Apple Releases Intel iMac

[ailleur]

Okay, fair enough ... then why is Apple advertising the computer as two times faster?

Did you believe apple's graph showing the powermac g5 doubling the performance on anything in the x86 world too? Theyre a company out to make profit. Theyre not out there for you, but for their shareholder and if they can bend a truth to make it look like a whole is 2x faster when it is in fact a part of a whole that is, theyll do it.

 

[vaprof]

Why G5 iMacs still the same price?

What I don't get is -- why are they still selling the G5 iMacs for the same price as the Intels? If the Intels are faster, and everything else is the same, then it seems like the G5s should sell at a discount. My wife bought a G5 iMac 1.5 weeks ago -- kind of a bummer for her. Who would buy a G5 iMac now???

 

[chicagdan]

Did you believe apple's graph showing the powermac g5 doubling the performance on anything in the x86 world too? Theyre a company out to make profit. Theyre not out there for you, but for their shareholder and if they can bend a truth to make it look like a whole is 2x faster when it is in fact a part of a whole that is, theyll do it.

No, of course I didn't. My only point here is that the people on this board should be the smartest Apple users around and we should be above the hype and spin. I've said in many other places that you'd be wise to never believe a word that comes out of Steve Jobs' mouth, because if he could increase Apple marketshare by forcing every Apple in existence into immediate obsolescence, he'd do that. He's out to make money, he's not running a religion and all of you would be wise to stop worshipping him. (And I'm not claiming that you do.)

 

[~Shard~]

Okay, fair enough ... then why is Apple advertising the computer as two times faster?

Spin, marketing, equivocation, propaganda, call it whatever you like.... 😱 😉 😎

 

[chicagdan]

What I don't get is -- why are they still selling the G5 iMacs for the same price as the Intels? If the Intels are faster, and everything else is the same, then it seems like the G5s should sell at a discount. My wife bought a G5 iMac 1.5 weeks ago -- kind of a bummer for her. Who would buy a G5 iMac now???

I agree that they should discount these machines, but they're still worth buying. I bought the G5 iMac 11 days ago and technically could return it (plus the restocking fee) and get a new Intel. But, for one, I got a great deal ($300 off for a window demo model) and I need to run Virtual PC, so I can't run the Intel version. But you're right, these computers need to be heavily discounted if they expect to clear the inventory.

Oh and by the way, your wife could return the computer and walk out with an Intel, minus the restocking fee, too. You have 14 days.

 

[Hytower77]

I searched and didn't see an answer to this.

Does anyone know where to download the New Commercial besides the Apple web site?

I'm at work and have an ancient version of QT and it won't play here and a buddy of mine is itching to see it.

Thanks.

 

[irrªtiºnal]

i have one question: being the Intel Core Duo part of the Centrino Technology thingy, rather from the Pentim M family, why is it in a desktop?

i mean, really the bus speeds could be MUCh better, and i;ve heard something about high-latency issues of DDR2 RAM for Pentium M;s

this actually makes me wonder that this Intel iMac was sort of of a rush... it makes sense in the MacBook, but i have the slight impression that the **real iMac 2006** will use those Conroe;s...

 

[roland.g]

the G5 iMac you just bought

Predictions, predictions, predictions. Come on now, everybody knows that regardless of what the rumors are, there is always some surprise to come from the keynote. If there wasn't, they wouldn't be called 'rumors'. I'm sorry for anyone who just bought a G5 iMac or a 15" Powerbook for that matter, like a week or two ago, and is now feeling burned by Apple because all the rumors said it was going to be this or that. But as someone pointed out, why would apple start with the mini or the iBook when that would make those machines more appealing than an iMac or Pro notebook? Come on, use your head. The mini will follow by March most likely. And the towers will probably be last because the people that use them still haven't gotten over the last wave of upgrading from G4 machines and won't be ready for the latest and greatest yet. But let me tell you this: stop your whining. I could have told you, never, and I repeat never, ever under any circumstances whatsoever, buy any new Apple machine between Thanksgiving and MacWorld SF. You are just setting yourself up for a big fat homer simpson "d'oh". Sure there are people out there who say, stay away from Rev. A, and I would agree with that, but still you want to know what they are going to do, and at that point if you still want the older machine, the Mall and the Zone and everyone else will be dumping EOL'd stock for less once the new merchandise is out. Who buys a brand new Mac a week before the most anticipated announcement of the year. It's not like you didn't know something would be announced.

