how long till the next eMac

2

Comments

  • Reply 21 of 53
    ic1maleic1male Posts: 121member
    There is a helluva long way to go before Microsoft needs to worry about Apple taking its business.



    I just don't think the company [Apple] seems to know what it wants. I mean why isn't it being a bit more agressive with the marketing, trying to get its products back into businesses and schools? I get the impressions no one's particularly bothered - they only want to keep the share price up for the shareholders.



    Where will Apple be in 10 years time? I hate being pessimistic but I reckon they'll be reduced to selling software for Windows or bankrupt. I'm not a troll - I'm buying my third Mac soon but I do think Longhorn will wipe the floor with OS X.



    *rant over*
  • Reply 22 of 53
    I'd like to think that the eMac isn't long for the grave.



    It's not ugly. Okay, I can't keep a straight face while saying that. It lacks the grace of other Apple offerings.



    The monitor on it just plain stinks. Dull. Refresh rates are a bit poor. Along with Apple's crazy non-standard resolutions.



    I don't think the specs on it (aside from the cpu/motherboard) are too bad compared to other 'PC World' cpus.



    Sort out the monitor, drop in a G5 1.6/motherboard and you'd have a more compelling 'eMac'.



    As for the monitor, I can't believe Apple can't plop in a 15 or 17 inch LCD. Or Even 12 inch!



    I've kinda got used to the 12 inch iBook that I work on. It seems better than the eMac's monitor by a mile.



    If they can manage an iBook for £795 then I'm sure they can LCD an eMac with LCD for less.



    eMac dead or phased out or given an LCD / G5 treatment = inevitable.



    Knowing Apple, there's every chance of prolonging the agony with a 1.5 G4 before the eMac's current brute marshmallow gives up the ghost.



    If, in the meantime, the eMac goes on to £499 inc VAT (ie a price drop of 50 quid...) then...okay in the meantime.



    I can't rule out Amorph's reasons for the eMac. But I don't think he convincingly rules out a headless iMac in schools. Plenty of schools and labs do just fine with towers/pizza/slim clients etc and the ol' Apple iBook. And who can argue that a school lab with G5s and alu LCDs just wouldn't blow you away?



    I'll give Amorph another reason...the eMac's mom is so fat that a crook wouldn't steal it...nah, just drop it off at rehab'...(if it could carry it that far...)



    The edu iMac bog standard client maybe signing the death warrant for the eMac. If Apple can do an edu iMac G5 client? Why not do the same for the eMac with G4 1.5? Though I suspect that a 1.5 G4 might not be too much cheaper than a G5 1.6...



    At least for now, the eMac is a cheap consumer desktop. Though it is the ugly step-sister of Apple's pro/consumer lines.



    We'll know more after Paris...



    Lemon Bon Bon
  • Reply 23 of 53
    I hope the eMac doesn't get phased out immediately after the Paris show. I want to buy one in a couple of weeks, and I know I can't upgrade it, and the vid card being crap does worry me a little when I could upgrade my pc to a high spec athalon with a 5700 nvidia for less than buying a new eMac, but like I said, I hate windows and want to switch. Unfortunately Apple's offerings are all way over my price range (maybe if they offered great products cheaply they'd get more money) so I have to be content with a totally unfuture proof eMac. If anyone wants to buy a soul, or a kidney, in return for a new G5 PowerMac, I'd be willing to listen.....
  • Reply 24 of 53
    ic1maleic1male Posts: 121member
    I'm in the same boat. About 8 months ago I splashed out a grand on a PC. It's served me well but I wish I'd bought a Mac. Now I want a Mac desperately but can't afford one! No-one is even selling second hand eMacs on eBay. I keep looking at the Apple Refurbished store but it's all iPods and Powerbooks these days which are too expensive for me.
  • Reply 25 of 53
    ibook911ibook911 Posts: 607member
    There are a couple emacs on ebay from time to time.
  • Reply 26 of 53
    Yeah, they should keep on with the eMac. Who says that schools never use discs?
  • Reply 27 of 53
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ibook911

    Of course, I want them to get into more and more businesses and schools too.



