New iMac Announced 1146
Steve Jobs is terrific at just that, Creating Desire. This is no surprise to us, for sure, but nothing drives it home as much as sitting in the audience and watching him speak. I could tell you how wonderful an orator he is, and how groovy his products are, but I really want to hear what the Slashdot user communtiy has to say about that. I want to talk about what Apple is doing technically.
First: The new iMac is very attractive. It's cool, it's neat. It will be a very popular machine. It's got a good price/feature spectrum and it looks like a pretty decent machine for the consumer. It isn't, in the end, a machine for the linux die-hard, but that's okay. It's slick, it ships with a bunch of very decent apps to manage your digital media. I want one, it's a cool machine. I don't know what I'd do with it (which is the problem), but it's cool looking. It's not particularly a good deal, I mean, you can pick up 200$ 15" tft displays at Fry's and lets get real, the G4 (Excepting the velocity engine stuff) isn't that fast of a chip at any available speed compared to the x86 world. But boy, this is one slick machine. But we know that already from the previous story. I do worry about it overheating, as I did flash back to the cube's cracking problems a bit.
Second: Photoshop for OS X will be coming out "soon". That was the big news. They had a very impressive working demo, I hope to learn more tomorrow on the expo floor.
Third: iPhoto is a decent cataloging program, and one designed to be used easily and generate more revenue streams for apple in the form of booklets and print costs. But it looks very polished and useful.
Superdrive: You'll see the superdrive in the new imac finally, which is nice. Note that this is not the superdrive that everyone remembers from the 80s' :-)
That's about all. The keynote was terrific, but in the end, not so outstanding. I'll post pictures soon. I'm sure a lot of /. regulars will be doing the same. More Tomorrow!
More information from the keynote (Score:2, Insightful)
Apple also announced a really sweet image editing program that automatically imports, edits and prints images from a digital camera. IPhoto can also publish to a website (provided on apple's servers), order Kodak prints online, and even publish a hard bound book of photos. All in one application. This application and the new iMac completes apples "digital hub"
The DVI is a HUGE difference (Score:3, Insightful)
Matching a digital screen w/ an analog input is a bastardization that best belongs on the Island of Doctor Moreau. Having end-to-end digital costs a couple hundred bucks (generally) but makes all the difference in the world.
Re:More information from the keynote (Score:5, Interesting)
Right now Apple's concentrating more on useability and convenience than sheer power. And at the moment, that's most of what I'm looking for. Yeah, I'll probably always keep a Wintel machine to play games on. But to an increasing degree, that's ALL i'm doing on Wintel. The user experience on the Macs is hard to leave behind. And that's really where Apple's adding the value. Not simply in the basic power of the hardware. Though the hardware isn't all that bad either (especially when "Velocity Engine" comes into play).
Re:More information from the keynote (Score:3, Interesting)
iMovie isn't full featured by any means, but it's incredibly easy to use. I can do things with iMovie on an ibook faster than can be done with something like premier on any type of hardware you care to throw at it. And hey, it's free as well. Hard to beat that.
The new iMac is about more than itself. It's more about creating a home for the software. It's about creating a new interaction between people and computers. This interaction won't mean that much to powerusers, at least not in the beginning, but that's why it's targeted at the everyday consumer. I think it's quite brilliant.
Re:More information from the keynote (Score:5, Interesting)
Yes, for $1300 you can do that. However, people who would do that are not part of Apple's target market. People keep forgetting that Apple is a premium brand. They aren't competing with people who would order their own parts and build a box. With a $1300 entry price they aren't even competing with Compaq etc in the bargain market. Your same argument can be used to take a knock at Sony's PCs as well. Point is, for a premium brand like Apple, you pay a premium price.
Re:More information from the keynote (Score:3, Insightful)
The iApps aren't targeted at you. They are targeted at average consumers who aren't tech-savvy. And for many non-tech-savvy users, paying an extra $200 for a machine that's tightly integrated with software, includes simple plug-and-play apps, and requires a minimum of behind-the-scenes tinkering is a great deal. For many consumers, paying an extra $50 so their computer can be a conversation piece rather than an eye-sore is money well spent.
