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Apple Businesses

iMac II to have LCD/Firewire/DVD/AirPort/new color 273

Posted by Hemos from the but-it-still-looks-like-a-toliet dept.
Cheeseman writes "The usually very reliable Japan Apple Watch quotes South Korean sources saying that the iMac II will be launched at the Paris Apple Expo in a couple of weeks. What's interesting about this is that one of the new colors will be the 'graphite and white' as seen on the G4. I suspect that this means that Apple will use the iMac II to get apple back into the business market and sell one G4 together with 10-30 iMacs IIs for about 10 to 25 grand. With AirPort this means that you've got an instant LAN that works out of the box with no cabling. " And the rumours are that the new machine will be less then 1000$US-though I would suspect that's a stripped down machine.
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iMac II to have LCD/Firewire/DVD/AirPort/new color More

iMac II to have LCD/Firewire/DVD/AirPort/new color

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  • One: The AirPort does deliver data through the airwaves. However, it's strong-encrypted, if I'm not mistaken. You can certainly try stealing secrets, but you aren't going to get very far.

    Two: There isn't normally much fuss about connecting wires, if your building has them. However, if your building is not wired (most homes are not, by the way) then it becomes a huge, and obscenely expensive, deal. Besides which, it's just easier if you can literally just bring a computer into the building and it's hooked up.

    Three: There is stuff out for the PC, moreover it works with the AirPort (though due to the limitations in these pre-existing cards, you only get 2 Mbps instead of 11). Perhaps ones which will match up to the AirPort will be out soon; personally I hope they come out (I'm working on convincing my dad to "wire" the house with one and then get ADSL). Not only that, but as long as they follow the open standard which Apple used (and they'd be fools not to, since a card which isn't compatible with an open standard usually gets booted) they'll work with the AirPort too.

    As for cordless-network peripherals which use USB, I certainly hope you're right. That'd be cool, though it would suck USB bandwidth big time; such network peripherals would be better if connected to FireWire, SCSI, an Ethernet port (as an adaptor), or even just a PCI slot.
  • Go figure. The OS i disklike creates what i've always wanted. A widescreen computer. It's about time too. just look at how much nicer widescreen tv's are compared to standard. It should be less eyestrain for all of us nutcases!
  • Not really. Keep in mind, there's still such a thing as network addresses, even with AirPort. It would take longer to find the device, but it's certainly possible to find the machine.

    Of course, I believe it's also possible to mandate authentication before an iBook can log into an AirPort network, so the kid would need a password to do it anyway.
  • Um....how about MkLinux?
    or MachTen?
    I don't know if AUX runs on PPCs.
    There may be a *BSD for PPC, also.

    I personally prefer MachTen, as it allows me to run Unix-like servers, while I still get the mac GUI.
  • There may be a *BSD for PPC, also.

    Yep - Darwin, the open portion of the core of the forthcoming Mac OS X client. I think it's part of the OpenBSD tree, but it may be NetBSD.

  • Re:Video Card (Score:3)

    by Millennium ( 2451 ) on Tuesday September 07, 1999 @07:47AM (#1697921)
    Rage 128 is contemporary; you're confusing it with the Rage Pro.

    They don't use TNT because there are no Mac TNT cards, and as for Voodoo3... well, I don't know. It matters little; Rage 128 can keep up with the other cards if they all render in 16-bit mode. Voodoo3 can't even do 32-bit, and all reviews I've ever seen of the TNT series' renderers states that they look comparatively terrible in 32-bit mode. And by the way, I've read that bit that the person from 3Dfx wrote trying to excuse^H^H^H^H^H^Hexplain why they don't use 32-bit; I've seen a Voodoo3 and Rage128 back to back and I don't buy the article for a second.

    So yeah, you sacrifice 4 or 5 FPS max (most humans can't percieve the difference between 60 and 55 FPS anyway) but in return you get much better-looking graphics. I'll make that trade any day.
  • Yea, but will 3Com come out with a Palm that's compatible with the AirPort? I can connect to a Palm with my Rev B iMac; my buddy at work can't. :(

    IMHO, IRDA is out and 802.13 is in!
  • (so when did /. become asTheAppleTurns?)

    Probably about the time it became "As the Linux Turns" ....
  • Here is a link with more (true) info about the upcoming iMac (codenamed C2 or Kihei):
    http://www.macosrumors.com/imac.html [macosrumors.com]

    Also "Mac OS Rumors" is running a story today about the upcoming iMac:
    http://www.macosrumors.com/ [macosrumors.com]
  • Back to the isue at hand, without a floppy drive (and without a cd burner or any other writable device), an iMac user is kinda screwed if they want to take data from one machine to another (if both aren't networked in some way).


    I have two older Macs at home (Performa 6112/Performa 6115), both of whom have been experiencing some floppy drive issues. Rather than keep using Sneakernet or dealing with a Zip drive (basically because of cost; I couldn't afford the Zip), I used an old trick that a former Mac admin taught me: network the two computers using the printer port.


    Not a solution for massive sharing, but it works for the casual user, and while I'm not disputing your point about the machines being networked in some way, I just wanted to point out how *easy* it is to network the little suckers. I can share applications and data between the two machines as easily as if they had been more 'formally' networked.

  • Re:Iwhack II? (Score:3)

    by binarybits ( 11068 ) on Tuesday September 07, 1999 @05:16AM (#1697929) Homepage
    Having to slap in a primo expensive G4 to play nurse maid to all the wireless Iwhacks.

    A low-end G4 will cost under $2000. A fully decked-out one will set you back $4000. That's pretty trivial to acompany that's going to be serving a dozen NetBoot iMacs, when you consider the money saved on administration. Plus there's no reason that I can see that another iMac couldn't serve as the server for a small office. Hard drive space might be tight, but that's upgradable.

    The learning curve associated with making these 'alien' machines behave on a traditional UNIX/NT network.

    This depends on the company. An engineering firm that has a lot of specialized apps on their NT or Unix machines might not do this too well, but for companies that do web browsing, email, database, graphics, and other more standard apps, this is not a big deal. Plus you can get Office 98 for the Mac, so that'll help the transition. And OS X is a real Unix, and as far as I know all of its networking can be done with TCP/IP. So once that's out, this will be less of an issue.

    The high-price as compared to a traditional x86 PC.

