Why the new iMac sucks so much!

[Lynn Belvedere]

Goodness knows how old you are but you come across as incredibly immature. You don't even own an iMac and yet here you are extolling their virtues. I don't see my 2011 base iMac as being out of date in the slightest, I've yet to see it break sweat. The RAM is fixed in the comparable model to mine hence why I quoted it. The base 2011 is the better value machine.

You show the same non existant knowledge of the Windows environment too. I shall not trouble myself to converse with you further as I see little value in doing so.

I called it right... a bitter 2011 owner. Not much of a surprise. We see the exact same behavior in the new iPad threads. Grrrrr... new iPad sucks, came out too early, my iPad still better value... grrrr.

Don't worry. The 2013 will be even better than the 2012, if that makes you feel any better.

 

[Texran]

Apple can never please everyone. There will be people wanting more specs, and people who wants form over function. I just want Mac OSX and I'll take whatever box it comes in.

Agreed, apple is going after the core consumer whom outnumber the professional video, music, or photo consumers. The home.
They do offer, somewhat limited options to BTO. They won't say it but, It is What it Is.

 

[JayJayAbels]

The horror!!! who doesn't use native DSP? virtual instruments? no one? please?

who are you calling delusional kiddo? also your track count is way off.

^ I'm calling YOU delusional. As in... you... are... delusional.

The samples that VI's use SHOULD be placed on an external source (preferably an SSD w/TB or optical) for streaming as not to clog up and ultimately slow down your main drive.

"Who doesn't use native DSP's?"
^ Many, many engineers.

So your multi-tracking a choir huh? For some weird reason I doubt that. lol

BUT if so... I would HIGHLY suggest that you wait for the Mac Pro as no serious, professional audio engineer would multi-track anything more than a 5 piece band with an iMac. IF that.

 

[Gle55nn]

Everything you say is absolutely true,

 

[thleeal]

When you actually use Win 8 and understand the desktop-tablet-phone integration you will come to realize that OSX-iOS is in serious trouble.

When you compare (IMHO) Win 8 to Mountain Lion, ML comes off as antiquated.

It is time to do a computer refresh at my business and we are going to bite the bullet and move back to the Win world. There is no way that Apple can provide what we need (particularly with the disaster of the new iMac)...

how so?...
my understanding is that windows 8 simply has tiles that update...? any other changes..

it depends what industry your in, of course ... but i think you are being a little dramatic.. "disaster?" laudable im sure in your clique.

but, do tell, i'm open to suggestions... what task you wish to complete that the imac can not handle?

 

[MythicFrost]

i5: I grant it for the base model, but the remaining 3 should have i7 NO BTO, why Apple doesn't get it? it's unethical to make profit from HT benefits when the processors costs about the same and there's no customization due from their part in any way. We're talking about desktop PC's not an iToy. We already know many sacrifices are made to keep the all-in-one box concept alive, why making even more? the "space" issue was already taken care of IMO and current iMacs still look superb compared to the new ones. So wtf is doing a tablet on a stick with already old technology at such a high price?

Why stinging on power and sacrificing flexibility? I don't really get it, Apple's failing to deliver the processing power that makes the difference between mobile devices and PC's, Some might say they're more light consumer oriented, so what are the iPads and laptops for? Give me a break. I'm an audio producer and many professional audio interfaces use FW800, others use it for storage etc. Now one is supposed to buy a converter and lose a TB port, not only that but (5400 rpm) Hard drives... are you freaking kidding me? @#$=)(#$. No optical drive when I expected at least a bump to Blue-ray, today I'm being forced to pay for like 80 bucks just to be able to burn my music sacrificing an USB port as well. No eSATA, Fewer USB ports. All in all no improvements on this field but a major step back.

Why limiting customization and maintenance even more? Soldered RAM, not serviceable hard drive... We yelled at Apple about it!!! even an Xbox is more efficient in this matter and that's ridiculous if we're talking about a personal computer. The overall design of the product and its concept was defused by this refresh, iMacs are even farther from being "all in one" now, the price to performance ratio is also outrageous, denying entry to professional users who can't afford a Mac Pro and won't spend 3k on a 27" maxed out model.

Screw Apple, they're evil.

