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New 20" iMac and Dual 1.8GHz PowerMac G5

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the lamps-and-cheese-graters dept.

joekra writes "Today, Apple released a new 20" iMac and a Dual 1.8GHz PowerMac G5. Both were accurately rumored at the last minute by the usual suspects. In fact, the Dual 1.8GHz G5 configuration was rumored back in July to shift demand away from the popular 2.0GHz PowerPC G5s." I'm holding out for a couple rounds of price drops, but I think a G5 is definitely in my future.

11 of 467 comments (clear)

  1. Not sure about the 20" iMac... by superdan2k · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The currently Apple 20" flatscreen goes for $1299. You're paying $2199 for that attached to a 1.25GHz iMac... So in 3 years when the iMac is obsolete and the monitor is running fine, you can't attach that 20" flatscreen to anything. Hmm. Not good.

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    blog |
    1. Re:Not sure about the 20" iMac... by Lewisham · · Score: 5, Insightful

      For power users, sure, it's pretty bad losing a 20" screen that you've forked out for. The iMac isn't really geared to us though.

      I've had a hell of a time trying to figure out why my friends have been buying awful computers (a Compaq, for example, just one month ago! Wonder how long that brand is going to last...) without consulting me. After some prodding, it turns out they don't like me telling them what isn't and isn't good about the new machine they're getting, they just want what they can see. Like a big screen. Then they buy it, because they make some assumption that all computers are the same nowadays, and treat these things like appliances no more complex than a dishwasher. Once it's had it's day, you throw it all out and buy a new one. Obviously they're ignoring the fact they are on their own when it comes to support. You don't ask me, you don't get my help later on :D

      Which is where Apple is with the iMac. It's disposable computing. Every 3-4 years, chuck it out and get a new one. To be fair, it's a very tempting option over the extra outlay of the tower and monitor to begin with. My 3 year old 17" monitor is about to give up on me, but the screen is looking weak in comparison by today's standards anyway. Why not buy it all cheaper now then get a nice spangly 24" iMac with super-bright-no-dead-pixel technology or something down the line? Certainly for most people (the people that double take when I drag a window from my Powerbook to my monitor) having two workareas is crazy enough as it is, let alone paying extra for the privalege! :)

    2. Re:Not sure about the 20" iMac... by Aqua+OS+X · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I agree. I think this is wasteful. We can't have people tossing nice 20in LCDs every 3-4 years.

      Yet, then again, People do toss laptops every few years. And, Macs usually stay "in action" for a long time if their owners don't try and put unreasonable software on them. Ya can't run Photoshop CS on a 604e machine... but 5 will still run fine and do the job.

      --
      "Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
    3. Re:Not sure about the 20" iMac... by jmkaza · · Score: 4, Insightful

      No one should have to call a computer expert to buy a PC. My dad's been looking at getting a new PC for a while now. I've offered on numerous occasions to build him a kick ass box, but he called the other day and said he just went out and bought an e-machines. Was I pissed, no. It works. It does for him everything he needs it to do, far better than the 333 celeron he had before. It runs Windows XP, and when he clicks on a video file, it plays. When he tries to run a java app, it works. Imagine that. Everything works, and I didn't have to spend ten hours configuring hacked plugins for Xine/Quicktime, RealPlayer, j2re, etc. If he has a problem with it, I'll fix it. And it'll take me far less of my time to fix whatever problems he'd encounter than it would have for me to build, configure, and support a box myself. I'll also call tech support to report whatever problem he had, and chances are, it'll be fixed next time around. We shouldn't work to make non geeks more geeky, we should just be there to help them out when they run into the ocasional issue where a geek is needed to take care of it.

  2. Re:Big screen! by goober · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you're still having problems ergomically with a screen that can be manuevered into any position, the problem is not with the computer. It's with your chair!

  3. Learn marketing, people. by Gannoc · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Too many comments along the lines of "That there is a big monitor to just throw away when the iMac is obsolete!"