Perhaps you're not one of them, but that doesn't make it wrong. And slashdot's motto isn't "News for mascochistic nerds with no aesthetic taste." Not all nerds like to spend their weekends wrestling with their souped up, built-from scratch athlon box. Some of us value our time and are happy to pay a premium for quality, superb industrial design, good aesthetics, and an OS that blows both XP and Linux out of the water.
Re:More information from the keynote (Score:3, Insightful)
it's a breast implant dammit!@!@#! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:it's a breast implant dammit!@!@#! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:it's a breast implant dammit!@!@#! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:it's a breast implant dammit!@!@#! (Score:4, Funny)
Steve Jobs is a genius.
Here's hoping (Score:3, Funny)
My thoughts on the whole thing (Score:4, Funny)
The new iMac looks amazing and has great specs. It is "Flat out cool". A bigger screen iBook is another great addition to the apple product line. What worries me, is that there have been no changes to the professional line. The PowerBooks got a Combo drive just a couple of weeks ago so that is okay. But having PowerMacs and iMacs with the same processor and more or less identical clock speeds seems like a strange move to me.
This is beyond the rumour sites. All of them that I looked at swore that the gigahertz barrier was to be broken. At this Keynote it wasn't. And I don't think that Apple would just put faster PowerMacs in stores without having at least one Photoshop shootout on stage first.
It was an okay keynote I suppose. But after all that hype some people seem to have expected iTransporter, iEndofworldhunger with iWorldpeace thrown in. And all that running 3 ghz.
sebi
Re:My thoughts on the whole thing (Score:4, Informative)
It's possible that the G5 can be ready in time for Tokyo, in which case they don't want to take any attention away from the iMac if they don't have to by offering minor speed increases to their pro line.
Just my thoughts.
Reason for PowerMac and iMac processor situation (Score:2, Redundant)
G4 or G5? Good question (Score:3, Informative)
Architosh [architosh.com] has some interesting info about the PowerPC roadmap.
Re:Overhyped? (Score:2, Informative)
Most of these things where possible before, but not this nice. And the program is free. Prints and the Album will cost (29.99 for the first 10 pages, 3 dollars for each page afterwards IIRC)
Potential as a good home system (Score:2, Insightful)
One machine with sufficient power (700MHz G3 is pretty quick) that makes all that truly easy would be a great thing for most homes. But... the secret lies in the software, not the hardware. I'd like to see something like this for PCs.
Re:Potential as a good home system (Score:3, Informative)
Now a 700 MHz G4, now that's fast! (All of the new iMacs have G4 processors.)
Looks dorky, but makes a great hat! (Score:5, Funny)
it's like the lottery! (Score:2, Redundant)
Wow! I hope I'm lucky and my maschine comes with a DVD bruner! I mean, the chance is 33%, so it's not that unlikely... If I don't get lucky the first time around, I'll just have to try again... really want a DVD burner!
Re:it's like the lottery! (Score:4, Funny)
Re:it's like the lottery! (Score:3, Informative)
I think that it's the Monte Hall paradox.
For those who don't know, Monte Hall was the host of a gameshow in which the prize was hidden behind one of three doors. They picked one door, another was opened to reveal nothing, and then they were given the option of staying with their pick or switching to the remaining unopened door. It turns out that in a fair contest you should choose to switch; the chance of the first chosen door being right is 1/3 and the remaining door is 2/3 (hence the paradox).
Mount on wall (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Mount on wall (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Mount on wall (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Mount on wall (Score:5, Informative)
Nice Stuff... (Score:2)
The iMac update is pretty cool (if not a little funky looking). iPhoto gets downloaded when I get home (and it gives me an excuse to go buy a camera... anyone have any advice on a good digital camera in the $300-$400 range?). The new iBook seems to be just a bigger version (no G4). Nice, but again nothing truely groundbreaking.
