[Drakino]

Whatever this rumored headless Mac is, an interesting theory about what it will do for Apple was posted in Robert Cringely's predictions for 2005.

3) Apple will take a big risk in 2005. This could be in the form of a major acquisition. With almost $6 billion in cash, Steve Jobs hinted to a group of employees not long ago that he might want to buy something big, though I am at a loss right now for what that might be. Or Apple might decide to throw some of that cash into the box along with new computers by deliberately losing some money on each unit in order to buy market share.


We might see that as early as next week with the rumored introduction of an el-cheapo Mac without a display. The price for that box is supposed to be $499, which would give customers a box with processor, disk, memory, and OS into which you plug your current display, keyboard, and mouse. Given that this sounds a lot like AMD's new Personal Internet Communicator, which will sell for $185, there is probably plenty of profit left for Apple in a $499 price. But what if they priced it at $399 or even $349? Now make it $249, where I calculate they'd be losing $100 per unit. At $100 per unit, how many little Macs could they sell if Jobs is willing to spend $1 billion? TEN MILLION and Apple suddenly becomes the world's number one PC company. Think of it as a non-mobile iPod with computing capability. Think of the music sales it could spawn. Think of the iPod sales it would hurt (zero, because of the lack of mobility). Think of the more expensive Mac sales it would hurt (zero, because a Mac loyalist would only be interested in using this box as an EXTRA computer they would otherwise not have bought). Think of the extra application sales it would generate and especially the OS upgrade sales, which alone could pay back that $100. Think of the impact it would have on Windows sales (minus 10 million units). And if it doesn't work, Steve will still have $5 billion in cash with no measurable negative impact on the company. I think he'll do it.

Source.

I think it is definitly an interesting theory. And now with all the spyware mess on the PC side and the success of the iPod, this might be the right time to try such a move.

[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

I hate the idea of a $500 headless unless it acts as a media centre.

[CharlesS]

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
I hate the idea of a $500 headless unless it acts as a media centre.

Why?

[PurpleGiant]

Originally posted by CharlesS:
Why?

'Cause what else will he be able to complain about otherwise?

[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

Originally posted by CharlesS:
Why?

Because I can't see someone getting a nice sexy sleek Mac and sticking some old beige CRT monitor on it so save a few bucks.

It cheapens the brand.

[Link]

I bet whatever it is, it's not going to "just be a pizza box" you can shove under a monitor or hide in a hutch, it'll probably be more like a PSTwo where the drive/ventillation is in such a way that you can't really hide it.

I think they should call it the iCheap

[Randman]

You people are really silly. How can you deride something without knowing the specifics? Come back after the announcement, then let's talk.

[moonmonkey]

That article is a POS, he seems to think Apple released a G6 last year.

[CharlesS]

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
Because I can't see someone getting a nice sexy sleek Mac and sticking some old beige CRT monitor on it so save a few bucks.

It cheapens the brand.

Better get rid of the Power Mac too, then, to avoid people using a beige CRT monitor with it. Better get rid of the monitor ports on the PowerBooks and iBooks, too, while you're at it.

And you know, it's not like Apple is the only company out there that makes nice monitors. And why on earth does everyone need to spend $999 on a monitor, anyway? I know that's out of my price range...

Hell, let's deliberately avoid doing anything that could help market share, because driving Apple out of business so we all have to use cheap, crappy PCs is what we want. Yeah, that's it.

Sheesh. If this machine gets released, and you don't like it, then don't buy one. Apple's business is to make money, not to make sure the whole world conforms to your specific idea of what they should be doing.

[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

Originally posted by CharlesS:
Better get rid of the Power Mac too, then, to avoid people using a beige CRT monitor with it. Better get rid of the monitor ports on the PowerBooks and iBooks, too, while you're at it.

because people who spend $2500 on a PowerMac wouldn't spend $100 on a cheap CRT.

Taking out the CRT of an eMac will not drop a price by $300!!

[CharlesS]

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
because people who spend $2500 on a PowerMac wouldn't spend $100 on a cheap CRT.

How do you know? Maybe people need processing power and don't care about screen quality. Maybe they just wanted a few PCI slots and didn't care about the rest. Or maybe they don't have much money left after dropping $2500 on the PowerMac (although, do remember that there are Power Macs that cost only $1500, or less with edu prices).

Heck, I've got a G4 tower, which was a pretty sweet machine in its day, and I've got a beige monitor with it. Yeah, it's an LCD, but it's beige! Oh NO!

Taking out the CRT of an eMac will not drop a price by $300!!

If the rumor turns out to be BS, then so it is. But we won't find out until the 11th, and until then, bitching about it doesn't make a difference anyway. I hope the rumor is true because this is what the customers have been asking for, and giving customers what they want is generally a good idea when you want to get sales. Not just giving everyone what a single Star Wars guy from Ontario wants.

[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

Originally posted by CharlesS:
Not just giving everyone what a single Star Wars guy from Ontario wants.

