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Sinclap--I do appreciate your feedback on my situation, along with everyone else's. However, I'm a bit surprised at your constantly touting Psystar, which I feel is in the wrong with their business model. Not that I don't think there's a place for Mac clones, but I think that's up to Apple. To me, Psystar is one step above a Hackintosh, which I would never trust my entire business to.
Even if I was OK with Psystar doing so, I have no desire to stake the reliability of the most important piece of equipment my business has on a company I've never heard of, with no local support locations, and which is on very shaky legal ground to boot.
In any event, this all appears to be a moot issue--check out this update from AI:
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/01/30/apple_warns_of_reduced_imac_availability_in_near_term.html
Apple this week is advising members of its reseller channels that supply of iMacs will be constrained in the immediate future, a move that may signal new models are nearing production.
In particular, people familiar with the matter say the Cupertino-based Mac maker has warned that new reseller orders for the high-end 24-inch 3.06GHz iMac are unlikely to be fulfilled, suggesting manufacturing of that model is ramping down or has already ceased.
Additionally, Apple is said to have braced its partners for limited availability of the remainder of the iMac line in the coming weeks, a sign which this late in the product's life-cycle "only means one thing" -- namely that the company is drawing down inventory levels ahead of new models.
If the new models are beefy enough, I'll go for one of them; if they're a minor bump, I'll buy one of the current 24" models at clearance pricing.
Meanwhile, my new MacBook hard drive and DVD burner should show up today, so one way or another I'll at least have a juiced-up laptop :)
Sinclap--perhaps you should *ask* Blue why he's delaying his purchase. It's not like I'm someone you've never heard of referred to in a news article--you can ask me directly.
Yes, I'm obviously deeply frustrated that Apple hasn't refreshed the iMac yet, although the current 2.8 GHz Core2Duo machine would still be a massive upgrade from my current almost 4-year-old G5.
No, I wouldn't consider a PC.
No, I wouldn't consider a Pystar. For one thing, being unlicensed or supported, what on earth would I do in the case of a hardware issue?
As for my decision to delay any system purchase at all, that's more of a financial situation decision--I realized that even the Rev A MacBook will solve two of the biggest issues I need to address, just by having an Intel processor: Parallels (to cross-check sites on IE) and native performance for Office 2008 and Adobe CS3.
The performance should still be considerably better than the G5, so I should be all set for another year or so (I hope).\
Ummm...if you're using an iPhone/iPod Touch, you have a valid point.
If you're using a Mac, it has full Flash support. Might need to download the latest Flash browser plugin.
Sinclap--assuming that the final product really is solid/reliable/secure/bla bla bla, yes, it will probably *slow* OS X's growth, but I don't think it'll stop it cold...
...which would be fine, really; competition is a Good Thing®.
On the other hand, the comparison won't be to 10.5, it'll be to Snow Leopard, which presumably will have all sorts of additional improvements/etc etc as well.
Hmmm...looks like the rest of the back 'n forth was deleted as well (including Bootz' response to me, etc).
Hey, Lango--if that's you, you should at least own up to it. We've certainly had more heated political/OT debates here before, most of which you were heavily involved in!
If not, then never mind--but who's that leave? Matt?
Hmmm...anyone else's off-topic posts being deleted by mysterious forces lately, or is it just mine? 'Cus Bootz's sure seems to be OT...
Yofal--good point; the original Macintosh was released on Jan. 24, 1984....
Of course, there's another Big News Event taking place 4 days earlier which might siphon off just a bit of hype, ya think?
I wonder if they're planning on overhauling the entire desktop lineup in one shot?
In addition to the mini and the iMac, the Mac Pros haven't been updated in a long time either...at this point, it would make sense to me to do a Special Stevenote just for desktops.
Instead of 2 mini models like they have now, I'd love to see the mini drop to a single $499 build--and the addition of:
"The Mac" at $999
(basically a Cube-sized mini...the theoretical "minitower" so many of us have been clamoring for)
The name would make sense, too:
The Mac Mini
The Mac
The iMac
The Mac Pro
KCMW--bingo. I can't imagine them letting the iMac go more than a *full year* without a refresh of some sort (especially since they seem so eager to get those new DisplayPorts standardized). Sinclap noted that the last update was April, so I have *got* to believe that a refresh will come between now and April.
SO, here's what I think my plan is:
1. Clean up/optimize the current system as much as possible
2. Back everything up, wipe the drive and do a clean install of *Leopard* instead of Tiger (I happen to have a standalone copy but haven't upgraded yet)
3. Hope that there's enough performance improvement from #1 & 2 to tide me over until a refresh comes out.
Who knows, they might even throw Snow Leopard into the refresh while they're at it, plus I'd get the free iLife 09 upgrade at the same time...
