Same here. Altho according to specs 20" panel is 8 - bit:
Number of Colors 16.7 M, 8bit(FRC)
[Edit] Sorry - it's 6 - bit and dithering. I can't find much information about all this "8-bit vs 8-bit-FRC" differences tho...
oh- got it:
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Aluminum iMac Disassembled and First Impressions
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Same here. Altho according to specs 20" panel is 8 - bit:
Number of Colors 16.7 M, 8bit(FRC)
[Edit] Sorry - it's 6 - bit and dithering. I can't find much information about all this "8-bit vs 8-bit-FRC" differences tho...
oh- got it:
"Screen is extremely glossy"
I don't like glossy displays either, but it looks like that's the way all Apple's displays are heading
No, it most certainly is not.
You don't have to take his word for it. Just look at sales numbers. People like them, since consumers give up nothing and get quite a bit in return. Most persnickety whiners have never used them, but even worse can't seem to grasp the relatively simply science that disproves their biggest gripes. There's a small group that prefers the matte finish, and that's fine, but they're a shrinking group. Reflections and glare are completely irrelevant if you've properly adjusted your display. In order to produce a glare, you have to have a considerably brighter light source pointed at the display surface and be looking at it from a non-perpendicular angle. Both of these are poor choices and would make any computer display more difficult to read.
Funny how they tend to be the same people all but demanding a minitower Mac, though.
If you say so. My stupidly expensive Apple 17" CRT certainly reflected, as has every CRT that I've ever sat in front of.
Please note, I'm not saying that you're wrong, only that I have never encountered this and I imagine I'm not alone in this. People used to deal with reflections very easily ... you just look right through them at what's on the screen!
You may still colour me vaguely mystified.
Cheers
Jim
My mistake; I only looked at the 24" information. Still, though, I do not believe this is a trend "toward" anything--unless the previous 20" model was 8-bit, and I don't believe that to be the case. I've not heard of any instance of a company moving away from 8-bit panels.
No, you're not wrong. Both the etched surface CRTs and the add-on anti-glare coatings were "glossy" finished (the most common anti-glare covers were basically just polarizing filters that prevented horizontal light from crossing into the CRT's transmission path). They displayed a reflection at off-center angles like everything else. People just have an exceptionally poor memory and don't realize that. There's no magic surface that makes a reflection go away while remaining optically clear--this isn't Star Trek. People are just apparently less likely to notice poor contrast and diminished brightness as an equivalent problem, it seems.
I don't like glossy displays either, but it looks like that's the way all Apple's displays are heading
The glossy display on my Macbook never bothered me. I like having more contrast indoors with artificial lighting. Matte screens just blur the reflecting light so it makes the whole screen brighter. You're not supposed to use your iMac outdoors and most flat TVs are glossy too.
Does the iMac have some coating on the front glass, i.e. do the reflections have a color tint? That should be standard nowadays. Macbooks have it...
I haven't used the new keyboard yet, but I was looking for a desktop keyboard that works like the Macbook but at a liitle angle for comfort. Apple did just that. I'm so used to the laptop layout anyway so I might get the bluetooth one. At least Apple's wireless stuff doesn't require USB dongles.
the apple remote no longer sticks to the side via magnets!
probably because the remote is now too wide to look good there
probably because the remote is now too wide to look good there
It's also too wide to fit on the left side of the Macbook's screen. Still, there's a magnet to hold the remote. It's useful after presentations. The Pros don't have it tho... I guess it would mess up the aluminum to put the remote up there?
The previous model was 8 bit as far as I know, it had the same panel that Dell 20" display used (16ms).
I have heard stories about RAM not working; I haven't seen anything posted on MacRumors where someone said a Mac was damaged by RAM. And the warranty most definitely does not get voided. What is not covered is any damage that you do while installing the RAM, and what isn't covered is if the RAM doesn't work because it isn't Apple's, but apart from that your warranty is fine.
And should cheap RAM damage your Mac (which I have never heard of), I'm sure you can sue the supplier for the damages.
Bought new iMac yesterday
Initial impressions:
Overall very impressed. It looks beautiful and I didn't like the new design at first but once you see them in person it really is beautiful. Apple's designs tend to grow on me.
Screen - I really prefer the glossy screen. Now I have the glossy brand new 24 inch at my home office and the older 20 inch at my work office, the difference is quite noticable. The old screen looks notably dull but at home the screen is fantastic. Really really nice. The reflections aren't a problem if you are sitting in front of the machine and using it. Only if you are looking from the side or the sun is hitting the screen. And once the screen is on its very good. Also I get the idea that the resolution is better than the old 24 inch but that may have to do with the glossy look.
Audio - Initial impression is that the audio output is of better quality. My personal music preferences are bordering on Audiophile and I'm a lot happier with my new iMac's audio output then my previous machines.
