Will Apple fill their infamous gaping lineup hole?

[akm3]

I used to believe there was a hole in the lineup, coming from the PC world. Of course I wanted an xMac because I was used to it.

But now, as an AAPL shareholder, building one would cause Apple nothing but pain, lose them money, hurt sales on the higher margin products AND if it was upgradeable, cause more tech support issues.

There is zero business reason for Apple to WANT to build an xMac, despite many people who want to buy one. The people who want one either don't get a Mac, get a Mac, or get a hackintosh. <B>Apple is hurt less by these three options then if they did make an xMac, and they sleep just fine at night with their decision!</B>

 

[akm3]

Hey here is an analogy.

If you were a dating site like eHarmony.com, and someone got on who was gay, and really uspset because eHarmony.com didn't cater to gays - do you think eHarmony should make a gayHarmony website (if they want) or just do what they are good at (if they want)?

I say, if they don't want to make a gay website, they don't have to! In my example, unfortunately, they were sued and FORCED to offer a gayHarmony site, but that is ridiculous. Businesses should be able to make and sell the products they choose to, as long as the products aren't accidentally killing anyone or anything.

The xMac is Apple's gayHarmony.

 

[ProwlingTiger]

So, forced to wait and reward a company for not giving you what you need.
Or buy old stuff.

Great reasoning.

Um, no one's forcing you to buy Apple. Want a computer for x amount of dollars, go to a PC, or better yet, build your own, control your own cost,...the possibilities are ENDLESS! Why pretend like you, 1 customer, should control a company's actions? Control your own, it's far easier!

Seriously, until you own a majority of Apple, I believe Apple will build what they believe THEY need.

 

[cube]

Um, no one's forcing you to buy Apple. Want a computer for x amount of dollars, go to a PC, or better yet, build your own, control your own cost,...the possibilities are ENDLESS! Why pretend like you, 1 customer, should control a company's actions? Control your own, it's far easier!

Seriously, until you own a majority of Apple, I believe Apple will build what they believe THEY need.

If Linux had adequate commercial software support, I would have left Apple's lock-in platform a long time ago.

 

[PcBgone]

I believe Henry Ford said it best when he was building the Model T.

" A customer can have any color they want, so long as it's black"

Apple chooses what it produces. If you dont like what it produces dont buy it. It is simple as that. Their are competitors you know? Theres Linux, Windows and others. Or better yet, build your own! Why complain about what they dont offer, crying that they dont cater to people. They arent in the business to cater to people. They are in business to make money. And according to their profit reports, they are making plenty of money so what incentive do they have?

I personally hope to never see an xMac, and hope to God Apple Nails psytar to the wall.. Why? I dont want the OS X stability and efficiency to go downhill. Thats what is wrong with Windows. They have allowed so many companies to make so many different products that requires so many different drivers that conflicts with each other.

 

[Schtumple]

Will newbies ever stop posting these threads?

The flame wars here are so dull.

 

[Courtaj]

The flame wars here are so dull.

No they're NOT!


Oh, alright then . . . they are.

 

[dukebound85]

Trust me, I'm no troll. Notebook parts these days are on par with their desktop counterparts. The iMac is the perfect solution to those people who want a desktop computer. Most people don't need to change parts in their computers. Only the high end professionals do that.

very wrong...

 

[decksnap]

Hey here is an analogy.

If you were a dating site like eHarmony.com, and someone got on who was gay, and really uspset because eHarmony.com didn't cater to gays - do you think eHarmony should make a gayHarmony website (if they want) or just do what they are good at (if they want)?

I say, if they don't want to make a gay website, they don't have to! In my example, unfortunately, they were sued and FORCED to offer a gayHarmony site, but that is ridiculous. Businesses should be able to make and sell the products they choose to, as long as the products aren't accidentally killing anyone or anything.

The xMac is Apple's gayHarmony.

That analogy is horrible.

 

[nick9191]

I only need to tell you ONE thing: Can you put a TB drive in it? NO.

Much more could be said.

I can daisy chain about 50 1tb externals off it, which is a hell of a lot more than a firewire-less PC.

 

[dukebound85]

I can daisy chain about 50 1tb externals off it, which is a hell of a lot more than a firewire-less PC.

firewire can be added on pretty easily via pci-e...

 

[zombie1210]

I used to have to have the latest and greatest hardware. Did that for 15 years or so. I wasted tons of money thinking like that. I've probably owned 10 PC's in my quest for speed.

Most of my quest involved GAMES. PC games designed to force you you upgrade. Gotta have the latest video card, etc....newest motherboard, etc.

If a gaming PC lasted two years, you were fortunate.

I still have a PC for gaming, an Alienware Area 51 that I paid way too much for, but it IS upgradable. It is my son's machine, as gaming bores me to tears these days. Its all pretty much been done before....ho hum....