    If they can get a 350 MHz machine for $1000, that's not much of a price savings. If you include the value of a name-brand PC (in terms of support and quality) and the various TCO advantages of the Mac in general, this really isn't that much of a problem. And if NetBoot over AirPort works as advertised, that'll mean no one will have to worry about stringing wires around the office. Just set up the G4, configure it for NetBoot, and the iMac won't need anything but a power cord.

    The cost of training and new Apple-knowledgable IT/IS staff.

    This is an issue, although some aspects of Mac networking (like file sharing) are so simple that literally anyone can be trained to do it in an hour or two. It's certainly true that this would be an expense, but I'm not sure it's all that big a deal.

    Software development costs. You can't chuck a working bit of in-house software because Marketing wants Iwhacks..

    No one is suggesting that this is the right solution for every company, nor that they should immediately throw out all their PC's. But I suspect there are a lot of companies that run 90% standard apps like office and Netscape, and those work cross-platform just fine. Those companies should be able to make the switch with minimal pain.
  • According to Apple's FAQ [apple.com], the Airport has 40-bit encryption built in, which should stop casual attacks. If your security requirements are more rigourous, you need to be using strong encryption software in any case.
  • When there were two car "versions" in the same year, car companies just added 1/2 to the end. There were several half-year Ford Mustangs I know of and several other car companies also did this.

    ~GoRK
  • My all-black Intellistation system looks real cool. If I had the same 2-way, 1 gig all SCSI setup in a beige box it would be just as fast, but not as impressive. Looks are important to me... functional looks are super sweet....
  • Are people still using unswitched 10Mbps ethernet extensively?

    Actually, as someone else pointed out, the iMac is not aimed at the "Medium-Heavy" office market (as in more than 10-20 stations). So, as much as I disslike the iMac/Apple thing, I have to say that the AirPort is a pretty brilliant touche for the home users (so no need for switching). Though I doubt that Mom and Dad will be using it to play Quake any time soon ;)

    But what about the *need* for physical separation between networks ? Let's say you live in a building with pretty lousy wall insulation, that means that your private network is going to be *sniffable* form your neighbours bedroom. And that is definitaly something I DON'T want.

    My pr0n is my pr0n ;)
    Murphy(c)
  • The cost of cabling is in the pulling, not the cable.
  • Considering 3com owns Palm and 3com also develops 802.13(or is it 802.11?) devices, it isn't inconcievable that future Palms will either carry or have as optional upgrades a wireless networking solution



    -AS
  • I think that you are exaggerating. Everyone I know with an iMac has upgraded the RAM to at least 64MB. Most mailorder houses throw in an upgrade when you order an iMac.

  • i must say that what struck me as the dumbest thing about the imac was the colour issue. i'm glad to see that someone at apple realised some users' desire for more conservative tones. now all that's keeping me from buying one is the os issue....

    sc
  • I think that they could put one FireWire jack in the next iMac for those who wish to use their camcorders with a 'consumer' version of FinalCut (notice that they called the first version 'Pro'?). As I recall, there was something similar back on the old Performas where you could plug in your VCR or Camcorder and import small movies into a program that would let you do simple editing, like adding silly sound tracks. (I recall the demo had pictures of an iguana eating a baby at his/her birthday?) Also, DVD is nice. Consider these two articles that I've compiled for my website with the rumors that are abounding arond the next iMacs: http://www.dailyimac.com/articles/fyi/rumors/dvdso rbto.html (DVD Standard or BTO in Next iMacs?) http://www.dailyimac.com/articles/fyi/rumors/kihei .html (General Kihei rumor compilation) Just FYI: Apple makes the current iMacs cheap by making and selling them in such volume, as well as keeping inventory down. Apple sells iMacs to distributors for about $960 or so a pop, and they in turn sell them to small stores -- big stores buy direct from Apple. Apple makes $330 or more off each iMac sold through retail, and around $600 on each sold through the Apple store. That's without any add-ons. They have the money to improve the line without raising the cost! Adding FW is easier if the next iMacs use the UniNorth unified mobo architecture/ASIC combinations. FireWire and AGP 2x, etc, are functionalities already allowed for in UniNorth -- it would be cheaper for Apple to add FireWire than to add Composite video! (And why would Joe Schmoe spend $6k+ if he could or would settle for an iMac? :) More in my articles... (Please, slashdot mee! ;)
  • I'm not the kind of person that would buy an iMac anyway, but if there is one thing I'd like to see in an iMac, it would be better 3D support. At least a RAGE 128. The RAGE Pro just doesn't cut it for good gaming...

    I really doubt it will have an LCD screen, but who knows...

    And change the mouse and keyboard!
  • unless he had a hack.

    Worst case, if my hypothetical hacker camped out on an ethernet network, someone could eventually trace the physical connection back.

    In this case, you'd need some kind of directional signal analyzer to physically locate the machine and shut it down, unless the connection could be locked out at the hub.

    Then there's the EM-interference devices. . .

    Sorry. I'm being obtuse.

    "The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
  • Security through obscurity means hiding the details of your encryption, not preventing access to the data. You always make a system less secure by making it easier to access the communication channel. To crack an isolated cable-based LAN, you need to connect a cable somehow; if there is any sort of security effort, this is a non-trivial obstacle. To crack a radio LAN, you only need to get within connection range, or maybe just use a directional antenna (assuming it's not in a shielded building).

    Even if I had encryption that every expert assured me could not be cracked for the next thousand years, I'd still prefer not to broadcast the encrypted data. Much less if I am not bothering with encryption.

    Geez, next people will be saying that having secret passwords or not broadcasting the private key of public key cryptograpy is "security through obscurity." Something needs to be secret.
  • Stripped down to what?! A diskless workstation?
  • First, there's nothing that prevents you from connecting multiple AirPorts to a switch similar to the way some companies will have a 10 or 100Mb segment for a single room or department with only single a connection to a switch to save money.

    Second, I'd bet that the majority of small businesses and homes do not have switched Ethernet - 10Mb unswitched is fast enough for file/print sharing and internet access and it's not like a small business has a shortage of things to spend money on. The AirPort works extremely well for these people as they're also among the least likely to have full-time IT staffers and so the "No Wiring Required" part benefits them considerably more than a large company which already has people to string wires and probably wired the entire building years back in any case. The base station also has IP sharing built in and supports both Ethernet and modem connections for the same reason - it doesn't cause problems for people who do have dedicated IT staff and is extremely handy for those that do not.

