One FireWire 800 port, two FireWire 400 ports (one on front); three USB 2.0 ports (one on front)
Optical digital audio input, optical digital audio output, analog audio input, analog audio output, front headphone minijack and speaker
Optional AirPort Extreme, optional internal Bluetooth.


However the specs are interesting (except wondering on the vid card with 32MB min? That sounds way wrong to support this next statement:

On the top of the case is a strip of aluminum (identical to the case) from the back to a centered Apple logo in a contrasting material. Removing them reveals a mounting point for an articulating display arm and a cable management groove. The accessory arm is VESA compliant and will work with any other VESA compliant third party monitor, but of course will look best with Apple’s own monitors.

:eek:
Headless? Holy cow, you snap in the existing line of monitors. Not only does that answer a lot of whining I've seen on here but check this out:

In addition to sitting on a desk, the entire unit, monitor, arm and case, can be mounted flat against the wall for the ultimate in zero footprint computing.

Alternatively, the unit, (without the display and arm, and with the Apple logo blank piece back in place), can stack with the rest of your AV components because with new iLife software (iTV?) will act as a Digital Video Recorder

Now the article adds 'sorry TiVo, Replay, etc' like a smart ass. But I seem to remember a link somewhere about TiVo and Apple doing something more together (aside from iTunes integration) Could this be it? Could we see TiVo Basic on an iMac device and then you can upgrade to TiVo Plus a la the DVD/TiVo players like the two I have? I'll be annoyed if this is the case because I just ordered one (They're $199 at Best Buy, 80 hrs TiVo, DVD player, kick but unit and TiVo works for 3 days w/o season pass options for free)

OK, Now the 'piece de resistance' (sic)

“A highly sought after accessory will be a touch screen tablet that can ‘dock’ with the accessory arm. Call it iPad. Detached, it is powered by an on-board battery and allows remote control of iTunes or iTV and access to your AV media files while within range. It will function as a thin client and will link through AirPort Extreme. One iMac can support multiple iPads allowing simultaneous access, but only one iPad can access each account at a time. The iPad need not dock with the iMac to recharge. A companion charging stand will support the iPad like an easel and will allow Bluetooth connection to a mouse and keyboard. Alternatively, iPad will (finally) make use of Apple’s Inkwell handwriting recognition.

:eek: :D :eek: :confused:

Good god that would rock. iMac not only a TiVo unit, home theater option, but something you can SHARE among family members in the house. Get two of these iPad devices and run two seperate accounts on one machine.

That would rock, would it not?

[Mr_Ed]

I discovered this (http://www.macsimumperspective.com/more.php?id=264_0_1_0_M) today.

To summarize their 'info' on the new iMac:

Some new iMac specs:



Single G5 Processor 1.6GHz, 1.8GHz, 2.0GHz
256MB RAM (minimum)
32MB VRAM (minimum)
60GB HDD (minimum)
SuperDrive standard on the top two models, optional on base model
One open PCI slot
One FireWire 800 port, two FireWire 400 ports (one on front); three USB 2.0 ports (one on front)
Optical digital audio input, optical digital audio output, analog audio input, analog audio output, front headphone minijack and speaker
Optional AirPort Extreme, optional internal Bluetooth.


However the specs are interesting (except wondering on the vid card with 32MB min? That sounds way wrong to support this next statement:

On the top of the case is a strip of aluminum (identical to the case) from the back to a centered Apple logo in a contrasting material. Removing them reveals a mounting point for an articulating display arm and a cable management groove. The accessory arm is VESA compliant and will work with any other VESA compliant third party monitor, but of course will look best with Apple’s own monitors.

:eek:
Headless? Holy cow, you snap in the existing line of monitors. Not only does that answer a lot of whining I've seen on here but check this out:

In addition to sitting on a desk, the entire unit, monitor, arm and case, can be mounted flat against the wall for the ultimate in zero footprint computing.

Alternatively, the unit, (without the display and arm, and with the Apple logo blank piece back in place), can stack with the rest of your AV components because with new iLife software (iTV?) will act as a Digital Video Recorder

Now the article adds 'sorry TiVo, Replay, etc' like a smart ass. But I seem to remember a link somewhere about TiVo and Apple doing something more together (aside from iTunes integration) Could this be it? Could we see TiVo Basic on an iMac device and then you can upgrade to TiVo Plus a la the DVD/TiVo players like the two I have? I'll be annoyed if this is the case because I just ordered one (They're $199 at Best Buy, 80 hrs TiVo, DVD player, kick but unit and TiVo works for 3 days w/o season pass options for free)

OK, Now the 'piece de resistance' (sic)

“A highly sought after accessory will be a touch screen tablet that can ‘dock’ with the accessory arm. Call it iPad. Detached, it is powered by an on-board battery and allows remote control of iTunes or iTV and access to your AV media files while within range. It will function as a thin client and will link through AirPort Extreme. One iMac can support multiple iPads allowing simultaneous access, but only one iPad can access each account at a time. The iPad need not dock with the iMac to recharge. A companion charging stand will support the iPad like an easel and will allow Bluetooth connection to a mouse and keyboard. Alternatively, iPad will (finally) make use of Apple’s Inkwell handwriting recognition.

:eek: :D :eek: :confused:

Good god that would rock. iMac not only a TiVo unit, home theater option, but something you can SHARE among family members in the house. Get two of these iPad devices and run two seperate accounts on one machine.

That would rock, would it not?

That would rock if it could be sold to the public for about the same as current iMacs. Sounds like too much hardware to be sold as a consumer (as apposed to a 'pro') machine. More accurately, that guy just threw every bit if technology he ever wanted in an iMac into the list in hopes he could still get it for $1000. I mean, come on! A docking Phillips "iPronto" remote control (http://www.consumer.philips.com/global/b2c/ce/catalog/product.jhtml;jsessionid=BHOQKHDAHLHQ3J0RMRERX23HKFSEKHAW?divId=0&groupId=CONVENIENCE_GR&catId=&subCatId=PRONTO_REMOTE_CONTROLS_SU&productId=TSI6400), except that I have to use handwriting to change channels on my TV?! (j/k :))

By the way, he left out the IEEE1001 (aka "Mr.Coffee") connectivity so that you can use your Bluetooth enabled phone or PDA to tell your iMac to use it's AirPort card to tell your AirPort Express to tell your TiVo to tell your coffee pot it's time for a fresh cup of joe :D

Besides, the author of the article was just posting readers' "wish list" descriptions of the upcoming iMac. In other words, they were pulling specs. out of their butts much like we sometimes do here :)

[JGowan]

Let's just hope they keep the familiar iMac name and don't go with "Le Mac" or "Mac Royale"!Well how about: "Mac Royale with Cheese?" :D

[jouster]

[By searching for "half dome"]......Could he be hinting that the new iMac form factor will take half the footprint of the current, already space efficient, dome-shaped body?

Wow....some of y'all have way too much time on your hands...

Secret hints in developer conference keynotes? Half hidden allusions in geograpical terms?

C'mon....really.

This is a ten billion dollar company, not a secret society for geeks.

[Stella]

I was responding to a previous posting.

A docking station would be great on a future iMac though..

I've just read the posting above regarding the iMac 3...

WOW.. sounds excellent - IF IT IS TRUE! But the cost?? Sounds like it could be quite high, and you don't get a monitor either..

... and what do iPods have to do with predicting the future of the iMac?

Are you implying that you are wishing that the new iMac have a built-in holder-provision/station for the iPod?

That would be a great feature for an iMac, any Mac really. Built-in iPod docking station.



... iPod station already available with a new BMW attached. :D
=-=
JJ

[Daveway]

I have been following Apple for years and love the company and ill never go back to windoze; just for you out there that think im a newbie and dont know what im talking about. This is what i propose:

-G5 processor (single)
-built in lcd
-**expandability through PCMCIA slots. they take up a lot less space and do pretty much anything a PCI slot can do.
-revealed in Paris
-same price range
-aluminum enclosure and take advantage of VESA mounting
-vga/dvi in to double as a standalone monitor
-radical design


*i stopped by the local compusa today and test drive the new g5's and the sales person asked if i knew of the new imacs (i acted like i didnt) and he said that they would have g5's, an aluminum enclosure, and ship out the secong week in september. Whether he is correct is up in the air, but he did speak like he knew what he is talking about.

i never understood how and why Apple could/would keep there products soooo secret. No company will ever match them. It would be good if they gave some insight on an investment side of things.


Just my 2cents

[FlatMac]

I hope the new iMac will be an all in one flat panel display.
I first thought about this when I saw the new pro displays, look how thick they are... how nice to have the complete PC inside this hangable display.

USB and FW connectors are already there, all you need is a vertical CD drive.

I think Apple will drop the 15in and go with 17 and 20 only. Take the BTO bluetooth option, hang your iMac in your living room and you have the wireless screen we all want.

I hope Apple could add an optional TV input for the high end model and Boom, you have a TV/Mac combo.

They have to be G5 otherwise they won't be "next generation", I doubt they use Al enclosure because iMac isn't a pro mac, and come on Apple you can do better than gray !

[gerardrj]

i never understood how and why Apple could/would keep there products soooo secret. No company will ever match them. It would be good if they gave some insight on an investment side of things.
Just my 2cents

Most companies that make "cool" things keep them very secret until they are actually announced to the public. This is especially true when a company makes the "whole widget".

Try to find out anything about a new model of vehicle before the model year announcements, or the development of a feature film for the first 90% of its development, or next season's line from the top fashion houses.

We don't see this secrecy/hype with Dell, HP, Gateway, etc. because these companies use all stock and commodity parts in a plain box. By the time they release a new system we've already seen the new processor specs, we know what HD and video cards will/could be used. The only surprise it where the air vents will be and what color the LEDs and case will be.

With Apple, they work closely with suppliers to keep things secret and they challenge convention with their designs. They may use mostly commodity parts, but they assemble them in some unique ways.
This is very similar to the vehicle and clothing designers; all cars are made of the same stuff, all clothing is made from the same materials. It's how they are assembled that makes them unique and desirable (often at a premium price).

[mac128k]

Why do you take the time to type this all out?

Let's see...

Because the macrumors audience deserves some humor...a break from the "why isn't my hardware here yet?" whining...and a little change of pace.

Because I was feeling like killing 20 minutes by writing something creative with some pop culture references thrown in.

Because my 1st amendment rights allow me to!

(Hey, if you don't like it, just hit "page down" and move on buddy.)

(P.S. Lighten up.)

[mac128k]

I liked it. Maybe he did publish his work previously, maybe he didn't. I didn't catch the original. It's summertime. Everything is in "repeats".

... at least he didn't whine about G5 laptops.
=-=
1000 points for entertainment value. :cool:
=-=
JJ

Thanks JJ. Yes, I was thinking that maybe some folks didn't see the previous post because it was buried on page 10+ of the previous news/forum thread. And I think the site could use a bit more levity.

Now here's what I'd really like to hear some rumors about: How will Apple intro the new iPods??? Ideas on new commercials?

Here's an idea:
It's November...day after the elections. I'm picturing a wide angle shot of Air Force One with a voiceover of "please make sure your seatbacks...". Then cut to Kerry and Edwards in the cockpit re-enacting the "Bohemian Rhapsody" scene (in the car) from "Wayne's World" with the plane pitching and diving to the music. The new Pres and Veep look left and catch site of Austin Powers' psychedelic 747 at 9 o'clock. Zoom in on a window portal w/ Austin looking out, with his own set of buds on listening to classical music, saying "Yeah, baby."

Cut to black screen and text.
"The new iPod. Presidential or Psychedelic. It's your choice."

Let's hear your ideas...

-mac2^7

[Kagetenshi]

For a class full of students I think the iMacs are a waste of money. Schools around me are shedding teachers because they have no budget yet your school is prepared to overspend on computers. What gives?

