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$499 Headless iMac?

the Mac

macrobay said:
i said it before, but to get back on topic, i'll say it again...

i think it should be called, simply: macintosh

it would be perfect...simple, elegant, and nostalgic. As long as the case matches the beauty of the proposed name, of course.
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I'm with you on this, iMac mini sounds too much like a toy, not the best impression of a capable yet small Computer.
It's not an eMac (CRT)
It's not an iMac (AIO)
What could be more basic for a basic box than... the Mac. :)
 
macrobay said:
Then explain why one can open the My Computer window, type a dot-com into the location bar, and surf the web. It's integrated with IE...the same friggin' thing.
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Well don't do that. That ain't natural behavior. Now go along and play nice, and don't let me catch you doing that again, ever.
 
h00ligan said:
userbase also matters.. and as far i think you also meant incompetant.. not incompliant.. which makes me wonder how old you are / the validity of your claims.
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Maybe he's wondering how old you are since you don't know how to spell "incompetent". :p :cool:
 
Rootman said:
Well don't do that. That ain't natural behavior. Now go along and play nice, and don't let me catch you doing that again, ever.
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:( Yes sir, sorry sir. Won't happen again, honest!
 
Not quite...

SiliconAddict said:
Neither does a Windows user who uses FireFox. As long as you don't use IE ad/spyware isn't an issue.
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I remove spyware/adware as a job at my university, and let me tell you that Firefox is the best thing since sliced bread - I recommend it to all of my clients. IE for Windows has holes all over the place, as I'm sure you'll all agree. Problem is, it doesn't fix everything. In fact, quite a good deal of spyware problems (at least with my clients) actually result from freeware/shareware apps that bundle them. P2P apps, downloaded games, random useless utilities, etc. love to include this and that, often without the consent of the user installing them. So, while Firefox keeps a lot of adware/spyware off of the system, the only way not to have ANY issue with such apps is to be careful what you're installing as well.

Plus, it's wise to run Spybot and Adaware regularly to make sure your system is clean.
 
Resurrecting the DVR issue (better than rehashing OS X vs. WinXP)

I'm really excited about the headless iMac. However, I only made it through the first 15 pages of this thread before my eyes glazed over. I do think that the hiMac is at least a first step towards getting a Mac hooked up to one's home theater system.

Many of these issues have been brought up before, primarily by AdamZ, who was the first one to post this idea, but here's my take:

- Spec wise, at least, the headless iMac won't be making any gamers get their palms all sweaty, but it should be more than enough computing power to run as a media server/DVR.

- It should be relatively trivial to hook up a VGA/DVI input to a HDTV

- There is a lack of a DVD burner, but the vast majority of Tivo owners don't use their units to burn DVD's.

- I don't think this has been pointed out before: FORM FACTOR!!! This is supposed to be about the size of an Xserve, which is 1.73" H x 17.6" W x 28" D. I doubt that this will need to be 28" deep, but I just went to my TV and found that my Sony DVD player is 17" W x 1.5" H. The hiMac is way too close to the size of standard audio/video equipment for DVR/media center not to be a potential use for the hiMac.

- I had to get this in because I like using Linux if I'm stuck with a PC: This would be the perfect toy for Gentoo users to get Linux running on PPC platforms.
 
BillHarrison said:
Come on guys, this thread has really gone downhill, and is completely off topic. This is about a $499 entry level mac for the masses, lets discuss that, not how well your IT department keeps up your office!
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This thread may have started out ostensibly as a forum on a $499 entry level Mac, but if you had been paying attention, you would have realized that it is now a thread about how our IT departments are run. Please try to stay with the group.
 
I can not believe you people have nothing better to do than hang on to some rumor that may not even be true about a less than par headless iMac. I have an iMac G4 flat screen and gave it to my 8 year old daughter and baught a Powermac G5 and can't believe everyone is so exited about a 2 year old machine that will be out dated before it comes out. Don't get me wrong I love Apple and everything they come out with, but lets moooove on to the next, BETTER rumor!
 
izzle22 said:
I can not believe you people have nothing better to do than hang on to some rumor that may not even be true about a less than par headless iMac. I have an iMac G4 flat screen and gave it to my 8 year old daughter and baught a Powermac G5 and can't believe everyone is so exited about a 2 year old machine that will be out dated before it comes out. Don't get me wrong I love Apple and everything they come out with, but lets moooove on to the next, BETTER rumor!
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ugh... Listen, people aren't impressed with the size or the speed, their impressed with the price. 500 friggin' bucks. And for a 1.25GHZ G4, a good amount of RAM, and 80 gigs, $500 is well worth it, and enough to make Windows users switch.

So whether you're impressed with the price, the size, the idea of more Apple market share, or the skyrocketing stock price, it's okay for everyone here to flip out over a rumor. And also, it's ThinkSecret we're talking about here! When are they ever wrong???
 
macrobay said:
ugh... Listen, people aren't impressed with the size or the speed, their impressed with the price. 500 friggin' bucks. And for a 1.25GHZ G4, a good amount of RAM, and 80 gigs, $500 is well worth it, and enough to make Windows users switch.

