eMac and iMac EOL'd?

[visor]

Roll your eyes as much as you want, but Apple shouldn't sell machines which, out of the box, can barely run the OS, never mind the Apps. I have an iMac to which I recently added half a gig of Ram, and I'm very happy with it, but, nevertheless, the 256 ram it came with was sufficient for my initial purposes. The 128 ram that the emacs come with is just useless.

I don't need to be sold on Macs, but there are plenty of people out there who do. Selling them an emac which crawls along is not a good advert for Apple and then obliging them to spend more money on ram just adds insult to injury.

How are those eyes doing?

They are all looking at the apple ram prices - and the real prices at local retail stores. Save $200 on a 512 MB ram stick - and you know why apple sells little ram computers.
Probably thos market analysts say people like to buy macs with little ram...

 

[Naimfan]

I posted elsewhere on (finally!) receiving a refurbished 1 GHz eMac for my six year old. I've played on it some, and it seems quite good--iTunes is in the background, I've been able to play Civ3 with no hiccups while surfing the web, etc. It came with a 256 stick of ram instead of the advertised 128, and I had ordered a 512 stick, so am currently running with 768, soon to be a gig. It seems like quite a good machine, and perfect for a lot of people.

I think Apple really needs to be in the inexpensive but not cheap market, and the eMac allows them to do that. And I think it slaughters an iMac on value grounds--sure, the iMac is slightly better (and much cooler), but its pricing is absurd at the moment.

Would it be even better if it were updated? Of course--put a 1.25/1.33/1.42 GHz G4 or a 1.4/1.6 G5 in it, bigger HD, etc., whatever can be done while still keeping the pricing keen.

Best,

Bob

 

[rdowns]

Apple needs to pour R&D into more than just their music players, let's get back to basics here, let's make faster COMPUTERS and stop this nickel-and-diming "speed" increases with lackluster Moto chips!

amen, my brother.

 

[rdowns]

To be quite honest, I don't know what Apple's true motivations behind manipulating their lines by 'playing games' with the components are either.

I call it Job's Head Up His Ass marketing. I wonder if I could get a local college to let me teach that course.

 

[Dont Hurt Me]

hey rdowns, how you doing tonight? can i sign up for that course? Jobs whole tier system is good for his and those executives pocketbook but it sucks if you want to expand your market. I just cant get on the Jobs is so great bandwagon when Apple finds new ways to screw up good things. hope you saw that rumor from appleinsider about newer Imacs coming but they are saying its going to be handicapped at 1.6 G5.

 

[Ashwee]

I hope this is true, I'm looking to buy a new mac over the coming months and the thought of a G5 17" iMac is truely adorable.

 

[Dont Hurt Me]

I hope its true also but at 2.0 not 1.6. Give Imac real muscle so it can compete with the PC side. also they could make it a little less goofy and give it a sleeker base instead of the basketball. add some color options and videocard options and it could be a great big hit but i dont think Apple will allow that. I really feel it will be more of the same,restricted,limited and overpriced. There was a rumor of a new form factor for the display, I wonder what that means.

 

[aswitcher]

I hope its true also but at 2.0 not 1.6. Give Imac real muscle so it can compete with the PC side. also they could make it a little less goofy and give it a sleeker base instead of the basketball. add some color options and videocard options and it could be a great big hit but i dont think Apple will allow that. I really feel it will be more of the same,restricted,limited and overpriced. There was a rumor of a new form factor for the display, I wonder what that means.

2.0 would be nice but I can see that in the second rev...
4 RAM slots would be excellent for the G5 config, like th 1.6G5PM
Sleeker design, I actually wonder if it might get slightly bigger to accomodate G5 and possibly one or two PCI slots to make it appeal to a wider market. I like th G5PM design ease of access...nice if iMac was like that.
A detactable screen is the other winner, just have an arm that mounts the standard 17 or 20 which you buy as a package or seperately, so in 3 years you can just upgrade the base...which brings back cube thoughts

 

[Dont Hurt Me]

2.0 would be nice but I can see that in the second rev...
4 RAM slots would be excellent for the G5 config, like th 1.6G5PM
Sleeker design, I actually wonder if it might get slightly bigger to accomodate G5 and possibly one or two PCI slots to make it appeal to a wider market. I like th G5PM design ease of access...nice if iMac was like that.
A detactable screen is the other winner, just have an arm that mounts the standard 17 or 20 which you buy as a package or seperately, so in 3 years you can just upgrade the base...which brings back cube thoughts

by having a standard mount that almost will draw back customers in that alone, i mean in 3 or 4 years it would be nice to get a new machine and just use your monitor again. it would be a selling point. Pci would be nice but remember this is Apple we are talking about. they dont want you inside Imac or Emac.