    I wonder, do we really want everyone on a Mac though? Don't we sometimes like knowing we are some of the lucky ones?




    I just don't see Apple getting into more businesses, at least not the ones outside of the realm of video editing, publishing, graphics, and others. I don't think Apple will ever get into selling computers in large quantities to, say, a bank or corporate offices. Cheap Dells for them.



    I wouldn't mind if Apple had something like 10% marketshare. That's a big chunk of the pie in such a segmented market. We'd still be "some of the lucky ones"
  • Reply 28 of 53
    jasenj1jasenj1 Posts: 923member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by monkeyastronaut

    I just don't see Apple getting into more businesses, at least not the ones outside of the realm of video editing, publishing, graphics, and others. I don't think Apple will ever get into selling computers in large quantities to, say, a bank or corporate offices. Cheap Dells for them.



    I wouldn't mind if Apple had something like 10% marketshare. That's a big chunk of the pie in such a segmented market. We'd still be "some of the lucky ones"




    IMHO, in the corporate world it's not the hardware or software that drives the cost, it's support contracts and corporate help desks (and maybe custom corporate software). My company recently went all Windows - except for special cases - in part because it's too much hassle to provide support for two platforms - nevermind the fact that Mac folks statistically require FAR less support than Windows users. Corporate IT knows they HAVE to have Windows support people, because there's no way Windows will be pushed out, so you get rid of the other platform.



    RE: The eMac.

    LCDs still cost more than CRTs. And CRTs have some benefits for a lab environment - heavier, tougher. Performance is also not a big driver - Word processing, spreadsheets, basic programming, even light video and photo editing can all be done with even five year old hardware. Other than using current components to keep cost down, and mildly maintaining a hint of performance parity, there is no compelling reason for Apple to push the eMac up the performance curve.



    - Jasen.
  • Reply 29 of 53
    Yes there is.



    It's called the progress curve of technology.



    (Unless you're talking about G4s and lame graphic card choices offered by our favourite computing vendor...)



    There's 3 gig Pentiums out there for the price range of an eMac.



    At least 2.5 gigs on less competitive PCs.



    The eMac can go £50 lower on price.



    It can move to G5. 1.6 and 1.8 versions with a design tweak and get rid of that goddamn ugly monitor.



    Who's to say they couldn't stick a 17 inch LCD on a thicker iBook pizza base and offer a 1.6/1.8 g5 for £595 and £795?



    How many years have those 1 gig G4s been knocking around now?



    Lemon Bon Bon
  • Reply 30 of 53
    rhumgodrhumgod Posts: 1,289member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Lemon Bon Bon

    It's called the progress curve of technology.



    (Unless you're talking about G4s and lame graphic card choices offered by our favourite computing vendor...)

    .

    .

    .

    How many years have those 1 gig G4s been knocking around now?



    Lemon Bon Bon




    2-1/2 years. Since January 2002 - Quicksilvers.
  • Reply 31 of 53
    I'm guessing the next eMac will come in time for the X-mas season. Apple needs an affordable, NEW machine for the holidays.
  • Reply 32 of 53
    I've no problem with the eMac as a product idea.



    But it looks ugly. It lacks the graceof the original iMac.



    A design bump. Lose the dodgy CRT. At least a trinitron and design tweak the lard-ass, marshmallow case.



    I'd rather they bump the price by a hundred for each eMac and stick a 17 inch LCD in their.



    PC Towers have 17 inch LCDs with them for £795.



    I'd rather Apple did the same and provided an eMac desktop worthy of the name.



    HOPEFULLY, the low end edu iMac G5 will replace the ugly sorry son of a bitch.