Keyboard - Very good. Its easier to type on if you type very fast (I do around 90 WPM) and its quieter which means you can type while you're on the phone so you can do work calls without having to write everything down on paper. Especially in a setting where you don't necessarily want people to know that you are inputting notes into the computer. For that reason we are upgrading all our work keyboards. Also it feels and looks like its curved but from the side it doesn't look like it is. You'll know what I mean when you use it. I had an initial fear that it would not be comfortable typing so "low down" but it works quite well. Imagine tapping your fingers on the desk to type and that's almost what its like. Only problem is that in the UK Apple stores I've been to now (Regent Street and Bluewater), I can't buy the keyboard separately which means that I still have the old keyboard at work.
Issues:
Remote - I find it kind of annoying that the remote doesn't stick to the side of the screen anymore. I have a (now) old 20" iMac that I use at work and as its a work machine, the remote just sort of gets stored on the iMac. Never used it but I know I won't loose it because it has its pride of place. The remote is also slightly wider now than my 24 inch iMac. Redesign of the remote would be nice but oh well. That's the only thing I don't like.
Oh yeah and there is an issue with viewing the videos on my web gallery but that's .mac's problem, not iMac. In the process of figuring out what is going on with that.
Overall:
I wish I had filmed the faces of my family as they walked into my office and saw the new iMac. They were in open-mouthed awe and so was I.
See the pics here of the unboxing
Initial impressions:
Overall very impressed. It looks beautiful and I didn't like the new design at first but once you see them in person it really is beautiful. Apple's designs tend to grow on me.
Screen - I really prefer the glossy screen. Now I have the glossy brand new 24 inch at my home office and the older 20 inch at my work office, the difference is quite noticable. The old screen looks notably dull but at home the screen is fantastic. Really really nice. The reflections aren't a problem if you are sitting in front of the machine and using it. Only if you are looking from the side or the sun is hitting the screen. And once the screen is on its very good. Also I get the idea that the resolution is better than the old 24 inch but that may have to do with the glossy look.
Audio - Initial impression is that the audio output is of better quality. My personal music preferences are bordering on Audiophile and I'm a lot happier with my new iMac's audio output then my previous machines.
Keyboard - Very good. Its easier to type on if you type very fast (I do around 90 WPM) and its quieter which means you can type while you're on the phone so you can do work calls without having to write everything down on paper. Especially in a setting where you don't necessarily want people to know that you are inputting notes into the computer. For that reason we are upgrading all our work keyboards. Also it feels and looks like its curved but from the side it doesn't look like it is. You'll know what I mean when you use it. I had an initial fear that it would not be comfortable typing so "low down" but it works quite well. Imagine tapping your fingers on the desk to type and that's almost what its like. Only problem is that in the UK Apple stores I've been to now (Regent Street and Bluewater), I can't buy the keyboard separately which means that I still have the old keyboard at work.
Issues:
Remote - I find it kind of annoying that the remote doesn't stick to the side of the screen anymore. I have a (now) old 20" iMac that I use at work and as its a work machine, the remote just sort of gets stored on the iMac. Never used it but I know I won't loose it because it has its pride of place. The remote is also slightly wider now than my 24 inch iMac. Redesign of the remote would be nice but oh well. That's the only thing I don't like.
Oh yeah and there is an issue with viewing the videos on my web gallery but that's .mac's problem, not iMac. In the process of figuring out what is going on with that.
Overall
: I wish I had filmed the faces of my family as they walked into my office and saw the new iMac. They were in open-mouthed awe
and so was I. See the pics here of the unboxing
24" iMac disassembly?
Has anyone seen disassembly of the 24" iMacs? Rumor has it you can access the hard drive easily by taking off the backplate...
@felixkunze
Just saw your post. Do me a favor an remove that backplate and make some photos. I wanna see if the hard drive is easy to replace
Has anyone seen disassembly of the 24" iMacs? Rumor has it you can access the hard drive easily by taking off the backplate...
@felixkunze
Just saw your post. Do me a favor an remove that backplate and make some photos. I wanna see if the hard drive is easy to replace
Extremely, great vivid colors you'll see but no one else that views your photos/web page/keynote what ever will see.
I can't view your video either:
Make sure you encode it as H.264 quicktime video with AAC audio. I got Flip4Mac and Perian installed but can't play it so it's not my fault
unless they're one of the huge number of PC users that are also getting lumbered with glossy screens. or macbook users. or glossy MBP users.
there are a huge number of glossy screens out there. consumer types love them. not everyone's a pro, not everyone cares about how accurate colours are on two different machines. nobody cares that someone may not get the rich colour experience that they do on the new iMac.
i do, i'm not tempted by the new iMac because of the glossyness. i need the matte screen, but almost everyone i know wouldn't know the difference they bring to certain work.
