Suppose that the rumor is true; i.e., that the new towers will range from 867 - 1000 MHz (G4), with perhaps no mods to the bus speed, etc.
IMHO, I expect these machines to be all duals, as this is the only way that Apple could differentiate them (in the context of performance) from the top end imac.
I expect the bottom of the line tower to be dual 800 or dual 867 at a price of 1700-1900, with a combo drive rather than a superdrive. If you put that together with a 15" LCD (+$600), upgraded to a superdrive (+$200 - $300), you would have a bottom of the line power system which had potentially far greater performance (and expandability) than the top of the line imac, but cost another $1K.
Under these circumstances, the imac would not cannibalize tower sales and, conversely tower sales would not cannibalize imac sales.
<strong>Well to get back on topic, the consensus seems to be that a minor speed bump will occur this week
(snip)
For the average Mac user (the ones that do not spend absurd amounts of time lurking on the appleinsider boards) these specs would be very appealing.
</strong><hr></blockquote>
I disagree. For the majority of Mac users (ones that do not have any emotional attachment to Apple), these specs are a joke and will probably be announced via a small press release because Apple is embarrassed about them. That says a lot right there.
The whole G5 fantasy I'm reading about here just kills me. From every credible source on the planet, desktop G5s might be ready sometime in 2003.
Apple can't work miracles, guys. That's exactly why they are such a minority player, and will always be.
Comments
<strong>
Installed base and market share are not the same thing and are not calculated the same way.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I know that, but when Apple says they have 5% of the market they mean that 5% of the computer users have Macs.
IMHO, I expect these machines to be all duals, as this is the only way that Apple could differentiate them (in the context of performance) from the top end imac.
I expect the bottom of the line tower to be dual 800 or dual 867 at a price of 1700-1900, with a combo drive rather than a superdrive. If you put that together with a 15" LCD (+$600), upgraded to a superdrive (+$200 - $300), you would have a bottom of the line power system which had potentially far greater performance (and expandability) than the top of the line imac, but cost another $1K.
Under these circumstances, the imac would not cannibalize tower sales and, conversely tower sales would not cannibalize imac sales.
I expect next week to be very positive for Apple.
danho
<strong>Well to get back on topic, the consensus seems to be that a minor speed bump will occur this week
(snip)
For the average Mac user (the ones that do not spend absurd amounts of time lurking on the appleinsider boards) these specs would be very appealing.
</strong><hr></blockquote>
I disagree. For the majority of Mac users (ones that do not have any emotional attachment to Apple), these specs are a joke and will probably be announced via a small press release because Apple is embarrassed about them. That says a lot right there.
The whole G5 fantasy I'm reading about here just kills me. From every credible source on the planet, desktop G5s might be ready sometime in 2003.
Apple can't work miracles, guys. That's exactly why they are such a minority player, and will always be.