Apple's next iMacs rumored with compelling new features - Page 3

I believe that there are only two apple products that are truly worth the money:
Mac OS X and the 13" MBP. All the rest are nice, but expensive.
When it comes to desktop solutions, Hackintosh is the way.

1. There is nothing good about bluray. Paying ~$200 just to save you a few disk swaps during once a year installations just does not add up when you take common sense into account.

2. Bluray is not a cheap data backup since you have to pay for the player. For that same money you can get a 2 TB disk and back up almost all the porn you have saved right now.

I can see them shipping software on an SD card. Talk about reducing packaging and shipping costs!

The ability to burn to Blu Ray is in the latest Final Cut. It would make sense for Apple to offer a turn-key solution instead of people having to find a drive to add to his or her machine.

BLURAY NO WAY
I think we will see an apple tv set come out
And a uni body imac with some great gaming chips inside
firewire will die soon
usb 3 and mini usb will be the ones

Optical media may be dead for data storage, although I still use it regularly as a secondary backup of my photos; but as a video playback source it's going to be around for awhile yet. Not everyone is on the bleeding edge with high-bandwidth internet connections and computer-centric home theater systems. And movies stored on SD cards are going to cost more to produce than stamping out optical disks on a machine press.

And what is the average consumer going to play these on? It's been hard enough for the blu-ray supporters to get people to buy new players that are at least backward compatible with DVDs. And now you want to convince people to buy yet another box to hook up to their TV, either to play SD cards or download video from the internet?

It's nice to sit in our advanced, high tech corners of the world with our 50 Mbps pipes and HTPCs, but the vast majority of consumers don't live in our world. And they are the ones who are going to determine the speed with which new technology gets adopoted.

Is this a bait and switch blog? the title says one thing but the body goes on about the iPhone and other stuff.

When they start selling SD cards able to hold an HD movie costing roughly a buck a copy, well then, SD will indeed render optical discs obsolete. But right now, if you want to put a decent HD-grade movie file onto a such a card, good luck finding an SDHC card (SD doesn't have the capacity) for around a dollar. In Canada, a decent grade of 8G SDHC card sells for closer to $100 dollars. Even 4G cards are north of $40.

SD cards have their uses and optical media, even Blu-Ray, have theirs. Neither is obsolete or intended one to replace the other. They are complimentary technologies.

It could for a business. Babysitting an install is not an effective use of labor. Considering overhead, a typical skilled employee costs $75-$150 per hour. If an IT technician is doing the "work" while the user is having downtime, that counts double! If that drive can save 2 or three hours over its lifetime, it's paid for.

Also, Blu-Ray authoring seems like it would be an essential capability for any professional video production company.

(As my wife and I are expecting our first child in December, I'm considering upgrading to a nice HD camcorder. At the same time we compete for the MacBook while the PC goes unused. I've got my eyes on an iMac. Being able to make Blu-Ray home movies would be SWEET! Unfortunately, both items will be difficult to justify - babies take priority! )

I agree that Blu-ray for mass data backup/transport is a joke. Hard drives are bigger, cheaper, faster, and more compatible.

No, you simply confused a ~40mm thick desktop tray loading Blu-Ray drive with a 9.5mm thick mobile style slot loading drive.


I wonder how much of the user base would benefit from CF. An SD card is easy, it's hard to find a computer user that doesn't own an SD-based device.


I think a brand new platter hard drive gets close enough without adding needless complexity of hybrid storage.


First, show us a 9.5mm slot loading Blu-Ray drive that sells in volume for anywhere close to that price. I'm not even sure that kind of drive is available for sale, and I doubt it's anywhere nearly that cheap if it is.


Matte isn't ideal either.


Not impossible, but probably too expensive to be practical. Have you ever priced out a 1U server box? Compared against a similarly spec'd 2U box? Besides, most of them are noisy, I think I recall Apple's being noisy too.


Core 2 Quad is still higher power for 33% less clock speed.


There are reasons to offer an SD card, but shipping cost really isn't one. The cost of the card vs. a pressed DVD has to far outweigh the cost savings in shipping. I wonder if there would be any cost savings at all. Unless you ship by First Class instead of Ground or Priority, there probably wouldn't be any shipping savings.

The noise complaint is rather odd but I happen to likewise hope Apple would either beef up the mini (top-of-the-line Mac Pro performance) or replace it with a small tower.

