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P · 10:25 AM

Originally Posted by kman42

So it won't be an 802.11g device. Isn't there some next gen wireless in the pipeline?

Yes, 802.11n. You can get "pre-N" products now. The finished standard is supposed to have 4x the bandwidth and many times the range, but I think it's still some time off.

EDIT: According to this , Apple recently joined a group focused on streamlining the approval of 802.11n. Interesting.

PBG4 User · Oct 13, 2005, 09:14 AM

Originally Posted by Rumor Addict

Yeah I hadnt thought about the different formats. Frankly, at least for the NA market, I dont see the need for a tuner. Most people have cable with a cable box so a tuner would be useless. I would just like for it to very simply pass the video through to the screen in full or PIP so it could be used as a TV. Playing live HDTV would again require a cable box since its not broadcast over antenna.

Here in France, alot of people just use their buildings antenna so I can see where a tuner would be necessary.

HDTV is broadcast over the air but you'll need a special antenna and tuner box in order to receive it. I believe El Gato's EyeTV 500 product provides the tuner portion of this equation.

TETENAL · Oct 13, 2005, 09:15 AM

Is the integrated iSight Firewire or USB? Any way to change the direction (I guess not)?

No Time 4 Love Dr. Jones · Oct 13, 2005, 10:20 AM

Originally Posted by TETENAL

Is the integrated iSight Firewire or USB? Any way to change the direction (I guess not)?

It will severely limit the 17 year old girls from taking naked webcam pics, and about this I am very concerned.

P · Oct 13, 2005, 10:48 AM

Originally Posted by TETENAL

Is the integrated iSight Firewire or USB? Any way to change the direction (I guess not)?

Maybe it's directly on the PCIe bus? I don't think it can be redirected - it would have been cool if it had been controlable in software.

MachineDreamer · Oct 13, 2005, 01:06 PM

Is there any chance that the xbox360 or ps3 can played on

the imac screen?

mduell · Oct 13, 2005, 01:53 PM

Originally Posted by Commodus

As far as TV functions, it would be hard to make that work. In North America and Japan, you'd need an NTSC tuner; in Europe, a PAL tuner. And of course, if you want to play live HDTV, you'd need a different tuner on top of that. It'd simply be too expensive and probably crowd out the already crowded space inside the computer.

Put an NTSC tuner in the NA/JP model and a PAL tuner in the EU model. No big deal, Apple has had models with different hardware (such as power supplies) for different regions before. If anything it helps them to price discriminate regionally.
HDTV tuners are too difficult to provide reasonably (at least for watching encrypted channels, I guess OTA would work), and neither iMac is HD anyway.

Originally Posted by MachineDreamer

Is there any chance that the xbox360 or ps3 can played on

the imac screen?

You could with a FW video input box, but the lag (~0.5-1 sec) associated with most video input boxes would drive you insane.

TETENAL · Oct 13, 2005, 01:58 PM

Originally Posted by P

Maybe it's directly on the PCIe bus?

I doubt that's possible. It either has to be on USB or Firewire.

P · Oct 13, 2005, 03:27 PM

Originally Posted by TETENAL

I doubt that's possible. It either has to be on USB or Firewire.

Why? USB and Firewire are on the PCI bus in current Macs, so it stands to reason that they are on PCIe if that is the external bus present. To put it on Firewire, you'd have to have a Firewire controller on the bus and then a Firewire controller at the cam - same for USB. Of course you could use the existing Firewire or USB controllers on the bus, but I still think it's easier to make a proprietary PCIe 1x connection to the cam and save some overhead.

That proprietary connection might of course be based on a simplified Firewire setup, and might even look like Firewire to the OS, but that's nothing new: The Commslot in the Performas looked like a Nubus slot and it sure wasn't. CS2 looked like a PCI-slot and was probably based on one, but you sure couldn't fit a PCI board in it.

