iMacs Update Rumors?

[MikeH]

DP iMacs

I'd have thought DP iMacs unlikely, have you seen the size of the heatsink on PowerMacs? There simply wouldn't be the room to cool two processers without a major rethink.

I say keep the tray loading drives (far less hassle than slot loading) and 64mb at least for the graphics.

 

[pgwalsh]

Re: DP iMacs

Originally posted by MikeH
I'd have thought DP iMacs unlikely, have you seen the size of the heatsink on PowerMacs? There simply wouldn't be the room to cool two processers without a major rethink.

I say keep the tray loading drives (far less hassle than slot loading) and 64mb at least for the graphics.

I totally agree. I do think an upgraded bus, memory, 800fw etc would be expected. I'd like to see the I'mac sport a wireless keyboard and mouse along with wireless speakers. I'm still rooting for the Patriot iMac. Make a special edition iMac that has a painted flag across the monitor and the base at an angle.

 

[aka]

switcher campaign requires full featured i-macs

The thrust of the switcher campaign is to convert PC users from the dark side. The cost of a PM + monitor is not attractive to residential PC users who can get much faster machines for much less $.

If Apple dumbs down the next version of i-macs by not including FW2, bluetooth, and Airport Extreme (at least as an options) then not only are they sabotaging the switcher campaign but also are being disrespectful to the mac faithfull.

If Apple releases the next i-macs including FW2, BT, AE etc. sales will be brisk and prolonged.

I'm hoping the 19 inch i-mac is an option.

 

[Shrek]

Re: Re: Edit...

Originally posted by yosoyjay


If you'll look at the supposed specs for 'Fast' there is no mention of Bluetooth or Airport Extreme. And under 'Faster' there is no mention of Airport Extreme. Duh.

And I am praying that Apple will incorporate Airport extreme in all iMacs across the board. Those Loop specs are just rumors, btw. Duh.

 

[pgwalsh]

Re: switcher campaign requires full featured i-macs

Originally posted by aka
The thrust of the switcher campaign is to convert PC users from the dark side. The cost of a PM + monitor is not attractive to residential PC users who can get much faster machines for much less $.

That may be true for a good portion of PC users, but not for all. For example, my sister and her husband just asked me to help them buy a mac. One works for Cisco the other for adobe. They have work laptops, but nothing at home. Neither is very computers savvy. One is a lawyer and the other does mergers and acquisitions. Granted they make quite a bit of money between the two of them, but this is a good example of a PC user fed up with the PC world.

They could buy a dell PC, which they've don in the past, but they're opting for an iMac or PowerMac. I recommended the iMac, as they just want to use it with their iPod, digital camera, and digital video camera. They're buying it for two reasons. Ease of use and looks very cool. They're tired of using windows. They don't know what software to buy. Though my sister works at adobe, she finds apple's software easier to use because it's consumer oriented.

Speed is not as much of a concern to them as it would be for me. They want something easy to use that does the basic fun stuff they like to do at home.

 

[rainman::|:|]

Re: Re: DP iMacs

Originally posted by pgwalsh
I totally agree. I do think an upgraded bus, memory, 800fw etc would be expected. I'd like to see the I'mac sport a wireless keyboard and mouse along with wireless speakers. I'm still rooting for the Patriot iMac. Make a special edition iMac that has a painted flag across the monitor and the base at an angle.

are you high? wireless speakers? what the hell is the point of that? you'd have to either plug them into a power source, or plug them into a charger every night, then come unplug them from the charger and set them back by your computer. Speakers are stationary objects that would in no way benefit from being wireless...

and a painted flag? i'm just going to assume you're kidding with this one...

hehe
pnw

 

[rainman::|:|]

Re: A Better iMac

Originally posted by Sol
Keyboards with backlighting would be pretty but not very functional. Unlike the enviroment of a laptop, a desktop computer is likely to be near a light-source. Gamers might get a kick out of it though.

Agreed with everything in your post but this. We have not been discussing light-up keyboards, we've been discussing the OTHER feature that ambient light sensors provide the Powerbook with... an LCD backlight that adjusts to accomodate the light level of the room.

A light-up keyboard would be kind of cool, but rather pointless, like you said. It's a pretty fair bet that Apple wouldn't do this.

pnw

 

[pgwalsh]

Re: Re: Re: DP iMacs

Originally posted by paulwhannel


are you high? wireless speakers? what the hell is the point of that? you'd have to either plug them into a power source, or plug them into a charger every night, then come unplug them from the charger and set them back by your computer. Speakers are stationary objects that would in no way benefit from being wireless...

and a painted flag? i'm just going to assume you're kidding with this one...

hehe
pnw

Yes, I'm very high on life. Wireless speakers need very little power. They're more common in home sound systems. Just think if the iMac had 5.1 surround and you had wireless speaker for the rear. Then you could place them on a shelf or somewhere and not worry about the wires dangling all over.

I am serious about a patriot Mac. As it may not apeal to you, it does to me. Part of a flag beneath the plastic on the back of th monitor (at an angle) and part of a flag on the base. Keep the white, but have the flag cover most of it. I think it would look cool, obviously you don't.

