[peeb]

But not from Apple...
Good news?
Bad news?

'OpenMac' Promises $399 Headless Mac... But Not From Apple - Mac Rumors

[Lateralus]

We should start a pool on how long it takes Apple to throw the book at Psystar.

I'm guessing a week.

[Big Mac]

http://forums.macnn.com/58/imac-emac...tion-mac-mini/

[Chuckit]

Somebody's about to find out exactly what it feels like when Steve Jobs feasts on your blood.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

For the cheap pretentious bastard in you.

[Big Mac]

Apple shouldn't be afraid of a little healthy competition. Of course it will be.

[ort888]

Apple really does need to do something like though. Dump the Mini and focus on making a cheap starter computer. Rather then a small and cheap starter computer.

No one cares about how small a Mini is, they just want a cheap computer.

Apple should make a half tower with full sized components for $500 and it will sell like crazy.

[Big Mac]

Apple seems to prefer forcing anyone who wants a tower to buy a Mac Pro.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by Big Mac 

Apple shouldn't be afraid of a little healthy competition. Of course it will be.

Software piracy is healthy competition? In what economic system does that make sense?

[Big Mac]

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

Software piracy is healthy competition? In what economic system does that make sense?

It's not software piracy to build hardware that is capable of running a piece of software. If that were the case the IBM PC clone industry never would have taken off, and M$ would not enjoy near hegemony as it does. It may be a violation of Apple's EULA, but that's between Apple and OS X customers, not necessarily this hardware producer.

[klb5090]

Mac OS X seller (not Apple) disappears after reports | One More Thing - CNET News.com
wow, that was fast

[subego]

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

Software piracy is healthy competition? In what economic system does that make sense?

Is it piracy, or just violating the EULA?

[/nitpick]

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by ort888 

Apple really does need to do something like though. Dump the Mini and focus on making a cheap starter computer. Rather then a small and cheap starter computer.

No one cares about how small a Mini is, they just want a cheap computer.

Apple should make a half tower with full sized components for $500 and it will sell like crazy.

Why? Companies make next to no money on low end systems like that and after you factor in how much repair/service time, retail space, manufacturing time it costs you make pennies at the end. Not to mention it cheapens the brand and steal away sales of the iMac.

Printer and game system manufactures can do this be cause they sell tons of ink and games after the fact that they make the money back on.

People so cheap they only want to spend $400 on a Mac will not be jumping on .Mac and OS updates.

I hope apple never cheapens themselves like this.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by klb5090 

Mac OS X seller (not Apple) disappears after reports | One More Thing - CNET News.com
wow, that was fast

Did any of you here seriously think that these would actually end up in any costumers hands after word got out? I mean a hacked 10.5.2 which you can't upgrade. Please.

[klb5090]

no never, but i expected them to make it a full business day

[peeb]

Originally Posted by subego 

Is it piracy, or just violating the EULA?

[/nitpick]

It's not piracy if you have bought a legal version of OSX. It might still be illegal, but shrink wrap licenses are notoriously difficult - it's quite possible that it would not be enforceable in court.

[Tomchu]

Originally Posted by ort888 

No one cares about how small a Mini is, they just want a cheap computer.

Speaking for everyone FTW!

The entire reason I bought a Mac Mini is because it's a Mac, and small. It's velcro'ed underneath my desk, and serves as a media box for my girlfriend and I.

[peeb]

Yes. I would probably pay more for it if it was a standard tower, frankly. That way I could add more ram, swap out a graphics card etc without a fish knife.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by peeb 

Yes. I would probably pay more for it if it was a standard tower, frankly. That way I could add more ram, swap out a graphics card etc without a fish knife.

You sure want a lot without spending a lot.

[Big Mac]

It's a lot to expect something from Apple that is similar to what every other PC manufacturer sees fit to provide to the market? It's wrong to want a tower that costs less than $2000?

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by Big Mac 

It's a lot to expect something from Apple that is similar to what every other PC manufacturer sees fit to provide to the market? It's wrong to want a tower that costs less than $2000?

Yes there is something wrong with that as 99% of the **** that PC manufacturers offer is why we want Macs in the first place.

I do agree that Apple needs a mini tower but not for the sub $500 market.

[Big Mac]

Oh, I misunderstood your position then.

[angelmb]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

Not to mention it cheapens the brand and steal away sales of the iMac.

I hope apple never cheapens themselves like this.

WINNER. Stuff like that kills brands. Apple has more than enough with an entry computer.

[Big Mac]

If Apple offered a mini-tower there wouldn't be any other niche open for companies to attempt to exploit in this fashion.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by Big Mac 

It's not software piracy to build hardware that is capable of running a piece of software. If that were the case the IBM PC clone industry never would have taken off, and M$ would not enjoy near hegemony as it does. It may be a violation of Apple's EULA, but that's between Apple and OS X customers, not necessarily this hardware producer.