I have a problem with the notion of buying an all-in-one like the iMac. It marries technology that reasonably could be expected to deliver roughly 12 good years of service (i.e. the screen) with internal computer components that can be expected, at best to operate maybe four years before requiring some servicing (usually the hard drive goes by then). Besides, most of us, I suspect, would be less than thrilled with the prospect of still using an iMac five or six years later on since technology improves dramatically over such a period of time. Five years ago, aka early August of 2004, the iMac was a G4 machine featuring an 80GB HD. A good computer, sure, but it would be woefully underpowered by today's standards and having a hard time handling HD files, etc.

So what do you do with a five-, or six-, or seven-year-old iMac? Certainly upgrade, I would think, and to me that's a ridiculous waste of a screen that is barely half-way through it's useful life.

I opted instead for a mac mini (G4) which I upgraded to a 1.83 Intel mac mini when those came to market in August of 2007. Later this year or possibly early next I'm going to upgrade yet again to get technology that can handle the HD Era. At the same time, though, I started off with a 10-year-old CRT that had been my monitor for several generations of Mac starting with a Power Mac 7200 and then switched to a 32-inch Sony LCD that doubles as my TV. The Sony is a fine product (120Hz XBR) that I happily will use as my monitor for quite some time yet, no doubt going through my share of computers attached to it.

So, yes, it's a "headless" mac that I want but the Mac Pro is overkill. The Mini, at least the version I'm using right now, isn't able to comfortably handle HD.

I'm a little concerned, though, that while so much is being said about Apple's plans for the iMac, and the laptops recently got overhauled, the mini, after a significant but not spectacular upgrade in March, seems to be a product that Apple is again reluctantly continuing to carry.

I can't be the only consumer around who has trouble spending money on a monitor that I likely will have to retire prematurely because of the computer attached to it. It's not as if having to attach a wire from my computer to my monitor has been a great hardship. It's very much a case of offering up a solution for a problem that really isn't one. I have never thought to myself, "If only I could get rid of that irritating cable connecting my monitor to my computer." I can't even see it and it has zero impact on my day-to-day use of the Mac Mini. Of course from Apple's perspective, if they can convince consumers to replace a monitor with a 12-year life span, only six years in, that makes them all the richer. It's bad for the environment and it's bad for our pocketbooks but it doesn't hurt Apple's cause, now does it.

The above comments apply equally to the notion of using a 17-inch laptop as a desktop replacement. If you don't need portability, a computer attached to a separate monitor is still the way to go.

I for one do not want to see Apple give design priority to making the iMac "slimmer." Slimmer means they might consider using a 2.5" HDD instead of the current 3.5" HDD (how much thinner could they get with the chassis while fitting a 3.5" drive, really?). As someone else said, it would also just further reduce the thermal room - when they're trying to cram faster CPUs in these things.

It's slim enough.

A bit dismissive about the article\

.....without this article I wouldn't have learned about your idea for "A separate HD/SSD will sit along side it for apps/data. It will boot into an optional Internet mode, where Safari will load from a cold start in about 3 seconds."

This is an brilliant idea! The article sparks discussion. Plus I learned "Independent analyst Turley Muller, who out-scored all of his colleagues on Wall Street in predicting the company's third-quarter results..." which is somewhat useful.

This thread shows just how out of touch many people are. Let me cover some of the key features being discussed.

Blu-Ray recorder: While not everyone needs Blu-Ray, particularly on a desktop, Blu-Ray can be added to most desktop PCs, licensing has become easier, and making it standard on higher-end configuration is not out of the question. Form factor is more of an issue, but iMac can accommodate one with a slight redesign (or perhaps there's new internal drive that will fit into it).

Display: As far as Apple is concerned, matte is dead. Aside from 30-inch Cinema Display and 17-inch MacBook Pro, every single Macs and dispalys are glossy. Whether you like it or not, this won't change. The real questions are whether Apple will offer larger, higher resolution LCD on higher-end configuration, and whether iMacs will adopt LED backlighting.

CPU: Faster CPU is guaranteed with strong possibility of quad-core on higher-end configuration to appease audio/video semipros and enthusiasts. But which CPU? Desktop grade CPUs (Lynnfield i5 and i7) will require more significant re-engineering effort, particularly to accommodate 95 W TDP power usage. Of the Mobile grade CPUs, only Core i7 (45 W TDP) is coming out within the required timeframe, at substantially higher price. My guess is that Apple will stick with the mobile platform, with higher-end configuration getting the new Clarksfield Core i7 while the rest remain with older Penryn dual-core.

Redesign: Although redesign will be refreshing to many, iMac looks okay for now. That said, I know some wants thinner profile, but I would like to see it getting thicker if it means Jay Leno's chin can be removed.

Connectivity: USB 3.0 is a long shot (it's just a bit too soon). FW1600 or eSATA? I would like them, but this is iMac and they aren't likely. I think it will get 5 USB ports, just like the mini.