Maybe it's a private school that isn't as strapped for cash as the public school system? There are all sorts of reasons why a single school could have the money to spend on this. Hell, this does not sound like a high school course (if it is, well, good on the person for finding a school that offers courses like that), so your comment probably doesn't even apply.

~J

[ChrisH3677]

Thanks JJ. Yes, I was thinking that maybe some folks didn't see the previous post because it was buried on page 10+ of the previous news/forum thread. And I think the site could use a bit more levity.

Now here's what I'd really like to hear some rumors about: How will Apple intro the new iPods??? Ideas on new commercials?

Here's an idea:
It's November...day after the elections. I'm picturing a wide angle shot of Air Force One with a voiceover of "please make sure your seatbacks...". Then cut to Kerry and Edwards in the cockpit re-enacting the "Bohemian Rhapsody" scene (in the car) from "Wayne's World" with the plane pitching and diving to the music. The new Pres and Veep look left and catch site of Austin Powers' psychedelic 747 at 9 o'clock. Zoom in on a window portal w/ Austin looking out, with his own set of buds on listening to classical music, saying "Yeah, baby."

Cut to black screen and text.
"The new iPod. Presidential or Psychedelic. It's your choice."

Let's hear your ideas...

-mac2^7

Mac128k - two for two! I enjoy these interludes from you. Very creative - are you in advertising? Keep it up.
thanks

[ChrisH3677]

I hope the new iMac isn't too conservative in it's design. I know it will look good no matter what they do, but i hope it's eye-catching.

No one ever noticed or commented on our PC in the corner.

My PowerBook, my wife's iBook clamshell, and the kid's ruby iMac are all eye-catching and have received many positive comments.

This is a good thing for Apple. When people come into my home, they want to talk about computers, they want to ask "what is it?", "why did you get an Apple?". I don't have to start the Mac conversations and sound like some sort of Mac maniac.

I reckon if I had've had an iMac LCD.... I reckon they'd be swooning when they came into my home. :D

Apple design is free non-aggressive advertising. It's worth heaps to Apple.

So, I sure hope the new iMac lives up to - and even exceeds - what's gone before it.

[thatwendigo]

I discovered this (http://www.macsimumperspective.com/more.php?id=264_0_1_0_M) today.

Any specifications provided by that site are pure speculation and have no weight behind them, and I'd discount them more than a little by the sheer idiocy of supporting the Alex Salkever article. Every "point" in that little screed is either so self-evident that Apple would have done it by now if it made any sense, or so ignorant of market conditions that it obviously was intended to rabble-rouse rather than express anything meaningful.



Single G5 Processor 1.6GHz, 1.8GHz, 2.0GHz
256MB RAM (minimum)
32MB VRAM (minimum)
60GB HDD (minimum)
SuperDrive standard on the top two models, optional on base model
One open PCI slot
One FireWire 800 port, two FireWire 400 ports (one on front); three USB 2.0 ports (one on front)
Optical digital audio input, optical digital audio output, analog audio input, analog audio output, front headphone minijack and speaker
Optional AirPort Extreme, optional internal Bluetooth.


This I could actually believe, though I still think that it's a crappy way to do what Apple really ought to do with the single G5 in the consumer space. The iMac should be kept as an all-in-one solution with as small a footprint as possible, while a new line of consumer towers is debuted with matching basic specifications - processor clock, RAM, disk size, graphics options - to the pro machines. Make the consumer machines single processor, and there's your headless G5 for people who are too cheap for a dualie pro tower.

However the specs are interesting (except wondering on the vid card with 32MB min? That sounds way wrong to support this next statement:

On the top of the case is a strip of aluminum (identical to the case) from the back to a centered Apple logo in a contrasting material. Removing them reveals a mounting point for an articulating display arm and a cable management groove. The accessory arm is VESA compliant and will work with any other VESA compliant third party monitor, but of course will look best with Apple’s own monitors.

Actually, all that you need for standard UI and 2D rendering is enough memory to hold the textures in the frame buffer. I forget who did the calculation, but a Macrumors reader has previously figured out that OS X - as of Panther - on a 20" screen takes up some 16MB worth of video card space. That doesn't leave a whole lot of room for flashy effects, and it's also a far cry below the general level of the market at the moment, where 64 and 128MB comes in any machine that isn't using onboard Intel Extreme, SiS, or other built-in chipsets.

However, this next point is something I intend to destroy yet again:

“A highly sought after accessory will be a touch screen tablet that can ‘dock’ with the accessory arm. Call it iPad. Detached, it is powered by an on-board battery and allows remote control of iTunes or iTV and access to your AV media files while within range. It will function as a thin client and will link through AirPort Extreme. One iMac can support multiple iPads allowing simultaneous access, but only one iPad can access each account at a time. The iPad need not dock with the iMac to recharge. A companion charging stand will support the iPad like an easel and will allow Bluetooth connection to a mouse and keyboard. Alternatively, iPad will (finally) make use of Apple’s Inkwell handwriting recognition.

Assume that Apple made a display no larger than 15" inches for this - as that's the current market limit, where you pay $800-1000 for a screen that doesn't display video while mobile - and take their quoted resolution for the iMac. Working from a basis of 1024 by 768 pixels, with 24 bits per pixel (RGB color is 8 bits per color), you get a rate of 18,874,368 bits per frame, 60 frames per second, which means a data rate of 135MB/s for merely displaying the screen at standard refresh rates. Halve that to something that would be almost intolerable on an LCD and more prone to network chop and you come up with 67.5MB/ss, or 540.5Mbit/s. Compare that to the speed of Airport Extreme - 54Mbit/s - and you have a need of dectupling the bandwidth just to draw the screen without any network traffic at all. Even if H.264 could be applied to the stream, that would only quarter the demand to a svelte and unreachable 135.125Mbit/s. In addition, as anyone who has encoded a DVD or burnt a CD can tell you, the process of pushing media into a codec format is CPU intensive and would be constantly draining your machine as it crunched the necessary numbers. Last I heard, video encoding wasn't instant.

Before anyone pipes up with cries of 'Wireless FireWire," I'll cut that train off at the pass and remind everyone that 802.15.3, which the FireWire protocols are being built on, is a mere 55Mbit/s and not even released yet.

Good god that would rock. iMac not only a TiVo unit, home theater option, but something you can SHARE among family members in the house. Get two of these iPad devices and run two seperate accounts on one machine.

That would rock, would it not?

Actually, no, it wouldn't. You'd get an iMac that costs a ridiculous amount of money and which wouldn't be any more functional than the current crop, aside from the improved processor. Oh, and some minor possible benefit from mounting options. Hooray.

[fossicker]

Wow....some of y'all have way too much time on your hands...

Secret hints in developer conference keynotes? Half hidden allusions in geograpical terms?

C'mon....really.

This is a ten billion dollar company, not a secret society for geeks.

It can't be both?
It's a floor wax AND a dessert topping!

[Krizoitz]

Unfortunately, I think they've already missed this one, at least insofar as potential switchers goes. I doubt if the average back-to-school buyer who never used a Mac before will put off their purchase into mid-September. And institutional school purchases will have been complete well before then.

The best thing Apple could do this time around would be to come up with a cheap (well under $1,000 - not $999) rugged iMac that doesn't have a built-in monitor.

I really need to find a "beating a dead horse" smiley. Ok we get it, some people think there needs to be a monitor less mid-low end mac. Enough allready.

[Krizoitz]

Try to remember that the traditional entry level iMac's cost less than the entry level desktop unit.

So, if you are expecting serious new features in an iMac that are optional to the entry level desktop, you should expect to pay serious more money than a traditional entry level desktop unit.

Wishing for BlueTooth this and BlueTooth that ... in an iMac ... better wish for an extra pile of money beyond the cost of an entry level desktop unit.

Today's entry level desktop unit is a G5-1.8 ghz duallie, at $1999 USD.
=-=
Maybe the new iMac will be ... :eek:
=-=
JJ

Remember USB? It was released in the iMac before it was released in anything else, so there is precedent.

[maddav]

the speed of Airport Extreme - 54Mbit/s

Just a point, higher bandwith is available in wireless routers now @ 108Mbps, Apple may make a new Airport system (leaving many people angry - more $$$)

But as you said, you still couldn't use it for the wireless monitor thingy...

you come up with 67.5MB/ss, or 540.5Mbit/s

...but it could be used for other wireless applications that could benefit from 108Mbps.

Just a thought :D

[JJTiger1]

Remember USB? It was released in the iMac before it was released in anything else, so there is precedent.

I just checked the current prices for Bluetooth components and accessories ... :eek:

They are as cheap as USB !!!

Okay. So let's see if the new iMac has BlueTooth built-in as well as an iPod docking station, and a pci slot, and front mounted USB and FireWire ports.

That's not asking too much.

Imagine Apple's iPod sitting in an Apple iMac's built-in Apple iPod docking station.
=-=
That iCoffeeMaker :rolleyes: will have to be ported from windoze ...

http://www.edge-inc.net/humor/index.cfm/page/one/id/832/t/Image.htm
=-=
JJ

[aswitcher]

I discovered this (http://www.macsimumperspective.com/more.php?id=264_0_1_0_M) today.

To summarize their 'info' on the new iMac:

Some new iMac specs:



That would rock, would it not?


Interesting, although as you point out soem of the specs seem way off par...

As for the remote gadget, way cool as long as it works with any Mac. Sure Apple need something like this because it could be used for some many different purposes - control music, control DVD, control powerpoint/keynote, check email, etc
So I am thinking this could be true. A small device with WiFi (and PDAs have WiFi now so size aint too much of an issue) that acts as a universal remote, fully programmable for users with their own keys, menus and features.
It would rock.
But how much? $300 USD? $400 USD? If they could put it out for $150-$200 USD I think it would sell but anymore and its only for those who want the luxury of such a thing...

[AidenShaw]

Remember USB? It was released in the iMac before it was released in anything else, so there is precedent.

This is completely false in regards to the hardware.

USB ports were standard on major label PCs from mid-1996 and later - the Intel 430/440 chipsets used with DRAM (not SDRAM) and the Pentium Pro, Pentium II and original Pentium processors had embedded USB controllers. Mid-range and higher PCs brought the ports out to the motherboard connectors. I had a dual Pentium Pro PC in early 1996 that had USB connectors.

Windows 95 did not support USB natively, and few USB devices existed, so most of these ports were unused. It was well known, however, that Windows 98 was on its way with full O/S support for USB - so manufacturers were building "Windows 98 Ready" PCs.

What was significant with the bondi iMac wasn't the introduction of USB - but the elimination of other ports, which forced USB peripherals. This gave the fledgling USB peripheral industry a small but dedicated market for devices - therefore a number of products already in development for Intel PCs were released to coincide with the iMac introduction (and recased in translucent plastic).

Do you really think that the design for all the USB devices for the iMac were started after the iMac was announced? No, most the parts were already available, in preparation for the Windows 98 USB support.

USB support was like a parade coming down the street, with "Windows 98" on the lead banner. Apple jumped in front of the parade with the "iMac" banner, and to most people it seemed like Apple was the innovator.

The iMac did "jump start" the USB industry, but the only "first" was the elimination of other legacy ports, not the introduction of USB ports.

Sorry though, you need to find a different precedent than USB.

[Trekkie]

Here's an idea:
It's November...day after the elections. I'm picturing a wide angle shot of Air Force One with a voiceover of "please make sure your seatbacks...". Then cut to Kerry and Edwards in the cockpit re-enacting the "Bohemian Rhapsody" scene (in the car) from "Wayne's World" with the plane pitching and diving to the music. The new Pres and Veep look left and catch site of Austin Powers' psychedelic 747 at 9 o'clock. Zoom in on a window portal w/ Austin looking out, with his own set of buds on listening to classical music, saying "Yeah, baby."

