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iMac II to have LCD/Firewire/DVD/AirPort/new color
Cheeseman writes "The usually very reliable Japan Apple Watch quotes South Korean sources saying that the iMac II will be launched at the Paris Apple Expo in a couple of weeks. What's interesting about this is that one of the new colors will be the 'graphite and white' as seen on the G4. I suspect that this means that Apple will use the iMac II to get apple back into the business market and sell one G4 together with 10-30 iMacs IIs for about 10 to 25 grand. With AirPort this means that you've got an instant LAN that works out of the box with no cabling. " And the rumours are that the new machine will be less then 1000$US-though I would suspect that's a stripped down machine.
One: The AirPort does deliver data through the airwaves. However, it's strong-encrypted, if I'm not mistaken. You can certainly try stealing secrets, but you aren't going to get very far.
Two: There isn't normally much fuss about connecting wires, if your building has them. However, if your building is not wired (most homes are not, by the way) then it becomes a huge, and obscenely expensive, deal. Besides which, it's just easier if you can literally just bring a computer into the building and it's hooked up.
Three: There is stuff out for the PC, moreover it works with the AirPort (though due to the limitations in these pre-existing cards, you only get 2 Mbps instead of 11). Perhaps ones which will match up to the AirPort will be out soon; personally I hope they come out (I'm working on convincing my dad to "wire" the house with one and then get ADSL). Not only that, but as long as they follow the open standard which Apple used (and they'd be fools not to, since a card which isn't compatible with an open standard usually gets booted) they'll work with the AirPort too.
As for cordless-network peripherals which use USB, I certainly hope you're right. That'd be cool, though it would suck USB bandwidth big time; such network peripherals would be better if connected to FireWire, SCSI, an Ethernet port (as an adaptor), or even just a PCI slot.
Go figure. The OS i disklike creates what i've always wanted. A widescreen computer. It's about time too. just look at how much nicer widescreen tv's are compared to standard. It should be less eyestrain for all of us nutcases!
Not really. Keep in mind, there's still such a thing as network addresses, even with AirPort. It would take longer to find the device, but it's certainly possible to find the machine.
Of course, I believe it's also possible to mandate authentication before an iBook can log into an AirPort network, so the kid would need a password to do it anyway.
Um....how about MkLinux?
or MachTen?
I don't know if AUX runs on PPCs.
There may be a *BSD for PPC, also.
I personally prefer MachTen, as it allows me to run Unix-like servers, while I still get the mac GUI.
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
Rage 128 is contemporary; you're confusing it with the Rage Pro.
They don't use TNT because there are no Mac TNT cards, and as for Voodoo3... well, I don't know. It matters little; Rage 128 can keep up with the other cards if they all render in 16-bit mode. Voodoo3 can't even do 32-bit, and all reviews I've ever seen of the TNT series' renderers states that they look comparatively terrible in 32-bit mode. And by the way, I've read that bit that the person from 3Dfx wrote trying to excuse^H^H^H^H^H^Hexplain why they don't use 32-bit; I've seen a Voodoo3 and Rage128 back to back and I don't buy the article for a second.
So yeah, you sacrifice 4 or 5 FPS max (most humans can't percieve the difference between 60 and 55 FPS anyway) but in return you get much better-looking graphics. I'll make that trade any day.
Yea, but will 3Com come out with a Palm that's compatible with the AirPort? I can connect to a Palm with my Rev B iMac; my buddy at work can't. :(
IMHO, IRDA is out and 802.13 is in!
KangarooBox - We make IT simple!
(so when did /. become asTheAppleTurns?)
....
Probably about the time it became "As the Linux Turns"
Here is a link with more (true) info about the upcoming iMac (codenamed C2 or Kihei):
http://www.macosrumors.com/imac.html
Also "Mac OS Rumors" is running a story today about the upcoming iMac:
http://www.macosrumors.com/
Back to the isue at hand, without a floppy drive (and without a cd burner or any other writable device), an iMac user is kinda screwed if they want to take data from one machine to another (if both aren't networked in some way).
I have two older Macs at home (Performa 6112/Performa 6115), both of whom have been experiencing some floppy drive issues. Rather than keep using Sneakernet or dealing with a Zip drive (basically because of cost; I couldn't afford the Zip), I used an old trick that a former Mac admin taught me: network the two computers using the printer port.
Not a solution for massive sharing, but it works for the casual user, and while I'm not disputing your point about the machines being networked in some way, I just wanted to point out how *easy* it is to network the little suckers. I can share applications and data between the two machines as easily as if they had been more 'formally' networked.
Having to slap in a primo expensive G4 to play nurse maid to all the wireless Iwhacks.
A low-end G4 will cost under $2000. A fully decked-out one will set you back $4000. That's pretty trivial to acompany that's going to be serving a dozen NetBoot iMacs, when you consider the money saved on administration. Plus there's no reason that I can see that another iMac couldn't serve as the server for a small office. Hard drive space might be tight, but that's upgradable.
The learning curve associated with making these 'alien' machines behave on a traditional UNIX/NT network.
This depends on the company. An engineering firm that has a lot of specialized apps on their NT or Unix machines might not do this too well, but for companies that do web browsing, email, database, graphics, and other more standard apps, this is not a big deal. Plus you can get Office 98 for the Mac, so that'll help the transition. And OS X is a real Unix, and as far as I know all of its networking can be done with TCP/IP. So once that's out, this will be less of an issue.
The high-price as compared to a traditional x86 PC.
If they can get a 350 MHz machine for $1000, that's not much of a price savings. If you include the value of a name-brand PC (in terms of support and quality) and the various TCO advantages of the Mac in general, this really isn't that much of a problem. And if NetBoot over AirPort works as advertised, that'll mean no one will have to worry about stringing wires around the office. Just set up the G4, configure it for NetBoot, and the iMac won't need anything but a power cord.
The cost of training and new Apple-knowledgable IT/IS staff.
This is an issue, although some aspects of Mac networking (like file sharing) are so simple that literally anyone can be trained to do it in an hour or two. It's certainly true that this would be an expense, but I'm not sure it's all that big a deal.
Software development costs. You can't chuck a working bit of in-house software because Marketing wants Iwhacks..
No one is suggesting that this is the right solution for every company, nor that they should immediately throw out all their PC's. But I suspect there are a lot of companies that run 90% standard apps like office and Netscape, and those work cross-platform just fine. Those companies should be able to make the switch with minimal pain.
According to Apple's FAQ, the Airport has 40-bit encryption built in, which should stop casual attacks. If your security requirements are more rigourous, you need to be using strong encryption software in any case.
When there were two car "versions" in the same year, car companies just added 1/2 to the end. There were several half-year Ford Mustangs I know of and several other car companies also did this.
~GoRK
My all-black Intellistation system looks real cool. If I had the same 2-way, 1 gig all SCSI setup in a beige box it would be just as fast, but not as impressive. Looks are important to me... functional looks are super sweet....
Blar.
Are people still using unswitched 10Mbps ethernet extensively?
;)
;)
Actually, as someone else pointed out, the iMac is not aimed at the "Medium-Heavy" office market (as in more than 10-20 stations). So, as much as I disslike the iMac/Apple thing, I have to say that the AirPort is a pretty brilliant touche for the home users (so no need for switching). Though I doubt that Mom and Dad will be using it to play Quake any time soon
But what about the *need* for physical separation between networks ? Let's say you live in a building with pretty lousy wall insulation, that means that your private network is going to be *sniffable* form your neighbours bedroom. And that is definitaly something I DON'T want.
My pr0n is my pr0n
Murphy(c)
The cost of cabling is in the pulling, not the cable.
