For a side-by-side comparison of the new iMac versus my preferred look:
-
I have to agree with Mr. O. At first sight I thought yours was nicer, but when I saw the both side by side I can see why Apple didn't do what you suggested, not that they obviously didn't it behind closed doors. Ditto for the LOGO, I thought your LOGO was much better until I saw them both side-by-side. We are talking about a mainstream consumer product after all. Despite the bullshit marketing talk Jobs always gives, I think he gave a great insight to how they approached the design of this product when he mentioned that it would appeal equally to Pro's and consumers. Very, very sleek with just the right amount of friendly poured into the mix. Your design is not as mainstream, it's a pro design. Still who knows, the iMac may look like that in two years time.
Excellent work though. Glad to see your libido is going well.
Yeah, actually after seeing them in person today, I have to say they are quite nice looking. I still don't prefer the black logo or the black backing (the latter of which i won't have to see pretty much ever, and it will eliminate the current problem I have of a bleached screen when the sun comes through the window behind it)
I viewed four or five of them in an extremely brightly lit room with and the reflection was minimal at worst, which was most pleasing. I will be more than happy to take one home with me real soon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ireland
I have to agree with Mr. O. At first sight I thought yours was nicer, but when I saw the both side by side I can see why Apple didn't do what you suggested, not that they obviously didn't it behind closed doors. Ditto for the LOGO, I thought your LOGO was much better until I saw them both side-by-side. We are talking about a mainstream consumer product after all. Despite the bullshit marketing talk Jobs always gives, I think he gave a great insight to how they approached the design of this product when he mentioned that it would appeal equally to Pro's and consumers. Very, very sleek with just the right amount of friendly poured into the mix. Your design is not as mainstream, it's a pro design. Still who knows, the iMac may look like that in two or three years time.
Excellent work though. Glad to see your libido is going well.
The glossy screen debate is a tough one, and is often very personal. When I ordered my new MBP (to replace an older PB) earlier this spring, I spent a lot of time considering the two, actually spending time at the store moving the display machines around. I ordered the glossy, and, several months later, am very happy with my purchase.
Photos look fantastic on the glossy screen compared to my old matte PB (there may be some other factors involved as well, though). The glare is not much of a problem; I tend to use the machine in the same locations at each place I carry it to and have adjusted to the lighting which could cause glare. Sitting at a certain angle or propping the screen at a certain angle will do the trick most of the time. In one location, I re-organized the lighting (and actually cut the cost of electricity for the entire room, and was able to turn the airconditioner up a degree due to reduced heat created in the room).
A desktop is not a laptop, however, and I will have to wait and see for myself if the glossy is worth it for me. Having played on other glossy computers at the local shop, I was secretly waiting for Apple to go glossy, as the iMacs were suffering in comparison to some of the other brands.
steve666: You are about as tough-sounding on glare that I have seen, so I will be very interested to read your opinions; I won't be able to see one of the new machines until they get one at my local computer shop (they usually have a delay of two months). The nearest Apple Store is 5 hours and 125 bucks away, round trip. Not that that should stop me...
I am waiting until later in the fall to actually really plan on buying one, but I thought about that, as well.
In the past 24 hours, I have used a 15" MBP, a 20" iMac, and a 23" Cinema Display.
Depending on how you like to open your apps, you can do fine with the 20". If you really like to spread things out, or have three apps open and visible at the same time, go for the 24.
At home on my 23", I like to work on one thing while having a rather large video displaying somewhere on screen. My mail is often open, too, so that I can see incoming mail without having to switch around. However, i do find that I have a lot of open space much of the time, so I could likely have done with the 20.
There is the CPU on the 24 which is slightly better, but I don't think that 0.4 GHz will really make or break any apps.
I hate glare so much I didnt like the white iMac because I thought the white part was too shiny.
Glare is bad.
I am going to the Apple Store tomorrow, hopefully they will have one to look at.
