new Imacs Coming!!!

[vtprinz]

The iMacs might be updated soon, but not to a huge degree. Especially not to 2.2GHz. Who would want a 1.8GHz PowerMac (single or dual) if the iMacs have 2.2? I'm sure there are a lot of consumers out there who wouldn't know the difference between single or dual processors and would get a 2.2GHz iMac over even a dual 2.0GHz powermac. Just like with megapixels in digital cameras, people want to see high numbers. Regardless of the other specs, uninformed customers will likely see a 2.2 imac as being better than a dual 2.0 powermac.

The powermac sales, from what I've heard, aren't exactly hot right now as it is, and bringing the imacs that much closer in power would really kill it. I've also heard (and I might be wrong here) that Apple gets a much better profit margin off of the power- lines than the i- lines. So it wouldn't make a lot of sense to kill your powermac sales.

As for the emac, I'm not sure if we'll see an upgrade or not. You can get the mini and a cheap CRT for less than the emac. If I were running a k-12 school, i would go the cheapest route possible. Say the emacs come in at $799, but you could get a stock mini + monitor for $600 (all this without edu pricing). How would you rationalize the extra $200 per computer? It adds up quickly when you're buying in bulk for a school. I don't think the convenience of having the computer and monitor in one case is going to cut it.

Anyway, those are my ideas, and they're more than likely wrong 😱

 

[fanbrain]

The recent PowerBook update wasn't as great as I thought it would be, so I am now patiently waiting for the PowerMacs or iMacs to be updated. The only thing holding me back from an iMac is no FW800 and wimpy video. The only thing holding me back from a PowerMac is an inevitable update. I JUST WANT A NEW COMPUTER! This 500Mhz slotload iMac is killing me.

 

[KD7IWP]

I feel it is pretty much ethically wrong to update all these other computers without touching the powerbook to something better. But oh well. New ipods would be nice, I personally liked the light up buttons on the third gen ipods. Would be happy to have them back, but a nice bright white would look cool I think.

 

[dhracer88]

since i'm bored and have the coice to either shovel my driveway or post on MR

I spent 5 hours shoveling my driveway (very long and extremely wet snow) last weekend, but it was definitely worth it--no ice!!! 😀
"You never realize how big your driveway is until you shovel it"

Now if only my jumps would emerge from the snow...
JM

 

[Cooknn]

How about 3Ghz Power Mac's released at the same time as OS X Tiger 10.4 😛

 

[Dont Hurt Me]

The eMac caught us all napping last year...and its well over its update time...

The new Mini is the new Emac.

 

[jbrjake]

The new Mini is the new Emac.

Umm....except the appeal of the eMac is that it's a heavy AIO unit that can't wander off on its own from computer labs. Plus, how is it economical for educational buyers to replace eMacs with Mac minis? The mini's for people who already have a separate monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Putting the mini in the eMac's place leaves schools with the option of buying outdated CRT monitors that take up valuable lab space, or paying a premium for an LCD screen. In both cases, since the computer and monitor can't be stacked, extra desktop space is used up compared to their current setups.

The mini would be a terror in computer labs; even with Kensington locks a kid could still smash the thing up easily enough.

 

[mad jew]

Umm....except the appeal of the eMac is that it's a heavy AIO unit that can't wander off on its own from computer labs. Plus, how is it economical for educational buyers to replace eMacs with Mac minis? The mini's for people who already have a separate monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Putting the mini in the eMac's place leaves schools with the option of buying outdated CRT monitors that take up valuable lab space, or paying a premium for an LCD screen. In both cases, since the computer and monitor can't be stacked, extra desktop space is used up compared to their current setups.

The mini would be a terror in computer labs; even with Kensington locks a kid could still smash the thing up easily enough.

