"new" iMacs

[toddzrx]

Now I am waiting and hoping for the 2013 MP.

I am by no means a "power" user, and have no need for a Mac Pro, but I also await the new one. IMHO, it's an indication of how seriously Apple plans to take the PC market over the next several years. I know that technology is always changing and we all have to adapt to that, but I think there is still plenty of life left in the PC market for Apple because they build such good products (overall). Case in point: they haven't taken the PC sales hit that all the Windows cloner companies did in Q1 of this year (14% drop, if I remember right; that's not insignificant).

 

[Nuke61]

They did not throw out the baby with the bathwater and removed functionality to do something nobody was asking for.

Apple led the industry in dropping built-in support for floppy drives by about 4 years. Back then, if you still needed FDD support, you bought an external drive. I don't see this as being any different in that if you want a front mounted SD card slot or an ODD, you need an accessory; the only difference i see from my perspective is that back then I used Windows on a PC.

Out of all the software on my Mac, only 1 was a CD only installation, and that was MS-Office. They are going the way of the FDD.

Really, before this how many people even *knew* how thin/thick their iMac was? Out of those who knew, how many actually cared before the 2012 iMac came out?

This isn't some new phenomenon... look at this headline, "The new iMac: thin is in" - must be describing the late 2012 iMac, right? That would certainly be a good guess, but it was from October of 2005.
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/apple/the-new-imac-thin-is-in/12

 

[Lancer]

Buy a damn hub and suck it up. And as for the headphone problem, go to the store and get a three inch plug adapter, plug it in and let it dangle. Barely noticeable. Plug your headphones into that. No reaching. Trust me, it can be done.

I agree, I have a USB Hub mainly because I needed more ports but the other upside is I have 2 USB ports with easy access. As for the headphone socket I have speakers plugged in (like many do) and the controller has a separate headphone so again easy access. SD, well I've only used it once just to try it out when I first got the iMac, not to hard to reach behind to find it besides it's easier for me to plug in the USB lead than take out the camera's SD card as it also charges the battery but most of the time I now use my iPhone for photos unless I need something really good and actually have my bulky camera with me.

Oh and the DVD, I've only needed it twice to install programs I probably could have found online but decided to test the DVD share option. Shared the DVD in my old Mac and bing it worked. That was months ago and I haven't needed to use it since.

There are solutions if people stop looking for problems.

 

[chzta]

TRY THIS!

 

[calaverasgrande]

</>

 

[CJM]

The iMac was my dream desktop for about three years. I wanted one so badly that I saved up enough to buy a fully maxed out version. I waited patiently for the new models last year and when I saw what they introduced I was seriously disappointed. This was not the iMac I was dreaming of. I knew immediately I was never going to own one. I ended up upgrading my PC which I built myself about three years earlier and bought a rMBP.

It's a shame really. This is the first time that can think of that Apple decided to go with form over function.

The G4 Cube. Looked nice, if a little like a toaster, but had shoddy internals.

 

[KaraH]

Apple led the industry in dropping built-in support for floppy drives by about 4 years. Back then, if you still needed FDD support, you bought an external drive. I don't see this as being any different in that if you want a front mounted SD card slot or an ODD, you need an accessory; the only difference i see from my perspective is that back then I used Windows on a PC.

Because who needs the ability to install more than one 3.5" drive in your computer, right? Or to add an eSata connection? Or replace a bad component? Or eventually raise your mac's specs, including above what apple has as BTO options? You know, this type of stuff.

It reminds me of a Bill Gates quote about memory. Now what was that? I am too sleepy to remember right now but I remember the number 640 in there.

 

[Lancer]

The G4 Cube. Looked nice, if a little like a toaster, but had shoddy internals.

I think Apple has moved on since this, but personally while I never owned one I did like the look of the Cube. Now just imagine what Apple could pack into the same size box today. Maybe you could have an i7 Cube server with 2 internal HDDs along side SSD.

 

[Nuke61]

Because who needs the ability to install more than one 3.5" drive in your computer, right? Or to add an eSata connection? Or replace a bad component? Or eventually raise your mac's specs, including above what apple has as BTO options? You know, this type of stuff.