Considering 3com owns Palm and 3com also develops 802.13(or is it 802.11?) devices, it isn't inconcievable that future Palms will either carry or have as optional upgrades a wireless networking solution
-AS
-AS
*Pikachu*
I think that you are exaggerating. Everyone I know with an iMac has upgraded the RAM to at least 64MB. Most mailorder houses throw in an upgrade when you order an iMac.
i must say that what struck me as the dumbest thing about the imac was the colour issue. i'm glad to see that someone at apple realised some users' desire for more conservative tones. now all that's keeping me from buying one is the os issue....
sc
I think that they could put one FireWire jack in the next iMac for those who wish to use their camcorders with a 'consumer' version of FinalCut (notice that they called the first version 'Pro'?). As I recall, there was something similar back on the old Performas where you could plug in your VCR or Camcorder and import small movies into a program that would let you do simple editing, like adding silly sound tracks. (I recall the demo had pictures of an iguana eating a baby at his/her birthday?) Also, DVD is nice. Consider these two articles that I've compiled for my website with the rumors that are abounding arond the next iMacs: http://www.dailyimac.com/articles/fyi/rumors/dvdso rbto.html (DVD Standard or BTO in Next iMacs?) http://www.dailyimac.com/articles/fyi/rumors/kihei .html (General Kihei rumor compilation) Just FYI: Apple makes the current iMacs cheap by making and selling them in such volume, as well as keeping inventory down. Apple sells iMacs to distributors for about $960 or so a pop, and they in turn sell them to small stores -- big stores buy direct from Apple. Apple makes $330 or more off each iMac sold through retail, and around $600 on each sold through the Apple store. That's without any add-ons. They have the money to improve the line without raising the cost! Adding FW is easier if the next iMacs use the UniNorth unified mobo architecture/ASIC combinations. FireWire and AGP 2x, etc, are functionalities already allowed for in UniNorth -- it would be cheaper for Apple to add FireWire than to add Composite video! (And why would Joe Schmoe spend $6k+ if he could or would settle for an iMac? :) More in my articles... (Please, slashdot mee! ;)
---- My Design, Code, Ruby on Rails blog: http://www.slash7.com/
I'm not the kind of person that would buy an iMac anyway, but if there is one thing I'd like to see in an iMac, it would be better 3D support. At least a RAGE 128. The RAGE Pro just doesn't cut it for good gaming...
I really doubt it will have an LCD screen, but who knows...
And change the mouse and keyboard!
unless he had a hack.
Worst case, if my hypothetical hacker camped out on an ethernet network, someone could eventually trace the physical connection back.
In this case, you'd need some kind of directional signal analyzer to physically locate the machine and shut it down, unless the connection could be locked out at the hub.
Then there's the EM-interference devices. . .
Sorry. I'm being obtuse.
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
Security through obscurity means hiding the details of your encryption, not preventing access to the data. You always make a system less secure by making it easier to access the communication channel. To crack an isolated cable-based LAN, you need to connect a cable somehow; if there is any sort of security effort, this is a non-trivial obstacle. To crack a radio LAN, you only need to get within connection range, or maybe just use a directional antenna (assuming it's not in a shielded building).
Even if I had encryption that every expert assured me could not be cracked for the next thousand years, I'd still prefer not to broadcast the encrypted data. Much less if I am not bothering with encryption.
Geez, next people will be saying that having secret passwords or not broadcasting the private key of public key cryptograpy is "security through obscurity." Something needs to be secret.
Stripped down to what?! A diskless workstation?
There is no off postion on the genius switch. - David Letterman
First, there's nothing that prevents you from connecting multiple AirPorts to a switch similar to the way some companies will have a 10 or 100Mb segment for a single room or department with only single a connection to a switch to save money.
Second, I'd bet that the majority of small businesses and homes do not have switched Ethernet - 10Mb unswitched is fast enough for file/print sharing and internet access and it's not like a small business has a shortage of things to spend money on. The AirPort works extremely well for these people as they're also among the least likely to have full-time IT staffers and so the "No Wiring Required" part benefits them considerably more than a large company which already has people to string wires and probably wired the entire building years back in any case. The base station also has IP sharing built in and supports both Ethernet and modem connections for the same reason - it doesn't cause problems for people who do have dedicated IT staff and is extremely handy for those that do not.
Third, it's huge for portable users. Even places with switched 100Mb Ethernet may have a wireless setup for people using laptops heavily. For them, 11Mb versus the more common 2Mb is a huge win.
"Would the G4 run special calculations on the Velocity engine and 'transmit' on RF that way?"
Yup, they communicate over hyperspace.
This is accomplished by modulating the fequency at which the machines divide by 0.
Well, if Apple can deliver this for under 1000 USD, I'd even go in for it. I've never been a big iMac fan (I think they look dorky), but with a new colour scheme (and LCD display, perhaps?) running MacOS X Client, BSD or Linux, it would almost rule. But knowing Apple, they ruin this idea as well and make it too expensive, or cripple it in some way. I hope they bring back Mezzanine.
First Post?
Hilary Rosen's speech was about her love of money and her desire to roll around naked in a pile of money.
How the hell do you pronounce yogh??? WTF is with all of the extra letters? Let's clean the language up if we are going to mess with it anymore!
Hu neds al uv dos axtra ledrs ine wa.
>:)
Kintanon
Check out JoshJitsu.info for Brazilian Ji
Now you can setup a small office with expensive workstations and slim software choices. I'll have to run out and get this!!!
One of the cool things about that scenario is that it is also rumored that the new G4 desktops will not require the Airport Base Station to serve as a connnection betrween at least 10 airport enabled devices, and possibly more. I wonder if the new iMac's will also be able to server some number of machines sans hub? That would make a small home network even easier for most, since they may not have to buy any additional accesories...just an iMac and an iBook to get started.
-- 23
For most companies/organizations, you just can't beat Macintosh's total cost of ownership (tco). Sure, they may cost a little (or a lot) more to begin with, even though this margin is constantly shrinking for comparable hardware (vs x68, windows). But, when you get into training, administration, support, and the like for average users (non-geeks, the majority at any non-tech company), the TCO for Windows machines goes through the roof, to the point of doubling or tripling for Windows boxes vs. Macs per year.
The point? Sure, you can save a few bucks to being with by going with Windows. Maybe even $100 more per box by going with Linux. But, try giving a secretary a Linux box; intimidation city! Even worse with Windows: it's too easy to break things (or to have them break on their own or not work for some nonspecific reason or etc etc).
What Macs have going for them is that they tend to work and, when they don't, are usually easily fixable, often by a non-expert.
I've seen this especially in a graphics company in which I used to work. About half the place (the graphics people) had Macs, the rest PCs with Windows. There was a dozen-person MIS dept keeping the PCs going and they were still frequently down. The Macs were kept up internally by the graphic designers (who, it might be added, were giving their computers more fo a workout than the marketing and sales types their PCs). It should also be added that the entire MIS dept was MS-trained/certified (ha!).
If one is a computer enthusiast (programmer, administrator, nerd, geek, etc) you might not want a Mac for your own system. But, you definitely want them for any users you're supporting. To be able to recommend and put your users on a platform that is always up and that garners few compliants is a great thing and will give you plenty of time to hone those q3a skills, which is really what it's all bout, right?
--Andrew Grossman
grossdog@dartmouth.edu
Umm...how young are you?
Old enough to remember using hires color graphics on a TI PC clone in 1984, and to know that a molded plastic case isn't a particularly stunning technology innovation.
HP was putting 3.5" floppies in their PCs circa 1983-84. Apple had an easy to use IP stack before Windblows did, but too bad none of the MacOS native networking clients could use IP as a transport until very recently (Appleshare IP). Truetype was an Apple *AND* Microsoft development, hardly an Apple technology triumph. Apple standardized on SCSI for disk drives, but that only made them REALLY expensive, and for some reason Apple never modernized the SCSI bus they used in their PCs beyond a lame 5 MB/sec and a totally non-standard SCSI interface with all the grounds tied together. The mouse follows the GUI (which I already give Apple a ton of credit for), and again, it wasn't a technology that Apple developed. Neither was PostScript from Adobe, but I will give Apple some credit for popularizing it in combination with their LaserWriter printers.
