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iMac Macworld
- Thread starter adminkatana
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Do you guys know if there is an update (even if it's just to the hardware) -- is there typically a price reduction in the old models??
I'm just about to buy my first Mac (IMAC), but I'm contemplating playing the waiting game. An upgraded GPU alone would definitely be worth the wait since I would love to game on my new IMAC.
But since they updated in April 2008...doesn't it seem kind of quick to update a product again in Jan 2009? But since I'm a newbie Mac user...do updates usually come out 9 months later? Or do updates have a longer shelf life?
Would love to see what you more seasoned Mac Users think...
I'm just about to buy my first Mac (IMAC), but I'm contemplating playing the waiting game. An upgraded GPU alone would definitely be worth the wait since I would love to game on my new IMAC.
But since they updated in April 2008...doesn't it seem kind of quick to update a product again in Jan 2009? But since I'm a newbie Mac user...do updates usually come out 9 months later? Or do updates have a longer shelf life?
Would love to see what you more seasoned Mac Users think...
Dude, MacWorld ís in a few weeks.. Now you'd got this close, best option is waiting (except for the ''tax-people'' maybe).
ha! I am one of those "tax-people". I was all set to buy a 24" iMac to replace an older computer. Now I don't know what to do!
The, uh, beauty of FireWire is that you can daisy-chain stuff. Even if they leave the 800 on, you can still connect up to 63 devices.
That is plausible, but maybe they may still hang onto FW 400. We are not at DDR3?
I see a lot of very very dumb assumptions, mainly with the FireWire. Why would this be dropped from the iMac line? there isn't as much of a space limit on an iMac as there is on a MacBook. There literally isn't space for a FW port on the new MacBook due to the ports all being on one side. The iMac has a tall column of ports on the back.
The suggestion of a hybrid GPU is also quite silly. Why would you need 2 GPUs in a desktop? The reason behind that in the MacBooks is to save battery. How much battery life do you need on a desktop? Zilch.
And of course the silliness behind matte screens. Just because about half of the consumers want them is NO GOOD REASON for Apple to give us a matte screen option. Just because it would be as simple as devising a replacement cover is no reason for them to go to ALL THAT TROUBLE!!!
The suggestion of a hybrid GPU is also quite silly. Why would you need 2 GPUs in a desktop? The reason behind that in the MacBooks is to save battery. How much battery life do you need on a desktop? Zilch.
And of course the silliness behind matte screens. Just because about half of the consumers want them is NO GOOD REASON for Apple to give us a matte screen option. Just because it would be as simple as devising a replacement cover is no reason for them to go to ALL THAT TROUBLE!!!
Now? No. They don't have Montevina yet.
And of course the silliness behind matte screens. Just because about half of the consumers want them is NO GOOD REASON for Apple to give us a matte screen option. Just because it would be as simple as devising a replacement cover is no reason for them to go to ALL THAT TROUBLE!!!
Except the group of people who want them are professionals. You know, the people who buy Macs that aren't consumers and are using their computers for actual work. If the pros aren't happy, they'll go somewhere else. If there is no pro marketbase, there is no consumer marketbase.
I agree.
But picture this, Steve Jobs walks out, has a "lower" consumption iMac, and calls it just as fast, if not faster, but drawing less power, a true "green" iMac for the rest of us.
While he has had legendary business ups and downs throughout his history, he has never been a bad or mediocre, hard sell salesman. He is one of the masters in making a good product seem great, or a bad product seem good. He knows how to amplify the positive points of any software/hardware, even if it's lacking. When the product is outstanding like the iPod, words don't do it justice. When the product is the iPhone and Apple outsells Blackberry for the first time, words don't matter.
When I bought my iBook, rev. a, I was so enthralled with his presentation that I bought one, even if the techies said that 32 MB of RAM was too little. And I was a techie back then and I "knew" better. Integrated motherboard architecture, OS 9, great little games that were on there, with 32 MB of RAM? What was I thinking. I did boost it up to the max to 160 MB of RAM (a good amount back then) and used that thing every day for five years.
I have a friend in the industry and he tells me what I already know, that the margin of profit on iPhone and iPod are ridiculously high, as opposed to computers where the percentage is very low (due to the Dells and HPs out there). Sometimes the actual dollar net profit on computers is very, very low, including some Macs.
Same with printers and their low margin of profit, but people buys tons of ink.
When I go into an Apple store, I see tons of people walking out the door with gobs of software and side products (iPhone acc.) and I know this is where the Apple stores make their margin. I go in the store, and it's not unique customers but people who already have a Mac, or two, but keep coming back for software titles and iPod add ons. The salespeople at the four Apple stores I have seen are preaching to the choir.
I worked for Office Depot and I sold a ton of computers but the margin was so low that the other side of the store, which included pens, paper, office supplies, always outsold our side 10-1 in net profit. In gross revenue, we always beat them.
Same with printers and their low margin of profit, but people buys tons of ink.
When I go into an Apple store, I see tons of people walking out the door with gobs of software and side products (iPhone acc.) and I know this is where the Apple stores make their margin. I go in the store, and it's not unique customers but people who already have a Mac, or two, but keep coming back for software titles and iPod add ons. The salespeople at the four Apple stores I have seen are preaching to the choir.