You know, if a presidential candidate did that pre-election they'd have my vote no matter what the platform. That'd be so worth it. While I'm always active politically and vote at every election I can (if not out of state type thing) I've always wanted the people that run this country to connect a bit to the younger generation. All the old farts up there wouldn't get it though and wouldn't do it for 'decorum' reasons or some **** like that. Though Edwards is actually close to most of the 'younger' crowd yet look how he's being made fun of for being so 'young' compared to the half brained codgers that think anyone under 45 or so doesn't know what they're doing.

Sorry please don't let me hijack the thread in this direction, I just thought this was one of the best ideas and would be one of the funniest commercials ever made.

[mhouse]

Anyone else find it unusual that Apple has actually announced there is a new iMac, announced when it will be available, and even put a notice to the effect on their website, and yet there is no picture of the thing anywhere on the web?

I can't remember the last time this happened. Most of the time sketches or photos of Apple's new stuff pop up on the web even before anyone is really sure they (the new products) exist.

Anyone even seen anything *claiming* to be a depiction of the new iMac? :confused:

[Trekkie]

Any specifications provided by that site are pure speculation and have no weight behind them, and I'd discount them more than a little by the sheer idiocy of supporting the Alex Salkever article. Every "point" in that little screed is either so self-evident that Apple would have done it by now if it made any sense, or so ignorant of market conditions that it obviously was intended to rabble-rouse rather than express anything meaningful.

I've never heard of Alex Salkever and I hope you didn't intend to insinuate that I was an idiot because I stumbled across it. I found it interesting for the idea and thought I'd share it with the rumor-loving community. Obviously you're a very bitter person or perhaps it was very early in the morning where you lived and you didn't get your wheaties and/or coffee yet. Are you published? Why should I take your comments towards his ability to report as bible? I'm always amazed at the people that trash someone who's written an article that is published professionally, especially when they haven't. Not knowing your name other than your alias here it is hard to give any credibility to what you say, though you seem to think you speak with it with several of your comments below.

This I could actually believe, though I still think that it's a crappy way to do what Apple really ought to do with the single G5 in the consumer space. The iMac should be kept as an all-in-one solution with as small a footprint as possible, while a new line of consumer towers is debuted with matching basic specifications - processor clock, RAM, disk size, graphics options - to the pro machines. Make the consumer machines single processor, and there's your headless G5 for people who are too cheap for a dualie pro tower.

Crappy? It is expensive for a company to have multiple displays that are unique to a device, and harder to plan for. I know, I do this for my employer and let me tell you know amount of science in the world can help you guess what a consumer trend will be towards a display size, it's very difficult. If they made it a too piece product they wouldn't have to support a 15, 17, 20, 23, and 30 display form factor. They could do 20/23/30 (I still think they'd need an Al 17" here) and maybe lower the cost (not sure about price, they need to make thier margins) and change the attach rate to both the iMac and PowerMac line.


Actually, all that you need for standard UI and 2D rendering is enough memory to hold the textures in the frame buffer. I forget who did the calculation, but a Macrumors reader has previously figured out that OS X - as of Panther - on a 20" screen takes up some 16MB worth of video card space.


your point being? There are things like the MHz myth and whatnot, but the 'display ram myth' is not something that I think Apple wants to start. Showing how '32MB is enough for anyone' would be silly. Also most chipsets they might want to use in this device would want at least 64MB (ATI Radeon Mobility, or even a built in ATI/nVidia card)



However, this next point is something I intend to destroy yet again:


Why? What gives you the authority to be the destroyer? Because you obviously don't get it, let me show you where.

Assume that Apple made a display no larger than 15" inches for this - as that's the current market limit, where you pay $800-1000 for a screen that doesn't display video while mobile

I've own many PDA type 'pad' devices since the early 90s (one of the dumbasses that bought the original Newton, thank you very much). None of them have been this size. That would be huge, unweildy, and obtrusive. An iPad device could easily be the size of a Palm or WinCE device and could *easily* cost sub $500. These aren't monster devices that would change the way you do computer input. These are remote controll type devices that you could surf the web from at the most, like the article said. It didn't say 'completely replace the need to use the iMac itself' Supporting multiple accounts is one of Mac OS X's forte. If you could get by with buying a $1500 - $2000 device and let *everyone* in the home use that they'd go a long way to winning the consumer market. The average home user still doesn't view the computer as something you'd put in everyones room. If you could do Rendezvous wireless networking with smaller handy devices for some, and then bluetooth on the new HDTV or Plasma TVs you have the headless Mac in your stack of theater/stereo gear would make sense.

and this...


and take their quoted resolution for the iMac. Working from a basis of 1024 by 768 pixels, with 24 bits per pixel (RGB color is 8 bits per color), you get a rate of 18,874,368 bits per frame, 60 frames per second, which means a data rate of 135MB/s for merely displaying the screen at standard refresh rates. Halve that to something that would be almost intolerable on an LCD and more prone to network chop and you come up with 67.5MB/ss, or 540.5Mbit/s. Compare that to the speed of Airport Extreme - 54Mbit/s - and you have a need of dectupling the bandwidth just to draw the screen without any network traffic at all. Even if H.264 could be applied to the stream, that would only quarter the demand to a svelte and unreachable 135.125Mbit/s. In addition, as anyone who has encoded a DVD or burnt a CD can tell you, the process of pushing media into a codec format is CPU intensive and would be constantly draining your machine as it crunched the necessary numbers. Last I heard, video encoding wasn't instant.

...is just crazy talk. Please, wipe the foam off your mouth and stop measuring yourself with your prowess to spout of specs and do the math to show how slow wireless networking is compared to the innards of our beloved computers. There are large amounts of technology out there called 'client server' that helps eliminate the need to do all of this. The iPad device wouldn't be a dumb screen screaming 'feed me' to your network. It would have ROM based or even some RAM based programming that would include the ability to render video to an extent, a browser, an email program (maybe) and the 'remote control' program. I'm sure knowing apple it'd be extensible.


Before anyone pipes up with cries of 'Wireless FireWire," I'll cut that train off at the pass and remind everyone that 802.15.3, which the FireWire protocols are being built on, is a mere 55Mbit/s and not even released yet.

When has that stopped Apple? If I remember right when announced the Airport Extreme was 802.11g 'spec' and there were updates as you went along to bring it more 'in line'. Don't forget that the 802.11g '54Mbps' is really more like 22 and claims have been adjusted slightly since then, so if wireless firewire is a pure 55Mbps it'd be twice the speed.



Actually, no, it wouldn't. You'd get an iMac that costs a ridiculous amount of money and which wouldn't be any more functional than the current crop, aside from the improved processor. Oh, and some minor possible benefit from mounting options. Hooray.

?? Dude come on. Let's think about it.

if a 15" LCD on an iMac G4 was about $1299 if memory serves, take out the display and you have a $899 - 999 system. Change to the G5 and you could have a $1199 - $1299 headless mac without much other tech change. They could go SATA on the drive but nothing is stopping them from sticking to IDE here.

so you could have a pizza box iMac G5 from $1299 - $1799 for a 1.6/1.8/2.0 single proc. Monitors are what they are today, doubt they're going to drop prices anytime soon. But now with the DVI support you could use anything, or I could just use my 57" HDTV or 30" HDTV I have with DVI-D ports on them.

The iPad could be for those with extra income or whatever and could be $499 - $699 dependant on size, etc. Again these are OPTIONAL personal devices that are really big Pronto like remote controls with a few extra features and a small 4 - 6" screen like other PDA size devices (Palm, iPaq, etc). OS X could be that portable.

[Sun Baked]

I really need to find a "beating a dead horse" smiley. Ok we get it, some people think there needs to be a monitor less mid-low end mac. Enough allready.We may end up with something like that if Apple follows the PowerBook path and uses the low-end model as the bridge between the consumer/Power series.

But that's at MWSF that we'll be finding out what Apple is really up to -- the 90nm delays seem to have pushed the 3.0GHz machine from now to then, or a little after.

And it does increasingly look like it was going to be a Power5 variant -- though we may still not hit 3.0GHz. The performace gain at the same clock should be another 30-45% with the next generation CPU.

[Photorun]

The iMac did "jump start" the USB industry, but the only "first" was the elimination of other legacy ports, not the introduction of USB ports.

Sorry though, you need to find a different precedent than USB.

However, Macs were the first with Firewire, then again, Apple was one of it's inventors.

[Flowbee]

Anyone else find it unusual that Apple has actually announced there is a new iMac, announced when it will be available, and even put a notice to the effect on their website, and yet there is no picture of the thing anywhere on the web?

This goes to show how successful Apple has been in stopping leaks recently. There have been very few of them in the last year or so, not counting the ones that happen 12 hours prior to an event.

[Zaty]

Windows 95 did not support USB natively, and few USB devices existed, so most of these ports were unused. It was well known, however, that Windows 98 was on its way with full O/S support for USB - so manufacturers were building "Windows 98 Ready" PCs.



Well, you're not entirely correct either. The original Windows 95 version did not support USB, however, later Win 95 (OEM only) releases such as OSR 2.1 and 2.5 already has USB support. This meant that PC manufacturers did not have to implement their own USB support to enable USB on pre-Win 98 PCs.

[iMeowbot]

Remember USB? It was released in the iMac before it was released in anything else, so there is precedent.
Where does this idea come from, anyway? USB ports had already trickled down to the Packard Bells of the world by the time the iMac was released.

The difference with the iMac was that there were no other real expansion options, so peripheral manufacturers finally started producing stuff that used the interface. The selling point to manufacturers is that there was a latent USB ability already built into PCs to make the volumes worthwhile.

[iMeowbot]

Well, you're not entirely correct either. The original Windows 95 version did not support USB, however, later Win 95 (OEM only) releases such as OSR 2.1 and 2.5 already has USB support. This meant that PC manufacturers did not have to implement their own USB support to enable USB on pre-Win 98 PCs.
Yep. The USB in OSR 2.1 didn't really work very well, but even OSR 2.5 was out nearly a year before iMac.

[Zaty]

if a 15" LCD on an iMac G4 was about $1299 if memory serves, take out the display and you have a $899 - 999 system. Change to the G5 and you could have a $1199 - $1299 headless mac without much other tech change. They could go SATA on the drive but nothing is stopping them from sticking to IDE here.

so you could have a pizza box iMac G5 from $1299 - $1799 for a 1.6/1.8/2.0 single proc. Monitors are what they are today, doubt they're going to drop prices anytime soon. But now with the DVI support you could use anything, or I could just use my 57" HDTV or 30" HDTV I have with DVI-D ports on them.



If a headless iMac cost $1299 and more, I doubt it would sell very well. As we all know, one of the reasons why the G4 never sold as well as the original iMac was its price. Even if Apple were to introduce a headless iMac, they have to keep its price below $1000, at least for the low-end configuration. Anyway, I doubt we'll see headless iMacs anytime soon, although I think it would be a smart move by Apple if the price was right.

[iMeowbot]

However, Macs were the first with Firewire, then again, Apple was one of it's inventors.
Sony was years ahead of Apple in supporting FireWire, with the VAIO in 1996.

[Trekkie]

Sony was years ahead of Apple in supporting FireWire, with the VAIO in 1996.

True. Apple jumpstarted it for more than video. My Vaio I had in the late 90s the port was sold in 4pin only and touted as a 'video camera' connection for the ilink or whatever they called it. It was not supported for hard drives, or anything else. I think this was 1998 or so.

[Zaty]

Where does this idea come from, anyway? USB ports had already trickled down to the Packard Bells of the world by the time the iMac was released.

The difference with the iMac was that there were no other real expansion options, so peripheral manufacturers finally started producing stuff that used the interface. The selling point to manufacturers is that there was a latent USB ability already built into PCs to make the volumes worthwhile.

Exactly, with hindsight, this was one of the best decisions Apple ever made. Since USB is now a standard on both Macs and PCs, the number of peripherals that can be used on Macs has increased b/c manufacturers only need to write Mac OS drivers instead of implementing a standard that is only (almost only) used on Macs such as ADB or SCSI.

