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Apple Delays New iMac
An anonymous reader writes "Reuters is running a story that Apple has delayed the release of the new iMac until September and has stopped taking orders for the current models."
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This may have more to do with clearing old inventory in retail channels ahead of the traditional educational back to school computer bonanza.
A well timed announcement of a really sexy new iMac in August will get everyone excited, without cannibalising sales of the present generation of stock.
Humorous signatures are over-rated.
I'm not sure how valid this thought is but it would seem that using Apple products in a school (talked about in the article) setting would pidgeon hole students into a very limited sector of the market. I'm not saying running Windows is going to be better or anything but for example I would have loved being able to choose to work on a platform of my choosing instead of being forced into one thing.
vampirical
Its amazing to see Apple actually pre-announce a product! This is virtually unheard of, espessially for something as important as the next gen iMac. It looks to me like this pre-announcement is the result of some terrible mistake in predicting when all parts (PowerPC 970FX maybe?) would be available.
Your right though most of their innovation seems to be on the hardware end. You see alot of imacs in places where people want to be noticed. (mobile phone shops spring to mind).
Youve heard of hairdresser's cars, imacs are hair dressers computers..
I had one of the original Bondi Blue iMacs. While other people were praising its beauty, I thought it was kinda ugly. As a fashion statement, the blue translucent plastic seemed somehow akin to bell-bottom trousers and leisure suits. The periodic release of new machines with different color schemes seemed to support that view.
But it was a fine computer. The original iMac was a brave departure from the beige boxes we'd all become so accustomed to. The compact all-in-one design simplified things for people who don't want to invest a lot of time in figuring out how everything goes together. (You or I may feel unfulfilled with any computer we haven't built with our bare hands from raw sand, but there are plenty of folks who just want to use the thing.)
The iMac moved things forward in part by turning its back on a lot of legacy stuff. The iMac upset a lot of long-time Mac fanatics who were upset that they couldn't plug their old ADB and serial peripherals into the USB ports. Some people were aghast at the absence of the floppy drive. Now that Dell has embraced the idea of computers without floppy drives, I guess the iMac's work here is done.
Snif... Drat... I promised myself I wouldn't cry...
Thank you for your support.
I'm not sure how valid this thought is but it would seem that using Apple products in a school (talked about in the article) setting would pidgeon hole students into a very limited sector of the market.
That is moronic, and yet oddly it is used by school districts all the time to put a Windows monoculture in place. Think about it: what system could possibly be used that isn't totally outdated by the time kids graduate in 5 years? Even if you gave them expert-level training on Windows XP, Microsoft's defacto standard that enjoys a monopoly position, that "education" is down the drain when Longhorn ships. The same is true of any non-monopoly system, too. The pigeon hole playing field is pretty level.
I would have loved being able to choose to work on a platform of my choosing instead of being forced into one thing.
Kids don't know shit. Platforms of their "own choosing" are video game consoles. Teachers aren't there to follow the students' instruction; it's the other way around. What school administration needs to go with is a computer that will build a technology base for the students without causing the teachers a lot of headaches. That neither describes Windows nor Linux.
Yeah, yeah, someone says it every time. But seriously, if a company like MS did this, the same people who I see here calling this a 'legitimate business tactic' and 'good marketing' would be calling it a shallow, greedy attempt to abuse market power.
No, I'm fairly sure a lot of slashdotters would rejoice if Microsoft were to delay a product until it's truly ready. Throw in the discontinuation of the current product as well and you've got the ingredients for the declaration of a bonafide Open Source holiday.
On a serious note, I think you've fallen into the trap of thinking the specific action is what people object to. Nobody really cares about integrating a browser into the OS (although the way MS did it, technologically, was a big screw-up--but that confuses the issue, there are many instances (WebKit on OS X, Konqeror on KDE) where it's been done right). It's not the action, it's the ultimate effect the action has on the user that people really are fed up with.
Which brings us back to the topic at hand. What is the effect of Apple's announcement? Media buzz? Big deal, who cares. It doesn't quash Dell or IBM by locking them out of a market, it doesn't pull the rug out from under the consumer. In fact, it's the result of a screw up at Apple, and they're afraid of an already slow and, to some, stale product continuing to get ever more slow and stale. They've fessed up, and humbled themselves before the consumer. What they've done is take a bad situation and do the right thing about it.
This is a good thing, and if MS did it, I, for one, would find it refreshing. Sadly, MS rarely does the right thing, so I have to look to Apple (and, for other but somewhat similar reasons, IBM) for a company that I can feel good about dealing with--that the persuit of money doesn't corrupt everything it touches, as it so often seems to do (such as you see with the RIAA, MS, and Sony's ATRAC players).
Well, if Apple's flat out of iMacs for at least two full months, my guess is whatever little inventory is out there on the market shouldn't have that much difficulty finding happy new owners who don't want to wait 'till September.
There ain't no rules here; we're trying to accomplish something.
I think Apple was trying to stress the internet as a medium for transfering data rather than floppies when they released the iMac. They probably thought emailing attachments would work better than carrying floppies. I'm just assuming that's what the "i" stood for.
