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Apple Releases iMacs
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Eh.
I sort of think people are off the mark in wanting a 15" superdrive middle iMac model, because only a real entry-level consumer is going to want a tiny little 15" screen; such a consumer is not likely to make great use of a superdrive. iMovie/iDVD on a 15" screen? I guess it can be done, but it cannot be fun!
HOWEVER, I do agree that there should be at least an option to have a 17" combo drive model. I think there are people who want the screen real estate, want more video ram, want the airport extreme etc, but dont have much use for a Superdrive. Namely, anyone who doesn't have a DV cam (which covers a hell of a lot of people).
I think the prices are fair. I just don't know why anyone would want a 15" iMac. This is 2003, baby, 15" screens on a desktop machine? No
Of course, I just caved and bought a 23" Display. And of course, I also think that the iBook and 12" powerbook are completely unusable... I actually played with a 12" Powerbook in a store and was shocked at how iddy bitty it is. I mean it is way cool, but man I couldn't use that for anything. Bless my 15" TiG4
I sort of think people are off the mark in wanting a 15" superdrive middle iMac model, because only a real entry-level consumer is going to want a tiny little 15" screen; such a consumer is not likely to make great use of a superdrive. iMovie/iDVD on a 15" screen? I guess it can be done, but it cannot be fun!
HOWEVER, I do agree that there should be at least an option to have a 17" combo drive model. I think there are people who want the screen real estate, want more video ram, want the airport extreme etc, but dont have much use for a Superdrive. Namely, anyone who doesn't have a DV cam (which covers a hell of a lot of people).
I think the prices are fair. I just don't know why anyone would want a 15" iMac. This is 2003, baby, 15" screens on a desktop machine? No
Of course, I just caved and bought a 23" Display. And of course, I also think that the iBook and 12" powerbook are completely unusable... I actually played with a 12" Powerbook in a store and was shocked at how iddy bitty it is. I mean it is way cool, but man I couldn't use that for anything. Bless my 15" TiG4 
WWWWOOOOHHHHHHHOOOO!!!!!!
I just purchased a 17" with bluetooth and applecare! My first PERSONAL mac in 8 years. Now I just have to convince my wife its a good Valentine's Day gift for her (hey, better than a vacuum cleaner, right?)
cheers!
John
I just purchased a 17" with bluetooth and applecare! My first PERSONAL mac in 8 years. Now I just have to convince my wife its a good Valentine's Day gift for her (hey, better than a vacuum cleaner, right?)
cheers!
John
eMac question
Apples specs list the refresh rate at the highest resolution at 72 Hz on the eMac. Weren't the refresh rate 60 Hz before??? Has Apple updated the screen and the screen specs?
Apples specs list the refresh rate at the highest resolution at 72 Hz on the eMac. Weren't the refresh rate 60 Hz before??? Has Apple updated the screen and the screen specs?
You are so wrong my freind,the new high end imac simply blows away the older and its cheaper faster more powerful and more expandable. I guess you were wanting steve to just give it to you!
don't forget...
Hey! remember... this is the year of the *laptop*...
Dharvabinky
Originally posted by dricci
It looks like the 800MHz iMac model is just the old iMac, same old 802.11b AirPort and requires the USB adapter for Bluetooth (and only has a 100MHz bus). The 17 inch supports AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth Internally, and has an Audio-In port (finally!).
Major lameness on the pricing and specs, Steve
Hey! remember... this is the year of the *laptop*...
Dharvabinky
Well, now I don't even know if I want to switch. All the update did was make it more expensive for a college student....
Most switchers care alot more about hardware specs than Mac people. At least the ones I know do anyway...
Most potential switchers get turned off by the slow bus speeds, bad memory performance and limited config choices.
However, OS X is a HUGE turn-on. More for the BSD-ish underpinnings than the look of it.
If there were more games available... it would be a different market indeed.
*sigh*
Re: Not good.
What are you talking about? It makes a difference. Especially if you have low RAM, because your system uses the hard drive to page memory.
I think you are confusing the difference between a 7200rpm on ATA-100 and a 7200rpm on an ATA-133 (which is inexistant) and our problem.
