They don't need to make it thinner, they need to make it BETTER - with a non-glossy screen and a real keyboard as well.
Until that happens I won't be getting a new Mac. Ever.
I agree with the first part. But I want a glossy screen. I don't know what you mean by a real keyboard. I actually bought the apple aluminum wired keyboard for my PC and I love it.
As much as i like my macbook, it's a real pain plugging and unplugging my phone, external drives, tablet, etc. every time i wanted to go portable and i was hoping to get a desktop mac at some point.
But i was really waiting for the imac to go quad, which seems impossible
hopefully they'll adjust prices downwards as well, it may not be as big an issue in the US, but in the UK the price of the desktop range leapt up in the last update (by about 3 or 400 on average), as they 'adjusted' the price. despite them adjusting the macbook range downwards recently they imacs remain high.
iMac thinner? Its thinness already causes problems and they want to make it thinner. Right, Ive. The computer is secondary to the case.
I have a 24" iMac purchased in July '08 and I don't seem to have any problems. What problems are you referring to? Do you even own an iMac or do you just spout some drivel you read on the internet.
iMac thinner? Its thinness already causes problems and they want to make it thinner. Right, Ive. The computer is secondary to the case.
If you are referring to the heating issue get your facts straight and pull out a dictionary.
For instance, a "problem" usually means that something actually goes wrong.
While the metal at the top of the aluminium iMac, especially on the left hand side, does get warm, there are no "problems" created by this. There are no widespread failures of the computer do to heat related issues. There are no reports of fans running endlessly and loud because of this. The place where I work has literally hundreds of these units in service through hot summers and cold winters and I have never heard of a single one of them having a heat related issue or heard complaints about the fans spin up. They are the most solid, silent "workhorse" computers I've ever seen installed in our labs and have practically zero issues.
The one that I use daily, is one of the earliest models and has hardly been turned off more than once or twice the whole time I've had it. It's never overheated or had any heat related issues and I've never even heard the fan turn on at all.
friend of mine had an emachines PC that died last week after 5 years or so. he's buying a laptop to replace it even though it will probably never leave the house
you can't surf facebook on a desktop on the couch while watching football
Grab a nice display (I've got a 24-inch Sammy) and attach it to your notebook. Instant desktop. And if you must, you've got portability as well.
I will never buy a desktop again. My old iMac (2006) was great. Loved it. But using a Macbook Pro as a main desktop machine (while still having portability) is wonderful.
One thing I noticed about the flat iMacs with the "chin" in a computer lab is several of them had been moved forward and the power cord came out. And the stupid way the cord goes through a hole in the stand made it a pain to plug in. Don't know how to solve that, but they should look into that. Anyone else seen this happen?
Never seen that happen. In fact iMacs are notable for how stiffly the cord stays in and how hard it is to pull it out. If you use a non-iMac power cord they fall out easily and if the power cord is locked down and the computer still moveable maybe, but otherwise not at all.
Also, if you don't want it to go through the hole, you don't have to thread it through the hole.
As far as actual improvements to the iMac that would make deployment of them in a lab easier, I would focus on the power supply to the keyboard and the ports available on it. All the ports are on the back of the iMac, which looks great in your home, but in a lab environment where things are plugged and unplugged dozens of times a day it's very difficult indeed. We run short custom cables from the firewire port and leave it dangling so that people can connect/disconnect their video cameras, but USB keys are a constant problem.
Apple's response is to use the USB ports on the keyboard for thumbdrives, but 90% of the time there isn't enough power (or at least the system says there isn't), to access a USB device that way. If the keyboard is supposed to be a USB hub, it should have enough power to work with every device. I know aesthetically it looks bad to have the ports on the front, but there has to be some way of plugging and unplugging a simple thing like a USB key without turning the entire computer around.
nvidia and ATI are still releasing GPU's with amazing performance increases and there are new games coming out with some nice graphics if you have the hardware. and that usually means a discrete desktop GPU
I also hope these come with a keyboard upgrade to make the desktop keyboard on par with the laptop ones, but I'm not holding my breath...
I want them to go back to the full-sized keyboard as standard, offer a Bluetooth keyboard with numeric pad, and also offer them with black keys, a la Macbook. Backlit would be nice too. Other than those (few!) things, I like the current keyboards a lot.. keyswitches, materials, etc., all spot-on.
nvidia and ATI are still releasing GPU's with amazing performance increases and there are new games coming out with some nice graphics if you have the hardware. and that usually means a discrete desktop GPU
Correction. The only reason to buy a PC is to play games. PC should also be your choice if you feel smart doing clean installs, rebooting, cleaning malware, and getting 100 third party crap software to work simultaneously.
