"not every HW upgrade needs be amazing"
True. That's why MAJOR designs come once every three years or so, and in between, there are a series of product "refreshes" at 6-9 month intervals.
iMac History:
1998 - 1G iMac (the Gumdrop) introduced. Over the next 3 1/2 years, it saw a number of "refreshes", including three "major refreshes" (the first was going from Bondi Blue to the rainbow of colors, the second was the translucent smoke grey DV model, and the third was the introduction of Flower Power and Dalmation shell designs)
2002 - 2G iMac (iLamp) introduced. Jobs turns his RDF on full-blast to convince Mac fans the 1+ year delay in getting this to market was b/c he trashed a basic stuff-the-PC-behind-the-screen design that Ive had ready to roll. Jobs mocks the otherwise well-received Gateway Profile as inferior to his grand sunflower. Alas, it's almost universally received as overpriced and underpowered. The design is loved by some, not so much by others. Design refreshes over the next 2 1/2 years consist mainly of minor screen bevel redesign, a few minor changes to I/O placement on the base, and an agonizing parade of relatively meaningless CPU upgradees.
2004 - 3G iMac (Jay Leno) introduced. Lo and behold, Ive's basic design rejected by Jobs as inferior all the way back in 2001, miraculously is introduced as "the greatest thing we've ever done". Heh. Hell of an RDF trick. One major refresh - the jump from PPC to Intel. Several minor refreshes consisting primarily of standard incremental speed and component bumps.
2007 - 4G iMac (Jay Leno redux) introduced. At 3 years interval, this major generational (cough) introduction was slightly longer than some expected, but no less hyped (by Jobs himself since all the way back to MWSF in January).
Regardless of whatever else one thinks of the historical evolution of the iMac, it seems hardly debatable that the "advance" from 3rd generation to 4th generation was the smallest and least impressive. Hard, in fact, to regard it as the 4th generation, rather than just another refresh of the 3rd generation. Only thing different, if this was just a refresh, we'd get to look forward to a major redesign forthcoming. Instead it looks like at least another couple years of more-of-the-same. I'd be reacting quite differently if Apple was selling this as just another refresh to tide us over another 5 months to get us to introduction of a true next-generation machine at MWSF '08. But alas, this apparently is the whole enchilada.
I'd say they seriously owe the Mac base a new shot at a consumer/pro-sumer version of a flexible/modestly expandable headless Mac. I'm certain it would be very well received in the marketplace, and it would be an excellent market forces check up on the worthiness of this 4G iMac.
p.s. I suspect this new design will look better in person than in photos (although I suspect I still won't regard the mish-mesh of colors and finishes as up to Apple's normal elite standards) and I look forward to seeing it in person. Perhaps with my expectations low, it'll turn out to be a pleasant surprise!
