Aug. 7th or waiting til October

[Toddgabweg]

OK, I have been waiting for an imac update since Dec. when I discovered this site. I remember hearing all the rumors of when the imacs will be updated (March was a sure thing, then beginning of May, it will be in June, etc), but now we are hearing Aug 7th as the next rumor. I have gone this long without an imac so if it is NOT August 7th then I am going to wait til October when the imacs will have leopard and an updated ilife.
I am a teacher that recently had to hand back a G4 ibook that the district gave to us and it was replaced with a very nice gateway laptop. (Apple did not offer anywhere near as good of a deal as Gateway (2 GB of memory), so our district gave every teacher a new gateway laptop this summer K-12). I really liked my ibook, but now I am going to spend my own money and I want the best deal that I can get on the best technology (at the time of purchase). I am getting pretty good at waiting, so what is a couple of more months. Closer we get to Oct. the easier it will be to wait for the complete package, but with that said- I am hoping for something amazing August 7th... I would like some time to play around with a new imac before school starts Aug 28th.

 

[4God]

....I am hoping for something amazing August 7th...

Me too, only a week sooner though.

 

[mathwhiz90601]

I need a new iMac, and I am very exasperated at waiting so long! I should have bought last September, but I thought, "Well, in a few months it will have leopard, I can wait." In the meanwhile, the update time for Leopard was pushed back and the keyboard on my iMac is nearly completely broken. Sigh. Hope it comes soon.

 

[emptyCup]

I need a new iMac, and I am very exasperated at waiting so long! ... the keyboard on my iMac is nearly completely broken. Sigh. Hope it comes soon.

You know you can buy a new keyboard from Apple for $30 and from someone else for less than $12. Some things are worth waiting for, but some things are not

 

[dirtleg]

To the OP.
I am curious if your district uses the Apple software for grading/attendance and scheduling, the name of the program slips my mind at the moment. My wife teaches and they use Mac's exclusively because of OS X and the Apple software. I was wondering if the software is accessible from a Windows OS machine. My wife also has some spectacular classroom hardware with a huge "smart board" mounted on the wall of her room. She can run everything and input data from the desktop projected on the board without ever touching her iMac on her desk. Really amazing.
On topic, we have been waiting to upgrade our G3 iMac at home for over a year also. I had originally hoped that Leopard and the iMac upgrades would occur simultaneously. Since that is not the case, or so it appears, we will be updating our iMac as soon as the hardware upgrade happens. The Leopard upgrade will likewise happen when that is available. We need the hardware far more that we need the OS upgrade, so we will not wait for 10.5 to make the iMac purchase.

 

[bembol]

I said before that I would wait but I know things will change when it launches!

 

[snert]

I am a teacher that recently had to hand back a G4 ibook that the district gave to us and it was replaced with a very nice gateway laptop. (Apple did not offer anywhere near as good of a deal as Gateway (2 GB of memory), so our district gave every teacher a new gateway laptop this summer K-12).

My wife is also a teacher and we were just thinking about using the ed discount to buy an 24" iMac, until I came here and saw all the buzz about the new models coming out Tuesday 8/7. Does anyone know if the educator discount can be used with brand new models as soon as they are released, or will we have to wait a while?

 

[bonafide]

OK, I have been waiting for an imac update since Dec. when I discovered this site. I remember hearing all the rumors of when the imacs will be updated (March was a sure thing, then beginning of May, it will be in June, etc), but now we are hearing Aug 7th as the next rumor. I have gone this long without an imac so if it is NOT August 7th then I am going to wait til October when the imacs will have leopard and an updated ilife.

I'm in the same boat man. I've been waiting a long time now and I would really like to play with the new machine ASAP. However, if it is delayed until October, and Leopard is including, then so be it.

I REALLY REALLY REALLY want it to come on Tuesday though

 

[bonafide]

My wife is also a teacher and we were just thinking about using the ed discount to buy an 24" iMac, until I came here and saw all the buzz about the new models coming out Tuesday 8/7. Does anyone know if the educator discount can be used with brand new models as soon as they are released, or will we have to wait a while?

I'm not 100% but I'm sure you can use your Education discount immediately. It would make sense Apple would allow this with the upcoming school year fast approaching!

