15GB iPod price not changed
Hello all. Long time reader, first time poster (and what a long post, too).
First, a bit of history just so you can understand my point of view (if you care to read. If not, skip to the next post).
I grew up with computers. I've lived through the TI-99, Coco/C64/Apple II GS, Atari ST / Amiga / Apple / IBM PC XT, 286/386/486/Pentium/etc phases (didn't have all those however, but knew some people who had some of these).
Personally I've been through Coco2+tape, XT8, 286/12, 286/20, 486 SX/33, 486 DX2/66, and some others (too many to remember, but mostly Celerons).
I'm now on an Athlon XP 2600+ with 512MB DDR with Radeon 9600XT (and WinXP just so I can use iTunes and my 10GB iPod). And to be honest, this Athlon doesn't really feel that much more powerful than my previous Celeron 700 system. I mean, shouldn't it feel about at *least* 3 times more faster?
But it doesn't. It just feels "somewhat faster". And no it's not XP slowing me down, I'm running in "Windows classic" mode with all the (crappy) eye-candy turned off.
So basically, yes, the speed race is over. The only real things that require computing speed are science projects (weather simulation, protein folding, SETI@home, etc), businesses (servers, number-crunching, etc) and games.
Now, before you start flaming me for the next few paragraphs, just read the entire post - thanks.
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I really hated Apple.
Stupid operating system that couldn't even take care of system memory ("what do you mean, you didn't allocated enough memory for Photoshop? Isn't the computer supposed to do that for you?")
Stupid computer with proprietary connectors ("what the hell is ADB? Can't they use industry-standard connectors? Why do you need to buy a special Apple-only printer?").
Stupid everything. Having a Mac meant you were confined to your own little Apple world. Even the Amiga was more open than that.
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But now, enter OS X.
Enter a company that is not only pushing industry standards, but dropping their own proprietary ones when the other can work just as well (ADC vs DVI). AAC format for audio (with is MPEG-4 audio developped by Dolby, as I understand it).
Enter a company that has completely ditched its own operating system and built a new one based on industry standard Unix (BSD).
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Apple has changed.
I've been following Steve's speeches for the last 2-3 years, and the last one just blew me away. System-wide searches (Spotlight) and complete hardware utilization (Core Image and Core Video) is getting me excited about computing once again.
The speed race is mostly over. The race is now the software. And Apple has so much of a head-start it's not even funny. Apple's philosophy is paying off. The computer is there to help us with our daily stuff. We're not here for the computer (This is what Linux zealots don't get either, and this is why Linux will always be a small % of desktop users, unless they change their ways. I wish them the best of luck on that, because Linux desktops eat away at Microsoft desktops, and this can only be a good thing).
I used to only use a file explorer and winamp. And carefully placed MP3's in their respective folders. And I was happy with that. It worked.
Then, Apple released iTunes for Windows. Alright, let's try this "great Apple software". Oh man, why does it play around with my music files and folders? How will I be able to find my music now? Oh, I see. The software helps me find my music. That's nice. But what about playlists? Oh, there they are. What the hell is a "smart playlist"? Oh, I see. Wow. Why wasn't that other music player that good?
After two weeks, I deleted WinAmp. After using it for years. I was starting to understand that "Mac philosophy" thing.
Well, it's a shame my Flash MP3 player isn't compatible with iTunes. Well I guess I'll drag'n drop my files manually then. Nice, iTunes does allow that. But wait, iTunes was so great (taking care of ripping, tagging, placing files on my HD) that I actually did rip all of my 50+ CDs for the first time. Ouch, those 2.5GB+ files don't fit onto my 256MB CF MP3 player... And won't fit on a single CD-R for my MP3 CD player either.
I sold my Flash and CD MP3 players on eBay. And bought a 10GB iPod a week after Apple dropped it in favor of the 15GB model. After all, I barely got 3GB of music, I only buy about 4-5 CDs a year and won't need more than 10GB for years to come. And I was able to get a 50$ discount on a brand new 10GB iPod because the store just couldn't sell me a 10GB for the price of the new 15GB.
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uv23 said:
2) Did anyone else notice that the 15 gig iPod has gone down in price? At least I think it has. There's a "new" label beside it and I thought it was more than $399CDN. I suspect the 20/40/60 gig line is imminent.
Nope, I bought my 10GB for 349$CDN when the 15GB was released, and the 15GB has always been 399$CDN (same price as the 10GB it replaced). So to answer your question, no, the 15GB didn't drop in price.