You guys really have to work on your Apple reporting. It makes you look bad. =) First off, Graphite is the least likely color in existance for the new iMacs to be. Steve said that color would be for their professional line. (Wow I want a Graphite/White G4 PowerBook!) And iMacs are not part of their profesissional line. Puut the two lines of code together boys. It may be an option (heck I would like them to be graphite.) , but is ridiculously umnlikely. If you need Apple Info look at www.macosrumors.com. They _seem_ to be the most accurate. (AppleInsider has done so much false info its ridiculous... I know (I'm an Apple Tester... Shhh!)
Apple has had technical certification for years. You need it to do warranty repairs, and you're supposed to have it if you work for an authorized service provider. But Macs are easy enough to fix that most in-house IT folks never bother to get certified, though.
And besides the fact that Intel sucks, Mac resistance has never been processor-based. It's always been resistance to the OS itself, and to a lesser extent the nonstandard hardware interfaces Apple used to use. (Nubus, ADB, two different non-VGA video connectors, etc.)
I couldn't locate the Mac zealot URL that states Apple invented wireless.. do you remember where you saw it?? :)
Wireless that doesn't suck *is* new tho. Knee-jerk labeling is IMO just as bad as zealotry...
If you were to put linux on a G4 I can just imagine how impressive your framerate would be gee it's a supercomputer on a chip, with a sustained performance of over one gigaflop. It has a lot of fun things that Intel-based computers have, like UDMA/66 drives, 2X AGP, and a 100MHz Front side bus. It also has a 1MB L2 cache that runs at half the core speed of the CPU, which runs at 500MHz for now. That's it, If I can run linux quake on there, I'm getting one. Well, and if I ever get any money, too.
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Nah. Steve Jobs has always hated floppies. The NeXT didn't have a floppy drive either, and that was years ago.
Personally I think it is really LAME that the PC industry hasn't been able to come up with anything better than a floppy as a standard for removable R/W media. Many many files just don't FIT on a floppy - you really need something with larger capacity.
This is really up to the PC industry to fix, but they won't because whatever the possibilities are it going to cost at least 0.02 cents more than that cheap floppy drive.
Apple has it right. Leave out the floppy and let the industry come up with a new defacto standard which they can later incorporate into their machines.
I'm aware of AirPort's built-in encryption; I've been comparing it only to a theoretical wired system with the same security features.
Hey, hey, slow down there junior. Your post was pretty annoying the first time, posting it again with more paragraph space didn't help it any.
And no, you don't want an iMac, it would be a fatal blow to your fragile ego if you couldn't show off your arcane computer knowledge at ever turn.
cheers,
Matthew Reilly
I dunno 'bout that. I work for an insurance company. They buy just about everything from IBM. They have two AS/400s (production and Y2K test--they write their own AS/400 software, BTW) and several large IBM laser printers.
They broke their software during a major upgrade a few months ago, and guys from IBM came up to fix the problem.
Yes, buying everything (computers, printers, service, tech support, etc.) from IBM (in this case) appears to cost more. That's before you take into consideration the rapport developed between the company and IBM (VPs of divisions are calling the MIS to explain why a problem with a model of printer hasn't been fixed yet) and how it has a way of expediting matters.
Corporations tend to have money. That's why they can piss millions away on such sundries as Windows 2000 and new versions of Office. It's far easier for accounting to keep track of ONE BILL from ONE COMPANY than it is to keep several different vendors straight. Yes, it costs more, but corporations are dumping enough money in IS today to afford it.
Why does Apple keep using the ATI Rage 128 video cards. If they want to have the best graphics PC around, why don't they use one of the newer video cards like a TNT 2, or later this month, they could use a GeForce256 based card.
Of course it's news, silly. Since Apple has always been known to influence the future of the whole cpmputing industry, it's generally a good idea to keep watching their moves.
It's hard to see how new case colors or minor changes in the internals can be considered "influencing the future of the whole computing industry." I know that Apple fanatics would like to believe that this is the case, but I don't see it.
Besides, Apple influenced the computer industry ONCE by adopting the GUI. How many other influential Apple technologies have been adopted? Is there a general rush on to imitate MacOS advanced process and memory management? Sophisticated filesystem?
In fact, the truth is that the only "new" technology that Apple has some responsibility for, FireWire, is NOT being adopted en masse by the computer industry. The reverse is actually true, Apple is using technologies adopted by other companies -- like IDE and USB. Hardly a case for industry leadership on Apple's part.
Then, once AppleWorks 5.0 gets old, the job of hunting down MacOS software (and at a decent price) can be a chore, especially when you're talking about site licenses for educational software.
And don't get me started on the need to run Norton Utilities (or at least Disk First Aid) on a regular basis, as well as "rebuilding the desktop" and "zapping the PRAM".
School wants to get some DVD-based encyclopedias, out of luck there, unless you want to spend a small fortune on USB-based drives, but heck, it's a Mac, school outta be used to spending large amounts of money by now.
It's really sad to see that schools are buying into the Apple snake oil, especially with our tax dollars.
Come on. The Brits are the originators of english so give them a break they made it let speak it any fucking way they want.
( Notice the "re" instead of "er" )
v
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Movie News - "Entertainment news, bitch!"
Since then, there've been rumors that apple's been keeping OS-X development syncronized on x86 and PowerPC, but Apple's kept completely mum on the subject.
Remember: Rhapsody/OS X is built on Mach. According to a friend who works in the Apple Enterprise Whatever (The Division Formerly Known As NeXT), all they'd have to do to "synchronize" development is to keep the x86 Mach bits updated. He refused to comment as to whether they were actually doing this, though.
Yes, abstraction IS a Good Thing(TM).
I'd be really surprised if most of this ended up being true. First off, the iMacs with flat screens aren't due till 2000. They'd just be too expensive right now. Also, who needs Firewire on a consumer machine? It just adds cost and another port which will confuse newbiews. And DVD? Are you going to stick the machine in your living room and watch movies on its 15" screen? It'll probably have AirPort, more RAM, G4 chip, bigger HD, and new design. It'll still be a CRT monitor, although probably a larger viewable screen. As for the color, I think Apple should just stick to the current 5. It's not meant for corporate use, so why should corporate people care what color it is? And why is Slashdot posting rumors instead of actual news?
Macintosh humor! MacComedy.com
Does anyone know if SGI sells their cases without any hardware in them?
Do you really need to have upgradability anymore?
ie.
today:
- imac $1200 (333mhz)
- tower g3 (350mhz) w/monitor $2100+
what do you get for that $900?
- a bigger harddrive and very slightly faster processer (whoopie!?!)
- firewire only good if you do digital video
5 years from now:
imac - sell it for a few hundred and take that $900 you saved and buy the latest version of the imac
tower g3 - spend another $1000+ on a bigger hardrive, video card, more ram and upgraded processer. All this extra money and you still won't have a machine as fast or as good as the lastest version of the imac because you will be running with slower ram and bus speeds.
Hey, if they bundled Quake III with the LAN packages? Instant Quake? Nice thought.
Rob
----------------------------------------------
2 / 0 = E? Bloody calculator has bugs in it!
Can any punk with a 1/2 watt transmitter point it at your office and take down your network? Seems like a great and cheap way to incapactate the competition, and the SOHO market doesn't exactly have easy access or the even the mindset to call the FCC and track down attackers.
Are they using some kind of spread-spectrum packet radio to make this more difficult?
Everyone's paranoid. Yeah, maybe people out there COULD tap my Internet connection, but who would WANT to? If the government really wants to watch me surf through articles on /., be my guest. Yes, they could maybe steal passwords or credit card numbers if they got through the encryption, but people have been stealing card numbers since credit cards began! This doesn't mean more people will be doing it, it just means they'll go about doing it in a different way.
Macintosh humor! MacComedy.com
Apple is a hardware company, not a software company. Putting Mac OS version whatever on Intel would cause them to sell less Macs, which is just plain dumb. They'd rather sell 2 millions Macs in a year and have 2 million people using MacOS than sell 1 million Macs in a year and have 10 million people using MacOS. Stop thinking like Microsoft! :)
Macintosh humor! MacComedy.com
That build is long gone. It was basically OpenStep with a cobbled together Mac-like interface that ran on then shipping powerpc's just to give developers a taste of Objective C...
