eMac G5?

[Yvan256]

hmm maybe it will sport a name as such:

PMDC G5

Talk about confusion, you thought that the MHz myth was bad with consumers wait till dual-core is out. You will get the group that will say 2 physical processors are better than one physical and another virtual and yada yada.......

oh boy I hope people wisen up by then.

Wait until dual-core, dual-procs boxes. That'll be when the real fun begins. ;-)

 

[Yvan256]

What do 15 inch LCD screen go for these days? Under 300 USD or something plus Apple buys OEM, so 250-275 USD.

Well, that's still 25% of the computer cost. And as I keep saying, a lot of switchers would buy the eMac, but are pissed off about paying for a display they already have...

So please, don't come and say "a 15 inches LCD is only 250$US". It's non-sense when you're talking about the eMac. 250$US is a LOT of money, especially when you're forced to pay for something you already have.

 

[aswitcher]

Well, that's still 25% of the computer cost. And as I keep saying, a lot of switchers would buy the eMac, but are pissed off about paying for a display they already have...

So please, don't come and say "a 15 inches LCD is only 250$US". It's non-sense when you're talking about the eMac. 250$US is a LOT of money, especially when you're forced to pay for something you already have.

I would love to buy a second home mac with minimal specs (run office and iphoto, imovie etc) and a decently big HDD (160 please) for backing up my PB to and holding DV, to which I could attached my old PC monitor.

 

[maya]

Well, that's still 25% of the computer cost. And as I keep saying, a lot of switchers would buy the eMac, but are pissed off about paying for a display they already have...

So please, don't come and say "a 15 inches LCD is only 250$US". It's non-sense when you're talking about the eMac. 250$US is a LOT of money, especially when you're forced to pay for something you already have.

Why not just remove the CRT and let the user put they own screen on it, headless Mac with little expandability for even less. Plus when school need to upgrade all they have to do is either replace the CPU or change a damaged CRT no need to get a whole new machine.

How much do you think an eMac minus the CRT will cost to make they have an iBook at 999 USD, however if you minus the LCD from the iBook you are looking at a ~500 USD Macintosh.

 

[maya]

I would love to buy a second home mac with minimal specs (run office and iphoto, imovie etc) and a decently big HDD (160 please) for backing up my PB to and holding DV, to which I could attached my old PC monitor.

You have me curious now, I am going to price up the components for an eMac minus the CRT and post here on the final cost also put in some labor and packaging and so forth charges to be fair.

 

[aswitcher]

You have me curious now, I am going to price up the components for an eMac minus the CRT and post here on the final cost also put in some labor and packaging and so forth charges to be fair.

If you hunt about a bit you'll find plenty of debate about this and Apple firmly saying that they aren't going to compete in the low cost / no margin market...which is a real shame.

 

[wrldwzrd89]

I would love to buy a second home mac with minimal specs (run office and iphoto, imovie etc) and a decently big HDD (160 please) for backing up my PB to and holding DV, to which I could attached my old PC monitor.

I never really understood the desire of some people on these forums to attach their own monitor to a low-level Mac and chuck the built-in one. Although I've owned 6 different computers, only 3 of those I bought with my own money; I didn't spend less than US$1,300 on the PC, and less than US$2,000 on either of the Macs. At the rate I'm going, I'll probably end up spending no less than US$5,300 (1,300 + 2,000 + 2,000) on my next Mac, which will be a PowerMac of some sort.

 

[aswitcher]

I never really understood the desire of some people on these forums to attach their own monitor to a low-level Mac and chuck the built-in one. Although I've owned 6 different computers, only 3 of those I bought with my own money; I didn't spend less than US$1,300 on the PC, and less than US$2,000 on either of the Macs. At the rate I'm going, I'll probably end up spending no less than US$5,300 (1,300 + 2,000 + 2,000) on my next Mac, which will be a PowerMac of some sort.

I dont want to attach a monitor to an emac, I want an emac without a monitor so I can use what I want for a screen and save money on the box.

And, you are obviously a little better off and not faced with the delema that others are.

 

[wrldwzrd89]

I dont want to attach a monitor to an emac, I want an emac without a monitor so I can use what I want for a screen and save money on the box.

And, you are obviously a little better off and not faced with the delema that others are.

Both of your points were clear to me - if my post didn't make that apparent, then I guess I didn't word my post very well.

 

[wdlove]

I dont want to attach a monitor to an emac, I want an emac without a monitor so I can use what I want for a screen and save money on the box.

And, you are obviously a little better off and not faced with the dilemma that others are.

If there are a lot that feel the same way, then Apple should return the Cube. That would be an eMac in a box.

