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iMac Businesses Desktops (Apple) Apple Hardware

New 20" iMac and Dual 1.8GHz PowerMac G5 467

Posted by CowboyNeal from the lamps-and-cheese-graters dept.
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.
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New 20" iMac and Dual 1.8GHz PowerMac G5 More

New 20" iMac and Dual 1.8GHz PowerMac G5

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  • 20in of goodness (Score:4, Funny)

    by TeknoTurd ( 312601 ) on Tuesday November 18, 2003 @10:48AM (#7502248) Homepage
    HUGE absolutley HUGE. I hope its not top heavy!

  • Ouch. (Score:5, Funny)

    by grub ( 11606 ) <slashdot@grub.net> on Tuesday November 18, 2003 @10:49AM (#7502261) Homepage Journal

    Apple is poo [slashdot.org], Apple is good. [slashdot.org]
    Geez, where's my lithium...

    • Re:Ouch. (Score:2, Insightful)

      by rosewood ( 99925 )
      If you see it as a good / bad thing, then you miss the whole idea of slashdot or NEWS.

      ALl that is being said is "Hey, they did this. Hey, they released that."

      Its up to you monkleys and your wallets to decide if it matters. If that appleflix story gets your panties in a wad and you decide not to buy a new 20" iLamp, then go for it. If you are in a majority, the company will suffer and be forced to change its ways.

      If everyone is cool or apathetic to it, then buy this new 1.8GHz G5!

  • Buying a Mac (Score:2, Offtopic)

    by wawannem ( 591061 )
    I've been putting off some upgrades recently, and I have been thinking pretty hard about making 'the switch' :).

    Is there any advice for a Mac n00b on what to look for? I am coming from Linux and am mostly interested in a machine I can let the kids play games on. I may stick to windows if that is my only choice, but I would like to know what you guys do to keep your kids happy? and do the Disney games run on Mac since they are mostly Flash based?

    • Re:Buying a Mac (Score:5, Informative)

      by Aqua OS X ( 458522 ) on Tuesday November 18, 2003 @11:50AM (#7502826)
      Most disney games are shcokwave /flash now. However, if you a mac user with kids you really need to check out Pangea Software:

      http://www.pangeasoft.net/index2.html

      They make some great kid-friendly games. However, advise getting a new GameCube for $80-$100 bucks. Free up your computer with a game console and you won't have fight over who gets to use the pretty Mac.

  • Only logical (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Hawthorne01 ( 575586 ) on Tuesday November 18, 2003 @10:51AM (#7502275)
    As most of the benchamarks showed a dramatic difference between the single 1.8 and the dual 2 ghz. If only they're kept the single 1.8 at a lower price point as an intro to the wonderful world of Serial ATA and a faster FSB.

    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)

    by openSoar ( 89599 )
    that powerbook would go very nice with the rumored 30" cinema display [macrumors.com] that should be out early next year - even though dell beat [crn.com] them to the 2.5 feet punch.

  • Not sure about the 20" iMac... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by superdan2k ( 135614 ) on Tuesday November 18, 2003 @10:51AM (#7502278) Homepage Journal
    The currently Apple 20" flatscreen goes for $1299. You're paying $2199 for that attached to a 1.25GHz iMac... So in 3 years when the iMac is obsolete and the monitor is running fine, you can't attach that 20" flatscreen to anything. Hmm. Not good.

    • Re:Not sure about the 20" iMac... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Lewisham ( 239493 ) on Tuesday November 18, 2003 @11:14AM (#7502492)
      For power users, sure, it's pretty bad losing a 20" screen that you've forked out for. The iMac isn't really geared to us though.

      I've had a hell of a time trying to figure out why my friends have been buying awful computers (a Compaq, for example, just one month ago! Wonder how long that brand is going to last...) without consulting me. After some prodding, it turns out they don't like me telling them what isn't and isn't good about the new machine they're getting, they just want what they can see. Like a big screen. Then they buy it, because they make some assumption that all computers are the same nowadays, and treat these things like appliances no more complex than a dishwasher. Once it's had it's day, you throw it all out and buy a new one. Obviously they're ignoring the fact they are on their own when it comes to support. You don't ask me, you don't get my help later on :D

      Which is where Apple is with the iMac. It's disposable computing. Every 3-4 years, chuck it out and get a new one. To be fair, it's a very tempting option over the extra outlay of the tower and monitor to begin with. My 3 year old 17" monitor is about to give up on me, but the screen is looking weak in comparison by today's standards anyway. Why not buy it all cheaper now then get a nice spangly 24" iMac with super-bright-no-dead-pixel technology or something down the line? Certainly for most people (the people that double take when I drag a window from my Powerbook to my monitor) having two workareas is crazy enough as it is, let alone paying extra for the privalege! :)

      • Re:Not sure about the 20" iMac... (Score:5, Funny)

        by Alan Partridge ( 516639 ) on Tuesday November 18, 2003 @11:41AM (#7502730) Journal
        "I've had a hell of a time trying to figure out why my friends have been buying awful computers (a Compaq, for example, just one month ago! Wonder how long that brand is going to last...) without consulting me."