    People who buy iMacs don't want to upgrade them every year. They're home users who expect to buy a computer, and keep it until it breaks or some amazing reason comes out to get a new one. They upgrade only when new applications require it, which is why Apple focuses a lot on new features and software innovation to motivate people to upgrade.

    Take a look on eBay at used Mac prices sometime, then rethink the "wasting a monitor" idea.

    1. Re:Learn marketing, people. by djtack · · Score: 4, Insightful

      My point? Even for people who keep their computers forever, even for old retired folks who only check their email on Sunday, even for the iMac's target demographic, the iMac doesn't make sense.

      Well, my parents' last computer was an all-in-one Mac LC520. They used it for eight years, at which point it was replaced by an iMac (the only reason it was replaced at all is because Netscape 4 on a 68030 was starting to suck). And we were not crying over the loss of the integrated display, because it only has 480x640 resolution! Even if it wasn't integrated we would not have kept it.

      Your point seems to be that my parents should have bought a Mac IIsi with a 21" CRT. In 1992 that probably would have cost $5000, when we paid just $1600 for the Mac LC. Now who's making sense?

  4. Re:Big screen! by Cujo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think Apple would say that if that's the sort of thing you're inclined to do, then the iMac is not for you. It;s for people who aren't too curious about what's under that dome thinggy. OTOH, there is someone who will muck about and hack just about anything.

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    Helium balloons want to be free.

  5. Re:Big screen! by ViolentGreen · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't use CRTs. They're a dead technology, and IMHO they just generally suck! ;)

    Do you have any reasoning behind this? LCDs are flat and easier on the eyes but you can't get anything above 1280X1024 resolution for under $1000. I have seen 19" CRTs with 1600x1200 for just over $100.

    A side from the cost, LCDs/plasmas have a huge problem with displaying true black. Anyone concerned with image quality usually goes with a CRT.

    You have price, image quality, resolution, better viewing angle vs space, style.

    CRTs are far from dead.

    --
    Not everything is analogous to cars. Car analogies rarely work.
  6. Mid-Line Best-Deal by Soong · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Ah, now the middle of the desktop is again clearly the best deal. I always buy from the middle of the line. The boost over the low end model is worth the price, but the difference between mid and high end is always a more severe premium.

    Also, if you're going to buy the dual 1.8 GHz Mac, BUY IT NOW. You'll be happier this way. See, if the worst time to buy is just before a revision comes out, then you get further and further from that to the happiest point just after a revision comes out.

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    Start Running Better Polls
  7. Re:No thanks, Ill stick to my Cheap Linux Box. by carlfish · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "Why Spend $2199 on a Propreitry hardware when I can get a Cheap $600 Linux box running Mandrake."

    When you first get into Linux, everything is cool and exciting. Linux's inconsistencies, the plethora of weird and wonderful configuration files, the ever-changing procession of desktop environments, all of this is a challenge. It's something new to learn. You feel you're expanding your horizons.

    Skip to about ten years after my first Linux installation, and the novelty has decidedly worn off. I just don't find it very interesting any more to have to think too much about my computer. The time I spend thinking about my computer is time I could be spending thinking about the things I want to do with that computer. I think JWZ summed it up when he said: 'If you made a Venn diagram, there would be two non-overlapping circles, one of which was labeled, "Times when I am truly happy" and the other of which was labeled, "Times when I am logged in as root, holding a cable, or have the case open."'

    My 17" flat-panel iMac was the second-best computer investment I've ever made (with the best being my 15" TiBook). The iMac doesn't waste any space, it's incredibly quiet, it looks great, and it's several orders of magnitude less frustrating to deal with every day than my succession of Linux boxen. As someone who works with computers, I spend an inordinate amount of time in front of the damn things every day, and I consider the "luxury" spending to make that a more enjoyable and productive experience to be very, very well worth it.

    If you want to save the money, if it's not a priority for you, that's entirely your prerogative. Just don't stand outside the window of the restaurant, munching your cheeseburger and muttering "Fillet steak? Who'd waste money on that?"

    Charles Miller

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    The more I learn about the Internet, the more amazed I am that it works at all.