    Third, it's huge for portable users. Even places with switched 100Mb Ethernet may have a wireless setup for people using laptops heavily. For them, 11Mb versus the more common 2Mb is a huge win.
  • Just what do you think the pedestrian user is going to be using their machines for if not a webtv or an overpriced word processor? The ideal home computer should be something more akin to an Amiga or ST: an overgrown console, something that plays games well and just incidentally runs spreadsheets and net software.

    Apple likes to hark on the superior CPU. It doesn't cost much to include a decent 3D accelerator to go with it.
  • "Would the G4 run special calculations on the Velocity engine and 'transmit' on RF that way?"

    Yup, they communicate over hyperspace.

    This is accomplished by modulating the fequency at which the machines divide by 0.

  • Well, if Apple can deliver this for under 1000 USD, I'd even go in for it. I've never been a big iMac fan (I think they look dorky), but with a new colour scheme (and LCD display, perhaps?) running MacOS X Client, BSD or Linux, it would almost rule. But knowing Apple, they ruin this idea as well and make it too expensive, or cripple it in some way. I hope they bring back Mezzanine.

    First Post?
  • How the hell do you pronounce yogh??? WTF is with all of the extra letters? Let's clean the language up if we are going to mess with it anymore!

    Hu neds al uv dos axtra ledrs ine wa.
    >:)

    Kintanon
  • Now you can setup a small office with expensive workstations and slim software choices. I'll have to run out and get this!!!
  • One of the cool things about that scenario is that it is also rumored that the new G4 desktops will not require the Airport Base Station to serve as a connnection betrween at least 10 airport enabled devices, and possibly more. I wonder if the new iMac's will also be able to server some number of machines sans hub? That would make a small home network even easier for most, since they may not have to buy any additional accesories...just an iMac and an iBook to get started.
  • Egad! For some reason, my linebreaks didn't work. And there I could have sworn I had "Plain Old Text" selected. Alas... Sorry for the mess :\

    And here are the HTMLized links: DVD Standard or BTO in Next iMacs? [dailyimac.com], and General Kihei Rumor Compilation [dailyimac.com].
    Enjoy...

    Amy
  • For most companies/organizations, you just can't beat Macintosh's total cost of ownership (tco). Sure, they may cost a little (or a lot) more to begin with, even though this margin is constantly shrinking for comparable hardware (vs x68, windows). But, when you get into training, administration, support, and the like for average users (non-geeks, the majority at any non-tech company), the TCO for Windows machines goes through the roof, to the point of doubling or tripling for Windows boxes vs. Macs per year.

    The point? Sure, you can save a few bucks to being with by going with Windows. Maybe even $100 more per box by going with Linux. But, try giving a secretary a Linux box; intimidation city! Even worse with Windows: it's too easy to break things (or to have them break on their own or not work for some nonspecific reason or etc etc).

    What Macs have going for them is that they tend to work and, when they don't, are usually easily fixable, often by a non-expert.

    I've seen this especially in a graphics company in which I used to work. About half the place (the graphics people) had Macs, the rest PCs with Windows. There was a dozen-person MIS dept keeping the PCs going and they were still frequently down. The Macs were kept up internally by the graphic designers (who, it might be added, were giving their computers more fo a workout than the marketing and sales types their PCs). It should also be added that the entire MIS dept was MS-trained/certified (ha!).

    If one is a computer enthusiast (programmer, administrator, nerd, geek, etc) you might not want a Mac for your own system. But, you definitely want them for any users you're supporting. To be able to recommend and put your users on a platform that is always up and that garners few compliants is a great thing and will give you plenty of time to hone those q3a skills, which is really what it's all bout, right?

    --Andrew Grossman
    grossdog@dartmouth.edu
  • Umm...how young are you?

    Old enough to remember using hires color graphics on a TI PC clone in 1984, and to know that a molded plastic case isn't a particularly stunning technology innovation.

    HP was putting 3.5" floppies in their PCs circa 1983-84. Apple had an easy to use IP stack before Windblows did, but too bad none of the MacOS native networking clients could use IP as a transport until very recently (Appleshare IP). Truetype was an Apple *AND* Microsoft development, hardly an Apple technology triumph. Apple standardized on SCSI for disk drives, but that only made them REALLY expensive, and for some reason Apple never modernized the SCSI bus they used in their PCs beyond a lame 5 MB/sec and a totally non-standard SCSI interface with all the grounds tied together. The mouse follows the GUI (which I already give Apple a ton of credit for), and again, it wasn't a technology that Apple developed. Neither was PostScript from Adobe, but I will give Apple some credit for popularizing it in combination with their LaserWriter printers.
  • You guys really have to work on your Apple reporting. It makes you look bad. =) First off, Graphite is the least likely color in existance for the new iMacs to be. Steve said that color would be for their professional line. (Wow I want a Graphite/White G4 PowerBook!) And iMacs are not part of their profesissional line. Puut the two lines of code together boys. It may be an option (heck I would like them to be graphite.) , but is ridiculously umnlikely. If you need Apple Info look at www.macosrumors.com. They _seem_ to be the most accurate. (AppleInsider has done so much false info its ridiculous... I know (I'm an Apple Tester... Shhh!)
  • Apple has had technical certification for years. You need it to do warranty repairs, and you're supposed to have it if you work for an authorized service provider. But Macs are easy enough to fix that most in-house IT folks never bother to get certified, though.

    And besides the fact that Intel sucks, Mac resistance has never been processor-based. It's always been resistance to the OS itself, and to a lesser extent the nonstandard hardware interfaces Apple used to use. (Nubus, ADB, two different non-VGA video connectors, etc.)
  • Even if I had encryption that every expert assured me could not be cracked for the next thousand years, I'd still prefer not to broadcast the encrypted data. Much less if I am not bothering with encryption.

    What about the /etc/passwd file?

    You are more or less broadcasting the most secret information on the system to every user, yet you trust it.

    Geez, next people will be saying that having secret passwords or not broadcasting the private key of public key cryptograpy is "security through obscurity." Something needs to be secret.

    No people should memorize their private keys (after all, the key is only about keylength/5 (100 - 400 today) characters in alphanumerics, if we start training our children from kindergarten they should manage). :-)


    -
    /. is like a steer's horns, a point here, a point there and a lot of bull in between.
  • I found a bunch more at this url [unh.edu].

    I couldn't locate the Mac zealot URL that states Apple invented wireless.. do you remember where you saw it?? :)

    Wireless that doesn't suck *is* new tho. Knee-jerk labeling is IMO just as bad as zealotry...

