Apple slims down iMac 40% with 'friction-stir welding' & ditching the disc drive

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  • Reply 161 of 194

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


     


    Other than the desktop CPU, desktop HDDs, desktop RAM, desktop screen… 



    Uhh, mobile GPU, hard drives switched to standard 5200rpm (indicates probably a 2.5in drive), We don't know the RAM type yet. Really the CPU and having a display is the biggest difference. 

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  • Reply 162 of 194
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    aandcmedia wrote: »
    Uhh, mobile GPU, hard drives switched to standard 5200rpm (indicates probably a 2.5in drive), We don't know the RAM type yet. Really the CPU and having a display is the biggest difference. 

    1) There are 3TB 2.5" 72000RPM HDDs?

    2) So the CPU and display being the biggest difference and yet you are ignoring what you claim are the biggest difference. Since when are those CPUs, 21.5" and 27" displays, the PSU, etc. found in laptop computers?
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  • Reply 163 of 194
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,954member
    aandcmedia wrote: »
    Uhh, mobile GPU, hard drives switched to standard 5200rpm (indicates probably a 2.5in drive), We don't know the RAM type yet. Really the CPU and having a display is the biggest difference. 

    You can't get a 3TB 2.5" drive, so I highly doubt your assumption on the hard drive. The memory is probably SO-DIMM because previous iMacs use that, but I don't think SO-DIMM is necessarily slower, just smaller.
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  • Reply 164 of 194


    Originally Posted by AandcMedia View Post

    Uhh, mobile GPU…


     


    Come ON. You see one letter 'M' and you start whining like there's no tomorrow.




    You don't have an argument. If you want to SLI three GeForce 680s, go buy a PC. 

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  • Reply 165 of 194
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post



    You still use DVD's and buy CD's? Good for you, but most people don't.


    I read this so often here and I would like to believe it. But then why we have the same big and small shops selling disks, CD's and DVD's, that we had ten years ago or more? I even saw recently many old big vinyl disks in a shop! No idea though who is buying them.


     


    My feeling is that most people actually still do use disks for audio and video. I can tell the same for pretty much everyone I know personally. Apple pulled the plug of the optical drive not because most people do not use disks but because they can shape the future like they did with the floppy drive. Many people used floppy disks when Apple decided to abandon them.

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  • Reply 166 of 194


    Originally Posted by PB View Post

    But then why we have the same big and small shops selling disks, CD's and DVD's, that we had ten years ago or more?


     


    Yes, no video rental stores have gone out of business or anything, relegating their former presence to vending machines.




    The presence of physical media is far less than ten years ago.


     



    I even saw recently many old big vinyl disks in a shop! No idea though who is buying them.


     


    Hipsters.


     



    …because they can shape the future like they did with the floppy drive. Many people used floppy disks when Apple decided to abandon them.



     


    No one really used the floppy when Apple dumped it. It had LONG since been superseded by the CD in speed and capacity. Apple removing the floppy wasn't Apple "abandoning a much-needed format", it was Apple saying, "Know what? Screw this crap. This is crap, it's bad, and all it does is slow our machines down and stifle our creativity, since the tech isn't getting any smaller. We're getting rid of this crap."


     


    And that's not just Apple fans saying this. Ask anyone and they'll acknowledge that floppies were way out of vogue by '97.

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  • Reply 167 of 194
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    And that's not just Apple fans saying this. Ask anyone and they'll acknowledge that floppies were way out of vogue by '97.



    Being "out of vogue" is very different from "no one used them". By the time the first floppy-less Mac hit the market, floppies were present and still used everywhere, along with the other storage media of that time.


     


    They were estimated to be 5 billion out there in 1996. Of course people complained about reliability and capacity and wanted something better. And of course the decline started somewhere in the mid '90s. Apple saw the opportunity to shape a new future for personal computing by brutally scrapping the floppy drive in the iMac. They repeat it now with the optical drive.

