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iMac Businesses Hardware Apple

Apple VP discusses iMac G5 Hardware Design 467

Posted by CmdrTaco from the can-i-expense-one-please dept.
MrMiyagi writes "Apple VP of of Hardware Product Marketing, Greg Joswiak, discusses the new iMac G5's hardware design. Apparently it's light enough to carry around the house, and has special fans that run at low speeds making the cooling very quiet."
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Apple VP discusses iMac G5 Hardware Design More

Apple VP discusses iMac G5 Hardware Design

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  • Cool, out of my Amish lifestyle. (Score:5, Funny)

    by MikeMacK ( 788889 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @09:44AM (#10162289)
    Modern living starts at $1299.

    Wow, who knew it was so easy and cheap, now I can get out of my Amish lifestyle for something more modern.

    • Wow, who knew it was so easy and cheap, now I can get out of my Amish lifestyle for something more modern. (Posted on Slashdot)

      Not very good at the ol' Amish lifestyle, eh?
      • Shhhh...don't tell the Elders.

      • Re:Cool, out of my Amish lifestyle. (Score:4, Interesting)

        by LighthouseJ ( 453757 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @12:38PM (#10163226)
        Actually, I think they allow people growing up Amish to experience technology at 18 years old. That way they let everyone make their own conscious choice to leave the Amish lifestyle or embrace it. If they ever want to come back, they can but they have to commit themselves 100% to the Amish lifestyle.
        • They allow all Amish people to experience technology every day, they just control what technology. Different groups allow different things, but technologies such as the wheel and woven textiles are pretty ubiquitous. Buttons (clothing fasteners) are not allowed in some communities, but others allow cell phones (at least in barns).

          Anyway, the phenomenon you re referring to is called rumspringa. [npr.org]
        • Actually, I think they allow people growing up Amish to experience technology at 18 years old.

          Amish communities are intertwined with non-Amish communities, they work together, and they share community resources, like nice paved roads courtesy of the DOT. Many Amish people shop at modern grocery stores, work at modern restaurants, etc. In general, they completely co-exist with their more modern neighbors. Just drive through some of the small towns in Ohio north and east of Columbus, and you'll see this

  • Joswiak? (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 05, 2004 @09:46AM (#10162301)
    You're not fooling anyone, Steve [woz.org].

    • Re:Joswiak? (Score:5, Funny)

      by crackshoe ( 751995 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @10:45AM (#10162604)
      Jobs + Wozniak = Joswiak. This is obviously the product of genetic manipulation dating back to the early 1980's, to breed a technical genius with a reality distortion field and impeccable style.

  • Smart Design (Score:5, Interesting)

    by samtihen ( 798412 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @09:50AM (#10162318) Homepage
    I think Apple always goes the extra step when designing their products. I think that one of the most interesting parts of this new iMac is the fact that it has air holes in the top of it so that the hot air can rise out. Now why hasn't anyone else thought of that? I mean, my computer has a ton of fans to move air around, but that could definitely be lessened by air slits in the top. Thanks Apple!

    • Smart Design and Smart Engineering (Score:5, Interesting)

      by reporter ( 666905 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @10:05AM (#10162394) Homepage
      The iMac G5 is a full-blown workstation in its own right. It runs UNIX on top of a Power4-based microprocessor. Furthermore, its performance is competitive with the very best desktops based on the new 64-bit x86 processors.

      Instead of focusing so much on styling, the marketing droids should show us some stats indicating the percentage of the engineering market that the G5 Macs have. I suspect that the G5 Macs have the highest percentage of the engineering workstation market after the x86 boxes.

      • Re:Smart Design and Smart Engineering (Score:5, Informative)

        by ScottSpeaks! ( 707844 ) * on Sunday September 05, 2004 @11:02AM (#10162687) Homepage Journal
        The iMac G5 is a full-blown workstation in its own right.

        The low-end iMac G5 is - almost spec for spec - last year's low-end PowerMac G5. I should know: I have one (and paid nearly $1000 more for it).

        • but you can use firewire-800. You can also cram 4 gb into the PMG5. The bus is also faster.

          • Re:Smart Design and Smart Engineering (Score:4, Interesting)

            by huchida ( 764848 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @01:30PM (#10163466)
            but you can use firewire-800. You can also cram 4 gb into the PMG5. The bus is also faster. ... And you will be able to update the graphics card (which is already better, I should add) and use PCI slots if you ever need to, as well as install a second internal drive... And replace the Superdrive yourself when it's inevitably the first thing to fail.