If you need all of those things, then you buy the Pro, not an iMac... you certainly do not buy what is essentially a sealed computer. Or you're prepared to use OWC's Turnkey program. You have choices, you have options, including buying a PC All-In-One that has all of those hardware options and locations that seem to such a big deal to some of you.

 

[warpdrive]

I bought my wife the IMac…it’s exactly what she wanted, a thin screen computer that doesn’t take up much space and looks really pretty in our living room. It’s not a big deal to spin it around to insert the odd memory card or plug into the USB ports, but the lack of an optical drive means we have to deal with the clutter of the superdrive, which is my biggest pet peeve as the main reason we like it is because it reduces desktop clutter.

We are now using the wired full keyboard, which does has some USB ports which is convenient for inserting USB sticks. I never plan to expand it or upgrade any parts so as long as it chugs along for 4-5 years of troublefree operation, I’ll be happy

In all, I think Apple does suffer from anorexia in that they have “an unhealthy obsession with thinness” but that’s part of the appeal in a way.

 

[shaunp]

Considering a Windows Laptop Next

Yep, I'm annoyed with them too. Great ecosystem, fantastic hardware build quality let down by stupid design decisions that have the sole purpose of been better to look at.

Having SD cards on the back of the machine makes no sense - if the best option is to plug in an external reader or an adaptor of some type then the port doesn't work. Stylus for a touch screen anyone? Crap design decision.

My personal annoyances with the current hardware are: -

- no RJ45 port on the rMBP. You can't have a fully fledged laptop without one if you are taking it into an office environment. No matter how cool the laptop looks, in an office full of PCs you look a complete tool having to use an adaptor to connect an ethernet cable on a £2000 laptop. Wireless isn't always available. I accept the lack of ports on an Air, but on a fully-fledge 'Pro' laptop, I do not.


- Glossy screens on everything. Apart from an option on the 15" cMBP there are no matt screen options. They might be '75% less reflective than the previous generation', but it's still like using a mirror when compared to the matt screens. In an office environment this maters. Why do you think all corporate laptops (the dull boring ones) sill use matt screens? Because functionality is more important than 'cool' in the office. If you use your Mac for any length of time you should care about this.

- No Core i7 tower computer. The Mac Pro is dead in the Europe, but even before it was killed off an i7 equivalent was needed. Not everyone needs Xeon, but a lot of people want something more flexible than an iMac or a Mini. A matt screen option for the iMac might help somewhat.

- Lack of optical drives on desktop machines. It's bad enough ditching this on a fully fledge laptop (rMBP), but on a desktop this is inexcusable style over substance. There needs to be a choice and external devices mean you have a desk full of crap when an iMac is supposed to help you get rid of the clutter.

I recently built a new Windows PC because there is no i7 tower from Apple. In doing so I moved from Aperture to Lightroom and CS6. My laptop is due for replacement in the next year or so, but I will be forced to buy a PC if there is no physical ethernet or matt screen option. My phone will probably be up for renewal at the same time. I will then have to question whether I stay with iCloud or not at this time. By limiting my options Apple are pushing me away from their ecosystem, not encouraging me to buy the latest 'cool thing'. The addition of a few options with their hardware would stop me moving away from iCloud, itunes, etc.

 

[shaunp]

You are consistently refusing to acknowledge value of design.

When I was in college (quite a while ago)... there was this guy who came to school every day wearing the same butt-ugly off-beat shirt. Even wearing that shirt once was enough to prove he had no taste... but wearing it every day made everyone wonder if he was a health hazard. Finally one day... someone said "Frank... do you ever wash that shirt?". His reply: I was at the store and they had them on sale for $0.50... so I bought the whole rack... great deal!!!.

Frank certainly did not value design or style... nor did he have any. Unlike SJ (who also wore the same thing every day)... good ole Frank didn't set new styles either... he was just an odd-ball. Today he also probably makes $200K/year less than his peers.

My point is that style matters. The new design is fantastic. Style (in the general sense) gives Apple something to sell that resonates strongly with their target audience, differentiates their products... and is an integral part of Apple's wealth.