What about taking a piece of commercial software, cracking it and bundling it with your machine? If I made an OpenPhotoshop computer that included cracked copies of Photoshop, would you be arguing that isn't piracy either?

[peeb]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

You sure want a lot without spending a lot.

I said I'd be prepared to pay MORE for it.

[peeb]

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

What about taking a piece of commercial software, cracking it and bundling it with your machine? If I made an OpenPhotoshop computer that included cracked copies of Photoshop, would you be arguing that isn't piracy either?

Probably not, but that is not what is happening here.

[Big Mac]

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

What about taking a piece of commercial software, cracking it and bundling it with your machine? If I made an OpenPhotoshop computer that included cracked copies of Photoshop, would you be arguing that isn't piracy either?

That would obviously be illegal. And that's not what they were proposing to sell.

[CRASH HARDDRIVE]

The funniest thing in all of this, is that people actually still really believe there'd be anything worth more than $399 in any kind of similar box from Apple simply because there's an Apple logo on it.

Heck, even on that thing, the idea of paying $155 for an 8600GT "upgrade" is pathetic.

Apple's still running the greatest hardware overcharge racket of all time, and its customers still think that there's some magic Apple fairy dust sprinkled on the standard (and often times older) parts made by Intel, Foxconn, Nvidia, Seagate, Kingston, etc. etc. Marketing hype at its finest.

Ironically, I don't blame Apple for not releasing a realistically priced headless Mac tower. Apple makes huge profits by continuing the myth that a Mac for $400 isn't possible, when of course it is- computer components just don't cost all that much anymore, and performance to price ratio is off the charts.

The pretense of sprinkling magic fairy dust on standard, even older hardware, pretending there's some magic to being 'Mac compatible' pretending that standard hardware is worth a HUGE markup because of a case logo, having your customers fervently insist on your marketing hype hook line and sinker- it's all insanely profitable.

Even bigger irony: It's EXACTLY the profit situation that IBM was trying to set up for themselves that no one fell for way back when. Apple's actually pulled off what IBM only dreamed of.

A real-world priced headless Mac would destroy the whole fairy-dust illusion, and upset the entire Apple-cart. Of course Apple can't allow it- it'd be a horrendous business move.

[Chuckit]

It's a shame, because the Mac mini could totally be that Mac — it could cost less and be better — if only they didn't insist on making it a (figurative) black box built from notebook parts.

[iMOTOR]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

People so cheap they only want to spend $400 on a Mac will not be jumping on .Mac and OS updates.

I hope apple never cheapens themselves like this.

QFT.

[lpkmckenna]

Anyone who wants an "xMac" can get one: buy your own copy of Leopard, and go to the X86 website for directions. Apple isn't attacking these guys because Apple makes money from the OS sale but don't lose any money from support costs. Win/win situation.

The only thing Apple could do to improve the Mac mini is allow for an upgradable graphics card. The problem with this is the expense of driver development and maintenance. Apple would thus lose money instead of making money.

If Apple wanted to sell a cheaper tower, they could replace the Xeon with Core technology. But that means more development costs in order to sell a cheaper machine. More money lost.

Apple doesn't sell cheap towers because they are a money-losing design.

[subego]

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

What about taking a piece of commercial software, cracking it and bundling it with your machine? If I made an OpenPhotoshop computer that included cracked copies of Photoshop, would you be arguing that isn't piracy either?

Is that the best analogy? It's a tiny crack that's freely available.

The "cracked" copies in your analogy would still have a legit (and unique) serial number.

I'm not saying it's right, just saying that "piracy" isn't technically accurate, at the very least it's borderline.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

I have a G5 tower for years now and I rather like it still. The thing is my G4 Cube is still the most ideal mac i have ever had in terms of size and specs. It was way to much at the time but if it came out again cheaper and faster I would get it in a second.

Pretty much my situation is that I am a graphic designer so I need the RAM and the CPU but not the PCI cards or endless internal HD or optical.

I want the 30" LCD but that requires a $2800 CAN tower to hook up to.

So if I want a 30" display I have to barf out $4800 that doesn't even have bluetooth or Wifi. For a 24" iMac would cost me $1899.00 CAN and the missing PCI slots, CPU's and hard drives I wouldn't miss much.

The next option is the 24" iMac and I am totally fine with all its other specs but I want that bigger monitor.

My ideal computer would be a mini tower that uses DESKTOP hard drives and RAM and has a killer or good CPU but only 1 PCI slot for a video card, 1 Super or Blu-ray drive, 1 or 2 hard drive slots but no big deal as I have most everything on firewire/usb or NAS anyway.

Pretty much a headless iMac with better CPU if possible.