            And you can use whatever monitor you want. I have a Viewsonic 17" LCD and 19" CRT attached to my G5, and both monitors together (and the ADC adaptor) cost less than a 17" Apple studio display. Dual monitor spanning is not even available on the iMac without a hack.

            And you don't run the risk of having a pefectly functioning computer attached to a dead monitor some day or vice versa. I inherited an otherwise fine G4 iMac with a broken screen from a friend; Apple refused to repair it under Applecare (it was damaged during a move) and the cost of replacing the swing-arm LCD would be nearly as much as the computer is worth.

            Then again, the iMac G5 is a bargain, and it is worth it if you don't need to expand. I would definitely recommend Applecare on any all-in-one system though.

            • Re:Smart Design and Smart Engineering (Score:4, Informative)

              by xrissley ( 681520 ) on Monday September 06, 2004 @09:23AM (#10168486)
              Point noted, but let me direct you to Apple's onw site:
              http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=868 12 [apple.com]
              which states precisely that user can herself service (so: replace and or upgrade) the following:
              - AirPort Extreme Card
              - Memory - DDR 400 MHz (PC3200) SDRAM
              - Hard drive
              - Optical drive
              - Power supply
              - LCD display
              - Modem card
              - Mid-plane assembly (contains the main logic board, the G5 processor, fans, NVIDIA graphics processor, and so forth).

              So true, graphic card still seems hard to upgrade, so seems CPU itself, but this is less of a stuck design here, nice improvement, not?

              Of course, mirror only display makes a point for powermac form factor.
              re drives, we have firewire (not 800, so pro will still look at the powermac line).

              All in all, the comparison lots of people keep on making with Powermac prooves one thing: the iMac G5 seems to be a nice powerhorse.

          • Re:Smart Design and Smart Engineering (Score:4, Interesting)

            by ScottSpeaks! ( 707844 ) * on Sunday September 05, 2004 @04:32PM (#10164405) Homepage Journal
            That would be why I said "almost". Of course there are differences. The PowerMac has more expansion potential. The iMac takes less room. The PowerMac has a place to stack a Zip drive on top. The iMac has a display that tilts better than the 17" Studio LCD.

            But it has the same number of processors, of the same type, running at the same speed. It has the same size hard drive, and the same class of optical drive. It comes with the same amount of RAM. It has roughly the same size display (17" widescreen, vs. 17" traditional). Most of the major specs match up. And if you unbox one of these new iMacs and set it up next to my 9-month-old PowerMac, most of the things one can do, the other will do about as well. The point being that by the standards of late 2003, this is a rather powerful machine. (And affordable.) Which oughta be good enough for most people.

        • No its not. The frontside bus is half the speed. No Firewire 800. Half the total possible RAM.

          Not to mention all the other goodies you get with the Powermac G5. PCI slots. Upgradable video. Two hard drive bays. Dual monitor support.

          You may have paid nearly a grand more for it a year ago, but you still have more value than the current iMacs.

    • Re:Smart Design (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      wtf? who modded this up and didn't fact check?

      It's amazing how you can make up any old shit and sound interesting on slashdot, and get karma.

      • Re:Smart Design (Score:5, Informative)

        by FuzzzyLogik ( 592766 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @10:27AM (#10162494) Homepage
        i think the poster was pointing out that we don't typically see this in many mainstream computer manufacturer's designs.. when in fact we should see it. Why should PC's be so loud when apple can design a 2 inch thick computer that's virtually silent? given the amount of room in a typical pc case why should the 2 inch thick imac be so much quieter when compared to a larger pc? I think that's the point he was trying to make, not that it hasn't really been done before, but it should still be done regardless of how old the idea is. it's a clever design, why not use it? you sir need to chill and just oh.. i don't know, contribute but not be such an ass in the process? sounds good.. then again you are an AC so i guess your reasoning is pretty well explained.
        • Relying on vents on the top surface is a gamble that the owner won't put another computer, an afghan, a cat, or a printer on top of the computer - a much better gamble when the computer is also the monitor.

          What's more interesting is the slow speed fans.

          AIK

    • Re:Smart Design (Score:5, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 05, 2004 @10:13AM (#10162427)
      They're actually speed holes, they make the computer go faster.

    • Re:Smart Design (Score:4, Insightful)

      by badasscat ( 563442 ) <basscadet75 AT yahoo DOT com> on Sunday September 05, 2004 @01:29PM (#10163462)
      I think Apple always goes the extra step when designing their products. I think that one of the most interesting parts of this new iMac is the fact that it has air holes in the top of it so that the hot air can rise out. Now why hasn't anyone else thought of that?

