Posted by
CmdrTaco
on from the can-i-expense-one-please dept.
MrMiyagi writes "Apple VP of of Hardware Product Marketing, Greg Joswiak, discusses the new iMac G5's hardware design. Apparently it's light enough to carry around the house, and has special fans that run at low speeds making the cooling very quiet."
Smart Design
by
samtihen
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
I think Apple always goes the extra step when designing their products. I think that one of the most interesting parts of this new iMac is the fact that it has air holes in the top of it so that the hot air can rise out. Now why hasn't anyone else thought of that? I mean, my computer has a ton of fans to move air around, but that could definitely be lessened by air slits in the top. Thanks Apple!
Re:Smart Design
by
Amiga+Lover
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
>> I'd think that interesting too, maybe, but it's wrong. There are >> no air holes in the top of it.
> Wrong.
You must be the hundredth person I've come across online who looks at that picture and presumes the bottom of the imac is the top, because of the cooling holes. I don't get it. What's so hard to understand about a picture? OK I shouldn't get annoyed just because of what other people think but really, I wonder how much anyone is really THINKING about what they see. Are you all just taking a half second glance at an image and then seeing what you want to without making conscious thought? sheeeeesh!
The All-in-One is cool,
by
Hawthorne01
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
but I'd love to see a system with the same stats, without the LCD being offered to the education and enterprise markets. That would kick up Apple's market share in a heartbeat. I own a G4 17" iMac and love it, but I know my needs and the needs of the middle school down the road are two different things.
-- "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
All fine and dandy
by
Udo+Schmitz
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
But looking at my iMacDV, or to be more specific listening to my iMacDV I wonder when will Apple be building fanless Macs again? Ever?
Just gimme my 999$ G5 Cube...
Smart Design and Smart Engineering
by
reporter
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
The iMac G5 is a full-blown workstation in its own right. It runs UNIX on top of a Power4-based microprocessor. Furthermore, its performance is competitive with the very best desktops based on the new 64-bit x86 processors.
Instead of focusing so much on styling, the marketing droids should show us some stats indicating the percentage of the engineering market that the G5 Macs have. I suspect that the G5 Macs have the highest percentage of the engineering workstation market after the x86 boxes.
Re:Smart Design and Smart Engineering
by
huchida
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
but you can use firewire-800. You can also cram 4 gb into the PMG5. The bus is also faster.... And you will be able to update the graphics card (which is already better, I should add) and use PCI slots if you ever need to, as well as install a second internal drive... And replace the Superdrive yourself when it's inevitably the first thing to fail.
And you can use whatever monitor you want. I have a Viewsonic 17" LCD and 19" CRT attached to my G5, and both monitors together (and the ADC adaptor) cost less than a 17" Apple studio display. Dual monitor spanning is not even available on the iMac without a hack.
And you don't run the risk of having a pefectly functioning computer attached to a dead monitor some day or vice versa. I inherited an otherwise fine G4 iMac with a broken screen from a friend; Apple refused to repair it under Applecare (it was damaged during a move) and the cost of replacing the swing-arm LCD would be nearly as much as the computer is worth.
Then again, the iMac G5 is a bargain, and it is worth it if you don't need to expand. I would definitely recommend Applecare on any all-in-one system though.
Re:Smart Design and Smart Engineering
by
ScottSpeaks!
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
That would be why I said "almost". Of course there are differences. The PowerMac has more expansion potential. The iMac takes less room. The PowerMac has a place to stack a Zip drive on top. The iMac has a display that tilts better than the 17" Studio LCD.
But it has the same number of processors, of the same type, running at the same speed. It has the same size hard drive, and the same class of optical drive. It comes with the same amount of RAM. It has roughly the same size display (17" widescreen, vs. 17" traditional). Most of the major specs match up. And if you unbox one of these new iMacs and set it up next to my 9-month-old PowerMac, most of the things one can do, the other will do about as well. The point being that by the standards of late 2003, this is a rather powerful machine. (And affordable.) Which oughta be good enough for most people.
iMac G4 arm will be missed
by
mariox19
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
We found that most people don't end up raising or lowering [the iMac G4 screen]. The big thing is the tilt direction...
Maybe those of us who don't fall into the "most people" category will miss the range of motion available on the iMac G4. I own one now. Occasionally I like to tilt my chair back and slump down. To match that posture, I move the iMac screen down, too. At other times I'm just tired of sitting. I then stand and raise the screen all the way up, tilting it all the way back. I can surf the 'Net comfortably for a little while this way. It's a nice change of pace.