Yeah, that sounds like the way to go...
Sinclap--thanks...when I do upgrade, I'm definitely getting a 24" model, and I'm definitely going for the iMac due to a hatred of cable clutter. I'm very much the target audience for AIO systems :)
The only question is whether to wait before buying, how long to wait if so, and whether to get a refurb or a current model if I don't wait.
For instance, Expercom's lowest-priced 24" iMac refurb is:
2.16 GHz Core2Duo / 2GB / 250GB / GeForce 7300GT with 128 MB / Refurb: $999
The current 24" iMac model is:
2.8GHz Core2Duo / 2GB / 320GB / ATI 2600 PRO: $1,799
....or, a refurb model (identical specs) is $1,549.
Since I have no problem with refurbs, my options are basically the 2.16 GHz model for $1,000, the 2.8 GHz model for $1,550, or hold out for a new model (at which point the current ones would drop as well).
Well, then...this unexpected (non)development raises the age-old question for me: How should I proceed regarding my iMac replacement?
Current model: 20" 2.0 GHz iMac G5 w/2 GB RAM, 250 GB hard drive, Radeon 9600 w/120 MB VRAM, running OS X 10.4.
Issues with current model: 1) performance (quite sluggish with Intel-optimized software such as Office 2008 and Adobe CS3 apps); 2) display size (I really want a 24" model).
Obviously I could solve both of these by getting a current 24" Intel iMac, which range from $1,000 (refurbs 2.16 GHz) to $1,800 (current 2.8 GHz).
If they'd announced new models today, I'd either get one of the brand-new ones (presumably at $1,800) or a discount on the current 2.8 GHz model (probably for around $1,500), but that didn't happen, so now what?
Options include:
1) stick it out as is for another month or two, hoping for an upgrade soon
2) stick it out but upgrade the G5 to Leopard (anyone know if 10.5 run faster than 10.4 on G5 models?)
3) buy a current model brand-new 24" iMac for $1,800
4) buy a refurb model 24" iMac for perhaps $1,200 or so
Suggestions? The biggest issue for me is that Office 2008 and Adobe CS3 run DOG SLOW on this system. I can live without the larger screen for awhile, but the performance issue is seriously impacting my work performance.
Interesting theory, and it makes sense from a Jobsian POV--once he decided to drop out of MacWorld, his decision was final; they had to make an appearance of *some* sort this time around, so he tossed whatever they had ready to go at Phil. The 17" MBP was kind of necessary since the rest of the line had already been refreshed just a couple of months earlier, but aside from that...
Hmmm...you could be right.
I hope it's sooner rather than later, though--I desperately want to replace this G5 iMac, but don't want to get burned by a refresh 2 weeks later (which is probably another reason for the change in strategy--they probably figured that MacWorld, which is always on a date known well in advance, was causing a mini-Osbourne effect every year as people like me put off purchases in anticipation).
Not to mention absolutely zero mention of Snow Leopard??
The other rumors buzzing around--home media server, Apple TV update, iPhone nano, etc--were dubious at best, but can't imagine that *anyone* isn't at least a bit shocked by the lack of any 10.6, mini or iMac news...especially for a keynote that was specifically presented as being "all about the Mac" when, in fact, the entire last portion wasn't (none of the iTunes news, as great as it is, was Mac-specific, after all).
Not to mention not even the slightest mention of either a) Jobs' absence or b) this being the final MW for Apple (aside from the regular "retail stores = 10 MW's per day" bit).
Very, very odd.
Wow...no new iMacs or minis? Not even "quiet refreshes" on the store (I just checked)???
That's beyond stunning--both of them are overdue, especially the mini, and there's been like 8 different "super-duper reliable" sources flat-out stating that iMac/mini bumps were on the way today.
Not a whisper?
Strange (and disappointing, as I've been planning on replacing my G5 iMac for awhile now...)
Face/GPS tagging: iStalk, perhaps?
OT: Yofal--good heavens. Rush "Big Fat Idiot*" Limbaugh and Bill "Lying Liar*" O'Reilly's heads must've exploded this morning.
On the other hand, Arnold Schwartzenegger, Fred "Gopher" Grandy and Sonny Bono all made it as politicians, not to mention a certain amiable old B-movie actor who co-starred with a chimpanzee...
I dunno, who's next? I hear Fran Drescher wants to be appointed to Hillary Clinton's Senate seat...
(*Franken's descriptions, not necessarily mine)
OT: For good or for bad, meet your next United States Senator:
On the other hand, look who he beat:
...who was also previously beaten, I might add, by this guy:
Here's the full statement from Jobs:
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2009/01/05sjletter.html
Dear Apple Community,
For the first time in a decade, I’m getting to spend the holiday season with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote.
