New iMac revisions

[dragonay]

I have been wanting a mac for a LONG TIME, i am selling me PeeCee in may and i want a new iMac. I was wondering if i should go ahead and order it as soon as i sell my computer and have the $$$ or should i wait a few months till MWNY and see if new iMac revisions will be made. Normally, apply revises its hardware every 5-6 months, so, i was wondering if anyone thinks they will. I would wait if they were going to make any changes, even if its just a speed boost.

 

[KingArthur]

It is too soon to have a speed bumped iMac. Most likely we will see a speed-bumped G4 Tower, G4Powerbook, and iBook, but not iMac. We may see a $100 price drop, but I doubt anything other than that. If you are in any sort of education setting, make sure to use the education discount.

 

[Hemingray]

I personally don't think we'll see any new iMacs, but then what do I know! If there WAS a revision, I think it wouldn't be anything more than a speed boost. It's too soon for all those other goodies...

And don't think I wouldn't LOVE for Apple to prove me wrong...

 

[britboy]

quite a number of people have been commenting on how the distinction between the pro and consumer lines have been blurred recently. Speed bumping the iMac line would no doubt create even more confusion there. Personally, i would have thought it better for apple to create a little distance between their desktop lines, before thinking about hiking up the power of the iMac.

 

[IndyGopher]

ooh, I hope it's number 3!! I want to see a flat panel monitor seventeen FEET wide... Think they'll have to raise the price?

 

[King Cobra]

My guesses...

First, I think it may be a little to early to talk about upgrading the iMac currently, for several reasons:
(1) The current fastest iMac already has an 800MHz chip in it (more specifically, a 7450). By increasing the speed of the iMac you are going to kill sales on the current Powermacs.
(2) The iMac G4 just came out two months ago and, correct me if I am wrong, but (a) Apple likes to update their hardware about every six months, (b) people are ranting and raving about the new iMac since it brought people the three most requested upgrades for the iMac line: a flat screen, a G4, and Superdrive, and (c) the order of releasing the iMacs (800MHz, 700MHz with Superdrive, 700MHz CD-RW) starts in month 1 with the top model, month 2 with the second best, and month 3 (March) being the low end model.

If we were to see an upgrade to the iMac, here is what I would expect to look for:
(1) Firewire and USB 2
(2) Single Processor G4s at up to 1.0GHz
(3) An updated system but to 133MHz (correct me if the current bus is 133MHz.)
(4) An update at Macworld New York

I would not expect to see a larger LCD screen, because it would increase the price of the iMac dramatically. The Superdrive will stay, and so will standard RAM (no DDR).

 

[Macmaniac]

Sorry not yet

I strongly doubt that the iMac will be updated so soon. There are thousands on back order and it would be a very bad move to upate it now. They will update their pro-line first NO DOUBT ABOUT IT! I would like to see a faster Ti-book and a cheaper iPod(along with a 20gb model) We can dream

 

[Catfish_Man]

NO WIRELESS KEYBOARD...

...having to recharge the batteries on your keyboard would be *awful*. Can you imagine typing along and suddenly having your keyboard run out of power? The only way I would be willing to get one is if they figured out how to beam power to it wirelessly (and if they can do that, I think they're going to be making quite a profit from liscencing fees). They could power it by induction, but they'd have to give the rest of the computer (and monitor) the best magnetic shielding money can buy or it would erase the hard drive every time you turned it on.

 

[mischief]

Re: NO WIRELESS KEYBOARD...

Originally posted by Catfish_Man
they figured out how to beam power to it wirelessly (and if they can do that, I think they're going to be making quite a profit from liscencing fees). They could power it by induction, but they'd have to give the rest of the computer (and monitor) the best magnetic shielding money can buy or it would erase the hard drive every time you turned it on.

You guessed it. That's Gigawire. I cannot relay names but someone who screwed over a friend of mine was working with/for Apple about a year ago. A wirehead, bigtime. This guy said Apple was gonna do a short range microwave FW class IO for peripherals like monitors, keyboards, iPods and USB/FW hubs.

NO WIRES. that's been a want for a long time now. Everybody just ignored it.

 

[arn]

Re: New iMac revisions

Originally posted by dragonay
I have been wanting a mac for a LONG TIME, i am selling me PeeCee in may and i want a new iMac. I was wondering if i should go ahead and order it as soon as i sell my computer and have the $$$ or should i wait a few months till MWNY and see if new iMac revisions will be made. Normally, apply revises its hardware every 5-6 months, so, i was wondering if anyone thinks they will. I would wait if they were going to make any changes, even if its just a speed boost.

Normally - Apple does not upgrade their hardware every 5-6 months. This is the exception.

No iMac upgrades at MWNY.

arn

 

[MacAztec]

Hmmm...

I dont think anything will happen, but I want a wireless keyboard!

 

[mywar2000]

Mischief!

Spill the beans... We want to hear more!