I think the G5 iMac is a great machine, but I'll miss the screen mobility when I get one.
--
quiquid id est, timeo puellas et oscula dantes.
Re:Oft-Overlooked Point
by
John_Booty
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
I agree with you.
Serious question, not rhetorical: is there really that much to be learned about cooling a G5? There's only so much heat removal you can do, given a certain amount of space and a CPU which produces a certain amount of heat. I don't know that there's some miracle the Apple design/engineering wizards can really pull out of their proverbial hats on that one. Unless there's some really obvious stuff they're NOT doing at the moment?
I think the thing that leads to a G5 laptop would probably be cooler-running G5 CPUs from IBM, or a newfound desire from Apple to do an unsexy "luggable" laptop. Then again, I suppose the current generation of G5 CPUs would run pretty cool when clocked down to 1 or 1.2ghz, if they really wanted to get one out of the door...
Apple devotees a little miffed
by
SilentChris
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
I've spent a lot of time on the Apple forums (I own a new iBook) and the reaction I've seen to the new iMac has been pretty "eh".
The original iMac, G4 cube and even the last iMac (to a certain extent) were elegant. The iPod had a great design because it was functional enough to fit in a small pocket. It doesn't make a very good consumer PC design.
Also, people have been a little miffed by some design choices. Why have all the wires running out the back of the screen instead of the base (I know, I know, wireless keyboard and mouse -- but most people will be hooking a printer up to this thing). Some people are complaining about it not being wall mountable (which would've been a cool high-end feature). Also, from a marketing standpoint, they completely missed the fall school schedule.
For now, I'm quite happy with my iBook. It has become my computer of choice in a house full of computers, and prompted me to buy an iPod. But I wouldn't buy the new iMac.
Re:Apple devotees a little miffed
by
ottffssent
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
That's interesting that an Apple-centric crowd would be so unimpressed. I've long faulted Apple for poor (-ly suited to me, if not outright wrong) design choices in the past, and think the new iMac looks quite nice.
I was initially skeptical of the cable layout as well, but upon further consideration think it is actually quite reasonable. For one thing, it's harder to access the back of the base than it is the side of the monitor. If you're never adding or removing devices, it matters very little where the cords plug in, but with this layout it's simple to reach around the corner and plug something in temporarily, and not much more difficult to thread a cable through the guide. For another thing, the cables are more-or-less aligned along the horizontal axis of the machine, so tilting the monitor won't pull on your cables.
You're correct that the design is only elegant until you start throwing peripherals at it, and will lose a lot of its simplicity and coolness with a half-dozen USB devices sticking out of it. However, if the machine's as nice as it looks in a fairly bare setup, and still manages to be at least functional with lots of stuff attached, that's a pretty successful design.
I don't think Firewire800 is necessary, but I am surprised Apple didn't include gigE. I suspect it's primarily to differentiate their product lines, but given the cost difference (a few dollars), it's still surprising they didn't throw it in. Another thing that worries me is the hard drive. Apple claim 25dB(A) v. 28dB(A) for the older iMac design. However, the older imacs had a disturbing tendency to develop rather whiny hard drives after a while, completely shooting their low noise floor and doing it with a high-pitched drone which is way more offensive than fan noise. If the new imacs can maintain their low noise floor in actual use, I'll be quite pleased.
Naturally a final opinion will have to wait until I've commandeered one at an apple store for a while, but if they're physically stable, they look like great replacements for our aging iMac/600s.
Apple is very strongly tying the new iMac to the iPod. The idea is to leverage the tremendous success of the iPod to show Wintel users that Apple also makes great personal computers.
While the original iMac, G4 Cube, and Luxo iMac were impressive feats of design, they also screamed out, "This is an Apple product. I'm different!"
The new iMac is elegant and well-designed, but it takes a much more subtle approach. It is less of an ad for Apple. I think the reason is that Apple wants to provide Wintel users with a computer that is like the iPod - elegant, highly useful, and understated.
Whether they'll say it or not, many corporate and small business customers have stayed away from Apple hardware for years because since the advent of the bondi blue iMac, Macs have been just too "different'. It makes a lot of people uncomfortable to go too far away from familiar design.
Apple is taking a very measured and cautious approach with business customers, and they probably will never come out and directly say it, but the new iPod-inspired design is likely intended less to appeal to traditional Mac users than it is to entice Switchers.
I think Apple will sell boatloads of the new iMac, and I'm very tempted to snag one of the 20" versions myself.