Since then, there've been rumors that apple's been keeping OS-X development syncronized on x86 and PowerPC, but Apple's kept completely mum on the subject. They may have just done it when there was a little more uncertainity of IBM and Motorolla's commitments to the PowerPC...
Bring BEos to the G4. I'm sick of the Apple monopoly.
Whoa, there! Living languages are FAR from perfect, they are ever-changing and dynamic (read adjective again above). The French language has WAY fewer exceptions to rules than English, so don't be slammin' them, yo!
Powerbook G4/1.5GHz 12", Toshiba Satellite 1135-S1554
apparently, the prospect of a new iMac isn't enough to keep our brief attentions focussed.
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
If you count the subwoofer it wasn't...
As an biege G3 user, I will have to agree here. I was lucky enough to see one of IBM's really big servers not to long ago in person. There were two of them, pitch black with matching monitor, kbd, mouse and rack. That thing just screamed power. Especially when put next to a biege Compaq. If color and style have no place in "serious computing", just take a look at some of the old pictures of mainframes. Supposedly, when IBM was building its first mainframe, Thomas Watson wanted the columns in the room removed so everyone could see the whole machine. That couldn't be dome becuase the columns were holding up the room, so they were removed from all photos of the machine.
Dark, imposing, something that says "Bow down and worship the raised floor I stand on" really speaks to people in a emotional way that a biege box with a spec list just does not.
To expend this logic a bit further, I really don't see Joe Average lusting after a Honda Accord, even though that's what he drives. The auto manufacturers know that when he wants is Firebird with the Ram Air Injection and the really big engine. That's the same nerve that Apple has exposed. It's called want.
A Fast Ethernet switch for $50/port? Where are you getting this info from; I'd love to buyt a switch from them if it's that cheap.
I might also add that NetBoot over AirPort actually works quite well; ever seen it? Spiffy, to say the least.
And yeah, you can get a decent Ethernet card for $50 and spend the extra money on cabling (buying the card would be pointless seeing as how every Mac made in the last ten years comes with Ethernet already). But the switch is still the problem. At $50 a port for 11 ports, that would be $550 (I might add that the AirPort handles the same number of devices for $300; that's quite a bit of savings).
In short, for a small home network of five devices, AirPort and 100Base-T cost the same amount, assuming $50/port for a switch which could handle the same number of devices as an AirPort, and $50 for good Ethernet cards. However, also consider that 100Base-T is severe overkill for a network of only five devices, and even at ten you're only just starting to feel a severe crunch on bandwidth. Then, of course, there's the ease of use of the AirPort network; 100Base-T can't beat that.
Consider this also: if the rumors that a single G4 can act as an AirPort are true, then the cost of 11 AirPort cards is the same as that of 11 Ethernet cards and a fast switch at $50/port. This, of course, assumes that you want to use the G4 on the network, and it's already installed (you'd have to buy a machine to act as a server on the 100Base-T network anyway).
So in the end, for a home LAN the AirPort is actually ideal. For a business LAN... maybe if the business were really small. But businesses should be using higher-end solutions anyway. The AirPort was designed as a home and classroom LAN solution, and at this it excels.
Yes! - but, doesn't the shape matter? I'm sure some people, especially people who want square, beige boxes on their desks, don't like Apple's current designs. But can't that change? Who says that the world can't adapt to rounder shapes, and more colorful designs? I think we need to wait, and see where the world goes as far as computer design is concerned. I, for one, like my iMac in Bondi Blue, and haven't looked back since switching to a more colorful, rounded computer, and as more peripherals come out in colors, it will become harder and harder to resist the overwhelming pressure to buy products that come in colors.
It's not just computers, too. There are numerous other products now on the market that come in colors.
Colors are here to stay, and there's no way to stop them!
prolly right. While LCD is probably THE ideal technology for the iMac "design philosophy", there is one element of LCD which is counter to that - price.
LCD is still the denizen of the extremely well-to-do computer hobbyist, or the graphics professional. Until someone can figure out how to really mass produce these things, forget it.
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
They create variations on the standard PC theme, but its not like "Wow, a Mac can do that and my PC can't do anything even close to it". :)
Granted, you're right about some of that... but show me a PC in gigaflops. G4 can do that. Because G4 is good.
"That sounds like a tautology to me!.... Book it, I don't care! I meant to say that! I said it sounds like a tautology!
iMac is definitely a first-time buyer's machine. The whole point of it is that it's cheaper and easier! You get what you pay for. No upgrading. If you think you'll want to upgrade, save a little, wait, and buy a G3 (or a new G4, Yay!).
Powerbook G4/1.5GHz 12", Toshiba Satellite 1135-S1554
No, better still, they'll strike a deal with Oreo.
Powerbook G4/1.5GHz 12", Toshiba Satellite 1135-S1554
There are some wireless LAN solutions available for PCs, but as far as I know they all require you to install a base station.
Lucent's WaveLan -- at least the first and second generation -- allow for peer-to-peer communication.
If you really want to simplify language, I suggest that you read George Orwell's 1984. One of the consequences of simplifying language was that it removed the possibility for entire concepts to be conveyed. For instance the entire term for freedom was replaced with 'thoughtcrime'. I should think Microsoft would dig Newspeak (The simplified English Language) They could replace all kinds of words with 'thoughtcrime'! Instead of 'picking up an awesome new iMac' you would have 'purchased doubleunplusgood computercrime' Sorry, intentional language modification always makes me think of 1984 ;)
Honestly, it's the only thing nice I could say in anywhere in this article. Remember, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." So that's all I can say. The prospect of a new iMac doesn't pique my attention in the least. Unless they're gonna sell it cheaper than a bargain-basement TigerDirect PC...
Photos of bits of the past hiding in the present: afiler.com
Yes. Check out LinuxPPC for information on that. They just recently got it to work on the iMac, and they've had it working on the G3s for a while. The new G4s are a different story. The low-end 400MHz uses the same mobo as the G3, so it is said to work on that one. However, it is yet to be seen if it runs on the new 'sawtooth' mobos. YellowDog may also be working on this, but their site isn't quite as documented.
1) The G4 is not expensive (starting at $1599), and you don't even have to use one. You can use an inexpensive $299 airport base station and connect it to the existing LAN... or just forgo wireless networking, and connect the iMacs directly to your 10 or 100BT network with their built-in 10/100 ethernet.
2) The machines are not 'alien'. Mac has been around longer than Windows (where do you think M$ got the idea?). Besides, if you really knew what you were talking about, you would know that it is easier to network a Mac into a Wintel network than it is to network a Wintel box in.
3) Macs are no longer expensive (why does this myth continue to be perpetuated?). There does not exist a single PC that can match the quality and performance of an iMac at that price point. If the iMacII ships at a lower price, all the better.
4) Since Apple uses industry standards (unlike M$) any Unix knowledgeable IT staff will EASILY be able to work with the Mac (and probably never have to open a manual).
5) Software is not a problem. If you have someone in-house developing software, I would sincerely hope that they know how to recompile.
(If you really wanted to, and I don't know why the hell anyone would want to, you can run Windoze and Mac apps on the Mac simultaneously.)
Also, if you don't like the OS, well, run Linux on it for pete sake!
They won't spending the money to upgrade anytime soon. Then again, they need to rebuild their IT department from scratch...
Veteran, Bermuda Triangle Expeditionary Force, 1992-1951
Less than one day of inventory in channel? Holee Cow!
Y'know, a well kept secret is that Apple's past financial problems weren't because people didn't want to buy Macs. The problem was that Apple's assembly lines were doggedly churning out low end models nobody wanted while the models people did want couldn't be had for love or money. I once got one of the few 540c "Blackbirds" to be had because we told Apple we were doing a demo for the President of the United States (kind of a half truth -- he was in the same room as the powerbook doing the demo, but was not interested. We did get some interest from the secret service though.)