Unfortunately, my decision to have Phil deliver the Macworld keynote set off another flurry of rumors about my health, with some even publishing stories of me on my deathbed.
I’ve decided to share something very personal with the Apple community so that we can all relax and enjoy the show tomorrow.
As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008. The reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors. A few weeks ago, I decided that getting to the root cause of this and reversing it needed to become my #1 priority.
Fortunately, after further testing, my doctors think they have found the cause—a hormone imbalance that has been “robbing” me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy. Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis.
The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I’ve already begun treatment. But, just like I didn’t lose this much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will take me until late this Spring to regain it. I will continue as Apple’s CEO during my recovery.
I have given more than my all to Apple for the past 11 years now. I will be the first one to step up and tell our Board of Directors if I can no longer continue to fulfill my duties as Apple’s CEO. I hope the Apple community will support me in my recovery and know that I will always put what is best for Apple first.
So now I’ve said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this.
Steve
Well, that pretty much wraps it up, yes? I especially like that closing sentence--that's pure Jobs.
Annie and all--Happy New Year to y'all as well.
Whoops! MSFT experiencing their own "Y2K 2.0" bug: Every(?) 30 GB Zune out there apparently went kablooey at exactly 2:00am this morning:
http://gizmodo.com/5121311/reports-30gb-zunes-failing-everywhere-all-at-once
All 8 people who own one must be devastated!!
(J/K--little dig at the Mac market share jokes through the years...)
The general concensus seems to be that AAPL would be facing a *massive* stockholder lawsuit if they knowingly lied about the CEO's ability to run the company (including, I presume, to make public appearances/etc), therefore the rumor is likely BS, unless TPTB at Apple are utter morons.
I'm not a lawyer, but this sounds reasonable to me (that it's BS, that is, not that they're morons)--anyone?
Dude, you must chill. Not everyone is obsessive about the minute-to-minute price changes, and not everyone checks this board every 2 minutes.
As for the price drop, I haven't a clue.
Um...that's cute, but about 9 years out of date...
Sinclap--I'm sure it has excellent airflow. So would *any* computer chassis if you ripped the covers off of it. For that matter, my house would have excellent ventilation if I just got rid of the walls and roof.
Sinclap--Well, it has more ports, which I'm always grumping about, and the easy-open chassis design is a nice touch. The external power supply is both a plus and a minus, depending on your POV.
Otherwise, I think it's pretty butt-ugly, frankly.
OT: Gah. Tell me about it--about 15" of snow and -13 windchill here in Detroit...
OT: Annie--I'm so sorry for your loss...and sorrier if I missed an earlier mention of it.
Tex--hard to say. I've never broken out the Mac sales by dollar amount. If anyone wants to do so, feel free and I'll add it to the site--but since I'm still considering killing off the Shootouts site completely, this might be moot.
Lisa--sorry if I sounded harsh; I wasn't ripping on you, I was ripping on the author of the article.
Sinclap--yes, I know; I'm one of them! I plan on buying either a brand-new 24" iMac or one of the current models at clearance pricing.
My point wasn't to argue that Mac sales aren't down--they very well may be. My point is that the article contains several blatantly obvious factual lies/inaccuracies.
For all I know, Mac sales are down 99% from last year. That doesn't change the fact that it's hardly the "first time" that they've been down from a previous year, even in "modern history" (which, even in the fast-moving PC market, I'd say would start at the point that Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, or at least since the original iMac launched in August '98).
Tomm--they may even have THAT wrong--check the original WSJ article:
"Sales of Macs in U.S. stores last month declined 1% from a year ago"
In other words, they're talking purely about retail stores. No idea how sales via Apple.com, MacMall, Expercom, Amazon, etc are doing.
For that matter, no clue how *any* sales *overseas* are doing.
Could be way up. Could be way down. Who the hell knows? Not these guys.
I'm sure that sales have to some degree due to the cratering economy, but this is pretty sloppy reporting.
"for the first time in modern history, sales of its computer products have gone down over the prior year."
What is this nonsense?
No offense to you for posting the link, but the article is absurd right off the bat.
http://www.systemshootouts.org/mac_sales.html
In Q3 2002, Apple sold 13..6% fewer Macs (734,000) than Q3 2001 (850,000).
In Q4 2002, Apple sold 0.4% fewer Macs (743,000) than Q4 2001 (746,000).
In Q1 2003, Apple sold 12.5% fewer Macs (711,000) than Q1 2002 (813,000).
In Q2 2003, Apple sold 4.6% fewer Macs (771,000) than Q2 2002 (808,000).
...plus at least 5 other quarters in the past 10 years in which their quarterly Y/Y sales *dropped*.
