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Apple Looking to Launch Lower-Cost iMac in 2014
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Don't produce a lower end model with extra expense for Jony's mystical designing...Apple could just reduce their current silly prices...
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OS X is bad in a way for gaming. I mean, the OS is designed well, and Apple isn't doing anything wrong with it, but some games use DirectX, which of course is Windows-only. Sadly, they don't all use OpenGL.
I don't think the hardware is bad. My friend has a 2011 iMac with which he plays a few games that are Windows-only on Boot Camp running Windows 7, and it can play anything he wants well. Most of his games have native Mac versions that also run well. The new iMacs have NVIDIA GPUs: GT 750M, GT 755M, GTX 775M that are pretty powerful, right? Not sure why they're mobile, though...
Of course, the Mac mini would be bad for high-end games. I don't understand why it doesn't have a GPU. It would be neat to have space under it to hold a PCI card.
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You can plug the USB drive into the keyboard or, doing what I do, use a hub.
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OS X is bad in a way for gaming. I mean, the OS is designed well, and Apple isn't doing anything wrong with it, but some games use DirectX, which of course is Windows-only. Sadly, they don't all use OpenGL.
I don't think the hardware is bad. My friend has a 2011 iMac with which he plays a few games that are Windows-only on Boot Camp running Windows 7, and it can play anything he wants well. Most of his games have native Mac versions that also run well. The new iMacs have NVIDIA GPUs: GT 750M, GT 755M, GTX 775M that are pretty powerful, right? Not sure why they're mobile, though...
Of course, the Mac mini would be bad for high-end games. I don't understand why it doesn't have a GPU. It would be neat to have space under it to hold a PCI card.
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You can plug the USB drive into the keyboard or, doing what I do, use a hub.
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People said the exact same thing when Apple removed 3.5" floppy drives. Removing the optical drive was not just about making the iMac thinner, it was removing a component that was rarely used by most people.
swingerofbirch
macrumors 68040
They used to start at $799:
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2000/07/19Apple-Introduces-New-iMacs-in-Stunning-New-Colors.html
With inflation from 2000 to 2013, that $799 would be about $1,085.
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2000/07/19Apple-Introduces-New-iMacs-in-Stunning-New-Colors.html
With inflation from 2000 to 2013, that $799 would be about $1,085.
True. A sturdy, high-quality aluminum box with space for two hard drives, a couple of PCIe slots, four RAM slots, a decent power supply and i5/i7 quad CPUs would really sell.
Unfortunately that kind of machine does not fit into one of Jony Ive's perverted thinness wet dreams. The guy has done some fine work but it is time for him to go out on his own and make ugly desks and reduced-functional cameras.
Causality is likely backwards here. The ODD is dropped ( because it is legacy media tech Apple is leaving behind) then the space is dropped. Once devices dropped from the edges then can save space on what is essentially now empty. The iMac as a whole isn't thinner. The internal area were they are not trying to stuff fans , ODD , etc is thinner.
Likewise if large fraction of the laptop users need the ODD, then dropping it wouldn't make sense on it either.
Folks who need an ODD can buy it, plug it in, and they are done. What makes no sense is to make 50+% of iMac buyers buy an ODD if they either aren't going to use it or use it 2-3 times a year. The justification for making folks who don't want or need it buy it is what is more deeply lacking in justification.
pure empty space enclosed by a box isn't necessarily useful either. (even more so if not dealing with arbitrarily powered devices being inserted inside the box. )
The iMacs weight less. Cheaper to ship and lower greenhouse impact when do ship them. Weight in the aggregate of 1-2M units is actually significant.
Cost and competitiveness , not the ODD, is what is the problem. Dell and HP aren't busying shooting themselves in the foot anymore with self generated FUD. [ Dell's move to private isn't a muddled mess anymore and HP isn't wandering with CEO and strategy changes. ]
There are some indication that Apple has been drinking their own kool-aid about price insensitivity of the folks they were selling too. In 2010-2012 Mac sales expanding while other PCs vendors were sliding backwards seems to let some self-delusion creep in as to Apple being able to walk-on-water. The same core forces were coming for them, it just hit later because they were skewed toward the higher end of the PC market.
How do you know it wasn't actually supposed to be cheaper? How do you know it's something they made up? You're the one speculating...
Besides, it is cheaper, just not cheap enough.
You mean Steve Jobs right? Unless you actually believe he had nothing to do with the products being released this year....or last year...
Ming-Chi Kuo ? the guy who predicted a low cost iPhone ?
why does Macrumors rely on this idiot ?
why does Macrumors rely on this idiot ?
Except it is silly to use inflation numbers when dealing with tech products. The average cost of computers has gone down over time not up (except from Apple). I forget where I saw the numbers but the average selling price of a desktop is about 1/2 of what it was in 2000. It was even a greater drop in average laptop selling price. In using 2013 dollars it was even more dramatic.
The entire point being, the optical drive is not obsolete. No matter what Apple does or anyone says, it's still a needed device for a lot of people. For those people, buying a new iMac also means buying an external drive that previously was included.
Before anyone says this is just like Apple deleting the floppy drive, it isn't. When Apple dropped the floppy, they replaced it with an optical drive. Eliminating all removable media is a bigger step and makes a larger assumption about what people need.
You know what, I've noticed that a lot of forum users here are stroking each other on Jony Ive insults. Really the comment quality here is really tumbling down from rational arguments to potshots to a designer that those same people know they can never come close to.
Yeah... how about:
Keep the current iMac range. And expand the Mac mini to have:
1) Base: i5 w/ Intel HD 5000 graphics
2) Better i5 or i7 with Intel Iris (5100 or 5200)
A) Server model
3) Best: i7 with discrete graphics card options either 1 GB or 2 GB
The Mac mini still allows for user RAM replacement and hard drives, which is better than the current iMac and still allows users to utilize a powerful machine and choose their own monitor(s).
On a desk, thinner doesn't always equal better.
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And people need CD's for...??
Also, USB ports exist on Apple computers, thus removable media is still pluggable.
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iMac PC.
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Yeah, that's demonstrably false.
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Well, Intel Iris Pro (HD 5200) is finally at the level of discrete graphics. So, that's a plus.
Keep the current iMac range. And expand the Mac mini to have:
1) Base: i5 w/ Intel HD 5000 graphics
2) Better i5 or i7 with Intel Iris (5100 or 5200)
A) Server model
3) Best: i7 with discrete graphics card options either 1 GB or 2 GB
The Mac mini still allows for user RAM replacement and hard drives, which is better than the current iMac and still allows users to utilize a powerful machine and choose their own monitor(s).
On a desk, thinner doesn't always equal better.
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And people need CD's for...??
Also, USB ports exist on Apple computers, thus removable media is still pluggable.
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iMac PC.
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Yeah, that's demonstrably false.
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Well, Intel Iris Pro (HD 5200) is finally at the level of discrete graphics. So, that's a plus.
Actually you could argue that removing the optical bay on a desktop is an economic calculation on Apple's part that people are more likely to only download Apps from the Apple store and stream media through itunes downloads. Both of which make Apple a lot of money.
Leave the price alone and make Apple Care standard on all models. The three year warranty is something no one else offers standard and implies a high quality machine when compared to the competition. If people want a cheap computer they are going to buy HP anyway so there is no need to cheapen the product, because it will still be more expensive than competitor machines unless Apple makes crap that sales based on cost alone.
FAIL. YOU made a claim and YOU have to prove it. The burden of proof is on YOU.
Oh, so now I have to prove that I have a use for an optical drive? Ha. What part of your argument works best for you, the scorn or the derision?