Now if they could only do something to win back the confidence of developers, that would be something indeed.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
I don't know, the thought of some kid walking into a library with an iBook in his backpack, running an AppleScript he downloaded off of some hacker web board, doing a DOS attack on the whole library network, while he sits quietly and reads a book.
That would be a problem that would be very difficult to track down.
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
In his masterfullness, Webster changed the spelling of some words, just because he could. Colour became Color, etc.
can anyone verify this? It's what I've heard.
Spoon not. Fork, or fork not. There is no spoon.
Wait a minute.... first, the G4 500 numbers are estimated, second, I have actual results for http://infopad.eecs.berkeley.ed u/CIC/summary/local/ where the K7 650's SPECfp score is 0.2 points higher than the one given by Archintosh, third... Maserati failed to mention the SPECint95 results:
CPU Int FP
K7 550 23.6/20.6
K7 600 27.2/21.6
K7 650 29.4/22.4
P3 550 22.2/15.0
P3 600 24.0/15.9
G4 450 21.4/20.4
G4 500 23.8/22.6***
please note: I estimated the G4 500's SPECint score by dividing the G4 450's score by 450 and then multiplying by 500, rounding up
the SPECfp95 estimate is from the Archintosh website...
_______________________________________________
There is no statute of limitation on stupidity.
Well, since there's never any secure connection in which to establish a secret key, it has to be a public key system. A 40-bit public key system. Not exactly my idea of strong encryption.
Apple would love for you to believe that floppy disks are dead; the only reason they removed the drive in the iMac was to "go out on a limb", so to speak.. they wanted to make a statement that their computer was new, state of the art, and didn't need a piece of equipment that's been around for so long.
Personally, if I owned an iMac (I'd rather not waste my money), I would spring for an Imation SuperDisk drive.. I absolutely love the things, considering they're also backwards-compatible with old 1.44MB floppies.
Back to the isue at hand, without a floppy drive (and without a cd burner or any other writable device), an iMac user is kinda screwed if they want to take data from one machine to another (if both aren't networked in some way). Sure, there are ZIP and JAZ drives, but how many people actually own these? Would you rather give someone a $20 high-capacity disk, or a few $.15 floppies? Burning a CD or giving away a large-capacity disk for 1-2 small files is simply wasteful, and most people can't afford to do it.
--
DVD yes (i know for sure)
/. become asTheAppleTurns?)
Airport yes (i know for sure)
10-13g HDs yes
Rage 128 (maybe 2x AGP) yes
new colors yes
LCD no.
not at the price point Apple is getting them. I'd like to be wrong, but, knowing Apple, i'm not. Perhaps only if the money Apple plunged into the LCD maker (samsung?) makes them sell to Apple at cost/below cost. Apple's use of ASIC and fewer chipsets (more multi-function chipsets like on the G4) will bring cost down, but not enough to include an LCD.
IMHO
(so when did
In
I must say that you offer a comprehensive counterpoint. :)
.sig: Now legally binding!
Since the Mach parts have the source released in Darwin, and apparently the x86 stuff is in there.
--
Business. Numbers. Money. People. Computer World.
5)Software development costs. You can't chuck a working bit of in-house software because Marketing wants Iwhacks..
This problem has always been the killer for Macs in corporations. Most shops just have too many bits of VB and Access and DBase and so on to make Macs really feasible. While most places realize that intranet apps are the 'right way', the only way to solve this problem is emulation which is just another layer of compexity to support.
Furthermore, historically, most corporate e-mail systems were single platform. Nowdays you have IMAP and Lotus Notes and a cutdown version of Outlook, but there's still a large number of ccMail shops out there.
And finally, despite the fact that Apple has moved towards open standard networking, there's still a large number of support issues on Novell and Microsoft networks. While Mac support might not crash the server (like it did in the old days of Novell 3), it's something that the administrator needs to support that he'd rather not.
On top of that add minor incompatibilities in MS Office, getting Mac-savvy technicians, building cross platform remote access solutions, places where you still need to route appletalk, the inevitable missing applications or file converters, and you get the idea.
So, while I can sympathize with the folks who would really rather have a Macintosh (or even a Linux system) on their desk, it's totally understandable from an IT perspective why it's unfeasible. The concept (standardization) is right on. The execution (usually Windows 9x) is the problem.
--
Business. Numbers. Money. People. Computer World.
Welcome to the world of planned obsolescence, kids!
Bowie J. Poag
Bowie J. Poag
The major problem with using older devices is likely to be MacOS drivers, not that older devices may not have Win2k drivers developed for them anyway.
Aside from the motherboard and some ROMs/ASICSsApple is using industry standard parts.
Veteran, Bermuda Triangle Expeditionary Force, 1992-1951
This is GREAT news for schools. Many schools that can finally afford to have new computers, can't afford the networking. Sure some LUG may volunteer to wire a school, but that usually just doesn't happen.
Most elementry schools consist of on Mac server, with the librarian as the admin, and a bunch of clients. This is wonderful news for them!
Do not meddle in the affairs of sysadmins, for they are subtle, and quick to anger.
There are two companies offering Fast, FDX Ethernet switches for $25/port, not $50/port. They are:
D-Link DSS-8+
NetGear FS108
The Fast Ethernet switch market has been competing hard lately around the 8-port switch models - that's the sweet spot. Go check out the prices on CNET's Shopper.com; they even show the state where the mail order company is based so that you can avoid sales taxes.
Enjoy!
Actually Mac support for Voodoo 3 has been announced. The announcement stressed the fact that the drivers would be optimized for AltiVec. (or "the velocity engine" as Apple likes to refer to it)
Message on our company Intranet:
"You have a sticker in your private area"
beauty is only a light switch away
>I'd love to move these out of The Oven, which is my computer room. 3 computers running 24/7 :)
>(distributed.net client of course..) tends to, um, "accelerate" homebrew fermentations. I just
>had a batch of Chocolate Stout blow the airlock out, shattering it against the ceiling. The brown
>spot on the ceiling is an interesting conversation piece tho.
\sage{
Blowoff tubes, my son. For most of us, the little 3/8 inch tubing does it, but in your case go for the wider tube (1.25"?) that fills the carboy opening itself (critical if you have lots of sediment)
}
The centerpiece is the SPECfp95 comparison. At the top of the three lines we have:
There are a few caveats about these numbers, most notably are the fact that the faster systems aren't currently shipping.
Honestly, I expected the Athlon to beat the G4. But even an extra 150MHz didn't do the trick.
Veteran, Bermuda Triangle Expeditionary Force, 1992-1951
If it has an LCD screen(which actually is vey possible, Apple didn't spend $100 million of Samsung for nothing), then is it still going to be an AIO(all-in-one?).
I know a lot of the people they market the iMac to like the fact that there are very few wires. But most AIOs w/ LCD screens look ugly(e.g. Monorail), though there are nice ones(e.g. 20th anniversary Mac).
Other features:
Airport is almost definite.
FireWire is almost definite.
DVD is very likely.
New colors are a must.
Other things: it should have an AGP slot. It doesn't need PCI, but just an AGP slot would be very nice so the iMac users can upgrade to a better video card(I feel sad for those poor iMac users stuck with a Rage Pro, I hope they all get the Voodoo2 upgrade).
Another rumor is that iMacs will have 350MHz G4s. That would be sweet, but unlikely IMHO.
I also hope iMac II has:
much bigger HD
at least 64 megs of RAM
drop the modem, have it as an option
An airport in every classroom ... :-)
... This will work much better in a lab setting!!!
Seriously, as someone who works at an educational institution, this idea makes a lot of sense. Our project manager was keen on getting a bunch of iBooks just to use the 'airport'
YS
"Arrr! The laws of science be a harsh mistress." -- Bender
U wat "kolr", den. Der a:r tu mani leters in de Inglisj alfabet olredi - nider 'c', 'z' nor 'y' hev ani pleis ver dei ka:nt bi substitutid.