I'm not here to bash you but what you just said doesn't feel right at all...
NicoMan
Sorry but the high end DOES has 1GB.
BOLLOCKS!!!
What are you talking about? It makes a difference. Especially if you have low RAM, because your system uses the hard drive to page memory.
I think you are confusing the difference between a 7200rpm on ATA-100 and a 7200rpm on an ATA-133 (which is inexistant) and our problem.
I'm not here to bash you but what you just said doesn't feel right at all...
NicoMan
Games are coming to the mac in droves!see inside mac gaming.The new high end imac can smoke with any game on the market for the mac as of right now! Doom3 well that may be another story but even all the pc stuff is going to struggle with that game!Again the new high end imac is very very solid!
Originally posted by Dont Hurt Me
You are so wrong my freind,the new high end imac simply blows away the older and its cheaper faster more powerful and more expandable. I guess you were wanting steve to just give it to you!
No, but it would be nice if Steve gave me a reason to by one.
The high end is OK I guess, but try explain that to my wallet...
DOOM3 - truth
But that just means a upgrade of the video card. No big deal. Can't do that with the iMac
I think that is why my g/f sold her iMac to get the iBook. Similar performance, but she can take it to school with her.
New high end iMac is better than I thought it would be. Makes the low end PowerMac seem... neutered
Disappointment?
It seems the mood is one of disappointment with the iMac updates. Since I haven't yet taken the plunge in to the Apple world, I'm not sure what I should have expected.
The updates seem to be pretty much in line with the most recent rumors. The one thing I still find baffling though is in the high end iMac Apple doesn't max out the memory in the first slot. That just seems dumb to me.
Speaking of that, I want to pretty much max out the RAM. Would you suggest I pay the people at the Apple store to switch the 256 MB chip for a 512 and buy a 512 from a third party? Or, maybe I should just leave the 256 in there and buy a 512 from a third party?
Given the price sensitivity in the market right now and the limitation on the G4 clock speed, I think this is about all Apple could have done for now. FW-800. Does a consumer really need this? What's going to drive those kinds of speeds? Gigabit Ethernet to surf the web? Don't think so.
This seems like a reasonable update. The way I figure it, I'm getting a 25% faster CPU, a 33% faster bus, double the graphics RAM for 10% less than I would have paid if I had bought a month ago.
Peace,
Brian
It seems the mood is one of disappointment with the iMac updates. Since I haven't yet taken the plunge in to the Apple world, I'm not sure what I should have expected.
The updates seem to be pretty much in line with the most recent rumors. The one thing I still find baffling though is in the high end iMac Apple doesn't max out the memory in the first slot. That just seems dumb to me.
Speaking of that, I want to pretty much max out the RAM. Would you suggest I pay the people at the Apple store to switch the 256 MB chip for a 512 and buy a 512 from a third party? Or, maybe I should just leave the 256 in there and buy a 512 from a third party?
Given the price sensitivity in the market right now and the limitation on the G4 clock speed, I think this is about all Apple could have done for now. FW-800. Does a consumer really need this? What's going to drive those kinds of speeds? Gigabit Ethernet to surf the web? Don't think so.
This seems like a reasonable update. The way I figure it, I'm getting a 25% faster CPU, a 33% faster bus, double the graphics RAM for 10% less than I would have paid if I had bought a month ago.
Peace,
Brian
What you are seeing in these updates is the last of the 15 inch iMacs. That's why there isn't much of an upgrade, they are going to sell them all off. oemone posted about having a 15 inch screen on a desktop being silly. While I like the little iBook and powerbook, I kind of agree for desktop machines. These things are supposed to be work horses, and small screen estate doesn't give into that image.
My guess is that these are the last of the 5 inch releases. Once the 17 goes to 1.25, there will be no 15. Mark my words.
My guess is that these are the last of the 5 inch releases. Once the 17 goes to 1.25, there will be no 15. Mark my words.
When can I get one?
Just called my local Apple store and the guy was clueless as to when they'd have the new iMacs in. I didn't see an availability date on the Apple website. Does anyone know when these are expected to be in the stores?