  • If you were to put linux on a G4 I can just imagine how impressive your framerate would be gee it's a supercomputer on a chip, with a sustained performance of over one gigaflop. It has a lot of fun things that Intel-based computers have, like UDMA/66 drives, 2X AGP, and a 100MHz Front side bus. It also has a 1MB L2 cache that runs at half the core speed of the CPU, which runs at 500MHz for now. That's it, If I can run linux quake on there, I'm getting one. Well, and if I ever get any money, too.

    Digital Theatre News [dtheatre.com]
    -------------------------------------------
  • Nah. Steve Jobs has always hated floppies. The NeXT didn't have a floppy drive either, and that was years ago.

    Personally I think it is really LAME that the PC industry hasn't been able to come up with anything better than a floppy as a standard for removable R/W media. Many many files just don't FIT on a floppy - you really need something with larger capacity.

    This is really up to the PC industry to fix, but they won't because whatever the possibilities are it going to cost at least 0.02 cents more than that cheap floppy drive.

    Apple has it right. Leave out the floppy and let the industry come up with a new defacto standard which they can later incorporate into their machines.

  • I'm aware of AirPort's built-in encryption; I've been comparing it only to a theoretical wired system with the same security features.
  • Hey, hey, slow down there junior. Your post was pretty annoying the first time, posting it again with more paragraph space didn't help it any.

    And no, you don't want an iMac, it would be a fatal blow to your fragile ego if you couldn't show off your arcane computer knowledge at ever turn.

    cheers,

    Matthew Reilly
  • I dunno 'bout that. I work for an insurance company. They buy just about everything from IBM. They have two AS/400s (production and Y2K test--they write their own AS/400 software, BTW) and several large IBM laser printers.

    They broke their software during a major upgrade a few months ago, and guys from IBM came up to fix the problem.

    Yes, buying everything (computers, printers, service, tech support, etc.) from IBM (in this case) appears to cost more. That's before you take into consideration the rapport developed between the company and IBM (VPs of divisions are calling the MIS to explain why a problem with a model of printer hasn't been fixed yet) and how it has a way of expediting matters.

    Corporations tend to have money. That's why they can piss millions away on such sundries as Windows 2000 and new versions of Office. It's far easier for accounting to keep track of ONE BILL from ONE COMPANY than it is to keep several different vendors straight. Yes, it costs more, but corporations are dumping enough money in IS today to afford it.
  • Why does Apple keep using the ATI Rage 128 video cards. If they want to have the best graphics PC around, why don't they use one of the newer video cards like a TNT 2, or later this month, they could use a GeForce256 based card.
  • Of course it's news, silly. Since Apple has always been known to influence the future of the whole cpmputing industry, it's generally a good idea to keep watching their moves.

    It's hard to see how new case colors or minor changes in the internals can be considered "influencing the future of the whole computing industry." I know that Apple fanatics would like to believe that this is the case, but I don't see it.

    Besides, Apple influenced the computer industry ONCE by adopting the GUI. How many other influential Apple technologies have been adopted? Is there a general rush on to imitate MacOS advanced process and memory management? Sophisticated filesystem?

    In fact, the truth is that the only "new" technology that Apple has some responsibility for, FireWire, is NOT being adopted en masse by the computer industry. The reverse is actually true, Apple is using technologies adopted by other companies -- like IDE and USB. Hardly a case for industry leadership on Apple's part.

  • MacOS is a horrible choice for Schools (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I don't see how even ONE iMac was sold to schools over the past year... It really saddens me to see schools use their already limited funding to purchase over hyped, underpowered computers running an ancient and somewhat broken OS. Ok, so spend $1100 on an iMac (or iMac II)....

    Then, once AppleWorks 5.0 gets old, the job of hunting down MacOS software (and at a decent price) can be a chore, especially when you're talking about site licenses for educational software.

    And don't get me started on the need to run Norton Utilities (or at least Disk First Aid) on a regular basis, as well as "rebuilding the desktop" and "zapping the PRAM".

    School wants to get some DVD-based encyclopedias, out of luck there, unless you want to spend a small fortune on USB-based drives, but heck, it's a Mac, school outta be used to spending large amounts of money by now.

    It's really sad to see that schools are buying into the Apple snake oil, especially with our tax dollars.

  • Everyone I know with an iMac has upgraded the RAM to at least 64MB. Most mailorder houses throw in an upgrade when you order an iMac.

    Since dealer margins on the iMac are between extremely low and non-existant, keeping memory below minimum is a well-known trick to give dealers an opportunity to offer something extra.

  • Come on. The Brits are the originators of english so give them a break they made it let speak it any fucking way they want.
    ( Notice the "re" instead of "er" )
    v
    Digital Theatre News [dtheatre.com]
    -------------------------------------------
  • Since then, there've been rumors that apple's been keeping OS-X development syncronized on x86 and PowerPC, but Apple's kept completely mum on the subject.

    Remember: Rhapsody/OS X is built on Mach. According to a friend who works in the Apple Enterprise Whatever (The Division Formerly Known As NeXT), all they'd have to do to "synchronize" development is to keep the x86 Mach bits updated. He refused to comment as to whether they were actually doing this, though.

    Yes, abstraction IS a Good Thing(TM).
  • I'd be really surprised if most of this ended up being true. First off, the iMacs with flat screens aren't due till 2000. They'd just be too expensive right now. Also, who needs Firewire on a consumer machine? It just adds cost and another port which will confuse newbiews. And DVD? Are you going to stick the machine in your living room and watch movies on its 15" screen? It'll probably have AirPort, more RAM, G4 chip, bigger HD, and new design. It'll still be a CRT monitor, although probably a larger viewable screen. As for the color, I think Apple should just stick to the current 5. It's not meant for corporate use, so why should corporate people care what color it is? And why is Slashdot posting rumors instead of actual news?
  • Does anyone know if SGI sells their cases without any hardware in them?

  • Do you really need to have upgradability anymore?
    ie.
    today:
    - imac $1200 (333mhz)
    - tower g3 (350mhz) w/monitor $2100+

    what do you get for that $900?
    - a bigger harddrive and very slightly faster processer (whoopie!?!)
    - firewire only good if you do digital video

    5 years from now:
    imac - sell it for a few hundred and take that $900 you saved and buy the latest version of the imac
    tower g3 - spend another $1000+ on a bigger hardrive, video card, more ram and upgraded processer. All this extra money and you still won't have a machine as fast or as good as the lastest version of the imac because you will be running with slower ram and bus speeds.
  • Hey, if they bundled Quake III with the LAN packages? Instant Quake? Nice thought.

