Again, new screens?
Ugh! Okay, so have posted a few months ago about updating screens and they didn't do it. Other than a littler lower price and (I think?) updated specs like two months ago, the screens still don't have built in camera! If they would put that in, I would so love to buy! Maybe more of a rant, but oh well, I want to send money to Apple and they won't let me.
Comments
Money is ready too ;-)
Ugh! Okay, so have posted a few months ago about updating screens and they didn't do it. Other than a littler lower price and (I think?) updated specs like two months ago, the screens still don't have built in camera! If they would put that in, I would so love to buy! Maybe more of a rant, but oh well, I want to send money to Apple and they won't let me.
Just because you snap your fingers and declare that Apple will come out with new screens doesn't mean they are going to do it. Apple's LCD displays have a long product refresh cycle. You'll get some minor updates and price drops, but Apple displays do not come out very often at all. It's not a priority for Apple to release new Cinema Displays when they have a plentiful stock of current Cinema Displays. And the current Cinema Display sure as hell aint broke.
Or in other words: wait for Leopard, then wait for new Macs with HD/BluRay drives and then Apple will introduce new monitors.
November/December at the earliest, probably more likely January 2008. Or even later than that.
In a nutshell: not any time soon.
My bet is that they will all upgrade once they are ready to make the transition to LED.
No way, dude. If Apple waited for that, we wouldn't see an update for probably 3 years or more. The costs of large LED backlit displays are just way to large right now. Don't expect it any time soon... 2 years at the earliest, maybe...
I'm going to order the 30" HP LP3065 in a week or two. I'm tired of Apple dragging its feet and don't want to wait any longer. Cinema Displays are outdated, overpriced and should have been updated a year ago. Seems very typical of Apple, as of late.
Just what about Cinema Displays makes them outdated? I'm sick and tired of everybody seeing a technology that is *god forbidden* less than a year new and just because of that they declair that it's outdated and old technology.
What are monitors suppose to do?
Display the graphical output of your computer.
Does the Cinema Display do this?
Yes.
What do GREAT monitors do?
Display bright and crisp images.
Does the Cinema Display do this?
Yes.
In fact, the 30" Cinema Display is the highest resolution 30" display on the consumer market. Plus, the Cinema Display leads the pack in terms of industrial design.
So yea, the price is a bit steep compared to other 30" monitors, but Apple continues to drop their prices to make them more competative.
And finaly, due to the nature of pro products (higher cost thus lower sales volume, and the fact that it is more economical to manufature in bulk, the refresh time is always longer) Apple still has supplies of their Cinema Displays. It would be a very bad business decision to release new monitors and have the current ones see an immediatly dramatic decrease in value whereby Apple looses money on those unsold monitors. Do you WANT Apple to go out of business by making stupid business decisions?
Just what about Cinema Displays makes them outdated? I'm sick and tired of everybody seeing a technology that is *god forbidden* less than a year new and just because of that they declair that it's outdated and old technology.
...partial list of the advantages of the HP LP3065:
faster response time
higher contrast
more usb ports, conveniently located on the side
height and swivel adjustable
HDCP support
better color gamut
In fact, the 30" Cinema Display is the highest resolution 30" display on the consumer market.
...same as the HP, the Dell and the Samsung. If Apple would offer an even higher resolution 30" display, I might buy one.
Do you WANT Apple to go out of business by making stupid business decisions?
No but I expect Apple to keep up with technology. Apple brags about being innovative and most of their hardware products look pretty tired half of the time because Apple is slow to update them, when compared to other computer companies.
examples of hardware products that are being left behind:
iMacs
Mac minis
Mac Pros
Cinema Displays
...partial list of the advantages of the HP LP3065:
faster response time
higher contrast
more usb ports, conveniently located on the side
height and swivel adjustable
HDCP support
better color gamut
...same as the HP, the Dell and the Samsung. If Apple would offer an even higher resolution 30" display, I might buy one.
