eMac product lifetime?

I doubt it. The emac is a LOT cheaper than a TFT screen imac will be until the price of flatscreens comes down. It's also a lot more rugged. Cheap and rugged - sounds perfect for education. I'd be amazed if Apple kill it off.

I guess the current eMac is the last revision and will be phased out within the next few months. The problem with this is, of course, that the rumoured price of that education only iMac is much higher than the eMac's current price. While the eMac with its CRT has certain adavantages for the education market, manufacturers will cease producing CRTs in the not too distant future.

If they do phase them out they will make an awesome machine for anyone to buy afterwards.

I work at my college in the computer labs. Currently half of our campus computers have flatscreen monitors. From my experience, the flatscreens are nicer, but people touch them and press on them, and they don't last as long. Women have these deathly fingernails that they will press onto the screen causing distortion... trying to express why they can't get some .net crappy app to compile. I think it would be unwise to get rid of a CRT educational model... they are alot more durable. That said, I think apple also needs to expand their desktop offerings. Currently, you've got the overpriced all-in-ones and the expensive (although not nessesarilly overpriced) powermacs. IMO there is a big hole right in the middle. You guessed it... the cube.

Anyway, i expect the eMac to evolve... not dissapear. Just because of its affordability (extremely rare in the apple world of computing) and its durability.

caveman_uk said:

I doubt it. The emac is a LOT cheaper than a TFT screen imac will be until the price of flatscreens comes down. It's also a lot more rugged. Cheap and rugged - sounds perfect for education. I'd be amazed if Apple kill it off.

Click to expand...

Rugged?

What are you doing with it, carrying it around?

vraxtus said:

Rugged?

What are you doing with it, carrying it around?

Click to expand...

I was referring to the durability of the CRT vs the TFT though I can see maybe I didn't use the right word

The eMac may enjoy "legacy" status quite soon, all depends on Apple's plans for the education market.

Right now the eMac @ $625 in packs of 8 is an attractive unit.

Anything more expensive -- even if it's faster -- starts to look like an advertisement for buying a Dell.

---

All depends on how quickly Apple can get the cost of the iMac G5 down to the old eMac price level.

May not be too quick at all, which is why we had the CRT iMac and eMac around for so long.

working at a middle school with over 600 macs total and around 60 emacs I can tell you they can take a beating. I had them fall off desks, used at step ladders and written all ove.r A bit graffiti remover and they are good as new.

I will bet my left testicle that the emac lasts another good year or two. In an elementary or middle school environment their is definitely a need for a computer whose screen will not break when a little finger presses too hard on it.

TFT's in an elementary school setting would be like putting a fine persian rug in a dog house instead of plywood.

I think the eMac has a long life ahead of it, despite Moto's failings in the past their parent chip company has some promising plans for the G4s future so we may see 1.5ghz eMacs and beyond.

flat screens for younger folk

RandomDeadHead said:

I will bet my left testicle that the emac lasts another good year or two. In an elementary or middle school environment their is definitely a need for a computer whose screen will not break when a little finger presses too hard on it.

TFT's in an elementary school setting would be like putting a fine persian rug in a dog house instead of plywood.

Click to expand...

In my local library they have flat screens in their children's section.

All they did is double tape a piece of plexi-glass over it.

Works....


I

vraxtus said:

Rugged?

What are you doing with it, carrying it around?

Click to expand...

you ever been in an elementary school classroom? the computer has to be rugged

jtgotsjets said:

you ever been in an elementary school classroom? the computer has to be rugged

Click to expand...

Yeah, I used to volunteer in one. They were using an LC.