    Rob
    ----------------------------------------------
    2 / 0 = E? Bloody calculator has bugs in it!
  • I'm no radio expert, and don't know the details of the AirPort spec, but how easy would it be to jam a network that relied on these?

    Can any punk with a 1/2 watt transmitter point it at your office and take down your network? Seems like a great and cheap way to incapactate the competition, and the SOHO market doesn't exactly have easy access or the even the mindset to call the FCC and track down attackers.

    Are they using some kind of spread-spectrum packet radio to make this more difficult?

  • Everyone's paranoid. Yeah, maybe people out there COULD tap my Internet connection, but who would WANT to? If the government really wants to watch me surf through articles on /., be my guest. Yes, they could maybe steal passwords or credit card numbers if they got through the encryption, but people have been stealing card numbers since credit cards began! This doesn't mean more people will be doing it, it just means they'll go about doing it in a different way.
  • Apple is a hardware company, not a software company. Putting Mac OS version whatever on Intel would cause them to sell less Macs, which is just plain dumb. They'd rather sell 2 millions Macs in a year and have 2 million people using MacOS than sell 1 million Macs in a year and have 10 million people using MacOS. Stop thinking like Microsoft! :)
  • That build is long gone. It was basically OpenStep with a cobbled together Mac-like interface that ran on then shipping powerpc's just to give developers a taste of Objective C...

    Since then, there've been rumors that apple's been keeping OS-X development syncronized on x86 and PowerPC, but Apple's kept completely mum on the subject. They may have just done it when there was a little more uncertainity of IBM and Motorolla's commitments to the PowerPC...
  • Bring BEos to the G4. I'm sick of the Apple monopoly.
  • Whoa, there! Living languages are FAR from perfect, they are ever-changing and dynamic (read adjective again above). The French language has WAY fewer exceptions to rules than English, so don't be slammin' them, yo!
  • apparently, the prospect of a new iMac isn't enough to keep our brief attentions focussed.

    "The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
  • If you count the subwoofer it wasn't...
  • As an biege G3 user, I will have to agree here. I was lucky enough to see one of IBM's really big servers not to long ago in person. There were two of them, pitch black with matching monitor, kbd, mouse and rack. That thing just screamed power. Especially when put next to a biege Compaq. If color and style have no place in "serious computing", just take a look at some of the old pictures of mainframes. Supposedly, when IBM was building its first mainframe, Thomas Watson wanted the columns in the room removed so everyone could see the whole machine. That couldn't be dome becuase the columns were holding up the room, so they were removed from all photos of the machine.
    Dark, imposing, something that says "Bow down and worship the raised floor I stand on" really speaks to people in a emotional way that a biege box with a spec list just does not.
    To expend this logic a bit further, I really don't see Joe Average lusting after a Honda Accord, even though that's what he drives. The auto manufacturers know that when he wants is Firebird with the Ram Air Injection and the really big engine. That's the same nerve that Apple has exposed. It's called want.
  • A Fast Ethernet switch for $50/port? Where are you getting this info from; I'd love to buyt a switch from them if it's that cheap.

    I might also add that NetBoot over AirPort actually works quite well; ever seen it? Spiffy, to say the least.

    And yeah, you can get a decent Ethernet card for $50 and spend the extra money on cabling (buying the card would be pointless seeing as how every Mac made in the last ten years comes with Ethernet already). But the switch is still the problem. At $50 a port for 11 ports, that would be $550 (I might add that the AirPort handles the same number of devices for $300; that's quite a bit of savings).

    In short, for a small home network of five devices, AirPort and 100Base-T cost the same amount, assuming $50/port for a switch which could handle the same number of devices as an AirPort, and $50 for good Ethernet cards. However, also consider that 100Base-T is severe overkill for a network of only five devices, and even at ten you're only just starting to feel a severe crunch on bandwidth. Then, of course, there's the ease of use of the AirPort network; 100Base-T can't beat that.

    Consider this also: if the rumors that a single G4 can act as an AirPort are true, then the cost of 11 AirPort cards is the same as that of 11 Ethernet cards and a fast switch at $50/port. This, of course, assumes that you want to use the G4 on the network, and it's already installed (you'd have to buy a machine to act as a server on the 100Base-T network anyway).

    So in the end, for a home LAN the AirPort is actually ideal. For a business LAN... maybe if the business were really small. But businesses should be using higher-end solutions anyway. The AirPort was designed as a home and classroom LAN solution, and at this it excels.
  • Yes! - but, doesn't the shape matter? I'm sure some people, especially people who want square, beige boxes on their desks, don't like Apple's current designs. But can't that change? Who says that the world can't adapt to rounder shapes, and more colorful designs? I think we need to wait, and see where the world goes as far as computer design is concerned. I, for one, like my iMac in Bondi Blue, and haven't looked back since switching to a more colorful, rounded computer, and as more peripherals come out in colors, it will become harder and harder to resist the overwhelming pressure to buy products that come in colors.

    It's not just computers, too. There are numerous other products now on the market that come in colors.

    Colors are here to stay, and there's no way to stop them!
  • prolly right. While LCD is probably THE ideal technology for the iMac "design philosophy", there is one element of LCD which is counter to that - price.

    LCD is still the denizen of the extremely well-to-do computer hobbyist, or the graphics professional. Until someone can figure out how to really mass produce these things, forget it.

    "The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
  • They create variations on the standard PC theme, but its not like "Wow, a Mac can do that and my PC can't do anything even close to it".
    Granted, you're right about some of that... but show me a PC in gigaflops. G4 can do that. Because G4 is good. :)
  • iMac is definitely a first-time buyer's machine. The whole point of it is that it's cheaper and easier! You get what you pay for. No upgrading. If you think you'll want to upgrade, save a little, wait, and buy a G3 (or a new G4, Yay!).
  • No, better still, they'll strike a deal with Oreo.
  • There are some wireless LAN solutions available for PCs, but as far as I know they all require you to install a base station.