      Umm, lots of people have. Probably 50% of all PC towers on the market have top-mounted fans and/or air holes.

      What I don't get about the new iMac is this: Ok, so it's basically a screen and keyboard. And you can carry it around the house. And it's not expandable (like other iMacs). Now, how is this different and/or better than a laptop? So the computer itself is in the screen rather than the keyboard - that's not really a major difference in form factor. What advantages does the iMac have over a PowerBook, or an iBook? Is Apple going to delay the G5 iBook now because it'd cannibalize iMac sales?

      I would think a laptop would have obvious advantages over the new iMac, while not giving up much of anything. A laptop is truly portable, a true all-in-one unit. The iMac isn't.

      Who would buy an iMac over a comparable laptop, and why?

      • Re:Smart Design (Score:5, Informative)

        by .com b4 .storm ( 581701 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @02:07PM (#10163666)

        Who would buy an iMac over a comparable laptop, and why?

        Probably someone who...

        1. Wants a G5 and/or doesn't want to spend $300+tax more for a laptop with an older, slower processor (1.3GHz G4 Powerbook), or
        2. Doesn't want noisy laptop fans, or
        3. Wants more hard drive space built-in, or
        4. Wants a better GPU, or
        5. Doesn't *need* a laptop, or
        6. Any/all of the above

        Then there's the screen size. As it stands now, a 17" PBook would cost $2800, and have a 1.5GHz G4 in it. For $1300, you get a 17" iMac with a 1.6GHz G5...

        • The current iBook G4 costs less than the iMac G5, is as silent, and has a non-nVidia-card, which matters to many.

          Basically your most valid point is 3, hard drive space.

          The iBook G4 makes sense in a lot of cases where the original iMac made sense when it first arrived, and then some.

          (I don't want to plug Apple's products - there are other good computers out there. I'm just saying that in the battle of iBook vs iMac, the former wins a lot of the time, for a lot of people.)

      • Re:Smart Design (Score:5, Informative)

        by ThousandStars ( 556222 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @02:37PM (#10163812) Homepage
        Now, how is this different and/or better than a laptop?

        The base G5 iMac, for $1300, gets you more processing power and HD space than the most powerful $3000 Powerbook, as well as a higher-quality screen.

        The iMac has more power, less money, and apparently it is somewhat user serviceable [appleinsider.com] (contrary to your post).

        Granted, in form factor is the number one priority and all others fall away in the distance, then there is little difference between a laptop and iMac. So when one does buy a laptop, one gives up both money and power. One gets other advantages, of course, and Apple makes various machines for the needs of different people.

  • 100 times on the blackboard! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Scrameustache ( 459504 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @09:52AM (#10162328) Homepage Journal
    Repeat after me: I will not post articles from a VP of marketing.

    I will not post articles from a VP of marketing.
    I will not post articles from a VP of marketing.
    I will not post articles from a VP of marketing.
    I will not post articles from a VP of marketing. ...

    Good, now continue. Even if he's from Apple and he's got a brand new toy to talk about, he is still a VP of Marketing. : )

    • Re:100 times on the blackboard! (Score:4, Insightful)

      by wattersa ( 629338 ) <andrew@andrewwatters.com> on Sunday September 05, 2004 @10:03AM (#10162374) Homepage
      Notice that literally everything he says in the "interview" is devoted to increasing the differences between the "pro" and "consumer" lines. E.g. FireWire 800 had really been more attractive to a professional crowd. And really, more [appealing] than the speed has been the advantages [professionals] have with cable lengths.

      What does this statement mean? It's pretty much throwaway. I hate apple marketing. They need to make the iMac G5 without the display (oh wait...attractive to a professional crowd = power mac). *sigh*

      • Re:100 times on the blackboard! (Score:4, Insightful)

        by BasilBrush ( 643681 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @11:01AM (#10162685)
        Need to? They don't need to do any such thing. For all the noise made by geeks on a tight budget, most of the computers that I've ever known of people buying have been bought with a monitor. They might get a few extra sales with a headless version, but would it compensate them for the lower profit on a lower value machine?

        ITYM, you want them to make a headless iMac.

  • Oft-Overlooked Point (Score:5, Informative)

    by the pickle ( 261584 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @09:53AM (#10162332) Homepage
    In everyone's clamouring for a G5 PowerBook, a lot of people have said that this iMac proves a G5 PowerBook could be coming soon.