1. The processor doesn't cost "about the same", it's more expensive. Not everyone needs an i7, and that's why it's BTO.
2. You can use a daisy chain up to six devices on a single Thunderbolt port, if I remember correctly.
3. The 5400 RPM hard drives are only in the 21.5 inch iMac, the 27 inch models have 7200 RPM drives.
4. The RAM is user serviceable on the 27 inch models.

There has been plenty of improvements, particularly to the display.

 

[the8thark]

1. The processor doesn't cost "about the same", it's more expensive. Not everyone needs an i7, and that's why it's BTO.
2. You can use a daisy chain up to six devices on a single Thunderbolt port, if I remember correctly.
3. The 5400 RPM hard drives are only in the 21.5 inch iMac, the 27 inch models have 7200 RPM drives.
4. The RAM is user serviceable on the 27 inch models.

1. Very true.
2. Something like this yes.
3. Matters a lot to prospective 21.5" buyers. They want a 21.5" not be told go get a 27".
4. True. But again the non-servicability is a factor for prospective 21.5" buyers.

 

[Jiten]

not exactly engineering... more basic sciences... if you weren't taught about heat conduction as a child.... your education system failed you.

if you forgot something as simple as why pans are made of metal....
sorry but you deserve to be spoken down to.

People skills are not exactly rocket science either...if you weren't taught about basic ethics as a child....your education system has failed you.

if you forgot something as simple as treating people with simple human decency...sorry but you deserve to be spoken down to.

 

[cooky560]

1. The processor doesn't cost "about the same", it's more expensive. Not everyone needs an i7, and that's why it's BTO.
2. You can use a daisy chain up to six devices on a single Thunderbolt port, if I remember correctly.
3. The 5400 RPM hard drives are only in the 21.5 inch iMac, the 27 inch models have 7200 RPM drives.
4. The RAM is user serviceable on the 27 inch models.

There has been plenty of improvements, particularly to the display.

1. You have a valid point here
2. So? AIOs are about not needing masses of crap connected to the back of your computer
3. I have no space for a 27" screen on my desk, I do have space for a 21.5" what do I do huh? Suffer because of the limitations of physics when Apple could of just left the 7200 RPM drive from the old iMac in the new one.
4. See 3.

 

[Tankmaze]

Looking at the leak photo of imac before the event, some people were certain that apple uses 2.5" hdd. But now, i'm guessing the 21.5 inch imac uses the 1 tb 2.5 hdd 5400rpm while the 27 use 3.5 hdd 7200 rpm that can go up to 3 tb.

The 5400 rpm on a 1 tb drive is good enough actually, it can go to 114 MB/s of read and write.

Can't wait for ifixit get their hands on.

 

[floobie]

Please read my post: I'm an audio producer i5 over i7 is a huge factor because of hyperthreading, it almost doubles DAW's performance. Why won't you complain about your needs not being attended rather than settling for a PC that could be so much better? There was no need to limit the target to just regular consumers and I'm just very disappointed. I could see the Mac Pro disappearing in the future but now we're rather forced to buy it. Before the refresh, I wanted from the iMac to continue to be a viable choice and I reckon I expected way more than what I received.

I too am fully aware of the benefits of hyper-threading. It dramatically increases the amount of plugins I can use in Logic. As such, I configured a 15" Macbook Pro that had an i7. It does basically double the amount of plugins I can run over the top i5 offered at the time. The i7 is very much worth it in this case. But, it's fairly useless beyond these more pro level applications. Even for gaming, it really doesn't add very much. It makes more sense to offer the i7 to the few who would actually benefit from it as a BTO option, and offer the i5 to everyone else by default.

As for the rest of your rant. This IS an iMac. They've never been very upgradable. The 27" version still has upgradable RAM, thankfully. And, from the pro iMac applications I've come across (design studios and the like), they have always gone for the 27" version anyway. The optical drive... I can see why you care. But, you have to realize you're in the minority at this point. As for firewire, I agree on that one. Firewire is still very much the standard for audio interfaces and such. As far as I know, no one has offered a thunderbolt interface yet. And, once it happens, it will be extremely expensive. I can understand going the adapter route on a laptop with limited space (ala the Retina Macbook Pro), but they totally could've thrown it in on the iMac...

