New iMac G5 Announced

[aerolex]

HOLLA :::: POINT

ONE MO' THANG
::::::::::::::::::

let me HOLLA'

can we make WIRELESS a standard , bluetooth or whatever

once i saw the real world photos with all the cables i remembered

how much they detract from the design aesthetic.


HOLD ME DOWN

......................

 

[mudflapper]

Whine whine whine.

People just love to complain, don't they?

You're upset because the new iMac has an average vid card and a small amount of ram.

What's so funny is, if Apple had put in a better card and some more ram, the machine would have cost a couple hundred dollars more, and you would then be screaming about the high price tag.

You just can't please everyone.

The new iMac looks like a GREAT machine, at a suprisingly great price. (something Apple isn't really known for.) In fact, there's nothing else like it out there. It's the first of it's kind. Design that intuitive and ground-breaking doesn't come cheap.

You can buy a souped-up Corvette that's faster than a BMW, but it's still just a Chevy.

mudflapper

 

[Charko]

Bad specs for the money. $1300 for a computer with a 64 MB 5200FX and 256 MB RAM? *PITIFUL!*

Earth to Apple: Make a $1000 headless G5 with a decent video chipset (not a 5200FX) and watch your market share grow.

$1300 for a "consumer" computer with these specs is fecal, even with a 17" LCD (whoop-dee-doo, a $400 value!).

-vga4life

Right on!

 

[yippy]

I like it.

Nice and small. It would be absolutely perfect for someone like my mom, where the most demanding thing they do is making flyers or using iPhoto.

The only complaint is the graphics card, althogh it has got to be better than that integrated graphics stuff. And ram is cheap, no big deal to drop $90 more and up it to 768Mb.

 

[gaslee]

Why can't I post

Sorry for replying here, but I can't seem to post a new message. I've gone through the activation and subscribing business, but I'm still getting the "Unable to Post New" message.
Help!!!

Gareth

 

[t300]

Oh my...It is SO STUNNING!

The one thing now that Apple must do is get across to everyone that THAT is the whole computer. Most average people will confuse the iMac with the new displays and not know otherwise. But I don't think that's going to be a problem.

Halo sounds like it runs very well on the iMac now, as does everything else.

The ONE thing I am disapointed in? That the iMac was the ONLY new product announced...

That's what we should be talking about.

 

[U2U]

click wheel?

Who else thinks that that big white space needed to be filled with a click wheel?

 

[t300]

No, it should have an IR port and come with a remote control. Oh, snap!

 

[swissmann]

I like it. Simple, small, large screen. The graphics card is not great. The Superdrive is only a 4x DVD-R even the eMac has an 8x. I hope it is quiet.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

look thatwendingo your trying to twist what you actually meant when you said that they wont fit a g5 in a imac enclosure... this proves they can fit g5 into tight enclosures this is as tight if not tighter than the half dome.

just confess you were WRONG and start babbling about how they wont ever fit a g5 in a laptop

I am beginning to think that the G5 iMac is the "testing grounds" for the PB G5. See what issues come up with the rev. A G5 iMac, and use them to build a better rev. A PB G5.

 

[Kurt Cobain]

totally ugly. it looks like a bulimic eMac. The eMac: regurgitated.

I'd rather it be thicker than to have that extra space on the bottom. Plus, the logos are way too large.

Who knows, maybe the rest of the world will like it.

Hell, maybe that's why Steve didn't do the keynote -- he was too embarrassed.

.narco

Totally agree... eMac was the instinctive image that bounced in my head after seeing the front of the iMac G5. And I agree, the apple logo there is to cover up what? this totally unused space.. I'm so puzzled as to why didnt they make the LCD different than 16:9? there was a chance to pull the viewing area way down, and yet they sticked to their guns with the current ratio... Mixed feelings, not to mention the somewhat poor specs... I'm disappointed. IMO, mostly mac newbie acolytes or low end users will dig it big.

 

[corbin_a2]

Dose anyone know if there is a way to see the keynote?

 

[tomf87]

People just love to complain, don't they?

You're upset because the new iMac has an average vid card and a small amount of ram.

What's so funny is, if Apple had put in a better card and some more ram, the machine would have cost a couple hundred dollars more, and you would then be screaming about the high price tag.

You just can't please everyone.

The new iMac looks like a GREAT machine, at a suprisingly great price. (something Apple isn't really known for.) In fact, there's nothing else like it out there. It's the first of it's kind. Design that intuitive and ground-breaking doesn't come cheap.

You can buy a souped-up Corvette that's faster than a BMW, but it's still just a Chevy.

mudflapper

I don't think $1300 for any machine with 256MB of RAM and a poor video card is a good price point. Apple should be able to get a better deal on video cards for their machines as a manufacturer. They are charging a ridiculous amount for mediocre specifications.