    Yeah, keep it for the £495 Macs are too expensive crowd.



    I'd like to see Apple keep trimming the price of it until they get to £395.



    About what's worth now.



    Lemon Bon Bon
  • Reply 33 of 53
    I don't think Apple will be announcing any new eMacs soon. Retailers aren't even receiving enough eMacs right now. Even if Apple does introduce new eMacs circa Xmas they probably won't ship until spring.
  • Reply 34 of 53
    There's no way that the eMac will get a major processor upgrade (such as a G5) until at least next spring. Considering the lack of current inventory, a minor speed bump might occur very soon.
  • Reply 35 of 53
    drsusedrsuse Posts: 49member
    you will have no problem video editing on an emac.



    i run final cut pro 3 on a 600mhz imac with 256 mb of ram, and it works fine, just takes a while to render things.
  • Reply 36 of 53
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Lemon Bon Bon

    I've no problem with the eMac as a product idea.



    But it looks ugly. It lacks the grace of the original iMac.




    They could always give the eMac the "Dalmation" or "Flower Power" treatment, that breathed new life into the original iMac sales...
  • Reply 37 of 53
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by monkeyastronaut





    Offer an option and you could connect your headless eMac to your projector or HDTV. (Okay, this is just wishful thinking on my part.)




    Not really, DVI+VGA cards are cheap and adapters are cheaper
  • Reply 38 of 53
    The eMac is for education first and foremost. It is built according to what that market demands.



    Getting rid of the eMac's CRT would be horrible for the education market. Do you really think a schoolful of rowdy, sticky-fingered K-8 children would do well with LCD's? They're too delicate. An eMac needs to be able to survive a fist banging on the screen. Hell, I even remember when they installed an LCD monitor on one of the PC's in my old high school classrooms. It lasted about three months.



    Amorph said the rest. Refreshing to see someone here talking about the reality of the market, instead of Mac-geek talk about how the eMac "needs" an LCD, or no monitor, or better styling, or HDTV output (yeah, because elementary schools are simply crawling with HDTV's).



    The eMac form factor is just about perfect for K-12 schools. If a "headless" eMac is released, it had better be a pizza box, with matching CRT's at least offered as an option.
  • Reply 39 of 53
    Quote:

    Originally posted by KeilwerthReborn

    The eMac is for education first and foremost. It is built according to what that market demands.





    Amorph said the rest. Refreshing to see someone here talking about the reality of the market, instead of Mac-geek talk about how the eMac "needs" an LCD, or no monitor, or better styling, or HDTV output (yeah, because elementary schools are simply crawling with HDTV's).



    You're really lost if you think the eMac is for education first and foremost. It's for people who want CHEAP first and foremost. Schools want cheap. Users on a budget want cheap. That's the target market.



    The eMac is perfect as it is, and I'm its biggest fan. The HDTV output I was suggesting wasn't for the eMac, but for some headless model which doesn't exist. Why would you want to plug an eMac to an HDTV, it has a screen already.
  • Reply 40 of 53
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by monkeyastronaut

    You're really lost if you think the eMac is for education first and foremost. It's for people who want CHEAP first and foremost. Schools want cheap. Users on a budget want cheap. That's the target market.



    No.



    The eMac is designed for education first and foremost. It's true that education wants cheap, and so the eMac accommodates that. But that's not all they want.



    If Apple wanted to make the eMac cheaper, there are plenty of ways they could do so, right now: Pull out the speakers and the (unusually powerful) amplifier. Chintz on the case instead of using heavy polycarbonate. Use commodity parts to a much greater degree (e.g., cases). Etc. The big, smooth, rugged monolith is absolutely targeted at education: Just look at every single one of the other machines that Apple has targeted at education, and the lineage is obvious.



    The eMac was originally available exclusively to education customers, and it was only offered to consumers in response to demand. If that doesn't single the eMac out as first and foremost an educational machine, I'm not sure what would.
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