 

[maya]

If there are a lot that feel the same way, then Apple should return the Cube. That would be an eMac in a box.

The Cube looked nice I guess it was too early for it time. Plus people were wondering how can you fit a computer in that little Cube same thing with the iMac G5.

Point being is that Apple already has an All-In-One its called the iMac why not give some freedom to the eMac customers do I want a CRT or an LCD I can add that on my own do I want a 15", 16", 17", 18", etc..... That is my choice will this be one low cost sleek looking computer sure a "pizza box" or smaller. Would this be neat to use to render 3D content or video content as added power to my main system for a low cost that would be very tempting indeed.

Pricing of a headless-emac will be posted soon.

 

[wrldwzrd89]

The Cube looked nice I guess it was too early for it time. Plus people were wondering how can you fit a computer in that little Cube same thing with the iMac G5.

Point being is that Apple already has an All-In-One its called the iMac why not give some freedom to the eMac customers do I want a CRT or an LCD I can add that on my own do I want a 15", 16", 17", 18", etc..... That is my choice will this be one low cost sleek looking computer sure a "pizza box" or smaller. Would this be neat to use to render 3D content or video content as added power to my main system for a low cost that would be very tempting indeed.

Pricing of a headless-emac will be posted soon.

If Apple could only get the pricing right, the Cube form factor would be another success and would help them sell more Macs IMO. The G4 Cube's biggest shortcoming was that it was overpriced. A future Cube design with a more reasonable price tag would be much more successful.

 

[maya]

1049

Processor
1.25GHz PowerPC G4

System bus
167MHz

Memory
512MB of PC2700 (333MHz) DDR SDRAM; PC 2700 512MB Dimm : 88 CAD

Hard disk drive: 250GB 7200 rpm HDD: 196 CAD

Optical drive: SD: 150 CAD

Display: NO DISPLAY

Graphics support :
ATI Radeon 9200; 32MB dedicated DDR SDRAM video memory GPU: 25 CAD

VGA video mirroring (3)
Yes

S-video and composite video output (3)
Yes

Ports
Two FireWire 400 ports, three USB 2.0 ports (on computer), two USB 1.1 ports (on keyboard), mini-VGA output port, headphone jack, audio line in jack

Networking
Built-in 10/100BASE-T Ethernet and 56K V.92 modem (4)

Wireless Networking (1)
AirPort Extreme Included: 91 CAD

Speakers
Integrated stereo speakers

Keyboard: 35 CAD
Mouse: 20 CAD

internals 250 CAD

850 CAD


-------------------------------

If Apple could only get the pricing right, the Cube form factor would be another success and would help them sell more Macs IMO. The G4 Cube's biggest shortcoming was that it was overpriced. A future Cube design with a more reasonable price tag would be much more successful.

Okay did the cost and it includes labor, packaging, and shipping:

700 USD

it includes:

All the base components that the Combo eMac has +

WiFi included
512 RAM instead of 256
NO DISPLAY
SD same speed
250GB 7200 rpm HDD (far better than the one included)


These are not OEM cost with OEM cost it will be about 600 USD or less.

This system also includes speakers, Keyboard and Mouse.

As states its not competing with the ~500 USD crowd or is it. However its has some superior parts minus the display since the display only cost 78-102 USD pretty cheap for the 17" CRT.

This would make an sweet priced Cube2.

A "Pizza-Box" will allow for stackable design as a home server.

What do you all think can they go cheaper or take out some more options from the list to lower the price even further.

 

[aswitcher]

This would make an sweet priced Cube2.

A "Pizza-Box" will allow for stackable design as a home server.

What do you all think can they go cheaper or take out some more options from the list to lower the price even further.

Thats what I am after...

 

[maya]

Thats what I am after...

I believe they can do it in the same size factor as the iBooks minus the battery and LCD. That would be one nice little package with power to spare.

Can you imagine this can be called the XServe Mini or XServe Home.

Do you think PC users with a monitor will switch NOW. there will be no excuse its not a sub 500 USD machines however it has the benefit of Mac OS X and like the iPod it will bring in more market share to the Mac side for a change.

 

[Rod Rod]

I believe they can do it in the same size factor as the iBooks minus the battery and LCD. That would be one nice little package with power to spare.

Can you imagine this can be called the XServer MINI or XServer Home.

Do you think PC users with a monitor will switch NOW. there will be no excuse its not a sub 500 USD machines however it has the benefit of Mac OS X and like the iPod it will bring in more market share to the Mac side for a change.

PC users who say Macs cost too much will not be convinced to switch based on price alone. Price is just an easy way to explain the barrier between them and switching. A more significant barrier is the comfort they have with Windows. It does take a bit of effort to switch systems and get comfortable. We Mac people would argue that it's not very difficult to get acclimated to OS X, but from a Windows-only-user's perspective it appears daunting.