[Trekkie]

Any specifications provided by that site are pure speculation and have no weight behind them, and I'd discount them more than a little by the sheer idiocy of supporting the Alex Salkever article. Every "point" in that little screed is either so self-evident that Apple would have done it by now if it made any sense, or so ignorant of market conditions that it obviously was intended to rabble-rouse rather than express anything meaningful.

I went back and looked at that that article (http://www.macsimumperspective.com/more.php?id=264_0_1_0_M) again to refresh my memory and it's not by that Alex guy, it's by Dennis Sellers. He's just commenting that the article was posted. Alex is just one of the many 'death throws' writers/reporters that Apple has had over the last umpteen years.

[AidenShaw]

Originally Posted by AidenShaw
Windows 95 did not support USB natively, and few USB devices existed, so most of these ports were unused. It was well known, however, that Windows 98 was on its way with full O/S support for USB - so manufacturers were building "Windows 98 Ready" PCs.

Well, you're not entirely correct either. The original Windows 95 version did not support USB, however, later Win 95 (OEM only) releases such as OSR 2.1 and 2.5 already has USB support. This meant that PC manufacturers did not have to implement their own USB support to enable USB on pre-Win 98 PCs.

The OSR releases do not fit my description of "native" or "full O/S" support. And frankly, the OSR implementations had "issues" ;) that made them difficult to use successfully.

Anyway, you are correct about some forms of pre-Win98 support and I thank you for making my point even better....

[thatwendigo]

I've never heard of Alex Salkever and I hope you didn't intend to insinuate that I was an idiot because I stumbled across it. I found it interesting for the idea and thought I'd share it with the rumor-loving community.

Whatever your intentions, the Salkever article is useless and misinformed,and spreading it as being useful is basically the same as telling people to go read Paul Thurott for unbiased information. It was recently brought here as a MacBytes link, but the so-called "content" of the article was incredibly easy to eviscerate and there really isn't any reason to look at it as more than a passing curiosity.

Obviously you're a very bitter person or perhaps it was very early in the morning where you lived and you didn't get your wheaties and/or coffee yet.

I'm a very practical person, and I'm tired of seeing half the people around here throwing around terms and concepts that they don't understand. If that doesn't include you, then there's no reason to be offended.

Are you published? Why should I take your comments towards his ability to report as bible? I'm always amazed at the people that trash someone who's written an article that is published professionally, especially when they haven't. Not knowing your name other than your alias here it is hard to give any credibility to what you say, though you seem to think you speak with it with several of your comments below.

I'm not published in the IT sector, but there's no reason at all to just accept the word of someone because they have some kind of masthead over their post. I've seen people here who could make the average columnist cry like a baby for their factual errors, and it doesn't take a genius to refute Mr. Salkever. As I said before - his "points" are either so elementary that there's no way Apple would have reasonably skipped them, or they're so massively unworkable that it shows how little he knows about costs in the PowerPC architecture.

As for my credibility... Math doesn't lie, though the way it's presented can. Everything I say is easily checkable, at least as far as technical issues go.

Crappy? It is expensive for a company to have multiple displays that are unique to a device, and harder to plan for.

It's expensive for any computer company to try to plan for what consumers will buy, and that's one reason that I think the people screaming for colored iMacs don't get it. Apple had serious issues with inventory control right before Steve came back, and the debacles over the previous generations of machines made it pretty clear that offering five separate colors was a good way to end up with an awful lot of whatever the consumers decide that they don't want.

I know, I do this for my employer and let me tell you know amount of science in the world can help you guess what a consumer trend will be towards a display size, it's very difficult. If they made it a too piece product they wouldn't have to support a 15, 17, 20, 23, and 30 display form factor. They could do 20/23/30 (I still think they'd need an Al 17" here) and maybe lower the cost (not sure about price, they need to make thier margins) and change the attach rate to both the iMac and PowerMac line.

This is merely a shift in the burden of prediction, though, and it doesn't solve the baseline issue - guessing where consumers will go. Even if you separate the display, you still need to keep enough in stock to feed the demand, and it doesn't get rid of certain engineering issues. Apple has already shown that they don't like external cords and clutter on their machines, even if they do offer expansion ports so that people have the choice to do things with them. Separating the display from the iMac kills a portion of its coolness, not to mention adding a place that's going to offer a challenge to either have some kind of structural and functional arm-connector that plugs in or to just let cords start building up again.

Also, the cost of an iMac with one of the new screens would start at $1,299 for the display and then whatever the computer costs. Of course, that's if the screen is external rather than built in, and assuming that they're using the same panels as they do in the cinema displays in order to help control that inventory problem you were first trying to lecture me about.

your point being? There are things like the MHz myth and whatnot, but the 'display ram myth' is not something that I think Apple wants to start. Showing how '32MB is enough for anyone' would be silly. Also most chipsets they might want to use in this device would want at least 64MB (ATI Radeon Mobility, or even a built in ATI/nVidia card)

I think you massively misunderstood my point.

What I was getting at is the idea that, although the operating system requires something like 16MB of VRAM, it would be a good idea to use a card of larger size just to offer a better machine. This is in direct opposition of what many, many PC OEMs do with their consumer grade machines in order to cut costs, where you get Intel Extreme 2 built-in and have to share your system memory with the GPU. Even 32MB of dedicated RAM and a decent 3D engine is an improvement over that, but it would be far better to have something like the Radeon 9600 Pro with at least 64MB as the bottom line card.

Why? What gives you the authority to be the destroyer? Because you obviously don't get it, let me show you where.

What gives me authority? The fact that I went out and researched these full-sized wireless displays that people are constantly crowing over and wanting as a built-in part of some magically cheap G5 machine.

I've own many PDA type 'pad' devices since the early 90s (one of the dumbasses that bought the original Newton, thank you very much). None of them have been this size. That would be huge, unweildy, and obtrusive. An iPad device could easily be the size of a Palm or WinCE device and could *easily* cost sub $500. These aren't monster devices that would change the way you do computer input.

Actually, if you'd bother to even remotely pay attention to what I've been saying all along, the only thing I'm arguing against is the idea that a full monitor replacement will be seen in the wireless space. Philips and ViewSonic both have products in this market that are roughly the size I'm talking about and which don't even begin to get close to the display of video, which many people who don't understand the technology seem to think is easy to do.

In each case, the machines are actually neutered tablet PCs, with their own processor, RAM, ROM, a wireless link, and one of them even has a low-end GPU to help in screen redraws. They cost at least $1000 for a screen that's 15 inches, and they very much are "monster devices that would change the way you do computer input." However, most of what they're good for at the moment is data entry, email, and light web browsing.

These are remote controll type devices that you could surf the web from at the most, like the article said. It didn't say 'completely replace the need to use the iMac itself' Supporting multiple accounts is one of Mac OS X's forte.

No, supporting multiple accounts is a recently added feature of OS X that may or may not prove to be as useful in the circumstances as what you're talking about. Do you know how the OS handles the accounts that aren't currently displayed? I just did a little experiment to test it out by logging in the two other accounts on this machine. With no applications running for them, just existing actively on the system, my CPU usage has jumped 20-30% on average and I'm now chewing an extra 120MB of RAM on baseline tasks for adding two more users. If you add memory-protected instances of any programs that the other users are on... Well, I think we see where this is going.

Having multiple users all on the the same machine at once would vastly increase the overhead.

If you could do Rendezvous wireless networking with smaller handy devices for some, and then bluetooth on the new HDTV or Plasma TVs you have the headless Mac in your stack of theater/stereo gear would make sense.

Please, please, please tell me that you meant that Bluetooth would be used to control the TV, and not for some kind of networking purpose.

[thatwendigo]

...is just crazy talk. Please, wipe the foam off your mouth and stop measuring yourself with your prowess to spout of specs and do the math to show how slow wireless networking is compared to the innards of our beloved computers. There are large amounts of technology out there called 'client server' that helps eliminate the need to do all of this. The iPad device wouldn't be a dumb screen screaming 'feed me' to your network. It would have ROM based or even some RAM based programming that would include the ability to render video to an extent, a browser, an email program (maybe) and the 'remote control' program. I'm sure knowing apple it'd be extensible.

ViewSonic Airpanel 100 (http://www.viewsonic.com/products/mobilewireless/wirelessmonitors/airpanel100/index.htm)
Intel StrongARM 206mhz
Windows CE .NET
32MB Flash
128MB SDRAM
Media-Q MQ200 2MB VRAM
10" SVGA TFT touchscreen
800x600 max resolution when wireless
Type II PCMCIA
USB, microphone in, audio out, mini-VGA, dock port
802.11b or GPRS
13.81" x 8.0" x 0.5"
2.5lbs
Cost: $829-1,156 at Dealtime (http://www1.shopping.com/xPC-ViewSonic_Airpanel)

Philips DesXcape (http://www.consumer.philips.com/global/b2c/ce/catalog/product.jhtml;jsessionid=STLYS1QNVUUADJ0RMRCRX2NHKFSESHAW?divId=0&groupId=CONNECTION_GR&catId=PC_MONITORS_CA&subCatId=WIRELESS_MONITOR_SU&productId=150DM10P_74)
Intel Xscale 400mhz
Windows CE for Smart Displays
32MB Flash
64MB SDRAM
15" TFT LCD touchscreen
1024x768 max resolution, period
No expansion slots
Docking station with DVI connector
802.11b
14.7" x 12.1" x 1.1"
5.2lbs
Cost: $1,281-1,499 at Dealtime (http://www1.shopping.com/xFS?KW=desxcape&FN=Monitors&FD=9006)

How about we stop hurling accusations until you find me something that shows I'm wrong, rather than just putting me down for actually doing the calculations. There are the products that are in the market, representative of the technology as it stands.

if a 15" LCD on an iMac G4 was about $1299 if memory serves, take out the display and you have a $899 - 999 system. Change to the G5 and you could have a $1199 - $1299 headless mac without much other tech change. They could go SATA on the drive but nothing is stopping them from sticking to IDE here.

Nothing but the only real strength of the G5 - throughput and IO speed. In order to really gain any benefit from using the processor, you need to keep it fed and crunching on data, which PATA won't be as good at doing as SATA would. You need to shuffle data through the system, and that means going faster wherever possible.

I'm still disappointed that the pro machines don't use 10,000RPM SATA drives.

But now with the DVI support you could use anything, or I could just use my 57" HDTV or 30" HDTV I have with DVI-D ports on them.

Sure, if your idea of a good time is a $2000 screen that tops out at 1024 by 768 on resolution on a screen that's enormous. I'd rather have a good, scaleable monitor, though, rather than something tied to the 1080i or 720p standards.

I suppose it might be possible to see LCDs at that size that are computer-monitor resolution after a while, but they're going to be prohibitively expensive for a while.

[Zaty]

The OSR releases do not fit my description of "native" or "full O/S" support. And frankly, the OSR implementations had "issues" ;) that made them difficult to use successfully.

Anyway, you are correct about some forms of pre-Win98 support and I thank you for making my point even better....

USB support in the original Win 98 was still far from being flawless. I once owned a Microsoft (!) side winder gamepad that never worked under 98 but worked great in 2000. So your differentiation doesn't change anything. Like I said in an earlier post, it was a wise decision by Apple to push USB and that's what counts even if they weren't the first to use USB. As a reminder for those who think Apple's always the first: How long did Apple take to build native USB 2.0 into their computers? About a year longer than the rest of the industry.

[Kagetenshi]

Given that USB 2.0 was made obsolete by Firewire before it was developed. that's not something to fault Apple for.