At least the Quicktime streaming was fairly smooth. I expected them to get hammered. It seemed to have held up pretty well.
Re:Nice Stuff... (Score:2, Informative)
It takes high-quality JPEGs, which have excellent quality so far as I've seen and you can fit 20 of them on an 8MB memory stick. If you want to be really anal about picture quality and take all of your pictures in TIFF form, they're 3.6 MB a pop, so you should buy a 128MB memory stick (about $130 I think).
With spiffy battery, memory stick, and all, the thing comes out to about $425.
Now, if only I had a Mac so that I could plug this thing into iPhoto...that would be mad cool (this kind of thinking is just what Jobs wanted, I think).
Re:Nice Stuff... (Score:4, Funny)
You bought a camera by trading your girlfriend??? /. people that actually has one you should know that they are worth a heck of a lot more than just $300.
Dude, if you are one of the
Re:Nice Stuff... (Score:2)
iI iJust iDon't iKnow (Score:2, Troll)
Cute, but ... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Cute, but ... (Score:2)
Re:Cute, but ... (Score:2, Informative)
iMac availability (Score:5, Informative)
14' display!!! (Score:4, Redundant)
Wow! a 14' display, and my laptop only has a 14" display. Just imagine playing your favorite video game on a 14 ft display.
While many business application users will not enjoy having a 14 ft screen, I think this will be great for gamers.
I wonder what the max resolution on that will be... 1,280,000 x 1,024,000 pixels?
Re:14' display!!! (Score:2, Funny)
that's the crappy part (Score:5, Informative)
the 14" model is 1024x768. They seem to expect people to buy a computer just so it will take up more room in their briefcase/backback.
I was hoping the 14" would be at least 1280x1024 or something: it's really not out of the question.
Not the only reason... (Score:3, Insightful)
That's not the only reason... some people will actually want their monitor to have that pixel depth, but cause less eyestrain trying to squint at the smaller display.
I hate to admit it, but as I get older, I'll probably want the same sort of things myself.
Cooling this thing? (Score:4, Insightful)
I'll be watching the whole deal just to see how they pull that off. If they can cool that thing without a fan, I'll be impressed.
Re:Cooling this thing? (Score:5, Funny)
iCe.
Thank you, be sure and tip your waitress.
Re:Cooling this thing? (Score:5, Interesting)
I trust that this provides adequate cooling and depending on the environment the iMac is used in, won't get fouled by dust and crap, as packing all that kit into such a small package means the chances it will clog up over time are quite high. At least in my beige box there's room for that crap to accumulate without adverse effects to my components.
Bullfrog
Re:Cooling this thing? (Score:4, Informative)
That leaves the power supply, which is only 130W according to the Apple tech specs, and the hard disk, of which there is only one and it's 7200rpm or less.
Given all that crap so close together won't help since there isn't a lot of air in smaller containers to cool with. They may use the metal inside the case to help dissapate the heat via direct contact with heatsinks... like a Dell laptop does.
I also though I saw some small slits in a circular patttern at the top to let heat out, but it may just be me...
Re:Cooling this thing? (Score:3, Insightful)
oops (Score:5, Interesting)
The iMac now has a G4 at comparable speeds, a Superdrive, more expandable RAM capability, and OH YEAH it comes with a 15" LCD display. The PowerMac has the same thing, for $600 more, and without the display (so throw in another $500 if you want to be able to actually see the output of your computer). It is more than just disappointing...it is totally illogical.
I will grant that the PowerMac is more expandable in terms of PCI slots, but...I can no longer think of a single good reason anyone would want to buy a PowerMac, which means unless Apple updates them before the iMacs ship in January, their high-end desktop sales are pretty much going down the crapper.
sean
Re:oops (Score:4, Interesting)
The bright side of this is that Apple will obviously have to put out new Power Macs (and probably at least speedbump the Power Books) at Tokyo, and the fact that they didn't announce them at MWSF might indicate that they will wait for G5s rather than bumping them to Apollo G4s.