Yeah, there's no way they're getting rid of the eMacs. They're some of the best designed computers a school could ask for. A Mac Mini just wouldn't work in the same situation. 😛

 

[Dont Hurt Me]

You dudes are wrong,, first of all you dont have the mini where kids can touch it and 2nd of all those emacs will last a long time and when replaced they will have a choice! thats right any kind of monitor. crts for kids and lcds for adults and choice again on size. Mini's sit in a nice locked cabinet with cables to and fro. Face it folks Emac is about over and if it would have been updated it would have been when they intro'd the Mini. Mini gives the school options that the eMac couldnt as a all in one. With imacs dropping in price as componets get cheaper and new mini whats the point of goofing around with heavy,bulky,breakable,powerhungry Crts. Emac will be around a awhile until those sales hit rock bottom. Emac wont see another update. my 2 cents as a long time user observer and master of all i survey 😀

 

[vtprinz]

Umm....except the appeal of the eMac is that it's a heavy AIO unit that can't wander off on its own from computer labs. Plus, how is it economical for educational buyers to replace eMacs with Mac minis? The mini's for people who already have a separate monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

Economical because it's flat out cheaper. AIO or not, you can get a better deal with the mini with a cheap CRT/keyboard/mouse. And being big and heavy isn't a plus anymore. Just because the mini is small doesn't mean it would be easy to steal, if the school is smart. Also, NOT having the computer AIO means cheaper repair. No need to buy a whole new computer if the monitor goes out. Cheaper upgrade as well. Keep the same CRT/keyboard/mouse, and just get a newer mini. And another thing, a lot of schools still use PCs, which means they already have monitors. The mini would give them a better reason to look to Macs for their next upgrade.

Putting the mini in the eMac's place leaves schools with the option of buying outdated CRT monitors that take up valuable lab space, or paying a premium for an LCD screen. In both cases, since the computer and monitor can't be stacked, extra desktop space is used up compared to their current setups.

So your saying the CRT in the emac isn't outdated? Doesn't take up a lot of space? 😛

The mini would be a terror in computer labs; even with Kensington locks a kid could still smash the thing up easily enough.

And they could do the same with the emac. Or any computer for that matter.

 

[Xenious]

Come thursday we shall see. I ordered a BTO 20" 1.8 iMac G5 on the 11th and it was orig supposed to ship on the 17th now it is the 24th. Thats a bit more than 3-5 business days 😉.

 

[maya]

"new iMac's are coming", get out of here, serious. 🙄


How many of these "New iMac's are coming" threads are we going to have?

Use "Search Tool" on MR. 😉 🙂

When are we going to get a MR Forum search plugin for the Google bar in Safari? When? When? 😛 😉 🙂

 

[Trout74]

So with all the iPod talk, has this rumor died down? Is there still a general consensus that we will get an iMac update?

and when Apple does updates, do they say anything? or do they just update the site to reflect the changes and let word of mouth/Internet do the talking?

im new to apple, so how to updates work, is there an official Spoksemen for the company the makes a statement or a press release. Is it at Midnight?

enough questions!

trout

 

[Dont Hurt Me]

If it has a new bus or video system they will beat their chest but if its a bump say 2.0 and still using 5200s they will sneak it in, maybe drop its price. Chineese New Year could have slowed down the Macs folks because thats where they come from. Anyone remember when they shipped, not promised to ship.? add 9 months and get ready for the most part.

 

[aswitcher]

The new Mini is the new Emac.

I dont think so. Its not a good form factor for schools.

 

[Superhob]

I just noticed that Amazon which had been featuring a 150 rebate on imacs and showed availability of 2-3 days as of this morning has now changed their shipping estimate to 1-2 weeks and the rebate is no longer available. They're showing J&R as the main seller and J&R says that they ship in 1-2 business days.

Something is definitely up with the imacs. Here's to hoping upgrades are right around the corner!

Edit: I'm talking about the 20" imac.

 

[aafuss1]

I certainly agree that Apple's split/adjusted stock price will be pleasing to investors.