BTW... regarding functionality. Search MR and see how many times people have inadvertently put their SD into the ODD slot of pre-2012 iMacs. This is the type of thing that people "do". It is also part of overall usability of a machine. From that narrow perspective... removal of the ODD, and moving the SD card to the back is a design improvement.

/Jim

Put the port on the front and people don't do that. Oh and it's easier to use too!

----------

Neither... try it yourself. Hold an SD card and at about the height of the aluminum/glass intersection reach around the back. The 2nd opening from the right is the SD slot. I simply slip the corner of the SD card into the slot and then just let the rest of the card sort of find its way into the slot. MUCH easier than when it was on the side, where it was too easy to get it confused with the ODD slot.

it would be even less of a problem if it were on the front and you could actually see it!

----------

Wow, such a huge thread over the most -trivial- issue imaginable. Especially considering the purported "facts" supplied by the OP (who seems to be the only one complaining) are either fabricated or embellished.

Yeah, I'd much rather have a bulky Mac just to support a side mounted SD card reader . And I'm sure most of us remember those days when we had to bend down, open a door on our desk, pull open a slot cover to reach the SD card reader on a tower PC. What was that about "form over function"?

I've heard many first world problems, but this one tops the list.

The port is still in the wrong place. It should be on the front if you actually want to use it often.

 

[Nuke61]

it would be even less of a problem if it were on the front and you could actually see it!

This is just the next step toward elimination by Apple. If it's so important that you have an SD card on on the front, such that you call it a "problem", there are probably AIOs by Dell or some other company that have it.

 

[calaverasgrande]

</>

 

[shaunp]

This is kind of part of my annoyance. The i7 tower you are looking for IS the imac 27" with 3.4 ghz quad core cpu.
With the GTX680mx you are in Mac Pro territory.
Either way, now that I think about it the, the Mac Mini has had all it's ports on the back for years now. And it's more annoying with that device because it's tiny form factor pretty much guarantees it will be crammed into the smallest place possible, making the ports on the back more inaccessible.

In the mean time I'll make do with my company MBP and hold onto my cash for (hopefully) redesigned Mac Pro.

No it's not. I don't want an all in one, as I have a lot of HDD's and I'd rather have them in a tower than an external thunderbolt array that costs over £2k, and even if did want an all in one, I'd never have a glossy screen.

The Mac Pro is interesting, but I'd rather see a 'Mac'.

 

[auhagen]

If you need all of those things, then you buy the Pro, not an iMac... you certainly do not buy what is essentially a sealed computer. Or you're prepared to use OWC's Turnkey program. You have choices, you have options, including buying a PC All-In-One that has all of those hardware options and locations that seem to such a big deal to some of you.

Well I dont agree with you.

I would love a Mac Pro vs. my iMac 2011 maxed out. But when thats said. I dont have space for the pro. If they kept the same form factor, I might would have been able to put 2 x 3.5" drives in the 2012 imac model, since the hardware is smaller. I dont care if its thin at the edge. It's my desktop machine, and I'm not transporting it other if I'm moving.

I did in fact buy a "sealed" computer, to upgrade it, since apple is ridicules with their pricing on ram and ssd. It would have been pure bonus, if it could house more than one 3.5" drive. Yes I cannot change the cpu or the gfx, and I dont care about that, not at the moment. But making the machine thinner, is just stupid in my opinion, vs. what else you could have done to the same form factor.

I dont care if it takes me an hour to change one internal part, and I have to be patient to do so, I chose that my self, when I bought an AIO...

 

[Padaung]

I think having the SD card slot on the back on a machine is simply dumb. Surely the point of a removable card slot is that you are going to want to insert and remove a card! A process made a lot more difficult by hiding the slot.

As a photographer I use SD cards all the time. Having to unnecessarily plug in a card reader into a USB port seems daft to me when there is a working (but inaccessible) card slot on the back of a screen.

SD card slot on the side along with one USB port for a pen drive would be amazing.

 

[rabidz7]

This is kind of part of my annoyance. The i7 tower you are looking for IS the imac 27" with 3.4 ghz quad core cpu.
With the GTX680mx you are in Mac Pro territory.
Either way, now that I think about it the, the Mac Mini has had all it's ports on the back for years now. And it's more annoying with that device because it's tiny form factor pretty much guarantees it will be crammed into the smallest place possible, making the ports on the back more inaccessible.

