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$499 Headless iMac?
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corywoolf said:
You are joking, aren't you? I'm already pissed at this. When September 11th came by everybody stopped doing what they where doing, VIVA (the former German MTV) stopped broadcasting... and now 55,000 thousand are dead - more than 18 times the death toll of 9/11 - and what does everyone do? Celebrate Christmas and buy fireworks for New Year's Eve. And on TV they only talk about the tourists that died.
To get back on topic... That seems like a really sweet deal. I don't like the specs right now, because I kind of already have that computer (Powerbook), but I think if they keep that line up-to-date, I might just go grab some of those later on.
Now Apple, quickly... introduce a hip commercial that is no where near as edgy as it should be, that has no teeth, and run it in very limited markets for a very short duration.
Go! Quickly!
(oh, and make sure to tell those switchers that they're going to have to wait a fiscal quarter after introduction to actually receive their new computers.)
Go! Quickly!
(oh, and make sure to tell those switchers that they're going to have to wait a fiscal quarter after introduction to actually receive their new computers.)
$500 for a 2 years obsolete processor?
This is beyond lame. I love the concept. But a 1.25 Ghz G4 is simply far too slow, and is about 30% of the speed of a $500 PC. Can't they at least put in a 1.5 Ghz G4 or G5. I think of the 1.6Ghz G5 as a low end processor, just as it was 18 months ago when it came out. By the time this ships in volume, given Apple's record, the 1.6 G5 will be 2 years old so there is no reason it couldn't be in this machine.
This is beyond lame. I love the concept. But a 1.25 Ghz G4 is simply far too slow, and is about 30% of the speed of a $500 PC. Can't they at least put in a 1.5 Ghz G4 or G5. I think of the 1.6Ghz G5 as a low end processor, just as it was 18 months ago when it came out. By the time this ships in volume, given Apple's record, the 1.6 G5 will be 2 years old so there is no reason it couldn't be in this machine.
rog said:
Compared to my 700 Mhz. G4-equipped 9600? I liiiiiiiiiike it. It might not be for you rog... but if they build it I will buy. Comparing this to buying a used Quicksilver 733 Mhz. G4 and a $400+ processor upgrade to get remotely comparable... I'm all over this badboy. I hope Apple brings it... it'll sell like hotcakes.
Knowing Apple, they would never put a better CPU in that thing than what's in the iBook right now. This is Apple's way of differentiating their product lines. Therefore, this thing (if it survives that long) won't get a G5 until the iBook does.rog said:
cr2sh said:
A. Television advertising is the least profitable/effective form of advertising known to mankind.
B. If Apple didn't introduce this product at MWSF...but waited until it was ready to ship...everyone would whine about that too. Bottom line is that advanced introduction is good for Apple...to guage demand as then begin building them. (Why doesn't anyone get this?)
Missing features...
One thing Apple is certainly missing from its line that keeps us from buying 15 computers in the office is low end support for gigabit ethernet. For doing every day office work we don't need the processing power of a G5 and the office doesn't have the money to dump on a $1500 desktop that still needs a monitor and more RAM, yet that's Apple's cheapest offering if you're going to be moving large files over a network. Instead i'm dealing with the headache of an owner who buys $399 dells that can accept a pci gigabit upgrade. I suppose I could start cracking open cases and soldering gigabit into eMacs but I still think Apple's missing the boat here. Low end 1000 base-t workstations are important in offices that use Final Cut Pro.
One thing Apple is certainly missing from its line that keeps us from buying 15 computers in the office is low end support for gigabit ethernet. For doing every day office work we don't need the processing power of a G5 and the office doesn't have the money to dump on a $1500 desktop that still needs a monitor and more RAM, yet that's Apple's cheapest offering if you're going to be moving large files over a network. Instead i'm dealing with the headache of an owner who buys $399 dells that can accept a pci gigabit upgrade. I suppose I could start cracking open cases and soldering gigabit into eMacs but I still think Apple's missing the boat here. Low end 1000 base-t workstations are important in offices that use Final Cut Pro.
cr2sh said:
cr2wsh is dead on. Apple will put an ad in Newsweek and Time and expect the masses to start running. I always ask my Windows friends if they know about the latest Apple products and they always so NO.
Wait, that's not true. Around 2 months ago they started to learn more about this thing called an iPod.
AirUncleP said:
Most Windows users wouldn't care about what new Apple came out if it came up and bit them on their package. Many were even doomsday gloom bringers when the iPod came out, and the iPod has been a runaway hit since it happened. If it took them 'til 2 months ago to learn about it... they've obviously been under a rock. HP's (or as Scott McNealy of Sun refers to 'em "The best printer company on Earth") iPod ads have been going for at least that long.
Apple's have been going on for well over 2 years. WIRED magazine's been spewing about it forever and a day. I've seen it on CNN, CNN HN, CNBC, and most TV channels for that matter have had Apple's ads at one time or another. It's even in vogue on MTV. It's a cultural phenomenon, and Apple's only had to market a 1/4 of it... if that.I mean when you're in music videos on a pretty consistent basis? C'mon... I think Apple's iPod has been in more vids than J-Lo has in the past 2 years. Mind you... she sings! LoL
rog said:
30% the speed of a $500 PC? The $500 PCs I've seen all have 2.5GHz Celeron D processors and they certainly aren't noticeably faster than a 1.25GHz G4 Mac at all from my experience.
