i dont know if anyone's mentioned it yet, but if this is true, im gonna rack mount that beotch. i was thinking about converting a g5 imac into a rack mounted box. (pretty easy actually) according to some of the layouts ive been working on. please let it be true, please let it be true
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
$499 Headless iMac?
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Apple would be so stupid to "NOT" make this machine!
it gives Apple a platform to sell to all the iPod users and Windows people that love the iPod and would love to see what else Apple has to offer. This maybe Apple's last stand to grow real market share on the computer front. Die hards and Graphic pro's will always go with Apple. But what they really need is to make something for the person who just wants to give the platform a try without feeling he is traped into an expensive machine. Given the spec's and price I would order one for my parents and one for my inlaws off the bat. To say the least the system would be a huge hit!!!
it gives Apple a platform to sell to all the iPod users and Windows people that love the iPod and would love to see what else Apple has to offer. This maybe Apple's last stand to grow real market share on the computer front. Die hards and Graphic pro's will always go with Apple. But what they really need is to make something for the person who just wants to give the platform a try without feeling he is traped into an expensive machine. Given the spec's and price I would order one for my parents and one for my inlaws off the bat. To say the least the system would be a huge hit!!!
otterpop said:
Actually the more I think about it the words "In car computer" comes to mind. Slap that sucker under the seat...line out to the LCD I have...line in on my stereo system. External 802.11B/G antenna on the top of the car so I can simply pull over and pick up my mail when I find an open access point. Hmmm. The possibilities.
What about one of these new computers with no optical drive for education (sorry if someone has already said this- i haven't read all the posts) \
Also i think apple definatly needs to have a 15" Wide and/or 17" Widescreen monitors available with these computers costing $300 for the 15"W and $400 for the 17"W. As maya seems to always state apple uses the same LCDs in different machine (i.e. 12" ibook & powerbook have the same LCD). Even $300-$400 for an LCD seems very pricey when for <$600 you can get a whole computer.
Could this be the next version of the eMac? Why is this called an headless iMac? What about an e_____ or a power_____ or a powermac.
I think selling a $499 is a great idea.
(perfect pricepoint- $499 seems much cheaper than $599)
This computer is perfect for people looking to buy a new computer (mac or windows). The price will attract the mac buyers and the design (most likely considering its an apple) and price will attract PC users. You can buy a PC for $499 so apple really needs to compete. This could make more people switch. For the average user, they probably won't need the power of a dual processor G5.
Assuming this computer is made it is funny that it the computer and an iPod Photo will cost about the same price.
Also i think apple definatly needs to have a 15" Wide and/or 17" Widescreen monitors available with these computers costing $300 for the 15"W and $400 for the 17"W. As maya seems to always state apple uses the same LCDs in different machine (i.e. 12" ibook & powerbook have the same LCD). Even $300-$400 for an LCD seems very pricey when for <$600 you can get a whole computer.
Could this be the next version of the eMac? Why is this called an headless iMac? What about an e_____ or a power_____ or a powermac.
I think selling a $499 is a great idea.
(perfect pricepoint- $499 seems much cheaper than $599)
This computer is perfect for people looking to buy a new computer (mac or windows). The price will attract the mac buyers and the design (most likely considering its an apple) and price will attract PC users. You can buy a PC for $499 so apple really needs to compete. This could make more people switch. For the average user, they probably won't need the power of a dual processor G5.
Assuming this computer is made it is funny that it the computer and an iPod Photo will cost about the same price.
hmmmm.....iPod vs New Computer
SiliconAddict said:Actually the more I think about it the words "In car computer" comes to mind. Slap that sucker under the seat...line out to the LCD I have...line in on my stereo system. External 802.11B/G antenna on the top of the car so I can simply pull over and pick up my mail when I find an open access point. Hmmm. The possibilities.
WiFi Stealing???
budugu said:
His subjective argument, in fact, is the only one that actually *does* matter since almost no average user gives a rat's heiney about how fast this machine will play Quake or UT. And processor speed tests? They barely even matter to hardcore users anymore.
I work in a mixed-platform environment and here is another subjective opinion to drive you nuts. We have Dell boxes with 2 ghz chips and eMacs with 700 mhz chips?
