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$499 Headless iMac?
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ncbill said:
I don't think so. The components in an iBook is expensive because they are to be small and require less power. Why would Apple want to up the cost of the new iMac just of lazyness. As said in the article, designing a bare-bones PC is not at all rocket science.
Geez, it has nothing to do with "lazyness" s/b/ laziness (use spell check or are you lazy?) The only things in the iBook that are "smaller" are the hard-drive, keyboard and power supply. Everything else is basically standard issue.
Apple really can't come out with a "cheap" screen. They have to buy from an OEM and the quantities they order are no way in the range of a Dell or even HP. And, they won't ever come out with a second-rate LCD anyway. Anyway, it's the CPU that is the money-maker, not the display screen. Costs will stay down because they will be made at the same locations the iBooks are made. Component prices are at a all time low (except memory chips which go up and down). And Moto...er, Freescale will gladly supply lots of new G4 chips at a good price.
This is going to be hailed by Wall Street and the analysts at the January 12 conference call. Look for Apple shares to go up to the low 70s next week in anticipation.
One other thing. It's possible Apple won't introduce the iPod Flash at MWSF. I can see a special event in February. But if they do at MW, we'll be seeing at least 3 new hardware products methinks:
Headless iMac
Flash iPod
Asteroid
Apple really can't come out with a "cheap" screen. They have to buy from an OEM and the quantities they order are no way in the range of a Dell or even HP. And, they won't ever come out with a second-rate LCD anyway. Anyway, it's the CPU that is the money-maker, not the display screen. Costs will stay down because they will be made at the same locations the iBooks are made. Component prices are at a all time low (except memory chips which go up and down). And Moto...er, Freescale will gladly supply lots of new G4 chips at a good price.
This is going to be hailed by Wall Street and the analysts at the January 12 conference call. Look for Apple shares to go up to the low 70s next week in anticipation.
One other thing. It's possible Apple won't introduce the iPod Flash at MWSF. I can see a special event in February. But if they do at MW, we'll be seeing at least 3 new hardware products methinks:
Headless iMac
Flash iPod
Asteroid
I wish they'd just reintroduce the old iMac G4
I really wish Apple would just reintroduce the old iMac G4 LCD sans monitor.
The dome was attractive and would be even more so in an aluminum enclosure. Have a VESA mount to mount a 17", 20", or 23" display (sold seperately) or just have it next to it.
This would look VERY futuristic and be quite useful.
For all - this won't appeal too much to anyone on the PC side unless it has 64MB of video minimum. I just hope it's an ATI chipset.
I just hope this isn't an ugly slab like the LCIII's.
From the description, this sounds like an iBook without the LCD in a little bit more rigid case and an integrated power supply ... kinda blah.
Two domes on a desktop would definitely appeal to the male psyche.
I really wish Apple would just reintroduce the old iMac G4 LCD sans monitor.
The dome was attractive and would be even more so in an aluminum enclosure. Have a VESA mount to mount a 17", 20", or 23" display (sold seperately) or just have it next to it.
This would look VERY futuristic and be quite useful.
For all - this won't appeal too much to anyone on the PC side unless it has 64MB of video minimum. I just hope it's an ATI chipset.
I just hope this isn't an ugly slab like the LCIII's.
From the description, this sounds like an iBook without the LCD in a little bit more rigid case and an integrated power supply ... kinda blah.
Two domes on a desktop would definitely appeal to the male psyche.
Poff said:
No no no, all wrong! First of all, an Ibook is only 999$ on apples site, currently ONE of the least expensive brand new macs you can lay your hands on. So I do not see where you get the idea that "Ibook" components are expensive. Yes, some are, but those that are are the "laptop" components. LCD, Trackpad, 2.5" hd, battery pack, etc, all of which go byebye in this "New" machine.
Not to mention, the R&D is already done: Boards are in production, schematics laid out, bugs worked out, so on and so on! May it be a variation on this board, or an exact copy? Perhaps, maybe not! I can't say for sure. But it really does make sense on SEVERAL levels to do it this way. The actual logic board on an Ibook I would guess costs little or no more to make than the logic board on anything else.