~J

[mhouse]

ViewSonic Airpanel 100 (http://www.viewsonic.com/products/mobilewireless/wirelessmonitors/airpanel100/index.htm)
Intel StrongARM 206mhz
Windows CE .NET
32MB Flash
128MB SDRAM
Media-Q MQ200 2MB VRAM
10" SVGA TFT touchscreen
800x600 max resolution when wireless
Type II PCMCIA
USB, microphone in, audio out, mini-VGA, dock port
802.11b or GPRS
13.81" x 8.0" x 0.5"
2.5lbs
Cost: $829-1,156 at Dealtime (http://www1.shopping.com/xPC-ViewSonic_Airpanel)

Philips DesXcape (http://www.consumer.philips.com/global/b2c/ce/catalog/product.jhtml;jsessionid=STLYS1QNVUUADJ0RMRCRX2NHKFSESHAW?divId=0&groupId=CONNECTION_GR&catId=PC_MONITORS_CA&subCatId=WIRELESS_MONITOR_SU&productId=150DM10P_74)
Intel Xscale 400mhz
Windows CE for Smart Displays
32MB Flash
64MB SDRAM
15" TFT LCD touchscreen
1024x768 max resolution, period
No expansion slots
Docking station with DVI connector
802.11b
14.7" x 12.1" x 1.1"
5.2lbs
Cost: $1,281-1,499 at Dealtime (http://www1.shopping.com/xFS?KW=desxcape&FN=Monitors&FD=9006)


I've been reading this thread for a few days now and I just wonder why you are so desperate to deconstruct other folks' theories? Its a mac rumor discussion for pete's sake. I'm not criticizing you, I'm just genuinely curious.

If you really think someone's idea is stupid, why not just ignore it? If, suddenly, the other person relents utterly and writes "I see the light now! My theories were foolish and unworkable!" what have you won?

Is there a prize that I'm unaware of?

And I can't attest to any of the other parts of you argument, but you write with a lot of conviction and seeming authority about at least one thing that is utterly irrelevant: the prices you quote above.

Why would they prove anything? When Apple released the iPod mini, the drives inside them *alone* were selling for 400 bucks and up retail. But, nonetheless, Apple still sold the mini for 249 clams. So, clearly, the retail price of a particular part of a system provides absoultely no clue as to what the price of a system containing that component might end up being.

[Fitzcaraldo]

It's expensive for any computer company to try to plan for what consumers will buy, and that's one reason that I think the people screaming for colored iMacs don't get it. Apple had serious issues with inventory control right before Steve came back, and the debacles over the previous generations of machines made it pretty clear that offering five separate colors was a good way to end up with an awful lot of whatever the consumers decide that they don't want.


This is actually very easy to do (design depending)... Think along the lines of a mobile phone and jackets. I myself have several products on the market that include 5 different coloured options as standard fit yourself parts and the cost was negligible.

Not that I'm saying I like the idea of Coloured iMacs... ;) .

[Krizoitz]

Sorry though, you need to find a different precedent than USB.

And you need to stop trolling. Read what I wrote and the post I replied to. The original post talked about how technologies such as bluetooth etc, aren't standard on the high end stuff so why woudl they put them in the consumer product first. I was pointing out that USB was available on the iMac before it was available on the power mac. I never once tried to claim that no other computers had it. You really need to read what is written and not what you want to see.

[AidenShaw]

And you need to stop trolling. Read what I wrote and the post I replied to. The original post talked about how technologies such as bluetooth etc, aren't standard on the high end stuff so why woudl they put them in the consumer product first. I was pointing out that USB was available on the iMac before it was available on the power mac. I never once tried to claim that no other computers had it. You really need to read what is written and not what you want to see.

Actually, you said

Remember USB? It was released in the iMac before it was released in anything else, so there is precedent.

Sorry that I didn't realize that "in anything else" really meant "on the Power Mac"....

I apologize for being misled by your ambiguous claim.

[Yvan256]

Hello all.

You might have read my (very long) computing history in another thread (can't remember which one, can't find it either) but here it is again (fresh one, so you might want to read it anyway).

(Short story, for those who want to know anyway: I started using computers on a CoCo2, gone through 8086/MS-DOS 3.3 to Athlon 2600+/WinXP, installed iTunes, was blown away, sold my flash and CD mp3 players, bought a 10GB iPod. And now I'm waiting for the next iMac - and its price tag).

---

A lot of people keep saying Apple missed the sweet spot with the iMac G4. Well, I got an old Mac magazine here, and they list prices for the iBook G3, eMac G4 and iMac G4. They're listed at 994$, 994$ and 994$, respectively (Apple reseller, not direct from Apple). Yes, all three products are under 1K$US. So, Apple did have three nice sub-1K$ products about 1.5 year ago. The point for mentionning this: they can do it.

Now, for the needed features of the new iMac (in my opinion). People keep talking about bluetooth, wi-fi, 8x DVD-R drives, and other stuff.

Let me tell you what 95% of the users basic needs:
- USB/USB2 ports (printer, webcam, scanner, gamepads, mouse, keyboard, flash reader, iPod, etc)
- CD-RW (to read and write audio CD's)
- DVD playback (to view movies)
- Internet (web, IM, etc)
- Music, photos (MP3's, JPEG's)

No need to jack up the price with wireless stuff (costs more than wired items, costs more because you have to buy batteries, and the added problem of running out of juice for the keyboard/mouse is bigger than the problem of having wires for them for most users).

No need for a 8x DVD-R drive when a 4x will do just fine (people don't want to pay 100-200$ to decrease the burning time from 15 to 7 minutes, that's wasted money). Heck, Apple still ships computers that can't even burn DVD's.

LCD displays. I don't know what people have against good CRTs (if the refresh is high enough, you won't get headaches), but I do have a point against LCDs: they're absolute crap unless you stick with the native resolution. If your LCD is 1024x768, you're stuck in 1024x768. That's no good for 2D games (MAME, Starcraft, Diablo, etc - turning off "full screen" would basically mean you play on a 9" LCD display) and it prevents you from lowering the resolution in 3D games (playing in 640x480 could give you more FPS, but if you do that on a 1024x768 LCD display you'll get an aliased picture). Yes, LCD might be better for sharpness and all, but CRTs still have the lowest price tags for the same size and they allow for multiple resolutions.

All that "useless" LCD, fast DVD-R, wireless stuff only bring up the sticker price, and is something Apple should keep away from for their entry-level, switcher Mac.

---

Now for my point of view, as a waiting switcher.

Yes, the price tags of Apple products are excessively high. Especially if you check the prices in Canada, where low-cost PCs can be bought for about 600$CAN, including a 17" CRT monitor, all-in-one printer/scanner/fax/etc, 2.4GHz Celeron, 256MB, 80GB, Windows XP Home, etc... The usual, bottom-line PC of 2004 (that's after maybe 250$ of rebates, but the bottom line is, that's what the consumer pays in the end).

The basic combo drive eMac G4/1.25GHz costs 1100$CAN. Now, that eMac G4/1.25GHz is probably at least as powerful as that Celeron 2.4GHz system, but that's beside the point. Beside games, today's computers are fast enough. I barely see any difference between my old Celeron 700 and my Athlon 2600+ system in 90% of my daily uses.

But still, same "computing value" or not, the sticker price of the lowest-priced Mac is almost twice that of a low-value PC. That's just terrible.

Now, I'm not saying the eMac is extremely over-priced. However, as a potential switcher, I'm not too happy to shell out money to buy a CRT monitor (which I already have), memory (which I already have), a hard disk (which I already have), a USB keyboard and mice (which I already have) and CD-RW and DVD drives (which I already have). Because sometimes, the price tag isn't the only issue. It's also about what we're paying for.

Here's my idea: The switcher eMac.

1. Take the eMac motherboard (so there's no R&D involved - the computer is already available, Apple only has to crank up production of the eMac G4 motherboard).

2. Make a new case for it, easily consumer-opened to add the switcher's PC parts (HD, RAM).

3. Ship it without HD, RAM, keyboard and mouse. I guess Apple can decide to sell two models with built-in combo and superdrive, because that hardware part isn't as "standard" as a USB mouse or an IDE hard disk (would be a mess to support 1000+ models of combo/superdrives, unlike the controlled environment they have now. Then again, they already support that via iTunes for Windows in some way - unless Windows is doing all the actual work).

Let's take the Canadian prices:
- eMac G4/1.25GHz superdrive: +1300$CAN
- 17" CRT monitor: -200$CAN (I'm betting Apple isn't using cheap CRTs)
- 256MB DDR RAM: -75$CAN
- 80GB Hard disk: -100$CAN
- Apple keyboard and mouse: -150$CAN (prices taken from Apple Store)

Total price for the switcher superdrive eMac: 775$CAN (~590$US)
Total price for the switcher combodrive eMac: 525$CAN (~400$US)

Even if you round up the prices to 800$CAN and 550$CAN, they'd still sell like crazy. Switching to Mac for half a grand (in both USA and Canada)? Good god, that 5% could easily reach 10-15% in a matter of months. Especially with all the viruses problems on the Windows side right now (note that I didn't say "trojans problems", which can affect any and all OS on the planet).

Since OS X supposedly takes around 15 minutes to install, I bet stores would be more than happy to charge something like 50-75$CAN to "switch" your PC's parts into your switcher's eMac if you couldn't do it yourself. An additionnal "moving" service (to move all the jpeg/mp3/doc/etc files to the Mac) could be provided.

Of course, the overall price of that switcher eMac would still be about the same price as the AIO eMac, but for the switcher the savings (from already having half the parts) are what makes the actual switch possible. Check the resulting prices again: it's about 50% of the eMac price. It's also *below* the price tag of the crappy low-end PCs, even after those insane mail-in rebates. For a potential switcher it would cost *less* to finally make the jump to Mac.

This plan might sound a bit crazy, but the Apple requirements and resulting price tags are nothing to sneeze at. Apple could take this idea and have a product ready before christmas if they hurried a bit (all they have to do is design is a new case). The smaller case would also mean smaller box, smaller volume for stores inventory, smaller volume and weight for shipping (those all add to the overall cost of the computer in the end).

But sadly, that's probably not in Apple's future right now.

---

So here I am, waiting for september to see the next iMac. Then I'll be able to decide if I'm switching via the entry-level iMac G5, 12" iBook G4 or superdrive eMac G4.

(this post only reflects my own point of view as a waiting switcher and what I'd like Apple to do, not what Apple *should* do).

[thatwendigo]

I've been reading this thread for a few days now and I just wonder why you are so desperate to deconstruct other folks' theories? Its a mac rumor discussion for pete's sake. I'm not criticizing you, I'm just genuinely curious.

If you really think someone's idea is stupid, why not just ignore it? If, suddenly, the other person relents utterly and writes "I see the light now! My theories were foolish and unworkable!" what have you won?

Is there a prize that I'm unaware of?

I have one reason to do it, and one reason alone: FUD.

There is enough misinformation spread around by people who dislike the mac platform, who have something to gain from it failing, that I don't want to see the actual user base rife with the same issues. When someone makes a factual error, I point it out if it's something I know about. If someone points out some seemingly-incredible technology, I dig into it because it might be interesting to know about or eventually worthwhile.

Most often, it turns out that someone has completely failed to understand something that they either heard about from someone else, scanned a tiny summary written by a non-technical source (like most journalists), or just completely fabricated. The recent example of this is wireless display, and especially over the still-hypothetical "Wireless FireWire." I provide the facts - like bandwidth, calculated transmission sizes, and so on- and people can make their minds up on their own.

And I can't attest to any of the other parts of you argument, but you write with a lot of conviction and seeming authority about at least one thing that is utterly irrelevant: the prices you quote above.

Why would they prove anything? When Apple released the iPod mini, the drives inside them *alone* were selling for 400 bucks and up retail. But, nonetheless, Apple still sold the mini for 249 clams. So, clearly, the retail price of a particular part of a system provides absoultely no clue as to what the price of a system containing that component might end up being.

My tone is often more certain than it might deserve to be on issues that are debatable, like pricing, but the facts that I'm stating are still true. These products already exist in the form I show, and cost the amount that I attach to them while linking to the place I found my information. It could be that Apple finds some way to not only make a wireless display, but to also sell it at a tenth the cost of what their competitors retail theirs for.