    Joswiak does a great job of explaining exactly why that won't be happening:

    There's still a luxury we have in two inches that we don't have in a fraction of an inch, if you think about how much space there really is in the bottom of a PowerBook... Certainly we were trying to learn from the iMac, but not like, "Oh, there's this breakthrough now, expect it next month.

    I want a G5 PowerBook as bad as the next guy, but I'm a realist about it. If we see one by MWSF in January I'll be VERY impressed.

    Fascinating interview overall. Anything that gives insight into Apple's collective thought process is worthwhile for the rest of the tech industry to keep an eye on.

    p
    • They probably could make a G5 powerbook, but it would be a mega-luggable; a behemoth among the beautiful, svelte laptops we expect from Apple. This is something they have tried to avoid since the mac portable [apple-history.com].

    • Re:Oft-Overlooked Point (Score:5, Interesting)

      by John_Booty ( 149925 ) <johnbooty@boot[ ... g ['ypr' in gap]> on Sunday September 05, 2004 @10:10AM (#10162414) Homepage
      I agree with you.

      Serious question, not rhetorical: is there really that much to be learned about cooling a G5? There's only so much heat removal you can do, given a certain amount of space and a CPU which produces a certain amount of heat. I don't know that there's some miracle the Apple design/engineering wizards can really pull out of their proverbial hats on that one. Unless there's some really obvious stuff they're NOT doing at the moment?

      I think the thing that leads to a G5 laptop would probably be cooler-running G5 CPUs from IBM, or a newfound desire from Apple to do an unsexy "luggable" laptop. Then again, I suppose the current generation of G5 CPUs would run pretty cool when clocked down to 1 or 1.2ghz, if they really wanted to get one out of the door...

  • The All-in-One is cool, (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Hawthorne01 ( 575586 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @09:56AM (#10162346)
    but I'd love to see a system with the same stats, without the LCD being offered to the education and enterprise markets. That would kick up Apple's market share in a heartbeat. I own a G4 17" iMac and love it, but I know my needs and the needs of the middle school down the road are two different things.

    • Re:The All-in-One is cool, (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Laivincolmo ( 778355 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @10:03AM (#10162375)
      A middle school really doesn't need a powerful G5 processor when you think about it though. If they're just going to maybe browse the web, and maybe have a few games installed, perhaps the eMac would be a more affordable solution : Apple Store [apple.com]
      • A middle school really doesn't need a powerful G5 processor when you think about it though.
        Sure they do. They need to invest in hardware which will most likely still be viable 5 to 10 years down the road.

        • Exactly. A "pizza box" that they could easily replace monitors on would be just the thing. Schools need computers to last a long time, and kids can be tough on them - repeatedly sending them back for LCD repair would get old fast. Though the AIO "almost no cables needed" style has some points in its favor too.

    • Re:The All-in-One is cool, (Score:5, Informative)

      by crackshoe ( 751995 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @10:39AM (#10162567)
      educational implementations tend to use (and often prefer) the all-in-one. Its easier to move (mobile computer carts), harder to steal parts (its actually an issue - i promise). From the all-in-one g3 (with the clear plastic hood which led to the imac, if i don't misremember, which i might) to the emac (and, if you want to go farther back, the long line of apple all-in-one units).
    • I'd love to see a system with the same stats, without the LCD being offered to the education and enterprise markets. That would kick up Apple's market share in a heartbeat.

      They did that a few years back - it was called the G4 Cube and it did horribly.

      It was too pricey to justify it not having a Monitor OR any expansion. I have a feeling that with the LCD iMacs they can save some of the cost of the Hardware in the mass produced screen. Take out the screen and its harder to do make a profit.
  • but being a poor techie, I just can't afford it.

    I wait with bait on my breath for a simple, cheap ($500-$800), computer from them that includes the styling and beauty of the more expensive models.

    But I guess that's why I am typing this on my old 497mHz 128MB ram linux box.

    Hail the new "free" economy and the frustion of Apple that they are not considered by many to be an alternative to the mighty monopolistic broken OS.
    • Well, the eMac [apple.com] comes in at just under you $800 threshold
    • I wait with bait on my breath for a simple, cheap ($500-$800), computer from them that includes the styling and beauty of the more expensive models.

      How about a powerbook [ebay.com]? You've got thirty minutes.

    • Power Max [powermax.com]computers carries an extensive selection of quality used and Apple certified reconditioned Macs in all models! You can pick up used ibooks, imacs, G4 graphite towers, even the G4 cube, at bargain prices! Go now! Look at all the perfectly good used macs $500.00 and up!