 

[rdowns]

I hope its true also but at 2.0 not 1.6. Give Imac real muscle so it can compete with the PC side. also they could make it a little less goofy and give it a sleeker base instead of the basketball. add some color options and videocard options and it could be a great big hit but i dont think Apple will allow that. I really feel it will be more of the same,restricted,limited and overpriced. There was a rumor of a new form factor for the display, I wonder what that means.

2.0 for me too. Make mine a 20". I'd order one immediately. Dying for a new computer. Guess I can still wait a while but if a crippled G5 iMac is announced, I'll probably buy used.

 

[Dont Hurt Me]

2.0 for me too. Make mine a 20". I'd order one immediately. Dying for a new computer. Guess I can still wait a while but if a crippled G5 iMac is announced, I'll probably buy used.

Buy used what? I would buy a G5 Imac 17" or 20" but I dont think I would drop the cash if it had more fx5200 garbage.

 

[ClimbingTheLog]

iMac G5s are nearly ready to roll and the only things holding back the new PowerMacs are supplies of new motherboards and higher-clocked PowerPC 970FX CPUs.

That's the most interesting bit.

The 970FX's were supposedly getting pretty good yields, at decent clock rates, compared with current PowerMac G5's speeds.

So, this sounds like the iMac is going to be running faster than the current PowerMacs, i.e. faster than 2GHz. If the iMacs are running that fast, it sounds like we're going to see the 3GHz PowerMacs sooner rather than later.

 

[acerbas]

I like your sig:


You're right. The way we're screwing up this planet is WAY inadequate. We need an asteroid. At the current rate we will at least need few more decades before global mass extinction will kick in. Yeah, we need an asteroid!

M.

Or at very least another eruption of the Yellowstone caldera, which is overdue. But I am glad I am old because I am not rich, or at least not rich enough to insulate me from the coming catastrophic reshaping of civilization brought on by the end of cheap oil.
http://www.museletter.com/partys-over.html

 

[Les Kern]

Remember the e in eMac stands for education. Schools are spending money right now for next year...... In a school environment the eMac rocks.

I hear you. I'm spending a gob of cash right now for next year. See This? I knew that there was "something" going on, you just kind of feel it. I can't actually say how I strongly feel that April 1st or there about is it. I wan't told either. I've been doing this long enough that it's almost a sixth sense. And know what? I really don't care. Chasing upgrades is silly. I mean, a USB 2.0 and 200 extra Mhz? Big deal. I got work to do. (That said, a G5 eMac would be cool, but I doubt its coming)

 

[~Shard~]

2.0 for me too. Make mine a 20". I'd order one immediately. Dying for a new computer. Guess I can still wait a while but if a crippled G5 iMac is announced, I'll probably buy used.

I totally agree with you, but just one little comment - I wouldn't exactly callan iMac with a G5 in it "crippled" regardless of the processor speed. The G5s are FAST chips, and putting one in an iMac will be an amazing improvement, regardless of the speed. But yah, faster is better, in a perfect world...

 

[Ensoniq]

I totally agree with you, but just one little comment - I wouldn't exactly callan iMac with a G5 in it "crippled" regardless of the processor speed.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

A 1.6 GHz G5 with an 800 MHz bus (always half the speed of the processor) using DDR memory would be very close to TWICE the speed of a 1 GHz G4 on a 167 MHz bus.

If Apple can bring out the G5 iMacs at the same exact price with twice the speed, that is a damn good upgrade. Only on paper does it seem bad because 1.6 doesn't hit the magic 2 GHz number everyone is craving.