Re:oops (Score:5, Interesting)
From a business perspective, it's killer - from a customer's perspective, it's nonsensical.
Personally, for a non-geek household, the new iMac seems like a hell of a deal. Most geeks, of course, will want something with a bit more oomph in the server department or the gaming department - but for the average Joe who needs to type a letter or throw some pics up on the 'net, it's pretty good.
Now...if they'd made it a *bit* more expandable (for example, being able to replace the 15" LCD with a special iMac-ized version of the Cinema display)...
I was expecting updates to the G4 tower and TiBook, but alas, that will have to wait for MWNY (or *possibly* MW Tokyo...)
Re:Biggest reason desktops will still: the display (Score:5, Informative)
Which is why the iMac line is the consumer one (doi!)
Apple has 4 main lines:
- iMac - Intro/consumer line. All-in-one design with quality components & limited expandability ('cause most home folks never change anything and lots was built in anyway) at a low price.
- Tower models - really the professional desktop line which does cross over into home users with specific needs. Opens easy, slots for cards, customizable.
- iBook - Laptops for the masses at a great price/product point. Lotsa built-in goodies in a durable case with long batter life.
- PowerBook - Take-no-prisoners complete desktop replacement offering performance and features at a high but competitive price.
As for Mac's vs x86 boxes - the prices aren't all that far off. Yes one can throw together a Frankenstein PC at lower cost but for a warranteed product from a major manufacturer with quality components (and Apple does use quality displays & such) with the OS included they're generally a good deal, certainly when one considers the integration.No, they're not to everyone's taste but MacOS X is a great unix and coupled with this hardware it's damn enticing. Besides - it's getting more unix out to more folks then anyone else ever has.
Re:oops (Score:3, Insightful)
If it's like the iBook, the VGA adapter is just a little pigtail to convert from the microscopic port on the computer to a standard HD15 socket. And it comes bundled with the computer.
I wish that laptops had the cool screen arm thingy (Score:3, Interesting)
The only problems that I could see with a feature such as this is that you might be able to change the center of gravity of the machine enough to tip it over and it might be difficult to design a mechanism that would be both lightweight and durable.
at least... (Score:2, Funny)
timecanada (Score:2, Funny)
stoped me as I was about to enter my apartment.
"Don't be alarmed" he said, "Your friends are in
there, awaiting to surprise you."
Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Vertical Use? (Score:3, Interesting)
That would be pretty cool indeed. I seem to recall a monitor from long ago that would do that, the Radius Pivot. It could detect when the monitor was physically rotated and change its orientation from landscape to portrait. Of course, this was during the days when most Macs had built-in monitors and needed a (expensive) video card to use an external monitor, so its use wasn't all that widespread.
Speaking of vertical orientation, I wonder if the iMac could be rotated and mounted vertically on a wall. That seems like it would make for a really space-efficient workspace, especially if the monitor could be moved out of the way when it's not in use.
I don't know if this would be possible. I imagine it's not physically possible out of the box, but maybe with some additional mounting hardware. The only question is whether the iMac could survive such an orientation -- I would think it could, but it might be a problem for the hard drive or DVD/CD. Also, the monitor may not be able to swivel or reach far enough to position itself in a useful configuration with the base mounted on the wall.
Still, it sounds interesting, even if purely for the coolness factor.
Another key feature: cost (Score:5, Informative)
I don't ever expect an Apple and non-Apple machine to cost the same, but the more Apple can cut down that difference, the better off they are.
Re:Another key feature: cost (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Another key feature: cost (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Another key feature: cost (Score:3, Insightful)
... and after all, all those companies making Super El-Cheapo "$699 Internet Specials" are doing so well. Witness eMachines. Witness Joe Bob's PC-o-Rama.
Making Yugos does not make money for a company. Making Hondas does make money. Get over it.
And, if you're not posting to /. from a $699 Internet Special, what do you know about the "market" that Apple is "cutting themselves off from"?