Bill
Preapring a tax writeoff
They can take a tax writeoff for the downtime on the front page, the minimalist time to create it, etc etc and for the contributions to charity if they do some sort of matching.
I imagine they will need it after the January Quarter is over - it's looking like Apple may report their best sales ever.
That said - Apple has always been awesome when it comes to issues of the heart.
Let me just say, that 60,000+ lives is no where NEAR 100 lives and 20 Billion in florida damage. While my comment may seem insincere - I think yours took the cake.
;-)
corywoolf said:they didn't do that when florida was hit...
cool imac idea though....
i would be very suprised.
maybe sugar is a codename for the box. it sounds more like an entertainment device to me... maybe the missing link with airport express, it could hook up to your TV or something?
They can take a tax writeoff for the downtime on the front page, the minimalist time to create it, etc etc and for the contributions to charity if they do some sort of matching.
I imagine they will need it after the January Quarter is over - it's looking like Apple may report their best sales ever.
That said - Apple has always been awesome when it comes to issues of the heart.
Let me just say, that 60,000+ lives is no where NEAR 100 lives and 20 Billion in florida damage. While my comment may seem insincere - I think yours took the cake.
;-)
The PC crowd is not interested in design per se as much as cost. A dome is out of the question.... much harder to manufacture then a "slab". Anyway, the Dome iMac - I have one, was not really a barn burner. Many people just didn't like the way it looked.
Apple will be on the right track with a simple, attractive CPU at a low price point. Heck, Dell sells zillions of ugly CPUs every month. The market doesn't care. Apple knows that.
This will enable Apple to really "sell" the OS and iApps as well. A completely new ad campaign stressing ease of use would be a welcome change.
Apple will be on the right track with a simple, attractive CPU at a low price point. Heck, Dell sells zillions of ugly CPUs every month. The market doesn't care. Apple knows that.
This will enable Apple to really "sell" the OS and iApps as well. A completely new ad campaign stressing ease of use would be a welcome change.
adzoox said:
Most people on the PC-side don't even know what video memory is. Most computer users use their computers to write an assignment or a little letter in Word, surf the internet or check their weekly schedule on it's learning or some other university web-service.
Of all my friends, I can only think of 5 or 6 who would think about vid ram, all the others I know wouldn't know the difference between that and a hdd.
Holy smokes this is awsome if true. My girlfriend has been wanting a Mac for a long time. She keeps hogging my iBook. Now I can get her one all to herself.This is assuming that DVI and VGA output will be standard, so she can use her existing monitor.
Go Apple!!!
Go Apple!!!
I hate to break it to you, but none of this is going to happen.adzoox said:
Re-introduction of iMac G4 form-factor? No way.
64 MB of VRAM? Unlikely, since this is probably an iBook derivative - 32 MB of VRAM seems highly likely.
ATI chipset? Also unlikely. After all, nVidia's cards are actually better at OpenGL than ATI's, and we all know that OpenGL is all that Macs use (no DirectX).
To me, it sounds like a computer-in-a-box: an iBook converted to a desktop form factor combined with some features from other Apple lines.
Two domes on a desktop? Are you out of your mind? Apple isn't THAT stupid to ignore their female customers.
BillHarrison said:
Guess I didn't think about swapping all the other components. I guess a low-power processor doesn't cost that much more than an ordinary one. At least since they woulnd't have to buy two different procs, but could buy one large quantity of one single proc.
So in short, I was wrong.
Poff said:Guess I didn't think about swapping all the other components. I guess a low-power processor doesn't cost that much more than an ordinary one. At least since they woulnd't have to buy two different procs, but could buy one large quantity of one single proc.
So in short, I was wrong.
Exactly, and the same point on the logic board components, since they are not buying "New Minimac" specific components, they can get even cheaper "Ibook" parts. My guess is that this machine will run neck and neck with the ibooks on upgrades etc. What ya see in an Ibook, you will find in the "MiniMac"
It really puts Apple in the market BIGTIME, and here is a mac I can truly recommend to my current "PC" using friends when upgrade time comes. Plenty powerful enough for most peoples day to day use, and a great market share creator!