Input devices: Backlit keyboard isn't happening. I would love to see redesigned Mighty Mouse though. But that probably isn't happening either.

Storage: SD slot is guaranteed. SSD? Possibly as build-to-order option, but given the cost, not as standard.

PERSONAL WISH: I want Mac mini extreme.

Yup. Give me the modern version of the venerable and extremely popular Macintosh IIcx/IIci.

Well, Intel Macs have had a Trusted Platform Module that has sat pretty much unused by Apple. Along the same lines, I think there is a good chance that 10.6 will be the end of the hackentosh as we know it too.

On the plus side, having support like this in the OS would make it easier to get cable labs certification. Finally I could replace my Tivo with a Mac Mini....

EDIT: Whoops, it looks like the TPM has been off and on again and I'm still not certain it's in any currently shipping Mac's since there doesn't seem to be any way to find out for sure (no nice list that I have found). So using a TPM for this is probably unlikely unless it's universally present.

lol

Bring back the matte display. period.

i can buy a $1200 HP laptop with a bluray ROM and DVD-RW drive standard

That's a different issue than what you raised. It doesn't mean that HP got those drives for $20.

Is it a slot loading drive? is it a 9.5mm thick drive? If it's a tray load or 12mm thick, then it won't work in a Mac notebook.

Blu-Ray - Not a chance. It is not a $20 Dollar item. It would properly be an upgrade option. But wont be standard with the current cost.

SD Card - Will definitely be there. Properly Support SDXC speed as well. Still wondering how SD Card choose M$ exFAT which Apple couldn't use. But Hardware wise an SDXC capable Card reader is not a far shot. And i dont see how packaging and shipping cost could make the substantial saving, DVD cost $0.1 while similar capacity SD card cost $3 with less capacity. That is 30 times different.

Graphics Card - Finally - the GT200 Architecture Mobile Series, i am hoping all the iMac get GTS 250 / GTS 260 with 96 shader. Since the GT 230 and 240 doesn't provide any improvement over current generation at all. OpenCL could make use of these GPGPU power.

SSD - SSD actually doesn't cost as much as most people think. It is nothing more then a bunch of NAND with a controller chip. NAND is cheap for Apple, since they account for more then a third of the world total Flash production capacity. And Indilinx or Samsung chip pricing are below $15. So a decent 64GB SSD should cost apple around $100 to make. Although i believe apple will wait for another generation before making it standard.

CPU - they dont have much choice, Mobile Variant of Next Gen CPU wont be out till Xmas.

So what is the next Big thing that Pro and even Consumer will like??

I am thinking on MUCH BETTER Display.

The 20" Mac, is based on TN panel. which is low viewing angle, and 24" while based on H-IPS, is expensive. Ever since apple signed the 5 year deal with LG on Display Panel, LG has 2nd Generation of E-IPS Panel, which is an cheaper version of IPS, provides true 178 degree viewing angle, better color accuracy, and is available in 20" - 23" size. ( Not sure about 24" ) Combine with WLED Backlight it should be even better then the current H-IPS 24" iMac while being cheaper to produce.

Oh, I thought I was the only one. I can't really even call it an article though, just "we need hits, lets make something up".

My guess is blu-ray and ExpressCard/34 slot.

Audio pro-consumers would like ExpressCard/34 for low latency audio interfaces and dsp.

I agree pci express would be better but I can't see Apple making compromises with the iMac form factor.

I have to agree with this assessment of the article. The title was just bait, pure and simple. I like most of the articles here, but this one was seriously lacking. The title basically said "New iMac features..." and then opening the article revealed "...but we cannot tell you what those features are." In such a case, you should forgo writing the article at all until you have some juicy facts to present.

Now with regard to new features...

CPU
Unlike others, I am happy to live with a DuoCore. Just make sure it runs at 4.06GHz. Seriously, I shudder to think how clock speeds will have to drop in order to get a quadcore running cool in a paper-thin design.

SCREEN
I like most aspects of glossy screens, but unlike most glossy screen advocates, I do not feel it is right for me to cast my preference down others throats nor ridicule my fellow Mac users simply because glare hurts their eyes. Even so, I am hoping for more than a "matte option." Okay Ive and Jobs, go ahead and give us another glass covered screen. But give us one where the glass used is museum grade, cutting out more than 90% of the reflections. Do that, and most of the matte people will immediately halt all negative comments on the screen and start buying Macs in droves. As an AAPL shareholder, I want to see that happen.
And one more wish... Fix the Uneven Backlight Problem, Apple! Such is an insult to our intelligence and our pocket books. I pay more for Apple quality. I therefore have a right to expect more than you get from the likes of DELL. By giving is a "typical" backlit screen, you are only continue to fuel the likes of MS who love to tout the "Apple tax."