Considering how long it took the G4 to get to 1 GHz, 2 GHz G5 chips with 3 GHz around the corner shows impressive work by IBM. The G5 is only "slow" if you obsess over benchmark specs.

 

[adamjay]

If Apple can bring out the G5 iMacs at the same exact price with twice the speed, that is a damn good upgrade. Only on paper does it seem bad because 1.6 doesn't hit the magic 2 GHz number everyone is craving.

Amen, give me a G5 in an iMac 17" and i'll empty the bank account the next day.

and is that Ensoniq as in Ensoniq - makers of the SQ-80 (aka the best synthesizer/controller EVER!) ??

 

[MacFinn]

Here's hoping for a 1.2 to 1.4 GHz eMac

I do find this thread funny. People are clamoring for 2.0 GHz G5 in entrylevel Macs. Get real.
If you NEED 2.0 GHz G5, buy a PowerMac already. iMac/eMac is not for you, it never was.
I'm buying an eMac for my daughter's birthday next month. For her, eMac with 512 MB to 1 GB RAM and 80 GB HD is about perfect. I would like more speed to run GarageBand (the main reason for the purchase. as she's studying music). But I like the price point of eMac very much. So let's hope Apple keeps that.

 

[Griffindor73]

I really want a new iMac as I am still using my purple 400MhzDV which is four years old this month (Happy Birthday!-I treated it to a new keyboard!)

When I bought it it was fast, and certainly knocked the pants off all my PC owning friends computers.

Now I need a new one.

BUT- I am not going to buy one until it at least knocks some of the pants off my PC owning friends computers.

However, I think the next upgrade will be 1.25 for the eMac, and 1.5 for the iMac (G4)

When the PowerMacs get to 3Ghz I think that Apple will announce a new 1.8 or 2Ghz G5 iMac so everyone goes "WOW" and buys it and then the eMac will get the G4 1.5.

So it looks like I'll have to wait just a little longer- Hold in there old girl! I just hope my purpel iMac won't be celebrating it's fifth birthday.

 

[takao]

same boat...... i like the look of the imac but with the "laptop" dimm,the 256 mb and the g4 i'm not going to buy one

for me as a future switcher (end of year ,next spring) i only look at the iBook which is great at the moment

i would like a lcd for my next main computer so the eMac is out

and the imac at the moment is too overpriced(with a G5,512 ram(normal ddr),bigger hd as standard and lower price i guess 1500 $ (that would translate to 1700€ apple-europe)for the 17" i would get one for my parents)

i guess apple want me to save up more money for a powermac (which is overkill for me) 2238,31€ and counting, but for computer _and_screen

 

[folding_kayaker]

If it is possible Apple has to move to G5 as fast as possible, duel G5's for the powermacs and single for the other lines. I, like many G3 i-mac owners am comming to the end of the useful life of my machine. When I purchased it it was better value than the vast majority of intel rivals and respectably close to the powermac line in performance. If Apple is to survive it has to hold onto sufficient a market share to be worth developing for. When I replace this mac I want one that will be adaquate for the next four years, not one that is adaquate today but will be left behind as the apple world optimises for 64 bit. Apple survived the 1990's because it threw away preconceptions about the need to hinder its "consumer" option to protect its "professional" lines. The commercial logic remains the same to day, to hold onto and gain market share Apple has to offer the best value it can possibly can to all its customers.

 

[Dont Hurt Me]

If it is possible Apple has to move to G5 as fast as possible, duel G5's for the powermacs and single for the other lines. I, like many G3 i-mac owners am comming to the end of the useful life of my machine. When I purchased it it was better value than the vast majority of intel rivals and respectably close to the powermac line in performance. If Apple is to survive it has to hold onto sufficient a market share to be worth developing for. When I replace this mac I want one that will be adaquate for the next four years, not one that is adaquate today but will be left behind as the apple world optimises for 64 bit. Apple survived the 1990's because it threw away preconceptions about the need to hinder its "consumer" option to protect its "professional" lines. The commercial logic remains the same to day, to hold onto and gain market share Apple has to offer the best value it can possibly can to all its customers.