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  • Reply 168 of 194


    Originally Posted by PB View Post

    Being "out of vogue" is very different from "no one used them". By the time the first floppy-less Mac hit the market, floppies were present and still used everywhere, along with the other storage media of that time.


     


    I can still buy VHS tapes. Guess that means people are still using VHS. Guess that means VCRs should still be made… 


     


    Is it an amount that matters? Not really.


     



    They were estimated to be 5 billion out there in 1996.



     


    I'm sure that the greatest number to date of [insert anything whatsoever here] was reached right before [whatever succeeded it] was introduced, too.


     



    Of course people complained about reliability and capacity and wanted something better.



     


    And Apple gave it to them.


     



     And of course the decline started somewhere in the mid '90s.



     


    So… 1996, then.

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  • Reply 169 of 194
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,954member
    If you have more than one computer, you likely can slave another computer's drive over the network.

    I actually use an optical drive on occasion, but I've at least fully processed the fact they're going away. It's just a matter of time, if not this update, then it would have been the next. Movies don't matter to me on a computer as I use devices next to my TV, not my computer. Unless you're talking used, most of the time downloads are cheaper. There are audiophiles ripping to preferred settings, but they're a minority, and would be better served with a large desktop style external drive rather than the laptop optical drives.

    Personally, I'd suggest an Apple certified/refurbished 2011 iMac and you'll almost certainly be ready to drop optical drive by the time you're ready to replace the iMac. I'm quite happy with my 2011 and I'll still use it as a primary work machine for a couple years at least.
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  • Reply 170 of 194
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


     


    I can still buy VHS tapes. Guess that means people are still using VHS. Guess that means VCRs should still be made… 


     


    Is it an amount that matters? Not really.


     


     


    I'm sure that the greatest number to date of [insert anything whatsoever here] was reached right before [whatever succeeded it] was introduced, too.


     


     


    And Apple gave it to them.


     


     


    So… 1996, then.



    Please, try to understand what I am saying and see the situation in the correct context and proportions.

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  • Reply 171 of 194


    Originally Posted by PB View Post

    Please, try to understand what I am saying and see the situation in the correct context and proportions.




    You're claiming that people still use spinning discs in the same (or more crucial) manner and with the same (or greater) frequency now as floppy disk users did when Apple removed those drives. 


     


    The 'more crucial' and 'greater' can be discounted, as Apple got rid of the drives. At "best" it can be of equal importance. Therefore the question then turns to what percentage of the population this encompasses and why everyone else should be forced to still have these drives they don't need, don't use, don't want, and which stifle computer size.

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  • Reply 172 of 194
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by JeffDM View Post



    If you have more than one computer, you likely can slave another computer's drive over the network.

    I actually use an optical drive on occasion, but I've at least fully processed the fact they're going away. It's just a matter of time, if not this update, then it would have been the next. Movies don't matter to me on a computer as I use devices next to my TV, not my computer. Unless you're talking used, most of the time downloads are cheaper. There are audiophiles ripping to preferred settings, but they're a minority, and would be better served with a large desktop style external drive rather than the laptop optical drives.

    Personally, I'd suggest an Apple certified/refurbished 2011 iMac and you'll almost certainly be ready to drop optical drive by the time you're ready to replace the iMac. I'm quite happy with my 2011 and I'll still use it as a primary work machine for a couple years at least.


    Not sure if your answer is addressed to me or not. But if it is, I have to say that personally I am glad that the iMac lost the optical drive. This means one less mechanical component that is slow, noisy and prone to failure. I had a different opinion a couple of years ago but I changed my mind in the meantime. My daughter uses regularly disks (CD's and DVD's), like many times a week, but if I buy a new iMac she is not going to be affected by this because she has her own optical disk-capable Mac.

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  • Reply 173 of 194
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,954member
    pb wrote: »
    Not sure if your answer is addressed to me or not. But if it is, I have to say that personally I am glad that the iMac lost the optical drive. This means one less mechanical component that is slow, noisy and prone to failure. I had a different opinion a couple of years ago but I changed my mind in the meantime. My daughter uses regularly disks (CD's and DVD's), like many times a week, but if I buy a new iMac she is not going to be affected by this because she has her own optical disk-capable Mac.