 

[rumplestiltskin]

Waiting...

I sold my 27" iMac (previous model). It was a wonderful machine; however, USB3 is a highly desired upgrade (for me, YMMV). Losing the Firewire port is no big deal for me as I have a few of Apple's T-Bolt to FW800 adapters (and they work fine). I also have the LaCie T-Bolt to eSata hub (which does have a spare T-Bolt port so, with 2 T-Bolt ports on the iMac, I can connect almost anything I need in any qty).

You may complain about "missing ports" but you are free to buy a Mac Pro and add whatever cards/ports you -do- need.

Now, as for the "missing" optical drive: My experience has been that this component has always been the least reliable part of the iMac; slot-loaders are just awful (and I include PCs here). So I have used a "standard" 5.25" external optical drive to burn whatever CDs/DVDs I need. But I need very few as all installer/boot discs are either available now as .dmg files or I create the .dmg files from the few optical discs I encounter. Then I make a boot/install/storage disk from an external 2.5" drive or even a Class 10 SDHC card (and all Macs with an SD card slot can boot from there).

Why did I sell my iMac? I got good money for it and it will mostly fund the purchase of my next 27" iMac in December.

 

[jmpnop]

Reminder: The MacBook Pro actually has PRO in the title and use 5400RPM HD's.

Even worse, the retina 13" PRO starting at $1700 is non-user upgradable, has 128GB storage, no optical drive and crap integrated graphics.

 

[masp84]

I too am fully aware of the benefits of hyper-threading. It dramatically increases the amount of plugins I can use in Logic. As such, I configured a 15" Macbook Pro that had an i7. It does basically double the amount of plugins I can run over the top i5 offered at the time. The i7 is very much worth it in this case. But, it's fairly useless beyond these more pro level applications. Even for gaming, it really doesn't add very much. It makes more sense to offer the i7 to the few who would actually benefit from it as a BTO option, and offer the i5 to everyone else by default.

As for the rest of your rant. This IS an iMac. They've never been very upgradable. The 27" version still has upgradable RAM, thankfully. And, from the pro iMac applications I've come across (design studios and the like), they have always gone for the 27" version anyway. The optical drive... I can see why you care. But, you have to realize you're in the minority at this point. As for firewire, I agree on that one. Firewire is still very much the standard for audio interfaces and such. As far as I know, no one has offered a thunderbolt interface yet. And, once it happens, it will be extremely expensive. I can understand going the adapter route on a laptop with limited space (ala the Retina Macbook Pro), but they totally could've thrown it in on the iMac...

Finally a reply I can relate to, thank you mate!
I know I'm whining for the gimped release of the "new" iMac on December when people is running better rigs since almost a year now. I think that's my main point, I'm already on a hackintosh running IVB with no issues whatsoever and it costed me 1350$: ML supports all my gear natively including WiFi and Thunderbolt which was a surprise, Tonymac's crew provide lots of solutions and fixes in terms of self maintenance too. There's a good Thunderbolt audio interface that I'm using form Universal Audio called Apollo though the TB Xcard costs 500$ so It's still on my FW800 port.

I know the 27" BTO'd will be more expensive so I'll wait for the next gen of CPU's to come out as for the upcoming refresh due in 2013 for haswell chips. I was let down because I think current iMacs are superb machines! pricing and gear were just right and many home audio producers finally got their entry to the Mac world, it was a short marriage though... Sadly we're the minority so we always have to work around things, not because of being cheap, but for the sake of integrity. Some prosumer stuff like the monitor panel doesn't make sense in this whole core consumer concept - unless it's way more cheaper than we're told -. Think about it. This guys have always been hardware scammers.

Anyhow, I'm on my new "MAC pro" hooked to a 42" led and everything's blasting fast, I feel like I'm looking down to hell when I post here now.

 

[MythicFrost]

1. Very true.
2. Something like this yes.
3. Matters a lot to prospective 21.5" buyers. They want a 21.5" not be told go get a 27".
4. True. But again the non-servicability is a factor for prospective 21.5" buyers.

3 & 4. I wasn't saying just go to a 27 inch, I was just pointing out to the OP that the 27 inch models do have faster drives. I suppose the Fusion drive is the only option for a 21.5 inch model.