How many complaints have I had about the speed of the eMacs? Come on. I'll bet you can guess. It rhymes with hero.
that should work too~~Rootman said:
i can just imagine building a my own 'bigMac Mini' with cluster of
255 of mini Macs crunching data for SETI@home and become a
numero uno contributer amongst all PCs~
To Quote Robin Williams...
To quote Robin Williams from the movie "Awakenings":
"I would agree with you if you were right."
Of course, Apple should do a good campaign. That goes without saying. But its the "Apple" brand and logo that are on the lists I mentioned. So, I don't think its a iPod phenonmemon alone.
But I certainly agree that Apple should let go of some serious cash to push this product if it actually comes to pass.
SiliconAddict said:
To quote Robin Williams from the movie "Awakenings":
"I would agree with you if you were right."
Of course, Apple should do a good campaign. That goes without saying. But its the "Apple" brand and logo that are on the lists I mentioned. So, I don't think its a iPod phenonmemon alone.
But I certainly agree that Apple should let go of some serious cash to push this product if it actually comes to pass.
The only way this works for switchers is to include either/both:
1) an a/b monitor switch so they can use an existing monitor
(either CRT or LCD), perhaps one they got with another low $
computer purchase
2) software to make that new monitor behave up to apple specs
ex.: dad purchases low grade dell for himself to play doom or run
quicken or whatever. kids want a mac, he gets this unit and
kvm's (without the k or m) into the existing monitor until he
can nut up and buy another display
1) an a/b monitor switch so they can use an existing monitor
(either CRT or LCD), perhaps one they got with another low $
computer purchase
2) software to make that new monitor behave up to apple specs
ex.: dad purchases low grade dell for himself to play doom or run
quicken or whatever. kids want a mac, he gets this unit and
kvm's (without the k or m) into the existing monitor until he
can nut up and buy another display
SiliconAddict said:Actually the more I think about it the words "In car computer" comes to mind. Slap that sucker under the seat...line out to the LCD I have...line in on my stereo system. External 802.11B/G antenna on the top of the car so I can simply pull over and pick up my mail when I find an open access point. Hmmm. The possibilities.
Funny you should say that, I was off looking at SFF based plans, wondering how sturdy these would be. Not for mail or internet, just for homebrew GPS navigation and mp3/video serving.
Relative of the G4 Cube?
Remember the G4 Cube introduced in about 2000? Well I happen to own a G4 Cube and love it! The problem with it was that it was too expensive for the average user and not expandable enough for the high end user. Thus the G4 Cube's days were ended.
I think this headless Imac is exactly the same thing as the Cube... I just hope apple plays its cards right and makes it a decent price.
P.S. Put the power supply in the same box as the computer! The Cube has an external power supply and thats probably the number one thing that I dislike about it.
Remember the G4 Cube introduced in about 2000? Well I happen to own a G4 Cube and love it! The problem with it was that it was too expensive for the average user and not expandable enough for the high end user. Thus the G4 Cube's days were ended.
I think this headless Imac is exactly the same thing as the Cube... I just hope apple plays its cards right and makes it a decent price.
P.S. Put the power supply in the same box as the computer! The Cube has an external power supply and thats probably the number one thing that I dislike about it.
Living room computer - reloaded
I think one reason that this could be a real success in the living room is the large number of LCD TVs out there. At least some can accept DVI and VGA inputs, so you could have a better resolution than in the old days with CRT TVs. Also, with the VESA mounts, LCD TVs can be more flexible, moving from football game mode to web surfing mode pretty easily.
I think one reason that this could be a real success in the living room is the large number of LCD TVs out there. At least some can accept DVI and VGA inputs, so you could have a better resolution than in the old days with CRT TVs. Also, with the VESA mounts, LCD TVs can be more flexible, moving from football game mode to web surfing mode pretty easily.
johnny1290 said:
Add Dell onto that list. Even though it is a desktop, they purposefully designed the case so it cannot be expanded by much. The case was designed so the optical drives cannot be removed. Only one hard drive can be installed. No floppy drive. No AGP port. No firewire. Only two open RAM slots. A few PCI ports do allow for a little expandability, but that would be more to put in quality hardware to replace the on-board junk.
