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sledsbehave · Jan 4, 2005, 04:10 PM

with the new displays coming out today and no low priced display being offered, what if this flat box headless imac, goes right on top of yr TV with a wireless keyboard and mouse, you can sit back in yr chair and use yr TV as a monitor.

of course, i would think the headless imac would offer much more than webtv ever did, you could play all yr favorite songs via itunes, play yr DVD movies, surf the web, check email, look at photos with yr family. maybe even a program to tape yr favorite shows on the hard drive, like Tivo. these are the things that people buying a cheap computer will be doing with their new computer.

and everyone has a TV...

just a thought

mitchell_pgh · Jan 4, 2005, 05:45 PM

I would be happy...

I also think a cool feature would be iChat AV.

Disgruntled Head of C-3PO · Jan 5, 2005, 01:02 AM

I think it would be the only way to sell the damn thing.

Eriamjh · Jan 5, 2005, 08:19 AM

It has been mentioned that this "headless iMac" would have TV out...

Voch · Jan 5, 2005, 09:55 AM

I figured even if there wasn't TV out, doesn't Apple sell a ~$20 DVI-to-S-Video/composite adapter for the G5 towers?

Voch

Simon · Jan 5, 2005, 09:59 AM

I guess they could do the same they do on the iBook or 12" PowerBook: sell the device with a mini VGA or mini DVI output and two dongles. One dongle does mini VGA -> VGA and the other mini VGA -> S-Video. There's your TV output.

mitchell_pgh · Jan 5, 2005, 10:31 AM

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
I think it would be the only way to sell the damn thing.

If Apple offered a headless eMac for $499, I would buy one today. I will never buy an all in one Apple computer. I don't see why you believe it wouldn't sell.

Captain Obvious · Jan 5, 2005, 10:44 AM

Originally posted by mitchell_pgh:
If Apple offered a headless eMac for $499, I would buy one today. I will never buy an all in one Apple computer. I don't see why you believe it wouldn't sell.

And you wouldn't buy an iMac or eMac. Which is why they have to either make this a media device or price down and take out one of the other models.
Something has to give if this just a headless eMac or Apple will be wasting money making another model that few people buy.

Dalhectar · Jan 5, 2005, 11:11 AM

Drop the eMac, replace with headless Mac.

The iMac G5 could stay in the lineup, and be a "lifestyle" machine. People who have considerable disposable income and for whom style is more important than function. Wouldn't need to make many.

I think a webtv like device is a bad idea. webtv and ultimatetv didn't sell too well. Very few things sound as lame to me as sitting in front of your TV to type an email. Without PVR function, a media device will flop.

An affordable Mac will do the same thing that Apple's previous affordable product- the G3 iMac- did, sell like hot cakes. Especially in the iPod era where Apple is not a four letter word.

spreadlight · Jan 5, 2005, 07:04 PM

Who would buy a handsome Apple television set to go with their new headless Mac??

Evan_11 · Jan 5, 2005, 08:02 PM

TV out is pretty yucky and outside of grandmas does anyone actually use it to surf the internet?

I'm still banking on a firewire like enclosure cast in aluminum and offered in multiple colors. Like the mini. The thing will have to be cute to sell. Only Mitchell will buy it if it's headless block of ice.

I also think the display prices were dropped to coincide with this. A 20" Cinema Display with a silver iMac mini sitting beside it would rock a lot of people's worlds. You know the types that want a powerful looking computer but don't need it. Like 95% of MacNN users...

mitchell_pgh · Jan 5, 2005, 08:07 PM

Originally posted by Captain Obvious:
And you wouldn't buy an iMac or eMac. Which is why they have to either make this a media device or price down and take out one of the other models.
Something has to give if this just a headless eMac or Apple will be wasting money making another model that few people buy.

My main issue with the iMac and eMac is the all in one design. I just can't bring myself to buy a monitor tied to the computer. If one breaks (a year or so down the road...) I'm SOL.

I also have nice 21" CRTs lying around that aren't junk.

spreadlight · Jan 5, 2005, 10:04 PM

What I would really like to know is whether mitchell would consider buying an all-in-one Mac...

Mr Heliums · Jan 7, 2005, 09:18 AM

Given what Steve Jobs (rightly) thinks of TV, I wouldn't ever expect the Mac to perform any sort of TV function directly. It may lose sales, but Jobs has a higher vision. The following is from an interview he gave in 1995, but doesn't sound ten years old:

"A lot of times we think "Why is the television programming so bad? Why are television shows so demeaning, so poor?" The first thought that occurs to you is "Well, there is a conspiracy: the networks are feeding us this slop because its cheap to produce. It's the networks that are controlling this and they are feeding us this stuff but the truth of the matter, if you study it in any depth, is that networks absolutely want to give people what they want so that will watch the shows.

"If people wanted something different, they would get it. And the truth of the matter is that the shows that are on television, are on television because that's what people want.

"The majority of people in this country want to turn on a television and turn off their brain and that's what they get. And that's far more depressing than a conspiracy. Conspiracies are much more fun than the truth of the matter, which is that the vast majority of the public are pretty mindless most of the time."