No but I expect Apple to keep up with technology. Apple brags about being innovative and most of their hardware products look pretty tired half of the time because Apple is slow to update them, when compared to other computer companies.
examples of hardware products that are being left behind:
iMacs
Mac minis
Mac Pros
Cinema Displays
Upon second check, Dell and HP have updated their resolution to be comparable with Apple's resolution for the 30". Apple still has a brighter display. 33% brighter. And contrast doesn't matter really -- it's all about color ACCURACY -- especially if you are in film, animation, publishing, web graphics, or photography. And you're telling me that you are really going to notice a 2ms difference? That's bull. Of course you won't. It's not all about numbers and stats. Let me give you an example. Are you going to notice the difference between two light bulbs -- one that is a slightly higher refresh frequency? No... because your eye cannot distinguish between those level of a refresh rates.
How are Mac Pros being left behind? They are still better than custom built PC computers in price, parts, and value!! Plus they are continually updated by Apple. iMacs will soon be updated -- a big update likely... Apple might completely kill Mac Mini... and right now it's STILL a economical...
Apple still has a brighter display. 33% brighter. And contrast doesn't matter really -- it's all about color ACCURACY --
I won't argue specs with you because you're right, it's not all about specs. I will argue that brightness of current high quality displays means nothing because most of them are too bright to be turned up all the way anyway. Contrast IS more important than brightness.
I will argue color accuracy too. I own an Apple 23" Cinema Display I purchased in July, 2004. The screen is PINK (a common problem among the 23" model which was introduced that year). So don't tell me Apple always sells the BEST displays.
How are Mac Pros being left behind?
I don't follow the Mac Pro very closely but a common complaint I hear is that for a $2500 computer it has just a mediocre GPU. Its case is way too big in my opinion and I think Apple could do better.
That iMacs MIGHT soon be updated, doesn't mean much since it has been almost a year since they were updated. 300 days is a very long time for any computer to go without an update.
The mini should have been removed from the lineup months ago if Apple can't bother to replace the Core Duo with the same-price Core 2 Duo and use 802.11n wireless networking.
I will argue color accuracy too. I own an Apple 23" Cinema Display I purchased in July, 2004. The screen is PINK (a common problem among the 23" model which was introduced that year). So don't tell me Apple always sells the BEST displays.
So get it fixed. If it's a common problem, it should have an repair program. If not, well, it's a lemon. It happens.
I don't follow the Mac Pro very closely but a common complaint I hear is that for a $2500 computer it has just a mediocre GPU. Its case is way too big in my opinion and I think Apple could do better.
Mediocre for what? Gaming? It's not geared toward entertainment. The Mac Pro is a workhorse, the thing has more under the hood than my Dodge. Four cores at even 2.0GHz is more than anyone but a professional needs. And a professional isn't (or at least shouldn't be) sitting around playing CoD3 when he should be doing work.
I swear, sometimes I'm surprised I've heard no complaints that the Xserve only has a 64MB video card...
That iMacs MIGHT soon be updated, doesn't mean much since it has been almost a year since they were updated. 300 days is a very long time for any computer to go without an update.
All I think it needs is a GPU update. Other than that, it can stay right where it is. That's what BTO is for. People need to stop getting boners over better stats and realize that the iMac is spot on, if not overpowered, for 85% of those that own one.
The mini should have been removed from the lineup months ago if Apple can't bother to replace the Core Duo with the same-price Core 2 Duo and use 802.11n wireless networking.
CPU and wireless, I agree with. Beyond that, what do you expect? I can fit the damn thing in my pocket, it's not going to be up to par with the others. Not for $600.
So get it fixed. If it's a common problem, it should have an repair program. If not, well, it's a lemon. It happens.
Before it was out of warranty, I read numerous accounts of people attempting to get Apple to replace their 23" displays, only to be told "the pink cast is within specifications." So I didn't try to get mine replaced or fixed. Maybe I should have, but it would have meant going without my computer for days, weeks or months; with perhaps the same unsuccessful result.
I posted earlier only to agree with Meeces who started the thread saying Cinema Displays are due for an update. My post was followed by one from icfireball implying that Cinema Displays are plenty good enough; even better than the competition. I disagree.