    • no excuse. (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Ralph Spoilsport ( 673134 )
      Saying the Mac is too expensive is a load of hooey.

      compare a machine to a Dell, just for fun. In fact, there's a website that does just that.

      So let's look at the bottom of the barrel: a $650 computer. [systemshootouts.org]

      Obviously, the eMac sucks at some things, but has benefits in others. And it's all of a dollar or two more expensive than the equivalent Dell, and lord knows an order of magnitude more attractive.

      For what you get, Apple computers are competitively priced. You can argue little crappy pinheaded arguments

      • Re:no excuse. (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Gannoc ( 210256 )
        From my experience, the SOFTWARE is what's expensive.

        Thats actually what a lot of geeks forget too. They loudly complain that PCs are cheaper then macs... but forget that they've stolen Windows, Outlook, etc.

    • I wait with bait on my breath for a simple, cheap ($500-$800), computer from them that includes the styling and beauty of the more expensive models.

      Yeah, and I wait on baited breath for BMW to release a $10,000 car with all the grace, beauty, styling, comfort and power of their 5 and 7-series models.

      Some things just aren't in the cards.

  • It's very user serviceable (Score:4, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 05, 2004 @09:57AM (#10162353)


    From Apple's Site:


    Think you need a new part? You can replace many of your iMac G5's parts yourself.

    The iMac G5 is designed to make it easy for you to install replacement parts if you need to. The parts you can install yourself are:

    AirPort Extreme Card

    Memory - DDR 400 MHz (PC3200) SDRAM

    Hard drive

    Optical drive

    Power supply

    LCD display

    Modem card

    Mid-plane assembly (contains the main logic board, the G5 processor, fans, NVIDIA graphics processor, and so forth).

    The back supposedly has only three screws holding it on. Plus a optional wall mounting bracket is available from Apple. The keyboard can go under the computer to save desk space, fans are quiet too!

    Team Mac OS X #1971 is going to love Folding@home with this new toy.

    I love it and definably getting one!

  • This sums is up... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by OneOver137 ( 674481 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @09:58AM (#10162354) Journal
    ..."teeny little things like that that tend to, over the course of time, make people love their Mac and inspire magazines like yours, versus people getting [angry] over time at their PCs because of little things that drive them nuts."
    It's that level of attention to detail that people cherish. God is in the details.

  • All fine and dandy (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Udo Schmitz ( 738216 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @10:04AM (#10162386) Journal
    But looking at my iMacDV [apple-history.com], or to be more specific listening to my iMacDV [apple-history.com] I wonder when will Apple be building fanless Macs again? Ever?

    Just gimme my 999$ G5 Cube ...

  • iMac G4 arm will be missed (Score:5, Interesting)

    by mariox19 ( 632969 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @10:06AM (#10162397)
    We found that most people don't end up raising or lowering [the iMac G4 screen]. The big thing is the tilt direction...

    Maybe those of us who don't fall into the "most people" category will miss the range of motion available on the iMac G4. I own one now. Occasionally I like to tilt my chair back and slump down. To match that posture, I move the iMac screen down, too. At other times I'm just tired of sitting. I then stand and raise the screen all the way up, tilting it all the way back. I can surf the 'Net comfortably for a little while this way. It's a nice change of pace.

    I think the G5 iMac is a great machine, but I'll miss the screen mobility when I get one.

  • Apple devotees a little miffed (Score:5, Interesting)

    by SilentChris ( 452960 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @10:10AM (#10162417) Homepage
    I've spent a lot of time on the Apple forums (I own a new iBook) and the reaction I've seen to the new iMac has been pretty "eh".

    The original iMac, G4 cube and even the last iMac (to a certain extent) were elegant. The iPod had a great design because it was functional enough to fit in a small pocket. It doesn't make a very good consumer PC design.

    Also, people have been a little miffed by some design choices. Why have all the wires running out the back of the screen instead of the base (I know, I know, wireless keyboard and mouse -- but most people will be hooking a printer up to this thing). Some people are complaining about it not being wall mountable (which would've been a cool high-end feature). Also, from a marketing standpoint, they completely missed the fall school schedule.

    For now, I'm quite happy with my iBook. It has become my computer of choice in a house full of computers, and prompted me to buy an iPod. But I wouldn't buy the new iMac.
    • Some people are complaining about it not being wall mountable

      Some people don't read specs closely enough before bitching.