TETENAL · Oct 13, 2005, 04:14 PM

I think it would be cheaper to just use an off the shelf webcam than design a special controller for it.

Originally Posted by P

might even look like Firewire to the OS

That is actually what I was interested in it. I asked because I was interested to know whether iChat had been modified to work with USB webcams or if they still require Firewire. An USB webcam is much cheaper so the iMac one is USB I would have guessed.

yticolev · Oct 13, 2005, 05:52 PM

Originally Posted by ibook_steve

Wasn't it Mr. Jobs who said that when you use a computer, you turn your brain on and when you watch TV, you turn it off (which makes the advertised features of the new video iPod with iTunes 6 very interesting, though the iPod is not technically a computer)? I would be willing to bet that since the failure of the MacTV in the early 90's and Steve's feelings about TV (not shared by me), you will never see a built-in TV tuner in a Mac.

Steve (not Jobs!)

I had a 5200 all in one that I believe I got in 1996 with a built in TV tuner. It was a $129 option and it was made by Apple. Took me about 90 seconds to install. Was Steve in charge then?

thunderous_funker · Oct 13, 2005, 06:19 PM

I was initally sucked into the Jobs RDF and actually considering if a new iMac was in the budget until I suddenly realized my sofa doesn't sit in any kind of useful proximity to my computer. Nor would that change even with a new Remote-enabled iMac. In fact, I began to realize how lame it would be to watch videos on a 17" or even 20" screen from a typical sofa distance. That means the remote is really only appealing for controlling music or perhaps slideshows. I'd rather spend the money on a new iPod and a Universal Dock and get all the same benefits but easier to integrate with my home theater.

Not that it isn't an appealing machine, but it seems to be really suited to the Office suit, kitchen or other secondary computer space, dorm room, kids room, etc. and NOT the living room, IMO.

Oh, and expect them to be Kiosk-rific in businesses everywhere with the remote behind the receptionists desk.

THE MAC GOD · Oct 18, 2005, 12:23 PM

I was looking at the website and noticed it said that you can ONLY mirror through the mini-vga. Is that true? No dual displays?

Simon · Oct 18, 2005, 02:58 PM

All iMacs have always been that way. Without the spanning hack of course.

Will C · Oct 18, 2005, 03:17 PM

You may be able to dual head - maybe wait until someone has tried the firmware mod/hack thing and has posted their results on the forums at:-

http://www.rutemoeller.com/mp/ibook/ibook_e.html

Screwball · Oct 20, 2005, 02:59 PM

Guys,

Which ddr2-4200 memory modules would you think, fit the new iMac G5?I'm talking specific details here.Corsair XMS, or whatever.Let me in on this plz.Thx in advance

SoCal_BigFoot · Oct 20, 2005, 04:18 PM

http://www.crucial.com/store/MPartsp...&WSPN=CT477889

1GB for $121, free shipping and there is a 5% off code you can find...

Timan · Oct 20, 2005, 05:39 PM

Has anyone recieved their new iMacs yet?

Just ordered my 2nd iMac yesterday with .Mac says it won't ship till Nov 2nd

powerbookuk · Oct 21, 2005, 08:13 AM

Ordered mine over a week ago and it still says ship on or before 28/10/05, I really do hope its before! because a couple of resellers in my area think they are getting them in early next week! Is there anyway i can cancel my order with Apple once the status is set on Prepairing shipment?! I know supposedly you cant, but surely theres something you can phone them and say if I can buy one quicker somewhere else!

Neil

tiffer17 · Oct 21, 2005, 10:26 AM

YAY! I ordered my iMac last thursday, and it finally shipped on wednesday. The FedEx tracking site said that it was scheduled for delivery on monday, the 24th, but to my surprise, I was awoken this morning by the sound of the doorbell. I love it when things are delivered early.