Re:100 times on the blackboard!
by
jedrek
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
In otherwords, Apple can't give people what they want (midrange desktop box), because they are too busy gouging someone else (low-end pros).
Gouging? Where? Show me another pre-assembled, pre-configured 1.8ghz 64-bit machine with a similar form factor, 17" widescreen LCD, running at 20-30db - all for $1299. The truth is, this machine is all most "Photoshop types" need - it's more than enough (after a memory upgrade) for anything other than large print projects.
I think Apple flat out doesn't want to dilute its brand. They sell expensive, great looking computers with excellent customer service. They're not Dell, they're not HP, they're Apple, plain and simple. Remember when they used to license clones? Remember how big of a flop it was? They're nto going back there, at least not until they have to, and they may never have to.
I've been a Mac hater since '88, but this a really, really nice machine at a great price. I'm actually getting one right now and if OSX is as good as people have been saying, I'm getting one for my mom next year.
Re:Cool, out of my Amish lifestyle.
by
LighthouseJ
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
Actually, I think they allow people growing up Amish to experience technology at 18 years old. That way they let everyone make their own conscious choice to leave the Amish lifestyle or embrace it. If they ever want to come back, they can but they have to commit themselves 100% to the Amish lifestyle.
Since 1999, I have had a Blue-and-White G3 minitower. It's been lovely...no hardware problems yet. I upgraded it once, to add RAM and a bigger HD.
Since then, there have been no compelling reasons to get a newer Mac. The Blue-and-White was by-and-large a "future proof" machine, like it was advertised to my bosses at the Dot-Com I used to work at. The machine was loaned to me for telecommuting and when the company went bust I was able to buy it from them at fire-sale prices with part of my last paycheck.
The new iMac is the first Mac that has really screamed "UPGRADE TO ME!" in a while. My Blue-and-White is getting long in the tooth now, and even with 512MB RAM it struggles a little.
Do any of you realize just how hot this machine will be once the first 64-bit version of MacOS comes out???? No, I don't mean cooling problems, I mean hot as in bitchen. Agreed, they should have gone with a better Nvidia video chipset, (but I suspect the 5200 is a choice for power draw and heat as well as low price) and it should have come standard with more RAM, but dig: it's still pretty good.
And let me point out something else. Compare this all-in-one machine to the 32-bit Gateway Profile 4, which is no longer a production machine and is selling through Gateway's site as a refurb. Los Angeles Valley College has a computer lab full of these low-end machines, bought when they were still new.
Even as a refurbished machine, this is selling for $1,200 US. This is with Windows XP Home (not Pro, Home) and Works (not Office) pre-installed, a basic tray-load CD-ROM, Intel "Extreme Graphics" (anyone who's worked with it knows how laughable this term is) and 10/100 Ethernet.
Now look at the iMac G5's specs. The low-end machine is only $100 US more expensive new than the refurbed Gateway Profile 4. For this, you get a CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive, Firewire to go with your USB, (and I don't know whether the Gateway POS has USB2 or USB 1.1 USB ports) and a wide-screen 17" TFT as opposed to a regular 4:3 17" TFT. Spend $200 more and you get a DVD-/+RW "Superdrive."
Yes, you pay a premium for Apple products. However, as you can see, the premium isn't very much at all. This is a 64-bit xNIX workstation we are talking about here. For only $300 more than a steaming cow-flop from Gateway. (I know from whence I speak about the Gateway: I have seen too many of those Profile 4 machines in the computer lab with "out of order" signs taped in front of them.) Apple builds things, by and large, to last. And yes, they design them to look pretty damn cool.
Maybe next June I can convince the remainders of my family to chip in on one of these as a grad present.
-- Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
Re:Oft-Overlooked Point
by
King_TJ
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
Actually, I thought I read someplace that the G5 processors don't generate quite as much heat as some of the latest AMD and Intel offerings.... The main reasons Apple has that huge water-cooled radiator gizmo are because (A) it's very quiet, and (B) for all intentions and purposes, they're really running what's basically a 2.0Ghz CPU with IBM sanctioned and properly engineered "overclocking" applied to it.
That being said though, they certainly *do* generate lots of heat, and don't seem appropriate for use in a laptop at all. (Of course, neither did the non-mobile versions of Intel's P4 CPU, yet some vendors shoehorned them into laptops anyway.) As others have said, surely Apple is just waiting on IBM to redesign the G5 so they have a version with lower power consumption and heat generation, suitable for mobile use. As with practically all CPUs, the desktop version comes first - followed by "mobile" versions much further down the road.