HARD DISK
Put a flash drive in the iMac, for goodness sake. And make it affordable. If you cannot do that, at least offer something along the lines of the Velociraptor. It is quite sad though that a drive so amazing as the Velociraptor is still capped at 300GB, even now with it being August 2009. Has hard drive innovation come to a complete stop? Bigger is good (we're up to 2TB now), but "wicked fast" is important for a hard drive in a Mac. It's amazing how much faster the Mac is with a faster hard disk, even without a faster CPU or video card upgrade. And no, I don't think we should be forced to eat up desk space with externals to accomplish this.

CONNECTIVITY
• SD Card slot - definitely
• eSATA
• USB3

KEYBOARD
Give me something old-school, for crying out loud. I am sick and tired of keyboards designed for pre-teens, which look like they've been run over by a MACK truck. I have a March 2009 3.06GHz iMac at the office and the keyboard looks slick but it is just absurd to use. I got a DESKTOP Mac, not a notebook. If I want to lose all tactile feedback, I will buy a notebook -- or rap my fingers across my desk, which basically has the same feel. Just don't force the existing keyboard abomination down my throat. Give us a good keyboard like the those Apple used to make for normal people.

Snow Leopard with Quad Core Processor is a good combination. I am still on my ancient PowerMac G5, which needs replacing, I think a Quad Core iMac would be just the right replacement.

With regards to the article, it was a pretty blatant fluff piece with a shiny gold title to lure us in. But in AI’s defense, it has brought over 100 comments and who knows how many readers in today.


I hope the low power desktop C2Ds are used. The ones that Intel specifically designed so that AIOs don’t have to use notebook-grade chips anymore. You get performance at a lower price, but that does mean that an iMac redesign would be in order and that Apple can’t benefit as much from bulk buying of CPUs that are now in the iMac and MBP line.

One thing we can’t test, but Apple could (and probably has) is the performance benefits with Snow Leopard when using a faster C2D, a slower C2Q and which is the best bang for the buck.


I prefer glossy for the rich colours, but understand that others prefer matte. I wish matte were an option, and it looks like it is possible for a fee since they have been trying it with the 17” MBP. All I know for sure is that glossy is going no where. Maybe we need a special glass covering that allows the user to toggle F-keys up and down to make the glass more or less reflective, which would allow for a more balanced half and half effect for some and other settings for others. I have no idea if such a things could be done within such a small space using electricity, but imagination is where science starts.


It’s 300GB because the actual drive is 2.5”. I would imagine that 500GB Velociraptor drives aren’t too far away, though for the money and increased speed I’d just for an SSD at this point. But that is I needed a super fast boot drive, which most iMac users don’t. For overall performance for a data drive tests show that a very large, though partially used hard drive can yield better results for the money.


I think that is an SD card is included in the rest of the Mac line up that it means that Mac OSes will eventually be delivered over that medium with purchases, and eventually otpical drives will be dropped from their notebook line. There is no justification to remove them from the desktop machines for some time but the notebooks can’t get slimmer and mostly have a large component wasting space in them.

I think eSATA is a no go if they haven’t done it at this point. The lack of power in the spec seems to be a real killer.

Is USB 3.0 ports shipping as standard on any consumer PC yet? Apple is rarely the first to enter into this stuff, just usually the first to embrace it over their entire product line.



I use a Mac notebook an personally love the keyboard. If you don’t you can buy the keyboard of your choice from a 3rd-party. This is pretty trivial since you are using an iMac. There are certainly things Apple doesn’t do as good as other companys. Take the standard iPod headphones, for example. I don’t the keyboard will get more old-school, if they change it I would think they would go even flatter or something else wild.

AppleInsider has its ups and downs (down when they let Prince Maclean aka Daniel Dilger launch into one of his conspiracy theories, up when they stick to the facts) but this is the worst article of the last year by a considerable margin.

1) It contains no information. Zero.
2) It tries to slyly hint at Blue Ray without actually saying so - as if this makes the article witty and interesting rather than bland and pathetic.
3) It has been highlighted in Red on the AI website (unclear whether that is a manual setting or an automatic flag in response to traffic). Still Red implies an article of above average interest and this one is clearly not one of those.

Yes - the next iMacs will differ from the current iMacs in some ways. If history is any guide the changes will be slight, everyone will claim disappointment and they will go on to sell in record numbers anyway.

If this is the standard of reporting we can expect from AI going forward you guys are off my bookmarks list immediately.

Design overhaul please -finally! Please get rid of the high gloss look on a 24" desktop- so offensive.

