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It's not just iMac sales that are affected by the lack of a refresh

T

timcullis

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 9, 2012
66
0
London
After decades of using CP/M microcomputers, then MS-DOS and Windows personal computers I become totally disenchanted with the ever-more-complicated environment. Computers should by now be easy to use!

Fed up with acting as technical support to the family I decided 9 months ago to investigate moving to Apple. So I bought a MacBook Air with Apple's excellent one-to-one training and support programme and the trial was a great success. The only key application not supported under OS X was Garmin's Mapsource so I implemented Parallel's Desktop to enable this to run under Windows XP Pro.

Four months ago I started making a shopping list of what else to buy to complete the migration
- iMac with 27-in display, 2TB disk and extra memory
- TimeCapsule backup with 3TB disk
- 32GB iPod (edit: iPad, not iPod)
- another MacBook
- 2 x iPhone 5
- AirPrint compatible printer

That's for starters...

Key to starting the migration is the iMac, but I'm not about to pay 2012 prices for a 2011 configuration. So at the moment ALL the purchases are on hold.
 
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timcullis said:
After decades of using CP/M microcomputers, then MS-DOS and Windows personal computers I become totally disenchanted with the ever-more-complicated environment. Computers should by now be easy to use! Fed up with acting as technical support to the extended family I decided 9 months ago to investigate moving to Apple. So I bought a MacBook Air with Apple's excellent one-to-one training and support programme and the trial was a great success. The only key application not supported under OS X was Garmin's Mapsource so I implemented Parallel's Desktop to enable this to run under Windows XP Pro.

Four months ago I started making a shopping list of what else to buy to complete the migration
- iMac with 27-in display, 2TB disk and extra memory
- TimeCapsule backup with 3TB disk
- 32GB iPod
- another MacBook
- 2 x iPhone 5
- AirPrint compatible printer

Then there's the purchases for the extended family...

Key to starting the migration is the iMac, but I'm not about to pay 2012 prices for a 2011 configuration. So at the moment ALL the purchases are on hold.
Click to expand...

I can't really see how the iMac is blocking the rest of your purchases.
 
I dont get your point. iP5 was just upgraded, Macbooks not too long ago. You already have a computer to manage iOS device - which is not needed anyway.
 
Well I'm hardly going to migrate to an iPhone or a iPad... :eek:

One of the Windows machines currently has a 23-in monitor, so the only way a MacBook will replace it is if I buy a standalone 27-in monitor at the same time. A very expensive solution!

I have a NAS RAID on the network at the moment but I'm not happy using that for primary storage on a new Apple network. I currently see the iMac acting as a central repository backed up with the TimeCapsule, then maybe over time add a NAS drive back into the equation.

One of the many conflicting rumours is that Apple is never going to update the iMac line as it sees desktops as EOL. If this were to be the case I would need to rethink everything.

Edit: Sorry, that should hard read 32GB iPad on my first post (now corrected).
 
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Apple has already communicated updates are in the works for the iMac. Besides, the iMac is not EOL; there is a very significant upgrade cycle with pent up demand and market share capture opportunity. The Mac Pro is much closer to EOL than iMac. It would go first. And if it does, that increases the opportunity set for iMac.
 
segovius said:
I'm guessing because if the iMac does not materialize then all the other steps are moot.
Click to expand...

still, unless of course he hasn't got an auxiliary solution in mind should Apple fails to refresh the iMac, hardly seeing that happening.

auxiliary solutions easily are mac minis with TB displays at close the iMac cost. Or maybe just buy the other macbook he had in the shopping list. So again, I don't think the iMac is the real issue here, it is making the decision to get through the Apple store door and offering up all that money.

Non custom iMac (ie, no 2Gb & extra RAM as OP said)
27-inch: 3.1GHz
3.1GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
2560 x 1440 resolution
4GB (two 2GB) memory
1TB hard drive1
AMD Radeon HD 6970M with 1GB
$1,999.00
===================
Mac Mini
2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5
4GB memory
500GB hard drive1
AMD Radeon HD 6630M
OS X Mountain Lion
$799.00
&
Apple Thunderbolt Display (27-inch)
$999.00
===================

Mac Mini with OS X Server
2.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
4GB memory
Dual 500GB 7200-rpm hard drives1
Intel HD Graphics 3000
OS X Server
OS X Mountain Lion
$999.00
&
Apple Thunderbolt Display (27-inch)
$999.00

----------
comatory said:
I dont get your point. iP5 was just upgraded, Macbooks not too long ago. You already have a computer to manage iOS device - which is not needed anyway.
Click to expand...

true, and when the iMac will be refreshed, these will be almost on cycle refresh
 
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Mike in Kansas said:
You don't HAVE to buy a $1,000 Apple 27" TB display. Here is a $300 27" LED monitor...
Click to expand...

Many thanks for the suggestion, but that's just 1920x1080 resolution and I have better than that on one of my old Windows laptops. You're absolutely right, there are solutions I could string together, but I started off saying the whole point in going down the Apple route is for simplicity.

needfx: no problems giving Apple the money, it's sitting here collecting dust. ;)
Substituting the obsolete MacMini with its slower processor and smaller disk capacity (I want 2TB) doesn't really help. I would rather buy the obsolete iMac. :(
 
Apple is abandoning their computer customers for their iToy profits. They no longer need or care about their computer customers.