I think it's probably *possible* to build a laptop with an existing G5 CPU in it. You'd have to make the laptop fairly thick and heavy though, which would never fly as a Powerbook upgrade. People buy them largely because they're lightweight and thin. You'd also end up with some kind of cooling contraption like peltier junctions transferring heat over to a large plate with multiple cooling fans blowing on it. It surely wouldn't be a "quiet" laptop.... (But neither are Sager's "gaming/performance laptops" - and some people still buy those.)
Re:100 times on the blackboard!
by
mrchaotica
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
How would making a new Cube, or a new pizzabox dilute their brand? They've made headless consumer-grade Macs before! We just want them to do it again.
I don't think they ought to make a cheaper (single proc) G5 tower; I think they ought to make an "entertainment pc," which would be a small form-factor one with just a little bit more expandibility than the iMac, because it wouldn't be all-in-one. Imagine a Mac version of a Shuttle PC, or a 2 inch think hi-fi equipment-looking one (i.e., a consumer-grade Xserve) with one PCIe slot.
Either way, stick an ATi All-In-Wonder in the PCIe slot, make a video/PVR complement to iTunes, and voila! -- instant competitor to Windows Media Center Edition. You could even bundle it with one of those 30" Cinema displays! And heck, as an afterthought, if you just happened to use a 9800 for that video card, you'd have a kick-ass gaming machine too!
Not only would this not cut into "professional" Mac sales (it still wouldn't be that expandable, and wouldn't have fast, dual CPUs), but it would still be true to "Apple brand" because it would be continuing the heritage of the pizzaboxes and the Cube.
--
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
How about a used/refurbished Mac?
by
soldeed
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
Power Max computers carries an extensive selection of quality used and Apple certified reconditioned Macs in all models! You can pick up used ibooks, imacs, G4 graphite towers, even the G4 cube, at bargain prices! Go now! Look at all the perfectly good used macs $500.00 and up!
Re:This is what Jobs...
by
ljavelin
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
Excellent question.
The original problem with a flat-screen design was that it was just too bulky. The cooling system and power supply made it into a 6 inch thick unit - and to most people, 6 inches thick ain't a flatscreen.
I'd have to agree with Jobs - if you can't do it right, don't do it.
On the flipside, the new unit is nice. I just wish it'd come in more colors.
Mac OS X ~= WinXP Pro
by
bill_mcgonigle
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
This is with Windows XP Home
Don't forget, Mac OS X includes most of the features that differentiate Windows XP Pro from Home - IPSec, Domain Support, Webserver, Multi-language support, SNMP, Simple TCP services, network monitor, etc.
This is important to anyone who does any telecommuting which is probably a significant subset of the iMac market (vs. eMac market).
So go ahead and add in XP Pro when you're doing the price comparison - Mac OS X has more value than XP Home.
-- My God, it's Full of Source! OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
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I think Apple always goes the extra step when designing their products. I think that one of the most interesting parts of this new iMac is the fact that it has air holes in the top of it so that the hot air can rise out. Now why hasn't anyone else thought of that? I mean, my computer has a ton of fans to move air around, but that could definitely be lessened by air slits in the top. Thanks Apple!
but I'd love to see a system with the same stats, without the LCD being offered to the education and enterprise markets. That would kick up Apple's market share in a heartbeat. I own a G4 17" iMac and love it, but I know my needs and the needs of the middle school down the road are two different things.
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
Just gimme my 999$ G5 Cube ...
Instead of focusing so much on styling, the marketing droids should show us some stats indicating the percentage of the engineering market that the G5 Macs have. I suspect that the G5 Macs have the highest percentage of the engineering workstation market after the x86 boxes.
Maybe those of us who don't fall into the "most people" category will miss the range of motion available on the iMac G4. I own one now. Occasionally I like to tilt my chair back and slump down. To match that posture, I move the iMac screen down, too. At other times I'm just tired of sitting. I then stand and raise the screen all the way up, tilting it all the way back. I can surf the 'Net comfortably for a little while this way. It's a nice change of pace.
I think the G5 iMac is a great machine, but I'll miss the screen mobility when I get one.
quiquid id est, timeo puellas et oscula dantes.
I agree with you.