    Lucent's WaveLan -- at least the first and second generation -- allow for peer-to-peer communication.
  • If you really want to simplify language, I suggest that you read George Orwell's 1984. One of the consequences of simplifying language was that it removed the possibility for entire concepts to be conveyed. For instance the entire term for freedom was replaced with 'thoughtcrime'. I should think Microsoft would dig Newspeak (The simplified English Language) They could replace all kinds of words with 'thoughtcrime'! Instead of 'picking up an awesome new iMac' you would have 'purchased doubleunplusgood computercrime' Sorry, intentional language modification always makes me think of 1984 ;)
  • 32mb RAM would be a mistake. Not that Apple hasn't made that one before - hey Steve, why not NO RAM?

    Even though I think the iMac was a GREAT idea, especially the ballsy "no floppy" part, I'd say that 90% of the people I've talked to who have iMacs, HATE them, they're too slow.
    Why?
    Not the blazing G3 processor?

    No.
    the base 32MB RAM, which most basic users (iMac's main target demographic) won't upgrade. 32MB RAM+MacOS primative VM= SLOOOOOWWW computing experience. For every person who complained I recommended going to 64MB, (the original G3 pro had a promotion to upgrade from 32 to 64 for free, and that worked GREAT for my desktop!). For every person who DID follow my rec. there was a happy camper.

    "The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
  • Less than one day of inventory in channel? Holee Cow!

    Y'know, a well kept secret is that Apple's past financial problems weren't because people didn't want to buy Macs. The problem was that Apple's assembly lines were doggedly churning out low end models nobody wanted while the models people did want couldn't be had for love or money. I once got one of the few 540c "Blackbirds" to be had because we told Apple we were doing a demo for the President of the United States (kind of a half truth -- he was in the same room as the powerbook doing the demo, but was not interested. We did get some interest from the secret service though.)

    Now if they could only do something to win back the confidence of developers, that would be something indeed.

  • Wait a minute.... first, the G4 500 numbers are estimated, second, I have actual results for http://infopad.eecs.berkeley.ed u/CIC/summary/local/ [berkeley.edu] where the K7 650's SPECfp score is 0.2 points higher than the one given by Archintosh [architosh.com], third... Maserati failed to mention the SPECint95 results:


    CPU Int FP

    K7 550 23.6/20.6
    K7 600 27.2/21.6
    K7 650 29.4/22.4

    P3 550 22.2/15.0
    P3 600 24.0/15.9

    G4 450 21.4/20.4
    G4 500 23.8/22.6***


    please note: I estimated the G4 500's SPECint score by dividing the G4 450's score by 450 and then multiplying by 500, rounding up

    the SPECfp95 estimate is from the Archintosh website...




    _______________________________________________
    There is no statute of limitation on stupidity.

  • Since the Mach parts have the source released in Darwin, and apparently the x86 stuff is in there.
    --

  • Schools (Score:2)

    by alta ( 1263 )
    This is GREAT news for schools. Many schools that can finally afford to have new computers, can't afford the networking. Sure some LUG may volunteer to wire a school, but that usually just doesn't happen.
    Most elementry schools consist of on Mac server, with the librarian as the admin, and a bunch of clients. This is wonderful news for them!

  • G4 vs PIII vs Athlon SPECfp95 comparisons (Score:3)

    by Maserati ( 8679 ) on Tuesday September 07, 1999 @06:53AM (#1698044) Homepage Journal
    Okay folks, someone finally did the three-way comparison we've (almost) all been waiting for: this URL [architosh.com] contains a comparison of todays three leading processors, the G4, the PIII and AMD's Athlon.

    The centerpiece is the SPECfp95 comparison. At the top of the three lines we have:

    1. AMD Athlon 650MHz: 22.2
    2. Intel Pentium 600 MHz: 15.9
    3. PPC G4 500 MHz: 22.6

    There are a few caveats about these numbers, most notably are the fact that the faster systems aren't currently shipping.

    Honestly, I expected the Athlon to beat the G4. But even an extra 150MHz didn't do the trick.

  • rumored? it's true! the new G4 can be a basestation via SW - correction- the NEW AGP graphics G4 (with the airport expansion card installed) can be a basestation via SW.

    it's really neat-o if you ask me. iMacs w/ Airport and SW basestation is GO!, too if what i've seen/read is correct.

    if you think about it, it only makes sense. an iMac buzzing along with 10 iBooks strewed about some living room in people's laps, all playing Quake or whatnot... and no wires.

    "one person, one computer"

  • AirPort is the real story (Score:4)

    by geethree ( 38366 ) on Tuesday September 07, 1999 @02:57AM (#1698059)
    As cool as the G4's and the iMacs are, I still believe the AirPort wireless networking is the real coup for Apple. Too many people are focusing on the color and design aspects of the latest offerings and forgetting the breakthrough that Airport affords the SOHO and business project group people.

    People... we're talking about wireless networking at Ethernet speeds. Dosen't anyone else see the implications of this, or is everyone still trying to focus on industrial design and color? Tell me of a competing product that can match this, and forget the whiney assed complaints about the OS.

    Give them a year and M$ will claim that they invented AirPort instead of Lucent and Apple.

    'nuff said.

  • LCD? No way...yet (Score:3)

    by imac.usr ( 58845 ) on Tuesday September 07, 1999 @02:58AM (#1698060) Homepage
    The Paris date has been suggested by several Mac rumor sites, but the LCD part is way off base. Apple just poured US$100 million into Samsung to help ramp up production of the iBook (IIRC, one of the reasons the iBook sells for US$1599 was because of unexpected increases in the costs of flat-panel screens). It's very unlikely that in the middle of a screen shortage now expected to last until 2001 they would add one to their best-selling machine.

    Besides, adding an LCD would pretty much necessitate a total redesign of the machine; after all, what's the point of having a giant empty shell around where the monitor used to be? Again, doubtful in the short term.

    Now, once they've got enough iBooks floating around, and the Cinema Display is unbundled from the G4 machines, then perhaps it will be time to look at this issue again.

    Wouldn't mind upgrading my rev. B to a G4, though, I can tell you that. :-]


  • iMac II? Oh man, what's next? (Score:3)

    by webslacker ( 15723 ) on Tuesday September 07, 1999 @03:00AM (#1698064)
    iMac IIc
    iMac IIx
    iMac IIvx
    iMac IIfx
    iMac LC
  • does anybody know of anything similar that will go in an x86 pc? By similar, I mean cool like AirPort, especially the 11mbs part.

    For the 11 Mbps part, I'm not sure. There are some wireless LAN solutions available for PCs, but as far as I know they all require you to install a base station. The nice thing about AirPort is the ad-hoc networking: minimal setup, any machine can talk to any other machine without having to install extra hardware.