 

[kansaigaijin]

iMac update

there won't be an iMac update until deliveries have caught up with orders, and all the other product lines have been updated signifigently.
Except for the slight changes, the original didn't change for three years, so I think it will be a long time before you see a 17" monitor. (which is what I want, but I think is too expensive a package) How much heavier is a 17" LCD, any ideas how heavy a monitor the base can handle before it gets too tippy?

sounds like everyone has given up on anything interesting at MWTokyo?

 

[mymemory]

A solar powered wireless keyboard!!!

Think about it, there is a lot of room around the keys to place solar cells.

But about the topic, I think the top of the line iMac is a very good deal. You got everything on it. What else you would need? Your ego is the limit.

 

[Rower_CPU]

Re: My guesses...

Originally posted by King Cobra
First, I think it may be a little to early to talk about upgrading the iMac currently, for several reasons:
(1) The current fastest iMac already has an 800MHz chip in it (more specifically, a 7450). By increasing the speed of the iMac you are going to kill sales on the current Powermacs.
(2) The iMac G4 just came out two months ago and, correct me if I am wrong, but (a) Apple likes to update their hardware about every six months, (b) people are ranting and raving about the new iMac since it brought people the three most requested upgrades for the iMac line: a flat screen, a G4, and Superdrive, and (c) the order of releasing the iMacs (800MHz, 700MHz with Superdrive, 700MHz CD-RW) starts in month 1 with the top model, month 2 with the second best, and month 3 (March) being the low end model.

If we were to see an upgrade to the iMac, here is what I would expect to look for:
(1) Firewire and USB 2
(2) Single Processor G4s at up to 1.0GHz
(3) An updated system but to 133MHz (correct me if the current bus is 133MHz.)
(4) An update at Macworld New York

I would not expect to see a larger LCD screen, because it would increase the price of the iMac dramatically. The Superdrive will stay, and so will standard RAM (no DDR).

The iMac uses a PC-133 DIMM on the board, and a PC-100 SODIMM in the upgrade slot. Crazy no?


No new iMacs in NY...gimme a G5!

 

[mischief]

Re: Mischief!

Originally posted by mywar2000
Spill the beans... We want to hear more!

Apple was supposedly gonna do the following in the next 18 months:

New LCD's-Eventually wireless as above.

A multipurpose short range wireless IO for peripherals....includes power transfer.

Quad G5 tower.

A new storage device from Sony with sickeningly fast access and NO MOVING PARTS.

Faster Airport.

Mystic.

Mystic is like the Sony Tablet released in Japan: all the guts in a base somewhere like a more refined version of M$'s "Mira".

Somehow they were gonna get the GUI to have "depth". Quartz/Aqua are a stopgap while the tech for the new GUI is developed.

I have no idea how much of this is bull**** but I trust the source.

 

[ilikeiBook]

I'd like to see apple sell iMacs without a monitor and have ADC and VGA ports on the back to lower the prices big-time! And if people upgraded from an older mac and still had a monitor, they wouldn't have to pay as much money. You could also atach a 15, 17 or 22 inch Apple LCD display, giving users alot more choice!

 

[graydecember]

MY imac revision...

...would be (if I had one) to pull the ugly plastic dome apart and throw it in the trash, then replace it with a cool looking brand spankin' new stainless steel salad bowl- in which I would do elaborate, ornate 'animal interlace'/celtic punchwork:


. . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . .
: :

(imagine tribal spiral ventilation holes).

or, I could use a copper salad bowl and patinize it black or aqua~verdigris- with JAX or Muriatic acid, respectively.
Either way the metal will help sink heat, so I can pull the fan, too, and restore near silence to my desktop. I would have a victorian era looking Mac, as well (to match hthe victorian age processor... just kidding!!)

also, solar power doesn't work very well with lights turned out or dimmed, which is something at least a few graphic design professionals tend to do.

 

[King Cobra]

Rower_CPU, I appreciate the notice on the 133MHz system bus.

To reply to mymemory, a solar powered keyboard would be nice, but it probably won't happen for these reasons:
(1) A professional solar panel keyboard costs big bucks.
(2) What happens when night falls and you want to complain to the Mac World how bad your older brother's slower PC is doing? I thought solar panels only worked for natural light, not for the house light used by flipping a switch.
(3) If you plan to apply regular sunlight to the keyboard, wouldn't the keyboard hardware become deteriated overtime?

As for larger monitor displays that attach to the current model, I thought that (according to an older forum) the maximum display would still only be 1024 X 768.

I am starting to accept the idea of wireless computers for Apple. They made the LCD standard before PCs, and Apple can do the same with wireless.

To kansaigaijin, I think that Apple said that the attachment of the monitor to the base was so strong that Apple recommends carrying the iMac G4 by the handle. Since a 17 inch monitor weighs only a few pounds more, I would expect that you can do the same in this scenario (no guarentees!).

 

[kansaigaijin]

tippy screens

the neck may be strong enough but it is also a great lever, that is why the thing is round and attaches in the middle, to make it as stable as possible. At some point a large screen will be too heavy, and the whole thing will tip over. Remember it is also a perception thing, people won't trust it (buy it ) if it looks and feels unstable. You need a real big safety margin. It may be good for 19" though? Any industrial designers out there can do the math?