Ok, I havnt got a clever name, but how about a tower about 3/4 the size of the current G4 tower that offers swappability of the hard drive, graphics card, and say one PCI card?
Hell though, I'd buy a (reasonable speed - fast enough to play a DVD) G3 at $600-800, if they DIDN'T include a monitor and it wasn't a laptop, and either had a combo drive or had a drive upgradable to one (no slot loaders.) Even if it was a cube-type thing.
I really, really, love Mac OS X. Firewire is wonderful. But I can get a decent, standalone, Intel box for $200, and it's absurd just the entry level machine is crippled with an inbuilt monitor and non-upgradable optical media.
Someone should send that picture to Apple! I'd buy one tomorrow if it was a G5 with a Combo or SuperDrive. (Combo would do me but all you greedy people want SuperDrives )
Ok, I havnt got a clever name, but how about a tower about 3/4 the size of the current G4 tower that offers swappability of the hard drive, graphics card, and say one PCI card?
... But I can get a decent, standalone, Intel box for $200 ...
Don't think so. $300 maybe, but not an Intel processor, a VIA C3 or something like that. Run Lindows on it, and it's not a bad grandma machine. Not a computer I'd want, though.
I suggest you get Grandma a used iMac DV for $300 instead, then she won't need a separate monitor.
If Apple makes too many computer models, one computer design will just take sales from another. That's what happened with the Cube. What Apple really needs to do is to create a computer design that would be purchased primarily by converts. Unfortunately, Apple's Marketing is myopic and doesn't have the foresight or insight to see what these killer markets would be. Thus it won't happen.
Now imagine the ultimate geek box. Leave out everyting you don't need, but put in everything that the geeks want, and price it for less.
Quad processor G5, 512 MB RAM in the low end, 1GB in the high end, upgradable to 2GB. PCI-x and 8xAGP, but comes with no standard video card, since Apple won't ship a decent card anyways, and the good video cards usually aren't a good match with apple displays since they don't have adc, and many don't have dvi. No internal modem or airport. Superdrive. Gigabit ethernet. A VGA port for those who don't want to buy a graphics card. Use any vga pc monitor. But the vga port is on the mlb, and the 8xAGP slot is empty ready for the card of your choice. 500MB ata serial HD. Put it in an enclosure similar enclosure to the miniG5 pic, and include a bluetooth wireless full sized keyboard and three button mouse or two button with scroll wheel.
Then comes price. If you only have 2 PCI-x and one 8x AGP, but all are free, two ram slots, no internal modem, airport, video card... But with the 500MB HD and Quad G5, and sell it for $999 (yes, Apple's margin would be slim, but they could pad it with revenues from powerbook sales)... Then this would be a truly kick ass machine.
But again, I doubt Apple would do this, because Marketing would not see the opportunity, nor the needs of this targeted group.
Don't think so. $300 maybe, but not an Intel processor, a VIA C3 or something like that. Run Lindows on it, and it's not a bad grandma machine. Not a computer I'd want, though.
I suggest you get Grandma a used iMac DV for $300 instead, then she won't need a separate monitor.
Yes, I have a $200 C3 machine. (The word Intel in this context refered to the architecture, who gives a stuff who makes the processor...) I bought it a year or so ago as a replacement for a string of laptops I'd had back luck with. It works beautifully, it's reasonably fast and does what I need out of it. If I wanted to buy something that can do everything I wouldn't buy such a thing, but I certainly wouldn't buy the cheapest Mac for the same reason.
I don't really see the value in comparing a new machine to a used one.
My point is that there's a dramatic difference between the entry level price in the Apple world and that in the PC world. That really needs to change. It's even worse when you consider that entry-level in the PC world means "A machine you can buiilt upon" and entry-level in the Mac world means "A machine you'll have to junk soon after you outgrow it." I don't necessarily see a need for Apple to produce a $200 PC to compete with Wal*Marts, but a $500 box is a lot easier to "junk old and buy new" than a $800-complete-with-monitor one.
I really wish someone would come out with a GOOD operating system in the Intel environment.
I think a lot of people missed the point ont he post about the quad G5 geek machine. The idea is that people put in what they want as most geeks like customizing their own machine. I'd see this as the closest Apple's been to letting people build their own. Quad G5 would be a bit much, but I could definitely see a very stripped down dual G5 machine which left people mostly to customize their own to attract some of the hardcore geeks/gamers, if Apple could convince game developers give more respect to Macs.
Yes, I was missing a 1 in there somewhere on the price tag. Sleep actually helps sometimes. And that was supposed to be GB, not MB. See previous statement. My point was a machine whose target consumer base are professional gamers.
Let me clarify what I was trying to say about the video card bit too. If the computer had an on-the-logic-board VGA port, like the powerbooks before the DVI model, but *no* graphics card in the 8xAGP slot, then the customer could buy the computer and a cheap PC monitor with a VGA port, if so desired. (Many apple customers buy on what looks cool alone, I'm sure that would happen.)
500GB HD? Yes. But that would have to be custom order, stock would be like 100GB. Of course Apple doesn't use *any* drives near that big. Doesn't mean they don't exist.
Yes, the gist of my post was a highly customizable geek machine. I also think the quad processor may be an "ultimate Apple Store only" config, but should be available, but I know *plenty* of folks who are dying to have a Quad proc mac.
Let's hope this reply makes more sense, and I'll try to post when I'm awake next time.
I use the term pro gamer loosely. Ever heard the word Prosumer? Also known as powerusers. People who play games on PCs and buy video cards with as much video ram as most macs have. That is the market that Apple needs to try harder at, and that is the market I've thought up this idea for. It's because serious gamers would only buy a pc that I started thinking about what might attract PC users to Mac.
