New iMac G5 Announced

[~Shard~]

I love the way they show how the new iMac is over 200% faster than the previous iMac. 200% wow, it looks like such a big number. But in reality, its only twice as fast.

Actually twice as fast would be only 100%.

I also love how they incorrectly named "Worlds of Warcraft". Shows just how much they care about gamers.

Wow, some people have way too much time on their hands to bicker about such little, insignificant details like this. Instead of harping on an honest mistake perhaps your time would be better spent learning basic math such as the difference between 100% and 200%.

 

[hmmfe]

I love the way they show how the new iMac is over 200% faster than the previous iMac. 200% wow, it looks like such a big number. But in reality, its only twice as fast.

Hate to pick the nit, but 100% faster would be twice as fast. 200% faster is three times as fast.

I do get what you are saying though.

 

[Slipperyskates]

It would have been nice if they could put the ports on the side rather than the back...

 

[takao]

Besides, I would bet (and I have no data to back this up; just my guess) that the majority of people, when they buy a new PC to replace an old one, buy a new monitor along with it even if their old one is perfectly fine. They just go ahead and get the one bundled with their new system, the one that looks like it "goes" with the computer, etc. I don't think the mandatory monitor with the iMac will faze those people at all.

as far as i know (i've read it somewhere..sorry no source) at least in the german market 'buying a PC without screen' already has overtaken 'buying a package' by a very high margin ...

and from my personal experience it is already hard to find any ads advertizing any screen+computer(+printer) adds ... sometimes there are such low-budget packages available but apart from that it's nearly PC without screen only.... but of course that's only my personal observations (that explains the lousy sales of the apple all-in-ones here )
perhaps the US is different..

 

[Travis Novak]

Oh? I'd like to invite you to examine the facts.

The 233 MHz Rev. A iMac that shipped in August 1998 was as fast as the beige PowerMac G3 then selling for $2k, and only marginally slower than the 266 MHz beige G3 tower that sold for $2400.

On the x86 side at the time, the Pentium II 450 MHz was the latest and greatest, and totally out of the price range of mortals. The overclockable Celeron 300A was the PC enthusiast's choice, but building a complete system from it cost as much as an iMac.

PC's have gotten much cheaper since then, where macs have only gotten more expensive.

How quickly people forget...

The original iMac was a huge, raging success because its price was competitive. One of these days Apple will have to make a price-competitive machine again.

Still no preformance enthusiast would ever buy an imac just because of limited upgradability and the fact that a simalarly preforming pm would cost less. And don't compare macs to pcs so blatantly. That's a real apple-orange comparison (no pun intended). they are both different machines for different people.

 

[Flying Llama]

Wow, some people have way too much time on their hands to bicker about such little, insignificant details like this. Instead of harping on an honest mistake perhaps your time would be better spent learning basic math such as the difference between 100% and 200%.

I totally agree!

 

[dizastor]

I really love when there is somthing engaging to talk about on this forum. You have to enjoy these 50 page threads when you get them... too many slow rumor weeks lately.

 

[WCat]

One thing I noticed. If you go to the Online Apple Store you have the option to upgrade your keyboard and mouse to a wireless set that come with the bluetooth adapter for $99. My question is are you now able to setup a bluetooth mouse and keyboard when wanting to reinstall your software, how does the computer know that they are there. Don't you have to run a setup and link them to the computer???

Actually, Apple already anticipated that when it integrated Bluetooth with Macs. Yet another example of the difference between Apple and all the others, IMHO! The BT module stores the mouse and keyboard BD (Bluetooth Device) addresses in flash memory, which is non-volatile. When a Mac of any kind boots up, and Open Firmware loads (Mac equivalent of the BIOS rom), it enables the BT module, which senses this boot stage, and it begins emulating a HID (Human Interface Device--mice and keyboards) device. The BT Mouse and Keyboard are then connected to the system. This OF functionality is what allows the keyboard and mouse to work even though the operating system hasn't yet booted. That allows you to do things like hold down the "C" key during boot to tell the Mac to boot from the CD rom. That's all you need, and Apple already thought of it. This sorta works the same way to allow the BT devices to wake the computer from sleep mode just by clicking or tapping a key.

Cheers,

WCat

 

[~Shard~]

I agree the full way. ...if Shard doesn't mind that is. ...

No, I don't mind.

 

[alexf]

People are starting to loose focus on the video card debate. It is fine that Apple offers a low cost standard on these consumer level machines, as many have been arguing. It would be extremely nice, however, if they at least offered the option of having a slightly better graphics card on the higher end machines.

Fair enough.

 

[vouder17]

You need a G5 to do that?.. If thats what you want to do get a G3 iMac off ebay for £100.. lol

I've got a 233 imac ..........I basically only do that but even thats gotten to much for it.Thats why i'm going to get the G5 so it can also do the "basics" for six years.

Peace DjVoTeZ

 

[JGowan]

... it looks like a big iPod

What? I keep seeing people comparing it to iPods and eMacs, but what it really looks like are the new displays,... yeah it's not completely aluminum, but it's a lot more like those than and ipod or an emac!

 

[1macker1]

Right, I thought the PowerMac was for the PRO users. Since when did playing games become something u need to buy a PRO machine for. They just need an option to do a BTO for the graphics card, and that will kill all the complaints from the gamers. But buying a PRO machine to game on is crazy.

