$499 Headless iMac?

[Chip NoVaMac]

Serriously OT....

We should. People need to get some perspective. Sure people died in Florida and it was tragic... but what is happening in Asia is catostrophic. Up to 5 million people are in danger of dying and 114,000 are dead already. The US has NEVER suffered from anything remotely like this so we have a very skewed view of what a tragedy is in this country.

The issue is that the US has a greater ability to weather disasters both from a governmental and social means.

There is so much more I would like to say, but this discussion needs to be taken to the Political Forum.

 

[devwild]

I don't know. How important do you think that having firewire, USB, and headphone jacks of the front are? Do you think it would have speakers?

Firewire on the front is a must for the ipod. (I never use the dock). USB I use for my portable hard drive. A dedicated headphone jack has it's advantages for headphone fans and costs little in space or looks.

Speakers: God I hope not. Anyone who doesn't live alone should be forced to buy headphones or a decent set of speakers.

 

[cgc]

no way...has to be the 5200!

I was being sarcastic

 

[pcdoctor]

If Apple does come out with a headless iMac for $499 or less, it will be my first mac.
I'll be happy to buy one!
The $499 price is more like it!

 

[SeRgIo_42]

If Apple does come out with a headless iMac for $499 or less, it will be my first mac.
I'll be happy to buy one!
The $499 price is more like it!

You are not alone.

Even after all discussion about responsiveness pages ago...

 

[jcroft]

I agree, ive noticed the same thing. But i frankly dont care. I like osx and thats all there is to it. Thats just my standpoint as a consumer.

Me too. Not everyone agrees, though.

 

[macmax77]

One can pretty much see here that this argument will never going to end! So what we have now is:

'oh look at the cute mac how hard he/she is working! donot complain that he/she is lagging behind a bit.... it is the good intent that is important... on the other hand look at that sneaky bastard XP he is getting all help from intel and just getting the job done the easy way... Donot worry oh good mac, the evil XP is not going to get far by going through the short cuts and you shall prevail in the end!'

what we have here is:

you can read but not comprehend...

Do you know how much time you save when you don't have to be running all the spy,virus,defrag softare you need to keep Winblows running???

And the crashes and all, My God...

I was both a Winblows user and a Mac user and i will never come back to the windows side

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

My Dell comparison was only made because I could quickly go to the dell web site & get a current price of a pc that was around $500.00 dollars.

My brought up my pc because it is a IBM clone & it is the one I have experience with. Which you were bashing the quality of IBM clones pc which are not as bad as you say they are.

I think some of you guys are misunderstanding me & taking my comment personally. I do think apple is a good pc, they just don't market a pc to the masses well & I think the specs on this headless mac are kind of outdated. If they want to win people over from the windows family Apple should put in at least the slowest G5 processor, since they have marketed the processor so much lately. The fact that Apple dropped the G4 from the iMac line signals that the G4 is on the way out & people don’t want a PC with parts in it that are on the way out.

Does this make sense?

Something missing in the discussion is the "ease of use" factor. This new iMac mini is aimed at those that have either bought, heard, or experienced the ease of use of the iPod. At a price point that will make some say "why not try it?".

For many users like myself the G4 still has plenty of power. Apples mistake would be not to put in 7200rpm HDD's IMO. I love my PB 12" rev. B; but it lags behind the latest eMac that has a 7200rpm HDD upgrade. My other hope is that Apple is smart enough to put a graphics chip that will be compatible with Tiger.

IMO many of the sub $600 systems in the PC world are "yesterdays technology". Keep in mind that these new Imac mini's are meant to stepping stones for Apple to capture the consumer in to higher margin systems in the future.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

But, my point still remains: people will make buying decisions based on percieved speed. Until OS X is as snappy as Windows, some people will choose Windows. On the other hand, until Windows is as pretty as OS X, some people will choose OS X.

Thanks for manning up and admiting that the interface is slower...

I agree, with one caveat: Many Mac users are aware that Windows wins in the raw speed department, but prefer OS X for reasons other than pure performance (and I'm not talking about evangelists). Apple may make sales at the low end because Joe Newbie likes the elegant design of the machine, thinks OS X is prettier than Windows, likes the iApps, and it is something different from the usual eMachine.

It's hard to predict what the low end PC market's reaction will be. There will certainly be people who look at the Mac but go windows because of slower window/scrolling performance, but the public's awareness of Apple has grown raplidly of late, and current iPod owners might not find it too much of a stretch.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

I concur. Unfortantley, this usually isn't part of the demo the sales rep at Best Buy gives a potential PC buyer.