Ah shut yet yap. Telling me I am bitching from one comment yet you go on and on about PRO BIG AND BEIGE!

You telling me Apple will cater to what some programmer (who incidentally always have poor design sense) wants?

Why not tell them to ship the iCheap in beige since you don't mind it.

[Link]

You guys have it all wrong. Apple wants their products to be obviously apple products once you see them, think about it for a moment:

Up until now, all their budget machines have been all in ones, not traditional all in ones, but oddly shaped, differently colored, or something that just gets one's attention to the point you *know* that's a mac.

The imac has a wallmount, but because of it's vent system, you can't directly wallmount it. The powerbooks and ibooks, while small and big, have a bright apple logo on the back, the cube had ventillation on the top so that you couldn't put it on top of anything, nor above anything that produces heat, plus because of it's nice design, it's not worth hiding in the first place.

All powermacs have either been too big, required too much ventillation, or were oddly shaped so that you couldn't shove em in a hutch or hide them in some tiny space.

Think about it, sony got this right when they designed their PStwo so that it couldn't be hidden at the bottom of an AV cabinet..

My point? It'll be made so you can't really hide it somehow, which will make it obvious that it's a mac, these things have always "stood out" since Jobs' return.

[jnrjr79]

Originally posted by Link:
You guys have it all wrong. Apple wants their products to be obviously apple products once you see them, think about it for a moment:

Up until now, all their budget machines have been all in ones, not traditional all in ones, but oddly shaped, differently colored, or something that just gets one's attention to the point you *know* that's a mac.

The imac has a wallmount, but because of it's vent system, you can't directly wallmount it. The powerbooks and ibooks, while small and big, have a bright apple logo on the back, the cube had ventillation on the top so that you couldn't put it on top of anything, nor above anything that produces heat, plus because of it's nice design, it's not worth hiding in the first place.

All powermacs have either been too big, required too much ventillation, or were oddly shaped so that you couldn't shove em in a hutch or hide them in some tiny space.

Think about it, sony got this right when they designed their PStwo so that it couldn't be hidden at the bottom of an AV cabinet..

My point? It'll be made so you can't really hide it somehow, which will make it obvious that it's a mac, these things have always "stood out" since Jobs' return.

Yep, this is hitting the nail on the head. Whether people think it's important or not in their own purchases, Apple obviously gives much more thought to the style and presentation of their products than most companies. They believe that the look of their products is important to their consumers. They like their products to look better and more graceful than their PC counterparts and they like to have some sort of harmony among their various products such that you can look at something and almost immediately recognize it as an Apple product. This is why I expect Apple to release some sort of 15'' or 17'' LCD at a somewhat reasonable price point. They'll want to be able to at least create an option for people to keep a consistent Apple aesthetic when they buy the new inexpensive box. Even with the recent slashing of monitor prices, I'm sure they don't expect people to buy a $500 computer and a $1000 lcd. I'm with them on this one. There are other attractive monitor options, but I find most to be ugly as sin. Call it vanity perhaps, but I do care about that. Plus, Apple makes good monitors. I would certainly welcome a smaller and cheaper monitor that I would expect to be of good quality b/c it was an Apple display.

[Link]

What I was mentioning was that almost every apple machine since 1998 has been a billboard of sorts as well, since they automatically stand out.

That's a good way to interpret it though

[juanvaldes]

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
because people who spend $2500 on a PowerMac wouldn't spend $100 on a cheap CRT.

Your right. We use free monitors. My main was a eMachine refurb from a few years back (VX700), my second is a gateway 2000 Vivitron 1776 I got for free from my CS dept.

[chalk_outline]

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
You telling me Apple will cater to what some programmer (who incidentally always have poor design sense) wants?

Why not tell them to ship the iCheap in beige since you don't mind it.

**** the programmers? Who needs software? Give me a cool icon for a program written in RealBasic that calculates my BMI.

[Drakino]

Originally posted by moonmonkey:
That article is a POS, he seems to think Apple released a G6 last year.

Reread it. The G6 comment was confirming his prediction that no "G6" would come out in 2004. Tada, it didn't. Not a great prediction to make, but he probably wanted something Apple related in there, beyond the WalMart music will kill iTMS.

*tries to nudge the topic back*

Knowing Apple, if they do release this mystery product, noone will really know if they are taking a loss or not. Apple is pretty quiet on certain things, like exact percentages of iPod vs iPod Mini, Powerbook vs iBook and such.

Tuesday we get the Keynote, wednesday we get the financial results. Really curious myself how the holiday season went and how much more cash Apple is throwing in the bank. They have to be planning some use for it, and either loss on products, or a takeover of a company sounds reasonable.

The only question is, if they don't intend to use it for loss on product sales, what company would Apple buy?

[CharlesS]

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
You telling me Apple will cater to what some programmer (who incidentally always have poor design sense) wants?