I'm not saying that the 1% drop in November sales is *good*, but claiming it's the "first time in modern history" that this has happened is silly, unless "modern history" means "the past 5 years" (which I suppose it does in computer time...)
Actually, the more I think about it, the more responsible of a move it is on Jobs' part. He's "dropping out" as the public face of the company in gentle stages instead of all at once, which would be a hell of a shock to the system.
First, he does a keynote in which he turns the stage over to others for over half the time.
Then, he doesn't do the keynote at all, but has someone else do it (perhaps with himself being called up as a "special appearance" or whatever).
Then, they drop the MW keynote altogether (by dropping MW), because, no offense to Phil Schiller, but let's face it, Jobs is the only one with enough star power to make the global media pay attention; if everyone knows he's not gonna be onstage anymore, there goes the free media exposure/advertising.
*THIS* year's MW/keynote *will* get a lot of attention even though Jobs isn't giving it, *because* it's the last one, and because I'm certain that everyone will be looking for a "surprise" Jobs appearance to be the "one more thing..." at the end. After that, however, the free media ride is over, so why bother with the expense and fuss?
Besides, Apple has the clout to call a one-week-notice broadcast press conference any time they want if they have a new product/service to announce.
Wow. Well, the "obvious" meaning of this announcement is really twofold:
1. As they note, MW has become less and less relevant in the past few years; between the retail stores, massively expanded retail presence, and the web, a single, expensive-to-produce gala event is making less and less sense. They already dropped MW Boston several years ago, and when you add in the economic meltdown this isn't really that surprising.
2. The bigger shocker, of course, is that Phil is doing the keynote. The only time I remember him doing a high-profile keynote himself was the intro of the Leno Jaw iMac at the Paris Mac Expo (I think) several years back, and I think that was due to a scheduling issue with Jobs or something.
Conventional wisdom would have it that Jobs just isn't feeling up to doing the keynote, and since he's the only one with enough star power to make MW worth national news anyway, it probably seemed like the right time to pack it in.
Still, it's gonna be strange not having MW to look forward to...
OT: So, who will survive between Office Depot, OfficeMax and Staples? Place yer bets...
Safari breaks 7%, FireFox 20%, IE below 70%:
http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/safari_tops_7_percent_in_nov_ie_drops_below_70/
Annie and everyone: Happy Thanksgiving from me as well; I hope your turkeys aren't soggy, your homes are full of stuffing, and that all the people you love are moist!
Um...or something like that :)
Heywood--good grief:
"In addition to the two extra cores, which would significantly improve the performance of iMacs for multi-core aware tasks, the systems would also have a faster 1,333MHz system bus and would be significantly less expensive on average than the dual-core mobile processors Apple has used to date."
OK, I doubt they'd pass the savings along to the customer, at least not this early on, but you got me: if this proves to be the case, it certainly makes a compelling case for going for the new machines!
sinclap/Bootz--interesting, thanks...the quality difference is that noticeable? Obviously it's larger and higher-res, but it sounds like you're both saying that the actual component quality is far superior.
As for the MWSF upgrade, I'm going to assume that it'll be similar to the laptop changes, including:
--MiniPort (not really necessary for the iMac unless I go the dual-display route after all)
--Possibility of no FireWire (which would be a step DOWN)
--Better processor & graphics card (both of which would be welcome, but bear in mind that even the current models are a good 5 generations newer than my current 2.0 GHz G5 model).
It's really the move to the Intel chip which I'm most interested in, so unless the performance improvement in the new models is *insanely* better than the current ones, it probably won't be worth the extra cost, I would think.
Will wait until the come out anyway of course, to at least get the discount on the current ones :)
Thanks for the feedback from opposite ends of the political spectrum!
ON Topic: Should I get a 20" iMac with an extra 20" display, or should I go for the 24" iMac?
Bear in mind that I'm waiting for MacWorld--I plan on snapping up one of the current models which (I presume) will be on clearance, as opposed to getting one of the new ones that will (I presume) be announced then.
Assuming the clearance pricing is similar to the current models, it should be something like:
Clearance 20" iMac: $1,300 + 2nd 20" LCD: appx $250 = Around $1,550
Clearance 24" iMac: $1,550
The other specs seem to be pretty much the same (320 GB HD, 2 GB RAM, 256 MB VRAM), so the actual display should be the only real distinction.
The 24" model is 1920x1200 = 2.3 Mpx.
The 20" model + 20" LCD is 1680x1050x2 = 3.5 Mpx, so obviously I'm getting a ton more real estate by going with dual displays.
However, I'm more comfortable with (or at least more used to) one big display.
Whaddya figure? The obvious choice seems to be getting used to the dual display, but I'd like feedback from anyone on any pitfalls of doing so.