In the mean time I'll make do with my company MBP and hold onto my cash for (hopefully) redesigned Mac Pro.

I don't like intel.
If they made an iMac with 7990M (when the mobile is released) and fx-8350 i will get one.
Or a Power7+
Or accessible EFI
When they do one of these things I will get one, until then, I will wait.

 

[KaraH]

If you need all of those things, then you buy the Pro, not an iMac... you certainly do not buy what is essentially a sealed computer. Or you're prepared to use OWC's Turnkey program. You have choices, you have options, including buying a PC All-In-One that has all of those hardware options and locations that seem to such a big deal to some of you.

That is the point though: up until the 2012 iMac I *could* use the OWC program (or do it myself). You will note that there is not a 2012 iMac option on their turnkey page.

So yes, I will be going with the Pro if Apple deigns to give us a new one. Not because I need the horsepower but because of a decision to make the iMac 'look' (not even 'be') thinner.

 

[Nuke61]

That is the point though: up until the 2012 iMac I *could* use the OWC program (or do it myself). You will note that there is not a 2012 iMac option on their turnkey page.

That's why you stick with the earlier model. I knew from reviews what the late 2012 offered and didn't care that it dropped ODD support, and I thought that while the movement of the SD slot was was a bad idea, I could live with it. I've since found that it's easier to use than the previous location.

So yes, I will be going with the Pro if Apple deigns to give us a new one. Not because I need the horsepower but because of a decision to make the iMac 'look' (not even 'be') thinner.

The new iMac is thinner, whether you choose to believe it or not. Have you considered a Hackintosh? It's what I used prior to buying the real thing. Build it exactly how you want it, but still use Mac software, since that's presumably why you're using a Mac.

 

[MisterKeeks]

I don't like intel.
If they made an iMac with 7990M (when the mobile is released) and fx-8350 i will get one.
Or a Power7+
Or accessible EFI
When they do one of these things I will get one, until then, I will wait.

Why on earth would you want a Power7?

 

[toddzrx]

The new iMac is thinner, whether you choose to believe it or not. Have you considered a Hackintosh? It's what I used prior to buying the real thing. Build it exactly how you want it, but still use Mac software, since that's presumably why you're using a Mac.

That's not the whole story obviously: it's thinner at the edge, but is pretty much the same thickness at the center, which isn't buying you anything for a footprint savings if desktop space is at a premium (which for most, it probably isn't).

I'd of rather seen Apple just reduce the thickness of the machine across its entire length, and retain the SD slot on the side (or maybe consider putting the slot on the bottom, along with the USB connections). Kind of like how they thinned down from the cMBP to the rMBP: no optical illusions going on; just thinner across the board.

 

[rabidz7]

Why on earth would you want a Power7?

It would be reallllly cool.
But the 8150 would be a better choice.

 

[Fishrrman]

"Anyone ever work on an Apple II?"

Yes. Apple //c, 1986

"Classic Mac?"

Yes. Macintosh SE, 1987. Macintosh SE30, 1989.

"The first PowerPC Macs?"

Yes. PowerMac 6100 (was that around 1993?).

I remember the progression from "inaccessible Macs" towards easy accessibility to get inside and upgrade components. Models such as the IIci (which I still have), PowerMac 8600 (still have one of those, too). You could even change the motherboard battery easily.

Apple had a good idea with the g5 iMacs -- several screws on the back, making access to the interior easy. Too bad they didn't retain the concept.

I'd also like them to put a "removable top plate" on the Minis -- would make hard drive access a snap, rather than "a job"...

 

[DesertEagle]

I think having the SD card slot on the back on a machine is simply dumb. Surely the point of a removable card slot is that you are going to want to insert and remove a card! A process made a lot more difficult by hiding the slot.

As a photographer I use SD cards all the time. Having to unnecessarily plug in a card reader into a USB port seems daft to me when there is a working (but inaccessible) card slot on the back of a screen.

SD card slot on the side along with one USB port for a pen drive would be amazing.

It may be dumb, but it looks nice. At least you will be spared the annoyance of having to see the card sticking out of your computer while you're using it.