New 20" iMac and Dual 1.8GHz PowerMac G5 467
joekra writes "Today, Apple released a new 20" iMac and a Dual 1.8GHz PowerMac G5. Both were accurately rumored at the last minute by the usual suspects. In fact, the Dual 1.8GHz G5 configuration was rumored back in July to shift demand away from the popular 2.0GHz PowerPC G5s." I'm holding out for a couple rounds of price drops, but I think a G5 is definitely in my future.
Only logical (Score:3, Interesting)
These are still both great machines. I love my 17" iMac as a home machine, and a 20" screen is even more alluring.
you must accessorize.. (Score:2, Interesting)
G5 mania (Score:2, Interesting)
My advice? - Grab a G5 as soon as you can - they're fast, strong, and reliable. Yet, they do run the MacOS - which is fine if you're a artsy kinda person.
I use my windows machine for gaming. & My linux box for serious computing/recovery. I'd definitely only suggest the G5 if you're not into windwos gaming at all - 'cause other than that - Macs have all the rest of the fun!
Re:Not sure about the 20" iMac... (Score:3, Interesting)
On the other hand, if you are looking to drop a fat wad of cash for a 20" screen attached to a unique-looking computer that's less than half the power of the current G5 towers, you are probably not the type to sweat over maximizing bang-for-the-buck to begin with.
Re:I knew this was coming (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:crapple (Score:5, Interesting)
Okay. I'll bite. Dear Mister Troll sir...as to us having a site of our own...we do [macslash.org]. In [macrumors.com] fact [macnn.com] we [macobserver.com] have [macworld.com] several [macminute.com] from [macintouch.com] which [macmerc.com] to [macosx.com] choose [powerpage.org]. And, pray tell, what in your tiny little troll-like mind leads you to believe that Mac users are all of a particular sexual orientation of any kind at all? Or that mac users don't qualify [architosh.com] as nerds? [wired.com] And by some strange twisting path of logic that we don't in some way belong here [slashdot.org]?Newsfalsh! The mac now not only sports a command line environment, but you can set your environment to your shell of choice [versiontracker.com]!
I know, I know, please don't feel the trolls. Move along. Move along...
Re:Not sure about the 20" iMac... (Score:5, Interesting)
In 3-4 years (Mac's tend to have a longer production lifetime than PC's) you pass it on to the kids/younger siblings and upgrade your system.
Ok, Give us portrait mode! (Score:1, Interesting)
I rotate the screen 90 degrees CCW, and the display shifts to portrait mode.
If the screens get any bigger, they'll be iTipovers.
Re:20 inch LCD (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Not sure about the 20" iMac... (Score:5, Interesting)
The current set of dual-head display cards available would allow you to drive 8 displays off a single PowerMac; 6 via PCI and 2 via AGP.
If you consider that the current crop of PowerMacs can process up to 9 video streams simultaneously, this setup sounds a lot less ludicrous, You could drive a fairly large video wall with that.
Re:Buying a Mac (Score:2, Interesting)
What to look for depends on what you need/want/can afford. How old are the kids? Could you trust them not to destroy that nice iMac flat screen ( although honestly, it's pretty tough, my two-year-old hasn't damaged mine yet )? Or do you need a CRT? Or do you have a CRT and/or a tight budget? These questions would need to be answered before anyone could tell you to get an eMac, iMac or PowerMac. Get yourself and maybe your kids to an Apple Store, you'll figure it out.
In my experience, Linux users who would even consider Apple hardware absolutely love OS X once they wrap their heads around what's going on.
Obviously you'll have to check out the system requirements of those games yourself, but I've found almost all web-based Flash and Shockwave content works fantastically on OS X these days, Macromedia has been good about supporting the platform, especially over the past year.
Of course, I'd want to get a dual 2.0Ghz G5 PowerMac myself, although that would be overkill for even my own digital video editing use, let alone my two-year-old's games... not that overkill is a bad thing. It's extra-nice that I can easily set up the kid's login account so he can't destroy the machine or launch some of the more violent games.
Re:No thanks, Ill stick to my Cheap Linux Box. (Score:1, Interesting)
The cheap box wont run OS X
The cheap box doesn't have as good a display
The cheap box isn't quiet
The cheap box doesn't have firewire
The cheap box wont fit into a small space
The cheap box doesn't have a DVD burner
Because by using the cheap box, I somehow have something in common with idiots like you.
Apple losing a bit of focus? (Score:5, Interesting)
Jobs (and I am sure lots of other smart people behind the scenes) introduced the 4 quadrants, and Apple suddenly had the easiest decision making avaiable of any computer manufacterer. Student, or on a budget? Want a laptop - iBook. Want a desktop - iMac. Professional? Want a laptop - Powerbook. Want a desktop - G4/G5.
Sure, being so simple might for a 'tweener' to make a choice between upper level and lower level, but creating a choice specific for the 'tweener' crowd makes for a polluted, evil product line. (Along with fragmented R&D costs, higher production costs, etc...)