It's also possible that the sun won't rise tomorrow. So what? Anything is possible in a probabilistic universe, but you have to deal in the likelihood of events. The sun will rise, as it always has, but the PowerPC is generally a more expensive platform, and Apple's devices tend not to be the cheapest in the market because they don't cut corners.

[removed]

Actually, I'm doing the research that hardly anyone else is. Rather than just throwing around wild speculation, I find hard facts relating to the ramblings of the people around me.


For one thing, Apple machines are not necessarily compatible with ever RAM manufacturer on the face of the planet, and for another, there's really no reason to rip the basic elements of the machine out just to reach some arbitrary price point. One of the strengths of the mac is that it's usable out of the box with basically no setup, aside from a little question and answer that's done when you boot up, so that the system can get your configuration up and running.

However, to beat the hell out of your allegation that bargain PCs are such a deal at the $600 price point, I'd like to point out a few things. I'm currently looking at the Dell, HP, Compaq, Sony, and other major manufacturer sites and speccing their lowest models. They range from $500 to $700, but one thing remains true across the board... Every single one cuts all kinds of corners that would be noticeable to anyone who uses a computer and knows what they're doing.

We're talking about old processors (Celeron 2.4s, mainly), PC2100 or PC2700 RAM, Intel Extreme integrated graphics, XP Home instead of Pro, the need to buy about $300 in usability and security software to even remotely equal OS X, and a whole host of other issues. That doesn't even begin to cover how Sony, HP, and many others have secondary markets to prop their pricing schemes on, which leaves only Dell as even a remote comparison - they're profitable and primarily in computers.

[oingoboingo]

This goes to show how successful Apple has been in stopping leaks recently. There have been very few of them in the last year or so, not counting the ones that happen 12 hours prior to an event.

The 'artist's renditions' of the new 20", 23" and 30" displays that were circulated weeks before WWDC were spot-on. The screenshots of Mac OS X 10.4 that were leaked a few days before WWDC were spot on. There are definitely still leaks, and big ones too...maybe not as many as there used to be, but they are still there.

[JJTiger1]

(snippage)There are definitely still leaks, and big ones too...maybe not as many as there used to be, but they are still there.

Stay tuned for pirate photos of the new iMac.

Maybe there will be a built-in iPod docking station? :)
... this ought to be standard equipment on any Mac.
... iPods are Apple's bread and butter. Integrate the best selling Apple product with the other Apple products. Minimize the cord-count.

Maybe there will be front mounted USB/Firewire ports? :)
... Update the entry level computers. Put the camera's connector port on the front of the computer where camera users can get to the port.

Maybe the innovative "first" will be BlueTooth keyboard and mouse as standard equipment? :rolleyes:
... it's 2004. Time for an innovative "first", again.
=-=
JJ

[Yvan256]

The recent example of this is wireless display, and especially over the still-hypothetical "Wireless FireWire." I provide the facts - like bandwidth, calculated transmission sizes, and so on- and people can make their minds up on their own.

Yes, I find it weird that people talk about "wireless displays" like it was an easy thing to do. Even if you could only send "commands" to it, that means it'd need to be a smart display (instead of a dumb one which only displays raw data) and you couldn't play movies on it (unless, again, you'd stream H.264 to it or something). I don't think it's possible, or if it is, it'd costs a whole lot more than even Apple's prices.

For one thing, Apple machines are not necessarily compatible with ever RAM manufacturer on the face of the planet

Well yes, of course. Your RAM would need to be compatible (speed, pinout, etc). Just as you'd need a USB mouse and keyboard and a P-ATA IDE HD. I never said the hypotetical "switcher eMac" had to support something the current eMac doesn't.

and for another, there's really no reason to rip the basic elements of the machine out just to reach some arbitrary price point.

Well of course there is. My idea was about a low-cost switcher eMac. I still think it's possible, and it would be a good move on Apple's part.

One of the strengths of the mac is that it's usable out of the box with basically no setup, aside from a little question and answer that's done when you boot up, so that the system can get your configuration up and running.

Yes, that's all good and nice for the "average user", but it's not the target market for my "switcher eMac" idea.

However, to beat the hell out of your allegation that bargain PCs are such a deal at the $600 price point, I'd like to point out a few things. I'm currently looking at the Dell, HP, Compaq, Sony, and other major manufacturer sites and speccing their lowest models. They range from $500 to $700, but one thing remains true across the board... Every single one cuts all kinds of corners that would be noticeable to anyone who uses a computer and knows what they're doing.

But as I said in my post, the end-user first argument is always the price tag, and that's what my target was with my idea.

We're talking about old processors (Celeron 2.4s, mainly), PC2100 or PC2700 RAM, Intel Extreme integrated graphics, XP Home instead of Pro, the need to buy about $300 in usability and security software to even remotely equal OS X, and a whole host of other issues. That doesn't even begin to cover how Sony, HP, and many others have secondary markets to prop their pricing schemes on, which leaves only Dell as even a remote comparison - they're profitable and primarily in computers.

- the Celeron 2.4 is a lot more recent than a G4 1.25
- the RAM argument is valid but beside the point (the price difference is minor)
- the on-board graphics is a valid point (but even in AGP card form, a 2-years-old graphic card isn't worth more than 50$CAN, so the price difference isn't huge)
- software, I already said it in my post: yes the overall value of OS X is better, but the fact that Microsoft makes crappy products doesn't force its customers to buy extra software (there's no contract or anything).

My "switcher eMac" is only an idea, something I think Apple should do for a low-cost option for switchers (hence the name "switcher eMac"). Nobody's going to make the jump before they're conviced Apple makes a better alternative than Windows. Having to pay 2000$CAN to "test-drive" a Mac isn't a good real-world option.

I never said Apple should do this for its regular, rich target customers. Chill out.

[JJTiger1]

(snippage)
My "switcher eMac"... (snippage)
Chill out.

... pssst: This is supposed to be an iMac prediction forum.
Can you spell iMac? i M a c.
... no "e" in iMac.
=-=
... a little humor:
Comparing Apple desktop computer models to Jeeps.
- eMac is a Liberty: does things well enough. Goes to the grocery store on paved roads on Sunny days.
- iMac is a Cherokee: does things even better than the Liberty. Goes to the grocery store on paved roads in the rain.
- TowerMac is a Wrangler: the best that you can get. Goes anywhere anytime.

It's time to put the top down on the Jeep and get outside and play.
=-=
Doctor, heal thyself: Chill out. :cool:
=-=
JJ

[mhouse]

Is there a thread about this anywhere?

As I'm sure many of you read, Office Depot is now carrying the entire Apple line (and I do mean entire...X-serves, raids, you name it). Their website list all models of flat-panel iMacs as in stock.

Perhaps this explains why Apple ran out so soon?

[iMeowbot]

As I'm sure many of you read, Office Depot is now carrying the entire Apple line (and I do mean entire...X-serves, raids, you name it). Their website list all models of flat-panel iMacs as in stock.

Perhaps this explains why Apple ran out so soon?
They have them listed as special orders, which for Office Depot usually means that they are being drop shipped from a distributor like Ingram Micro. Some stock was already known to be out in the channel, so the addition of this outlet doesn't likely mean much.

[JJTiger1]

It's time to put the top down on the Jeep and get outside and play.


... and remember to bring the side curtains next time.

Summertime popup thunderstorms can hit anytime.
=-=
It was too much fun getting wet. :D

... The interior is just about dry.
=-=
JJ

[Rantipole]

OK, here is my problem/dilemma:

My iMac is dying. It is over 5 years old now. If I had replaced it in April (its 5 year anniversary), I'd be OK. But, everyone was expecting that SOME KIND of update in the iMac was imminent back then.

Believe me, I would have been happy if the update was, say, the current iMac with a G4 1.8, or whatever the highest G4 is. Maybe they could have thrown in some better RAM, and I would have been all set. But, nooooo, Apple had to get all cocky and think they were going to have the new iMac by June.

But I'm concerned about buying what is basically Version 1.0 of the new iMac. I simply cannot wait until they work the bugs out to buy a new comp. But, I don't want to buy a buggy machine!

Any thoughts?

EDIT: one thought I had was going ahead and buying the G4 1.5 iMac. But this would only be acceptable to me if I could get a good deal. However, it looks like they're basically going to "run out" of these computers, so I kinda doubt there will be deals available. Any one think differently? (heh, no pun intended)

[Daveway]

So as i suspected its true about the imac!!

>>>>>> http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=550

[matd]

Will Steve Jobs be in Paris to launch the iMac and/or the new iPods ?

[JerseyMike73]

one thought I had was going ahead and buying the G4 1.5 iMac. But this would only be acceptable to me if I could get a good deal.

Unfortunately, the G4 iMac topped out at 1.25, not 1.5, and since the stock out there is low at this point, it's likely that the price will remain in the same ballpark as it has always been. "Good deals" on these machines probably won't come around until after the next imac is shipping. :(

[Rantipole]

Unfortunately, the G4 iMac topped out at 1.25, not 1.5,
Oh, right I forgot. Geez, that makes Apple's decision not to bump it up in, say, early spring even more pathetic!!!!

"Good deals" on these machines probably won't come around until after the next imac is shipping. :(
Actually, given that the inventory will be sooooo low, I wonder if there will be deals even then.

[Daveway]

Just for all of you that were proclaiming that the new iMac would feature a freescale chip.

Stevie himself said that Apple would be introducing a G5 iMac this summer to his investors today.

Chech it out.>> http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/earningsq304/

[supergod]

Since the old 17" LCDs were a consumer product and their new displays are aiming only to be used with the Powermac G5s and for high end PC users (prosumer line), why wouldn't Apple simply try and fill in the lack of 17" displays with a standard 17" widescreen imac. The 15" is now too small and is a much worse option, plus if they were to go for the obvious screen-only design, that's just more stuff you can cram into that small frame. Apple could release their 17" widescreen smart display iMac and please all. In addition they could try and please the education and low end market by releasing a smaller iMac mini, with a 12" screen and smaller form factor with colours. This is my call, an all Aluminum 17" widescreen iMac with the computer built into the back of the display, with a similar form factor to the new Aluminum displays but with perforation similar to the powermac G5s.

[mpw]

Just for all of you that were proclaiming that the new iMac would feature a freescale chip.

Stevie himself said that Apple would be introducing a G5 iMac this summer to his investors today.

Chech it out.>> http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/earningsq304/

Apple also said that most of Q4's air frieght cost were down to the new G5 iMac. That being the case there must be an awful lot of boxed iMacs sitting in warehouses just waiting for launch day. Who's for a G5 being shipped right after the keynote and delivered to your door Sept.1st? :)

[daveg5]

.
This sounds good, I suspect the specs will be like the low end tower. 1.6 and 1.8 G5's. basically a 15.2-17' AL cinema display, but a few Inches thicker with the motherboard behind it, no more articulating arm. but it will be Vesa compliant for wall hanging and 3rd party arms.
I was really hoping for 1 with no screen, cause I already have a nice screen. oh well. Now the big question is will it have a real PCI or PC card slot. and 1 real AGP slot (that would be so great!!), or will it be completely closed like older Imacs in that area.
And 8X tray drive or 4X slot drive.
The 15" screen we have the powerbook screen resolution, which is more than enough for most folk.
I hope $1299 15.2" superdrive 64Vram 1.6 G5
..........$1599 17" superdrive 64Vram 1.8 G5
With more Vram, blue tooth, airport, bigger HD, more Ram, as option
A new AL BT wireless keyboard and Scrolling multi button mouse would bring the house down.
Maybe they will retrofit the old G4 towers with more fans by taking out the second bay and 2 pci slots. to finally have a $999-1.6G5-$1299-1.8 G5 mini-towers. HAHA HeeHee, Just joking guys. :rolleyes:

[daveg5]

He also did a search for Yosemite... does this mean the new iMac will headless? and blue and white?
no, just easy door open expandability and 4 memory slots

[daveg5]

Unfortunately, I think they've already missed this one, at least insofar as potential switchers goes. I doubt if the average back-to-school buyer who never used a Mac before will put off their purchase into mid-September. And institutional school purchases will have been complete well before then.