Thanks,
Brian
Just called my local Apple store and the guy was clueless as to when they'd have the new iMacs in. I didn't see an availability date on the Apple website. Does anyone know when these are expected to be in the stores?
Thanks,
Brian
for yzedf- you are right about the base powermac but if there are people looking to upgrade i guess that would be the ticket but who the heck wants to buy a brand new machine and then be thinking of upgrades? If i get a new unit i dont want to upgrade at all for at least a year plus. sure its nice down the road but down the road there is allways newer better faster.Boils down to 1 word "MOTOROLA" Apple is just doing what it can because of this company and really when you think of it it is amazing where apple has gone considering the hand they are playing with.1 more comment it takes more then just videocard to do the hard core 3d gaming you still have to feed that card to get those frame rates. you could say have ati9700 pro on a 733 PM and you aint going to have anything but a slideshow with doom 3. Now put the 9700 with a 1.25pm and it is going to look pretty good my guess is.
Poor graphics
I'm amazed that Apple is still shipping crappy GeForce 2MX and 4MX cards in the iMacs. Surely at the price they charge they could put in at least a low end GeForce 4 Titanium or a Radeon 9000 Pro.
I'm amazed that Apple is still shipping crappy GeForce 2MX and 4MX cards in the iMacs. Surely at the price they charge they could put in at least a low end GeForce 4 Titanium or a Radeon 9000 Pro.
(Very) Potential Switcher
You have it almost bang on. Although I don't care so much about hardware specs so much as reliability. I will be an "adder" as one news article put it. (Apparently, a good portion of the "switchers" are people buying a Mac to add to their computer arsenal as opposed to complete switchers.)
I use my PC for surfing the Net, listening to tunes, and organizing my digital photos. Windows is just wayyy to unreliable to have my music library and photos of my 14-month old kid. (Gotta learn to back things up more, I guess.) I also have a DV camcorder. In short, I want Apple's Digital Hub. (BTW, bought a 15" iMac for the folks last summer and thought it was great.)
However, with an iMac I don't think I can play online games with PC friends. (Virtual PC? I dunno.) I would continue to do that with my PC and use it as a "quarantine station" for any Net downloads.
Now I just have to decide WHICH digital hub I want.
Squire
You have it almost bang on. Although I don't care so much about hardware specs so much as reliability. I will be an "adder" as one news article put it. (Apparently, a good portion of the "switchers" are people buying a Mac to add to their computer arsenal as opposed to complete switchers.)
I use my PC for surfing the Net, listening to tunes, and organizing my digital photos. Windows is just wayyy to unreliable to have my music library and photos of my 14-month old kid. (Gotta learn to back things up more, I guess.) I also have a DV camcorder. In short, I want Apple's Digital Hub. (BTW, bought a 15" iMac for the folks last summer and thought it was great.)
However, with an iMac I don't think I can play online games with PC friends. (Virtual PC? I dunno.) I would continue to do that with my PC and use it as a "quarantine station" for any Net downloads.
Now I just have to decide WHICH digital hub I want.
Squire
Re: Disappointment?
I would suggest a 512 factory install that way you can still put another 512 later,firewire 800 who needs it? firewire right now jams and i dont think it is yet getting saturated.Again this imac is solid!
Re: 15" iMac
There are indeed problems with the displays of some eMacs. After some time with some eMacs the screen will start to get waves in it, or it may flicker, or it may skew the color horribly, or if you're really unlucky you will turn your computer on one day and hear a loud pop and have no more video.
Information from AppleCare verifies that all of these issues are related to Apple Care Document #95169. And despite what any veteran user or AppleStore Technician tells you, it is not normal degradation of a CRT or because you have your eMac too close to some magnetic object or the result of bad color settings.
There are indeed problems with the displays of some eMacs. After some time with some eMacs the screen will start to get waves in it, or it may flicker, or it may skew the color horribly, or if you're really unlucky you will turn your computer on one day and hear a loud pop and have no more video.
Information from AppleCare verifies that all of these issues are related to Apple Care Document #95169. And despite what any veteran user or AppleStore Technician tells you, it is not normal degradation of a CRT or because you have your eMac too close to some magnetic object or the result of bad color settings.