Apple should make a low-end tower
I really think Apple should dump the iMac and and make an additional line of towers. The iMac is really cool and useful as an all-in-one, but I think sales would go way up if Apple got rid of the iMac replaced it with a tower. Apple could keep the eMac as an all-in-one and lower the price.
The problem with these machines is that you can't customize them and you can't upgrade them. Your choices are very limited. If Apple made a low-end customizable tower that would run on new G4's and slower G5's, ranging from $999 to $2000, it would allow people to buy a Mac that they customize, while not having to pay so much for a G5.
Doesn't this make sense to anyone else? I would be the first one to buy an iMac tower. I simply don't have enough money for a G5 and the eMac and iMac have very limited options. For example, I don't want Superdrive, but I do want a 17" monitor. With the iMac, Apple is forcing me to buy the 17" with a Superdrive, forcing me to buy it with only one type of graphics card, and making me pay more then I want to. There should be more choices for those who don't want to buy a professional G5 tower.
The problem with these machines is that you can't customize them and you can't upgrade them. Your choices are very limited. If Apple made a low-end customizable tower that would run on new G4's and slower G5's, ranging from $999 to $2000, it would allow people to buy a Mac that they customize, while not having to pay so much for a G5.
Doesn't this make sense to anyone else? I would be the first one to buy an iMac tower. I simply don't have enough money for a G5 and the eMac and iMac have very limited options. For example, I don't want Superdrive, but I do want a 17" monitor. With the iMac, Apple is forcing me to buy the 17" with a Superdrive, forcing me to buy it with only one type of graphics card, and making me pay more then I want to. There should be more choices for those who don't want to buy a professional G5 tower.
Comments
That said, I agree it would be nice to see a low end tower....
Oh, by the way: The G4 tower is still for sale in the Apple store, so why not buy that as your low ender?
About the G4, it's old technology that they just threw in for the time being to get rid of them. Soon, there will be no tower option except for the G5.
Originally posted by dferigmu
The point I was trying to make was, I really want to stick with Macs but don't want to buy a G5. Apple should let their customers have more options and you barely get any options with the eMac and iMac.
About the G4, it's old technology that they just threw in for the time being to get rid of them. Soon, there will be no tower option except for the G5.
thank you captain obvious
Originally posted by dferigmu
About the G4, it's old technology that they just threw in for the time being to get rid of them. Soon, there will be no tower option except for the G5.
Well i am not so sure that Apple will soon get rid of the G4. It took time to Apple to get rid of the original I mac, even when the Imac 2 and the e mac where released.
It's possible that the G4 tower, will be still avalaible for one or two more years.
Originally posted by dferigmu
The point I was trying to make was, I really want to stick with Macs but don't want to buy a G5. Apple should let their customers have more options and you barely get any options with the eMac and iMac.
About the G4, it's old technology that they just threw in for the time being to get rid of them. Soon, there will be no tower option except for the G5.
Yes. Your post makes total sense. The only problem is Apple is forced to sell somewhat "crippled" machines. They do not want to cannibalize their higher margin Powermac computers. If Apple focused on what the consumers want the iMac would be a tad more expandable. Alas, there has to be tradeoffs.
Originally posted by hmurchison
Yes. Your post makes total sense. The only problem is Apple is forced to sell somewhat "crippled" machines. They do not want to cannibalize their higher margin Powermac computers. If Apple focused on what the consumers want the iMac would be a tad more expandable. Alas, there has to be tradeoffs.
That's another thing I don't get about Apple. Why do they make so much of one product? Why don't they let people customize their machines and ship it to them like PC makers do? I never see PC companies having to clear out of a product and prolong the release of a new one. That's why we have to wait so long for products like the Powerbook, b/c Apple has to clear out it's inventory.
Originally posted by dferigmu
That's another thing I don't get about Apple. Why do they make so much of one product? Why don't they let people customize their machines and ship it to them like PC makers do? I never see PC companies having to clear out of a product and prolong the release of a new one. That's why we have to wait so long for products like the Powerbook, b/c Apple has to clear out it's inventory.
If you don't like what Apple does why not just get a PC? Then you can get what you want.
Originally posted by dferigmu
. . . About the G4, it's old technology that they just threw in for the time being to get rid of them. Soon, there will be no tower option except for the G5.