Yeah glossy screens definitely look so much better. I am glad the iMac now has a glossy screen. The old iMac screen looked dull compared to PCs with glossy screens. Imagine telling a consumer at an Apple store, yeah PCs have more vivid colors, but Macs with matte have more accurate color? Yeah okay they would buy that!
But for professionals I do understand the need for matte screens and I wish Apple would offer it as a build to order option from Apple.com.
But for professionals I do understand the need for matte screens and I wish Apple would offer it as a build to order option from Apple.com.
It's an absolute monstrosity. The golden age of Apple design may be over.
I really do find that thing hideous
I really do find that thing hideous
About two months ago I bought a 1 gig RAM stick from Crucial and there have been no problems. I unscrewed the two screws, on last gen iMac, snapped the RAM in and put the panel back on and have had no problems. It took about 5 minutes. It actually took more time removing all of the cables to disconnect the Mac.
It's pretty stupid to put such slow videocards on-board if they REALLY want gaming on the mac. An nVidia 8600 is also possible. Why not? It's a lot faster and ain't that much more expensive. Hey a desktop with a removable vga card sounds great but will never happen. So I still need to buy a 600 euro PC for gaming which is a lot faster. Thanks Apple! EA and ID will not understand why you put a 60 euro videocard on-board, if you are serious about gaming on the mac! Yeah C&C3 will work, but what about all the 3D shooters?
I love the matte finish. Ever since I got my first big TFT it's been matte. It's amazing the difference seeing no reflection of yourself or other things about the room.
Granted I have a little 19" TFT that is glossy, but I don't have problems with it because it's sheltered in a darker area by the tower.
Doesn't matter where I move the screens that have the matte finish I don't get the problem you speak of. The HDTV is also matte and its amazing the difference how the glare and reflection is gone.
The only thing that bugs me about cleaning the 19" because its glossy is everytime I wipe it you see all the little fibers start sticking to it from static. Sure that wont annoy the majority of people, but I'm picky
I don't have that problem with the matte screens, one wipe and its spotless.
Agreed.
You can see how distracting that would be, you'd need to find the perfect area to sit that from not getting all the reflections.
That would drive me crazy, doesn't matter where I position the matte screens I don't get that!
Don't get me wrong though. The new iMac I think looks beautiful, but thats too glossy for my liking. It's like a show piece. If this is the route the Apple displays are going...
Apple is not going to get any more money from me until a reasonable tower is produced. I will continue to use my old Mac and my new Compaq.
Absolute Monstrosity To Say The Least
staring at you 24/7? I am still stunned at what a God awful "design" this is. And the keyboard? Unbelievable how anyone can like it.
You know it's really great to see that someone in Edinburgh Scotland sees this the same way I do. The more I look at it, the worse it looks to me. Notice that gigantic blackIt's an absolute monstrosity. The golden age of Apple design may be over.
I really do find that thing hideous
staring at you 24/7? I am still stunned at what a God awful "design" this is. And the keyboard? Unbelievable how anyone can like it. 
Are glossy v matte sales figures available? I wouldn't mind seeing them.
They give up nothing, apart from being able to use their screen in many bright environments without glare. Not everyone has complete control over the environment in which they use their computer.
What science disproves the gripe that there is far more glare on a glossy screen than on a matte?
It's an ergonomic nightmare to force people to sit still in a certain position so as to avoid glare; especially when non-glare screens are available. The computer should adapt to the user, not the other way around.
And, what happens if you need to show a colleague something on your screen? Do you take turns sitting directly in front of it? Swivel the iMac back and forth?
And the keyboard? Unbelievable how anyone can like it.
I had high-hopes for the iMac keyboard; I like the idea of it being very flat as I might then be able to type with my wrists resting on the desk without bending my wrist backwards too far. Doesn't sound too promising though..
Yes, u can purchase cheap ram, but there are horror stories of doing so and people's macs get fried. The bad news, the warranty is voided because you installed 3rd party hardware. I don't know if it's u installing and/or the 3rd party ram that does it, the warranty does get x'd.
I'm a careless cowboy with my toys, and I install my own ram, but I at least try to purchase the same ram apple uses. memoryx.com will tell you which ram to get if u want to match ram and install yourself.
I could see an unethical person purchasing such ram, and if occuring any troubles, uninstalling such ram and taking it in for repairs? I think I'm just the same as you and would like to pinch some pennies when I don't necessarily have to spend a fortune
Good luck!
I have installed RAM on all of my computers and the only way you can fry the computer is if you don't discharge static. If you do this then RAM cannot fry the computer. The RAM may not work and you may have to put the original RAM back in but that only means the RAM you got needs to be replaced.
Also installing RAM in no way voids your warranty. I have no idea where you got this idea, but you did not read the warranty terms on your Mac if you think this. Why would they advertise 1 screw access to the memory banks if it did void the warranty. Please check this out.