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And now, for the (yes, you guessed it) "headless Mac" rumors/hopes.
You know how Apple is always striving to break that "1000$ barrier"? Well, that barrier exists in other countries too. Canada, for exemple.
In the US Apple Store, the eMacs cost 799$ and 999$. That's fine and all, but it means that in the Canadian Apple Store they cost 1049$ and 1299$. So in the US, the superdrive model is indeed under 1$K, but in Canada even the combodrive model is above that 1$K barrier. To make matters worst, brand models *easily* break the 1$K barrier. I'm talking Dell, Compaq, HP.
For about 1000$CDN, I get a 1.25GHz G4 eMac, combo drive, 256MB DDR, Radeon 9200/32MB with a 17" CRT.
Or for 600$CDN (which is 40% less, we're not talking small change here) I get a Celeron 2.7GHz, 256MB DDR, 40GB HD, 48x CD-RW drive, and 17" CRT monitor. Of course, that Celeron system doesn't come with OS X (which, I know, is the main point of having a Mac), but let's set that aside for a moment.
If you can get a brand-name system for 600$CDN (all included), Apple should at *least* try to under-cut their own lowest-priced Apple system. Yes, I'm talking headless eMac.
No, I'm not talking about a new motherboard, I'm literally talking "headless eMac", as in a new case that can hold the current eMac motherboard/power supply/drives/hd/etc. A cheap 17" CRT costs about 150$CDN. I'm guessing Apple isn't using cheap CRTs in their eMac, so let's say *my* added cost for the CRT in the eMac price is 200$CDN.
It also means the eMac case costs more (to hold the CRT, maybe more heat-related heatsinks, etc), takes more place in inventory (so stores don't have that many in the backstore) and costs more to ship (the CRT being the heaviest part of the eMac).
Now, imagine that headless eMac. No CRT, smaller/lighter case, takes about 1/3 inventory space, costs 200$CDN less (about 125-150$US). And since it's for switchers who already have a CRT, they probably already also have a USB mouse and keyboard. Heck, they already have a HD and RAM too.
So here's my idea: a headless eMac, for do-it-yourself switchers only. No display, no RAM, no HD, no combo/superdrive, no mouse, no keyboard. Of course, Apple can (and should) limit what hardware is supported (especially for the CD drive), but a HD is a HD, RAM is RAM (as long as it's the required speed/type/etc), a USB mouse/keyboard is a USB mouse/keyboard.
Open up your HLS Mac (Head-Less Switcher Mac), open up your old PC. Switch your components (hence the "Switcher name is for both your computer and yourself)l, boot up and install OS X (I've read it only takes about 15 minutes to install OS X anyway).
Imagine the final price tag for a eMac without CRT (-200$CDN), without HD (-100$CDN), without keyboard and mouse (-70$CDN each, prices from to the Canadian Apple Store) and without RAM (let's say 50$CDN for 256MB DDR).
That would put the combodrive/superdrive HLS Macs to about 550$CDN/800$CDN, or about 400$US/600$US. Quite a price drop.
Yes, some people will tell me "you're an idiot, those other parts do costs something too", to which I reply "yes but the switchers already HAVE those parts - no point in buying something you already have. If you don't have those parts, buy the eMac. That's the whole point of a headless Mac (and no, don't tell me to buy an old G4 PowerMac, those systems are more expensive than the lowest-priced eMac!)"
Heck, some stores could even offer potential switchers to transfer their hardware from their PC to their HLS Mac.
The sad thing is, I know Apple would never do such a thing ("OMG the switcher's monitor/mouse/keyboard won't fit with our design!"). But for switchers, I still think it would be the best idea.
Unfortunatly, my best bet on that is to check eBay for a discounted G4 eMac with a non-working CRT and make that "case mod" myself. But even a non-working CRT weights a lot, so shipping costs would kill the discount anyway.
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So here I am, waiting for the Paris Expo in september, to see the "next iMac" (hoping, like many, for a headless G5 Mac with an AGP slot or at least a PCI-whatever for those next-gen videocards).
If the next iMac isn't at least G5 (or dual G4?!), or is priced too high, then I'll have to decide between the combodrive eMac and the 12" iBook.
Thanks for reading.
P.S.: Anyone here on the World of Warcraft Beta with a G4/1.25Ghz eMac or a G4/1GHz 12" iBook? (Radeon 9200/32MB in both).
Also ordered the dock.