:-P
Or you can go back to speaking Danish and Norwegian like in the Old Days.
Nope. They won't. Unless you know someone at the local office, of course.
:)
And if you're an SGI VAR as we are you probably do
Been thinking of getting a big Origin2000 "case" (more lika a wardrobe) and put our PC servers inside it...
%japh = (
'name' => 'Niklas Nordebo', 'mail' => 'niklas@nordebo.com',
'work' => 'www.pipe-dd.com', 'phone' => '+46-708-444705'
As cool as the G4's and the iMacs are, I still believe the AirPort wireless networking is the real coup for Apple. Too many people are focusing on the color and design aspects of the latest offerings and forgetting the breakthrough that Airport affords the SOHO and business project group people.
People... we're talking about wireless networking at Ethernet speeds. Dosen't anyone else see the implications of this, or is everyone still trying to focus on industrial design and color? Tell me of a competing product that can match this, and forget the whiney assed complaints about the OS.
Give them a year and M$ will claim that they invented AirPort instead of Lucent and Apple.
'nuff said.
The Paris date has been suggested by several Mac rumor sites, but the LCD part is way off base. Apple just poured US$100 million into Samsung to help ramp up production of the iBook (IIRC, one of the reasons the iBook sells for US$1599 was because of unexpected increases in the costs of flat-panel screens). It's very unlikely that in the middle of a screen shortage now expected to last until 2001 they would add one to their best-selling machine.
:-]
Besides, adding an LCD would pretty much necessitate a total redesign of the machine; after all, what's the point of having a giant empty shell around where the monitor used to be? Again, doubtful in the short term.
Now, once they've got enough iBooks floating around, and the Cinema Display is unbundled from the G4 machines, then perhaps it will be time to look at this issue again.
Wouldn't mind upgrading my rev. B to a G4, though, I can tell you that.
I use Macs for work, Linux for education, and Windows for cardplaying.
I would argue that it would not be a stripped down machine, but actually boost more features for the sub 1000 dollar US price range. I argue this because Apple is working on a unified motherboard, a board that all machines can use (with substitutions of course for bus speeds and CPU) so that costs can go down, etc. With this motherboard, reliability goes up and getting parts for them becomes again, cheaper. For a better explanation than I could give, go to a MacOS Rumors glossary page. http://www.macosrumors.com/terms.html#UMA
iMac IIc
iMac IIx
iMac IIvx
iMac IIfx
iMac LC
Those big-ass black-as-the-abyss IBM mainframes arent my style. Yes, they scream POWER (actually, they kind of whisper it in one of those room-shaking baritones) and get my testosterone flowing and make me pause and contemplate just what exactly man hath wraught. But if they were giving them away at the dollar store I don't even think I'd want one. Yeah, I'm one of those slightly-off-center artistic designer guys. I don't want a computer that broods and looms over me like some monstrosity, I havea boss to do that. I want a machine I can work WITH, not for. The new Macs are curvy and friendly and say "hey, pardner! Come on over and lets make some art!"
I think I like the Graphite G4s because they exude a perfect balance of monochromatic ass-kicking name-taking power and curvy, friendly, feng-shui-y comfortableness I can work with. In fact I just bought a new desk (black and grey, by cooincidence) for my office because when I DO get a G4 I know I'll never be able to hide it under the desk I have now, I'm gonna want it right on top to show it off.
"Eagles may soar, but weasels dont get sucked into jet engines."
Sure, Macs are in use in some offices. But overall the Mac isn't taken very seriously. Mac OS X and the combination of new iMacs and G4 servers are the products Apple is going to use to push into the business market for real. Buying a $15K package with 10 iMacs and a G4 server all pre-configured would be great for a business. You just plug things together, turn on the server, and boot the iMacs over the network. Instant LAN that costs almost nothing to maintain.
What people forget (even people who are responsible for computer purchases in companies) is that initial purchase price is a tiny fraction of the cost of a computer. This cost has gone way up since the days of mainframes and dumb terminals, since now every computer's software can fail. But a bunch of iMacs booting off a Mac OS X Server machine can bring it to an all-time low.
--
This space unintentionally left unblank.
I'm still amazed by this AirPort thing --
does anybody know of anything similar that will go in an x86 pc? By similar, I mean cool like AirPort, especially the 11mbs part.
See you, space cowboy...
The Apple iMac Summer Brew!
if every first poster feels the need to brag about it, maybe we should get rid of the first post and just start at #2.
jeez you guys, nobody cares if yer first, second, or last.
-james
My secret: make learning a hobby.
I don't see how a color of a machine can change a market perspective. The mac is a great machine for any business because it can run the MS suite, play Quake2 and still manage to have better looking graphics than the PC market. I was a business machine before the color change and before the iMac II. It just depends on what business.
-Stephen Schaubach
Could this be the beginning of the end of the MCSE? My gut reaction has always been, that I will live to see the day when hordes of MCSE's suddenly find that their services are no longer needed. Easy come; easy go.
In all seriousness:
They'll never break into any new business markets (besides graphic design/publishing) unless the port their os to Intel (or give away hardware to IS departments). Yeah, I know.. Mac OS/X is supposed to be on Intel, but I'll believe that when I see it.
The next thing (and I *really* hope Apple is reading this) is Apple has to get into the job-security scam. They need to offer a 'Certified Apple Engineer" certificate, just like the Novell CNA or CNE certificate, or the microsoft MSCE certificate.
_______
2B1ASK1
There are no announced plans for OS X on Intel, but there are rumors.
But why does Apple needs to be on Intel? Companies replace computers every few years anyway, so there's no reason not to get Macs. Plus everything is from one source. Companies might like that. You have one source to call about everything from the OS to the hardware; nobody can put the blame on anyone else.
--
This space unintentionally left unblank.
The floppies are dead.
PC makers would love to do the same thing--I doubt the typical Windows system will have a floppy drive in a year or two.
If you want removable storage, the issue is Zip/Jazz/SuperDisk vs. CD-R/CD-RW/DVD-RAM/DVD-???. CD-R and CD-RW will be killed by DVD technology once that settles down in a year or two.
Of course, with everything being networked, who needs removable storage? And with the AirPort, everything should be networked. Long term, I don't see many people using removeable storage except for backups, if that. (Backups via cable modem to commercial data-storage companies may well take over.)
No... MacOS-X has the capability to run on intel, being that it was based on OpenStep, which ran on x86. The OLD apple said that they'ed release a version of OS X for Intel, but the new Apple has held out on commiting thus far.
I really think that Apple has a legitimate chance to get into business markets again, based on their own merits. No one wanted to buy machines from a business that may not be around to support them in a year. With Apple stock trading at an all-time high, it's apparent that they're here to stay.
What really needs for that to happen, is a company like Gartner re-iterating the TCO issues, along with the increased lifespan of Mac's vs. PC's, and to a point, lower training, etc...
I'd have to agree on this one. While I certainly don't use a floppy on a daily basis by any means, there are times when you really need one. Transferring small installers, moving config files from Mac to PC, etc... That's one thing I think should be included, if only by the virtue that everyone else has one...
Well, it's trivial, but I think the new colors could help. The imac is a pretty good machine for what it is(admittedly not gonna appeal that much to the geekier set), but damn if i wouldn't feel silly having to look at the thing all the time. Personally, I like beige cases just fine...they're more mysterious or something.
--
'I love it when somebody's own sig describes how much they suck so much
more concisely and elegantly than I possibly ever could.'
hot foreign sheep.
bet your last dollar they call them coconut coloured.
-
ping -f 255.255.255.255 # if only
20th Anniversary Macintosh?
At least this beast's rumored price isn't suicidal. But the whole story is hard to swallow. Rumors surround Apple like flies surround...
I can see the fnords!
Why would anyone want to spend money on these machines when they will simply kill any ability to upgrade it via a mandatory firmware "upgrade" as they did to the g3 owners?