And actually Dell beat Apple to the line with a machine that's totally integrated like the new iMac. I'm not impressed with their design either, but Apple still was not the first.

As to your analogy, you could buy a dual processor PowerMac that's faster than the iMac, but it's still just a Power Mac. 🙄

 

[Squire]

Apple is really stressing the visual similarity between the new G5 iMac and the iPod: the front page (www.apple.com) says "From the creators of iPod. The new iMac G5."

Then, the very first paragraph on www.apple.com/imac says "What if you could fit your whole life — all your music, all your photos, all your movies, all your email — in a computer as fun and useful as an iPod? Now you can."

Is apple trying to parlay (http://daringfireball.net/2004/08/parlay) their iPod's success back into their computer offerings? I think so!

Yeah, and a very smart move. Also, with the design, I think it was smart to keep it low key. I really can't understand all the people who think it's ugly. Sure, everyone has opinions on appearance, but it's just a monitor! I mean, that's like telling someone that their pencil is ugly. Come on! It's a pencil! Boring, bland, unappealing, sure. (I happen to like it.)

Oh, and aerolex, I've seen those computers, too. the only problem is, I can get by not upgrading my Mac for 4 years. Not really the case with a PC.

And, finally, to all of you who hate the design and want a 'headless' mac, I say the all-in-one design lives on!

Squire

 

[VooDooPope]

Love it.

Just placed my order for a 20" + Bluetooth key board and mouse + 256 ram + airport express card.

 

[2A Batterie]

If I really wanted a G5 Laptop that bad

Hell.... I could just put that 17" in a bag and take it with me. If I was doing some on site audio recording I could just take the imac and my digi002 and I'll be set. Hopefully the next year will shave one more inch off to create a the Powerbook G5

 

[-hh]

give it up. there is no headless mac and their aint gonna be one. apple puts out what they want, not what the people want. thats no surprise...

Exactly. And the reason is partly because Apple wisely doesn't want to play in low profit markets, and most displays today are a low profit commodity.

One of Apple's techniques to partially get around this problem of "selling but not selling" a monitor to us has been putting up 3rd party brands on their website. Another way is to bundle the display with the product, either by offering a discount/rebate if you purchase both at the same time, or by physically integrating the display into the CPU, which is what the iMac has been doing for the past 6 years.



And in very related posting news...

Sooo... if the 20" iMac has the same screen as the 20" ACD(same 1680x1050 resolution), does that mean its got about $600 worth of computer???? So who is getting ripped off, the ACD buyers, the iMac buyers, or the G5 tower buyers?

The answer is "nobody". The reality is that a company survives and thrives by making a profit on the products it sells. What Apple's obviously doing here is that they're trading-off their %-profit on the display only in order to move more product. They're similarly helping themselves out by offering the 17" version as this improves total purchasing volume of 17" LCD's for Apple's 17" Powerbooks. The more you buy, the better price your get. Overall, they're just following some very simple but effective business practices.


FWIW, my overall impression on the G5 iMac is:

1) RAM. I'm disappointed. The paradigm of the consumer who's not going to open up the box also means that he's not going to pull a RAM upgrade, so if going 512 --> 256 means that the machine is going to be somewhat of a "dog", that's what people are going to end up remembering it as. While its true us knowledgable users can go buy from Crucial, this is irrelevant to the point being made.

2) Video. I find the comments disconcerting. Yes, its true that Apple probably had their choices limited by thermal management issues, but by the same token, the perception of competitiveness for a home consumer PC's is an important consideration, and the last thing Apple wants is for Mom & Pop to have their Teen whine that the new machine absolutely sucks for playing WizBang III. I find it hard to believe that there weren't acceptable alternatives from the laptop parts bin, particularly since the video's not reportedly upgradable.


-hh

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

Two options:

1. Wall mount with an inch of space or so. Needed for cooling anyway and would look fine.

2. Slick permanent installation, with cooling and cables holes in the wall. Grab your chisels!

Personally, I think these will look really cool on the end of long VESA swingarms. Sunflower iMac, eat your heart out! (Too bad Apple doesn't sell a VESA arm like the old iMac one--cool for pro displays too.)

PS, I like the hidden speakers and lack of visible vents. Very sleek. That front space puts the screen at viewing height, and leaves a place for Post-It notes 😉

(Now watch... people will take off the foot and put the thing in their laps... the Mac tablet is here...)

It will be sweet if this company comes out with a "white" version for those that really liked the flexibility of the "sunflower" iMac's.