I like what Bergermeister says about the subjectivity of one's response to a glossy screen. I went to my local Apple store tonight and found that I wasn't as put off by the screen as I expected to be. Evidently there is glossy and then there is GLOSSY. The new iMac's screen struck me as the former ? pleasantly more subdued than it might have been.
That said, by their very nature glossy screens run the risk of making reality into a blown-glass meretrix. All the oozing flash ? the wet, high contrast, hyper-saturated color ? I just don't know about it. Images from the worst-offending screens call to mind a 21st century mob splashing in the waters of youth, eyes wiggling around like little water snakes until each frivolous bather abruptly fastens his or her gaze on timeless old Ponce de Leon who doles out bright, shiny brochures for ice cream and scuba gear.
when i first saw the new imac on the apple website, i didn't like it at all. the black border around the screen, despite the functionality, looked terrible. however, i changed my mind upon seeing photos of the real thing, rather than the 'representations' on the online apple store. though i do think the aesthetic works better for the 24"/wider aspect.
whilst it would have been nice to get a completely overhauled design, eg a la our inviso-imac mock-up, i think some of our expectations were a tad unrealistic on the design front at least. i'm looking forward to seeing one in person - we ordered a 20" (2.4/2gb/320) yesterday for dvd authoring and as a back-up cutting station.
The glossy screen debate is a tough one, and is often very personal. When I ordered my new MBP (to replace an older PB) earlier this spring, I spent a lot of time considering the two, actually spending time at the store moving the display machines around. I ordered the glossy, and, several months later, am very happy with my purchase.
Photos look fantastic on the glossy screen compared to my old matte PB (there may be some other factors involved as well, though). The glare is not much of a problem; I tend to use the machine in the same locations at each place I carry it to and have adjusted to the lighting which could cause glare. Sitting at a certain angle or propping the screen at a certain angle will do the trick most of the time. In one location, I re-organized the lighting (and actually cut the cost of electricity for the entire room, and was able to turn the airconditioner up a degree due to reduced heat created in the room).
A desktop is not a laptop, however, and I will have to wait and see for myself if the glossy is worth it for me. Having played on other glossy computers at the local shop, I was secretly waiting for Apple to go glossy, as the iMacs were suffering in comparison to some of the other brands.
steve666: You are about as tough-sounding on glare that I have seen, so I will be very interested to read your opinions; I won't be able to see one of the new machines until they get one at my local computer shop (they usually have a delay of two months). The nearest Apple Store is 5 hours and 125 bucks away, round trip. Not that that should stop me...
I'll report back as soon as I see one. Not sure if the store has a display yet but I will be in the area and will stop by.
No need for that. All apple have to do it write drivers for the GPUs they've had in their Macs for years. Both ATI and Nvidia GPUs have dedicated hardware for H.264, MPEG-2, and VC-1 decoding.
And yet, Apple does not fail to prove every day that it is very reluctant to write such drivers. Once the hardware DVD decoding has been dropped years ago, Apple never looked back again and relied on raw CPU muscle. Same story with HD video. The GPU has HD video decoding capabilities from the X1600 era at least and Apple has yet to release drivers making use of this.
About the new design: I am rather neutral or slightly negative. I think the black border destroys the aesthetic balance. There was a variant posted before with a totally black front that I liked better. But I will reserve my judgement for when I see it in person.
And yet, Apple does not fail to prove every day that it is very reluctant to write such drivers. Once the hardware DVD decoding has been dropped years ago, Apple never looked back again and relied on raw CPU muscle. Same story with HD video. The GPU has HD video decoding capabilities from the X1600 era at least and Apple has yet to release drivers making use of this.
Is this backwards compatible. In other words, how would mac users with older powerbooks and less power gpus benefit?
I really wrestling with what one to buy, 20 or 24" ?
I would certainly choose the 24" as the screen has much better resolution wise and also the angle of vision. Check complete tech specs to see the difference. And if you can afford it go for the deluxe 2.8 version...
