iMac redesign in late 2012

[TennisandMusic]

OS-X doesn't have better aesthetics than windows?

He's talking about the machine. He's saying the aesthetics of the machine should not be more important than what is in it, i.e. like a polished turd. The current iMacs make many concessions to get into the form factor they are currently in, and talk of them going thinner just means they will most likely have to make more.

If the machine were an inch deeper, but could house a desktop GPU, and user serviceable hard drives...would that not be great? Would you even NOTICE the physical change? Certaily not in use.

Extreme thinness on an iMac for the sake of thinness is ridiculous. Does anyone here remember the first iMac?

 

[Altitude]

New iMac?

Only three things might move me to part with my plastic fantastic 20 inch Intel 2.16 GHz Core 2 Duo:

1. A matt screen (if you're into photography, you'll know why);

2. Easy access to an HDD/SSD upgrade;

3. Height adjustment capability. Engineers, you listening? 'Nuff said.

 

[Occamsrazr]

I respectfully disagree. Apple has done the unthinkable - pulled computers out of the basement and made them center pieces for a home. They took an ugly beige box and made it a beautiful piece of industrial design.

I would gladly sacrifice a few hundred MHz to get a sleek computer that looks nice sitting in my living room.

I guess style is lost on dark basement dwellers.

 

[Chippy99]

I respectfully disagree. Apple has done the unthinkable - pulled computers out of the basement and made them center pieces for a home. They took an ugly beige box and made it a beautiful piece of industrial design.

I would gladly sacrifice a few hundred MHz to get a sleek computer that looks nice sitting in my living room.

I guess style is lost on dark basement dwellers.

Do you honestly think it would be aesthetically inferior if it was 3 cm's thicker? It's not like you want to wall mount the thing. Do you???

Personally, I do want it to look "nice". But how thick it is, doesn't really feature in affecting that. I look at the thing from the front, not the side or the back.

 

[rajalot]

It should have non-reflective screen and I'd buy it. Every time I walk into Mac store, wallet loaded with healthy debit card, insane look in my eyes and ready to buy everything, I walk away shortly after staring at my own face on every screen in that store.

Going from high-resolution anti-glare display to a fancy expensive mirror just won't do.

 

[Occamsrazr]

If it is sitting in the living room it has to look nice from all angles, whether it is even turned on or not.

 

[CausticPuppy]

It should have non-reflective screen and I'd buy it. Every time I walk into Mac store, wallet loaded with healthy debit card, insane look in my eyes and ready to buy everything, I walk away shortly after staring at my own face on every screen in that store.

Going from high-resolution anti-glare display to a fancy expensive mirror just won't do.

Anybody know how well the aftermarket anti-glare films work?

http://www.photodon.com/p/MXH-3420-01K.html


If I get a TB display I might have to get some sort of antiglare film.

 

[lifeguard90]

I dont want a imac with access doors and clutter on the back case. And screws on the perimiter like on a macbook pro case are a pain due to size and type and easy stripping.

Its and All in One. I dont know why people are combatting it, dont like it dont buy it.

As far as non glare, lets get this straight. The new imac wont be Matte, imac had its matte time. Looks like crap, lcd screen easily damages, have to be more careful cleaning it vs quick wipe on glass. What should and likely will happen is antiglare museum glass

We know ivy and Amd parts are out but maybe glass cover quantity is not enough.

 

[forty2j]

Its and All in One. I dont know why people are combatting it, dont like it dont buy it.

I think I can answer this. A lot of people are in to customizing their computers. If they could get something in a Mac Pro-ish form factor but with consumer parts instead of server parts, they probably would.

This is actually why I ended up getting a Win 7 PC for my wife last year. She loves her MBP, but there wasn't an offering for a desktop computer that filled the need. As Macs grow in popularity, I have to wonder how many sales they lose by not having one model that you can at least swap -approved parts with other -approved parts yourself easily.

 

[boyd1955]

Oh these fashion people

For gods sake for those just want it pretty and flat and aren't worried about the mhz ( !!!!! ) GET AN IPAD ... I personally need a machine that runs well and is as fast as it can be and reliable ... I want it to look pretty too ... Pretty and Thicker is not a problem

 

[InlawBiker]

I think I can answer this. A lot of people are in to customizing their computers. If they could get something in a Mac Pro-ish form factor but with consumer parts instead of server parts, they probably would.