 

[jelloshotsrule]

Re: Re: Re: Re: DP iMacs

Originally posted by pgwalsh



I am serious about a patriot Mac. As it may not apeal to you, it does to me. Part of a flag beneath the plastic on the back of th monitor (at an angle) and part of a flag on the base. Keep the white, but have the flag cover most of it. I think it would look cool, obviously you don't.

so paint it or get some stickers... you can't actually expect apple to create such a specialized item.....

 

[pgwalsh]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: DP iMacs

Originally posted by jelloshotsrule


so paint it or get some stickers... you can't actually expect apple to create such a specialized item.....

You're right, I can't expect it, nor do I. But I think it would be cool. If I were, I'd have a professional air brush it or something. The actual chances of me getting an iMac are slim to none anyway as I'm more of a PowerMac user.

 

[MhzDoesMatter]

Wishful thinking

any one else thinking (alright, hoping) that Steve has developed a rather devil-may-care attitude about cannibalizing sales with better computers temporarily until better models come out? Because there is obviously going to be a sizable drop in sales of 15 inch powerbooks and 12 inch ibooks until the models are updated or refreshed. It might be a better for the company to just forge ahead with a line up of the best models they can make in certain divisions until the others catch up.

Personally, I'd love to wake up one day, check the apple sites and see that they just released a bad ass flat panel iMac. For one, it would mean I could have a great consumer system. And while it might eat some PM sales, it would be a sign that better pro-computers are in the pipeline


-Hz

 

[Ramsaid]

Re: Re: Re: Re: DP iMacs

Originally posted by pgwalsh

I am serious about a patriot Mac. As it may not apeal to you, it does to me. Part of a flag beneath the plastic on the back of th monitor (at an angle) and part of a flag on the base. Keep the white, but have the flag cover most of it. I think it would look cool, obviously you don't.

I think you found yourself a niche market - iMac skins. Patriot theme, jaguar fur, black, chrome, biege (well maybe not beige).

I probably wouldn't be interested but others may.

 

[pgwalsh]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: DP iMacs

Originally posted by Ramsaid



I think you found yourself a niche market - iMac skins. Patriot theme, jaguar fur, black, chrome, biege (well maybe not beige).

I probably wouldn't be interested but others may.

Yea, I was thinking the british flag would be cool too.

 

[SwitchHitter]

So....is it next week for announcing the new iMac line-up

So, it seems someone would know if next week Apple is going to announce the line-up of new imacs. Certainly there's got to be a little bit of leakage around that?!

Anyone from Apple care to comment? I DESPERATELY WANT to buy an iMac, and make the 'switch' from the PC.

Although technically, I'll be Bi, since I'll still use the PC for work, but everything else will be iMac..

I"m getting a tad tired of waiting.... tap tap tap.

 

[The Grimace]

On the subject of 'skins'...

Didn't Apple recently apply for a patent for some type of electro-sensitive 'shell'? (Yeah, I know, but it's been a long day... My brain is in sleep mode).

(tig)

 

[jelloshotsrule]

i want the confederate flag! and they should also allow you to personalize... submit a 1024 x 768 image of what you want your imac to have on it, and you're good to go. at least 300 dpi for good quality.

haha

i would imagine either the new imacs will be update at the same time, after or very briefly before the new pmacs, or they won't have airport extreme/ fw 800.... as i think that'd be bad for the powermacs, if only in appearance when you compare the specs. not to mention that the mhz are getting pretty close too... especially if they take it up to a gig...

 

[pkradd]

Updated iMacs

15" Screens are still popular. Dell and HP sell them in flat panel (although the Dell version isn't as good as the iMac). Remember it's equivalent to a 17" CRT. Look for an entry level iMac 15" at $999.00. It will not include a PC slot. (That's not Apple's style for consumer machines - and it's not "stupid"). It will be Airport Extreme ready, which means you have to buy the card. The other iMacs will be 17" and the top of the line iMac may have the Airport Extreme card bundled. Product will be introduced in February (after iApps and Jag update are ready). These are my guesses.

 

[-hh]

Re: Re: Re: DP iMacs

Originally posted by paulwhannel


are you high? wireless speakers? what the hell is the point of that? you'd have to either plug them into a power source, or plug them into a charger every night, then come unplug them from the charger and set them back by your computer. Speakers are stationary objects that would in no way benefit from being wireless...

Actually, I can see some value in the idea:

Make the speakers wireless for configuration/signal purposes, but not necessarily for power, and you've cut by 50% the number of generic wires in the setup.

If you want to really get elegant about it, you configure your new iMacs to have two standard "5v" power jacks on them, which you use to plug your speakers into for power.

This design elegance means that the customer no longer has to crawl around on the floor to plug in one of those klunky 2" brick transformers into his 110vac power strip. I mean, doesn't everyone absolutely loathe these stupid bricks, if for no other reason than their width also blocks off adjacent 110vac outlets on said power strip?

Design elegance is only using a single 110vac wall outlet to hook up everything, without resorting to a $5 power strip and the tangle of wires they always attract.