And they probably were trying to let market forces allow a larger capacity disc become a standard as well, like Zip discs or memory card readers, because 3.5" discs just didn't have enough capacity for a lot of things people needed. Without an established new standard, leaving USB ports available so users can add their choice of drive would seem the logical thing to do.
The eMac may be a great computer, but it's not "pretty cheap". Oh, yes, $800 is historically cheap for a Mac but it's still a high price for an entry-level non-upgradable computer with a mediocre GPU and modest processor. The screen? Forget it, it's worthless... I doubt Apple's spending even $100 a pop on the eMac tube: it's a mediocre shadow mask, and there's no excuse for a premium priced computer to come with anything but a Trinitron-style arpeture-grill display.
Me, I'd give up the screen in the eMac for one extra drive bay and a "slab" case, at a $600-700 price tag. It'd still be a premium price, and Apple would save a bunch on shipping, but it'd get things down to where I could maybe talk the wife into letting me upgrade my Beige G3... and I could keep my nice cheap 17" pseudotron.
Really, this is good for a lot of people. Sure, they can't get an iMac right now, BUT, this will also save them the agony of "I bought an iMac 2 months ago, and now it's a discontinued piece of obsolescense! Thanks a lot, Steve!" syndrome.
You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
I know all of one person who is not a CSE who has opened their computer to upgrade it. I know one more who has paid the cost of a new computer to upgrade theirs (when it made no sense).
No one else's has ever been opened unless I was visiting and wanted a peek inside.
And remember; you can't upgrade PCI or video in an imac. Aside from that, they're about as expandable as one of the towers, and they come with anything a *normal* user (ie, someone who doesn't play FPS or need SATA RAID) would need built-in.
And even if it did have three buttons, many people including me still wouldn't want to use an Apple bundled mouse. They're never going to equal a good quality Logitech - the margins couldn't handle the manufacturing overhead.
With a bit of logic, a one-button really is the best one-size-fits-all for Apple:
Many long time Mac owners do actually like one button mice, and/or not having to right-click the interface.
Those that want the extra buttons / scrollwheel / finger massager can and will buy their own.
Bundled mice are always cheap to manufacture, discerning buyers will want better than Apple needs to spend to keep the price where it is.
A lowest common denominator of one button encourages developers not to rely on right-clicking to drive their software.
Right-clicking should not be an essential means of driving an interface. It is under Windows, it is not under Mac OS.
One button mice help keep it that way.
Conclusion: the one button Mac mouse is here to stay, and it is better that way, even though many of us throw it away.
If designing a G5 is so difficult for apple then one of the following is true:
a) The G5 is a really hard chip to design around
b) The engineers at apple aren't all that good
c) Apple drags its feet on upgrades to new technology because hardcore apple fans will buy anything the company supports.
Now before you say I'm anti-apple, let me assure you I'm not. I have a couple of powerbooks, a couple of iMacs and a couple other Apple server in my house because they're good.
But the current line of G5's is too pricy for the level of performance, and the current Powerbooks are underpowered compared to their Windows cousins.
Well Gee, it turns out that Apple is only making money on the powerbooks, so that explains so much about why there isn't a G5 model.
Apple is in a reall bind right now. Thank heavens the iPod is doing so well, because if it wasn't Apple would be a mess. They'd better get their act together.
The fact that its an "all new iMac" line hints at these models being G5 based. I don't see Apple completely redesinging the iMac just to release another G4 version. This would mean another complete redesign before they go G5. IBM seems to claim that the 970FX can run at very low power consumptions and is even suitable for a laptop. I am almost certain that these iMacs will be G5 based.
I can't quite figure out why Apple didn't roll out a prototype of the iMac at WWDC or spill a few pictures to the rumor sites (to quickly remove later). Is there more buzz to be had by not hinting at what's to come? I mean Apple stock took a 6% drop in the futures market already -- wouldn't building up some kind of semi-tangible excitment help mitigate that?
;^D Toss your stockholders a bone!
Apparently not, as Apple seems to make pretty smart PR moves, but I still wonder -- Why not spill the beans now? I suppose the G5 in the iMac is a shoo-in at this point (and we'd be disappointed if it wasn't), but how about another hint or two? Maybe it'll show movies from the net and replace your TV. Maybe the floppy's back!
It's all 0s and 1s. Or it's not.
This'll meet your requirements.
I have a website. It's about Macs.
Apple currently has two distinct case types. White for home, and metallic for professional.
The iBook, iMac and iPod are all white
The iBook G4 is aluminum. The iPod minis aren't targetted at professionals, and they're metallic. The old Apple 23" Cinema displays, targeted at professionals, weren't metallic. Apple didn't have any metallic displays to match the Power Mac G5 casing until recently.
The bulk of Apple's customers are not buying utility with a Mac. They are defining themselves through choosing the Apple brand: "I'm cool because my computer is made of brushed aluminum."
Apple has done a great job of making technology become a personal differentiator for MAINSTREAM markets.