The photo/video difference... (Score:2, Interesting)
Some nice little jabs at Adobe and Time magazine sprinkled in, too...fun. Photoshop X does look nice, though, and I'm dling iPhoto as I write this. It looks sweet enough to make me want to get a camera.
Oh, and all those wondering about the Pro Line...I doubt anyone'd bet against new Powermacs at MW Tokyo this March, and unlike what was predicted for this show, I imagine that those really will have the G5.
Some specs (Score:3, Redundant)
Here are the official specs on the new iMacs from Apple's page:
The two bottom models have a 700 MHz G4, with the top one having an 800 MHz chip. All feature 256K processor speed L2 cache, but all have a 100 MHz bus, slightly slower than the towers. Bottom model has 128 MB RAM, all others 256; lower two models have 40 GB drives, top model has 60; bottom model has CD-RW, top two have DVD-R/CD-RWs, and finally the top two come with a set of Apple Pro Speakers.
All models have: GeForce 2MX/32MB DDR, 2 FireWire ports, 3 USB 1.1 ports on the machine and two on the keyboard, Mini-VGA output port, 56K modem, 10/100 ethernet, and a typical software bundle with all the iApps, Quicken 2002, Otto Matic, World Book Encyclopedia, AppleWorks, and a bunch of free browsers and readers preinstalled.
The screen is a 15" viewable TFT at 1024x768 at millions of colors.
Apple will continue to sell CRT iMacs starting at $799; the new models cost $1299, $1499, and $1799, respectively.
The new iBooks received more of a speed bump than a revolutionary upgrade like the iMac, but are still a great deal in consumer portables. They now stand like this:
500 MHz G3 in the bottom model, 600MHz in the others; bottom two have 128MB RAM, top has 256; 66MHz bus in the bottom, 100 in the top two; CD- ROM in the bottom, DVD-R/CD-RW in the top two; 15 GB disk in the bottom, 20 in the top two; and of course a 12.1" display in the bottom two and a 14" in the top one.
All the iBooks have 1 FireWire port and 2 USB 1.1 ports, a VGA out and a composite video out (w/ adapter), 56K modem, 10/100 ethernet, the small white power adapter, and the same bundle as the iMac.
The dimensions are 11.2x9.06x1.35" and 4.9 lbs. on the 12.1" models, and 12.7x10.2x1.35 and 5.99 lbs. on the 14" model, and the 12.1" models have a 42 watt-hour battery for an advertised 5 hours of power, with the 14" model having a 55 watt-hour battery with an advertised 6 hours of power.
Apple has done it again, offering the flat screen iMac starting at $1299 with a G4, even as many were doubting they could offer any flat screen desktop below $1499!
Re:Some specs (Score:3, Informative)
Actually, it does have -W support, it's just not advertised. If you're lucky enough to have a SuperDrive and some DVD-RW media, try it
Am I Now Immune... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Am I Now Immune... (Score:5, Funny)
Just imagine if this were possible! We could just put the screens in our living rooms, and people could broadcast all kinds of entertainment to us! It would be a sort of Radio but with moving pictures!
Ah, we can but dream of a time when such marvels might be possible!
It's pretty amazing. (Score:3, Insightful)
The industrial design proves that you don't have to put a computer in a box. As consumers get used to having their electronics packaged their way, this type of talent will become more and more important.
Witness the 'shabby chic' home decoration that's become the rage among new boomers. They want things familiar and comfortable, not boxy.
possibly more significant (in the long run) (Score:2, Insightful)
At last the long awaited dream is realized: UNIX for the masses. The last, best hope of stemming the Redmond tide. Laugh at my hyperbole but Moms everywhere are a lot more likely to be UNIX users now than ever before. Thats really something.