Express slot. Tons if hardware out for express fir audio and video off loading. That and quad core would be great. Back to matte like the old days for graphic pros and stop using mobile graphics and parts.

I can't belive all the sd talk. Google audio express slot hardware and you'll see items taking a load off the cou with high end plug uns. That's why the older mbp are better as now only the 17" have it. No sd devices exist for audio/video off loading. To go semi pro would mean express slot in my humble opinion.

The lap-tops that HP sells are also nowhere near as thin or light as the ones Apple produces. There is currently no Blu-Ray drive that will fit in the MacBook line. That may change in the future, but right now the desktops are really the only machines capable of supporting the feature.

That said, my personal opinion is that Blu-Ray is worthless for all but burning content on computers. Unless your a college student or the like, there's really no reason you wouldn't have a much larger and more functional HDTV to watch that content on. And BD output on lap-tops is a joke because they all start to choke on a TV over 32".

Bag of hurt = Blu-Ray as everybody pointed out..
But I'd rather hope they finally nailed that in-monitor camera so one can do eye contact in video calls. That would be worthy an iMac.

I am surprised so few people have seen this as being one of the most likely additions.

Integrated graphics are a bit of a headache when your main supplier is found to be using failure prone manufacturing methods. It makes warranty repairs rather expensive I would imagine.

Well it is my opinion that you are wrong.

And why would a laptop start to choke on a tv over 32"?? if it is 1080p the resolution is the same on a 40" as a 100"

What a silly response, I take it you were trolling.

I have an Apple TV, and an Xbox 360, so downloading HD movies is something I do often. However, the quality difference between a download and a blu-ray is absolutely ridiculous.

Apple TV downloads are 1280x720 @ 5mbits with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. Blu-Ray is 1920x1080 @ 45mbits with 7.1 Dolby True HD Lossless audio or DTS Master Lossless audio.

So until downloads match or exceed BD quality then to say optical media is obsolete either means you a) have poor eye sight or just don't give a damn about quality, or b) you are a troll.

And WTF was with that microsoft CD comment? What an utterly bizarre and stupid thing to say. Maybe you should try Windows 7 and see just how good it is before you open your mouth again. It will give hardcore fanboys like you a bit of a shock.

As someone who has been sitting on the fence waiting for a good enough iMac for a long time, here's what it would take for me to finally buy one:

Quad Core i7 - I don't see why I should spend so much money on a PC and not get a modern CPU in it. If that means making the iMac fatter so it can be cooled so be it. It's not like an extra few cm is going to make it fall of my desk.

Better GPU - Doesn't have to be a top end chip, but something in the middle which could play Crysis at a high frame rate would do the job nicely.

Blu-Ray burner - Again, this is simply a modern drive vs the DVD burning relics Apple still use. BD is not only the best movie format on the planet, but also is pretty useful for backups.

SD card slot - These are commonplace now on many devices (even my PS3 has one), and I find them quite useful.

eSATA - I have an eSATA external drive now and the speed is superb. No more slow USB stuff please. (unless it's USB 3)

Matte screen - I really don't understand why there is no option for this. Reflections on screens are a major pain the backside.

Core i5 could be an option , theres no north bridge chip now (pcie16x & dual chan mem is off the cpu).Also the power management of the nehalem chips are pretty good.

Most of the articles are like this. It's fascinating information but the information/word ratio is incredibly low. Why use a dozen words when you can use one thousand?

How is the failure rate of hard drives in iMac compared to say Mac Pros. Maybe having SSD as an option would not be such a bad idea, the cost might be a little more but there are people who are willing to pay extra cash for reliability.

Touch screen computers have little use as long as they are mounted VERTICALLY (resulting in a gorilla arm...), but why should Apple not equip their new iMacs with a cool new kind of hinge that allows you to flip the machine into a stable, almost HORIZONTAL position. When flipping the machine, it will automatically invoke a kind of TouchFinder (similar to FrontRow), an overlay to the real Finder that has been optimized for touchscreen use (larger buttons, etc.)! Imagine sorting your images in iPhoto touch on that gorgeous 24" screen laying almost flat on your desktop! Imagine cropping a video in iMovie touch! And surfing the internet using Safari touch for the new iMac with onscreen overlay keyboard. And if you want to go back to regular use (egg. to write a paper), you just flip the machine into a vertical position again and you will be back in the regular finder and are using your keyboard and mouse (that were just hidden by the machine in it's horizontal position).

Now, wouldn't that be genious? Toss in BlueRay and -- boom! A killer machine!!

It is possible to coat glass with anti-glare materials. Apple has just chosen not to do so.