Well, what would attract the most users, Apple won't do. This was simply a way to have only the needed Apple technology, and cut the price down.
Comments
Hell though, I'd buy a (reasonable speed - fast enough to play a DVD) G3 at $600-800, if they DIDN'T include a monitor and it wasn't a laptop, and either had a combo drive or had a drive upgradable to one (no slot loaders.) Even if it was a cube-type thing.
I really, really, love Mac OS X. Firewire is wonderful. But I can get a decent, standalone, Intel box for $200, and it's absurd just the entry level machine is crippled with an inbuilt monitor and non-upgradable optical media.
Just give me a 900Mhz G4
Internal 3.5 HD Bay(easily accessible)
AGP Slot filled with ADC/DVI card
Combo Drive
FW400, USB2,
10/100 Ethernet
SPDIF Digi I/O & Analog I/O
2 Memory slots
Airport Extreme
Price that sucker at $799 and start shipping some 'puters.
Offer a bundle with a 15" LCD for $1099.
Please Apple, make it!
Originally posted by MajorMatt
Ok, I havnt got a clever name, but how about a tower about 3/4 the size of the current G4 tower that offers swappability of the hard drive, graphics card, and say one PCI card?
say, $899?
isn't that just a cube with handles?
Originally posted by peharri
... But I can get a decent, standalone, Intel box for $200 ...
Don't think so. $300 maybe, but not an Intel processor, a VIA C3 or something like that. Run Lindows on it, and it's not a bad grandma machine. Not a computer I'd want, though.
I suggest you get Grandma a used iMac DV for $300 instead, then she won't need a separate monitor.
Now imagine the ultimate geek box. Leave out everyting you don't need, but put in everything that the geeks want, and price it for less.
Quad processor G5, 512 MB RAM in the low end, 1GB in the high end, upgradable to 2GB. PCI-x and 8xAGP, but comes with no standard video card, since Apple won't ship a decent card anyways, and the good video cards usually aren't a good match with apple displays since they don't have adc, and many don't have dvi. No internal modem or airport. Superdrive. Gigabit ethernet. A VGA port for those who don't want to buy a graphics card. Use any vga pc monitor. But the vga port is on the mlb, and the 8xAGP slot is empty ready for the card of your choice. 500MB ata serial HD. Put it in an enclosure similar enclosure to the miniG5 pic, and include a bluetooth wireless full sized keyboard and three button mouse or two button with scroll wheel.
Then comes price. If you only have 2 PCI-x and one 8x AGP, but all are free, two ram slots, no internal modem, airport, video card... But with the 500MB HD and Quad G5, and sell it for $999 (yes, Apple's margin would be slim, but they could pad it with revenues from powerbook sales)... Then this would be a truly kick ass machine.
But again, I doubt Apple would do this, because Marketing would not see the opportunity, nor the needs of this targeted group.
Jaedreth
Originally posted by jaedreth
snip
you sir are retarded....
no graphics card but include one on the mobo anyway?...
I'm not even going to bother...
Originally posted by jaedreth
snip
You've got to be a kid living at home, because your concepts of price and value are out of this world. Quad G5
Wow.
Originally posted by cubist
Don't think so. $300 maybe, but not an Intel processor, a VIA C3 or something like that. Run Lindows on it, and it's not a bad grandma machine. Not a computer I'd want, though.
I suggest you get Grandma a used iMac DV for $300 instead, then she won't need a separate monitor.
Yes, I have a $200 C3 machine. (The word Intel in this context refered to the architecture, who gives a stuff who makes the processor...) I bought it a year or so ago as a replacement for a string of laptops I'd had back luck with. It works beautifully, it's reasonably fast and does what I need out of it. If I wanted to buy something that can do everything I wouldn't buy such a thing, but I certainly wouldn't buy the cheapest Mac for the same reason.
I don't really see the value in comparing a new machine to a used one.
My point is that there's a dramatic difference between the entry level price in the Apple world and that in the PC world. That really needs to change. It's even worse when you consider that entry-level in the PC world means "A machine you can buiilt upon" and entry-level in the Mac world means "A machine you'll have to junk soon after you outgrow it." I don't necessarily see a need for Apple to produce a $200 PC to compete with Wal*Marts, but a $500 box is a lot easier to "junk old and buy new" than a $800-complete-with-monitor one.
I really wish someone would come out with a GOOD operating system in the Intel environment.
Let me clarify what I was trying to say about the video card bit too. If the computer had an on-the-logic-board VGA port, like the powerbooks before the DVI model, but *no* graphics card in the 8xAGP slot, then the customer could buy the computer and a cheap PC monitor with a VGA port, if so desired. (Many apple customers buy on what looks cool alone, I'm sure that would happen.)
500GB HD? Yes. But that would have to be custom order, stock would be like 100GB. Of course Apple doesn't use *any* drives near that big. Doesn't mean they don't exist.
Yes, the gist of my post was a highly customizable geek machine. I also think the quad processor may be an "ultimate Apple Store only" config, but should be available, but I know *plenty* of folks who are dying to have a Quad proc mac.
Let's hope this reply makes more sense, and I'll try to post when I'm awake next time.
Jaedreth
8 way 970 system, 2GHz
64MB of onboard RAM and half a DIMM slot for expansion.
3/4 of a PCI-X slot
monochrome monitor capabilities so you can run a CLI OS like Darwin or Linux.
Make the case out of balsa wood and recycled cardboard so you cut the cost.
floppy drive instead of a hard drive. floppy drives are infinitely expandable , and you can use old AOL disks that are kicking around.
Well, what would attract the most users, Apple won't do. This was simply a way to have only the needed Apple technology, and cut the price down.
Either way, the idea needs more work.