No G5!?!?!? Let the bitching begin. (Score:2)
Low end limbo, not good... (Score:2)
It makes me wonder what will happen to all the old (2001) iMacs still for sale (and perhaps more to the point, when the classic iMac will lose its spot on store.apple.com). Old iMacs should be cheaper because they're obsolete now that their replacement has been announced, but realistically the replacement isn't replacing them if it costs 50% more, so it seems to me that there still ought to be decent demand and the price might stay put.
Whatever happens to the old ones, though, the fact that the cheapest new iMac is well over $1k and is, in fact, more expensive than their notebook is a Bad Thing. Not that I'm personally in the market for the low-ender, nor do I think Apple should complete strictly on price, but I do think if they're going to take an option out of their price/performance lineup they should be ready to legitimately replace it.
evolution, not revolution (Score:2)
Notably absent was an Apple PDA, where Apple could have demonstrated fundamentally new technology (OSX, in contrast, has been is a great engineering effort, but is an evolutionary development from NeXTStep and MacOS).
The markets apparently weren't "blown away" either, as Apple stock is down for the day as of 3pm EST. I think Apple overhyped this one.
Apple is, and remains, a high-end, high-quality vendor for a niche market with a particular taste. In comparison, no matter how nice a car an RX-7 may be, not everybody will want to drive one. Apple will not take over the world, at least not with its current product range. Most sorely missing from their product range is a smaller, cheap desktop (a sub-$1000 cube, maybe) and an ultralight laptop.
100mhz fsb not 133 (Score:2)
Re:100mhz fsb not 133 (Score:5, Insightful)
The iMac is for the consumer, it's been 3 and a half years but alot of Slashdotters don't understand this.
The iMac is for people that want a computer they doesn't take knowledge of computers to use.
College kids that arn't in CS, Grandmas, Mothers, cousins, aunts. The Art kids or the math kids at my work, they don't give a shit about a front-side bus speed or a clock multiple. It's an iMac. It can connect to your digital camera without drivers or installing anything and it works. It'll burn CDs and DVDs too if you want it.
It's an iMac, it just works. That's why it's got a 100 MHz fbs. Because it's market doesn't care about 100 vs. 133 fbs or what kind of RAM is in it.
Wicked cool, but not as much as I hoped... (Score:3, Interesting)
iPhoto is a compelling new application, and I'm going to download it and play with it tonight - it supports my Olympus 3000 so I'll try it directly instead of just using the reader like I normally do.
The new reconfiguration of the iBook line is nice, too - and the 14.1" screen on the high-end model will be a plus.
But - what about the Pro line? Apple's margins are fattest on the tower Macs, and they're not announcing anything today. Unless they do something soon, expect a bad quarter. I don't know about Motorola's yields, but Apple must be pretty pissed at them since they obviously can't get enough G5 (or fast G4 - whatever) processors to announce anything yet.
So, they'll sell a ton of iMacs, but I was hoping for a little more this time around.
Re:Wicked cool, but not as much as I hoped... (Score:4, Interesting)
To tell you the truth--I don't think that the consumer price point is sub-$1000 right now unless that consumer is willing to buy an Emachine or something similar (cheap hardware, off-brand.) After Xmas, we went shopping with my father-in-law for his new computer. Outside of processor speeds (which can't be compared on a one-to-one basis between Intel and Apple, anyhow) the machines we were looking at were very similar to the low-end iMac/Lamp. We could have picked up an open item for under $1000, but nothing from a name brand, even Dell (every time you clicked through the front page "deals" the price jumped!) The price range everywhere we looked (online, offline) was about $1099-$1399 for the system/hardware he wanted. This iMac, if it had been out (and if he was willing to go with an Mac, which would have been the bigger struggle ;) could have easily been in the running. And that's what really surprised me, out of everything announced today. $1,299 is pretty close to what is on the market right now. And it's a lot slicker-looking ...
Ugh... (Score:2)
I'd rather they have stuck with the original iMac design and done the following:
Flat panel monitor still leaving all that space that the CRT had taken up to allow the following.
A "hatch" on the back you could open to access the computer internals to upgrade the machine.