But the consumer experience is there already. It will be up to Apple to make the pitch they are a better choice at the new price level.

Sort of like MP3 players. Apple doesn't exist as far as Best Buy's yellow shirts are concerned. But the consumer has heard it loud and clear through other means.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

That's impossible. Doesn't exist

Knew that I could count on you to point out my mistake.

Was shooting from memory. For since I moved to the PB 12", my PC is sitting in a corner very lonely. Might just set it up for the Folding effort.

 

[AidenShaw]

$449 PC - 3GHz, 512MiB real DDR, 80GB, 533MHz bus

Compaq SR1220NX
3 PCI slots
DVD-ROM drive
CD-RW drive
5+1 Audio
Modem
9-in-1 media card reader
WinDVD
Photoshop Album SE
Works
Money

http://shop2.outpost.com/product/4200744

Not to flame, but the mini-mac doesn't seem to be that great a deal at $499....

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

I agree, with one caveat: Many Mac users are aware that Windows wins in the raw speed department, but prefer OS X for reasons other than pure performance (and I'm not talking about evangelists). Apple may make sales at the low end because Joe Newbie likes the elegant design of the machine, thinks OS X is prettier than Windows, likes the iApps, and it is something different from the usual eMachine.

It's hard to predict what the low end PC market's reaction will be. There will certainly be people who look at the Mac but go windows because of slower window/scrolling performance, but the public's awareness of Apple has grown raplidly of late, and current iPod owners might not find it too much of a stretch.

I just hope that this does not mean we see hackers and the such now taking target on OSX.

 

[ioinc]

Hi,

I think if a gamer is looking at a Mac then he/she would be best off staying with the PC, but for everything else I think the Mac is just fine.
s.

I wish that were true for me.
I can't use my mac for online chats in the application my school uses, or attach files to emails (thru the same app)

If you want to take internet classes at the school I go to, you need a pc.

 

[budugu]

what we have here is:

you can read but not comprehend...

Do you know how much time you save when you don't have to be running all the spy,virus,defrag softare you need to keep Winblows running???

And the crashes and all, My God...

I was both a Winblows user and a Mac user and i will never come back to the windows side

Dude i am also a sytem administrator of the visual psychophysics lab. we have from sun sparcs, SGI reality/octanes, Xeons(windows/linux), to G4 and brand spanking new G5s. So i know how much time i spend on manually checking (just in case) for viruses, spams etc is close to 10 mins a week. As long you have regular system updates running and can take a little care of your machine...every operating system works just fine.

but as some one said COMMON SENSE IS THE 'RAREST' SENSE.

 

[k2k koos]

new headless Mac...

At this pricepoint getting some well engineered and beautifully designed Mac machine is great, but I worry a little about the G4 processor. Not that it is a bad thing, it makes my Alu PB run pretty nice, but just looking at the competing Windows boxes, all with much higher speeds it is going to be tough terain. that is of course: UNLESS THE NEW DUAL CORE G4 processors are to debute in this thing, that might just shift the balance a bit.......

 

[CaptainCaveMann]

Opinion-People will generally not switch unless they have a reason to. Example: crashes,viruses,spyware,ad-ware. Its the classic if it aint broken dont fix it. I hate to say this, but most windows users who arent what you would call "computer savvy" are quite ignorant when it comes to technological change. The responses ive gotten from some late 30's-40's windows users when i said "im getting a mac" was,"big mistake" or something along those lines. So i followed with "why" and got nothing but blank stares. You see people who arent computer savvy get into a confort zone with their computer. Computers to them are scary because they dont understand them but they need it to do various tasks for them and in a way they rely on them. So they dont like change and that is Macs biggest obstacle. Its not design,its not cost,its not a fancy name. Its bridging the gap to a un-edjucated person whos afraid of change because in fact when it comes to technology they dont know whats good for them. Flame suit on take it as you will

 

[AnimeUnrivaled]

I built my pc from parts bought at newegg over three years ago & I have never had any issues with the parts. Am I missing something here?

P4 2.66, 1G RAM, ATI 9700 Pro Video Card, Intel MB

They're not talking about power users like you and me (also built my machine from parts bought at newegg). We can keep our machines running cleanly and smoothly with what seems like little hassle to us. It is the average user that everybody is talking about. These people have PCs that are absolutely adware, spyware, and/or virus infested.