Face it, if this $499 headless Mac becomes a reality, it's not going to be a speed demon. But then again, the $499 Dell/HP/Compaq with a Celeron D and integrated graphics with shared memory is a total dog itself too.
iMac Mini gets my vote. That would be awesome. But it has to be done right. If it runs horribly, people would just go back to Windows. Plus... if you lay down 500 for a computer and another 500 for a flat screen monitor... why not just buy an iBook instead! Laptops are taking over the market. When you get up to $1,000 on a low-end computer, you start to lose.
However, the more the look and feel of the iPod, the media will be all over this and the vast majority of people will hear about it in weeks.
The supposed halo effect has already caused a climb in stocks for Apple, and when this thing rolls out... through. the. roof.
But it has to be good. I can look at $300 Windows machines on sale and automatically know that they're horrible.
In the end... we have to trust Apple.
However, the more the look and feel of the iPod, the media will be all over this and the vast majority of people will hear about it in weeks.
The supposed halo effect has already caused a climb in stocks for Apple, and when this thing rolls out... through. the. roof.
But it has to be good. I can look at $300 Windows machines on sale and automatically know that they're horrible.
In the end... we have to trust Apple.
ccuilla said:
The friends I speak of are 36 year old moms of three (both got pink iPods for X-mas( oopps, sorry, the holidays)), not 24 year old MTV addicted, p-diddy worshipping , techies. I will alter 2 months to 6 months though. And that is not crazy talk.
The point is Apples marketing to the masses needs help.
Appleinsider has more detailed info on this new computer. Under $600. Will hook up to any monitor or TV set. Was to have included a built-in iPod dock but this was scrapped.
http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=802
http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=802
patseguin said:
I've never used Quicken on anything but a Mac, so I have nothing to compare. I do remember that several years back Intuit stated that it would no longer do any updates for the Mac. Was just very pleased when they changed their mind. I'm extremely happy with its performance.
I have a G4 now, so don't really think that I would want to purchase another. My next will be a G5.
No matter how we may think that it is or isn't a media center mac, the fact of the matter is that it's damn near perfect positioning for such a thing.
1) right price - this is half of media center windows machines, and working into tivo range. Certainly, with the combo drive.
2) Airport express - look, speakers all over.
3) software - the list just goes on and on.
iTunes (home stereo now, with the airport express),
iTunes Store (buy your music right from your TV),
iTunes Movie store (remember that whole video thing? I smell direct home delivery of movies)
iPhoto (quickly imported from your new iPod Photo),
iMovie for quick edits,
iDVD... I know it said it didn't come with it, but I bet that's on the combo drive model.
4) bluetooth possibility - yes, it's not mentioned, but BT is cheap stuff to add which would work nicely if they included bluetooth on the..
5) iPhone - now you got a remote.
Of course, I agree, it needs more disk and more ram, but that's what upgrades are for. My money is also on them getting a license from tivo (it already does rendezvous) and getting channel guides, or running their own.
Even if it is not said to be such, I think it'll be an excellent choice for such a thing.
1) right price - this is half of media center windows machines, and working into tivo range. Certainly, with the combo drive.
2) Airport express - look, speakers all over.
3) software - the list just goes on and on.
iTunes (home stereo now, with the airport express),
iTunes Store (buy your music right from your TV),
iTunes Movie store (remember that whole video thing? I smell direct home delivery of movies)
iPhoto (quickly imported from your new iPod Photo),
iMovie for quick edits,
iDVD... I know it said it didn't come with it, but I bet that's on the combo drive model.
4) bluetooth possibility - yes, it's not mentioned, but BT is cheap stuff to add which would work nicely if they included bluetooth on the..
5) iPhone - now you got a remote.
Of course, I agree, it needs more disk and more ram, but that's what upgrades are for. My money is also on them getting a license from tivo (it already does rendezvous) and getting channel guides, or running their own.
Even if it is not said to be such, I think it'll be an excellent choice for such a thing.
I'm betting that they're going to call this the iMac Mini and make it avaliable in different colours of brushed aluminum. Not as positive about the brushed aluminum (even though it makes sense for size and heating issues) but I am almost positive now that they will be calling it the iMac Mini. You can just picture the advertisement. "From the people who brought you the iPod, the iPod mini and the iMac... give us money"
rog said:
Not that long ago, professionals were using that kind of processor to do 'real' work. It's more than enough power. Even a 400 Mhz G3 runs fine for people working with iMovie, iPhoto, Safari. Memory is really the key. It needs to be upgraded to 512 after purchase for some users.
Also I tried those so-called $500 PCs. They have Mhz but the true speed is fake! 30% of the speed in Mhz but I would guess it's twice the speed of a $500 PC. Most PC's are slooooow! They can't even run a PC version of Expose without serious screen refresh problems.