 

[Toddgabweg]

To the OP.
I am curious if your district uses the Apple software for grading/attendance and scheduling, the name of the program slips my mind at the moment. My wife teaches and they use Mac's exclusively because of OS X and the Apple software. I was wondering if the software is accessible from a Windows OS machine. My wife also has some spectacular classroom hardware with a huge "smart board" mounted on the wall of her room. She can run everything and input data from the desktop projected on the board without ever touching her iMac on her desk. Really amazing.
On topic, we have been waiting to upgrade our G3 iMac at home for over a year also. I had originally hoped that Leopard and the iMac upgrades would occur simultaneously. Since that is not the case, or so it appears, we will be updating our iMac as soon as the hardware upgrade happens. The Leopard upgrade will likewise happen when that is available. We need the hardware far more that we need the OS upgrade, so we will not wait for 10.5 to make the iMac purchase.

Our district uses Lettergrade... it is a web based program used for attendance and grades... we have been using this program for 5 years now.

Well it looks like all the rumors are true about Aug. 7th... I really want a 24'' (or greater) imac, but I may still wait til Leopard is released because our gateways (my wife also teaches in the same district) are doing the trick for now... I really don't need an imac right now, but we will see what happens Tuesday... I have an appointment at the Apple store for 1PM on Tuesday. Yes you can use the education discount on new imacs...

 

[A Pittarelli]

the best time to buy a new apple product is right after it comes out, really leopard is only going to be like $100 anyway, or get the unlimited pack for $200 or whatever so get the new imac on tuesday and worry about leopard in a few months

 

[snert]

the best time to buy a new apple product is right after it comes out

Just curious, why do you think this?

 

[RainCityMacFan]

Just curious, why do you think this?

I'm wondering the same thing, the MBP incident was kind of screwy and the only good thing I think that came out of buying the first time was that there was no shipping delays.

 

[Nick12945]

Im waiting till November so i an buy it with my birthday money!

 

[iW00t]

Just curious, why do you think this?

Exactly, I always buy when a model has been obsoleted because then I will be sure all the new-Rev issues have been fixed, but I always make it a point to send an anonymous money order to Apple Inc to top up the difference in pricing due to my waiting because I owe it to them.

 

[snert]

but I always make it a point to send an anonymous money order to Apple Inc to top up the difference in pricing due to my waiting because I owe it to them.

I seriously hope you're joking.

 

[iW00t]

I seriously hope you're joking.

If everyone waits Apple will go out of business. Besides we owe it to Apple anyway, if not for the new-Rev issues I would have paid full price and gotten it on the day of launch.

That I want a perfect and bugless machine in no way gives me the excuse to cheat Apple out of their rightful earnings.

 

[Aggamemnon]

If everyone waits Apple will go out of business. Besides we owe it to Apple anyway, if not for the new-Rev issues I would have paid full price and gotten it on the day of launch.

That I want a perfect and bugless machine in no way gives me the excuse to cheat Apple out of their rightful earnings.

You've flipped your hoop mate.

 

[ob81]

Something amazing HAS to happen on the 7th!! No point on waiting until October. Then you may battle with waiting until the newest revision comes out!

 

[mrmjd]

As soon as you wait til October, there will be something better out next January, then you wait til january, then something better will be rumoured in the spring....and so it goes on!

It seems logical to wait til the new iMac is introduced tomorrow(?) as the basic design is a few uyears old, and the specs haven't been touched for nearly a year. I would like to think you'll get a discount voucher for purchasing Leopard in October; I think Apple would have that incentive there to stop people waiting to buy in October.

 

[AlexisV]

And who says Leopard won't be delayed again? And when exactly in October is is due? It could be Tuesday 30th, which is nigh on November!

 

[Sped]

Just curious, why do you think this?

I agree with the sentiment. The fact is that Apple is completely unpredictable regarding new products. With other computer vendors, they typically pre-announce new products which helps you the consumer plan your purchase. You can make a cost / benefit decision between today's and tomorrow's products. Apple, however, won't tell you what tomorrow's products will include (with the rare exception of iTV and iPhone). As a result, you can buy an iMac today, but maybe tomorrow your purchase will turn out to be of low value and maybe it won't.

However, I also agree with the sentiment that you shouldn't delay a purchase if you need the product to complete your work, etc.

Lastly, the buyer's guide on this site is an excellent tool for potential buyers. It doesn't predict the future, but you can at least see trends and potentially make a better decision.

 

[smitty330]

ok yes there will be a keynote on the 7th, but who is to say that it is not just an announcement. Say apple announces the new iMac, but the new iMac doesn't come out until leopord does. Though i do have to say it is more likely that the iMac will come out before leopord because then those who have bought a brand new iMac will have to buy the brand new operating system a few months later.
-Matt