        Imagine people doing things without consulting YOU first!

        Why the very idea makes my blood boil!

        • Re:Not sure about the 20" iMac... (Score:4, Insightful)

          by Pfhreakaz0id ( 82141 ) on Tuesday November 18, 2003 @12:23PM (#7503160)
          right. But if I'm a real estate agent, and my friends buy a house without even asking me about it, wouldn't I be a little miffed? And yet, my family and friends get computers all the time and don't bother asking me.

          My policy is the same as the parent poster: You don't ask me before buying an HP with a combo sound/ethernet/modem half-height pci card (i am NOT making this up!), don't bother asking for support.

        • Re:Not sure about the 20" iMac... (Score:4, Interesting)

          by Lewisham ( 239493 ) on Tuesday November 18, 2003 @04:23PM (#7505438)
          It's not about an ego trip (Mmm, ego stroking). Honest! :)

          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:5, Interesting)

        by TheCrazyFinn ( 539383 ) on Tuesday November 18, 2003 @11:51AM (#7502842) Homepage
        No, it's handmedown computing.

        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.

      • I really don't forsee a day when my 15" G4 iMac will be obsolete. Seriously, It burns both CDs and DVDs, it connects to the Internet, and currently does everything I ask it to, and it does it well.



        My needs won't increase by this magic 3 year point you cite above. No more than my 5 year old web server, running a PII450.



        The only people who consider a 3 year old computer 'obsolete' are the same people who compare a slightly 'inferior' completely useless.

      • Re:Not sure about the 20" iMac... (Score:5, Insightful)

        by jmkaza ( 173878 ) on Tuesday November 18, 2003 @12:51PM (#7503430)
        No one should have to call a computer expert to buy a PC. My dad's been looking at getting a new PC for a while now. I've offered on numerous occasions to build him a kick ass box, but he called the other day and said he just went out and bought an e-machines. Was I pissed, no. It works. It does for him everything he needs it to do, far better than the 333 celeron he had before. It runs Windows XP, and when he clicks on a video file, it plays. When he tries to run a java app, it works. Imagine that. Everything works, and I didn't have to spend ten hours configuring hacked plugins for Xine/Quicktime, RealPlayer, j2re, etc. If he has a problem with it, I'll fix it. And it'll take me far less of my time to fix whatever problems he'd encounter than it would have for me to build, configure, and support a box myself. I'll also call tech support to report whatever problem he had, and chances are, it'll be fixed next time around. We shouldn't work to make non geeks more geeky, we should just be there to help them out when they run into the ocasional issue where a geek is needed to take care of it.
    • My friend,

      I still use a Mac SE30 as a print server and vintage program machine. I use a 20th Annivaersary Mac for financial/database work.

      Se30 = almost 17 years old
      TAM = 6 years old

      If in 3 years this can access the internet, great, if it can photoshop, great, if it can print to USB printers, great, if it can be adapted to new technologies, great.

      My SE30 can do most everything this new iMac can, just not in color and not as fast. It's hardly obsolete.
      • But wouldn't having a 20", $1300 monitor atop a print server and vintage program machine be a little wasteful? A new, top of the line monitor can outlast a computer by many lifetimes. Where normally you could replace that 20" LCD with some 15-17" CRT you might have lying around or can buy cheap, now you need to go buy another 20"+ LCD with your next computer. Especially considering the upgradability of iMacs is virtually non-existent.

      • Re:Invalid statement = obsolete (Score:4, Insightful)

        by cgenman ( 325138 ) on Tuesday November 18, 2003 @11:58AM (#7502912) Homepage
        Ahh... The way computing should be...

        We have an old 603e powerbook here used as a web and chat terminal for our exchange students.

        There is a win 95 laptop upgraded to Win 98 in the dining room as an MP3 stream player for breakfast music (and settling dinnertable discussions).

        A headless P3 functions as a household fileserver.