    Not specifically addressed to you as an individual, though I addressed some themes you mentioned, that other people talked about as well.

    I hear you on the reliability and speed. I had bought a buddy's iMac last year with a dying ODD. He upgraded to a newer model, I got a reasonable deal because of that, and I really haven't missed the drive. I told him it would probably cost $150 or more to replace the drive, considering the parts and labor.
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  • Reply 174 of 194


    Dear Apple,


     


    On your website, it said the 21.5in model will be available in November. It has been November for 7 days now. Just saying.


     


    Sincerely,


     


    Pinkunicorn

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  • Reply 175 of 194
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,954member
    Dear Apple,

    On your website, it said the 21.5in model will be available in November. It has been November for 7 days now. Just saying.

    They can release on November 30 and still be available November. Just saying.

    The fact that they don't even have a preorder page or announced CTO upgrade prices is unusual though.
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  • Reply 176 of 194


    Originally Posted by JeffDM View Post

    The fact that they don't even have a preorder page or announced CTO upgrade prices is unusual though.


     


    I'm really really bothered by the fact that you cannot buy a product called 'iMac' from Apple right now.




    There will come a day when the iMac is discontinued. Eventually it won't exist anymore. But that's not this day. And when it can't even be preordered, I'm really wondering about Apple.


     


    "Go where the money is" needs to shut up and take a hike. There has to be balance.

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  • Reply 177 of 194

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


     


    I'm really really bothered by the fact that you cannot buy a product called 'iMac' from Apple right now.




    There will come a day when the iMac is discontinued. Eventually it won't exist anymore. But that's not this day. And when it can't even be preordered, I'm really wondering about Apple.


     


    "Go where the money is" needs to shut up and take a hike. There has to be balance.



    ?

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  • Reply 178 of 194


    Originally Posted by pinkunicorn View Post

    ?


     


    THAT'S WHERE THE WORD ORDER CAME FROM! It was nagging at me. It felt right to write it like that in this context, but I was thinking I'd heard it somewhere… image

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  • Reply 179 of 194


    Other than the "Oh! Wow! Cool!" factor, I just don't see why anyone would care about this reduction in thickness of a *desktop* computer! It's not like it was 3 feet thick and they knocked it down to 3 inches here - as happened with CRT TVs and flat panels. The hoopla over this just confuses me. I guess if you mainly stand around and stare at it during parties in your Malibu beach house, it is an important improvement. But for those who actually use the thing, who cares?!


     


    Again, I'm just glad that I bought my iMac last year. Not being able to easily access the RAM would cheese me off more than them giving it the Gucci treatment.

     

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  • Reply 180 of 194
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Jag_Warrior View Post


    Other than the "Oh! Wow! Cool!" factor, I just don't see why anyone would care about this reduction in thickness of a *desktop* computer! It's not like it was 3 feet thick and they knocked it down to 3 inches here - as happened with CRT TVs and flat panels. The hoopla over this just confuses me. I guess if you mainly stand around and stare at it during parties in your Malibu beach house, it is an important improvement. But for those who actually use the thing, who cares?!



    Many care, outside of the U.S. of course. For example, if I was going to buy it, I would have to find a way of transportation since I don't have a car. This weight reduction comes very handy. You can tell me that in this case, I can order it online. Even so, less weight means a more friendly device for the economy and the environment.


     


    Plus, I don't have a TV in my home. If I was to watch a movie on the iMac, I would have probably to move it occasionally around the house. Again the lighter iMac is much better suited for this.


     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Jag_Warrior View Post


    Again, I'm just glad that I bought my iMac last year. Not being able to easily access the RAM would cheese me off more than them giving it the Gucci treatment.



    You must talk about the 21.5" model, since in the 27" one even a small child can add memory.

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