The best thing Apple could do this time around would be to come up with a cheap (well under $1,000 - not $999) rugged iMac that doesn't have a built-in monitor.
Prepare to be flamed, everyone who points to a screen-less imac always are. but I admit, there are a lot of users and possible switchers, that already have nice LCDS or CRT's and dont want a all in one emac, Powermac G4, too slow or a big dual G5 too big $$$, and more power than needed, they also dont want an all in one Imac, cause they already have a great 17"+ LCD or CRT. And they also want at least 1 count them 1 PCcard or PCI slot, and 1 upgradable AGp slot or at least the ability to upgrade the graphics at ordering time and a multi button scrolling mouse by Apple that also works with PC's Apple could challenge Logitech and Microsoft in the mouse area if they introduced a great BT mouse, after all they were one of the first.. JMT
This market is not served at present by Apple at all. :eek:

[daveg5]

I can't wait until I see the new iMac G5. I will order a lab of 21 iMacs to replace the existing G4 400 Towers. I hope they drop the 15inch and start the bottom line at the 17inch with at least the 15inch price around $1000-$1200.

Dropping the 15" would mean no low price model, the current 17" is $1799 vs $1299 for the 15"
Rather I hope they replace the 1024X768 15" with the Powerbooks 15.2"1280x854 inch higher res display and keep the price between $999-$1299 with the 17" being just a few hundred more, I think that would make more sense.
People are very price conscious now, and while looking at the 15.2" and 17" powerbook in the store I didn't see that much difference, a few more pixels and less desk space, I think the Majority would pick the 15.2 " right away.
I agree the old 15" non wide screen one must go, I even would consider the emac screen over that for the extra pixels. I jest.

[daveg5]

OK, here is my problem/dilemma:

My iMac is dying. It is over 5 years old now. If I had replaced it in April (its 5 year anniversary), I'd be OK. But, everyone was expecting that SOME KIND of update in the iMac was imminent back then.

Believe me, I would have been happy if the update was, say, the current iMac with a G4 1.8, or whatever the highest G4 is. Maybe they could have thrown in some better RAM, and I would have been all set. But, nooooo, Apple had to get all cocky and think they were going to have the new iMac by June.

But I'm concerned about buying what is basically Version 1.0 of the new iMac. I simply cannot wait until they work the bugs out to buy a new comp. But, I don't want to buy a buggy machine!



Any thoughts?

EDIT: one thought I had was going ahead and buying the G4 1.5 iMac. But this would only be acceptable to me if I could get a good deal. However, it looks like they're basically going to "run out" of these computers, so I kinda doubt there will be deals available. Any one think differently? (heh, no pun intended)

sounds good to me, the old imac will be like the cube, a true one of a kind, I dont mind the buss speed limits of the G4, anything would be much faster than my BW G3, hehe, not important on most things I do, but I sure wish you could upgrade the video like on the cube and Cpu like on the cube.
However if I see a $999 for the 17" G4 1.25 Imac or $799 for the 1.0 15" Imac I may have to go for it. but I would like to see what the new ones cost and look like first, you know.

[Rantipole]

However if I see a $999 for the 17" G4 1.25 Imac or $799 for the 1.0 15" Imac I may have to go for it. but I would like to see what the new ones cost and look like first, you know.
Heck, I would go for $1199 for a 17". But with supply dropping every day, I kinda doubt it. We'll see.

What about my concerns about the G5 iMac Version 1 being buggy? Unfounded?

[zelmo]

What about my concerns about the G5 iMac Version 1 being buggy? Unfounded?

Depends on whether or not you believe it when Apple says that IBM is the sole reason for the delay. I mean, putting a G5 into a vertical pizza box that's maybe what, 2-2.5 inches thick, and mounted directly behind the display? Seems like effective heat dissipation is at least partially responsible for the hold up (if you buy some of the rumors being floated, anyway).
Aw, go for it. It's a freakin' G5 iMac, fer cryin' out loud! Seriously, with the "mildly" embarrassing delay in shipping caused by whatever production issues there were, Apple ought to be making doubly sure that all shipping product won't suffer from defects. :)

There's no worse time to be a Mac Fanatic with depleted funds. :mad:

[daveg5]

Heck, I would go for $1199 for a 17". But with supply dropping every day, I kinda doubt it. We'll see.

What about my concerns about the G5 iMac Version 1 being buggy? Unfounded?
if there are any it will be heat/fan related. heat is not good to components

[MacinDoc]

Apple also said that most of Q4's air frieght cost were down to the new G5 iMac. That being the case there must be an awful lot of boxed iMacs sitting in warehouses just waiting for launch day. Who's for a G5 being shipped right after the keynote and delivered to your door Sept.1st? :)
I'll take one, thank you!

[zelmo]

I don't think Apple can afford NOT to have a desktop computer priced between the $999 eMac and the low-end PowerMac Dual 1.8.
Given that the 1.6GHz PM G5 is going for $1600, and assuming the current " Al vertical pizza box with a monitor slapped on the front" theory is close to accurate:

1.4 GHz iMac G5 w/17" LCD/256RAM/80GB/Combo = $1,499

1.6 GHz iMac G5 w/20" HDLCD/512RAM/120GB/Super(8XDVD) = $1,999

Isn't conjecture fun?

[zelmo]

Almost forgot:

Upgrades are for power users. There will be no upgrade-ability beyond BTO for BT and AE. No other available card slots, and only 2 RAM slots. iMac is not meant for Pro users, just high-end prosumers. If it is a really nice solid box, iMac buyers will not need to upgrade it for three to four years, but then they'll go out and either buy the next iMac or graduate to a PM.

[daveg5]

Almost forgot:

Upgrades are for power users. There will be no upgrade-ability beyond BTO for BT and AE. No other available card slots, and only 2 RAM slots. iMac is not meant for Pro users, just high-end prosumers. If it is a really nice solid box, iMac buyers will not need to upgrade it for three to four years, but then they'll go out and either buy the next iMac or graduate to a PM.
Thats Bull!!!!
Upgrades are for the rest of us too, if said company is told we want them in their products, however if they read your comments, they will continue to keep everyone but powermac users out of the upgrade loop.
There is no way there will only be 2 slots in the iMac G5, since the ram has to be put in, in pairs they will essentially be full when you get them new in the box, and 64bits claim to fame is 4GB or more accessible ram, expect at least 4 slots like the bottom-end G5. Even the current G4 Imac can handle 2GB.
Emac will stay un upgradable, but I think that if the iMacG5 stays between $1300-$2000, that there is a 50/50 chance it may include a PCI/PCCard slot for future firewire 1600, usb 3, etc upgrades, and possibly a real AGP slot or removable laptop based video ziff, that Nvidia/ATI are pushing.
After all most PC's under $1000 have at least 1PCI and 1 AGP slot and this is a big reason average PC user are not switching to the mac, they dont need all the expandability and power and size of the dual G5 towers, but they dont want a 100% totally closed system either.
I hope Apple has learned from there mistakes.
At the very least I think Apple will allow BTO 128MB video upgrades

[daveg5]

I don't think Apple can afford NOT to have a desktop computer priced between the $999 eMac and the low-end PowerMac Dual 1.8.
Given that the 1.6GHz PM G5 is going for $1600, and assuming the current " Al vertical pizza box with a monitor slapped on the front" theory is close to accurate:

1.6 GHz iMac G5 w/17" LCD/256RAM/80GB/Superdrive = $1,499

1.8 GHz iMac G5 w/20" HDLCD/512RAM/120GB/Super(4XDVD) = $1,799
Available Jan 05 at the earliest not to infringe on 20" display sales.

Isn't conjecture fun?
Sounds reasonable.
But you forgot Apple needs a low cost one, they have always had a $1299 or lower priced iMac and I dont think that will change, because that is the price point where they get most of their sales. So here is the third model which will sell the most, I doubt the 20" will be available right away. All will be 4X slot load.

1.4-1.6 iMac G5 w/15.2 Megawide LCD /256/60GB/SuperDrive =$1299 or less
There will be "no" combo drives available to the general public, just business and education markets only at the start.
Also expect a $100 cut in Emac prices to $699 and $899, respectively, for the Xmas buying season.

[aswitcher]

Sounds reasonable.
But you forgot Apple needs a low cost one, they have always had a $1299 or lower priced iMac and I dont think that will change, because that is the price point where they get most of their sales. So here is the third model which will sell the most, I doubt the 20" will be available right away. All will be 4X slot load.


I think for sure we will see the 20" right away.

Indeed given the new design specs being rumoured we could even see a 23" becayse the rumoured shape seems might like the current monitor range!

[daveg5]

I think for sure we will see the 20" right away.

Indeed given the new design specs being rumoured we could even see a 23" becayse the rumoured shape seems might like the current monitor range!
You may be right, the 23" is possible too I guess, but I dont think Apple will duplicate the new display sizes in Imac sizes so close after their releases. That would only cause confusion and siphon display sales when you can get a whole cpu for a little more $$$.
I believe 15.2" and 17" Only at Debut, so they dont overlap until sales slow, like what happened with the former Imac G4, they didnt increase monitor size to 17" and 20" until the sales slowed to a crawl.
JMT

[JerseyMike73]

OK... so the vast majority of rumors for the iMac G5 is an aluminum, vertical pizza box case with an LCD panel attached to the front. However, I am having some issues with trying to visualize how it will work.

1- I can't see Apple producing multiple sizes of pizza box enclosure, so having different sized LCD panels as part of the case could be problematic and/or unsightly to look at.

2- How exactly is this relatively heavy enclosure supposed to remain stable on a desktop while retaining a good level of monitor flexibility. The "floating," highly adjustable screen on the G4 iMac was a major selling point, so why would the next generation be basically immobile.

3- The pizza box style has been used in several iterations before, such as the LC, LC III, Centris/Quadra 660, and PowerMac 6100 (to name a few.) Apple is known for innovation, not recirculation.

Can anyone shed some light or give me some further insight? Right now I think Apple may have something totally different in store for us than what the rumormill is suggesting.

[Euthyphro]

I don't think Apple can afford NOT to have a desktop computer priced between the $999 eMac and the low-end PowerMac Dual 1.8.
Given that the 1.6GHz PM G5 is going for $1600, and assuming the current " Al vertical pizza box with a monitor slapped on the front" theory is close to accurate:

1.4 GHz iMac G5 w/17" LCD/256RAM/80GB/Combo = $1,499

1.6 GHz iMac G5 w/20" HDLCD/512RAM/120GB/Super(8XDVD) = $1,999

Isn't conjecture fun?

I'm afraid apple is very unlikely to drop prices as significant as this. These are almost refurbished prices for the current outdated models.

It would be nice to see price drops, but seeing what apple is doing lately, the price points are likely to stay where they are: $1299 (15"), $1799 (17"), $2199 (20"). :( Just look at the new cinema displays which replaced the old ones at basically the same price point.

One thing I an anticipate, though, is that they'll be remarkably designed machines.

[MacinDoc]

You may be right, the 23" is possible too I guess, but I dont think Apple will duplicate the new display sizes in Imac sizes so close after their releases. That would only cause confusion and siphon display sales when you can get a whole cpu for a little more $$$.
I believe 15.2" and 17" Only at Debut, so they dont overlap until sales slow, like what happened with the former Imac G4, they didnt increase monitor size to 17" and 20" until the sales slowed to a crawl.
JMT
I don't think they will take away a LARGER screen that was previously available. The trend in computing is always toward larger and faster.

