Whispers Suggest a Mid November iMac and Mac Mini Updates

[oldwatery]

It's very clear.

From CNET News........
"Apple has quashed the rumor mill's latest obsession, declaring that no new Macs will be released before the holidays.
Earlier Monday, reports surfaced that Apple was getting ready to release an updated version of the iMac and the Mac Mini next week. But a company representative told Macworld, "our holiday lineup is set," in a rare move to dampen the speculation regarding the new products.
As Macworld's Jim Dalrymple points out, the iMac and Mac Mini seem overdue for a hardware update, making it quite plausible that new versions would be along some time soon. But Apple appears to be saving those updates for a later date, perhaps at the annual Macworld conference in January.
Apple did just release new MacBooks and MacBook Pros to bolster the Mac lineup heading into the holiday season, which is generally the busiest time of the year for the computer industry."

That's all folks!

 

[iDave]

Now...on to predictions for Macworld SF.

 

[nick9191]

alright why don't you ask apple to drop USB and use only firewire??

I would love to, and if Apple had their way so would they.

Why else is their 1 USB port on the MBA, 2 USB ports on the MB and MBP, and 3 on the iMac when a $600 Dell system ships with about 12 USB ports.

USB is useless, its only their to satisfy the switchers, and it only caught on at all as it was backed by Intel.

 

[Pismonium]

Yes. You would need the Mini DisplayPort =>DVI adapter then a DVI => HDMI Cable.

Thanks. Would it still carry both video AND audio signals? And is that the $30 adapter offered by Apple?

 

[Cave Man]

Nope. DVI breaks the audio. You'd have to use the optical port.

 

[iDave]

I don't know how true it is but I read on Roughly Drafted that Apple is not routing audio through their mini-DisplayPort. Even the new shiny display depends on USB for audio.

Roughly Drafted

 

[Pismonium]

Nope. DVI breaks the audio. You'd have to use the optical port.

Hmmmm... So I have yet another cable to contend with. Will the sound at-least be worth-while? Hopefully a 3rd party will come along and have a fix, of course only if Apple will allow this

Still wondering if a current model would be a better choice for now, for home theatre, and use it as a server later.

Thank-you both for the links.

 

[AidenShaw]

No, I would not mind the Mac Pro being wiped. I do, however, guess that to some extent Apple would mind since the product you described would be a cheaper one with almost the same theoretical performance as the Mac Pro = less revenue because people would not be forced into getting the Pro.

I just added the following to the "No holiday joy" thread.

If Apple came out with a similar small mini-tower, only pros would buy Pros.

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/desktop-studio-slim?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19

By the way, did you look closely at the Studio Slim?

Blu-ray Disc burner, HDMI, TV tuner, 1394, 802.11n, Q9550 CPU (quad 12MB L2, 2.83GHz, 1333FSB), 8 GiB RAM, eSATA, 7.1 sound, Intel® GMA X4500HD with built-in support for full 1080p high-definition video playback, including Blu-ray* disc movies, 3.5" SATA (up to 1 TB), PCIe x16 slot for graphics, two PCIe x1 slots, one PCI slot, three 3.5

$869 for Quad 2.33 GHz, 4 GiB, BD-ROM/DVD-RW, 640 GB, ATI RADEON 3450 HD 256MiB, Vista 64-bit.

$549 entry price

 

[hiptobesquare]

Yes. You would need the Mini DisplayPort =>DVI adapter then a DVI => HDMI Cable.

If the DisplayPort standard supports Audio and if Apple's MiniDisplayPort abides by the standard (doesn't omit the audio portion of the signal), why would it be so out-of-bounds to have a MiniDisplayPort to HDMI 1.3+ cable adapter, that would still use both digital video, and digital audio.

(if both DP, and HDMI are adaptable from DVI, the signal must be uniform, or very close to it, just the cable connections would be different...)

If the signals are compatible, a MiniDP -> HDMI 1.3 adapter should be very possible to make, without diasy-chaining multiple format adapters... But someone in the cabling industry will have to make it, if Apple doesn't.

If it is not possible, then a DVI adapter, then a change to HDMI will have to do. I prefer to use toslink to an audio receiver/amplifier, anyway. Most monitors have marginal speakers, at best.

Even if mDP->HDMI does come about, I would probably still use separate toslink digital audio to my home theater receiver (replacing the Airport Express I am currently using for audio only) . I want a better Mac Mini to be my HTPC, and I want more functionality, including broadcast/Sat/Cable HD tuning and DVR, as well as DVD playback, and hopefully even Blu-Ray playback, in addition to iTunes and Hulu-type internet distribution.

One box to rule them all, as it were. But I still want my audio receiver to handle D/A conversion, 5.1 processing, and amplification, and I want to choose the HD monitor that best suits my use, as well. I don't want to run computer speaker systems from analog audio, or powered speakers from a USB port, and I don't want a built-in screen, such as an iMac.

But if I could relegate my CD changer and DVD player to backup status (or even sell them off...) and add HD playback via network OR optical disc, I would be a pretty happy camper.

Now if Apple would just build it. Otherwise, I'll have to do it myself, with a hackintosh HTPC.

 

[Cole Slaw]

Well I realize Apple will probably be shooting for dropping firewire on the iMacs and moving to one USB 1 port on the 20" iMac and 2 USB 1s on the 24", as only a "Pro" requires speeds faster than that.
But what I'd like to see on the iMac is easy access to the hard drive.
That would be nice.

 

[Cave Man]

Will the sound at-least be worth-while?

Yeah, it'll be digital optical - up to 7.1.

 

[chrisdee]

Note to self. Don't trust Fudzilla reguarding rumors.