They will buy they computer and you will buy you computer and he will buy he computer because they, you and he prefer it over its competition. Or, they will buy their computer and you will buy your computer and he will buy his computer because they, you and he prefer it over its competition.

Apple doesn't call any of its products Xserver.

 

[maya]

Apple doesn't call any of its products Xserver.

An honest Typo.

 

[Rod Rod]

On the topic of what Apple would call a display-less lower priced Mac, it would have to be something cooler than network computer / NC. I suppose it would be flexible enough to act as either a client or server, but if it's the latter, what would anyone want it to serve up that iTunes and iPhoto aren't already doing (music and picture sharing)? I suppose there's video streaming, which is doable right now but not with the ease of iTunes and iPhoto. One could put QuickTime movie aliases in the Shared folder and set appropriate permissions. That's not as good as playlists and albums though, as far as automatically playing the next file.

 

[maya]

On the topic of what Apple would call a display-less lower priced Mac, it would have to be something cooler than network computer / NC. I suppose it would be flexible enough to act as either a client or server, but if it's the latter, what would anyone want it to serve up that iTunes and iPhoto aren't already doing (music and picture sharing)? I suppose there's video streaming, which is doable right now but not with the ease of iTunes and iPhoto. One could put QuickTime movie aliases in the Shared folder and set appropriate permissions. That's not as good as playlists and albums though, as far as automatically playing the next file.

And they shall call it "The G4 Brick".

They already had a G4 Cube now its time for a brick, smaller than an Xserve, less power than an Xserve and at a fraction of the cost of an Xserve.

You can always use it as a desktop or a server really, add a monitor you have a desktop use WiFi you have a server use 2 or more and you have a render farm at a low low cost. Think of it as Pixar in a Box.

 

[madmaxmedia]

I like it a lot! Cheaper than an eMac, but better equipped...

It doesn't have to be as as small as a Cube. Back then the Cube took a lot of engineering, which is why it ended up so expensive I think.

Although they could probably do it in almost the same size for cheaper now. And I don't think having a small, quiet fan would be such a big deal for a budget Mac.

I don't consider this in the same category as the $500 PC, which are those Dell packages with monitor included. This one is a very nice unit, of course Apple would only put 256 MB RAM in it! ;-)

I really think these low-priced units can drive higher-margin units down the road. I bought a G3 iMac off EBay to fool around with (first Mac since a Mac Classic 10 years ago.) A couple of weeks later I bought an eMac, and now I have an iBook as well (and don't plan on ever switching back to Windows)...it's inevitable that a new Mac user will end up lusting after an iMac or PowerMac down the road.

 

[maya]

I like it a lot! Cheaper than an eMac, but better equipped...

It doesn't have to be as as small as a Cube. Back then the Cube took a lot of engineering, which is why it ended up so expensive I think.

Although they could probably do it in almost the same size for cheaper now. And I don't think having a small, quiet fan would be such a big deal for a budget Mac.

I don't consider this in the same category as the $500 PC, which are those Dell packages with monitor included. This one is a very nice unit, of course Apple would only put 256 MB RAM in it! ;-)

I really think these low-priced units can drive higher-margin units down the road. I bought a G3 iMac off EBay to fool around with (first Mac since a Mac Classic 10 years ago.) A couple of weeks later I bought an eMac, and now I have an iBook as well (and don't plan on ever switching back to Windows)...it's inevitable that a new Mac user will end up lusting after an iMac or PowerMac down the road.

Remember I have only priced this as of December 2004, as time passes prices will drop on these components and Apple buys in bulk so it will be even more cheaper and they build in the same factor different production line and the packaging for this machine will be SMALLER than the 12" iBook .

 

[Toe]

Will this thread never die? It's over two months old. I guess expectations about the eMac are pretty high.

I thought Apple would try to release one for the shopping frenzy, but I suppose they'd rather sell more expensive computers when people are in that harried, must-consume mode.

 

[carlos700]

eMac needs to have a better feature set before it becomes a hot seller.

 

[maya]

eMac needs to have a better feature set before it becomes a hot seller.

I believe Apple needs to shorten the refresh cycle more to stay current in the Tech Offerings.

They product refresh cycle is just way too long at present and falling behind more.

 

[wrldwzrd89]

I believe Apple needs to shorten the refresh cycle more to stay current in the Tech Offerings.

They product refresh cycle is just way too long at present and falling behind more.

Just out of curiosity maya - how long of a refresh cycle would you like to see? The last time I checked, the Windows PC world refreshed every 3 months or so.