        A shiny new Athalon 2.4 runs the bulk of our recreational programs, with a mobile P4 laptop for work.

        I'm looking forward to replacing some of our static picture frames with the old Win 98 laptop when we finally have a replacement for it.

        What do you do with old hardware? You keep using it. PDA too slow for anything modern? They make awesome alarm clocks... And great remote controls. An ancient I-mac sitting around? Throw on OS9 and a copy of Icab, use it in the kitchen for finding recipes. Old Laptop doing nothing? Replace that magazine bin in your bathroom.

        The only old hardware that is obsolete is the kind that never functioned in the first place. The old Sparc Station sitting in the closet never did much beyond being a mailserver, and those NeXT boxs never got far beyond the industrial appliance phase. But whatever you buy now will continue to function in the future, doing what it does now, or other useful little tasks.

        It may not be worth $1,000 to have an MP3 streaming station for your apartment, but it would certainly be worthwhile if you had a spare box lying around.

        BTW, don't expect that "investment" in a monitor to retain its value any better than that computer. 21" CRT's can be had used for $100 without much effort, and by the time this Imac is "obsolete" a used 20" LCD will probably be worth about as much... if not less. While I respect Apple's choice of suppliers, at this point of the technology curve LCD's aren't very long lived and don't have as good an image quality as they will in the future. Welding it to a computer might be more of a problem of hobbling the CPU when the LCD finally dies rather than vice versa.
        • A retired PC doesn't necessarily work well as a file or web server, particularly a low-traffic home server. It probably consumes more power and makes more noise than a "proper" solution, for example.

          A kitchen computer ideally should take up little desk space (most kitchens are already cramped, which is why kitchen audio players typically mount under a cabinet), and be protected against a harsh environment. An easily-cleaned touchscreen computer is probably the most ideal solution, not an old CRT iMac.

          • Re:Invalid statement = obsolete (Score:4, Insightful)

            by cgenman ( 325138 ) on Tuesday November 18, 2003 @05:06PM (#7505928) Homepage
            Retired PC's generally consume less power than modern ones... P3's under 800 Mhz can be run fanless in winter months. Fileservers are generally built on the latest and greatest computing platform and have little respect for noise. Ever walk into a room populated by rack-mount servers? As for webservers? Unless you are going to co-lo a machine, that is the proper solution.

            A CRT iMac may or may not fit in a kitchen, depending upon the configuration. My apartment in the city, for example, would be hard pressed to fit one. However, my mother's house in the suburbs has plenty of counter space... and she would love the ability to catch up on the news while cooking (with a capture card, not included). I'd hardly consider any kitchen with adequate ventilation to be a "harsh environment." Grain milling plants are a harsh environment. Africa is a harsh environment. 6' away from a flame the size of your pinkey is within operating parameters.

            A PDA in a cradle won't consume much more power than an alarm clock, and will do so without creating the toxic waste of AA batteries. It will also allow you to set alarms based upon your full day's schedule, can be synchronized with your "real" palm pilot automatically, control your PC to play music remotely, and can program in your own varying alarm sounds (my alarm is loud enough to wake me up, but quiet enough that my girlfriend stays asleep.)

            Keeping a machine out of a landfill is a good reason. Serving a purpose in your life that wouldn't be economical through the traditional consumer means is a good reason. As I mentioned, we have retired 2 NeXT slabs, a NeXT cube, and a Sparc Station because they didn't make sense in terms of money, time, noise, or power requirements. However, many old machines can still eek out a profitable life somewhere if you break out of the "throw it in three" mentality. An old P2 Laptop is a perfect e-mail machine for my mother, for example. My work keeps an old Dell around so that guests can surf / check their mail while waiting.

            Don't look for ways that old machines can replace other old machines... If all you want is the exact functionality provided by a traditional alarm clock you're welcome to it. Look for ways that old machines can improve your situation. Thinking of spending $400 dollars + $10 per month on a tivo? Buy a huge HDD and a video capture card for your old machine and roll your own for $200. That's economical, easy, and makes the world a cleaner place.

    • Good point there. Those looking for long-term value might want to buy an $800 eMac, and plug the video-out port into the $1299 Studio display. Set the eMac sideways behind the display so you don't block the DVD bay. For $2099, you are giving up a small amount of CPU speed, and it's not as s3xy as the iMac, but some geeks would probably be happier going that route.

      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 t

      • I'm going to be in the market for the big Cinema Display pretty soon, and the one thing I would love to see in the next model is an iMac style arm so it's easy to position anywhere I want it.