PCI Express could be used in eMacs/iMacs, but the PMG5's would have include PCIE support first/
New lineup specs:
iMacs:
G5-1.8, 2.0, 2.2GHz (970FX based)
RAM-512MB, single DIMM-same as current Powerbooks
HD-160GB/250GB-first one for 17"/20" has the latter
Chipset-U3L/Shasta, PCI Express for say rev B/C iMac G5
GPU:Radeon 9600 128MB or 6200 (if it is available in AGP )
Drives-8x superdrive (PBG4's use 8x drive now and are slot-loading) and combo
BT 2.0+EDR
eMac:
1.33/1.5ghz or 1.5/1.67ghz G4 or 1.6/1.8GHz G5
RAM:512MB
HD:160GB
GPU: 6200 or X300
Drives-8x superdrive (PBG4's use 8x drive now and are slot-loading) and combo
BT 2.0+EDR

 

[The Black Rock]

All I really need in an update is:

Updated GPU (Radeon or nVidia I don't care. Though that 6600 with 128 looks very nice)

Faster bus.

8x superdrive.

What I'd like:

2.0 Ghz

BT 2.0+EDR built in

Airport built in.

Firewire 800 ports.

More RAM slots (4 G max)

 

[maya]

All I really need in an update is:

Updated GPU (Radeon or nVidia I don't care. Though that 6600 with 128 looks very nice)

Faster bus.

8x superdrive.

What I'd like:

2.0 Ghz

BT 2.0+EDR built in

Airport built in.

Firewire 800 ports.

More RAM slots (4 G max)

I would love the option if I can place in a 2GB DIMM x 4 slots. 🙂

 

[aafuss1]

Also, the iMacs include DVD's as part of the software bundle (eg. Invader ZIM DVD's, as those DVD's isn't readily available outside the USA) but again, perhaps never. Ties in with one of my iPod edition ideas

 

[ddtlm]

My list of things that I predict the iMac will not get soon:

1. G5 at more than 2ghz
2. FSB with multiplier of 1/2
3. graphics chip better than R-9600 or GF-6200 (AGP)
4. 128M VRAM as standard equipment
5. PCI-E
6. DDR2 (I expect this to arrive with PCI-E)
7. support for more than 2G of RAM

As others have observed, the possibilities are bounded by the PMac. Apple will not position the iMac to threaten it. The PMac, meanwhile, is going to have a hard time going anywhere before IBM rolls out something better than the 970fx.

 

[madmaxmedia]

Regarding crippling the consumer products- Apple has been in a bind with lack of G5 progress on both desktop and notebook. As a result, they've had to hold back on updating the consumer lines to artificially maintain distinction between the 2.

It's very unfortunate, but to be honest I don't think they could do anything else for now.

 

[cwerdna]

I just noticed that Amazon which had been featuring a 150 rebate on imacs

The rebate expired on Feb 22nd. I was thinking about buying a Power Mac G5 (rebate also applied to it along w/a whole bunch of other machines) from Amazon for sometime.

I'm still stuck wondering if I should go w/the PM G5 1.8 ghz dual, 2 ghz dual or wait till end of March, April or maybe WWDC. I'd hate to have them introduce something that significantly pushes down the price of what I would've bought or be able to get something a lot faster/better for the same $.

I've already ruled out the iMac G5 in its current form due to the very outdated and permanently installed FX 5200 video.

 

[ddtlm]

madmaxmedia:

It's very unfortunate, but to be honest I don't think they could do anything else for now.

Another way to look at it is that if Apple "uncrippled" consumer lines, they could only go a little ways before running into the same barriers holding back the high-end stuff. 😉 But noone has been moving quickly as of late, so its really not a big deal for Apple.

 

[SallyWattle]

The real difference

dual processor, bus speed, pci slots, 8 gig ram, choose graphic card, second hard drive, gigabit ethernet and fire wire 800. These are the only real specs which should matter when comparing the pro and the consumer mac.

Put 2 gig or more ram and a 256mb graphics card in a 1.8 power mac with a firewire 800 backup drive. There is no comparison, and the above specs are what you are really paying for, and the really heavy case.