1. You have a valid point here
2. So? AIOs are about not needing masses of crap connected to the back of your computer
3. I have no space for a 27" screen on my desk, I do have space for a 21.5" what do I do huh? Suffer because of the limitations of physics when Apple could of just left the 7200 RPM drive from the old iMac in the new one.
4. See 3.

2. I don't think adding a daisy chain for two devices would make a big mess. I think it would be okay.
3 & 4. I wasn't suggesting to just get a 27 inch, I was just pointing out to the OP that the 27 inch models do have faster drives. If you want a 21.5 inch model you're stuck, but I suppose a Fusion drive would help.

 

[masp84]

The horror!!! who doesn't use native DSP? virtual instruments? no one? please?

who are you calling delusional kiddo? also your track count is way off.

^ I'm calling YOU delusional. As in... you... are... delusional.

The samples that VI's use SHOULD be placed on an external source (preferably an SSD w/TB or optical) for streaming as not to clog up and ultimately slow down your main drive.

"Who doesn't use native DSP's?"
^ Many, many engineers.

So your multi-tracking a choir huh? For some weird reason I doubt that. lol

BUT if so... I would HIGHLY suggest that you wait for the Mac Pro as no serious, professional audio engineer would multi-track anything more than a 5 piece band with an iMac. IF that.

Ok Mr Quincy Jones, lets leave it this size.
The whole external concept you refer too was an storage solution seized for apple and Pro Tools, it's now by any means a rule or a must be, actually I do much better with an INTERNAL drive dedicated just to that task.

 

[jms969]

how so?...
my understanding is that windows 8 simply has tiles that update...? any other changes..

it depends what industry your in, of course ... but i think you are being a little dramatic.. "disaster?" laudable im sure in your clique.

but, do tell, i'm open to suggestions... what task you wish to complete that the imac can not handle?

It will take a year to 18 months but Windows 8 gives me not only a desktop but a useful tablet utilizing the same OS.

Disaster you ask... YES!!!

Who in their right mind would purchase an AIO that was not serviceable, we go through at least one hard drive per machine per year, not repairable on the iMac.

We need desktop GPUs not mobile GPUs, the iMac is out once again.

I am not going to buy an external DVD/CD for each machine, the size of projects that we do does not allow us to utilize the cloud.

The iMac is purely a light consumer machine, not even in the category of prosumer.

When we make the switch we will also utilize Win 8 tablets and eventually phones.

The seamlessness of the integration is amazing...

Edit:

We have made the decision to move on, it was a good run with Apple but they have chosen to completely abandon the business user in favor of the consumer market. I am OK with that, but, over the next year or so my little shop will transition the dozen or so computers to Win 8 and probably purchase half a dozen Win 8 Tablets and as phones have to be replaced they will also transition to Windows phones...

If I am not going to use a Mac at work I am not going to use one at home, so it creates a bit of a snowball effect...

I had hoped that Tim Cook would have brought some professional management to the company, but it appears to be getting worse

 

[nagareru]

It will take a year to 18 months but Windows 8 gives me not only a desktop but a useful tablet utilizing the same OS.

Disaster you ask... YES!!!

Who in their right mind would purchase an AIO that was not serviceable, we go through at least one hard drive per machine per year, not repairable on the iMac.

AIO are not supposed to be user serviceable, thats why they are AIO not TOWERS.

We need desktop GPUs not mobile GPUs, the iMac is out once again.

The iMac never, in history, had a desktop GPU so I you need a desktop GPU you shouldn't have been looking for an iMac first of all. Today's iMac with a 680MX is the closest to an iMac has ever got to have a desktop GPU.

I am not going to buy an external DVD/CD for each machine, the size of projects that we do does not allow us to utilize the cloud.

The iMac is purely a light consumer machine, not even in the category of prosumer.

The top end iMac is not a light consumer machine, it does all type of professional work we do. 3D design, render, uncompressed footage editing as well as high end video compositing. And this is all broadcast work so we use it constantly on a daily basis. It might not be a mac pro but it does the work pretty damn close.

 

[thleeal]

It will take a year to 18 months but Windows 8 gives me not only a desktop but a useful tablet utilizing the same OS.

Disaster you ask... YES!!!