        That seems like such an obvious idea I'm surprised Apple hasn't done it.

        Anyone know why not?

        D
      • Why waste the built in CRT? I believe MacOSX can run dual-head. Put your main display on the 20" and drag status windows or stuff you don't need to use often to the CRT.

        Or you can use the CRT for FPS gaming since LCD's don't have as good a response time...

        -Z

        • Re:Not sure about the 20" iMac... (Score:5, Interesting)

          by gerardrj ( 207690 ) * on Tuesday November 18, 2003 @01:06PM (#7503560) Journal
          To be techically correct, OS X (and every Mac OS since System 6) are capable of "multiple monitor" support. This means that the system can use as many display ports as you can cram in to the system. I used to run 5 displays on a Quadra 900 under System 7. I currently run 3 from my G3/333 (one from internal, two from a Radeon 7000).
          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.

    • But if you found a way... (Score:5, Informative)

      by mactari ( 220786 ) <rufwork AT gmail DOT com> on Tuesday November 18, 2003 @11:26AM (#7502584) Homepage
      Words right out of my mouth. I've posted to usenet [google.com] asking if anyone's tried a hack yet, and some of the iMac deconstruction sites seem to suggest the wires are relatively easy to get to.

      But if you could find a way to hack it, you're essentially getting an awfully cool monitor stand plus a Superdrive equipped G4 for $900. That's *much* easier to stomach.

      Take apart at xlr8yourmac.com (look at "rainbow colored" wires)
      Service manual [earthlink.net]

      There was also a great Japanese site that showed the thing taken apart until the wires were dangling, but I always have the dangest time Googling in Japanese.
    • You raise a good point -- one that would give me reservations about buying this particular machine. On the other hand, computers have gotten to the point where I imagine that they'll retain their value for longer than most people would imagine. For example, I still have a 333Mhz G3 iMac in service on the tiny desk built into my kitchen counter. I use it to stream video from cspan.org while I'm cleaning the kitchen, and I don't feel like I really need to replace it.

      I imagine that a 1.25GHz G4 will still

    • Re:Not sure about the 20" iMac... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Aqua OS X ( 458522 ) on Tuesday November 18, 2003 @11:58AM (#7502914)
      I agree. I think this is wasteful. We can't have people tossing nice 20in LCDs every 3-4 years.

      Yet, then again, People do toss laptops every few years. And, Macs usually stay "in action" for a long time if their owners don't try and put unreasonable software on them. Ya can't run Photoshop CS on a 604e machine... but 5 will still run fine and do the job.

  • G5 mania (Score:2, Interesting)

    by dukeluke ( 712001 ) *
    Well, G5s are truly here now - and they've got the flashy specs to boot.

    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!
    • Actually, I've found that between Ghost Recon, Links 2003 and the Combat Missions series from Battlefront.com, all my gaming needs are taken care of on the Mac (except for the glaring hole of sports games.)

      And with the command line waiting for me, MS Office, Photoshop and Illustrator, aside from hanging out with all the l33t CS kiddies, there's not much I can't do on a Mac.

    • Re:G5 mania (Score:3, Insightful)

      by bpbond ( 246836 )
      which is fine if you're a artsy kinda person

      Or if you're a science kinda person...a lot of people in the sciences are giving this *nix-running-MS Office-with-no-viruses combination a pretty hard look.

      If you're a bizness kinda person, however, particularly in a large organization, using a Mac is much more problematic. (Sometimes technically, usually bureaucratically.)
    • Serious computing, like X11, bash, Apache, Perl, and PHP?

      Welcome to 2001, where Mac OS has all of those and more.
  • My office retired its old G3 Server, and I talked my boss into selling it to me, including the 17" CRT, keyboard, mouse, and Jaz drive, for $100.

    I'm using it primarily to learn the intricacies of OS X 10.3, and I'm liking it so far.

    But even with this new "toy" of mine (I've been a staunch Windows user for years and years, although I like Linux too), I'm still drooling over the G5s. Part of me thinks I should get one of the 1.8 dualies and call it a day.

    The only bad thing is that when a person switches,

    • Try Versiontracker (Score:3, Informative)

      by MyNameIsFred ( 543994 ) *
      ...but I'd like something free...and finding something like this is one of the challenges...

      Since you are apparently new to Macs, are you familiar with Versiontracker [versiontracker.com]. Its a good place to find programs for the Mac, what the latest version is, and what other people think of them.

      • I recall Versiontracker from back in the day, when I was new to Linux. Thanks for the reminder!

