iMac and Mini: minor updates, major price hikes, no quad cores. Quad core Hackintosh

timmillea

What a let down. Apple could have brought these models out 6 months ago and people would have not been impressed. Now they look old and the prices have gone up 10-15% (in the UK) compared to the models they replace.



I have been waiting for a quad-core iMac since October. I am extremely disappointed.Time for a quad-core Hackintosh perhaps - any recommendations?

lemon bon bon.

Well, I never thought I'd root for Psystar...or cloners. But the bigger Apple gets the more arrogant they get. They haven't learned their lesson from the dark days of Windows 95. Still the smug, greedy margin huggers.



I hope the cloners pile on and give them a kicking.



Sad. This was their golden opportunity to stab at the heart of the enemy.



I'm beginning to question Apple. I think the platform needs opening up in light of these rip off updates.



High prices....low specs.



Lemon Bon Bon.

epursimuove

Yeah. I thought I was having a bad dream when I checked the new offerings on Wednesday night (Australia -Tuesday in the US). I mentally confirmed that it wasn't the first of April then went to bed very glum indeed. The following day I was still down. Like others here I have been waiting for months, excitedly expecting competitive pricing, quad core and LED monitor at the least, and then something unexpected and jaw dropping. This was to be my first new computer in 10 years (I have a trusty G4) and I was really hanging out for something spectacular.



But I'm now kind of over it after tossing about some alternatives and today ordered the top line iMac as I need something with more grunt for a couple of jobs. Now I'm kind of excited again but could have been much exciteder.

lemon bon bon.

Quote:

The following day I was still down.

Yeah, mate. That makes two of us.



Lemon Bon Bon.

krassy

Quote:

Originally Posted by epursimuove


But I'm now kind of over it after tossing about some alternatives and today ordered the top line iMac as I need something with more grunt for a couple of jobs. Now I'm kind of excited again but could have been much exciteder.

trust me - the new iMac will still be spectacular compared to your G4 ... but apple could have sold many more machines. even to those who own a core 2 duo currently.

piot

Quote:

Originally Posted by epursimuove


I mentally confirmed that it wasn't the first of April then went to bed very glum indeed. The following day I was still down. Like others here I have been waiting for months....

Yes, I am one of those others. However some of you guys ought to pay a little more attention to the 'rest of the news' and not just the tech stuff.



Sorry epursimuove but the AUDollar has dropped over 30% against the USDollar over the last 10 months. Roughly the time since the last iMac update.



That's a lot! Ten months ago 1000 AUD would have bought you 940 US. Today you would get just 630 US.



I would be curious to know what the "old" iMacs cost in Australia.

At today's exchange rate (and minus sales tax) your, top of the line, iMac actually costs less (in US Dollars) than the US price. In fact all the iMacs are a wee bit cheaper.

bostonmjh0712

I had my money banked and ready to buy the new iMac when it was released. Well last Thursday I Lost my jod with about 1800 co-workers. Then I knew the new iMac would be coming out any day, but I would have to keep my money in my savings account.



Well when I saw the new iMac I could only shake my head, after a year this was the best Apple could do!



So I hope by the time I get a new job and ready to buy a new Imac, Apple will put out a real updated iMac.

hmurchison

I figured it was iffy but doable.



Clearly the Core2 Quads would have been a strain on the iMacs as far as heat dissipation.

Apple had the choice to either make those rumored cooling changes or stick with C2 Duo for another revision.



I think a redesign is coming and that will coincide with the mainstream Nehalem parts coming out in the fall.

hobbit

You know what this 'update' disaster looks like?



Like Jobs insisting on introducing any new hardware design himself.

And since he's out until June that meant this 'update' had to do without new hardware design and ended up rather lukewarm.



I'm sure the reality was not like that, but it certainly seems like it.





Another theory

Snow Leopard is delayed.



The original plan was to release new, re-designed hardware with SL somewhen in Q1 or early Q2.

Now if SL gets delayed by a lot, e.g. until Q3 at the earliest, Apple might have found itself in a position where they needed to do some update rather quickly to not have such a huge gap until Q3.





Still clutching straws for any rational explanation of this 'update'.

kung fu guy

I agree its poor value for the money. The entire desktop lineup needs a major shake up. Even though it accounts for less than 50% of all macs. The line up in particular the mini sat on the shelf looking really dated and uncompetitive with pcs. Macs need more than just iLife to set it apart. It need more edge!



What ever happened to apple so called innovation. Or was that just empty words.



I think in its need to be small and thin, apple has cornerd itself and limited its options. You can pack only so much into an imac and mini. Hence the poor offering yesterday.



Asus has a eeepc built into a keyboard with glass touchscreen. I expected apple to build something like that.