If serious work (and some games) is what you want then buy a Mac. Laptops are more convenient. But sometimes you want a bigger screen and don't need the portability, so iMacs are ok too.
For professionals there is the Mac Pro. I may need to buy one in the near future.
No, not the only reason. What if you do video editing? The more power the better. I do blu ray ripping and such and a desktop gives me the power I need.
And I can't use a laptop keyboard and trackpad for long. I'd have to get another keyboard and mouse. And then i'd want a bigger screen so i'd be using a monitor too and then at that point having a desktop would just be cheaper.
Come on guys. Obviously by "problems" he meant the limitations imposed by the design.
We've been discussing this since the first post.
No one has claimed iMacs are spontaneously combusting.
Well I, (and I think others) assumed he was talking about heat, because "limitations imposed by the design" makes no sense.
What limitations? How could it being thinner possibly have any bearing on anything at all with an all-in-one computer? There's room for a mother board, a hard drive, an optical drive, ports, fans, and all the regular stuff that's in any computer. The power envelope is the same, and there is nothing being "left out" because of it's thinness unless you count something like a graphics card slot which is never going to happen in an all-in-one unless it stops being an all-in-one and turns into a mini-tower.
The only thing that makes any sense when someone says "problems with it's thinness" is the always mentioned heat issue (which doesn't actually exist), or that tired old argument that all-in-ones are lame in and of themselves and everything should be a tower of some kind.
A new report alleges that Apple intends to release new iMacs and MacBooks very soon -- in a matter of weeks -- to refresh its lineup before the holiday season.
For the last 15+ years, the target date for the release of a refreshed iMac (or consumer Mac) has been October 15, five or six weeks to a month before the U.S. Thanksgiving Day, and has varied between October 5 and October 29.
iBooks and MacBooks have often been released in November, between November 5 and November 22, again to coincide with the american Christmas shopping season beginning on Black Friday (the day following Thanksgiving Day).
There is not much of a prediction here. If one thing, Apple has been consistent throughout the years.
I look forward to refreshed, fortified Nehalem iMacs. But I have a feeling that I will be disappointed with anorexic, dementedly thin iMacs. Unfortunately.
Apple is always right. Customers know nothing. And buyers do and buy as they are told. Steve Jobs is back. Forget about the new Apple. Unfortunately.
While the metal at the top of the aluminium iMac, especially on the left hand side, does get warm, there are no "problems" created by this. There are no widespread failures of the computer do to heat related issues. There are no reports of fans running endlessly and loud because of this. The place where I work has literally hundreds of these units in service through hot summers and cold winters and I have never heard of a single one of them having a heat related issue or heard complaints about the fans spin up. They are the most solid, silent "workhorse" computers I've ever seen installed in our labs and have practically zero issues.
I'd be all in favor of making it thinner if performance can also be improved at the same time, and they can keep it quiet or quieter, no fans at all would be best. (I hate computer noise more than SJ.) The current design is a little clunky, although, not so much that it's a problem in terms of space, but, aesthetically, it's definitely had its run. And I definitely don't want a tower under my desk, that's where my legs go.
Well I, (and I think others) assumed he was talking about heat, because "limitations imposed by the design" makes no sense.
What limitations? How could it being thinner possibly have any bearing on anything at all with an all-in-one computer? There's room for a mother board, a hard drive, an optical drive, ports, fans, and all the regular stuff that's in any computer. The power envelope is the same, and there is nothing being "left out" because of it's thinness unless you count something like a graphics card slot which is never going to happen in an all-in-one unless it stops being an all-in-one and turns into a mini-tower.
The only thing that makes any sense when someone says "problems with it's thinness" is the always mentioned heat issue (which doesn't actually exist), or that tired old argument that all-in-ones are lame in and of themselves and everything should be a tower of some kind.
Apple doesn't use mobile CPUs in the iMac line purely for fun. The size of the computer clearly limits the type of CPUs and graphics cards that can be used within it. Hence the use of the phrase 'limitations of the design."
Comments
They don't need to make it thinner, they need to make it BETTER - with a non-glossy screen and a real keyboard as well.
Until that happens I won't be getting a new Mac. Ever.