[zelmo]

Thats Bull!!!!
Upgrades are for the rest of us too, if said company is told we want them in their products, however if they read your comments, they will continue to keep everyone but powermac users out of the upgrade loop.
There is no way there will only be 2 slots in the iMac G5, since the ram has to be put in, in pairs they will essentially be full when you get them new in the box, and 64bits claim to fame is 4GB or more accessible ram, expect at least 4 slots like the bottom-end G5. Even the current G4 Imac can handle 2GB.
Emac will stay un upgradable, but I think that if the iMacG5 stays between $1300-$2000, that there is a 50/50 chance it may include a PCI/PCCard slot for future firewire 1600, usb 3, etc upgrades, and possibly a real AGP slot or removable laptop based video ziff, that Nvidia/ATI are pushing.
After all most PC's under $1000 have at least 1PCI and 1 AGP slot and this is a big reason average PC user are not switching to the mac, they dont need all the expandability and power and size of the dual G5 towers, but they dont want a 100% totally closed system either.
I hope Apple has learned from there mistakes.
At the very least I think Apple will allow BTO 128MB video upgrades

Duh, you're right about the ram slots - don't know where my head was at, but it may explain that awful smell! :p

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for PCI and AGP (and all other) upgrade capabilities in the iMac line. Lemme at that wireless keyboard/mouse that matches the Al design. I just think that, given the price points required to fit in between the eMac and PMac, something has got to give. Plus, the iMac has not historically upgradeable. Also, I guess I'm buying into the "vertical within/behind the monitor" case design theory, and I just don't see how they fit everything in that we all want, address heat issues, include card slots, and still make the numbers work. Frankly, I'd rather you be right than me.

[zelmo]

Sounds reasonable.
But you forgot Apple needs a low cost one, they have always had a $1299 or lower priced iMac and I dont think that will change, because that is the price point where they get most of their sales. So here is the third model which will sell the most, I doubt the 20" will be available right away. All will be 4X slot load.

1.4-1.6 iMac G5 w/15.2 Megawide LCD /256/60GB/SuperDrive =$1299 or less
There will be "no" combo drives available to the general public, just business and education markets only at the start.
Also expect a $100 cut in Emac prices to $699 and $899, respectively, for the Xmas buying season.

Very true about the $1299 price point, but how does Apple manage to get a G5 (even a 1.4) and a 15" LCD in any box at that price point? Isn't the technology just too darned expensive?

[ChrisH3677]

Just a thought about the new iMac design... The NSW Road Traffic Authority (in Australia) bought 1100 iMacs in January this year. Their number one reason for choosing them was OH&S/ergonomics.

This is something that the current iMac has over every other computer on the market. I hope Apple have considered this in their new design.

[zelmo]

Hey, if this thing ships with a (removeable? optional?) base, what are the odd's that the base will include a built-in iPod dock? That would look pretty cool, eh? A lot of folks are clamoring for a dock, and I can't imagine where else you could put it (certainly not on the display itself?).

[supergod]

I love the current design on the iMac (the ergonomic arm is amazing) but the design totally disregards the fact that half the point of an LCD is to save space (a big selling point for college kids I might add). Obviously the design they have would not be possible without an LCD but the circular base is counterintuitive. Would it not be possible for the next iMac to be a mix between the "pizza box" idea and the current half dome and articulated nexk design? What about an iMac with a standard widescreen (almost as big of an upgrade as CRT to LCD was), an all aluminum design and a more rectangular pizza box base. The base could use up all of the space underneath the display while not taking up as much as the space in front and behind of the display, and the whole package would still feature an articulated arm (albeit with a modified design). The whole box would probably need to be weighted on top of featuring a support frame of some kind, but this would be simple enough. With the display in the straight up position, the system would look stunning from the side!

[daveg5]

Very true about the $1299 price point, but how does Apple manage to get a G5 (even a 1.4) and a 15" LCD in any box at that price point? Isn't the technology just too darned expensive?
I was using your 17" at $1499 as a guide and took $200 away for the 15 vs 17"
:)

[daveg5]

Duh, you're right about the ram slots - don't know where my head was at, but it may explain that awful smell! :p

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for PCI and AGP (and all other) upgrade capabilities in the iMac line. Lemme at that wireless keyboard/mouse that matches the Al design. I just think that, given the price points required to fit in between the eMac and PMac, something has got to give. Plus, the iMac has not historically upgradeable. Also, I guess I'm buying into the "vertical within/behind the monitor" case design theory, and I just don't see how they fit everything in that we all want, address heat issues, include card slots, and still make the numbers work. Frankly, I'd rather you be right than me.
agreed, the first Imac did have a mezznine slot that was used for video and firewire upgrades i believe, but that was about it.

[daveg5]

I'm afraid apple is very unlikely to drop prices as significant as this. These are almost refurbished prices for the current outdated models.

It would be nice to see price drops, but seeing what apple is doing lately, the price points are likely to stay where they are: $1299 (15"), $1799 (17"), $2199 (20"). :( Just look at the new cinema displays which replaced the old ones at basically the same price point.

One thing I an anticipate, though, is that they'll be remarkably designed machines.
thats displays the G5's, powerbooks, ibooks, emac, are cpu's and they all went down in price and or gained features, Imacs biggest flaw was its price like the cube, but I agree the $1299 price point has been there since the 90's, i do not expect the 17" to be more than $300 more the the 15" superdrive model, with the same features, plus .200GHZ.
20" will have to wait unless Apple has enough chips and screens to go around, as the 15" and 17" dont share screens with the separate displays.
:(

[daveg5]

OK... so the vast majority of rumors for the iMac G5 is an aluminum, vertical pizza box case with an LCD panel attached to the front. However, I am having some issues with trying to visualize how it will work.

1- I can't see Apple producing multiple sizes of pizza box enclosure, so having different sized LCD panels as part of the case could be problematic and/or unsightly to look at.

2- How exactly is this relatively heavy enclosure supposed to remain stable on a desktop while retaining a good level of monitor flexibility. The "floating," highly adjustable screen on the G4 iMac was a major selling point, so why would the next generation be basically immobile.

3- The pizza box style has been used in several iterations before, such as the LC, LC III, Centris/Quadra 660, and PowerMac 6100 (to name a few.) Apple is known for innovation, not recirculation.

Can anyone shed some light or give me some further insight? Right now I think Apple may have something totally different in store for us than what the rumormill is suggesting.
very good points, maybe it will only be available as a 17", or it will be attached (piggybacked) in such away on the screen that it makes no difference the screen size like the current imac G4
I am thinking it will only have screen tilt and height adjustability. however remember this is Vesa compliant, so there are already articulating arms available. and apple will offer a custom matching one as an option. $100 os so.

:eek:

[daveg5]

Heres two crazy ideas. The Imac pizza box may be available in 3 forms. no screen $999 cmbo(sd +100), 15.2" screen $1299sd, 17" screen $1599sd.
Are you with me so far, okay heres the deal.
The piggyback version is compatable with the 20" and 23" out the box and attaches easily to it, the separate power supply, firewire usb ports, for the monitor keeps the piggyback imac G5 cool, the 30" is a no go because of the Giant nvdia card needed.

That would make the 20" Superdrive version$ 2299 and 23" version$2999.
(i just dont get A $3000 Imac soundscrazy, 30" would be about 5 grand$)

The no screen would be great for everyone that owns a good screen already, and mainly switchers, Pccard and BTO 128AGP graphics round it out.
There is a Giant pure copper heatsink, and 3 quiet varible fans inside, and sound deadning materials.
Crazy hey JMT
They may use the big powerblock like the cube and new displays to keep the heat out of the Imac G5.
No way rumor:( dual G5's in top two Imac models, talk about a furnace,LOL!) :eek:

[iProbot]

I just can't wait!

[Krizoitz]

I'm thinking the following

$1299 15.2" widescreen 1.6Ghz
$1599 17" widescreen 1.6Ghz
$1899 20" widescreen 1.8Ghz

Its not going to be headless, that just seems counter to the AIO idea behind the iMac from the start.

[daveg5]

I'm thinking the following

$1299 15.2" widescreen 1.6Ghz
$1599 17" widescreen 1.6Ghz
$1899 20" widescreen 1.8Ghz

Its not going to be headless, that just seems counter to the AIO idea behind the iMac from the start.

I think your right about the screenless one, just dreaming, as I have an excellent Sony 22" display, and dont need or want an AIO, and cant afford a Powermac G5, or need that much power.
I do think the powersupply will be outside the computer and screen though.
I am saving for the $1299 15.2 " one as we speak, providing superdrive is standard, otherwise the 17" would be the best value, but 15.2" Megawide is all I require with superdrive and 128MB video.
I hope it can do monitor spanning(maybe with a hack). If not I will mirror it my Sony for photo editing and games and Cubase/Logic.
Oct-Nov I will buy or get a refurb 17" if the price is attractive enough, I love that arm, I only wish they had added pivoting to it for the ultimate in ergonomics.
No the biggest thing that could happen is a BT multi-button scrolling mouse and an Apple Specific keyboard with a more specific app buttons and volume dial/shuttle wheel ffw-rw-ply-stop-pause--trk+trk, itunes, quick time, safari, mail, expose, widgets, search/sherlock/spotlight launch buttons, separate from key combos and function keys and power key. Maybe just 10 extra buttons like on my Microsoft keyboard and Aluminum of course.

[daveg5]

I think for sure we will see the 20" right away.

Indeed given the new design specs being rumoured we could even see a 23" becayse the rumoured shape seems might like the current monitor range!
If they come out with a 23" Imac, they have got to let you use it in a display only mode with some type of switching modes mechanism, for when you outgrow the Imac and move to A G5 Dual. hopefully these new Imacs will have A DVI input and not just output to allow use with powerbooks and other cpus as displays.
And not to get greedy, possible opt. component-Svideo inputs for tv tuners, progressive scan DVD players to preview you IDVD Creation, digital cable and satelite and HDTVtuners, since most large HDplasma, LCD, and HDTV's out now dont even approach the 15.2 1280X854 Resolution specs.
JMT

[evoluzione]

so this is what i heard yesterday....

the case will be smaller (about half the size), and a cross between the current imac and the old cube, think a rounded corner cube.

the cd drive will be mounted horizontally, behind the screen (with no speed issues)

the screen will be available in 12" up to 30" (the casing fits an executive look, but is also cool for schools)

the color will be an off white, or a silver i think, and one or two others, weird ones like yellow or blue (sorry i cannot remember exactly) and there will be some holes like the G5.

the keyboard and mouse will be BT

and of course it will be a G5, liquid cooled of course.

[zelmo]

so this is what i heard yesterday....

the case will be smaller (about half the size), and a cross between the current imac and the old cube, think a rounded corner cube.

the cd drive will be mounted horizontally, behind the screen (with no speed issues)

the screen will be available in 12" up to 30" (the casing fits an executive look, but is also cool for schools)

the color will be an off white, or a silver i think, and one or two others, weird ones like yellow or blue (sorry i cannot remember exactly) and there will be some holes like the G5.

the keyboard and mouse will be BT

and of course it will be a G5, liquid cooled of course.

Hmm, I've got questions:
How could a base half the size of the current dome support the weight of a 30" display, much less have enough room to keep a G5 cool?

Screens from 12" to 30"? Seems far-fetched that either a 12 or a 30 would be on an iMac. Heck, I have a hard time believing it will go as large as 23.

Colors? With even three color themes, and then your six display sizes (12, 15, 17, 20, 23, 30), that's too many iterations to try and predict stock for.

BT keyboard and (mutli-button, scroll) mouse? I buy that.

Say, are you just pulling our legs?

[zelmo]

If the new case is VESA compliant, then you'll be able to mount the CPU/display (almost) however you want (stand, arm, wall), especially if the keyboard/mouse are BT. That really takes the ergonomic form factor to the next Ives-ian level, virtually removing the CPU from view. I really like that idea.
But...if there's already a VESA mount on the back, doesn't that pretty much kill the headless idea? I mean, then you'd need two VESA mounts on the darn thing, one on the back to mount the CPU and another on the front of the CPU to affix a display to. Besides, if there's a slot drive, wouldn't it logically be on the side, not the top? If that is also true, then putting a wider display on the front would make inserting a disc darned inconvenient, wouldn't it?