 

[jefhatfield]

where are the ee/el professionals in this forum? maybe just one, somewhere, could shed light on this interesting debate

somewhere i have the feeling that steve jobs has a tendency to overstate things...just a gut feeling 😉

 

[iMeowbot]

i have one question: being the Intel Core Duo part of the Centrino Technology thingy, rather from the Pentim M family, why is it in a desktop?

The only real difference between a "desktop" and "mobile" CPU is marketing. As it happens, Intel are pitching Yonah to both markets.

The iMac models have pretty much always been notebooks in desktop cases. The G5 model was sort of an exception, but that's only because Apple never managed to fit a G5 into a notebook.

Please don't do that 🙁

 

[Marvy]

iMac G5 vs. iMac Yonah

I just ordered the new iMac with Core Duo 2.0 GHz, and am really thrilled with all the features it is supposed to have. I'm probably wrong, so please correct me here: But isn't the new iMac greatly improved over the G5 version (besides the CPU of course):
1) Airport Extreme and Bluetooth 2 built-in. Wasn't that only optional with the G5?
2) I remembered the cables on the G5 model to go out on the left or right side of the iMac. On current pictures the ports are on the back of the iMac at the bottom. Did this change?
3) Did the original iMac have 5 video ports? (DVI, mini-DVI, composite, VGA, S-Video).
4) Were multiple screens with Desktop spanning supported?

Maybe I'm mixing this up with some other, older iMac model, and even if so, the fact remains: This is one hell of a machine. Can't wait to get mine! 🙂

 

[Ravenflight]

Anybody know how the video performance is on these new machines? I read somewhere that the iMacs on display at Macworld could not handle 1080p without dropping tons of frames- while the 'old and slow' G5's could handle 1080p just fine. Considering that video editing performance would be one of my primary reasons for upgrading, this does not make me happy. Does anyone know to what extent Final Cut uses Altivec and how good or bad Final Cut performance would be on the CoreDuo compared to the G5?

 

[roland.g]

yes marvy you're wrong

I just ordered the new iMac with Core Duo 2.0 GHz, and am really thrilled with all the features it is supposed to have. I'm probably wrong, so please correct me here: But isn't the new iMac greatly improved over the G5 version (besides the CPU of course):
1) Airport Extreme and Bluetooth 2 built-in. Wasn't that only optional with the G5?
2) I remembered the cables on the G5 model to go out on the left or right side of the iMac. On current pictures the ports are on the back of the iMac at the bottom. Did this change?
3) Did the original iMac have 5 video ports? (DVI, mini-DVI, composite, VGA, S-Video).
4) Were multiple screens with Desktop spanning supported?

Maybe I'm mixing this up with some other, older iMac model, and even if so, the fact remains: This is one hell of a machine. Can't wait to get mine! 🙂

The last revision of the iMac G5 did include built in Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR and Airport Extreme. The Ports have not moved. The video support had not changed other than as many people have pointed out, multiple screens are now supported without a hack. But that doesn't mean you should enjoy your new computer.

 

[Peace]

Anybody know how the video performance is on these new machines? I read somewhere that the iMacs on display at Macworld could not handle 1080p without dropping tons of frames- while the 'old and slow' G5's could handle 1080p just fine. Considering that video editing performance would be one of my primary reasons for upgrading, this does not make me happy. Does anyone know to what extent Final Cut uses Altivec and how good or bad Final Cut performance would be on the CoreDuo compared to the G5?

That comparison can not be made until the pro apps are released as native apps..

 

[Marvy]

The last revision of the iMac G5 did include built in Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR and Airport Extreme. The Ports have not moved. The video support had not changed other than as many people have pointed out, multiple screens are now supported without a hack. But that doesn't mean you should enjoy your new computer.

Oh ok, thanks for the info. I already had the feeling I missed out on that last revision a bit (probably due to me being in China at the time 🙂).

And I take it you meant: "But that doesn't mean you SHOULDN'T enjoy your new computer." coz enjoy it I will! Cheers!

 

[faustofernos]

What to do, what to do!

I've been saving my pennies to get a new computer, and I've been considering the PowerMac's. But now I fear that Adobe and Apple wont be supporting these current models in two years.

Is that a concern? I fear that the next OS upgrade wont run on the current Powermacs, or will run SLOWLY.

How faster are the new dual intel iMacs versus the current Powermacs? Anyone have any ideas?

 

[BigHat]

500 Gb Drive

What's the scoop on these drives?