I really wrestling with what one to buy, 20 or 24" ?
Same here … 24" is slightly too big, 20" is slightly too small \
Today, I spent one hour travelling between both iMacs. The Apple Genius told me that there's no difference between the screen of a 23" Cinema Display and the screen of the 24" iMac as they both have the same resolution. So, technically speaking, the 24" iMac is actually a 23" iMac.
However, the dilemma was easily solved by the food paradigm: it is better to stop eating while you're still a little hungry i/o keep on eating till you're stuffed and feeling miserably afterwards. The first habit will slim you down, while the other one might lead to chronic depressions.
Meaning, it's better to save the extra cash (and spend it on an iPhone) and coping with the idea that your A4 documents will be slightly too big on your 20" screen
For those that missed it the "GLOSSY" part of the screen is really just a glass plate held on by magnets, over a regular, MATTE finished LCD. If you really had your heart set on an iMac, simply removing the glass plate will restore the traditional non-glossy screen, AND provide a nice recess to keep the screen in shadow.
The glass protecting the screen is great, I can finally buy an iMac to my family without risking the kids smudging/scratching the panel.
Not too keen on glossy myself, for work I prefer a standard display - but for "home use" (looking at photos/movies/webb) I believe a glossy screen would actually be better.
The new wireless keyboard is perfect, I have been looking for such a keyboard for ages (to allow me to dock my PB without having to use a sucky big keyboard).
---
Wow, classy.
That Angelina desktop pattern should be made standard on the new iMacs (makes me remember the cool Shark desktop in the Pismo ads).
The Black/Alu screen looks so much better with a black and white desktop (and grey folder icons).
There is defintely plenty of glare from the overhead lights and you can see yourself in the screen also. However, the picture is clearer compared to the Apple Monitor that was hooked up to a Mini. The Monitor actually looks fuzzy to me, as if there is dust on the screen (there wasn't).
Its hard to gauge what the glare would be like at home, but I assume there will be glare from whatever light you are using. I dont understand why Apple didnt apply a non glare coating to the glass surface, that would have eliminated the glare problem while still giving a clearer picture than the Studio Display and I assume the old iMac.
As for the new keyboard, I like it. I like how the keys are spaced apart, its easier to avoid hitting 2 keys at once. The mouse still sucks.
I will wait until people buy the iMac and try it at home to see if the glare is a problem. Again, I dont understand why Apple didn't just add an anti-glare coating. Stupid if you ask me.
Comments
For a side-by-side comparison of the new iMac versus my preferred look:
I have to agree with Mr. O. At first sight I thought yours was nicer, but when I saw the both side by side I can see why Apple didn't do what you suggested, not that they obviously didn't it behind closed doors. Ditto for the LOGO, I thought your LOGO was much better until I saw them both side-by-side. We are talking about a mainstream consumer product after all. Despite the bullshit marketing talk Jobs always gives, I think he gave a great insight to how they approached the design of this product when he mentioned that it would appeal equally to Pro's and consumers. Very, very sleek with just the right amount of friendly poured into the mix. Your design is not as mainstream, it's a pro design. Still who knows, the iMac may look like that in two years time.
Excellent work though. Glad to see your libido is going well.
Glare is bad.
I am going to the Apple Store tomorrow, hopefully they will have one to look at.
I viewed four or five of them in an extremely brightly lit room with and the reflection was minimal at worst, which was most pleasing. I will be more than happy to take one home with me real soon.
I have to agree with Mr. O. At first sight I thought yours was nicer, but when I saw the both side by side I can see why Apple didn't do what you suggested, not that they obviously didn't it behind closed doors. Ditto for the LOGO, I thought your LOGO was much better until I saw them both side-by-side. We are talking about a mainstream consumer product after all. Despite the bullshit marketing talk Jobs always gives, I think he gave a great insight to how they approached the design of this product when he mentioned that it would appeal equally to Pro's and consumers. Very, very sleek with just the right amount of friendly poured into the mix. Your design is not as mainstream, it's a pro design. Still who knows, the iMac may look like that in two or three years time.