Serious question, not rhetorical: is there really that much to be learned about cooling a G5? There's only so much heat removal you can do, given a certain amount of space and a CPU which produces a certain amount of heat. I don't know that there's some miracle the Apple design/engineering wizards can really pull out of their proverbial hats on that one. Unless there's some really obvious stuff they're NOT doing at the moment?
I think the thing that leads to a G5 laptop would probably be cooler-running G5 CPUs from IBM, or a newfound desire from Apple to do an unsexy "luggable" laptop. Then again, I suppose the current generation of G5 CPUs would run pretty cool when clocked down to 1 or 1.2ghz, if they really wanted to get one out of the door...
OtakuBooty.com: Smart, funny, sexy nerds.
I've spent a lot of time on the Apple forums (I own a new iBook) and the reaction I've seen to the new iMac has been pretty "eh".
The original iMac, G4 cube and even the last iMac (to a certain extent) were elegant. The iPod had a great design because it was functional enough to fit in a small pocket. It doesn't make a very good consumer PC design.
Also, people have been a little miffed by some design choices. Why have all the wires running out the back of the screen instead of the base (I know, I know, wireless keyboard and mouse -- but most people will be hooking a printer up to this thing). Some people are complaining about it not being wall mountable (which would've been a cool high-end feature). Also, from a marketing standpoint, they completely missed the fall school schedule.
For now, I'm quite happy with my iBook. It has become my computer of choice in a house full of computers, and prompted me to buy an iPod. But I wouldn't buy the new iMac.
While the original iMac, G4 Cube, and Luxo iMac were impressive feats of design, they also screamed out, "This is an Apple product. I'm different!"
The new iMac is elegant and well-designed, but it takes a much more subtle approach. It is less of an ad for Apple. I think the reason is that Apple wants to provide Wintel users with a computer that is like the iPod - elegant, highly useful, and understated.
Whether they'll say it or not, many corporate and small business customers have stayed away from Apple hardware for years because since the advent of the bondi blue iMac, Macs have been just too "different'. It makes a lot of people uncomfortable to go too far away from familiar design.
Apple is taking a very measured and cautious approach with business customers, and they probably will never come out and directly say it, but the new iPod-inspired design is likely intended less to appeal to traditional Mac users than it is to entice Switchers.
I think Apple will sell boatloads of the new iMac, and I'm very tempted to snag one of the 20" versions myself.
Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
In otherwords, Apple can't give people what they want (midrange desktop box), because they are too busy gouging someone else (low-end pros).
Gouging? Where? Show me another pre-assembled, pre-configured 1.8ghz 64-bit machine with a similar form factor, 17" widescreen LCD, running at 20-30db - all for $1299. The truth is, this machine is all most "Photoshop types" need - it's more than enough (after a memory upgrade) for anything other than large print projects.
I think Apple flat out doesn't want to dilute its brand. They sell expensive, great looking computers with excellent customer service. They're not Dell, they're not HP, they're Apple, plain and simple. Remember when they used to license clones? Remember how big of a flop it was? They're nto going back there, at least not until they have to, and they may never have to.
I've been a Mac hater since '88, but this a really, really nice machine at a great price. I'm actually getting one right now and if OSX is as good as people have been saying, I'm getting one for my mom next year.
Actually, I think they allow people growing up Amish to experience technology at 18 years old. That way they let everyone make their own conscious choice to leave the Amish lifestyle or embrace it. If they ever want to come back, they can but they have to commit themselves 100% to the Amish lifestyle.
Since then, there have been no compelling reasons to get a newer Mac. The Blue-and-White was by-and-large a "future proof" machine, like it was advertised to my bosses at the Dot-Com I used to work at. The machine was loaned to me for telecommuting and when the company went bust I was able to buy it from them at fire-sale prices with part of my last paycheck.
The new iMac is the first Mac that has really screamed "UPGRADE TO ME!" in a while. My Blue-and-White is getting long in the tooth now, and even with 512MB RAM it struggles a little.
Do any of you realize just how hot this machine will be once the first 64-bit version of MacOS comes out???? No, I don't mean cooling problems, I mean hot as in bitchen. Agreed, they should have gone with a better Nvidia video chipset, (but I suspect the 5200 is a choice for power draw and heat as well as low price) and it should have come standard with more RAM, but dig: it's still pretty good.
And let me point out something else. Compare this all-in-one machine to the 32-bit Gateway Profile 4, which is no longer a production machine and is selling through Gateway's site as a refurb. Los Angeles Valley College has a computer lab full of these low-end machines, bought when they were still new.