Timan · Oct 21, 2005, 11:37 AM

Take Pics! want to see what the new one looks like compared to the new one (apples pr images don't do its justice)

powerbookuk · Oct 21, 2005, 12:26 PM

OOOOOO, mines shipped today too! Express next working day service though so I'm guessing it wont come tomorrow (saturday) and im back at work Monday so ill miss it!!

Was off all this week and two things have ordered havnt come. not good!!

Sam I Am · Oct 21, 2005, 04:21 PM

I'm guessing the remote is bluetooth, or is it IrDA? Does anyone know?

BJNY · Oct 21, 2005, 04:23 PM

I stopped by Tekserve in NYC to decide between the 17" or 20". They have the 17" 1.9GHz in stock. www.jr.com has the 17", too, according to www.macprices.com I may end up getiing the 17" for office use only

Pierre B. · Oct 21, 2005, 04:45 PM

Originally Posted by Sam I Am

I'm guessing the remote is bluetooth, or is it IrDA? Does anyone know?

It is infrared.

teney7 · Oct 21, 2005, 05:20 PM

THE IMAC IS SO COOL I WANT ONE NOW... our campus store got a new iMac G5 in yesterday I saw didn't even realize it until I walked by and saw myself on the screen. I took a whole bunch of pictures of myself with photo booth and put them on my flash drive (quite surrepetitiously) and even copied the Photo Booth app to the flash drive as well.

Hence the question, do you think photo booth would run if I bought the iSight video camera to go with my PB...?

iREZ · Oct 21, 2005, 06:06 PM

i personally dont think you even need an iSight, i'm pretty sure any firewire cam will work.

ciparis · Oct 23, 2005, 12:49 AM

Originally Posted by ibook_steve

My biggest question about the new iMacs is the difference in GPUs between the 17" and the 20": ATI X600 Pro vs. XT. There's no mention of the XT chip at ATI's site that I could find. And how do these chips compare to the standard Radeon 9600 and 9650 in the Power Macs.

Probably redundant by now, but:

The X600 (RV380 VPU) is built upon the Radeon 9600 VPU (RV350), and is pretty much the RV350 reworked to interact with a PCI-Express bus. There are two versions of the X600 - the X600 Pro and the X600 XT.

The X600 Pro has a core clock of 400 Mhz, and a memory frequency of 300 Mhz (600 Mhz DDR). This yields a total of 1.6 Gpixels/sec fillrate, and 9.6 GB/sec memory bandwidth (the memory bus is 128-bit).

The X600 XT, which is being reviewed, has a core clocked at 500 Mhz, and a memory frequency of 365 Mhz (730 Mhz DDR). The X600 XT therefore has a 2 Gpixel/sec fillrate, and 11.6 GB/sec memory bandwidth.

http://www.viperlair.com/reviews/video/ati/r3xx/x600xt/

Simon · Oct 23, 2005, 03:56 AM

Can anybody here confirm that the new iMac is running a 970FX for certain and that it's not a 970GX (basically a 970MP with only one core running)? In theory a GX should be a lot cheaper for Apple to use.

P · Oct 23, 2005, 07:12 AM

It's a 970FX. The 970GX would have 1 MB L2 cache, and the iMacs only have 512k.

Simon · Oct 23, 2005, 08:23 AM

Right, the L2 cache gives it away, of course. Thanks!

Why didn't Apple use a GX? Shouldn't it be cheaper, less hot and still faster?

lorienken · Oct 23, 2005, 09:41 AM

I got the new iMac delivered Friday. Earlier in the week Apple cutomer service said it would be shipped on 23rd or before. To get it on 21st is pretty sweet.

I love everything about the new iMac. Even with standard 512RAM it is very quick.

kman42 · Oct 24, 2005, 11:33 AM

For those with the new iMac, can Front Room broadcast tunes to an Airport Express?

Pierre B. · Oct 24, 2005, 11:55 AM

Originally Posted by lorienken

I got the new iMac delivered Friday. Earlier in the week Apple cutomer service said it would be shipped on 23rd or before. To get it on 21st is pretty sweet.