        The nice thing about OS X, and one of the reasons I bought in to the Mac craze, was its Unix heritage. That makes the switch (well, addition) easier for me.

  • Real Men of Genius (Score:4, Funny)

    by numbski ( 515011 ) * <numbskiNO@SPAMhksilver.net> on Tuesday November 18, 2003 @11:00AM (#7502366) Homepage Journal
    Today we salute you, Mr. Goofy Looking PC Designer.

    "Mr. Goofy Looking PC Designer!"

    Taking that tripped out table lamp and turning it in as a new computer design, and getting your boss to actually believe it and sell it? Hey, that's just part of the job.

    "You were just stoned."

    But wait! Why do better than that, when you can just start putting tackier and tackier large displays on the front? Why waste time away from your bong (which now looks suspicously like a new computer), when you can keep up your sumpin' sumpin'?

    "Wow that's some good weed!"

    Real men of genius.

  • 30" Cinema Display? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by LoudMusic ( 199347 ) on Tuesday November 18, 2003 @11:01AM (#7502377)
    Where's the 30" Cinema Display? I'm still waiting on that rumor (:

    This 20" iMac is interesting, but i wonder how long the arm will hold up. And as someone else has pointed out - after the Mac is obsolete you still have a very expensive monitor that can't be moved elsewhere.

  • Apple now offers its entire suite of professional applications optimized to leverage the performance advantages of the Power Mac G5. Mac-based hardware and software from Apple and our partners form the backbone of professional workflows at every level of video and audio production, so the industry moves with us. Keep up. Whatever your choice in tools and formats, there's room for them and for you on the Apple platform for professional digital production.

    Apple - Software - Pro [apple.com]

  • Learn marketing, people. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Gannoc ( 210256 ) on Tuesday November 18, 2003 @11:18AM (#7502527)
    Too many comments along the lines of "That there is a big monitor to just throw away when the iMac is obsolete!"

    People who buy iMacs don't want to upgrade them every year. They're home users who expect to buy a computer, and keep it until it breaks or some amazing reason comes out to get a new one. They upgrade only when new applications require it, which is why Apple focuses a lot on new features and software innovation to motivate people to upgrade.

    Take a look on eBay at used Mac prices sometime, then rethink the "wasting a monitor" idea.
    • This is true but doesn't account for the fact that you could buy a Mac without a monitor and then pick up the 20" monitor separately. As far as I can see, you get all of the benefits as with an iMac welded together with the monitor, but you also have the option to upgrade your Mac in, say, four years while still keeping your monitor.

      Sure, some people will buy the iMac and use it for ten years, quite happily. For these people, this is a good option. However, it is reasonable to expect a high-quality moni
    • People who buy iMacs don't want to upgrade them every year. They're home users who expect to buy a computer, and keep it until it breaks or some amazing reason comes out to get a new one.

      Sure. That's what I do with my PCs, too: I build it, and keep it for many years. I figure that my current machine, now nearing 4 years old, will last for another three or four years. That's the second machine that has driven my 21 inch monitor, and the next machine I build will probably drive this same monitor.

      Good m

      • Re:Learn marketing, people. (Score:5, Insightful)

        by djtack ( 545324 ) on Tuesday November 18, 2003 @01:00PM (#7503501)
        My point? Even for people who keep their computers forever, even for old retired folks who only check their email on Sunday, even for the iMac's target demographic, the iMac doesn't make sense.

        Well, my parents' last computer was an all-in-one Mac LC520. They used it for eight years, at which point it was replaced by an iMac (the only reason it was replaced at all is because Netscape 4 on a 68030 was starting to suck). And we were not crying over the loss of the integrated display, because it only has 480x640 resolution! Even if it wasn't integrated we would not have kept it.

        Your point seems to be that my parents should have bought a Mac IIsi with a 21" CRT. In 1992 that probably would have cost $5000, when we paid just $1600 for the Mac LC. Now who's making sense?

  • Mid-Line Best-Deal (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Soong ( 7225 ) on Tuesday November 18, 2003 @11:23AM (#7502559) Homepage Journal
    Ah, now the middle of the desktop is again clearly the best deal. I always buy from the middle of the line. The boost over the low end model is worth the price, but the difference between mid and high end is always a more severe premium.