Then I switched to Macs. My Mini was my first, and its still running. Still playing music, and browsing the internet. Does my taxes. Keeps a photo library. Plays DVD's. One of the best purchases I have made.

I've added an iMac, and I don't feel any need to upgrade anything. No point to it. I don't play games on it.

For non gamers, there simply is NO NEED to play the upgrade scenario all the time. Sure new Macs are faster, but there is very little that FORCES you to give up a perfectly good computer. The life of a Mac far eclipses any PC.

 

[Joe The Dragon]

I also understand (correct me if I'm wrong) that there are often no OSX drivers for the latest and greatest graphics cards anyway, so the expandability thing goes kinda out of the window.

and how hard will it be for ATI and NVIDIA to make them?

 

[tonyl]

um and who are you to say this? do you work at apple? didnt think so

i dont want a "desktop" with laptop parts and not upgradeable like the mini or imac nor do i need a worstation like a mac pro

i hope they release a true desktop and they should. end of thread

Actually I agree with him. With that Mac, iMac and Mac Pro sales will surely decrease a lot.

 

[Tallest Skil]

and how hard will it be for ATI and NVIDIA to make them?

Obviously very. Remember the months-long 8800GT EFI32 ROM debacle? Where Apple was delayed in providing a working 8800GT for owners of the first Mac Pro? Eventually someone e-mailed Steve and got the reply, "nVidia didn't come through, so we're having to do it. It'll be another month or so yet."

So either nVidia sucks at something that should be idiotically simple or it's harder than you're thinking it is to be able to provide drivers for a an entire range of cards for an entirely new OS.

But personally, I won't discount the "sucks at something idiotically simple" option.

 

[NT1440]

For non gamers, there simply is NO NEED to play the upgrade scenario all the time. Sure new Macs are faster, but there is very little that FORCES you to give up a perfectly good computer. The life of a Mac far eclipses any PC.

Very true in my experience, but there are a few instances for which an upgrade is needed outside of gaming, mostly capacity related.

 

[Demosthenes X]

Trust me, I'm no troll. Notebook parts these days are on par with their desktop counterparts. The iMac is the perfect solution to those people who want a desktop computer. Most people don't need to change parts in their computers. Only the high end professionals do that.

Yeah... I guess I was a "high end professional" in grade 12 when I had to swap a dead harddrive out of my PC.

There are lots of reasons Apple probably will not make a mid-range tower. But that only "high end professionals" replace parts is not one of them. If that were true, Apple wouldn't have purposely made the harddrive and RAM in the new MacBooks easier to replace. Hell, if that were true, they would have soldered it to the logic board in the MB...

 

[November]

Just build a hackintosh, that'll fill your gaping hole.

 

[dukebound85]

Actually I agree with him. With that Mac, iMac and Mac Pro sales will surely decrease a lot.

i will say they lost one such sale to me as i opted for no mac and built my own. i know im not alone

 

[Sun Baked]

Just build a hackintosh, that'll fill your gaping hole.

And please wear some black briefs until you do, that thong doesn't provide enough coverage.

 

[tonyl]

i will say they lost one such sale to me as i opted for no mac and built my own. i know im not alone

Most people can't wait that long. For me, I have to buy a Mac Pro.

 

[czachorski]

If not for ___________________, I would have left Apple's lock-in platform a long time ago.

Fill in the blank for millions of users out there, and you start to get the picture of why Apple has not done the xMac. Until the industry can offer other solutions that eliminate the "if not for the...." dilemma, from a business/profit/share value, Apple's behavior is very obviously in their own best interest right now.

 

[zombie1210]

What Apple does best is convince people to buy new models, when they aren't really neccessary.

 

[ProwlingTiger]

I believe Henry Ford said it best when he was building the Model T.

" A customer can have any color they want, so long as it's black"

Apple chooses what it produces. If you dont like what it produces dont buy it. It is simple as that. Their are competitors you know? Theres Linux, Windows and others. Or better yet, build your own! Why complain about what they dont offer, crying that they dont cater to people. They arent in the business to cater to people. They are in business to make money. And according to their profit reports, they are making plenty of money so what incentive do they have?

I personally hope to never see an xMac, and hope to God Apple Nails psytar to the wall.. Why? I dont want the OS X stability and efficiency to go downhill. Thats what is wrong with Windows. They have allowed so many companies to make so many different products that requires so many different drivers that conflicts with each other.

Amen to that. Apple's product control has led them to industry efficiency and rendered them capable of producing great products with strong social impact.

 

[bugfaceuk]

Here we go again. This gets brought up so much.

I don't see a hole in the lineup. The only hole people see is that there is no headless Mac where the iMac is.

I think I agree with you, but I have to be honest... the fact it comes up a lot is at least suggestive of a market expectation.

However, Apple has a history of giving people what they need, not what they want and Steve's simplification of the product line was one of the critical steps he took in order to get things back into some kind of shape.

I say leave the product line, but the perception of a gap is real, even if the gap itself isn't.