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!
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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
Slashdot Mirror
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."
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.
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.