Do you really want a lan made of disposable computers?
Ex Libris Veritas
Ahh, Apple, we can always trust you to make life easier for all of us. Now, thanks to AirPort, that includes those of us who want to steal secrets.
Call me paranoid, but I like my confidential data to stay tucked away inside of wires, not broadcast to anyone who is listening.
Not this is really a much bigger security threat. I mean, people have been aiming parabolic antennas at monitors to see what's on the screen practically since CRTs were invented. OTOH, you can't crack a CRT radio signature and ask it to dump you the data on the hard drives.
I still don't see the big fuss about connecting a few wires, though. If they can make a good networking system that works over the airwaves, they should be (and undoubtedly are) able to make a much better, cheaper one that works over cheap co-ax that's as easy to hook up as your VCR.
BTW, there's already stuff like this for PCs. Maybe not anything this good and cheap on the market, but if history is any indicator, better and cheaper things will be out soon. I seem to remember hearing about a set of cordless network peripherals that just plug into a USB port and go.
(sorry for the aimless ramble, my brain's a little fuzzy today)
I dunno, could US$100M get Samsung to build an entire factory entirely for Apple? Just because PCs are experience a screen shortage doesn't mean Apple has to!
Anyhow, it isn't all that absurd that the iMac use a LCD screen. If I am not mistaken, it's internals are very much similar to the iBook... I think Apple is(internally) using the UMA, unified motherboard architecture, to cut costs. Besides, the iMac/iBook/Powerbook are very similar, actually. Small form factor. Limited upgradeability. Low Power. I mean, how much motherboard, memory, hard disk, speakers, and CPU can one fit inside an iMac shell, with a 15" monitor(and heat source!) in the way? With an LCD they could add larger speakers, remove all fans entirely, and add glowing flashing neon lights inside the case(ugh)
I myself don't believe there will be an LCD with iMacII (or is it iiMac?) but it isn't unfeasible or impossible by a long shot.
-AS
-AS
*Pikachu*
ht tp://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linu
Check out especially the WaveLAN. It's 1-2 Mb/s instead of 11, but it doesn't (necessarily) require a base station. These are the frontrunner right now for a wireless Linux-based kiosk system my company is developing. Enjoy!
PS-- obReality check for Apple Zealots: Wireless LAN is not new. Sorry. Their system looks cool, though, I will say :-)
-------------
We all take pink lemonade for granted.
There is no K5 cabal.
I am not the real rusty.
Apple's been pretty reluctant lately about going after the big corporate accounts, but they've been slowly putting the pieces together: NetBoot and Mac OS X Server, the upcoming Mac OS X, migrating from AppleTalk to regular TCP/IP, VGA ports instead of the old Mac ports, standards-based AirPort, and now apparently a more business-colored iMac. It looks like they're trying to put the pieces together first before storming the castle. Good planning.
--
not anonymous, just lazy
Has anyone noticed that Apple seems to be "listening" these days? Seems to me that now, whenever a great number of people want a certain thing, Apple responds. Examples:
Build a cheap Mac for once: iMac
Build a cheep notebook for once: iBook
You're not an open source company!: Darwin
Your OS isn't "modern": OS X
Man, flat panel displays are cool: Cinema Display
I wanna network my house, but I don't want cords everywhere!: Airport
Beige is boring: iMac colors
Those iMac colors are too fruity! I want graphite!: Graphite G4 and iMac II
When I look back just a couple years, it's amazing how far this company has come. I think it's response to the current state of computing in all areas of society (and clever marketing) has really been what's turned Apple around. I just hope they stay with this mindset...
This post is not a knock against Apple. Only an observation.
:) I fall prey to this myself.
What I find most remarkable about the new genesis of Mac's is not the hardware, which is undeniably exciting, but the influence the color seems to have. The poster of this article is probably right - their silver/shimmery grey new color combo is almost certainly aimed towards people who want to believe they have "serious" work to do, much as the bubbly tangerine, etc. hues were directed toward people intimidated by beige. What PHB will feel quite confident in his image with a "lime" ball on his desktop?
Nearly 40 years along in the development of computer technology and we have arrived at a point where the most potent selling point of a new machine is the way it makes you feel psychologically to have it on your desk.
May marketing live forever!
Not that this is very different from what has driven computers in the past few years, namely geeks who believe that there is some sort of ratio between the MHz on their chip and the power in their pants...
The most peculiar thing about humans is the divergance between what they claim is important to them and what evidence demonstrates they actually care about.
-konstant
-konstant
Yes! We are all individuals! I'm not!
Are you kidding? Firstly, these specs are not realistic for a consumer machine. If Joe Schmoe can get a FireWire/DVD/FlatPanel machine at iMac prices, he'll do it instead of buying a spiffy new G4. Apple would see the professional line losing sales very quickly. That said, a graphite looking machine would have a similar effect; it would confuse the two VERY SPECIFIC product lines. All of these "iMac II" rumors need to be better thought out. A larger CRT is a more realistic possibility; a FireWire port might make it too. But, c'mon, a flat panel LCD? Too expensive and too fancy. Amgine
I love macs, but i didn't like much some of the iMacs colors, well apple now have a machine that i like ( G4 ).
But what is really impressive is the target price!!!
Can anyone answer how realistic is the $1000 tag price is?
I know that apple is trying to have one single MoBo desing, that could explain firewire and airport in the low-end of their offerings, but LCD???
How?
I heard on the Seybold floor from an Apple rep that(via software???) the G4s could either talk to each other without an Airport card or they could serve a handful of computers without an Airport bay, one of those(or maybe both) options. I couldn't quite figure out what they meant... Would the G4 run special calculations on the Velocity engine and 'transmit' on RF that way? I thought all the G4 had was a pair of antennas?
-AS
-AS
*Pikachu*
DEC used to make something called the RoamAbout that was the same thing about 5 years ago. It had a PC Card interface but other than that was pretty much this whole Airport thing. You may still be able to find them around, but I believe that the Broadcaster ran around 1,200 and the NICs ran about 2-300 USD a piece.
Guess that's why Digital was such a powerhouse near the end, cool tech, bad marketing.
DrLunch.com The site that tells you what's for lunch!
Has it escaped everyone that during Jobs' most recent keynote, while professing the company's recent stellar financial perforance, he mentioned that Apple had less than one day of inventory in the channel.
It seems as though this would give them ability to stop on a dime and change direction with their system design. After all, (theoretically) it's not as if they have warehouses full of empty iMac shells laying about.
no reason not to get macs, for a company? how about the fact that mac hardware comes only from a handful of vendors (mainly apple themselves), thereby guaranteeing less competition, less availability of replaceable bits, and higher prices? "one source" works if you want to use your computer as a toaster; I do'nt think toaster-computers are a good strategy for a company where computing plays a significant role. why not just use the tools most appropriate to the job? macs for designers and those who ask for them, Linux or Unix for servers, Linux for developper machines, and any-system-will-do for web-browsing/word-processing kind of boxes.
Apple should use the same naming conventions automobiles do, that is, add the year to the end. So you would have iMac 1998, iMac 1999, and iMac 2000.
:)
The only possible problem is that Microsoft already does that with their OS and software, but for software I always thought it rather stupid, as the shelf life can be significantly longer. For hardware it makes sense, because Apple is doing at least one revision a year.
But don't ask me what to do when there are two versions in the same year....maybe add season? Powerbook G3 Summer 1999?
The new 'graphite' look is obviously designed to appeal to PHB's and wearers of grey suits
No.
Some of us out here prefer the original Casablanca to the colorized. Some of us think a NeXT cube in any color but black would be stupid-looking (even in SGI metallic purple it just wouldn't look right). Some people in this world prefer Akira to Pokemon, Empire Strikes Back to Phantom Menace, Ani DiFranco to Christina Aguilera. Does taste require that we prefer happy cheerful things, or that the only reason someone would offer black as a color is so people with monochrome brains and monochrome lives would buy it? I am an artist, a so-called creative type - should everything I own be painted in dayglo or 70s racecar metallic purple? Or do you just think that the graphite scheme merely represents a lack of color, rather than a color to itself?