Excellent work though. Glad to see your libido is going well.
Photos look fantastic on the glossy screen compared to my old matte PB (there may be some other factors involved as well, though). The glare is not much of a problem; I tend to use the machine in the same locations at each place I carry it to and have adjusted to the lighting which could cause glare. Sitting at a certain angle or propping the screen at a certain angle will do the trick most of the time. In one location, I re-organized the lighting (and actually cut the cost of electricity for the entire room, and was able to turn the airconditioner up a degree due to reduced heat created in the room).
A desktop is not a laptop, however, and I will have to wait and see for myself if the glossy is worth it for me. Having played on other glossy computers at the local shop, I was secretly waiting for Apple to go glossy, as the iMacs were suffering in comparison to some of the other brands.
steve666: You are about as tough-sounding on glare that I have seen, so I will be very interested to read your opinions; I won't be able to see one of the new machines until they get one at my local computer shop (they usually have a delay of two months). The nearest Apple Store is 5 hours and 125 bucks away, round trip. Not that that should stop me...
In the past 24 hours, I have used a 15" MBP, a 20" iMac, and a 23" Cinema Display.
Depending on how you like to open your apps, you can do fine with the 20". If you really like to spread things out, or have three apps open and visible at the same time, go for the 24.
At home on my 23", I like to work on one thing while having a rather large video displaying somewhere on screen. My mail is often open, too, so that I can see incoming mail without having to switch around. However, i do find that I have a lot of open space much of the time, so I could likely have done with the 20.
There is the CPU on the 24 which is slightly better, but I don't think that 0.4 GHz will really make or break any apps.
I hate glare so much I didnt like the white iMac because I thought the white part was too shiny.
Glare is bad.
I am going to the Apple Store tomorrow, hopefully they will have one to look at.
I like what Bergermeister says about the subjectivity of one's response to a glossy screen. I went to my local Apple store tonight and found that I wasn't as put off by the screen as I expected to be. Evidently there is glossy and then there is GLOSSY. The new iMac's screen struck me as the former ? pleasantly more subdued than it might have been.
That said, by their very nature glossy screens run the risk of making reality into a blown-glass meretrix. All the oozing flash ? the wet, high contrast, hyper-saturated color ? I just don't know about it. Images from the worst-offending screens call to mind a 21st century mob splashing in the waters of youth, eyes wiggling around like little water snakes until each frivolous bather abruptly fastens his or her gaze on timeless old Ponce de Leon who doles out bright, shiny brochures for ice cream and scuba gear.
whilst it would have been nice to get a completely overhauled design, eg a la our inviso-imac mock-up, i think some of our expectations were a tad unrealistic on the design front at least. i'm looking forward to seeing one in person - we ordered a 20" (2.4/2gb/320) yesterday for dvd authoring and as a back-up cutting station.
The glossy screen debate is a tough one, and is often very personal. When I ordered my new MBP (to replace an older PB) earlier this spring, I spent a lot of time considering the two, actually spending time at the store moving the display machines around. I ordered the glossy, and, several months later, am very happy with my purchase.
Photos look fantastic on the glossy screen compared to my old matte PB (there may be some other factors involved as well, though). The glare is not much of a problem; I tend to use the machine in the same locations at each place I carry it to and have adjusted to the lighting which could cause glare. Sitting at a certain angle or propping the screen at a certain angle will do the trick most of the time. In one location, I re-organized the lighting (and actually cut the cost of electricity for the entire room, and was able to turn the airconditioner up a degree due to reduced heat created in the room).