Any iMac refreshes will be minor. Geekbench scores will not improve materially and Apple no longer cares. It is all about the short term money and profits.

I am a very disgusted long term Mac user.
 
needfx said:
I can't really see how the iMac is blocking the rest of your purchases.
Click to expand...

For many, the desktop is still the main cog in their work and personal lives.
I absolutely understand his reasons.
He clearly doesn't want to migrate to a new "world" that will probably discard his main need.
 
NunoBerny said:
For many, the desktop is still the main cog in their work and personal lives.
I absolutely understand his reasons.
He clearly doesn't want to migrate to a new "world" that will probably discard his main need.
Click to expand...

needfx said:
still, unless of course he hasn't got an auxiliary solution in mind should Apple fails to refresh the iMac, hardly seeing that happening.

auxiliary solutions easily are mac minis with TB displays at close the iMac cost. Or maybe just buy the other macbook he had in the shopping list. So again, I don't think the iMac is the real issue here, it is making the decision to get through the Apple store door and offering up all that money.

Non custom iMac (ie, no 2Gb & extra RAM as OP said)
27-inch: 3.1GHz
3.1GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
2560 x 1440 resolution
4GB (two 2GB) memory
1TB hard drive1
AMD Radeon HD 6970M with 1GB
$1,999.00
===================
Mac Mini
2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5
4GB memory
500GB hard drive1
AMD Radeon HD 6630M
OS X Mountain Lion
$799.00
&
Apple Thunderbolt Display (27-inch)
$999.00
===================

Mac Mini with OS X Server
2.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
4GB memory
Dual 500GB 7200-rpm hard drives1
Intel HD Graphics 3000
OS X Server
OS X Mountain Lion
$999.00
&
Apple Thunderbolt Display (27-inch)
$999.00

----------



true, and when the iMac will be refreshed, these will be almost on cycle refresh
Click to expand...

noted, but I have already suggested mac mini alternatives
 
Mike in Kansas said:
You don't HAVE to buy a $1,000 Apple 27" TB display. Here is a $300 27" LED monitor...
Click to expand...

Says the guy whose sig is this:

"13" 2012 MBA/i7/8GB RAM/256 GB SSD
24" 2008 iMac/2.8GHz/6GB RAM/240GB OCZ Agility SSD/2 Ext. LaCie FW800 HDDs
20" 2008 iMac/2.66GHz/4GB RAM/320GB HDD
2GB Time Capsule; ATV 3; 32GB iPad; iPhone 4"


:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:


needfx said:
noted, but I have already suggested mac mini alternatives
Click to expand...

How is that a viable alternative? It is severely underpowered for being his central hub.
 
xkmxkmxlmx said:
Says the guy whose sig is this:

"13" 2012 MBA/i7/8GB RAM/256 GB SSD
24" 2008 iMac/2.8GHz/6GB RAM/240GB OCZ Agility SSD/2 Ext. LaCie FW800 HDDs
20" 2008 iMac/2.66GHz/4GB RAM/320GB HDD
2GB Time Capsule; ATV 3; 32GB iPad; iPhone 4"


:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
Click to expand...
I'm not the person stating that a Macbook and TB Display option is "a very expensive solution". The OP is. My comment was that if you want to cut costs, you can.

I personally think that a MBP coupled with a TB display make for a fine iMac replacement; more than likely you could amortize the cost of your TB display over the life of 2 MBP's; thereby reducing your overall cost.

I will probably go this route (or go with a MBA) when it is time to upgrade my desktop. Right now, the MBA in my sig is "spoken for" primarily by my wife and 1 son; I just maintain it! If it was going to be my primary computer, I would have bitten the bullet and spent the money to get the TB display along with it.
 
Mike in Kansas said:
...I personally think that a MBP coupled with a TB display make for a fine iMac replacement...
Click to expand...

I'm not talking about migrating just one machine over to Apple, but a small network of Windows machines with a substantial amount of data. The MacBook Pro is totally out of the running for my needs as a central repository-- the most obvious failing is that it has less than half the disk capacity I've said I need!

Almost every response has failed to acknowledge the main point of the thread, which is that Apple's failure to refresh the iMac has affected not just my iMac purchase but many others. I'm not going to be buying iPads, iPhones, more MacBooks, TimeCapsule and AirPrint printer until I feel confident about the main aspect of the migration.
 
xgman said:
oh really? link please? (I think what you may be referring to was about the 2013 Mac Pro, not the imac)
Click to expand...


Yes, that's what I was going to reply. Right now from official Apple sources, we have no confirmation of any kind, however remote, that the iMac or Mac Mini will EVER be updated, and only a somewhat nonspecific confirmation that the Mac Pro will either be updated or supplanted "later in 2013."
 
timcullis said:
Almost every response has failed to acknowledge the main point of the thread, which is that Apple's failure to refresh the iMac has affected not just my iMac purchase but many others. I'm not going to be buying iPads, iPhones, more MacBooks, TimeCapsule and AirPrint printer until I feel confident about the main aspect of the migration.
Click to expand...

uhhh OK. What do you want us to say?

"wow, you're right!"
"oh no, you're wrong!"

Only you know how you will spend your money.
 
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