      Apple will start selling a VESA mount adapter [apple.com] for the new iMac in October which opens up all kinds of mounting possibilities. The only thing that it can't do is hang flush against the wall, due to the power connection and ports (unless you modify the wall behind it to accommodate those).

      ~Philly

    • The original iMac, G4 cube and even the last iMac (to a certain extent) were elegant.

      I can't say with any certainty about the cube or original iMac, but the previous iMac was an expensive beast to manufacture with that movable arm. Getting rid of it likely reduced a large chunk of the most to make an iMac.

      Also, from a marketing standpoint, they completely missed the fall school schedule.

      That's certainly something Apple regrets make no mistake about it, but it wasn't something they had a lot of

    • Re:Apple devotees a little miffed (Score:5, Informative)

      by aluminumcube ( 542280 ) * <<moc.noisyle> <ta> <gerg>> on Sunday September 05, 2004 @10:39AM (#10162563)
      There will be a wall mount available on the Apple Store for the G5 iMac in October. It complies with the VESA spec and will cost $30.

      As to the cable issue, I don't see how it's going to matter that much- cables in the base or cables from the side, your still going to end up with a bunch of wires sticking out the back of your computer any way it goes. For $220, you can upgrade to the Bluetooth mouse+keyboard AND get an AirPort Express which includes a USB port so you can print wirelessly.

      In a way though, having the plugs where they are makes perfect sense though- My mom's G4 iMac was tucked back into her desk and it was always a PITA to move everything off the desk to pull it out and get to the ports when necessary. With people plugging and unpluging devices often (which a lot of people do in my experience as the family tech support guru), it makes sense to place accessability over aesthetics.

      Or let me put it to you another way- Apple is an exceedingly anal retentive company when it comes to design. I for one would trust that they explored every option on where to put the ports and they decided that the side was the best solution. That isn't to say they are right, but I am willing to bet money there were more then a few pound-the-table arguments about that issue.

    • Re:Apple devotees a little miffed (Score:4, Interesting)

      by ottffssent ( 18387 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @10:50AM (#10162633)
      That's interesting that an Apple-centric crowd would be so unimpressed. I've long faulted Apple for poor (-ly suited to me, if not outright wrong) design choices in the past, and think the new iMac looks quite nice.

      I was initially skeptical of the cable layout as well, but upon further consideration think it is actually quite reasonable. For one thing, it's harder to access the back of the base than it is the side of the monitor. If you're never adding or removing devices, it matters very little where the cords plug in, but with this layout it's simple to reach around the corner and plug something in temporarily, and not much more difficult to thread a cable through the guide. For another thing, the cables are more-or-less aligned along the horizontal axis of the machine, so tilting the monitor won't pull on your cables.

      You're correct that the design is only elegant until you start throwing peripherals at it, and will lose a lot of its simplicity and coolness with a half-dozen USB devices sticking out of it. However, if the machine's as nice as it looks in a fairly bare setup, and still manages to be at least functional with lots of stuff attached, that's a pretty successful design.

      I don't think Firewire800 is necessary, but I am surprised Apple didn't include gigE. I suspect it's primarily to differentiate their product lines, but given the cost difference (a few dollars), it's still surprising they didn't throw it in. Another thing that worries me is the hard drive. Apple claim 25dB(A) v. 28dB(A) for the older iMac design. However, the older imacs had a disturbing tendency to develop rather whiny hard drives after a while, completely shooting their low noise floor and doing it with a high-pitched drone which is way more offensive than fan noise. If the new imacs can maintain their low noise floor in actual use, I'll be quite pleased.

      Naturally a final opinion will have to wait until I've commandeered one at an apple store for a while, but if they're physically stable, they look like great replacements for our aging iMac/600s.
      • One of the downsides to Apple's history of innovation is that people begin to expect unrealistic things from them. And all the rumor sites just making crap up doesn't help either. For a lot of people, when they see a picture of this new iMac, if it isn't something so entirely different from anything they've seen before, they're disappointed.

        Apple's trying to walk a middle of the line approach here. Use lessons learned in past designs, both by them and by competitors, while also making something distinctly

    • Think iPod (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Infonaut ( 96956 ) <infonaut@gmail.com> on Sunday September 05, 2004 @11:52AM (#10162958) Homepage Journal
      Apple is very strongly tying the new iMac to the iPod. The idea is to leverage the tremendous success of the iPod to show Wintel users that Apple also makes great personal computers.

      While the original iMac, G4 Cube, and Luxo iMac were impressive feats of design, they also screamed out, "This is an Apple product. I'm different!"