And if I were the only one asking for a cheap headless Mac, then you would have a point. But that's clearly not the case, since a cheap headless Mac has got to be one of the most often requested hardware products from Apple on the Web. The fact that Apple does not have a cheap headless machine, while virtually every PC maker does, has kept a lot of people from switching.

As for the beige monitor - look. I got the LCD I'm using for FREE due to knowing someone who works at the company who manufactured it, and was able to get a good enough deal on a bunch of monitors that he was willing to give me one. So let's see. $999 vs... free. Hmm. Tough decision, there. And this monitor works fine, with the only problem being the color of the bezel! I'll deal with it. The moral is that there are many people out there, each with their own individual details. Having the flexibility of a monitor choice will be a boon to many. To some, it is a necessity.

The thing is, this isn't even a machine that I would want. My next machine is going to be a laptop. I'm rooting for this rumor to be true because I recognize that it is what a lot of people do want, and I can see that it will be very good for Apple if they do release this. They will sell boatloads of them if it's true, and pick up some much-needed market share. Good for them!

[Hawkeye_a]

I like the idea.

Apple has the publicity it's been lacking since the mid 90s, with the iPod and iTunes. Releasing something middle-school kids could afford from working at McDonalds, will have a profound impact on market share, and the concept of 'buying market share ', although anti-competitive, seems logical when you have only 2%(approx.) marketshare.

Lets face it, the people who will buy this Mac probably appreciate asthetics as well, but have never been able to afford it.

To say it 'cheapens' the brand is quite elitist and arrogant to me. Right now it's about business, leave your pride at the door and try and gain market share, users and $$$.

Apple's market share has been shrinking cause for every Mac sold now, there will be more than 1 PC sold (i dont know the ratio, but im certain it's more than 1). Apple needs to really push it's sales higher and by releasing a product like it, it can HOPE to slow it's shrinking market share, if not expand it in the short term.

What troubles me, is the complicated product line. Theyre going back to days of old if you ask me, which is bad for consumers.

I recommend having a 2X2 product matrix, with the eMac outside that matrix...ONLY for educational institutions (heck...if you ask me, the 15"FP iMac G4 should be the eMac now). And a basicBox cheapMac for those hungry for the Mac, but still skeptical about dropping $1k+ on a machine)

P.S.>> on a side note... if they wanted, they could package this cMac(CheapMac) in something the size of the Nintendo GameCube if they wanted to, with a top loading DVD drive.... with all the ports on the back if they wanted to

[Super Mario]

$499 can't be a loss. It's just processor, some ram, hard drive, graphics, no keyboard, no mouse, no monitor. A small profit of most $50 is possible. The specs will be fast enough for OSX and even faster with Tiger. The important thing is software upgrade equals profit. Peripherals equals profit. iTunes songs equal small profit. iPod sales more profit. It's about halo effect like someone said already.

[spacefreak]

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
Taking out the CRT of an eMac will not drop a price by $300!!

It very well could. There are other internal costs associated with this. It's not just the elimination of the monitor, but more so the significant savings in shipping and freight, as well as the subsequent reduction in damaged emac monitors (which affects Apple's bottom line due to warranty work/replacements/disposed-of CRTs).

Look at the difference in the price of shipping an iBook versus an eMac (I'm guesstimating that this supposed headless unit is similar in size to the iBook). And also consider that numerous iBooks could fit in the freight space of an eMac.

The savings are for Apple are significant... much more than just the subtraction of a CRT montior.

[turtle777]

Apple is not in the business of losing money.
If they tried that, the stock price will go belly up.
Despite their cash reserve, that plan comes close to suicide. The last thing that Apple needs is the public perception that they are THAT desperate.

-t

[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

Hey we will know tomorrow. Unless Apple has some media server in mind this iCheap doesn't do it for me.

[mitchell_pgh]

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
Because I can't see someone getting a nice sexy sleek Mac and sticking some old beige CRT monitor on it so save a few bucks.

It cheapens the brand.

UGH, no what else cheapens a brand... a shrinking market.

We also aren't talking about a few bucks, we are potentially talking about a few hundred bucks especially when you already have a nice LCD. NOT everyone is going to be connecting beige boxes. Not everyone is going to be picking $100 15" CRTs.

ALSO, did you ever think people don't like the iMac and eMac specifically because they are all in one systems. Some people think ALL in One cheapens the product in principal.

[mitchell_pgh]

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
Hey we will know tomorrow. Unless Apple has some media server in mind this iCheap doesn't do it for me.

EXACTLY... I've said this before and I'll say it again, this computer wouldn't be geared for traditional Mac users. It would be targeted at potential switchers and price hungry people that would be willing to try a Mac.

Just because YOU don't think it's not a great product doesn't mean EVERYONE will think that way.

[brapper]

Originally posted by mitchell_pgh:
EXACTLY... I've said this before and I'll say it again, this computer wouldn't be geared for traditional Mac users. It would be targeted at potential switchers and price hungry people that would be willing to try a Mac.

seconded.