A desktop is not a laptop, however, and I will have to wait and see for myself if the glossy is worth it for me. Having played on other glossy computers at the local shop, I was secretly waiting for Apple to go glossy, as the iMacs were suffering in comparison to some of the other brands.
steve666: You are about as tough-sounding on glare that I have seen, so I will be very interested to read your opinions; I won't be able to see one of the new machines until they get one at my local computer shop (they usually have a delay of two months). The nearest Apple Store is 5 hours and 125 bucks away, round trip. Not that that should stop me...
I'll report back as soon as I see one. Not sure if the store has a display yet but I will be in the area and will stop by.
No need for that. All apple have to do it write drivers for the GPUs they've had in their Macs for years. Both ATI and Nvidia GPUs have dedicated hardware for H.264, MPEG-2, and VC-1 decoding.
And yet, Apple does not fail to prove every day that it is very reluctant to write such drivers. Once the hardware DVD decoding has been dropped years ago, Apple never looked back again and relied on raw CPU muscle. Same story with HD video. The GPU has HD video decoding capabilities from the X1600 era at least and Apple has yet to release drivers making use of this.
And yet, Apple does not fail to prove every day that it is very reluctant to write such drivers. Once the hardware DVD decoding has been dropped years ago, Apple never looked back again and relied on raw CPU muscle. Same story with HD video. The GPU has HD video decoding capabilities from the X1600 era at least and Apple has yet to release drivers making use of this.
Is this backwards compatible. In other words, how would mac users with older powerbooks and less power gpus benefit?
I really wrestling with what one to buy, 20 or 24" ?
I would certainly choose the 24" as the screen has much better resolution wise and also the angle of vision. Check complete tech specs to see the difference. And if you can afford it go for the deluxe 2.8 version...
http://www.apple.com/imac/specs.html
20" has a lower quality panel matrix
I really wrestling with what one to buy, 20 or 24" ?
Same here … 24" is slightly too big, 20" is slightly too small
Today, I spent one hour travelling between both iMacs. The Apple Genius told me that there's no difference between the screen of a 23" Cinema Display and the screen of the 24" iMac as they both have the same resolution. So, technically speaking, the 24" iMac is actually a 23" iMac.
However, the dilemma was easily solved by the food paradigm: it is better to stop eating while you're still a little hungry i/o keep on eating till you're stuffed and feeling miserably afterwards. The first habit will slim you down, while the other one might lead to chronic depressions.
Meaning, it's better to save the extra cash (and spend it on an iPhone) and coping with the idea that your A4 documents will be slightly too big on your 20" screen
For those that missed it the "GLOSSY" part of the screen is really just a glass plate held on by magnets, over a regular, MATTE finished LCD. If you really had your heart set on an iMac, simply removing the glass plate will restore the traditional non-glossy screen, AND provide a nice recess to keep the screen in shadow.
Not too keen on glossy myself, for work I prefer a standard display - but for "home use" (looking at photos/movies/webb) I believe a glossy screen would actually be better.
The new wireless keyboard is perfect, I have been looking for such a keyboard for ages (to allow me to dock my PB without having to use a sucky big keyboard).
---
Wow, classy.
That Angelina desktop pattern should be made standard on the new iMacs (makes me remember the cool Shark desktop in the Pismo ads).
The Black/Alu screen looks so much better with a black and white desktop (and grey folder icons).
---
There is defintely plenty of glare from the overhead lights and you can see yourself in the screen also. However, the picture is clearer compared to the Apple Monitor that was hooked up to a Mini. The Monitor actually looks fuzzy to me, as if there is dust on the screen (there wasn't).
Its hard to gauge what the glare would be like at home, but I assume there will be glare from whatever light you are using. I dont understand why Apple didnt apply a non glare coating to the glass surface, that would have eliminated the glare problem while still giving a clearer picture than the Studio Display and I assume the old iMac.
As for the new keyboard, I like it. I like how the keys are spaced apart, its easier to avoid hitting 2 keys at once. The mouse still sucks.
I will wait until people buy the iMac and try it at home to see if the glare is a problem. Again, I dont understand why Apple didn't just add an anti-glare coating. Stupid if you ask me.