Then again, for $500, you get what you pay for. So if people are going to complain that a consumer level Apple machine isn't very expandable, well, for many people, they have little intentions on upgrading their machine, much less installing their own hardware.
cschilderink said:
NO. They did that to keep the size and the heat down.
Let that power converter passively radiate down at your feet, maybe even warm your toes in the winter. Don't put it in the box, where you need a fan to blow the heat out. Especially if you have a cat who owns the rest of the house but likes to climb on the warm thingy in the stupid human's room.
artifex said:Solitaire is so 80's. What we need is Texas Hold 'Em!
That is actually an interesting idea! If Ambrosia, Pangea, or any of those other small Mac game developers made a quality version of Texas Hold 'Em, I bet Apple would be open to installing them on all of their Macs.
Haven't read the whole thread...
I only flipped through a few pages of this thread, but in case nobody else has said it:
EXTERNAL POWER BRICK!!?!
Why oh why would Apple do this? Make the case 20 cubic inches larger, turn up the fan, and just put the power supply in the case. This kind of thing irks me. It's going to look terrible and people will feel deceived when they see the cute little iMac mini on the commercial and then pull a big ugly brick out.
Unless its like the power supply for the iPod, only larger..Then it could work. hmmmm.
I only flipped through a few pages of this thread, but in case nobody else has said it:
EXTERNAL POWER BRICK!!?!
Why oh why would Apple do this? Make the case 20 cubic inches larger, turn up the fan, and just put the power supply in the case. This kind of thing irks me. It's going to look terrible and people will feel deceived when they see the cute little iMac mini on the commercial and then pull a big ugly brick out.
Unless its like the power supply for the iPod, only larger..Then it could work. hmmmm.
mhouse said:
I play UT all day long at work on a 700 MHz eMac, and it does OK (or at least I'm used to the frame rate - I do die a lot, though). Hate the fan. This new box should do much better. Love it if it has an graphics slot, though. Everybody in the world has an old display lying around. K-12 schools have millions of them. And look at all the plasma and LCD TV's everybody got for Christmas. They were like the number two gift (after iPods). This headless notebook will be a winner. It's an accessory. Imagine it with a wireless keyboard and a wall-mounted plasma TV. Look for Sonnet and friends to provide power boosts as they always have, even for unexpandable Macs. I'll carry mine around in my backpack and plug into CRTs wherever I am. If it has a wall wart I'll power it with a battery pack. I'll glue a pad of paper to it and have the first practical tablet computer.
When I first heard about this I was glad because I could buy one to use it as a way to view mac content on a tv without having to connect my main computer to it. But that was when it was rumored to be under $500. Apple should forget about attracting the PC users and just make an amazing product for the mac users like the iPod was. If its insanely grate people will buy it. If they are going to give us an underpowered system then make it something other than a computer, make it a video player that can run mac programs. Because if you think a PC user is going to be impressed with a G4 at that speed when the computer he is replacing is probably faster it will just end up giving apple a bad name. I think if they market it as something other than a PC replacement they should do well with it. Just as long as the people buying them don't have their hopes up.
Oh my gosh!
Oh my gosh! This sounds amazing!
I'm a PC/Windows XP user. I really like Macs, but can't get them because of the outrages prices. This would be perfect! If this rumor is correct, I could get a Mac!
I think they should make smaller, cheaper displays as well. A 2 foot, 1,000 dollar display is a little extreme, don't you think?
Oh my gosh! This sounds amazing!
I'm a PC/Windows XP user. I really like Macs, but can't get them because of the outrages prices. This would be perfect! If this rumor is correct, I could get a Mac!
I think they should make smaller, cheaper displays as well. A 2 foot, 1,000 dollar display is a little extreme, don't you think?
savar said:
apple will do it cause their smart. i would much rather have a smaller/quieter computer and have the brick on the floor behind my desk. why would i care if the brick is inside? im never going to see it.
i really dont get your point except that its your opinion and thats cool, im just glad your not designing at apple