Replacable G4 processor
Replacable GeForce card in AGP 4x slot
1-2 PCI slots
More ram slots (2-4)
Maybe another hard disk bay or two...
Seriously, with the CRT gone there would be room for all this with maybe a bit of tweeking of the case design to accomidate the PCI slots.
This would have kept the tried and true iMac design but added the expandability everyone says that the iMac lacks but keeping it still a bit less than what you can expand a tower to so as not to cannibalize the sales of those. Seriously, that would have been quite cool in and of itself!
The really cool thing about the new iMac... (Score:3, Funny)
I'm guessing all that futuristic talk from Jobs was about the new telepathic interface.
Brian Ellenberger
Is it just me (Score:5, Funny)
(1) these things won't stack very well on the "bring out yer dead" carts wheeled about during downsizing...
(2) I afraid of the ($0.32 cost) $199.95 monitor arm after a few months and it gets a *little* loose, and *slowly* drifts down...slowly...like a glacier...
Re:Is it just me (Score:5, Funny)
> I afraid of the ($0.32 cost) $199.95 monitor
> arm after a few months and it gets a *little*
> loose, and *slowly* drifts down...slowly...
> like a glacier...
>
"That's OK honey, it happens to a lot of displays..."
Ahhhhh, I see the use... (Score:3, Funny)
G4 slower than x86? (Score:3, Insightful)
Interesting response to Apple shows... (Score:3, Interesting)
Then, after each show, a large number of people are disappointed and a few are wildly happy. A couple of in between the 2. But mostly people are just disappointed in Apple for not living up to their expectations! Granted, this time Apple _did_ beat their own drum way too loudly, but I can't think of any other computer hardware company that gets this kind of press, rumor mongering, and vast discussion after the event.
Just wondering if anyone has a good idea why Apple inspires all this? Is it Steve-o and his RDF? Because Apple is the underdog? Apple's penchant for always pushing the boundry on HW design (like, love, or hate it)? Personally I think it's because Apple keeps innovating, whether it's a success like the original iMac or a failure like the Cube, keeps people wondering "Just what the hell are they gonna pull next?!"
G4 vs. Wintel Processor Speeds (Score:5, Informative)
For the past 6 mos. I've been using a 733Mhz G4 (OS9.x) and a dual-1Ghz Dell Dimension (Win2KPro) for AfterEffects work, and during renders the single-chip G4 beats the pants off the Dell. Almost twice as fast. So, like Steve is always trying to remind us, all Mhz are clearly not created = =.
they forgot #4 (Score:3, Insightful)
they forgot #4, and i think the loudest of the reactions to the old design: a 17'' screen.
they can very easily upgrade the new line with a 17'' option - and i think it will be the first thing they do when they revamp the line in a few months (along with dropping the price). look at it: just lengthen the swing arm a bit and put a larger display at the end of it; hell, it's almost something a user could do on his own...
One great thing about the new iMac... (Score:5, Insightful)
is that it doesn't look like a computer. Love it or hate it, you have to admit that Apple is the one computer company that is doing anything original with case design and form factor. Sony has the most stylish x86 boxes out there, but they still look like... boxes. We've hit the point where we don't HAVE to build computers that look like bricks, but you wouldn't know it by looking at PCs these days.
Kudos to Apple for daring to do something a little different, even if it does make us think of a desk lamp. ;)
Linux die-hards? (Score:3, Insightful)
A Mac OS machine, not for the Linux die-hard. Who knew?
Times are a-changin' (Score:4, Insightful)
Well, we have it. It's done. Consumer oriented flat-panel computers are here. CRTs will be relegated to pre-press shops and collectors.
If you look at LCD monitors in the light of Apple's success with pushing USB, expect to see imitators abounding in a few months.
To those who pooh-pooh the price, I ask to you show me a comparable machine by any competitor that fulfills the same criteria:
And do all this for $1300. Show me the comparables, please. And, consider the inevitability of production ramp-up. LCDs are cheaper now than a year ago. With Apple's push towards commoditizing the LCD market, imagine what the economies of scale can bring!