So whether you're impressed with the price, the size, the idea of more Apple market share, or the skyrocketing stock price, it's okay for everyone here to flip out over a rumor. And also, it's ThinkSecret we're talking about here! When are they ever wrong???
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UUUURRRRGG Apple will NEVER come out with a computer For 500 or less so get over it and quit Dreaming!!!
 
izzle22 said:
UUUURRRRGG Apple will NEVER come out with a computer For 500 or less so get over it and quit Dreaming!!!
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Hmm... either you just dropped over a thousand dollars for an iBook with similar specs, you stupidy bought an eMac, or you just have a problem with glass half full stuff.

Based on the fact that the rumor comes only 13 days before MWSF, and it's from ThinkSecret, and it seems completely sane and good for Apple to do, I'd bet my money on this rumor being a true one.
 
izzle22 said:
UUUURRRRGG Apple will NEVER come out with a computer For 500 or less so get over it and quit Dreaming!!!
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I paid $500 for a replacement floppy drive for a Mac Plus once.
 
Karma

Rootman said:
Were you bad in a previous life?
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Heh, I hope not.
As unpleasant as it sounds, though, working at campus ITS pays well - plus it's not too demanding, time-wise.
I also deal with networking issues and backup, so it's not just spyware/adware/viruses, even though that's become the majority of what we do.
 
As this thread rockets its way toward 1000 posts, I think it should be obvious to all by now that the new computer is a big deal, like it or not. :D
 
Rootman said:
I paid $500 for a replacement floppy drive for a Mac Plus once.
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I paid $1,700 (1978 dollars-- about double that now) for a 8K RAM Apple ][
(no display, no floppy disk, no hard disk).

And, I had to wait 4 weeks for delivery!

Bets purchase I ever made!
 
Lets just see how many people come back after all the shattered dreams, crying saying they were wrong. Look it's a nice thought and it would help Apple's market share....But it's just not in the cards. Shoot I'll buy one just for fun if it happens and suck it up and say I was wrong, but that's not going to happen either!
 
izzle22 said:
Lets just see how many people come back after all the shattered dreams, crying saying they were wrong. Look it's a nice thought and it would help Apple's market share....But it's just not in the cards. Shoot I'll buy one just for fun if it happens and suck it up and say I was wrong, but that's not going to happen either!
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You don't think is going to happen because of the price or the configuration?
 
B_Gates said:
You don't think is going to happen because of the price or the configuration?
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Price. Apple can never make enough off a computer like this. Just think about the iPod. I just paid $600 for an iPod Photo. Do you really thik they will sell a comp. for less than that?
 
izzle22 said:
Price. Apple can never make enough of a compuer like this. Just think about the iPod. I just paid $600 for an iPod Photo. Do you really thik they will sell a comp. for less than that?
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What's really the difference between an iPod and a computer, when you think about it? In some ways, this headless computer could be cheaper to build. And profit margins for notebooks and PDAs were always MUCH MUCH better than desktop computers, as Jobs has said many times.
 
I've been reading some discussions around the web about this, and I keep seeing people say that Apple shouldn't do this because "they just can't compete with Dell on pricing". Well, I went on over to Dell's site and priced out the cheapest PC I could find and yet still have similar features that the suggested headless-iMac is supposed to have. Here's what I came up with:

Dell Dimension 3000
Intel Celeron D processor 320 (2.4 Ghz)
XP Home
Integrated Intel Extreme Graphics
256 Megs RAM
40 Gig Hard Drive
CDRW-DVD Combo Drive
Word Perfect Office 12 (MS Office Compatible-similar to Appleworks)
Integrated Audio
Firewire Card
Keyboard and Optical Mouse
Dell A215 Speakers (I'm assuming the new Mac will come with speakers or include and internal one at the very least.)
No Monitor included

That comes to $565. Then you tack on the $99 shipping fee for a grand total of $664. Keep in mind that shipping from the Apple Store is free.

Now, no one knows for sure if the rumor and the pricing for that matter is accurate, but even if it's close I think you can see that Apple is suddenly a much more attractive option to those who bargain basement hunt.
 
unclepain said:
I've been reading some discussions around the web about this, and I keep seeing people say that Apple shouldn't do this because "they just can't compete with Dell on pricing". Well, I went on over to Dell's site and priced out the cheapest PC I could find and yet still have similar features that the suggested headless-iMac is supposed to have. Here's what I came up with:

Dell Dimension 3000
Intel Celeron D processor 320 (2.4 Ghz)
XP Home
Integrated Intel Extreme Graphics
256 Megs RAM
40 Gig Hard Drive
CDRW-DVD Combo Drive
Word Perfect Office 12 (MS Office Compatible-similar to Appleworks)
Integrated Audio
Firewire Card
Keyboard and Optical Mouse
Dell A215 Speakers (I'm assuming the new Mac will come with speakers or include and internal one at the very least.)
No Monitor included

That comes to $565. Then you tack on the $99 shipping fee for a grand total of $664. Keep in mind that shipping from the Apple Store is free.

Now, no one knows for sure if the rumor and the pricing for that matter is accurate, but even if it's close I think you can see that Apple is suddenly a much more attractive option to those who bargain basement hunt.
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Interesting.

A lot of Dell's super-cheap buys are on specials that might not be going on right now. But still, this does go to show that if Apple could put out the speculated headless iMac for around $500, they would definitely be competitive.
 
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