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Time Canada Shows New iMac
Kira-Baka writes "Okay, Time Canada screwed up big time. They have pictures of the new iMac which will be released tomorrow during the Mac World Expo keynote on their front page. it is likely that they will be getting a letter soon so though..." I'll be posting a full report on the keynote and other MacWorld goodness tomorrow as it happens. Time Canada seems a bit slow, but in short, think little pod of iMac with superdrive and flat panel screen. Update: 01/07 13:22 GMT by T : Several readers have pointed out that the story can (for now) still be found mirrored here, though it's been pulled from the Time site.
Geez, who cares if the picture is a little early? Not like anyone reads "Time Canada"! You sound like Apple's director of being a control freak.
No comment at this time
This one is easy, Steve's gay lover, next question?
It's the fucking Pixar lamp, with a really weird bulb!
GodDAMN that's ugly! Apple, I'm impressed! After the original iBook, I didn't think you'd be able to top yourselves!
Dragging people kicking and screaming into reality since 1996.
My number one rule with people is that they are generally lazy. People are often too lazy to even look at a Mac, let alone use it long enough to try and understand how to work it. No start button? My God! What do I do?!? It can't run my kid's games? Well, forget that! It takes a relatively rare kind of person to make the switch from PC to Mac, and a clever (albeit weird) new design isn't really going to matter much.
The other thing I have issues with is the whole "digital lifestyle" concept that Jobs keeps pushing. Why is it that you have all these commercials, from Apple, Microsoft, HP, and others going on about how easy it is to create shit on your computer? I just don't understand. Yeah, plenty of people create with their computers (God bless 'em) but the majority of the people out there are still astonished that they can actually buy a device to copy their friend's CD's! Combine that with the fact that most people actually consider themselves far too busy to go about creating some stupid coffee table book or movie, there's no way this will fly. I like the iPhoto idea for actually organizing things, but I'm skeptical that it will matter in the long run, as people will just use the free (Windows) software that came with their camera.
Apple could do very well, the possibility is always there so long as they keep up what they're doing, but it would take some serious serious blunders on Microsoft's part, the likes of which we've never seen before, to make people switch.
"I may not have morals, but I have standards."
I would believe it to be 1800 dollars US.
I mean since they are going to sell a grand total of four, they'll have to make up money somehow.
"when life gets complicated, I like to take a nap in a tree and wait for dinner" - Hobbes.
Maybe Jobs can use the same proctologist when he goes to have his head removed from his ass. This thing looks like a makeup mirror at the beauty college.
And not upgradeable at all, I'll bet. Oh, maybe they'll let you add a bit of RAM. And not only that, you can run all the software you need! Both Office and Photoshop!
Besides, this monstrosity looks like a combination of eyestalk and ugly lamp. Yup. I'm an anti-mac bigot. But I've got a long and torturous history with the wretched things, starting with an LC3 I was forced to use in high school, so I'm proud of my bigotry.
Does it have a orintation censor so if I krazy glue it to the ceiling the display will flip verticly?
:) One use for that flexi-monitor thingy! Hehe. Use it in bed. :) Have a monitor hanging down and a wireless keyboard/mouse combo. w00t. This thing could be halfway cool after all, LOL!
That'd rock.
Oh wait, its a mac, N/M.
Need help treating your acne? Come here!
I had a vision of something like this a few days ago, except the components were inside a separate dome-shaped translucent plastic chassis and the monitor-on-a-stick was connected by an ADC cable.
If this is indeed Apple's next iMac there are some obvious problems. I'd better state them before I get caught up in the RDF tomorrow.
Too much like the cube.
Could the iBlob be the hub of your digital lifestyle? Firewire and USB connectors make it easy to attach a myriad of little translucent rectangular devices with Apple logo on the back. But what else can you attach to this lamp-like appliance? How much memory can you add? Get ready for the Inquisition once more, Apple!
The display sits too high.
According to ergonomic principles the top edge of your display should be level with your line of sight or even a little lower for extended usage periods. Sitting on my desk the iBlob
The display is too small - it's an iBook display.
Simply a matter of the display being disproportionate to the base. If the base were smaller or separate from the display it might make a difference. An awful lot of folks familiar with the iBook are going to scoff because you get hardly anything more than you get with an iBook - without the portability. Even if it's a G4 machine it won't do much to convince anyone. Photoshop benchmarks will not sell this appliance.
Expandability expandability expandability
I can't see a DVD slot on the front, can you? What about PCI slots? These questions are going to be relevant if this machine comes in above the $999 price point. The iBlob is poised to inherit the iMac mantle, but it's a very new appearance for a computer and can't avoind inheriting the legacy of the Cube as well. How can this be successful? Only on the merits of its features.
Versatility versatility versatility
The venerable CRT-based iMac had the benefit of familiarity. It was immediately evident to anyone who saw it that it was a console. It might sit atop a swiveling base but it would remain otherwise stationary. The iBlob has the appearance of a modular system but it probably isn't. The screen probably swivels but I'm guessing it will not be removable. You won't be able to hook another computer to its display for presentation purposes.
Where can one envision such a machine living? I see it in the corner of a countertop, in a boutique, atop a restaurant podium.... This is not a computer made to sit down at, but to stand near. But even for these uses the base is a bit too large. Maybe this is why I favor two separate pieces.
After all of Apple's hype the iBlob is not likely to receive the accolades it probably deserves on some level. I just hope Steve doesn't feel compelled to bring out the team of "special" people who gave birth to this ugly duckling. Time will tell if it is to become a swan or end up as carrion for buzzards.
-- thinkyhead software and media
It's not about software, it's just that those kinds of designs only fit into 5% of the country's living rooms. Seriously, Apple's very limited product design range (one big G4 clunker, an oddball looking iMac, and two laptops with one choice of pointing device) really limits the adoption of their systems. Intel system, in contrast, come in hundreds of different shapes and sizes, from stylish to practical to industrial. Add to that that $1200 is rather high for an entry-level system, and it's not difficult to see why Apple has only a niche market and won't grow beyond it.