I love everything about the new iMac. Even with standard 512RAM it is very quick.

Sorry to interrupt you while you enjoy your new computer

, but what exactly model do you have? Could you perhaps post here in more detail your impressions about general use, heat and noise (that really plagued the previous models) and/or run some tests?

Eug Wanker · Oct 24, 2005, 12:52 PM

Originally Posted by Simon

Right, the L2 cache gives it away, of course. Thanks!

Why didn't Apple use a GX? Shouldn't it be cheaper, less hot and still faster?

Cuz there isn't one. Well, Think Secret says there is one, but IBM hasn't ever publicly acknowledged its existence.

And actually, it'd be more expensive. Basically the GX is an FX with more cache.

Simon · Oct 24, 2005, 03:13 PM

Umm, no.

A GX is basically a MP with only one working core. It will be cheaper, cache or no cache. That's the entire point.

Eug Wanker · Oct 24, 2005, 03:23 PM

Originally Posted by Simon

Umm, no.

A GX is basically a MP with only one working core. It will be cheaper, cache or no cache. That's the entire point.

So far that's just conjecture.

As I've said, IBM has never acknowledged the existence of a GX, whether that chip is a separate single-core chip or if it's a defective dual-core chip. And even if it were the latter, it isn't automatically cheaper to go this route, if they can believe they can get high dual-core yields, as I'm sure you already know. Remember, the iMac likely has vastly higher unit sales compared to the Power Mac. That's a lot of dual-core silicon wasted if you're just going to be using a single-core CPU in the iMacs.

mduell · Oct 24, 2005, 07:24 PM

Originally Posted by Eug Wanker

Cuz there isn't one. Well, Think Secret says there is one, but IBM hasn't ever publicly acknowledged its existence.

And actually, it'd be more expensive. Basically the GX is an FX with more cache.

Yes, the only reference to the 970GX on IBM.com is the following note in an article:
The original version of this article contained an erroneous reference to a "970GX." We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

Eug Wanker · Oct 24, 2005, 09:48 PM

Originally Posted by mduell

Yes, the only reference to the 970GX on IBM.com is the following note in an article:
The original version of this article contained an erroneous reference to a "970GX." We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

Yeah, that article caused quite the stir. It wasn't written by an IBM employee, and IBM was quick to cover it up... errr... I mean.... correct the article.

volcano · Oct 25, 2005, 03:31 AM

I paid my local Apple store a visit this afternoon, and along with the new iPods (they have 4 of the new video variations on display already) they had 2 new 17" iMac models. I played around with Photo Booth for a while and tested Front Row. Both work relatively well - although I still think the iMac looks awkward with a little black camera lense and the noticeable mic in the top quadrant of the computer. It definitely takes away from the clean, seamless look of the last Rev. iMacs (mine included). In the end, both of those features were fun - but I can't justify buying a new iMac for an iSight that I can never replace and a .1 GHz bump in processor speed. As for size comparisons, you can't tell the difference unless you physically rotate the iMac so you can see the side and rear of the computer. They had each new iMac next to the Rev. B models and although a bit more streamlined in the back, it's still nothing to write home about.

LeChuck · Oct 25, 2005, 07:15 PM

I just bought a brand new iMac. Actually the 20"-2GHz that was still brand new the day before these latest ones were announced. Actually they were announced on my birthday, which is also the day that Fedex delivered the iMac to me, and I couldn't help but feel a little pinch at the announcement. But right now I'm feeling pretty good. It's a wonderful machine and: very incremental speed increase on the new one, same thing for the graphics card (and the 9600 in my machine overclocks very well), and the DV camera I've had for several years worked right away with iChat AV. All I had to do is connect it to a firewire port.