I don't know who Apple designed the Graphite scheme for, but I DO know - and I suspect Apple knows - that there are lots of artists and creative types who like a touch of oomph to things, serious oomph with ass-kicking potential, and would rather have something imposing and monochrome and dark as opposed to a bright happy jellybean. Has nothing to do with PHBs and suits - and in fact a PHB would STILL be unhappy with the brooding presence of a graphite iMac, and would continue to be unhappy until it shipped in opaque beige.
A hint: PHBs and suits never list black as their favorite color.
~ radiographite: art by john shepard
While I'm not going to get too excited about the specs until there's an official announcement (LCD for under $1000 sounds too good to be true), a graphite & white iMac would be a great move for Apple. Alot of businesses would probably give a more "respectable" looking iMac serious consideration, especially in conjunction with G4 servers and AirPort. I imagine this would be a tempting combo for many small/medium sized companies.
I never would've expected it 2 years ago, but Apple really does seem to be firing on all cylinders now. I'm mostly an x86 user, but for the sake of competition, it's good to have Apple back.
So drop all those extraneous "u"'s. Color, not colour (Color doesn't rhyme with velour, does it?). Turn those "re"'s around. Spell it center [like it sounds], not centre. And start using more "z"'s. "Organisation?" Why should "s" sound like "z" when a perfectly good "z" is available? And bring back the thorn and eth, to do away with these kluges like "th" (both voiced and unvoiced). It's time to clean up the language!
I hate to say it, but in less than a week we've had 3 Mac related /. stories (new color with speedier CPU, flat panel display, and now new iMacs), which are pretty sorely lacking in news content.
/. is just biting on every little tidbit Apple plants.
That there's churn on Apple's product line isn't news, especially when the gist of the churn is that they made some new colors. I don't see anything newsworthy about Dell or Compaq coming out with new colors/forms/CPU upgrades all that newsworthy either, especially on a "techie" web site.
It's starting to sound to me that
same here. zip drives are nice and all, but they're expensive, and the standards haven't quite solidified yet (uh, is this a zip100 or a zip250 or a jazz or a syquest or a...??), and netowkring doesn't always work (e.g while you're installing). for the peanuts they cost, I sure think good old floppies are useful.
It looks like Apple is trying to break into corporate businesses again. I seem to remember them pushing Apple-only networks a few years back, with IIsi and IIfx machines.. Now don't get me wrong, Apple makes a good product, and the promise of built-in wireless connectivity offers an easy 'in' for startups with no existing infrastructure.
HOWEVER, I see very little appeal to companies with existing networks. Why?
1)Having to slap in a primo expensive G4 to play nurse maid to all the wireless Iwhacks.
2)The learning curve associated with making these 'alien' machines behave on a traditional UNIX/NT network.
3)The high-price as compared to a traditional x86 PC.
4)The cost of training and new Apple-knowledgable IT/IS staff.
5)Software development costs. You can't chuck a working bit of in-house software because Marketing wants Iwhacks..
.sig: Now legally binding!
-Sleepy ------ I am not a number... I am 100% Microsoft free (Linux PPC AND Linux x86 :-)
Huh?
As to the actual question, see my other comment on this story.
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We all take pink lemonade for granted.
There is no K5 cabal.
I am not the real rusty.
What I would sincerely love to see is an AGP port or at least an external monitor port. As I doubt they will ever have a 17" monitor in this form factor, it would be great to plop a 19" Trinitron next to the iMac for games, Photoshop, etc.
Of course, I own a 6100 so this is just dreaming.
Laugh while you can, monkey boy!
The revision A and B iMacs had infrared (IRDA) technology, same as what is in several of the Powerbooks. This was located in the front of the machine.
IRDA was removed in the "fruity" iMac line, partly because it didn't market very well. However, the other reason is that Apple was already working toward a synergy with the iBook, which does not have IRDA but does have AirPort.
Wireless tech will be in all Apple products very soon. iBook has it, the new G4 has it, so both consumer and pro lines are heading in that direction. The next revision Powerbook will probably drop infrared and pick up AirPort too.
"Serious oomph with ass-kicking potential" and "iMac" are not particularly synonymous in my mind.
--Conquering the Earth Since 1978.
But the MacOSRumors site says *not* to expect iMacII(or is it iiMac?) to be unveiled in France...
We'll see who has the better contacts, eh? Finally able to read the Japan Apple Watch article, it got slashdotted pretty bad.
On a side note, I don't believe there will be an LCD. Just *too* expensive for the home user/consumer right now. It'd be cheaper to go from a 15" to 19" CRT than from a 15"CRT to a 15"LCD!
So I'm more likely to believe the conservative 400MHz G3 with Rage128 on board an a 16"/17" monitor and Airport built in...
My 2 cents
-AS
-AS
*Pikachu*
(Besides, Apple has to ramp up production of iBooks and the new PowerMac- where are they going to make iMacs?)
Huzzah for thorn and eth -- two perfectly good letters that disappeared from our language. 'Course if we "do away with these kluges like 'th'" we'd have to dekluge other consonant combinations like CH (ch,sh) SH (sh, zh) SCH (sh, sk). Another proposal -- lets get rid of the letter 'C' altogether. K and S would work just fine. Or maybe (sinse we want to kill CH too, we kould cange the letter C to the CH sound.)
Photos of bits of the past hiding in the present: afiler.com
Then, a little later, Apple Inc. will become iMac inc., later release the 'iMac iMac', and the recursion will continue :-)
John
John_Chalisque
Currently I run 3 computers on a 10T home lan: Mac, Linux, and Win98 systems.
:)
I've read "Airport" type network will be available for PC's (or already is). Who makes it and what is the cost?
I'd love to move these out of The Oven, which is my computer room. 3 computers running 24/7 (distributed.net client of course..) tends to, um, "accelerate" homebrew fermentations. I just had a batch of Chocolate Stout blow the airlock out, shattering it against the ceiling. The brown spot on the ceiling is an interesting conversation piece tho.
Airport in the iMac, eh? Maybe I will put the G3 up on eBay...
Now all they need is portable mice and keyboards - are they available for USB? How about portable power in the form of microwave?
I haven't heard that the new iMac (kihei) machines were going to include an AirPort transceiver.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Yes, Linux PPC runs fine on all shipping Apple dekstops, powerbooks, and iMac-en. At most, the guys over at LinuxPPC will have to make a few accomodations to get AirPort and FireWire working properly. The new iMacs should be based on Apple's universal motherboard architecture, making it relatively easy. One motherboard across the whole line, with machine specific identity plugged-in via daughtercards.
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Am I the only one who thinks Microsoft is a misnomer? Perhaps Macrosoft would be a better fit?
I guess I can understand that.
I don't hate Apple, and I was a really eager Mac user for a long time. What I do hate is the delusions of grandeur that so many Mac users have about the Mac and Apple's technology.
Every time Steve Jobs steps on a stage somewhere with his Hollywood-style persona and shows a Mac in another color every Mac user I know stops me to ask me what I think about Apple's bold new leadership step in technology, and I run to the bathroom to throw up. Apple simply IS NOT leading technology anywhere. They create variations on the standard PC theme, but its not like "Wow, a Mac can do that and my PC can't do anything even close to it".
Assimilator rocks!
it puts those IIci's and SE/30s sitting about to good use, too.
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
I think you right!
But.. if the iiMac comes with a TFT-screen then it won't have to have 2 form factors.. just more plastics around the smaller screen.
- Henrik
- Henrik
- when the Shadows descend -
Why not? In monochrome it would look like the head of some kind of anime monster.
~ radiographite: art by john shepard
Actually, I saw a beta of Rhapsody for Intel.
(Well more than a year ago), so it definately exists.... to be released is another thing, though.
Of course, the person who had the Apple developer access has since moved away, so I don't know how many revisions have happened since then.
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.