 

[swissmann]

Regarding headless mac. The price of the 20" G5 iMac is $1900 the price of the 20" display is $1300. So does that mean that Apple could sell a headless mac (G5 1.8 and all the rest of the specs of these new iMacs) for $600. I think they should. There are a lot of switchers that just aren't willing to spend more money than that for a computer so they don't switch.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

The new iMac

For those of you clamoring for a "headless" iMac that has more performance upgrade potential: it already pretty much exists, in the form of a refurbished G5 tower in 1.6/1.8 Ghz. I think that Apple's best bet if they decided to satisfy said individuals would be to extend the low end of their tower line to include a tower that tweakers could buy releatively cheap and then upgrade to taste. There would be some overlap with the iMac line in price but I think volume would stay small enough to prevent conflicts. Besides, they are already building the towers, so desighn work would be minimal.

But the iMac is a piece of quality industrial design in my opinion - I imagine that iMac buyers often buy for asthetic reasons as well as performance, without giving up too much of either. Hardware-wise, its more of a compromise than a G5 tower, but I certainly wouldn't call it crap, even with the somwhat obsolete 5200. Like I said before, a mobility card in a rev. model could solve that quickly.

 

[alexf]

Yuck!

What is with all of the empty space below the screen? Apple, what has happened to your design aesthetics?

On a positive note, it is much thinner than I imagined (I speculated in a few posts that this would be the largest iMac to date).

Powerbook G5, here we come...

 

[jsw]

A high end iMac for $1899? The Apple Store says $2499! Are you sure you didn't mean €1899? Then the prices would agree.

I was all set to go and buy but then I see this. 30% more expensive than quoted makes a difference you know.

Says $1899 for me here in the U.S.

 

[macnews]

Why the new imac is the future - bye bye headless.

I like the new iMac, not sure if I like it as much as the G4 model but it is nice. I will miss the ability to swivel the monitor from side to side - this has been great ergonomically speaking. However, from the looks of it, the new iMac is setup similar to the new displays. The new displays do tilt up and down nicely and you can turn the base easily just not sure how easy the iMac will be with the added wieght.

I haven't read all of the posts (been geting a lot of server is too busy messages since yesterday) but I have seen a few complaining about the graphics card and wanting a headless option. As to the graphics card I have a few ideas - perhaps the better (128MB) option would not fit this form factor either due to size or heat generation. From what I have found in a few other places some people have commented about the size of the heat sinks on the 128MB card. What I do find confusing is how I find cheap prices on the larger card when looking at shopping sites in the UK but the US prices are higher, even when calculating in currency differences. I am also baffeled why Apple disabled the monitor spanning, since some on this forum say the card can do it. If that is true, then why disable it? Granted, most consumers will not use it but for those who would like to it would be a great selling point and still not hurt tower sales.

On to the "headless mac" comments. I think I may see what Steve and others at Apple are going for, or at least see as the future. Computers are becoming so small that we may well be on the edge of the computer not being a seperate piece but a part of every product we own - truely smart appliances. Yes, there have been other attempts at the monitor/computer package but they have been much larger and bulky - even the original imac. The last rev b imac came much closer to this all making the computer something you would want to put in a living space not tucked away in a back "office." This new imac has taken a step closer, and Apple succeeds with in terms of doing the design better than anyone else. However, it is still a ways off. The price of larger LCDs, and perhaps organic lcd, needs to come down significantly. A quick search on the net shows a 20" CRT TV runs $100-$200, make that a flat CRT and the price goes $150-$250. Make it an LCD and price runs $500-$1000. Most of those do not inlcude a DVD player, not to mention a burner. At $1900, the 20" imac comes close (not there yet, but close) to being a viable choice to replace a 20" TV. I have a 19" TV in my bedroom. It is big and bulky. A 20" new imac would be a nice replacement. There are many things which would need to change, like perhaps the graphics card, ability to watch TV (w/inputs for cable or sat tv boxes), auto-sizing when swithcing back and forth between TV and computer use (so when you start working in Word or surfing the net it enlarges everything so you can read it from your bed 🙂 ). You may disagree and say "I never would want to do that!" but 10 years ago I couldn't fathom filling up 1GB of hard drive space, now I use more than that for my music! To close this out, the headless imac, or anything short of a proline computer, maybe dead from Apple. They are looking towards the future and might actually be starting the process of not being a computer company anymore and becoming an appliance/electronics company. They may just be on track for where the future will take us - again ahead of everyone else.

 

[jcshas]

Mac or Peecee?

Perhaps given some time the design will grow on me. Most defiantly not love at first sight; hope it looks better in-person. Aside from the Apple logo on the front, it doesn’t look very Mac'ish to me.

 

[AidenShaw]

But you were right !!!

Dang, I think I predicted that it would be 2.25" thick.
-hh

http://www.apple.com/imac/

The 17-inch model is 1.99 inches thick; the 20-inch model is 2.2 inches thick.