And in the end, I can say that I'm *very* happy about the release of the new models. I actually bought the machine refurbished for $1499, which was already good savings, but a few days ago I obtained a refund of $200 just because the refurbished models were lowered to $1299 a few days later. The difference has paid for 2GB of RAM, a wireless router, a real mouse (and an excellent one), and an external firewire HD enclosure, with tax and shipping included.

So, sometimes buying just before an announcement might be a good thing

Sam I Am · Oct 26, 2005, 02:14 AM

Originally Posted by Pierre B.

It is infrared.

Thanks!

Voodoogmr · Oct 26, 2005, 02:43 PM

I just got the new 20" iMac G5 on Monday. I had ordered this before the announcement, but Apple cancelled my order due to the new models. So, I re-ordered it and paid less money for a slightly better computer. Nice! I've been a Windows user since version 1.0 so this is my first Mac. I can honestly say...there is no going back. I telecommute and I can still use Microsoft's Remote Desktop client for Mac to connect to my office network. That means there is no need for the PC even for work.

I am very impressed with the quality of the iSight camera. I've only used cheap webcams from Logitech before this, and there is no comparison. I can't believe the framerate was so good, even on our somewhat poor DSL line. And the quality of the built-in mic is very good. Sounded better than any landline or cellular phone, that's for sure.

Front Row is very cool. It's perfect for kicking back and listening to music. The remote is incredibly small, and seems pretty responsive. I've imported all the photos from my PC to iPhoto (a very painless process) and the slideshow feature in Front Row plays them back very smoothly.

I've read where some people complained about the fan noise in iMacs. Either Apple fixed that in this model or my ears have just grown accustomed to my noisy PC, but I think the iMac is very quiet.

I've been blown away by the Mac. I should have switched years ago.

kman42 · Oct 26, 2005, 03:38 PM

Can Front Row play songs through the Airport Express?

Simon · Oct 26, 2005, 04:15 PM

Originally Posted by Simon

A GX is basically a MP with only one working core.

And here's the official quote from IBM's engineer Norman Rohrer.

"... the 970MP will have ... the ability to run one or two cores"

A 970MP with only one running core sounds like just the GX the iMac needed. At least before it goes dual-core. Maybe next time around.

jjlannoo · Oct 26, 2005, 10:45 PM

Originally Posted by TETENAL

I think it would be cheaper to just use an off the shelf webcam than design a special controller for it.That is actually what I was interested in it. I asked because I was interested to know whether iChat had been modified to work with USB webcams or if they still require Firewire. An USB webcam is much cheaper so the iMac one is USB I would have guessed.

Its on the USB 2.0 bus

Originally Posted by kman42

Can Front Row play songs through the Airport Express?

airtunes yes

Drakino · Oct 27, 2005, 03:01 PM

Originally Posted by kman42

Can Front Row play songs through the Airport Express?

Yes.

Now for the odd part. As far as I could tell, there was no way to change this in Front Row. If iTunes was set to play to an AE station, FrontRow will too. All the FrontRow interface sounds still continue to come out of the iMac though.

quiklee · Oct 27, 2005, 05:34 PM

hate is such a strong word . . . . but i'm really damn close to using it in describing the gloating members of this board who got their 20 inch iMacs already! . . . . ok fine . call it jealousy . . . dammit . . where's my IMAC!

http://www.podcastmayhem.com - A Community of PodCasts

Simon · Oct 28, 2005, 02:53 AM

Originally Posted by quiklee

...where's my IMAC!

IMAC = International Miniature Aerobatic Club

iMac = the thing you were thinking about

Quark108 · Oct 28, 2005, 10:34 PM

I find it interesting that so many people on these forums complain about getting a product only to have a newer of the product released shortly after. I assume most people on these forums are mac enthusiast like myself and keep up with all the rumors and hype before an anticipated product announcement. It just seems obvious to me that if there is a chance of a product being updated in the near future and rumor sites are all predicting it... just wait and see! Better safe than sorry! The new imac was no secret, nor the video ipod.