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osxisfun · Jul 2, 2004, 07:53 PM

this is exactly what i have been thinking the new imac would be like too. it would also explain the lack of smaller lcds at rollover. ? plug in smaller new apple lcds? maybe even dvi/vga? would explain those "wall mounted" rumors too.

this could get us a close to a tablet as we are going to get from apple.

finger's crossed.

bradoesch · Jul 2, 2004, 09:37 PM

Originally posted by macaddict0001:
Ive been thinking that they wil release a new imac that is like a pizza box(you know the older computers that are kinda like towers but horizontal)with a display that detaches from the imac and can be attached by an arm or hang on a wall or be wireless and take it anywhere within airport range then whe you are done you can slade it onto the box and it recharges.

chrisutley · Jul 2, 2004, 10:22 PM

Apple screwed up and had no choice but to spill the beans, as they had "end of life'd" the current iMacs. If they stay tight lipped, then speculation runs amok ... can you imagine all the rumors that would float around over such a thing?

Their stock and education sales were probably of concern among others.

Parky · Jul 3, 2004, 06:16 AM

If I remember correctly....

In the past right up to when a new machine is released Apple still sell the old model online. That means they always have remaining stock of the old model when the new one is in production.

In this case Apple don't have a new model ready to sell, or possibly even ready enough to demo and announce by Steve.

It's obviously not going to have the current form factor, and hopefully it will be as ground breaking as each iMac release has been in the past.

I guess the manufacturers of the old iMac are non to pleased as well, as they will probably have production lines sitting idle, or at least under capacity until the new model is ready to start build.

If the new iMac is in production then I guess Apple would just have announced it and said 'on sale now', but deliveries in Sept, just as they have always done recently with new products (G5, iPodMini, etc)

I just hope it's not a 'on sale in Sept' and delivered in November thing.

Mt predictions are that it will be a G5 (1.6 - 1.8), won't use metal for the case, will be slot load, 17 inch minimum screen and some unique killer feature.

I will be getting one, as my 800Mhz FP is getting a bit long in the tooth and I could do with more speed.

Ian

macaddict0001 · Jul 3, 2004, 02:54 PM

Originally posted by osxisfun:
this is exactly what i have been thinking the new imac would be like too. it would also explain the lack of smaller lcds at rollover. ? plug in smaller new apple lcds? maybe even dvi/vga? would explain those "wall mounted" rumors too.

this could get us a close to a tablet as we are going to get from apple.

finger's crossed.

no not vga because if it si a flat screen it will either have digital imput or an anolog to digital converter.

Pierre B. · Jul 3, 2004, 07:05 PM

Originally posted by Parky:

If the new iMac is in production then I guess Apple would just have announced it and said 'on sale now', but deliveries in Sept, just as they have always done recently with new products (G5, iPodMini, etc)

I just hope it's not a 'on sale in Sept' and delivered in November thing.

Though this kind of announcement from Apple makes your concerns a safe assumption.

driven · Jul 3, 2004, 08:10 PM

Originally posted by Parky:

I will be getting one, as my 800Mhz FP is getting a bit long in the tooth and I could do with more speed.

Ian

What's an FP?

Commodus · Jul 3, 2004, 08:33 PM

FP as in flat-panel (Apple tends to refer to them that way rather than as iMac G4s).

driven · Jul 3, 2004, 09:33 PM

Ahhh ... thanks. :-)

It's amazing that we are at a point in history where an 800Mhz machine is deemed "slow".

macaddict0001 · Jul 3, 2004, 10:14 PM

yeah in like 1996 if you mentioned a 800 mhz machine in under 7 years you would be a lier, that would be like mentioning a 10 ghz machine today.

Parky · Jul 4, 2004, 05:26 AM

I do quite a bit of DVD production (Home stuff) and the 800Mhz really takes it's time doing the encoding, plus the DVD drive is not the quickest either. That is not helped by Apple no longer making 2x black DVD's anymore. If you use faster one's in the 2x drive they only burn at 1x speed !!

driven · Jul 4, 2004, 11:23 AM

Originally posted by Parky:
I do quite a bit of DVD production (Home stuff) and the 800Mhz really takes it's time doing the encoding, plus the DVD drive is not the quickest either. That is not helped by Apple no longer making 2x black DVD's anymore. If you use faster one's in the 2x drive they only burn at 1x speed !!

Can't you get the DVDs elsewhere?
(I hope so ... I have to go shopping for them today)

Parky · Jul 4, 2004, 12:21 PM

I have not been able to find 1x discs in the UK.

Ian

macaddict0001 · Jul 4, 2004, 12:52 PM

can't you burn it and encode it overnight?

Parky · Jul 4, 2004, 01:16 PM

I can but it drags out the process when you need to make 3 copies (for Mum, Sister, etc)
It would be nice to have a machine that does it quicker.

I'd also like to convert CD's to MP3 quicker as well.

I don't have a problem with my FP iMac, it has been a very good machine, it was one of the very first in the UK, but I feel the need for more speed for some heavy video work.

I always pass my machines on to my friends and they love getting the upgrades, as they only surf and WP, so the iMac will be a great machine for them.

I also like to have the latest Imac when it comes out.
I have just not been convinced to upgrade from my 800 to the current versions as they don't seem to have made the leap forward enough for me.

driven · Jul 4, 2004, 01:31 PM

You make me feel bad to waiting so long to upgrade.

I had a G4 Cube 500Mhz. I was actually waiting for a new Cube (or something similar).

In the end I got a G5 2.0. Talk about a HUGE speed difference.