Who in their right mind would purchase an AIO that was not serviceable, we go through at least one hard drive per machine per year, not repairable on the iMac.

We need desktop GPUs not mobile GPUs, the iMac is out once again.

I am not going to buy an external DVD/CD for each machine, the size of projects that we do does not allow us to utilize the cloud.

The iMac is purely a light consumer machine, not even in the category of prosumer.

When we make the switch we will also utilize Win 8 tablets and eventually phones.

The seamlessness of the integration is amazing...

Edit:

We have made the decision to move on, it was a good run with Apple but they have chosen to completely abandon the business user in favor of the consumer market. I am OK with that, but, over the next year or so my little shop will transition the dozen or so computers to Win 8 and probably purchase half a dozen Win 8 Tablets and as phones have to be replaced they will also transition to Windows phones...

If I am not going to use a Mac at work I am not going to use one at home, so it creates a bit of a snowball effect...

I had hoped that Tim Cook would have brought some professional management to the company, but it appears to be getting worse

your argument is conflicted, you continually state that you need a professional level machine, imacs have always been consumer/prosumer level at best machines.
imacs have always used mobile gpus, correct me if im wrong there please.
if your battering hard drives once a year, you might find getting something like a drobo and rotating use as per project will help.

your speaking a lot of when you make the transition, how seamless it will be etc, you yourself have stated that that windows will take 18 months to (what i would say is polish up) in 12 months i expect the next iteration of ipad and iCloud mac osx, bringing further seamlessness... so i dont really understand your argument...

as for AIO's being sealed.... consumer devise... they dont want to open it and play with it... maybe if their adventurous, maybe, they will install an extra stick of ram a few years...

dude your argument is inherently flawed...
your moaning is akin to complaining the ipad is sealed and questioning why it cant do hard core 4k video editing and 3d rendering.

fyi, its better if you channel your frustrations to making points that are factual, instead of opinion.

 

[Jetson]

The majority of you don't need an i7 CPU. I don't think you guys realise how powerful desktop CPUs are these days, even the i5 variants. Soldered RAM is only on the 21.5" model. Apple has never been keen on having user-serviceable computers so there is nothing new there.

The first Macs were ALL user serviceable. That's one reason people loved them.

On my Mac/SE you used a hex torque wrench to remove the screws holding the case on. Then you could behold the Mac internals in all their glory.

You could remove and replace the ram, the motherboard, hard drive, diskette drive, etc. There was an open slot to plug in a new cpu, graphics card, etc. There was an entire industry built on providing accessories to modify your Mac (remember Sonnet?)

Apple has taken the road to extreme thinness a bit too far with this iMac incarnation.

No Superdrive??? Oh my gosh!

 

[Jetson]

Put 'em back! The way they wuz!

I waited years to upgrade from my IBM G5 iMac.

While I appreciate the power of the new iMacs, not having a CD/DVD drive is a real disappointment.

I don't want to have to be on the grid to provide input for my computer. Nor do I want to have to purchase an external drive.

Optical media is not obsolete, like when Apple decided to eliminate the 3.5 diskette drive.

Nobody cares about having a super-duper thin (from a certain angle only) desktop computer. We want the conveniece of an optical drive in our all-in-one machine.

Please Apple, put 'em back!

http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/222038/Li-l-Abner-Movie-Clip-Put-Em-Back-the-Way-They-Was.html

 

[streetfoldsfive]

I buy all my music on cd and burn it all to iTunes and don't see the deal with no optical. Externals are pretty cheap. It just seems like suck a small issue.
Not trolling of course

 

[soulreaver99]

Why are people crying about the optical drive? Is it really that hard to plug in an external drive for $30? Works perfectly fine on my Macbook Air!

 

[nuckinfutz]

Why are people crying about the optical drive? Is it really that hard to plug in an external drive for $30? Works perfectly fine on my Macbook Air!

They know that but they feel a sense of entitlement.



I'm longing for the days when Apple had bright and creative users who didn't spend endless amounts of time complaining.

 

[spcdust]

Why are people crying about the optical drive? Is it really that hard to plug in an external drive for $30? Works perfectly fine on my Macbook Air!

I guess the aesthetic of the iMac is some what compromised having an external burner plugged into it? The apparent thin edge seems irrelevant to a desktop.