I agree with the first part. But I want a glossy screen. I don't know what you mean by a real keyboard. I actually bought the apple aluminum wired keyboard for my PC and I love it.
But i was really waiting for the imac to go quad, which seems impossible
hopefully they'll adjust prices downwards as well, it may not be as big an issue in the US, but in the UK the price of the desktop range leapt up in the last update (by about 3 or 400 on average), as they 'adjusted' the price. despite them adjusting the macbook range downwards recently they imacs remain high.
LaCie monitors have come with hoods for a long time.
iMac thinner? Its thinness already causes problems and they want to make it thinner. Right, Ive. The computer is secondary to the case.
I have a 24" iMac purchased in July '08 and I don't seem to have any problems. What problems are you referring to? Do you even own an iMac or do you just spout some drivel you read on the internet.
iMac thinner? Its thinness already causes problems and they want to make it thinner. Right, Ive. The computer is secondary to the case.
If you are referring to the heating issue get your facts straight and pull out a dictionary.
For instance, a "problem" usually means that something actually goes wrong.
While the metal at the top of the aluminium iMac, especially on the left hand side, does get warm, there are no "problems" created by this. There are no widespread failures of the computer do to heat related issues. There are no reports of fans running endlessly and loud because of this. The place where I work has literally hundreds of these units in service through hot summers and cold winters and I have never heard of a single one of them having a heat related issue or heard complaints about the fans spin up. They are the most solid, silent "workhorse" computers I've ever seen installed in our labs and have practically zero issues.
The one that I use daily, is one of the earliest models and has hardly been turned off more than once or twice the whole time I've had it. It's never overheated or had any heat related issues and I've never even heard the fan turn on at all.
We've been discussing this since the first post.
No one has claimed iMacs are spontaneously combusting.
I'd like to see a USB port that remains "hot" (for power) when the iMac is asleep (or powered off).
Doesn't it do this? I thought that was a selling point when they introduced the Al+SiO2 iMac.
friend of mine had an emachines PC that died last week after 5 years or so. he's buying a laptop to replace it even though it will probably never leave the house
you can't surf facebook on a desktop on the couch while watching football
Grab a nice display (I've got a 24-inch Sammy) and attach it to your notebook. Instant desktop. And if you must, you've got portability as well.
I will never buy a desktop again. My old iMac (2006) was great. Loved it. But using a Macbook Pro as a main desktop machine (while still having portability) is wonderful.
One thing I noticed about the flat iMacs with the "chin" in a computer lab is several of them had been moved forward and the power cord came out. And the stupid way the cord goes through a hole in the stand made it a pain to plug in. Don't know how to solve that, but they should look into that. Anyone else seen this happen?
Never seen that happen. In fact iMacs are notable for how stiffly the cord stays in and how hard it is to pull it out. If you use a non-iMac power cord they fall out easily and if the power cord is locked down and the computer still moveable maybe, but otherwise not at all.
Also, if you don't want it to go through the hole, you don't have to thread it through the hole.
As far as actual improvements to the iMac that would make deployment of them in a lab easier, I would focus on the power supply to the keyboard and the ports available on it. All the ports are on the back of the iMac, which looks great in your home, but in a lab environment where things are plugged and unplugged dozens of times a day it's very difficult indeed. We run short custom cables from the firewire port and leave it dangling so that people can connect/disconnect their video cameras, but USB keys are a constant problem.
Apple's response is to use the USB ports on the keyboard for thumbdrives, but 90% of the time there isn't enough power (or at least the system says there isn't), to access a USB device that way. If the keyboard is supposed to be a USB hub, it should have enough power to work with every device. I know aesthetically it looks bad to have the ports on the front, but there has to be some way of plugging and unplugging a simple thing like a USB key without turning the entire computer around.
Come on guys. Obviously by "problems" he meant the limitations imposed by the design.
We've been discussing this since the first post.
No one has claimed iMacs are spontaneously combusting.
What limitations imposed by design?
nvidia and ATI are still releasing GPU's with amazing performance increases and there are new games coming out with some nice graphics if you have the hardware. and that usually means a discrete desktop GPU
I also hope these come with a keyboard upgrade to make the desktop keyboard on par with the laptop ones, but I'm not holding my breath...