FWIW, for my system at home right now, between the brick for my speakers, USB hub, external ZIP, scanner, etc, I need something like 7 power outlets to hook everything up, plus another 3-4 "holes" due to those blasted brick transformers. And all combined, its still well under 10 amps, so technologically, it could be integrated down to a single plug.


-hh

 

[Centris 650]

Re: Re: Re: Re: DP iMacs

Originally posted by -hh


Actually, I can see some value in the idea:

Make the speakers wireless for configuration/signal purposes, but not necessarily for power, and you've cut by 50% the number of generic wires in the setup.

If you want to really get elegant about it, you configure your new iMacs to have two standard "5v" power jacks on them, which you use to plug your speakers into for power.

This design elegance means that the customer no longer has to crawl around on the floor to plug in one of those klunky 2" brick transformers into his 110vac power strip. I mean, doesn't everyone absolutely loathe these stupid bricks, if for no other reason than their width also blocks off adjacent 110vac outlets on said power strip?

Design elegance is only using a single 110vac wall outlet to hook up everything, without resorting to a $5 power strip and the tangle of wires they always attract.

FWIW, for my system at home right now, between the brick for my speakers, USB hub, external ZIP, scanner, etc, I need something like 7 power outlets to hook everything up, plus another 3-4 "holes" due to those blasted brick transformers. And all combined, its still well under 10 amps, so technologically, it could be integrated down to a single plug.


-hh

EXACTLY! I really think Apple is going to head in this direction, though I doubt wireless speakers will be next. I really think and can see Apple coming out with a wireless keyboard and mouse. Like I've said before they really touted the lack of cords with the original iMac. (Remember the "Out of the Box and onto the internet in 5 Miniutes" commercials?) Bluetooth technology in the new macs really makes this possible.

Also, this would be a diversion tactic. While processor speeds might not get a major boost this would be a really high "coolness" factor and something to set it apart from PCs.

 

[Phil Of Mac]

Airport Extreme isn't a "pro feature", it's second-gen AirPort--and AirPort was introduced on a "consumer" machine, the iBook.

 

[hvfsl]

If Apple ever wants to get above 10% of the computer market (they are at 3% now, behind linux) they need to make faster and cheaper computers. These new iMacs are not as fast as mid-range PCs and cost more. For a start Apple could make the ATI 9000pro as standard accross the range and a Nvidia Geforce 4Ti or Radeon 9700 in the high end. Also Apple still has no support for more than two speakers and having a sound card like the Creative Audigy would increase system performance by 10-20% (it does on my PC).

 

[orthodoc]

Regarding airport extreme: since you can't buy the previous airport base station on apple's website, I would assume that all new hardware will include airport extreme capabilities. If the new iMacs don't have AE, I will be shocked.

 

[rainman::|:|]

Originally posted by orthodoc
Regarding airport extreme: since you can't buy the previous airport base station on apple's website, I would assume that all new hardware will include airport extreme capabilities. If the new iMacs don't have AE, I will be shocked.

Good point. Plus the costs would be kept down by keeping a standardized internal design, so they don't have to worry about anything but processor speeds.

I would like to see the iMac be cable-ready, as someone here suggested. That way, you could watch regular TV, or get a $30 modulator to hook up component video if you needed it (and since you can already play DVDs, and iMac users wouldn't need as much video editing capability, it'd make sense)... i realize it's not something that would ever happen again, but they should think about it. Digital hub and all that.

 

[gooddog]

Re: Loop Posts iMac Specs

Originally posted by iJon
These are the spec they provided. They said there will be 4 models but only recieved 3. I guess this will determine how accurate their sources are. Here they are. Personally I hope the high end comes with a 64mb card for those mac people who wanna play those few games for macs they have and have them look somewhat nice. For a more in depth look go to www.looprumors.com

Fast

15-inch LCD flat screen
800MHz PowerPC G4
NVIDIA GeForce2 MX
256MB SDRAM
40GB Ultra ATA hard drive
10/100BASE-T Ethernet
DVD/CD-RW
56K internal modem
Apple Pro Speakers

Faster

17-inch LCD flat screen
867MHz PowerPC G4
NVIDIA GeForce2 MX
256MB SDRAM
80GB Ultra ATA hard drive
10/100BASE-T Ethernet
SuperDrive
Bluetooth
FireWire 800
56K internal modem
Apple Pro Speakers

Fastest

17-inch LCD flat screen
1GHz PowerPC G4
NVIDIA GeForce4 MX
512MB SDRAM
120GB Ultra ATA hard drive
10/100BASE-T Ethernet
SuperDrive
Bluetooth
FireWire 800
AirPort Extreme
56K internal modem
Apple Pro Speakers

iJon

***************

The fourth one is the one I want : 19" screen.

---gooddog

 

[MacKid]

Re: On the subject of 'skins'...

Originally posted by The Grimace
Didn't Apple recently apply for a patent for some type of electro-sensitive 'shell'? (Yeah, I know, but it's been a long day... My brain is in sleep mode).

(tig)

You're about 3/4 right. It was technically a patent for Dynamic Ornamental Appearance (whatever that is) which was apparently something that let you change the color of your computer.