If Apple itself could get beyond its own backward thinking, it would realize the time is ripe to take on Microsoft directly (given Vista is an abject failure and a bloated piece of crap) and stop producing product lines to milk a small user base when it SHOULD be trying hard to recruit a new larger user base of PC switchers. And guess what? PC users are used to having hardware choices and good GPUs. So while YOU may not give a crap about gaming or 3D, you do no represent the larger computing market. And THAT market is a gold mine for Apple. YOU are the past. General computing is the future. It's time Apple's product line reflected THAT market, not just the old way of thinking.
lol. Thank goodness you aren't running Apple. You'd be running them like Dell. 100 slightly different models with 100 different options for each one and zero profit margin.
What you failed to see, in your myopic view of the world, is that I actually wouldn't mind a modestly priced headless Mac, that is expandable and more powerful than the mini. I stated that.
What you also fail to see, is that while I would like that, I also realize that is not necessarily what the general computer purchaser wants.
What you fail to see, is that your needs do not represent the needs of the general computing populace you mention. They could care less about UNIX/BSD underpinnings, other than it is more reliable for them. What the vast majority of consumers want is a machine that does email and internet and occasionally Office. And iLife, which you seem to think is beneath you.
What you fail to see, in making your arrogant assumptions, is that I have little interest in iLife other than to import iPhone pictures. I mostly use chat, browsing, and email for personal use, like everyone else. Terminal, console, networking tools, omnigraffle and office for work. And occasionally photoshop. But unlike you, I don't geek out over unix. I use it to get my work done.
What you fail to see, is that the people that are interested in running ray tracers or 3D modeling applications will typically be interested in a workstation, not an iMac. And not a $700 pc that they plan on upgrading later on. In other words, a Mac Pro.
What you fail to see, is that while PC users have GPU options, the MAJORITY of desktop sales are lower end PCs that do NOT come with decent gpu. Typically they come with integrated graphics.
What you fail to see, is that today, the majority of purchases today are for LAPTOPS. As in NOT $1000 desktops.
What you fail to see is that going forward, laptops will be what most consumers will buy.
What you fail to see is that Apple is growing it's PC business significantly faster than the overall market, taking share.
What you fail to see is that Apple's current strategy is working very well and the lack of a headless or upgradeable iMac hasn't hurt them at all.
What you fail to see is that Apple, about 10 years ago, decided to not compete in the commodity computer market or actively compete in the general business computing market. They positioned themselves somewhat upmarket, in order to preserve margins, by creating a value-added proposition. By using your so-called cutesy cases to differentiate. Oh, and things like iLife and osx. The fact that some pc geeks like yourself prefer osx's unix base over vista is a happy side effect. But not the primary strategy of Apple. They are happy to have your business. But they are not targeting your demographic as part of their corporate strategy. And frankly, not mine either.
What you fail to see is that Apple did at one time try to be all things to all people, creating many models, including expandable desktops.
What you fail to see is that Steve Jobs and Apple cut that matrix to essentially 3 models, the iMac, Mac tower and PowerBook. And two lines, consumer and professional. Anyone experienced in management would understand this strategy. As profitability increased, their product matrix increased, adding the MacBook, mini, and Air. But a key part of Apple's ongoing management strategy is a simple product matrix with little or no overlap.
What you fail to see is that with Apple's current strategy, they could easily be bigger than Microsoft in 3-5 years. WITHOUT an expandable headless iMac.
What you fail to see is that the majority of people do not game on computers anymore, other than casual games. They use a console. So they are not interested in a $300 gpu upgrade.
What you fail to see, ultimately, I actually understand what you are looking for in a Mac and agree on a personal level with a lot of the reasons. Unlike you, I don't let hate get in the way of rational thinking.
Seems like you fail to see a lot of things.