      The new iMac is elegant and well-designed, but it takes a much more subtle approach. It is less of an ad for Apple. I think the reason is that Apple wants to provide Wintel users with a computer that is like the iPod - elegant, highly useful, and understated.

      Whether they'll say it or not, many corporate and small business customers have stayed away from Apple hardware for years because since the advent of the bondi blue iMac, Macs have been just too "different'. It makes a lot of people uncomfortable to go too far away from familiar design.

      Apple is taking a very measured and cautious approach with business customers, and they probably will never come out and directly say it, but the new iPod-inspired design is likely intended less to appeal to traditional Mac users than it is to entice Switchers.

      I think Apple will sell boatloads of the new iMac, and I'm very tempted to snag one of the 20" versions myself.

    • I know, I know, wireless keyboard and mouse -- but most people will be hooking a printer up to this thing

      Rather than hooking up a printer to the unit, the printer could be hooked up to an AirPort Express [apple.com].

  • The small size is stunning. It looks like a must have item for the rich kids. I hope for heat sake that they are under-clocking the processor. But what's up with the low memory size?

  • Diagnostic lights (Score:5, Funny)

    by CaseyB ( 1105 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @10:31AM (#10162526)
    There are even four indicator lights on the motherboard that an Apple Care person will tell you to look at the lights, and depending on what's lit up, can tell you the state of different sub-systems.

    But first they force you to admit that there are actually five lights.

  • Warning to iMac customers (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Ars-Fartsica ( 166957 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @10:39AM (#10162564)
    AT 256MB, the standard RAM allotment will not be adequate for most people. Note that if you upgrade via the Apple Store, by Apple's return policies the box is now a "custom build" and cannot be returned. Since the RAM seems to have been lowballed almost by design, it seems there is a concerted effort to minimize returns.

  • Design is a regression, but a progression in cost (Score:5, Informative)

    by adzoox ( 615327 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @10:43AM (#10162590) Journal
    One thing that was mentioned at Expo Paris that isn't mentioned in this article:

    The design was carefully thought out to save weight. [and therefore shipping/distribution costs] The previous sunflower design was costing almost as much as an eMac (with a heavy CRT) to ship because the base needed to be counterweighted. This was a "design flaw" of the sunflower iMac.

    I had proposed something like this [slashdot.org] to maintain the sunflower design - which I believe to be one of the most unique electronic designs of the decade.

    What a lot of people don't understand about the new unit is that with the stand - this unit actually takes up a little more depth than the eMac and carries NO side to side rotation - like the swingarm from the previous design did. If you add in this element - it actually takes up 40% more deskspace. One must have all of that area clear on the desktop to turn the display. [new iMac is much more static]
    • I call BS.

      The iMac G5 is progressive in price, technology and design. Since I will assume you agree with the first two-

      In my book, design is all about making products that are elegant while being used and as minimal as possible when not being used. Based on those two (admittedly highly personal criteria) the iMac G5 is a BIG win.

      Say what you will about it somehow being less compact then an eMac (exactly how are you measuring that?) the fact of the matter is that design is a about perception. I think any

    • Re:Design is a regression, but a progression in co (Score:4, Insightful)

      by aftk2 ( 556992 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @12:32PM (#10163189) Homepage Journal
      I had proposed something like this to maintain the sunflower design - which I believe to be one of the most unique electronic designs of the decade.

      And you were rightly chastized on MacRumors.com...because of the idea that people should add water (?) to the base of their sunflower iMac is just bizarre.

      Look, I can't say enough good things about the new iMac. Somehow, they managed to shoehorn a 1.8Ghz G5 in there, allow you to add up to 2gigs of RAM, give you a serial ATA hard drive and a 20 inch screen, while making it user-serviceable (for the most part) and hovering around 2 inches thick (for the 20inch model.) That is amazing.

      Furthermore, when this thing starts selling like crazy (which it will, look at that price), there will be more wall mounts and sunflower-style arms that one might have believed possible in such a limited market. I imagine they will probably even get a better graphics card in there, at some point (Don't think so? ATI just announced a 128mb card, the Radeon 9200, for PCI PowerMacs...these are systems that stopped shipping 5 years ago.)

  • Doh! (Score:3, Funny)

    by bckspc ( 172870 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @11:32AM (#10162850) Homepage
    Now we have to add *another* Slashdot icon.

    Damn you Apple!

  • New slogan coming soon? (Score:4, Funny)

    by stienman ( 51024 ) <`moc.scisabu' `ta' `sivada'> on Sunday September 05, 2004 @11:56AM (#10162992) Homepage Journal
    this achieves much of the same things [as the G4 iMac] in a different way and, we think, in a better way.