Will this significantly alter Apple's market share? Not likely. There are too many people who look at a problem and readily come to the wrong solution, i.e. "Let's go buy a computer based solely on the price, rather than what we want to accomplish with it". This is not Apple's market, just as they are not GNU/Linux's market. Apple is selling to a group of people who want the computer to be a part of their lifestyle, not as a keeping-up-with-the-Joneses consumerism.
Bravo, Apple. I look forward to the future devices you have in store.
Mounts on a Ginger / Segway ! (Score:3, Funny)
that imac reminds me of something (Score:3, Funny)
"cartman, there's a 15-inch active matrix lcd screen sticking out of your ass!"
"sure, you guys, whatever."
You're going to be waiting a while... (Score:5, Funny)
You're going to be waiting a while, since Apple doesn't make CPUs of any speed -- that's Motorola and IBM's job.
Re:The one thing I wish macs had... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:So much for the Pro line. (Score:2)
Re:So much for the Pro line. (Score:3, Insightful)
Superdisk (Score:2)
Re:Some points to actually owning one? (Score:2, Insightful)
Drivers (Score:4, Informative)
Re:same DVD-General drive? (Score:5, Informative)
The "SuperDrive" is not an Authoring burner, no. Those still cost, last I checked, at least $1,000 more than a General class drive, and probably wouldn't be appropriate for a consumer machine anyway. Their primary market is the professional video production industry.
As far as I can tell, the only thing you're really criticizing the DVD-R drive for is that it doesn't let you use CSS encryption on your own discs. If you're against industry copy protection to begin with, then why on earth do you see that as a problem?
And BTW, yes -- if you use DeCSS-derived software on a Mac, you can make copies of commercial DVDs. The only constraint is that the data contained on the original disc must fit within the capacity of DVD-R media, which is not yet as sophisticated as pressed DVDs. Both Authoring and General DVD-R media can only hold 4.7GB of data, which is half the size of a mass-produced, double-layer DVD disc -- the format that most commercial DVDs seem to be shipping on these days.
EfDTT, under 1/2 KB, uses only 10% CPU (Score:4, Interesting)
I forget how long it takes to decrypt a DVD
EfDTT [cmu.edu] by Charles Hannum, whose source code fits under half a kilobyte, can descramble CSS data in real-time using only 10% of a G4 Cube's CPU power. Think of what an implementation that uses more tables [cmu.edu] can do.
Re:It's still FUGLY (Score:4, Funny)
Well, given that the "designs" -- if you want to call them -- of Dell et al are very 10 years ago, I guess that means that Apple is 7 years ahead of the pack!
Re:eyemack (Score:3, Flamebait)
Re:There Steve goes again.. (Score:4, Flamebait)
The reason why people like you can never appreciate the G4, or apple hardware, or pretty much anything apple ever does for that matter, is that you never actually use your computer to *do* much of anything. Quake? Please. Quit playing your little games and grow up. Photoshop is a real world application used by untold legions of graphics designers in professional situations. The software that is G4 optimized on the Mac platform is heaviliy optimized, and many are creative applications. So I think that the Photoshop benchmark is a fantastic one, because coming from the position of an artist:
I don't give a flying fuck how fast it compiles the linux kernel.
Conclusion? When I'm using a measly 667 MHZ G4 with my custom designed Audio DSP/Video processing patch in Max/MSP/Nato
I fly, I've got an assload of CPU power to spare, and you've just fragged your millionth bot. Good for you. Buy an Xbox, loser.
Boring people use boring computers.
Let's look at that clunky 800-MHz G4 (Score:5, Informative)
PowerPC G4 @ 800 MHz: 8.2 million RC5 keys/sec
AMD Athlon @ 1600 MHz: 5.7 million RC5 keys/sec
Intel Pentim 4 @ 2000 MHz: 2.9 million RC5 keys/sec
Now let's talk again about how clunky the G4 is.