boy do i agree, imac crt was at the same speeds as those powermacs it just didnt have altivec, thats part of the reason they sold millions. If apple wants to sell millions again it wont happen by holding down Imac with last years G5s entry level. from benches i have seen single 1.6 is not all that great. Apple needs to let the consumer make the choice not Apple. put matching single G5s in Imac at whatever speed they are being made at. if 2.4 then so be it give Imac one of those and consumers will come running. Play the cripple game such as 1.6 G5 in Imac while Powermacs have dual 1.8,2.2,2.4 and it will be more of the same we have had for the past 2 years.(Yawn) who says consumers dont need higher clocks? ever do any gaming? apple has to address the poor game performance on its machines and the best way is with higher clocks.the consumer line is selling as poorly as the pro line when they should sell 10 units of consumer models to each pro model. crippling is to blame.

 

[_iCeb0x_]

This sounds pretty real...

Apple has been doing this for a long time now...

EOL'ed models and others models soon to be EOL'ed are sold for dirty cheap in Brazil. There's a bargain right now. You can buy an eMac (1GHz/256/80/Combo) in 20 monthly payments... They call it "back2school". I am not sure if it's the same over there in the northern hemisphere, but here it's going like this.

I remember I bought my first Mac in a promotion like this. It was a Performa 630, in 1995. They also had the "new" 6100, 7100 and 8100 PowerMacs at that time, but these were pretty expensive. They also did it a couple of years later with the PowerMac 5500 and they keep doing it. They have a promo right now, directly from Apple, where you can buy refurbished XServe G4's with 60% off the retail price. These are demo units, open box items and stuff like that, I think.

Well... Based on the facts, Apple seels old stuff here (and in other 3rd world countries, I assume) when they are soon to EOL them or when they still have supplies of EOL'ed stuff.

_iCeb0x_

 

[edenwaith]

who says consumers dont need higher clocks? ever do any gaming? apple has to address the poor game performance on its machines and the best way is with higher clocks.the consumer line is selling as poorly as the pro line when they should sell 10 units of consumer models to each pro model. crippling is to blame.

I would say that intense game playing would require a top of the line machine, not intended for lower level "consumer" machines. If you used a PC for gaming, you probably wouldn't invest in some cheap-o $500 Dell machine, but might go the Alienware route, instead.

Now if I had a 1GHz iMac, I would be sitting pretty well with pretty much any product, I believe, but that might not be true in a couple of years. It seems that games are the products which really push forward and test the limits of current technology. I would say it might be time for some game programmers to take some intense optimization classes if games are now requiring 700+ MHz to run. But here is an interesting phenomenon: Shadowbane requires a 700MHz Pentium class chip to run on a PC, but only a 350 MHz chip to run on a Mac. Go figure.

 

[takao]

I would say that intense game playing would require a top of the line machine, not intended for lower level "consumer" machines. If you used a PC for gaming, you probably wouldn't invest in some cheap-o $500 Dell machine, but might go the Alienware route, instead.

Now if I had a 1GHz iMac, I would be sitting pretty well with pretty much any product, I believe, but that might not be true in a couple of years. It seems that games are the products which really push forward and test the limits of current technology. I would say it might be time for some game programmers to take some intense optimization classes if games are now requiring 700+ MHz to run. But here is an interesting phenomenon: Shadowbane requires a 700MHz Pentium class chip to run on a PC, but only a 350 MHz chip to run on a Mac. Go figure.

hm i'm sitting on a "cheap-o" PC (perhaps 700-800$ 1,5 years ago) and i can run UT2004 with 30+ frames with ICQ,iTunes,firewall,mozilla in the background, at 1024x768 full details...
most "pro-gamers"(like some friends) don't buy a system like from alienware ....(those are made for rich kids IMHO)....most gamers build them on their own

Half Life 1 requieres a 133 mhz Pentium chip on a PC, but on a Mac: "it's not gonna happen". Go Figure.

</rant off>
macs. aren't made for gaming and that won't chance in the near future ...i have no problem with that: i will still switch in the next year and keep my PC for gaming .... PCs & Consoles are best for games... The best for apple would be increasing speed/specs of computers and not concentrating on trying to get more games for the OS that market is already very crowed
(with one of my favourite games civ3 already on mac osx it's not hard for me to switch ;-) )