It comes down to the philosophy of the OS used in the schools. If you've used Windows95, you can used WindowsXP...not too much has changed. Try going from XP to OSX....it's a little tougher you see.
It's only tougher if you've done a poor job teaching (or learning). Sitting down in front of a computer for a student shouldn't be about learning that one system, it should be either about learning general computation or, conversely, have nothing to do with the technology at all (e.g., Lemonade Stand).
So if you're going to pick on OS, you may as well make it a version of the most popular one.
From an education standpoint, that's totally backwards. If you're going to pick an OS, you are doing a disservice to the students if you just give them the same thing they can get anywhere the MS monopoly extends. A student (everyone, really) is better served by broad exposure to multiple different platforms.
Not that it matters, schools are teching kids to "Wordprocess and make presentations". These are good skills, but the schools should be teaching a little more about the computer itself. Give them tools so they are better able to figure out an unfamiliar app or system.
Which totally contradicts what you just said. How could you expect them to figure out the unfamiliar when all they are exposed to is Word or PowerPoint or Internet Explorer? It's that kind of limited environment that turns them into adults with poor computer skills.
I'd have to disagree with you here. I think knowing enough about computers to be comfy opening the case is optional. Or should be.
People don't purchase cars they can't open the hood. They know when the clothes drier is making funny noises they need to take a look inside and see what's causing the blockage.
Beyond adding gas and -- maybe -- changing the oil, I'm betting that most people take their car to a mechanic for maintenance.
I did build a PC once, and kept upgrading the hardware for years. But it was a hobby, very much like my Dad used to tinker with cars. Eventually I got tired of that hobby ... and I bought an iMac.
Yet when someone's Outlook toolbar "magically" disappears, they don't bother to look at all for the right-click menu they just used. They call support, we come over, show them for the 80th time how to turn menus on and off, then they immediately choose to forget it.
I think it's less "choosing to forget" than having different priorities about what's worth remembering. It may be hard to believe, but remembering details about using computers is not high on everyone's attention priority list.
It is stupid, but it all comes down to quarterly profits. If they are late shipping something, that means that it will miss part of the revenue it was expected to generate for whatever quarter it was suppose to come out.
That means that ther is a higher chance that earnings will not be as good as expected. Investors don't like this sort of thing.
-Mark
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain.
We, IT workers, have an attitude problem.
Most people have not studied anything IT related. They are _not_supposed_ to know anything about _OUR_ job.
The users you support are probably doctors, nurses, brewers, cooks, accountants, etc., who want a _TOOL_ that just works. They don't want to learn anything about something that is not central to their occupations, because they don't have the time or interest to do so. Deal with it, it's your job.
Is it right that people don't care what's inside the magic box? I will ask you wether you know enough about your own body to operate on yourself or on someone else. Do you know how to operate a nuclear power plant? Do you play baseball like a pro? Can you cook a delicious (by _my_ standards) meal in under 30 minutes? Do you know how to make a movie? Can you repair an outboard boat engine? Do you know how to clean and zero a rifle? Have you manufactured your very own VLSI silicon? Have you brewed you very own dark ale? Built an X-Prize winning spaceship? Can you build a stealth plane? Do you race cars? Have you found the cure for cancer?
As you can probably see, you are not required to know all of this stuff. Nobody is required to. And there's lots of other stuff that it's okay to be ignorant about.
Yet, we, IT workers, think we know everything, and everybody else is an idiot. I wonder how we got so arrogant. I'd like to see you mechanic call you a dumbass next time you drag your car to the shop (OMFG!!! that idiot can't fix a simple automatic transmission!!!!). It's only fair.
No, seriously, I just come here for the articles.
Slightly off topic, but is anyone else sick of the "i" prefix yet? iMac, iTunes, iLife, iPod - time to give it a rest.
I was waiting to order one until I could be sure it wasn't going to be immediately obsoleted. Now, however, I have to wait till September, and my lab needs a new computer now. This is seriously bad news for me - we don't need to spend twice as much on a G5 tower that'll only be used for email and word processing. And we'll buy a Windows machine over my dead body.
Look again. The JP computers were SGIs and Macs. The GUI our little vegetarian hacker used was an SGI demo of a 3D file system interface. You can find it here:
m l
http://www.sgi.com/fun/freeware/3d_navigator.ht
A G4 iMac gives you the UNIX capability and graphics of an SGI machine (I worked with them around 1990) with the ease of use of a Mac. Plus it is more powerful than your old Cray. JP today could be done on iMacs.
Considering that the SGI machine that I worked with cost as much as a house back then, and Macs were much more expensive, the iMac is a real bargain. You can also pick up the iMac and smack a raptor with it, which you can't do with the other computers used in JP very easily.
A pity we can't get a port of the game "Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis" for the Mac. I really, really love that game! It would be so cool to control my parks on a real iMac.
"Oh yeah: 'Oooh!' 'Aaah!'; that's how it always starts, but then later there's running and um.. screaming."
Ian Malcolm, The Lost World: Jurassic Park