(Of course now I need a monitor for the cube)

babywriter2 · 05:55 PM

There's one thing about the headless iMac idea that I haven't heard addressed yet - but it seems important to me.

Providing a "headless" iMac with a VESA-compatible neck would be a deal-breaker for many casual iMac buyers. How many people would want to go through the hassle of screwing on their own display?

Not me - and I've been a Mac user since the early 90's. I can't imagine what a first time buyer would think.

For this to work, Apple would have to:

- Make the neck easily detatchable - a one-step process - in case the user didn't need it. (This could be a problem, because of the weight this neck would have to bear.)

- Create a better VESA connector than simply screws and holes. It would have to be a one-step, snap or slide-on deal that would be brain-dead easy.

- provide a standard SVGA port on the iMac itself. Not everyone wants to spend the extra for an LCD when 17" CRT monitors are available for less than $100.

A much likelier alternative would be a "headless" iMac with both digital and analog (SVGA) ports. Apple's LCD monitors come with perfectly good stands - why not use them?

It's possible I don't understand what the VESA mount entails. If so, let me know - but it seems well beyond what a casual user would want to mess with, and a violation of Apple's longstanding "out of the box" philosophy for the iMac/eMac.

Parky · Jul 4, 2004, 05:49 PM

I think I'd like Apple to put a TV tuner in the iMac so that you can record TV, etc.

Many PC's now have this feature, maybe it can be an optional extra.

Apple have done this in the past, I remember buying an Apple Tuner card for my Performa 5200.

turtle777 · Jul 8, 2004, 11:49 AM

Originally posted by Parky:
I think I'd like Apple to put a TV tuner in the iMac so that you can record TV, etc.

Many PC's now have this feature, maybe it can be an optional extra.

Apple have done this in the past, I remember buying an Apple Tuner card for my Performa 5200.

I don't see this a great feature.
Only useful to a few...

-t

Simon · Jul 14, 2004, 02:58 AM

This AppleInsider article claims the next iMac will indeed feature a G5.

The real news is that the delay of the new iMacs isn't due to a too early sellout of the G4 iMacs like Apple claims, but because they are having issues with the new case of the iMac and the incorporation of the G5. Originally they had planned to be selling the G5 iMac by about now and be in the market for the back to school sales.

The new design is supposed to be a minimalist and very simple box. The guts however are claimed to be rather complicated with a motherboard mounted to the back of the screen...

driven · Jul 14, 2004, 07:14 AM

Originally posted by Simon:
This AppleInsider article claims the next iMac will indeed feature a G5.

The real news is that the delay of the new iMacs isn't due to a too early sellout of the G4 iMacs like Apple claims, but because they are having issues with the new case of the iMac and the incorporation of the G5. Originally they had planned to be selling the G5 iMac by about now and be in the market for the back to school sales.

The new design is supposed to be a minimalist and very simple box. The guts however are claimed to be rather complicated with a motherboard mounted to the back of the screen...

If it's anything like sony's computer of similar design it'll be fugly.

BrunoBruin · Jul 14, 2004, 08:25 AM

Originally posted by driven:
If it's anything like sony's computer of similar design it'll be fugly.

Did the Sonys have EVERYTHING behind the display? My thought for the new iMac was that the power supply, hard drive and optical drive would stay in the base, giving it enough weight to counter the display, but the motherboard (including RAM and GPU) would move behind the display. You could run the ATA cables through the arm, and all you'd need is a small access panel on the back of the display to install RAM or an AirPort card, much like the PowerBooks. The base itself would be sealed.

The design would be simpler (and one assumes cheaper to manufacture) with an arm like the new displays: adjustable for angle but not able to swivel.

buffalolee · Jul 14, 2004, 09:46 AM

Possibility....

silver iMac: To match the DVI displays from Apple
DVI port: To purchase extra DVI displays from Apple

I sort of liked the white. Unique and pleasant.

Zoom · Jul 14, 2004, 09:50 AM

Originally posted by buffalolee:
silver iMac: To match the DVI displays from Apple

I sort of liked the white. Unique and pleasant.

Funny you mention that. I think the whole white/colored vs silver aspect of the product line separation was pretty important to Steve. The iMacs/eMacs were white or colored while the pro machines were aluminum. I'm wondering if Apple won't have white displays for the iMacs (probably same guts, just different case) or if the iMacs will somehow have silver and white such that a silver display looks okay with it.

I certainly think that some remnant of the white/colored stuff will remain somehow.

I'm surprised the keyboards and mice haven't gone aluminum.

Zoom · Jul 14, 2004, 09:53 AM

Updated info from AppleInsider.

Simon · Jul 14, 2004, 09:56 AM

Originally posted by Zoom:
Updated info from AppleInsider.

Duh.

If you'd care to actually read the thread you'd see that I posted the link above just this morning...

Zoom · Jul 14, 2004, 09:57 AM

Originally posted by Simon:

Duh.

If you'd care to actually read the thread you'd see that I posted the link above just this morning...

Yeah, sorry. Missed that. We've got too many threads on this topic. Last I counted, there were 4 or 5 at least.

Simon · Jul 14, 2004, 09:59 AM

Originally posted by Zoom:
Yeah, sorry. Missed that. We've got too many threads on this topic. Last I counted, there were 4 or 5 at least.

Np. Let's just hope Steve is reading the thread more carefully.

buffalolee · Jul 14, 2004, 11:44 AM

I got an idea....

Since the motherboard is on the back of the LCD screen....

then the whole screen will act as a.....
1. Wireless Antenna
2. Heat sink because of the increase surface area of the back of the screen