I've had money earmarked for a new 30" display since November. I would like to buy one from Apple but will not buy a display which is not as good and much more expensive than those from other manufacturers. When Apple first introduced their 30" model, it was way ahead of what any other company offered. Now it's way behind, so I'm buying from HP after waiting and waiting for Apple to improve theirs.
Mediocre for what? Gaming?
Mediocre for a $2500 computer when compared to other $2500 computers, I guess. As I said, I don't follow the Mac Pro much so I shouldn't have brought it up.
However since I did, the Mac Pro is in an extra large case that was introduced four years ago and designed to cool the PPC G5. It's a perfect example of Apple being slow to upgrade hardware. Apple has 12 billion in the bank, yet they upgrade at the same snail's pace they did when they were nearly broke.
Before it was out of warranty, I read numerous accounts of people attempting to get Apple to replace their 23" displays, only to be told "the pink cast is within specifications." So I didn't try to get mine replaced or fixed. Maybe I should have, but it would have meant going without my computer for days, weeks or months; with perhaps the same unsuccessful result.
I posted earlier only to agree with Meeces who started the thread saying Cinema Displays are due for an update. My post was followed by one from icfireball implying that Cinema Displays are plenty good enough; even better than the competition. I disagree.
I've had money earmarked for a new 30" display since November. I would like to buy one from Apple but will not buy a display which is not as good and much more expensive than those from other manufacturers. When Apple first introduced their 30" model, it was way ahead of what any other company offered. Now it's way behind, so I'm buying from HP after waiting and waiting for Apple to improve theirs.
Mediocre for a $2500 computer when compared to other $2500 computers, I guess. As I said, I don't follow the Mac Pro much so I shouldn't have brought it up.
However since I did, the Mac Pro is in an extra large case that was introduced four years ago and designed to cool the PPC G5. It's a perfect example of Apple being slow to upgrade hardware. Apple has 12 billion in the bank, yet they upgrade at the same snail's pace they did when they were nearly broke.
First, I never said the Cinema Display was better than the other displays. I own a 23" Cinema Display and I love it. There is nothing WRONG with it and it was definitely worth the money. My point was that Cinema Displays are still excellent displays (perhaps not better than Dell or HP, but I'm not going to make any comparisons) and also that you have to consider the business aspect of why Apple probably hasn't updated it's displays yet. One thing to note by the way is that the Cinema Display gives you extra firewire ports.
Next... If you bought the AppleCare protection plan... this does NOT only cover your computer. This covers your Cinema Display as well (if you have one, which you do). But, in all likelihood, you don't have AppleCare. In this case, you should contact Apple support anyways. What you're describing sounds like a manufacturing defect, which, according to Apple's legal mumbo jumbo that no one actually reads, is covered regardless of time or warranty. In addition, I've found Apple is very accommodating to helping people with their problems even if out of warranty. Good luck!
On to the Mac Pro graphics. What people complain about is that the "standard" Mac Pro graphics card is outdated. The graphics card is decent, but not good. The problem is, with the Mac Pro, there is no such thing as a "standard" graphics card or configuration because the computer is fully configurable. The upgradeable graphics cards are excellent and very fast -- great for gaming. The most demanding and intensive use of a graphics card is 3D animation. Pixar uses Macs for their animations and as apparent, if the graphics cards provided were not great, Steve Jobs would have already upgraded the graphics cards options. It's true that the Mac Pro does not have all of the "newest" graphics cards, but again this is the whole "newer" is better semantics, which is in the case of graphics, only marginally true if at all. Presumably, you can use or upgrade ANY graphics card with your Mac Pro as long as the appropriate drivers exist. And unlike most computers, the graphics card slot in the Mac Pro is double wide.
Personally, I only have two complaints with the Mac Pro, and both are with the configuration part of it and both are pretty trivial:
-RAM via Apple is so goddamn expensive
-You can't select 250MB size via the Apple Sore configuring for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th bays. I think a lot of people would want 250MB primary and 250 in a second bay for backup, or 500 primary and 250 secondary for backup (since you don't usually have to back up all of the contents of a hard drive).
...examples of hardware products that are being left behind:
iMacs
Mac minis
Mac Pros
Cinema Displays
Hopefully when the iPhone is release Apple can concentrated on Computers for a while.