    Ah. So instead of

    Think Different(TM)

    It's now

    Think Better. We think...

    -Adam

  • The speakers...! (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Atomic Frog ( 28268 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @12:12PM (#10163075)
    Get left out too often.

    Actually, Apple are not the first to try this trick. Downward firing stereo speakers were also on my old IBM Thinkpad 770X.

    Let me tell you, they work amazingly well, especially considering they are tiny 2W laptop speakers.
    Too bad IBM has taken a step backwards with the new "T" series. That is the crappiest audio I've ever heard on any laptop, and it isn't even stereo.

  • iLike it... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by MsGeek ( 162936 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @12:41PM (#10163236) Homepage Journal
    Since 1999, I have had a Blue-and-White G3 minitower. It's been lovely...no hardware problems yet. I upgraded it once, to add RAM and a bigger HD.

    Since then, there have been no compelling reasons to get a newer Mac. The Blue-and-White was by-and-large a "future proof" machine, like it was advertised to my bosses at the Dot-Com I used to work at. The machine was loaned to me for telecommuting and when the company went bust I was able to buy it from them at fire-sale prices with part of my last paycheck.

    The new iMac is the first Mac that has really screamed "UPGRADE TO ME!" in a while. My Blue-and-White is getting long in the tooth now, and even with 512MB RAM it struggles a little.

    Do any of you realize just how hot this machine will be once the first 64-bit version of MacOS comes out???? No, I don't mean cooling problems, I mean hot as in bitchen. Agreed, they should have gone with a better Nvidia video chipset, (but I suspect the 5200 is a choice for power draw and heat as well as low price) and it should have come standard with more RAM, but dig: it's still pretty good.

    And let me point out something else. Compare this all-in-one machine to the 32-bit Gateway Profile 4 [gateway.com], which is no longer a production machine and is selling through Gateway's site as a refurb. Los Angeles Valley College has a computer lab full of these low-end machines, bought when they were still new.

    Even as a refurbished machine, this is selling for $1,200 US. This is with Windows XP Home (not Pro, Home) and Works (not Office) pre-installed, a basic tray-load CD-ROM, Intel "Extreme Graphics" (anyone who's worked with it knows how laughable this term is) and 10/100 Ethernet.

    Now look at the iMac G5's specs. [apple.com] The low-end machine is only $100 US more expensive new than the refurbed Gateway Profile 4. For this, you get a CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive, Firewire to go with your USB, (and I don't know whether the Gateway POS has USB2 or USB 1.1 USB ports) and a wide-screen 17" TFT as opposed to a regular 4:3 17" TFT. Spend $200 more and you get a DVD-/+RW "Superdrive."

    Yes, you pay a premium for Apple products. However, as you can see, the premium isn't very much at all. This is a 64-bit xNIX workstation we are talking about here. For only $300 more than a steaming cow-flop from Gateway. (I know from whence I speak about the Gateway: I have seen too many of those Profile 4 machines in the computer lab with "out of order" signs taped in front of them.) Apple builds things, by and large, to last. And yes, they design them to look pretty damn cool.

    Maybe next June I can convince the remainders of my family to chip in on one of these as a grad present.

    • Mac OS X ~= WinXP Pro (Score:4, Interesting)

      by bill_mcgonigle ( 4333 ) * on Sunday September 05, 2004 @10:29PM (#10166019) Homepage Journal
      This is with Windows XP Home

      Don't forget, Mac OS X includes most of the features that differentiate Windows XP Pro from Home - IPSec, Domain Support, Webserver, Multi-language support, SNMP, Simple TCP services, network monitor, etc.

      This is important to anyone who does any telecommuting which is probably a significant subset of the iMac market (vs. eMac market).

      So go ahead and add in XP Pro when you're doing the price comparison - Mac OS X has more value than XP Home.

  • Almost perfect for a work desk (Score:3, Interesting)

    by ducomputergeek ( 595742 ) on Sunday September 05, 2004 @02:46PM (#10163852)
    This is nearly perfect for an office enviroment. It has a small footprint and elegant "serious" look to it. I've had businesses look at macintosh iMac's before and say they look "Too playful" even though the machines did everything they needed without spending more on PowerMacs.

    I've been using a powerbook because of its power and small profile for a couple years, but having a small profile and power of a G5 processor as well as price will make my next powerbook arguement much more difficult since I can get more at half the price.

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