You need a G5 to do that?.. If thats what you want to do get a G3 iMac off ebay for £100.. lol

 

[Trekkie]

Initial reaction-a little ugly.... but it's slowly growing me.

Here's to hoping for an iPod mini effect where it turns out to be a great success after a lackluster introduction.

I'm hoping it's one of those 'looks better in person' type of things. I ordered a 20"

The mini definitely did that.

 

[~Shard~]

I really love when there is somthing engaging to talk about on this forum. You have to enjoy these 50 page threads when you get them... too many slow rumor weeks lately.

Lord knows I'm taking advantage of it! Plus, I leave in 2 days for my backpacking trip throughout Eastern Europe, and I'll be gone for almost 6 weeks. Being away from MacRumors for so long, I'm trying to stock up on posts!

 

[~Shard~]

I'm hoping it's one of those 'looks better in person' type of things. I ordered a 20"

I'm sure it will - Apple prides itself on its asthetics so I'm sure you'll love it when you see it in person.

 

[1macker1]

All the extra white space below the LCD makes it look like a emac. IMO. It just doesnt look balanced.

What? I keep seeing people comparing it to iPods and eMacs, but what it really looks like are the new displays,... yeah it's not completely aluminum, but it's a lot more like those than and ipod or an emac!

 

[iMeowbot]

I was about to say te same thing. Who wants to carry a 18 lb, 2 inch thick Powermac??

I think that I might. That's pretty much how I use the G4 iMac, I grab it by the neck and throw it in the car to take along. Notebooks are simply too uncomfortable for me to use for long periods, and battery operation isn't an issue here.

 

[Trekkie]

Who knows how much of an engineering hurdle it'll be to shave off that extra inch. I, personally, would rather have a dual core 2Ghz G4 with memory controller in my PB than a 1.8 G5 with a slowed down bus.

My thought:

shaving the inch shouldn't be too hard. First you go with the 2.5" IDE drives (to my knowledge the 80/160/250 they're offering are 3.5" drives0 and that cuts out a lot of space with the 40/60/80 2.5s.

Mobile GPU and all should be a lot more helpful. Really I'm somewhat optimistic to see a G5 powerbook in jan '05.

not that it stopped me from ordering my G5 20" today.

 

[Trekkie]

Yeah, on apples site they say that VESA has different mounts. a wall mount would be soooo awesome. "nice picture!" sorry thats my g5 imac with 2 GB ram and 250gb hd!

aww damn it. now i'm salivating on the thought of getting it. I could get a new, smaller desk. My only challenge to wall mount is the 2x firewire drives (320 and 160GB) and the firewire connections for the iPod and video camera. Not sure how I'd do that cable to really get the effect with the bluetooth KB/mouse.

ordered this morning, 20", AE, BT KB/mouse, 1GB, 250GB HDD

 

[Savage Henry]

I'm hoping it's one of those 'looks better in person' type of things. I ordered a 20"

The mini definitely did that.

I'm expecting it to pick up when the mass populous see the performance improvements for real, but I don't think it will have the mini buzz ... but it may be lucky enough to ride on bothe the iPod phenomenon and the iMac inventory drought. So it has the very good chance of being un-cube-like.

 

[alexf]

Lord knows I'm taking advantage of it! Plus, I leave in 2 days for my backpacking trip throughout Eastern Europe, and I'll be gone for almost 6 weeks. Being away from MacRumors for so long, I'm trying to stock up on posts!

Enjoy the Czech Republic, Shard! I just came from there, as I have family there and was there for the summer.

Just be careful of the crowds if you go to Prague... That city is way overcrowded with tourists (still the most visited city in Europe, I believe).

(Sorry for the off topic comment everyone.)

 

[jchen]

I love a good Mac vs. PC food fight...

This guy uses a Mac and rags on and on about how the new iMac is a dud.

http://www.mac360.com/index.php/mac...gain_power_or_crippled_and_weak_computer_toy/

I don't agree that the iMac is a crippled toy, although I'd like to see more video RAM in it. 64 megabytes isn't enough.

 

[dizastor]

I'm one of the few who is hoping the G5 PB is a ways away. I couldn't stand the thought of my month old 1.5 G4 PB being out of date...

And I wish they hadn't updated their pro line since June of 2002 so that my dual 1.25 G4 was still cream of the crop.

I know it hurts, but technology must move on. Someday that new PB you treasure will be on eBay for $100. *shudder*



What would be nice is if Apple updated on a reliable schedule, so that we all knew when NOT to buy. However, in the real world supplies dry up, people screw up, and manufacturing processes don't always work in reality the way they do in theory. Looks we're stuck with living on the seat of our collective dorkpants in moist anticipation of Apple's next move.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

True.. but with 54mb/s airport express (not hugely fast, but fast enough to stream video) all I personally would need to do is mount it to the wall above my desk (faces a wall) and that would be that. Maybe throw another drive or two in my server, and I regain basically my whole desk. And realistically, I would want a wall mount that tilts up and down at least a little, so there would still be enough room to plug in a cable.. maybe plug cables into USB and Firewire, run them, and the power cable down a conduit to firewire and usb hubs, and never worry about it again. Could even run them inside the wall, for that matter.. but I am not that obsessive.

In the end i hope that someone comes out wit an "iPad" "dock".

I think that many of us can see the possibilities of an G5 iMac that can be taken from home to office. With BT, and keyboards and mice at each location; it seems that this may open new markets. I can see even better cooling.