I want them to go back to the full-sized keyboard as standard, offer a Bluetooth keyboard with numeric pad, and also offer them with black keys, a la Macbook. Backlit would be nice too. Other than those (few!) things, I like the current keyboards a lot.. keyswitches, materials, etc., all spot-on.
only reason to own a desktop if to play games
nvidia and ATI are still releasing GPU's with amazing performance increases and there are new games coming out with some nice graphics if you have the hardware. and that usually means a discrete desktop GPU
Correction. The only reason to buy a PC is to play games. PC should also be your choice if you feel smart doing clean installs, rebooting, cleaning malware, and getting 100 third party crap software to work simultaneously.
If serious work (and some games) is what you want then buy a Mac. Laptops are more convenient. But sometimes you want a bigger screen and don't need the portability, so iMacs are ok too.
For professionals there is the Mac Pro. I may need to buy one in the near future.
only reason to own a desktop if to play games
No, not the only reason. What if you do video editing? The more power the better. I do blu ray ripping and such and a desktop gives me the power I need.
And I can't use a laptop keyboard and trackpad for long. I'd have to get another keyboard and mouse. And then i'd want a bigger screen so i'd be using a monitor too and then at that point having a desktop would just be cheaper.
Come on guys. Obviously by "problems" he meant the limitations imposed by the design.
We've been discussing this since the first post.
No one has claimed iMacs are spontaneously combusting.
Well I, (and I think others) assumed he was talking about heat, because "limitations imposed by the design" makes no sense.
What limitations? How could it being thinner possibly have any bearing on anything at all with an all-in-one computer? There's room for a mother board, a hard drive, an optical drive, ports, fans, and all the regular stuff that's in any computer. The power envelope is the same, and there is nothing being "left out" because of it's thinness unless you count something like a graphics card slot which is never going to happen in an all-in-one unless it stops being an all-in-one and turns into a mini-tower.
The only thing that makes any sense when someone says "problems with it's thinness" is the always mentioned heat issue (which doesn't actually exist), or that tired old argument that all-in-ones are lame in and of themselves and everything should be a tower of some kind.
A new report alleges that Apple intends to release new iMacs and MacBooks very soon -- in a matter of weeks -- to refresh its lineup before the holiday season.
For the last 15+ years, the target date for the release of a refreshed iMac (or consumer Mac) has been October 15, five or six weeks to a month before the U.S. Thanksgiving Day, and has varied between October 5 and October 29.
iBooks and MacBooks have often been released in November, between November 5 and November 22, again to coincide with the american Christmas shopping season beginning on Black Friday (the day following Thanksgiving Day).
There is not much of a prediction here. If one thing, Apple has been consistent throughout the years.
I look forward to refreshed, fortified Nehalem iMacs. But I have a feeling that I will be disappointed with anorexic, dementedly thin iMacs. Unfortunately.
Apple is always right. Customers know nothing. And buyers do and buy as they are told. Steve Jobs is back. Forget about the new Apple. Unfortunately.
\\\
While the metal at the top of the aluminium iMac, especially on the left hand side, does get warm, there are no "problems" created by this. There are no widespread failures of the computer do to heat related issues. There are no reports of fans running endlessly and loud because of this. The place where I work has literally hundreds of these units in service through hot summers and cold winters and I have never heard of a single one of them having a heat related issue or heard complaints about the fans spin up. They are the most solid, silent "workhorse" computers I've ever seen installed in our labs and have practically zero issues.
I'd be all in favor of making it thinner if performance can also be improved at the same time, and they can keep it quiet or quieter, no fans at all would be best. (I hate computer noise more than SJ.) The current design is a little clunky, although, not so much that it's a problem in terms of space, but, aesthetically, it's definitely had its run. And I definitely don't want a tower under my desk, that's where my legs go.
What limitations imposed by design?
Well I, (and I think others) assumed he was talking about heat, because "limitations imposed by the design" makes no sense.
What limitations? How could it being thinner possibly have any bearing on anything at all with an all-in-one computer? There's room for a mother board, a hard drive, an optical drive, ports, fans, and all the regular stuff that's in any computer. The power envelope is the same, and there is nothing being "left out" because of it's thinness unless you count something like a graphics card slot which is never going to happen in an all-in-one unless it stops being an all-in-one and turns into a mini-tower.
The only thing that makes any sense when someone says "problems with it's thinness" is the always mentioned heat issue (which doesn't actually exist), or that tired old argument that all-in-ones are lame in and of themselves and everything should be a tower of some kind.
Apple doesn't use mobile CPUs in the iMac line purely for fun. The size of the computer clearly limits the type of CPUs and graphics cards that can be used within it. Hence the use of the phrase 'limitations of the design."