 

[budugu]

Last century? Try last year. Ill bet last year you were praising the powerbook for its speed and power and this year your baggin on the ibook? Slugish compared to what? Keep in mind the 4200rpm hard drive the ibook has is definately gonna slow things but its a trade off. You get the slow hard drive for the really long battery life. Its a PORTABLE meant to be off the charger thats why you buy a laptop, not for its sheer desktop speed. Do not pick on the ibook because whatever you say about the ibook you are saying about the powerbook. The current ibook is as fast as last years 17inch powerbook. Im curious as to what model ibook you had and how much ram was installed

Look i had to get into macs because of some other lab had other equipment and custom software written for mac. This is about May of this year. So that was when i was exposed to macs. I am not saying powerbooks are good enough either! when compared to the P-Ms (unarguably best mobile processor..period.. just ask any one on any side of the OS divide) . I use powerbook because i need a machine where i can experiment stuff. If they had a port of OSX (like solaris) on X86 then i would not be using a powerbook!

I had a 1Ghz 12" ibook with 768MB ram.

 

[chubad]

I wonder is Apple is going to introduce a new display at MacWorld as well? It seems somewhat odd to have a $500 computer for sale and the cheapest display that they sell is $1,099.
If they don't have a new cheaper / smaller display, then I think that the retail stores would need to stock 1 or two third party displays. I realise that this Mini Mac is aimed at switchers who almost certainly have a monitor but many people will want to either replace their display or, if they are adding a second computer, purchase a display at the same time.

 

[CaptainCaveMann]

I wish that were true for me.
I can't use my mac for online chats in the application my school uses, or attach files to emails (thru the same app)

If you want to take internet classes at the school I go to, you need a pc.

Why would you need to take internet classes?

 

[jcroft]

I wonder is Apple is going to introduce a new display at MacWorld as well? It seems somewhat odd to have a $500 computer for sale and the cheapest display that they sell is $1,099.
If they don't have a new cheaper / smaller display, then I think that the retail stores would need to stock 1 or two third party displays. I realise that this Mini Mac is aimed at switchers who almost certainly have a monitor but many people will want to either replace their display or, if they are adding a second computer, purchase a display at the same time.

Agreed. If they're going to sell a headless budget Mac, they need to sell a budget monitor, too -- wheter it's their own or not.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

Compaq SR1220NX
3 PCI slots
DVD-ROM drive
CD-RW drive
5+1 Audio
Modem
9-in-1 media card reader
WinDVD
Photoshop Album SE
Works
Money

http://shop2.outpost.com/product/4200744

Not to flame, but the mini-mac doesn't seem to be that great a deal at $499....

No flame here, but that is one one ugly system IMO. Based on some of the abilities of this system, I can see how Apple might be able to improve on the design of iMac mini (if all the specs that we have seen are true):

- Built in card reader slot of some sort, even it were through and adapter

- 5+1 audio

The rest is not needed or included in the specs as we have been told. The key will be a cuteness factor for many consumers. Also if they buy into the idea that they need PCI slots for expansion. Sort of like those buying Hummers for off-road; but don't want their "toy" to get dirty.

What we may see is that Apple with the iMac mini may turn the computer into a true appliance. What is funny that after my new LCD monitor arrived for my PB"; I lamented that there wasn't a "Flat Mac" for the desktop. And behold, a couple weeks later there is this announcement (of sorts).

For my needs I would welcome an iMac mini and a new PB 12" with wireless FW, so that my PB could be wireless target disk. Now that would rock. But first Apple has to create the market, and this new computer will probably do that.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Compaq SR1220NX

specs yada yada...

Not to flame, but the mini-mac doesn't seem to be that great a deal at $499....

It's a case of content vesus form. I think that people who buy the new Mac will buy it because they like the form factor and want to try OS X; also I don't think that the new machine will be dog slow compared to this Compaq - although it will be slower, the perceived difference betweent the two may be small for many tasks.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

I wish that were true for me.
I can't use my mac for online chats in the application my school uses, or attach files to emails (thru the same app)

If you want to take internet classes at the school I go to, you need a pc.

Not wanting to start a flame war, but I question the motives behind some of the moves in edu software. In particular with the web based stuff. With Java in my limited experience there is little reason that stuff can not be made to work across platforms.

I am not a programmer, but I wonder why we have stuff being done in ActiveX verses Java. In my work I do ad layouts and need to access the tearsheets through the web. The site seems to be driven more by ActiveX than anything else. Requiring IE to do its job.