    Also, if you're going to buy the dual 1.8 GHz Mac, BUY IT NOW. You'll be happier this way. See, if the worst time to buy is just before a revision comes out, then you get further and further from that to the happiest point just after a revision comes out.
    • I'd have to agree. I got a 1.25 Aluminum 15" inch Powerbook just after they came out. I love it. And I don't have to see the price drop for a little while yet :)

      Of course, I'll still be paying my Apple Store order off when the quad G7 48" Plutoniums come out...

    • Re:Mid-Line Best-Deal (Score:4, Insightful)

      by cfish ( 61161 ) on Tuesday November 18, 2003 @12:14PM (#7503057)
      Marketing people call your way of thinking "comprose effect" which is already taken into consideration when the pricing of the line is done.

      In other words, you have fallen into marketers' expectations and calculations.

      Usually, middle of the line aren't really awesome deals, but you feel they are. Common practice is to raise the price of the middle of the line product in order to decrease the differential to sell higher end high margin products while boosting price differential to lower end (less margin) products to make them look like better deals.

    • I'm in full agreement. Having received my 1.8GHz G5 3 weeks ago, it looks like I'm the guy that you always hear about that just bought their machine when new revisions come out.

      I read the rumour sites every day. Even macrumors.com's buy guide said that it was a good time to buy, since the G5 is so new and good.

      I'm not dissapointed with the performance of my G5, I'm just kinda kicking myself for not being a little more patient so that I could get more for the same price. Oh well.

  • I knew this was coming (Score:4, Funny)

    by jht ( 5006 ) on Tuesday November 18, 2003 @11:24AM (#7502569) Homepage Journal
    It was inevitable that the iMac would get an upgrade. I had no doubt at all.

    Because I just bought a 17" iMac less than a month ago. Apple always upgrades boxes a month after I buy them.

    However, I don't feel too bad about this one. It's $400 more, they didn't upgrade any other features other than the screen, and they didn't slash the price of the old model. Usually at least one of those latter two criteria apply to me.

    The dually 1.8 GHz model is looking pretty sweet, though. The only difference (other than clock speed, of course) between that and the 2 GHz model is the video card, and changing to the Radeon 9600 is only a $50 BTO option. So you get nearly the same Mac for $500 less. I think the dually 1.8 G5 will sell quite briskly. This also speaks well to IBM's ability to get chips out of the factory and into systems. Hopefully the inevitable speedbump in January will really kick some booty.

    • Re:I knew this was coming (Score:4, Interesting)

      by nocturbulous ( 661961 ) on Tuesday November 18, 2003 @11:41AM (#7502732)
      [i]This also speaks well to IBM's ability to get chips out of the factory and into systems[/i] hmmm, to me it says IBM have a surplus of 1.8ghz chips and a shortage of 2ghz chips, especially when Apple's line is [i]to shift demand away from the popular 2.0GHz PowerPC G5s[/i]

  • But what if? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Popadopolis ( 724438 )
    Sure, you may want to hold out until the price drops, but what if it ends up like the Cube? An awsome machine that was only on the market for several months.

    • So Fucking What? (Score:3, Insightful)

      by zpok ( 604055 )
      I'm still using my Cube. It's fully supported and looks like it still has some years in it.

      If they discontinue a model it's always a good moment to buy end of stocks.

      And afterwards it keeps resell values up. I can still sell my machine for more than half it's initial value.

      Pray they discontinue the mac you bought :-)

  • Arrggghh! Stoopid Dual 1.8 G5's (Score:3, Funny)

    by Gilmoure ( 18428 ) on Tuesday November 18, 2003 @11:26AM (#7502581) Journal
    I just got my single 1.8GHz G5! Noooooo! Kahhhnnn!

  • Bonus feature (Score:5, Funny)

    by Call Me Black Cloud ( 616282 ) on Tuesday November 18, 2003 @11:50AM (#7502827)

    It now comes with new Netflix queue management software - at no extra charge!

  • Apple losing a bit of focus? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by fuerstma ( 15683 ) on Tuesday November 18, 2003 @02:57PM (#7504615) Homepage
    Steve Jobs came back onboard, the product line was way out of hand. I seem to remember there being like 40 products avaialable, no one was sure which product were appropriate for whom.

    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!

  • Did Anyone Else Notice? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by thedbp ( 443047 ) on Wednesday November 19, 2003 @03:32AM (#7509251)
    did anyone else notice that they also bumped the RAM up to DDR333 across the line, they're all capable of bluetooth and airport extreme (previous the low end was not) and they updated the graphics cards, opting for a 64MB card in the 20" display? Plus a min. of 80GB of HD space?

    And kept the same price point?

    And day by day the Mac becomes an even BETTER value for the money ...

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