People have been saying that about Apple forever. If they ever start doing this is will mark the beginning of the decline of the brand.

The whole point of Mac is how much time and effort went into the design. That's why they cost more, a lot of thought went into it to make the experience better.

Not everybody agrees all the time but for the most part I think they do a great job.

 

[Fishrrman]

"I dont want a imac with access doors and clutter on the back case. And screws on the perimiter like on a macbook pro case are a pain due to size and type and easy stripping."

You don't look at the back case. You look at the front.
Make the screws BIGGER. There was nothing wrong with the backs of the iMac G5's -- they were elegantly designed for easy access to the interior.

"Its and All in One. I dont know why people are combatting it, dont like it dont buy it."

All-in-one or not, at some point the computer will require service or upgrading. It's poor design to "lock the user out" -- and that is exactly Apple's philosophy as of late.

 

[beosound3200]

"I dont want a imac with access doors and clutter on the back case. And screws on the perimiter like on a macbook pro case are a pain due to size and type and easy stripping."

You don't look at the back case. You look at the front.
Make the screws BIGGER. There was nothing wrong with the backs of the iMac G5's -- they were elegantly designed for easy access to the interior.

"Its and All in One. I dont know why people are combatting it, dont like it dont buy it."

All-in-one or not, at some point the computer will require service or upgrading. It's poor design to "lock the user out" -- and that is exactly Apple's philosophy as of late.

thats the best design. thats why apple is no.1 tech company. users only 'use' the computer, for repairing it you have authorized dealers. the same thing has happened with cars, i cant even change the light bulb on mine. and how many times have i heard 'new cars are ****, you can even change the light bulb yourself'

the thing is, its easier to design and to guarantee a good product if you dont let the user in. and its a trend, apple is only the first one.

 

[iMacFarlane]

...
Extreme thinness on an iMac for the sake of thinness is ridiculous. Does anyone here remember the first iMac?

A stunning 17.6" thin!

 

[forty2j]

People have been saying that about Apple forever. If they ever start doing this is will mark the beginning of the decline of the brand.

The whole point of Mac is how much time and effort went into the design. That's why they cost more, a lot of thought went into it to make the experience better.

Not everybody agrees all the time but for the most part I think they do a great job.

The difference is, with the halo effect from iDevices we're seeing more and more people drawn to the Apple brand. Market share, especially in the US, isn't in the low single digits anymore. I agree that the design is core to the brand, but I can't help but think that Apple is hurting itself by not having an offering that uses desktop, non-server components.

Let's bring back the Cube.. and have the innards easily slide out of that nice polished glass for people that want to work on it.

 

[Occamsrazr]

Thank god Apple doesn't have nerds in charge of their industrial design department.

 

[cocky jeremy]

For gods sake for those just want it pretty and flat and aren't worried about the mhz ( !!!!! ) GET AN IPAD ... I personally need a machine that runs well and is as fast as it can be and reliable ... I want it to look pretty too ... Pretty and Thicker is not a problem

The iMac does all of that while being thin. It doesn't need to be thicker to squeeze a few hundred MHz in there. Quit complaining.

 

[theSeb]

thats the best design. thats why apple is no.1 tech company. users only 'use' the computer, for repairing it you have authorized dealers. the same thing has happened with cars, i cant even change the light bulb on mine. and how many times have i heard 'new cars are ****, you can even change the light bulb yourself'

the thing is, its easier to design and to guarantee a good product if you dont let the user in. and its a trend, apple is only the first one.

No, it's not in all cases. You're using the car analogy so I am going to extend it. Imagine if the new car you bought had special lock nuts over the tyres and you could not replace them yourself. Imagine if the only place you could replace them was at a special dealer and there was only a dealer in major cities. Imagine also that normal tyres are $200, but this manufacturer charges $500 for each tyre. Would any of that bother you?

Imagine if you go on a trip to the coast a couple of hundred miles away and you get a puncture. What happens now? There are tyre replacement places all over the place. You can join an organisation like AA and call them to help. There are mobile tyre fitters that you can call. Unfortunately you cannot use any of these options, because you have special tyres on. You need to arrange towing and you have no guarantee when the tyres will be replaced.