Even as a refurbished machine, this is selling for $1,200 US. This is with Windows XP Home (not Pro, Home) and Works (not Office) pre-installed, a basic tray-load CD-ROM, Intel "Extreme Graphics" (anyone who's worked with it knows how laughable this term is) and 10/100 Ethernet.
Now look at the iMac G5's specs. The low-end machine is only $100 US more expensive new than the refurbed Gateway Profile 4. For this, you get a CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive, Firewire to go with your USB, (and I don't know whether the Gateway POS has USB2 or USB 1.1 USB ports) and a wide-screen 17" TFT as opposed to a regular 4:3 17" TFT. Spend $200 more and you get a DVD-/+RW "Superdrive."
Yes, you pay a premium for Apple products. However, as you can see, the premium isn't very much at all. This is a 64-bit xNIX workstation we are talking about here. For only $300 more than a steaming cow-flop from Gateway. (I know from whence I speak about the Gateway: I have seen too many of those Profile 4 machines in the computer lab with "out of order" signs taped in front of them.) Apple builds things, by and large, to last. And yes, they design them to look pretty damn cool.
Maybe next June I can convince the remainders of my family to chip in on one of these as a grad present.
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
Actually, I thought I read someplace that the G5 processors don't generate quite as much heat as some of the latest AMD and Intel offerings.... The main reasons Apple has that huge water-cooled radiator gizmo are because (A) it's very quiet, and (B) for all intentions and purposes, they're really running what's basically a 2.0Ghz CPU with IBM sanctioned and properly engineered "overclocking" applied to it.
That being said though, they certainly *do* generate lots of heat, and don't seem appropriate for use in a laptop at all. (Of course, neither did the non-mobile versions of Intel's P4 CPU, yet some vendors shoehorned them into laptops anyway.) As others have said, surely Apple is just waiting on IBM to redesign the G5 so they have a version with lower power consumption and heat generation, suitable for mobile use. As with practically all CPUs, the desktop version comes first - followed by "mobile" versions much further down the road.
I think it's probably *possible* to build a laptop with an existing G5 CPU in it. You'd have to make the laptop fairly thick and heavy though, which would never fly as a Powerbook upgrade. People buy them largely because they're lightweight and thin. You'd also end up with some kind of cooling contraption like peltier junctions transferring heat over to a large plate with multiple cooling fans blowing on it. It surely wouldn't be a "quiet" laptop.... (But neither are Sager's "gaming/performance laptops" - and some people still buy those.)
How would making a new Cube, or a new pizzabox dilute their brand? They've made headless consumer-grade Macs before! We just want them to do it again.
I don't think they ought to make a cheaper (single proc) G5 tower; I think they ought to make an "entertainment pc," which would be a small form-factor one with just a little bit more expandibility than the iMac, because it wouldn't be all-in-one. Imagine a Mac version of a Shuttle PC, or a 2 inch think hi-fi equipment-looking one (i.e., a consumer-grade Xserve) with one PCIe slot.
Either way, stick an ATi All-In-Wonder in the PCIe slot, make a video/PVR complement to iTunes, and voila! -- instant competitor to Windows Media Center Edition. You could even bundle it with one of those 30" Cinema displays! And heck, as an afterthought, if you just happened to use a 9800 for that video card, you'd have a kick-ass gaming machine too!
Not only would this not cut into "professional" Mac sales (it still wouldn't be that expandable, and wouldn't have fast, dual CPUs), but it would still be true to "Apple brand" because it would be continuing the heritage of the pizzaboxes and the Cube.
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
Power Max computers carries an extensive selection of quality used and Apple certified reconditioned Macs in all models! You can pick up used ibooks, imacs, G4 graphite towers, even the G4 cube, at bargain prices! Go now! Look at all the perfectly good used macs $500.00 and up!
Excellent question.
The original problem with a flat-screen design was that it was just too bulky. The cooling system and power supply made it into a 6 inch thick unit - and to most people, 6 inches thick ain't a flatscreen.
I'd have to agree with Jobs - if you can't do it right, don't do it.
On the flipside, the new unit is nice. I just wish it'd come in more colors.
This is with Windows XP Home
Don't forget, Mac OS X includes most of the features that differentiate Windows XP Pro from Home - IPSec, Domain Support, Webserver, Multi-language support, SNMP, Simple TCP services, network monitor, etc.
This is important to anyone who does any telecommuting which is probably a significant subset of the iMac market (vs. eMac market).
So go ahead and add in XP Pro when you're doing the price comparison - Mac OS X has more value than XP Home.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)