Sadly just noticed that my build time went from a couple of days to 3-4 weeks when you upgrade drives from 250 to 500. Is this some breaking new development or something?

 

[aafuss1]

Found a photo of the iMac's internals:
http://hardmac.com/news/2006-01-12/#4990
http://files.macbidouille.com/news/200601/imacintel.jpg

 

[Jesus]

Man, say goodbye to pretty internal design!!!!! 😡

 

[BakedBeans]

Man, say goodbye to pretty internal design!!!!! 😡

this wasnt a result of the intel though - its a result of the isight update (i think)

 

[mzd]

What I don't get is -- why are they still selling the G5 iMacs for the same price as the Intels? If the Intels are faster, and everything else is the same, then it seems like the G5s should sell at a discount. My wife bought a G5 iMac 1.5 weeks ago -- kind of a bummer for her. Who would buy a G5 iMac now???

i think there are two answers to this. 1) some people still want G5 because of lack of universal binaries available currently and 2) the price is to make the intels more attractive to everyone else.
apple wants to convert everyone to intel asap and big discounts on the top of the line G5 iMacs would not help that conversion. i think a lot of people on the fence about intel will look and say hey- i can get an intel that is (supposedly) 2x the speed and better graphics than the G5 for the same price. i think that will sway some of those people over.

 

[wrldwzrd89]

i think there are two answers to this. 1) some people still want G5 because of lack of universal binaries available currently and 2) the price is to make the intels more attractive to everyone else.
apple wants to convert everyone to intel asap and big discounts on the top of the line G5 iMacs would not help that conversion. i think a lot of people on the fence about intel will look and say hey- i can get an intel that is (supposedly) 2x the speed and better graphics than the G5 for the same price. i think that will sway some of those people over.

Apple can wish all they like to convert me to Intel, but I promise you, I'll be one of the last ones to make the switch. Believe it or not, there are still a few programs I need the Classic environment for 😱

That is one of the reasons I bought my iMac G5 during the "forbidden" Thanksgiving-MacWorld SF keynote period. I knew it would be the last PPC iMac...

I also got it to power multi-way iChat video conferences and to get a bigger internal drive, as I had outgrown the one in my old iMac.

 

[ksz]

...I bought a G5 iMac 11 days ago and I won't be returning it, I think it's still the smarter buy.

We bought a G5 iMac 18 days ago while fully aware of all the rumors. We won't be returning it either. It does the job very well and all the apps are native.

I don't expect a massive launch of universal binaries until June. I hope I am wrong, but while I fully expect some vendors to offer universal binaries in the coming weeks, a full-scale onslaught (whatever 'full-scale' means) may not occur until the 2nd half of the year.

In fact, I think many of the larger names in Mac software might not offer crossgrades, but instead will offer new upgrades that happen to be universal binaries. This way they can charge you (again) while feeling good about themselves! 😉 Since it takes time to develop an upgrade, we might not see those upgrades in large numbers until the 2nd half.

Again, I hope I'm wrong and the software switchover gets accelerated, but today we still have no solid indications from the major software publishers.

For example, when will Microsoft Office be released as a universal binary? I didn't hear any dates from Rosyln Ho.

When will Photoshop and the rest of the CS suite go universal?

Will they offer a crossgrade? Will the crossgrade be free? Or will they just offer an upgrade to the next version?

No information...

Hence, we will be happy running the G5 iMac for the rest of the year and even 3 years hence as we see fit. The price/performance ratio of the iMac G5 is so good that we'll not lose any sleep if we decide to replace it after 1 year or 2.

At that time we'll have the benefit of a more defined Mactel landscape.

 

[powerbook911]

ksz,

You sound very confident in your decision, and that is great!!

You make awesome points, and I honestly cannot argue with you. There really wasn't a leap in any area other than processor, with this update. You can enjoy everything the intel iMac buyers can, and you have the same features (except screen spanning).

Good point about having Photoshop native. I mean, yes, Photoshop is going to run better on a G5 than emulation, so that is a good point too. I think you're going to be very happy with your machine.

I like seeing positive posts like yours!! Although I understand the other views too. 🙂

 

[skunkworks]

It will be at least a year or two for developers to make the transition to intel, so all you G5 people shouldn't be whining, its still a great machine to have and works very well. There will always be something better, you should sit back and appreciate what you have, people are still running G4's and G3's...

Look at it this way in two years you can sell your imacs and hopefully by then adobe will have gone native and that's probably the best time to upgrade anyways.

my two cents....