    There are some rumours that some motherboards of x86 PCs may integrate BlueTooth [bluetooth.com] chips in a few months. BlueTooth does not provide the same bandwidth as AirPort (100 times less), but it also provides the ad-hoc networking and it is supposed to be integrated in all kinds of devices, so that you could have your phone, your keyboard, your mouse, or any other device connected to your PC without wires and without requiring a line-of-sight like the IrDa stuff.

  • Re:Heh..iMac II? (Score:3)

    by znu ( 31198 ) <znu.public@gmail.com> on Tuesday September 07, 1999 @03:20AM (#1698090)
    Welcome to the world of the average personal computer user. The person who never upgrades, not even RAM. PCI? What's that mean? The person who isn't going to _ever_ fill up a 10GB hard drive with their Word files and recipe database. The person who doesn't do anything that an iMac can't do in under a second. The person who doesn't do anything that an iMac can't do in under a second. Multitasking? Many of them don't even understand how to use more than one program at once. They don't know what a Zip drive is, and don't know why they'd want one.

    This is the target market for the iMac. This is also the majority of users. They don't want to have to know anything about their computers, and it's easier for them to buy a new computer every 3 years that for them to learn about them to the extent they can upgrade. It's not that they're dumb. It's that they don't care. They want to use their computer like a toaster.

    Upgradability is not something these people are ever likely to care about, and it makes the initial purchase price of the computer higher. Which is something they will care about.

    --
  • I used to work for a school district near Dallas. We had 2 Techs and 60 schools. Something on the order or 1000-1500 macs.

    The AIO Macs were a godsend, as they required far less maintenance (2 techs, entire district, as opposed to a single tech for each PC lab we had). And I can only think of one instance where we upgraded anything. We had to stick an extra 16mb RAM chip in all of the AIO LC575's and LC580's so that the teachers could run netscape (on a whopping 24mb of RAM). Our teachers/librarians were able to do anything short of formating the hard drive (minor exceptions applied)...

    When the iMac came along, we rejoiced. The (then) current line of Mac AIO computers were G3's that massed a killer 60lbs and were as unweildy as a wet tuna with KY smeared all over it. My fellow tech and I were able to set up 23 new labs (approx 30 imacs each) in just under a month. Our main bottle neck was waiting for the wiring tech to install Cat 5 wiring for us. With AirPort, .... all I can say is "wow."
  • The wireless networking cards currently out for PC's should wirk with the AirPort (I know Farallon makes one which does).

    The catch: these cards are only running at 2 MBps, rather than 11. But they'll work until the 11-MBps cards are developed, anyway.
  • I dunno, could US$100M get Samsung to build an entire factory entirely for Apple? Just because PCs are experience a screen shortage doesn't mean Apple has to!

    Anyhow, it isn't all that absurd that the iMac use a LCD screen. If I am not mistaken, it's internals are very much similar to the iBook... I think Apple is(internally) using the UMA, unified motherboard architecture, to cut costs. Besides, the iMac/iBook/Powerbook are very similar, actually. Small form factor. Limited upgradeability. Low Power. I mean, how much motherboard, memory, hard disk, speakers, and CPU can one fit inside an iMac shell, with a 15" monitor(and heat source!) in the way? With an LCD they could add larger speakers, remove all fans entirely, and add glowing flashing neon lights inside the case(ugh)

    I myself don't believe there will be an LCD with iMacII (or is it iiMac?) but it isn't unfeasible or impossible by a long shot.

    -AS

  • Convergence (Score:2)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Apple's been pretty reluctant lately about going after the big corporate accounts, but they've been slowly putting the pieces together: NetBoot and Mac OS X Server, the upcoming Mac OS X, migrating from AppleTalk to regular TCP/IP, VGA ports instead of the old Mac ports, standards-based AirPort, and now apparently a more business-colored iMac. It looks like they're trying to put the pieces together first before storming the castle. Good planning.

    --

    not anonymous, just lazy

  • Anyone notice... (Score:3)

    by vitaflo ( 20507 ) on Tuesday September 07, 1999 @03:52AM (#1698115) Homepage
    Has anyone noticed that Apple seems to be "listening" these days? Seems to me that now, whenever a great number of people want a certain thing, Apple responds. Examples:

    Build a cheap Mac for once: iMac

    Build a cheep notebook for once: iBook

    You're not an open source company!: Darwin

    Your OS isn't "modern": OS X

    Man, flat panel displays are cool: Cinema Display

    I wanna network my house, but I don't want cords everywhere!: Airport

    Beige is boring: iMac colors

    Those iMac colors are too fruity! I want graphite!: Graphite G4 and iMac II

    When I look back just a couple years, it's amazing how far this company has come. I think it's response to the current state of computing in all areas of society (and clever marketing) has really been what's turned Apple around. I just hope they stay with this mindset...

  • It's interesting about the colors (Score:4)

    by konstant ( 63560 ) on Tuesday September 07, 1999 @04:26AM (#1698116)
    This post is not a knock against Apple. Only an observation.

    What I find most remarkable about the new genesis of Mac's is not the hardware, which is undeniably exciting, but the influence the color seems to have. The poster of this article is probably right - their silver/shimmery grey new color combo is almost certainly aimed towards people who want to believe they have "serious" work to do, much as the bubbly tangerine, etc. hues were directed toward people intimidated by beige. What PHB will feel quite confident in his image with a "lime" ball on his desktop?

    Nearly 40 years along in the development of computer technology and we have arrived at a point where the most potent selling point of a new machine is the way it makes you feel psychologically to have it on your desk.

    May marketing live forever!

    Not that this is very different from what has driven computers in the past few years, namely geeks who believe that there is some sort of ratio between the MHz on their chip and the power in their pants... :) I fall prey to this myself.

    The most peculiar thing about humans is the divergance between what they claim is important to them and what evidence demonstrates they actually care about.

    -konstant
  • I heard on the Seybold floor from an Apple rep that(via software???) the G4s could either talk to each other without an Airport card or they could serve a handful of computers without an Airport bay, one of those(or maybe both) options. I couldn't quite figure out what they meant... Would the G4 run special calculations on the Velocity engine and 'transmit' on RF that way? I thought all the G4 had was a pair of antennas?