I also want at least 4 gigs RAM but 8 would be great not that Photoshop can use it anyway as it is 32 bit and so are most of the Intel chips.

Most important it has to power the 30" display.

If Apple could give me that for $1200 - $1500 and lower the rip off price on the 30" LCD's and stick in a camera and LED backlite I am in.

[Simon]

http://forums.macnn.com/58/imac-emac...tion-mac-mini/

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

it is 32 bit and so are most of the Intel chips.

No current Mac uses a 32-bit processor as far as I know.

[CRASH HARDDRIVE]

Originally Posted by lpkmckenna 

The only thing Apple could do to improve the Mac mini is allow for an upgradable graphics card. The problem with this is the expense of driver development and maintenance. Apple would thus lose money instead of making money.

It would mean accommodating a standard a PCIe slot and a riser board that lets the card lay sideways. IE: something like this. A $12 piece of hardware. Of course, with the "magic Apple fairy dust" applied, make that $120. Better still would be a shuttle or Cube sized Mac. The OS is already compatible with 3rd party graphics cards and drivers, so why reinvent the wheel?

If Apple wanted to sell a cheaper tower, they could replace the Xeon with Core technology. But that means more development costs in order to sell a cheaper machine. More money lost.

Again, the OS is already compatible with the Core2Duo and Intel motherboards of the LGA 77x socket type.

Apple doesn't sell cheap towers because they are a money-losing design.

Sure is- when you're marking up standard hardware 300% and creating a marketing myth that you're using 'magic' hardware that "just works" vs. off the shelf, 100% third party parts. It's a "money-losing" design to sell the same hardware for it's actual market value.

[turtle777]

What a headless piece of sh!t.

Seriously, you can get a PC cheaper than that, and trick it into running OS X.

No need to buy crap that pretends to be Mac compatible.

-t

[olePigeon]

Maybe it'll wake Apple up to the need for an expandable & affordable mid-tower form factor again. I miss the 8600, what a solid machine.

[ort888]

I miss being able to get a low end tower for $1,600 bucks. Remember those days?

There is just way to large of a gap between the iMacs and the Towers.

[peeb]

Way too large a gap between the mini and the pro. I don't want an integrated monitor. I just don't. Anything which pressures Apple to produce an affordable expandable tower is good.

[Atomic Rooster]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

What a headless piece of sh!t.

Seriously, you can get a PC cheaper than that, and trick it into running OS X.

No need to buy crap that pretends to be Mac compatible.

-t

First you need to download a hacked Leopard install and fiddle with all kinds of ****. Therefore this is piracy.

This thing can install Leopard from a legit disk

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Atomic Rooster 

First you need to download a hacked Leopard install and fiddle with all kinds of ****. Therefore this is piracy.

This thing can install Leopard from a legit disk

No, it can't. It still requires hacks. And the next Leopard update might break it. It's NOT a hardware solution, this POS still needs a manual pre-install of the EFI V8 emulator.

-t

[Simon]

Originally Posted by peeb 

Way too large a gap between the mini and the pro. I don't want an integrated monitor. I just don't. Anything which pressures Apple to produce an affordable expandable tower is good.

QFT.

If this box gets Apple to close the huge gap between the Mm and the MP it's a good thing.

[IceEnclosure]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

My ideal computer would be a mini tower that uses DESKTOP hard drives and RAM and has a killer or good CPU but only 1 PCI slot for a video card, 1 Super or Blu-ray drive, 1 or 2 hard drive slots but no big deal as I have most everything on firewire/usb or NAS anyway.

Pretty much a headless iMac with better CPU if possible.

I also want at least 4 gigs RAM but 8 would be great not that Photoshop can use it anyway as it is 32 bit and so are most of the Intel chips.

Most important it has to power the 30" display.

If Apple could give me that for $1200 - $1500 and lower the rip off price on the 30" LCD's and stick in a camera and LED backlite I am in.

If this were real, I'd own it.

I don't want a camera in my monitor though.

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally Posted by peeb 

Yes. I would probably pay more for it if it was a standard tower, frankly. That way I could add more ram, swap out a graphics card etc without a fish knife.

LOL. I sure am excited about this upgradable video card in my Mac Pro.

Good thing I went with an iMac for home. Geez.

[Atomic Rooster]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

No, it can't. It still requires hacks. And the next Leopard update might break it. It's NOT a hardware solution, this POS still needs a manual pre-install of the EFI V8 emulator.

-t

True but it doesn't need a haxored Leopard is what said.

Like this...

Apple2PC (Hackintosh)

[ajprice]

Charlie Uniform Bravo Echo

[turtle777]

"Psystar site goes down under load, Apple lawyers seen shopping for BMWs."



Gotta love Endgadget headlines.

-t

[Dakar the Fourth]

Originally Posted by IceEnclosure 

I don't want a camera in my monitor though.

Paranoid?