Isn't it time for a plain old Macintosh again?

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  • Reply 741 of 1657
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ApplePi


    I may not be your typical computer stupid consumer, but I have a feeling there are a good number of people out there like me. At least as many as would buy a niche product like an imac.





    Me too.
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  • Reply 742 of 1657
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by backtomac


    Agree with rickag. Given that iMac is getting Merom, this thread will never die.



    wonder how big it'll get before it gets locked... or "lost" in a mysterious "server mishap"
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  • Reply 743 of 1657
    I think that Apple has deliberately opened up a product space for the "plain old Mac." The extremely high-end Mac Pro has nothing below $2,000, and Cinema Display pricing has been slashed. I'd like to see the possibility of a reasonably fast Mac for $1399.



    I would like to see two distinct models:



    Fast - $1399

    - 2.13 Core 2 Duo E6400

    - 8x Superdrive

    - 1 GB RAM

    - 250 GB hard drive

    - Airport and Bluetooth

    - Apple Remote



    Higher-end - $1699

    - 2.4 Core 2 Duo E6600 / 2.66 BTO

    - 16x Superdrive

    - 1 GB RAM

    - 400 GB hard drive / 500 GB BTO

    - Airport and Bluetooth

    - Apple Remote
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  • Reply 744 of 1657
    snoopysnoopy Posts: 1,901member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by intrigued305




    Fast - $1399

    - 2.13 Core 2 Duo E6400

    - 8x Superdrive

    - 1 GB RAM

    - 250 GB hard drive

    - Airport and Bluetooth

    - Apple Remote



    Higher-end - $1699

    - 2.4 Core 2 Duo E6600 / 2.66 BTO

    - 16x Superdrive

    - 1 GB RAM

    - 400 GB hard drive / 500 GB BTO

    - Airport and Bluetooth

    - Apple Remote



    A second, open optical drive bay?
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  • Reply 745 of 1657
    vineavinea Posts: 5,585member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by intrigued305


    I think that Apple has deliberately opened up a product space for the "plain old Mac." The extremely high-end Mac Pro has nothing below $2,000, and Cinema Display pricing has been slashed. I'd like to see the possibility of a reasonably fast Mac for $1399.



    I would like to see two distinct models:



    Fast - $1399

    - 2.13 Core 2 Duo E6400

    - 8x Superdrive

    - 1 GB RAM

    - 250 GB hard drive

    - Airport and Bluetooth

    - Apple Remote



    Higher-end - $1699

    - 2.4 Core 2 Duo E6600 / 2.66 BTO

    - 16x Superdrive

    - 1 GB RAM

    - 400 GB hard drive / 500 GB BTO

    - Airport and Bluetooth

    - Apple Remote



    Eh...I still think the most likely tower is a Mac Pro tower with a Conroe for $1699. Just like the Dell Precisions have a P4 in the lower end.



    I'd still like to see an upgraded mini with a vid slot but I'm not holding my breath. When the X3000 minis appear I'll buy one of those and dump my current dell that I hardly game with anyway anymore.



    Vinea
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  • Reply 746 of 1657
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by vinea


    Eh...I still think the most likely tower is a Mac Pro tower with a Conroe for $1699. Just like the Dell Precisions have a P4 in the lower end.



    I'd still like to see an upgraded mini with a vid slot but I'm not holding my breath. When the X3000 minis appear I'll buy one of those and dump my current dell that I hardly game with anyway anymore.



    Vinea



    It's going to be another six months on those.
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  • Reply 747 of 1657
    snoopysnoopy Posts: 1,901member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by vinea




    Eh...I still think the most likely tower is a Mac Pro tower with a Conroe for $1699. Just like the Dell Precisions have a P4 in the lower end. . .




    You might be right, but I hope you are wrong. I sure would like to see a smaller tower for the middle range, if that hole in the product lineup ever gets filled. A smaller case and smaller power supply and fewer 3.5 inch drive bays would make it a little cheaper too.
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  • Reply 748 of 1657
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gar


    I think there is a misinterpretation by Mac users why Windows owners buy mini-towers.



    The fact that most of them buy mini-towers doesn't automatically mean that they prefer them. Windows based mini-towers are dirt cheap (you can get one for free with a 2 year cellphone subscription) and every alternative for that concept (if there is any) is expensive and/or ugly.

    That's the most important reason why mini-towers are the top-selling desktop computer in the Windows world.

    Most Windows-based computer owners don't even bother to look at the Mac because they feel comfy and save with what they have. Software and malware for free, just like everybody else has. It's good to be average.

    As average as a mini-tower.



    If a Windows owner considers a Mac anyway, the fact there is no mini-tower option won't be a problem.



    Sorry, I hear way too many PC users all the time say things like "Macs are nice, but to get a decent one you have to pay like $3000" (yes, they always exaggerate).



    I've heard PC users complain about this even back in the G4 days when the low-end tower was around $1600. A lot of PC users don't consider a non-expandable desktop to be a "real computer", and as such they will compare whatever machine they would have compared to the mid-range mini tower Mac to the Mac Pro instead, where of course the PC will usually end up being close to half the price.



    This is also what makes quotes like this so silly:



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rageous


    Brilliant.



    Of course what Windows mini towers have over Apple is that they'll sell for lower margin, so you'll get the old "more expensive Mac" dog rearing it's ugly head.