Very cool if true. Whine at will about the RAM, GPU, hard drive, BT, FW800, et al, but I'm still using my original iMac G4 800 with a 60GB hdd and 512MB RAM. It does everything I need, and really only squeals loud at me when I play too much with iDVD or Garageband. This is the kind of entry level headless cheap Mac switchers will buy. With Safari, Apple Works and (a stripped down) iLife, it has most of the software people will really need, except for Keynote (unless Apple puts Keynote 2 in the all new iWork office suite!).
Now, if they drop the price of the 20" Cinema Display to a more competitive $799, or at least offer a 17" version for about $499...
Go, Apple!
Now, if they drop the price of the 20" Cinema Display to a more competitive $799, or at least offer a 17" version for about $499...
Go, Apple!
powermac said:
!!!
that would be great! Apple always seems to be way ahead of the customers, but dropping 17" when people still buy 15"ers is a little extreme imo.
A 17" lcd might just be cheap enough for people to get it. All together it would cost almost the same as a 17" G5 iMac, but when you needed a new computer, you would get to keep the old screen.
Poff said:
The only reason one took more of a power draw was it was more inefficient. There has been times when the more efficient processor was also significantly faster too. Usually getting less heat/power draw is usually achieved through a smaller die size and/or less transistors via processor revisions; which also can be less costly to produce assuming you get decent yields. The G4's (both low power and higher power) has been out on the market for so long that if Freescale isn't getting these things out of the factory like clockwork the company should be in total shambles. LoL Not that they're not in a curious position with regards to the future roadmap for the desktop market. If that's even a consideration.
Now if they announce the above-rumored machine with the new dual core chipset that Freescale's reportedly working on... well... it could be more costly. I just HIGHLY doubt we'll see that in this level of a machine/pricepoint. Maybe as an interim for the Powerbooks and maybe as an eMac upgrade based off of the Powerbook boards. That'd create a bit of breathing room between the eMac and iMac and also between the Powerbook and iBook until Apple can stuff faster G5's in the desktops and iMac, get cooler G5's for the Powerbook, and then trickle them to the new eMacs too... assuming the eMac sticks around if the above rumored headless unit holds true. After all, the iMac G5 is sold in an education-based configuration without an optical drive if I recall, correct? There's very little market for this in the consumer sector... but the consumer sector could do very well with a low-cost headless desktop, i.e. similar to the old Mac LC. Perhaps called the iMac LC to play off two of the most successful desktop platforms in Apple's history?
So in short, I was wrong.
We all make mistakes.
S'all good. I'm not perfect either. Part of being human.
To me it's obvious why iDVD was stripped - it's of little use on a computer that lacks a SuperDrive.powermac666 said:
A Dell enthusiast
What?
I guess a few of us here are use to carry 10 lbs Dell bricks around with them.
-chome
Chip NoVaMac said:
What?
I guess a few of us here are use to carry 10 lbs Dell bricks around with them.
-chome
WOW, i think this is where they should change their webpage to "Hell has froze over" a mac for 500 is sweet.
Most people **me included** don't need a dual G5 with 4G of ram.
Most people **me included** don't need a dual G5 with 4G of ram.
Chomolungma said:What?
I guess a few of us here are use to carry 10 lbs Dell bricks around with them.
-chome
Who needs Tony Little, eh?
You're probably more bulked up than the Governor of California? Better Body Basics... by Michael Dell.
IVIIVI4ck3y27 said:I think he understood that.
Yup, I did. I also agree with Apple on the decision. Most "normal" folks I know would never use a DVD burner. Most folks I know who would want one would not be interested in this computer as configured.
I think this would be a great move by Apple, especially if they offer a "switcher" program that helps people easily move their PC files over to the Mac.
Heh... Considering there are 5 pages of posts already and I'm quoting you from page 2, changes are this has already been responded to...veedubdrew said:
But I think that since Apple's aiming for the PC market, they're going to assume that most people already have monitors hooked up to their PC's. Plus, if people do buy one of these headless doohickeys, why not just buy a cheap $100 CRT for it?