So my question is, where the hell does a 20" iMac fit in? Certainly at a base cost of $2199 it doesn't fill anyones needs well. Sure, 20" of flat panel goodness aimed at the consumer market is a bit groundbreaking and good outside the box thinking (which I think Apple under Jobs is again known for) but how are you going to market it? Why are you doing to pollute the sales to the "low end" desktop iMac line, with a $2199 and up computer? If I've got $2000 to spend on a computer, do I want a G4 or an iMac? That decision was once made for me by the simple matrix, now that option isn't so simple.
The continued existance of the eMac must really drive Jobs nuts. An actual CRT! Son-of-a-bitch!
Re:Big screen! (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Not sure about the 20" iMac... (Score:4, Interesting)
It's like this. We all know someone who's a total petrol-head, always tinkering with his car, reading all the magazines, etc. Who's the first person you talk to when you're buying a new one?
I've long since accepted the Alpha Geek mantle pushed onto me by my friends. Whenever something is going screwy, they come and give me a call.
Now let's think about the petrolhead. Say you don't speak to him and come back with a shiny new Lada (really bad Russian car, in case they aren't in the US). Then it breaks in two days. As it would. Is your car friend going to help you? Probably not. He'd probably say you should have asked him first.
He's a more extreme case, but it was what I was shooting at. Of course I'm going to help my friends with their PC problems, but I'm not going to be happy if it was a problem they wouldn't have had by going somewhere else. Like poor after-sales. Or no expandability. Or a big sticker on the box that says "You invalidate your warranty by opening this case."
After a house and a car (or, for some, ahead of the car!) a PC is the most expensive thing you will buy. Why would you not check on your friend's knowledge?
Re:Not sure about the 20" iMac... (Score:3, Interesting)
But, unfortunately, the Mac myths are still prevalent in the UK. I tried to convince him that I could swap files with PC users.
Him: "But where is the floppy drive?"
Me: "No-one uses floppy drives anymore, just burn it onto a CD-RW"
Him: "Hmm, my lecturers might want floppies"
Me: "Then email it to them!"
Eventually, I managed to beat him down to the simple fact that he wasn't going to switch unless Doom III was coming with him. That's fair enough, I suppose, but 1400 for one game? Please. That's the weakest excuse ever. There's some sort of horrific Mac stigma that Apple really need to shake off. No amount of geek evangelism is going to help, because people assume that because you're a geek you *would* find it easy to use anyway. There's a bit of that, my little brother got an iMac and I came back from Uni to set it up for him. He has Jaguar and he had to keep going into the Applications folder just to launch a program. He, quite rightly, was pretty annoyed at how long it took. I dragged the application folder into his dock, and hey, it's like a start menu. OS X comes with some pretty bad default settings.
Apple needs to fix that, and then it needs to fix the people. The Switch campaign touched on it (the ads didn't reach the UK anyway), but never really drummed it in:
Macs work with Windows. Macs can read Windows files. Macs can write Windows files. Macs can do everything you want. Macs *work*.
Japanese site (Score:2, Interesting)
page 1 [61.194.6.236] (translation) [excite.co.jp]
page 2 [61.194.6.236] (translation) [excite.co.jp]
page 3 [61.194.6.236] (translation) [excite.co.jp]
Re:Perspective from a 17" iMac owner (Score:2, Interesting)
They're not perfect:
Those hardware-only examples above are all post-Jobs. You're generally right: in fact, you missed the "all-in-one" design, inclusion of USB in the iMac, easy-open cases, the translucent plastics "fad", and the first to use WiFi. Recent smart decisions may include Serial ATA, DVI outs, PCI-X, Bluetooth, IEEE1394b, and 802.11g. These decisions and others are why the market rewards Mac users with a high resale value on eBay.
Re:crapple (Score:3, Interesting)
Okay, now I think I may have a clearer idea of why you may think of mac users as 'teh ghey', but I stand by my claim that there is NO commonality (sexual, political or otherwise) amongst mac users... except for a ruthless efficiency [mit.edu] and fanatical devotion [mit.edu] to the pope... [bbc.co.uk] But as to the naming of a computer comany after a fruit...has to do mostly with the bizarre dietary habits of Steve Jobs. Now he is the strictest of vegetarians...a VEGAN! [bbc.co.uk] The most dreaded strain of vegetarian at all. BUT before Steve-O was a vegetarian of any stripe he was a fruitarian [thenewearth.org]. As far as I understand (I am an Atkins practicioning carnivour, and not a vegetarian or especially a "fruitarian") fruitairians not only eat only fruit...it is prohibited by some sects to eat any fruit that has not dropped naturally to the ground from the vine. NO HAND PICKING or OFF THE DAMN DIRTY HIPPY COMMUNE YOU GO!!!
Actually, as I google around, I find this supposedly direct quote: [fireinthevalley.com]
I was actually a fruitarian at that point in time. I ate only fruit. Now I'm a garbage can like everyone else. And we were about three months late in filing a fictitious business name so I threatened to call the company Apple Computer unless someone suggested a more interesting name by five o'clock that day. Hoping to stimulate creativity. And it stuck. And that's why we're called Apple.
Re:It's worse than that (Score:2, Interesting)
Did Anyone Else Notice? (Score:5, Interesting)
And kept the same price point?
And day by day the Mac becomes an even BETTER value for the money