The point is that a tyre is something that can easily be damaged and requires to be changed very often. An engine does not in comparison.

I am comfortable with parts like the GPU and CPU being locked away from the users and not easily replaceable. But when it's a part that is the most prone failure (the hard drive), then I have a problem. Also when Apple wants to charge me £120 to upgrade from 1 TB to 2TB I also have a problem. When Apple wants to charge me £400 to upgrade to a "relatively slow" SSD, I feel raped.

But, the cost is not actually the biggest problem here since my company pays for these things. No, the biggest problem is that a part that is so prone to failure is locked away from me and I cannot easily change it when it fails.

That means that I now have to take my computer back to Apple (my nearest store is quite far away) and I have no guarantee on how long it will take to replace the HDD. I make money with my computer so this is not a laughing matter. This is why I refuse to buy an iMac. Or at least until I can buy a single drive TB enclosure that allows me to use current SSDs at their full potential.

----------

Thank god Apple doesn't have nerds in charge of their industrial design department.

Engineers (nerds) are still necessary to make things work properly. Pretty and thin is great. When it does not do what it's meant to do then it's just an expensive paper-weight. Good design is not just about making things pretty. It's about making sure it actually does what it's meant to do. My 2009 MBP is quite pretty. Unfortunately the left side gets far too hot during normal use, like typing stuff. My 2011 MBA does not do this though. It's possible to combine beautiful design with sensible engineering. It's like saying that we don't have to worry about whether the bridge can withstand the traffic or winds, as long as it looks pretty.

 

[Occamsrazr]

The problem is that most engineers (nerds) are not qualified to determine what a product should be meant to do.

I'm an engineer myself, I should know - I'm aware of my own tendencies and I see it amongst my colleagues all the time.

Take a look at Linux if you don't believe me. That is by engineers, for engineers.... and it shows! LOL

 

[lifeguard90]

"I dont want a imac with access doors and clutter on the back case. And screws on the perimiter like on a macbook pro case are a pain due to size and type and easy stripping."

You don't look at the back case. You look at the front.
Make the screws BIGGER. There was nothing wrong with the backs of the iMac G5's -- they were elegantly designed for easy access to the interior.

"Its and All in One. I dont know why people are combatting it, dont like it dont buy it."

All-in-one or not, at some point the computer will require service or upgrading. It's poor design to "lock the user out" -- and that is exactly Apple's philosophy as of late.

doesn't bother me

 

[beosound3200]

No, it's not in all cases. You're using the car analogy so I am going to extend it. Imagine if the new car you bought had special lock nuts over the tyres and you could not replace them yourself. Imagine if the only place you could replace them was at a special dealer and there was only a dealer in major cities. Imagine also that normal tyres are $200, but this manufacturer charges $500 for each tyre. Would any of that bother you?

Imagine if you go on a trip to the coast a couple of hundred miles away and you get a puncture. What happens now? There are tyre replacement places all over the place. You can join an organisation like AA and call them to help. There are mobile tyre fitters that you can call. Unfortunately you cannot use any of these options, because you have special tyres on. You need to arrange towing and you have no guarantee when the tyres will be replaced.

The point is that a tyre is something that can easily be damaged and requires to be changed very often. An engine does not in comparison.

I am comfortable with parts like the GPU and CPU being locked away from the users and not easily replaceable. But when it's a part that is the most prone failure (the hard drive), then I have a problem. Also when Apple wants to charge me £120 to upgrade from 1 TB to 2TB I also have a problem. When Apple wants to charge me £400 to upgrade to a "relatively slow" SSD, I feel raped.

But, the cost is not actually the biggest problem here since my company pays for these things. No, the biggest problem is that a part that is so prone to failure is locked away from me and I cannot easily change it when it fails.