    -AS
  • IIANM Aiport uses the IEEE 802.11 Wavelan industry standard. PC compatible devices should be out this month or next month from Lucent or 3com. I'm not sure that wiring a building is all that great, anyway. It means one has to rewire when configurations change, when you go from 10 to 100, from 100 to gigabit, etc. Wireless(though slightly more expensive) offers flexibility and convenience at all levels-but I guess some people don't need/care for it.


    -AS
  • Apple should use the same naming conventions automobiles do, that is, add the year to the end. So you would have iMac 1998, iMac 1999, and iMac 2000.

    The only possible problem is that Microsoft already does that with their OS and software, but for software I always thought it rather stupid, as the shelf life can be significantly longer. For hardware it makes sense, because Apple is doing at least one revision a year.

    But don't ask me what to do when there are two versions in the same year....maybe add season? Powerbook G3 Summer 1999? :)
  • The new 'graphite' look is obviously designed to appeal to PHB's and wearers of grey suits

    No.

    Some of us out here prefer the original Casablanca to the colorized. Some of us think a NeXT cube in any color but black would be stupid-looking (even in SGI metallic purple it just wouldn't look right). Some people in this world prefer Akira to Pokemon, Empire Strikes Back to Phantom Menace, Ani DiFranco to Christina Aguilera. Does taste require that we prefer happy cheerful things, or that the only reason someone would offer black as a color is so people with monochrome brains and monochrome lives would buy it? I am an artist, a so-called creative type - should everything I own be painted in dayglo or 70s racecar metallic purple? Or do you just think that the graphite scheme merely represents a lack of color, rather than a color to itself?

    I don't know who Apple designed the Graphite scheme for, but I DO know - and I suspect Apple knows - that there are lots of artists and creative types who like a touch of oomph to things, serious oomph with ass-kicking potential, and would rather have something imposing and monochrome and dark as opposed to a bright happy jellybean. Has nothing to do with PHBs and suits - and in fact a PHB would STILL be unhappy with the brooding presence of a graphite iMac, and would continue to be unhappy until it shipped in opaque beige.

    A hint: PHBs and suits never list black as their favorite color.
  • So I looked into this because of the iBook.

    Lucent(and everyone else, btw) is releasing this fall(probably Sept, when iBooks ship) something called Wavelan(???), and industry standard extension to IEEE 802.11 which scales to 64nodes per station and 200ft away from the node. Apple, to cut costs, only does 10/11 nodes per station and 150ft from the node for the iBook. G4s and iMacs may support the full 64 node 200 ft thing, btw.

    Lucent will sell PC Card and ISA adaptors for Wavelan, with 11Mbit(same as Airport) bandwidth. THey can be hooked into peer networks(if small), hubs(around a station), or LANs(stations connected to convnetional ethernet).

    See! Lucent and 3Com both talk about it!


    -AS

  • In reality, this is probably an obscurity, not a security matter. Unencrypted information is not safe on the office network anyways, so if you are relying on the physical seperation of the network you are not very secure.

    Of course, I am aware 99% procent of all businesses (including everywhere I have worked) DO rely on the physical seperation for all but the most secret information, but still.

    I do agree about the cost thing though. Built in wireless lans are a good thing because they get lans into the households, but for any bussiness that can afford to hire a highschool kid to pull the wires, ethernet will always be faster, cheaper, and easier.

    Standards would be nice to, home lans are all the cooler if they can interact with non computer electronics...

    -
    /. is like a steer's horns, a point here, a point there and a lot of bull in between.
  • Well have you considered the possibility that this is interesting to a lot of other nerds besides yourself? Sure, most of the unix news isn't interesting to me, but I understand that there's thousands of other people out there who do care about unix, or open-source issues, palm pilots, etc, so I don't complain when there's news that I don't care for.
  • Why would a PC lab be cheaper? iBook + Airport Card = $1699 or iMac + Airport Card = $1100(hypothetical) and G4 with Station = $1599 + $200 + $500(monitor) so 64 iMacs = $70,400 64 Dells(with networking and monitor) = $56,768 Assume the PC server is priced similarly(it does need more memory, HD, networking, etc!) Apple = $72,609 PC = $59,067 Now, how much does it cost to wire a building for 64(min) connections? How long? How much effort? Also, how much does it cost to hire a sysadmin for the NT/9x network? For the Apple network(with Airport?) If the difference is less than $13,542 the PC networks are cheaper. I don't know that it is... but I suspect not.

    -AS
  • The revision A and B iMacs had infrared (IRDA) technology, same as what is in several of the Powerbooks. This was located in the front of the machine.

    IRDA was removed in the "fruity" iMac line, partly because it didn't market very well. However, the other reason is that Apple was already working toward a synergy with the iBook, which does not have IRDA but does have AirPort.

    Wireless tech will be in all Apple products very soon. iBook has it, the new G4 has it, so both consumer and pro lines are heading in that direction. The next revision Powerbook will probably drop infrared and pick up AirPort too.
  • But the MacOSRumors site says *not* to expect iMacII(or is it iiMac?) to be unveiled in France...

    We'll see who has the better contacts, eh? Finally able to read the Japan Apple Watch article, it got slashdotted pretty bad.

    On a side note, I don't believe there will be an LCD. Just *too* expensive for the home user/consumer right now. It'd be cheaper to go from a 15" to 19" CRT than from a 15"CRT to a 15"LCD!

    So I'm more likely to believe the conservative 400MHz G3 with Rage128 on board an a 16"/17" monitor and Airport built in...

    My 2 cents

    -AS
  • The usually very reliable MacOS Rumors [macosrumors.com] quotes soruces as saying, probably not at Paris- probably not until November. We can play with rumors all we want, but none of us really know a thing...

    (Besides, Apple has to ramp up production of iBooks and the new PowerMac- where are they going to make iMacs?)

  • Re:It's interesting about the colors (Score:3)

    by IntlHarvester ( 11985 ) on Tuesday September 07, 1999 @04:53AM (#1698160) Journal
    Nearly 40 years along in the development of computer technology and we have arrived at a point where the most potent selling point of a new machine is the way it makes you feel psychologically to have it on your desk.

    Like the 1920s when General Motors blew past Ford by offering cars that actually came in different colors and styles? It's actually suprising that computer companies took so long to figure this out. (Although IBM has been trying with it's cool black equipment.)

    It's also no shock that Apple is the first to figure this out. They've probably got the largest user base of people who don't really know or care anything about the inside of the computer. Something has to convince them to replace their crusty old Performas.

    --

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