I worked for Office Depot and I sold a ton of computers but the margin was so low that the other side of the store, which included pens, paper, office supplies, always outsold our side 10-1 in net profit. In gross revenue, we always beat them.
yes, if the devices only need 1/63 of the bandwith.. don't think that is going to work for big soundcards or ssl duende
Design will be quite same as the old one, but proseccors will be updated to intel's brand new quad-cores and all models will get the nvidia chipset as laptops did. maybe few more usbs (maybe 3.0?) and firewire. hmm... what else? oh! at least 2gb ram (DDR3?) for every model.
Maybe some more smaller updates also but I think those are the main updates =)
Maybe some more smaller updates also but I think those are the main updates =)
If by "brand-new" you mean Nehalem, you're wrong. No USB 3.0 until 2010, and there won't be "more" FireWire.
I can see 2GB standard, and you forgot changing mini DVI to Mini DisplayPort.
The 24" iMac and the 17" MacBook Pro will go Quad Core. They will either be powered by sooner-released-than-thought Intel Quad Core mobile CPUs or they will simply get a second dual core CPU on board (so that later on they can easily be upgraded to Octo Core technology). With Snow Leopard in the pipeline, all that additional CPU power will make perfect sense.
And maybe we'll also see a 27" or a 30" iMac being introduced.
And, yes, there's a chance that the iMacs will also lose their Firewire ports.
And maybe we'll also see a 27" or a 30" iMac being introduced.
And, yes, there's a chance that the iMacs will also lose their Firewire ports.
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Whatever iMac you buy will become "antiquated" within a year. It's impossible to remain King of the Hill. Buy what you need when you need it and take comfort in the fact that it's more advanced than it's predessors, not it's successors.
Whatever iMac you buy will become "antiquated" within a year. It's impossible to remain King of the Hill. Buy what you need when you need it and take comfort in the fact that it's more advanced than it's predessors, not it's successors.
USB 3.0 was just hoping, don't really believe on that, but yes it has been pronaunced (don't know the spelling) and will be produced in 2009 before summer. and quad-core will at least available if not standard.
There has to be a very good chance that 4-core i7 will be announced for the iMac.
We know Intel have been shipping the consumer grade i7's since early Nov. That would be a perfect timeline for production volumes to be ramping up for a Macworld announcement.
There's no reason why i7 in iMac couldn't be launched before i7 in Mac Pro. Pro users will understand that any delays in the server class chips they need are on Intel's head, not Apple's.
(Personally, I'd go down on my knees for a 4-core iMac. My 3.06 GHz 24" is a great machine but for HD video work it's.... just..... slow.)
We know Intel have been shipping the consumer grade i7's since early Nov. That would be a perfect timeline for production volumes to be ramping up for a Macworld announcement.
There's no reason why i7 in iMac couldn't be launched before i7 in Mac Pro. Pro users will understand that any delays in the server class chips they need are on Intel's head, not Apple's.
(Personally, I'd go down on my knees for a 4-core iMac. My 3.06 GHz 24" is a great machine but for HD video work it's.... just..... slow.)
Product placement.
Hoping for a new mobile device too
Quad-core mobile CPUs are already here. And it is likely Apple will only do this if the quad-core GHz speeds are not lower than dual-core speeds.
I don't think so. They'll need a new motherboard etc., and I don't think there's enough space or cooling for that.
I consider this more likely than the 2-CPU iMac.
Heat production. The iMac can hold 55 W and maybe a bit higher. Core i7 uses 130 W. So the only way Core i7 can go on the iMac as it is now, is if 2 cores were turned off (and/or if the maximum GHz was limited to 1.87 GHz or so).
The quad-core rumor centers around some 65 W Penryn-based desktop quad-cores at (I think) 2.33~2.67 GHz that are to be released around Q1 2009. There is a possibility that Apple initially wanted a Q4 update but decided to wait another quarter for these quad-cores.
Except that the chips that will go in the iMac won't be available until Q3 2009.
Can't y'all see that Dell's XPS One range is kicking Apple in the ass ??
A butt load of other manufacturers are stealing the All-In-One market share too !!
The only way iMac can compete is if they upgrade their current line asap !!
Check their stock price ffs ..... Apple has lost HALF its value over the past 6 months !!
Dell is closing in on Apple fast = http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2333647,00.asp
And that's only their 2nd attempt ..... one or two more revisions and Michael will bankrupt Steve !!
(Please God let the Apple Stock Price go back up to $200 !!)
A butt load of other manufacturers are stealing the All-In-One market share too !!
The only way iMac can compete is if they upgrade their current line asap !!
Check their stock price ffs ..... Apple has lost HALF its value over the past 6 months !!
Dell is closing in on Apple fast = http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2333647,00.asp
And that's only their 2nd attempt ..... one or two more revisions and Michael will bankrupt Steve !!
(Please God let the Apple Stock Price go back up to $200 !!
)
Can't y'all see that Dell's XPS One range is kicking Apple in the ass ??
A butt load of other manufacturers are stealing the All-In-One market share too !!
The only way iMac can compete is if they upgrade their current line asap !!
Check their stock price ffs ..... Apple has lost HALF its value over the past 6 months !!
Dell is closing in on Apple fast = http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2333647,00.asp
And that's only their 2nd attempt ..... one or two more revisions and Michael will bankrupt Steve !!
(Please God let the Apple Stock Price go back up to $200 !!
yea they are stealing but they can't get the Mac OS X. that's the reason why i'm waiting for new iMacs. PC will always be PC.