That means that I now have to take my computer back to Apple (my nearest store is quite far away) and I have no guarantee on how long it will take to replace the HDD. I make money with my computer so this is not a laughing matter. This is why I refuse to buy an iMac. Or at least until I can buy a single drive TB enclosure that allows me to use current SSDs at their full potential.

every car has special lock nuts, but you get your key.

how many cars today have spare tires with them? how many cars have lifters so you could lift your car and change the tire. in my country? close to none. everybody has those special liquids with air compressors. read somewhere that in my country there are less than 5% flat tires. the point is, if you change your tires regularly and dont drive offroad there is a very low chance of flat tire (if you are the average costumer). and what about run-flat tires? if we're talking about imacs here, we're talking about bmws... i dont agree with this analogy, tires are non-issue.

thats why i mentioned light bulbs, theres a limited number of hours you get out of each one, you dont know when, you cant drive when its dark, and you can get fined. but still you cant change it yourself.

bottom line, im not saying its good or bad for me (for apple its the best, easiest), im just saying it is, and its happening all over the place. look at macbook air. you dont think thats the future od macbooks? no user-replaceable ssd and ram.

its funny how older people are pissed about non-user-serviceable parts in cars but its normal to us. the same thing will happen with pcs. history repeats itself, for a few years it will be normal not to be able to change ram. we have to deal with it.

 

[lifeguard90]

The problem is that most engineers (nerds) are not qualified to determine what a product should be meant to do.

I'm an engineer myself, I should know - I'm aware of my own tendencies and I see it amongst my colleagues all the time.

Take a look at Linux if you don't believe me. That is by engineers, for engineers.... and it shows! LOL

who uses linux, and ubuntu- the main stream real OS is windows and OSX

 

[theSeb]

every car has special lock nuts, but you get your key.

how many cars today have spare tires with them? how many cars have lifters so you could lift your car and change the tire. in my country? close to none. everybody has those special liquids with air compressors. read somewhere that in my country there are less than 5% flat tires. the point is, if you change your tires regularly and dont drive offroad there is a very low chance of flat tire (if you are the average costumer). and what about run-flat tires? if we're talking about imacs here, we're talking about bmws... i dont agree with this analogy, tires are non-issue.

thats why i mentioned light bulbs, theres a limited number of hours you get out of each one, you dont know when, you cant drive when its dark, and you can get fined. but still you cant change it yourself.

bottom line, im not saying its good or bad for me (for apple its the best, easiest), im just saying it is, and its happening all over the place. look at macbook air. you dont think thats the future od macbooks? no user-replaceable ssd and ram.

its funny how older people are pissed about non-user-serviceable parts in cars but its normal to us. the same thing will happen with pcs. history repeats itself, for a few years it will be normal not to be able to change ram. we have to deal with it.

You're right. Many new cars don't come with spare tyres these days. Instead they come with runflat tyres and/or quick fix kits. But you can still quickly replace them anywhere or yourself if you need to. Also in some countries some manufacturers even offer a service where if you have a flat, they will come out within 60 minutes to replace your tyre.

There are no run-flat hard drives and Apple will not come out and replace my hard drive within 60 minutes. Those are the key issues here.

We're kind of on the same page, but I don't think a hard drive should be a non- replaceable component for the user. They are simply far too prone to failure.

----------

who uses linux, and ubuntu- the main stream real OS is windows and OSX

Quite a lot of people. 60% of the world's servers that let you muck about on the internet run Linux/Unix.

 

[beosound3200]

You're right. Many new cars don't come with spare tyres these days. Instead they come with runflat tyres and/or quick fix kits. But you can still quickly replace them anywhere or yourself if you need to. Also in some countries some manufacturers even offer a service where if you have a flat, they will come out within 60 minutes to replace your tyre.

There are no run-flat hard drives and Apple will not come out and replace my hard drive within 60 minutes. Those are the key issues here.

We're kind of on the same page, but I don't think a hard drive should be a non- replaceable component for the user. They are simply far too prone to failure.

----------



Quite a lot of people. 60% of the world's servers that let you muck about on the internet run Linux/Unix.

there would be no end to my happiness if i could replace every single component in imac, but the thing is that thats not the direction apple is headed, quite the opposite. there are certainly many design wins that way but we should also consider the income from apple repair services, so we're basically blowing on cold. we have to deal with it. still, i would rather buy a mac

 

[BornAgainMac]

I would rather they kill the iMac and just use the current Apple display with upgraded USB 3 ports and then create a Pro version of the Mac Mini in place of the iMac with a desktop class GPU and easy access to components.

And make a smaller version of the Mini that you can slide in the back of an updated display if you want that clean no wire iMac system. Keeps the Apple line very lean by just having a display that supports many different Mac Minis and Mac Portables. Offer a 24 inch / 30 inch display for those that still want one.