I agree with Powerdoc, that the G4 Power Mac will be available for quite a while. My hope is that it will be replaced by a lower cost tower when the IBM Mojave processor is available. It should be 2 GHz or more and have a very fast front side bus. The Mojave is also intended for the embedded market, so it should be low cost. It includes the Velocity Engine and supports dual processors according to reports.
Originally posted by EmAn
If you don't like what Apple does why not just get a PC? Then you can get what you want.
B/C Macs are so much more superior. The only reason I would switch to PC's would be if Apple went out of business, or did something horrible. Neither are going to happen, and I am not going to buy a PC. Why can't I make some suggestions? Wouldn't you want to customize a low-price Mac tower?
Originally posted by snoopy
I agree with Powerdoc, that the G4 Power Mac will be available for quite a while. My hope is that it will be replaced by a lower cost tower when the IBM Mojave processor is available. It should be 2 GHz or more and have a very fast front side bus. The Mojave is also intended for the embedded market, so it should be low cost. It includes the Velocity Engine and supports dual processors according to reports.
What's the Mojave processor and when is it coming out?
Hence you might have G4 machines for quite some time.
Originally posted by dferigmu
What's the Mojave processor and when is it coming out?
You may be able to search for more information. It is also know as the IBM 750 VX. It has been discussed in the past on the future hardware section of this forum. I doubt you can find any information from an IBM website yet. What I posted is all I know, or should say all I have heard. The 750 GX is a new G3, which was announced in June and should be available in production quantities by the end of this year. It will likely go in the iBook. The 750 VX is next and a big leap forward, far surpassing any G4 today. It will no doubt be made on the 90 nanometer process. I expect it could appear in a Mac by the end of 2004.
By the way, I completely agree with Splinemodel's comment.
Originally posted by snoopy
You may be able to search for more information. It is also know as the IBM 750 VX. It has been discussed in the past on the future hardware section of this forum. I doubt you can find any information from an IBM website yet. What I posted is all I know, or should say all I have heard. The 750 GX is a new G3, which was announced in June and should be available in production quantities by the end of this year. It will likely go in the iBook. The 750 VX is next and a big leap forward, far surpassing any G4 today. It will no doubt be made on the 90 nanometer process. I expect it could appear in a Mac by the end of 2004.
By the way, I completely agree with Splinemodel's comment.
Yeah, I do to. What's the point of calling a new processor the G3 when it performs better than the G4? They should call it like the G4+, or make up some new name like Intel did with Celeron.
Will this chip actually be better than current G4's? How good will they be compared to the G5?
Back to the topic. Or should I? There's been some hundred of threads about low-end towers. I'll tell you only one thing that came across my mind recently. If Apple began right now to sell a really low-end tower (for example, a Cube 2 with G4 @ 1GHz, 1 free PCI slot, CD-RW/Combodrive, you get the feel) for $600, many home/office users would be happy. But the $500 iPod would not. Before we discuss dependencies of market share and prices, ask yourself if iPod's market share is too small... no, why it's as expensive as a low-end PC with a monitor or as an audio system from BOSE or Yamaha (I didn't even want to mention Panasonic)? For some reason Apple's products are expensive. When we want a low-end tower, we imply a low-price one. We are ready to sacrifice some power, expandability, etc. But the reason of Apple's products expensiveness, whatever it is, will make this low-end tower cost a bit too much too. And the lower its price, the less the margin. The less the margin, the less the incentive. The less the incentive, the worse our chances.
A little gloomy, but as much as I'd like to see and buy a low-end tower (or a cube), I don't believe we may see it in any near future.
Originally posted by dferigmu
Will this chip actually be better than current G4's? How good will they be compared to the G5?
Don't take all this for fact. This is information that was evidently pieced together from bits of inside information. No one outside of IBM or Apple really knows anything for sure yet. What we hear is that Mojave will be like a G4 but will have a higher clock speed, have a much faster front side bus and likely dissipate less heat. These are lower cost chips and do not compare with the G5.
Originally posted by dferigmu
Why can't I make some suggestions? Wouldn't you want to customize a low-price Mac tower?
Of course I would. If they had that I wouldn't have gotten an iMac. But the fact is that they don't. You can make suggestions all you want, but someone suggests this at least once a month. It kind of gets old.