    That particular dog will always be there rearing its (no apostrophe) ugly head. The difference is that with a Mac mini-tower, that dog would look like this:







    whereas right now, it looks like this:



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  • Reply 749 of 1657
    That headless PCIe xMac still won't use most video cards on the market. Those PC guys will just move to that. Rather than try to placate the 5% of the world that would move to abacusi before moving to Macs, Apple should worry about the 5% of the world who might move to the Mac. You can't run Windows as your only OS on a Mac affordably (retail Windows is about $200), so Apple needs consumer hardware that works well with its consumer software.
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  • Reply 750 of 1657
    ~bump
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  • Reply 751 of 1657
    rickagrickag Posts: 1,626member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ApplePi


    Well all I know is that I've got a mac laptop and a PC tower. I'm looking to replace my tower but it has 3 hard drives in it and a couple of optical drives. I'm looking to gut it and put those things in a mac tower. But I'm not going to pay $2500 because I don't need that Xeon power and high memory cost. And I'm also not going to put those drives into external USB enclosures, because that just clutters my desk with external drives and it's not as fast of a transfer rate. So I'll wait a little longer in hopes that Apple releases a mid range tower. But I tell you what, those new intel chips are looking just as good on the PC side even if I have to use windows.



    I may not be your typical computer stupid consumer, but I have a feeling there are a good number of people out there like me. At least as many as would buy a niche product like an imac.



    Apple has left you only one option for what you need, a used tower. I haven't looked, but I guessing that the used G5 towers might not be holding their value as well as used Apple products have, due to the Intel switch. Kind of sad that Apple's used computer market might be their biggest competitor for desktop sales.
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  • Reply 752 of 1657
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ApplePi


    Well all I know is that I've got a mac laptop and a PC tower. I'm looking to replace my tower but it has 3 hard drives in it and a couple of optical drives. I'm looking to gut it and put those things in a mac tower. But I'm not going to pay $2500 because I don't need that Xeon power and high memory cost. And I'm also not going to put those drives into external USB enclosures, because that just clutters my desk with external drives and it's not as fast of a transfer rate. So I'll wait a little longer in hopes that Apple releases a mid range tower. But I tell you what, those new intel chips are looking just as good on the PC side even if I have to use windows.



    I may not be your typical computer stupid consumer, but I have a feeling there are a good number of people out there like me. At least as many as would buy a niche product like an imac.



    What kind of hard drives do you have ide? sata? sata2? All my drives are still in ide because I have old desktop pc, all I'm saying, even if Apple would come up with mid tower there is fair chance that you couldn't still put your old drives in it. Just install linux to your old computer , put it into a closet and use it as a network storage.
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  • Reply 753 of 1657
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Project2501


    What kind of hard drives do you have ide? sata? sata2? All my drives are still in ide because I have old desktop pc, all I'm saying, even if Apple would come up with mid tower there is fair chance that you couldn't still put your old drives in it. Just install linux to your old computer , put it into a closet and use it as a network storage.



    You forget that with a simple PCI card you can add whatever hard drive interface you need to use those drives.
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  • Reply 754 of 1657
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Project2501


    What kind of hard drives do you have ide? sata? sata2? All my drives are still in ide because I have old desktop pc, all I'm saying, even if Apple would come up with mid tower there is fair chance that you couldn't still put your old drives in it. Just install linux to your old computer , put it into a closet and use it as a network storage.



    Yeah they are PATA drives and I'm starting to believe what you're saying. I think it will just stay a windows box.
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  • Reply 755 of 1657
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rickag


    Apple has left you only one option for what you need, a used tower. I haven't looked, but I guessing that the used G5 towers might not be holding their value as well as used Apple products have, due to the Intel switch. Kind of sad that Apple's used computer market might be their biggest competitor for desktop sales.





    I dunno about that. Looks like the G5 towers could come back in demand if this report at Macfixit.com is true.
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  • Reply 756 of 1657
    rickagrickag Posts: 1,626member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Anklosaur


    I dunno about that. Looks like the G5 towers could come back in demand if this report at Macfixit.com is true.



    I stand corrected, apparently the G5 towers will be holding their value.
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  • Reply 757 of 1657
    snoopysnoopy Posts: 1,901member
    Could THIS be bad news for a Mac mini tower? It looks like Apple could enter the business desktop market with the new vPro chip-set, which may put a mini tower lower down the priority chain, assuming it's even on the chain.



    Also, I don't like the sound of the word 'Prosumer' as an Apple spokesman said in reference to the new 24 inch iMac. Is the 24 inch iMac Apple's answer for the high end consumers, in place of a mini tower?



    Then again, could the vPro find its way into a mini tower from Apple? Business likes mini towers too, it think?



    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09...vpro_shipping/
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  • Reply 758 of 1657
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by intrigued305


    I think that Apple has deliberately opened up a product space for the "plain old Mac." The extremely high-end Mac Pro has nothing below $2,000, and Cinema Display pricing has been slashed. I'd like to see the possibility of a reasonably fast Mac for $1399.



    I would like to see two distinct models:



    Fast - $1399

    - 2.13 Core 2 Duo E6400

    - 8x Superdrive

    - 1 GB RAM

    - 250 GB hard drive

    - Airport and Bluetooth

    - Apple Remote



    Higher-end - $1699

    - 2.4 Core 2 Duo E6600 / 2.66 BTO

    - 16x Superdrive

    - 1 GB RAM

    - 400 GB hard drive / 500 GB BTO

    - Airport and Bluetooth

    - Apple Remote



    Mac Cube with this price points will be nice with millions of configs as well



    Mac Mini

    Mac Cube/Mac

    Mac Pro



    still i prefer iMac over anything else ...



    Mac Cube only available first in Fifth avenue store ...
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  • Reply 759 of 1657
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by CharlesS




    That particular dog will always be there rearing its (no apostrophe) ugly head. The difference is that with a Mac mini-tower, that dog would look like this:







    whereas right now, it looks like this:







    This exactly the point. If you want to sell more Dogs, they better look like this:







    Rather than this:







    Not too many people want the latter one.
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  • Reply 760 of 1657
    ^ I'm not really sure what point you're trying to make, but I'm pretty sure you didn't understand mine.
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