New 20" imacs!!]

For some reason, I thought I'd be more excited about the news of a 20" iMac..

But I'm really not.

All I could think of when I saw the new iMac (and the price) was taking a BMW M3, and sticking a Ford Taurus engine in there.

The 20" iMac may look beautiful on the outside, but the insides...

Just my $.02
 
I had to add to the negativity, but the 20" iMac has one big problem. For that price, people are going to expect more power. IMHO--running OS X on any single processor G4 is not a very good experience. At best it is adequate, at worst it's downright frustrating.

I agree that this is a stop-gap for the holidays until they can get G5s in there. If that were a 1.6 G5 with a 20", even at a little more expensive, that would be a machine worth looking at.

I guess I would imagine that anyone who needs a 20" screen is also probably going to need a fairly powerful machine. An SP G4 running OS X is not that machine.
 
A G5 20' Imac would be great. That is probably the next move for Apple, if they can find a way to cool it.
 
Zammy-Sam said:
Hmmmm, good point about the screen.
I was checking the prices for a G5 and a 20inch screen to compare with the iMac and all of the sudden something else got me: is 20inch better than 2x17inch?
Click to expand...

IMO, yes. This was one of the options when we were trying to come up with workstation setups at work. If I had to choose, I'd definitely pick up one 20" over two 17" screens. Not quite sure why, I think for one thing you end up having more "usable" space (since you aren't likely to split windows across the two monitors), and for some reason the 20" just LOOKS so much better than the 17 (I actually ended up getting a 20" with a 17" on the side. Guess it's good to be the guinea pig =)

Also consider that you have to spend an extra $100 if you go the dual route - if you buy the Apple displays you HAVE to get a DVI-to-ADC converter for the second monitor, assuming you have a video card with both ADC *and* DVI ports
 
chevy said:
The iMac is perfectly integrated (software and hardware). It's the missing link between the G5 tower and the PowerBook.

I expect a new iMac design somewhere during 2004... maybe with a G5... but the all-in-one will remain.

Let's imagine a G5-based iMac 20" with a wireless keyboard and mouse, and including a TV tuner... isn't it a perfect multimedia system ?
Click to expand...

Only if the mouse had at least two buttons. Come on, $70 for a one-button mouse? (Otherwise I like their mice a LOT)
 
mindbend said:
I had to add to the negativity, but the 20" iMac has one big problem. For that price, people are going to expect more power. IMHO--running OS X on any single processor G4 is not a very good experience. At best it is adequate, at worst it's downright frustrating.

I agree that this is a stop-gap for the holidays until they can get G5s in there. If that were a 1.6 G5 with a 20", even at a little more expensive, that would be a machine worth looking at.

I guess I would imagine that anyone who needs a 20" screen is also probably going to need a fairly powerful machine. An SP G4 running OS X is not that machine.
Click to expand...

I suppose it depends on what you're doing. IMO running Panther on my SP 1.25Ghz G4 is fantastic.

I've noticed, though, that one thing that seriously affects the "feel" of the system is screen resolution. I have a 20" CRT at home, and for some reason I run it at 1024x768 (anything else is just too small for me, I don't know why. It's not like I sit that far away or have bad eyesight). It just FEELS fast. However, if I take it up to 1600x1200, or even 1280x1024 (1280x960), it just feels less responsive. The dock magnifies slower. Expose is slower. Fast User Switching is jumpy. Resizing is quite a bit slower.

I don't think it's just the video card - I notice the same kind of thing with my Dual 2.0 G5 (and using dual-displays, one at 1280x960, the other at 1680x1050 makes Expose and fast user switching REALLY jumpy).

Also, the stock 256MB that the systems come with make them really slow... Jag and Panther really need more.
 
To me, it looks like the screen is simply wider than before. Check out the iMac page on Apple's site, they have a one-on-top-of-the-other thing, and the bases are all the same size and the screen heights all look to be the same... it's just the width that they changed.

I don't know... maybe it'll do better than before. Maybe it won't. But I'm sure Apple will have a few rabbits up their sleeve at MWSF.
 
Ripcord, Please enough of this "upgrade" paranoia. Only the propeller heads among us (and I include myself) actually upgrade our systems and it is usually for uses unintentional or too many rainy days cause us to push the envelope, but the majority of mac and p.c. users only upgrade the memory or hard drives which you can do both on the imac or even the wifi slot.

The best advise I can give someone (and I been in the biz since Apple][ days) is buy the best computer you can afford to do what you need today. If you are still around in the future it is because you made money, now sell your used hardware (if it is a mac, if not just throw it away) and buy a current system where everything is compatible with everything else, then use it till it no longer fills your needs.

I see the 20" iMac as perfect for some, and those who it is perfect for will likely get years of enjoyable service and trade it in on a new iMac with a G10 and NeHg Laser 3D viewer. I showed the 20" iMac page to a friend who works with Sun and SGI industrial graphic system and he drooled so it must be cool.

I have a G4 (400 MHz and DVD-RAM) and I stopped using it when I got my TiBook (1GHz and SuperDrive) Was it because of speed? No, the TiBook is just so cool I loved using it. Now I want a 20" iMac, actually three, arranged around my desk like some "Super Cinema Scope" theater. Is there a KMV switcher software for bluetooth macs?
 
Sorry, re-read that again, and I understand where you got confused.

When I said that, I wasn't referring to the limited upgrade capabilities of the iMac. I was referring to a user's limited ability to upgrade their workstation/system in general - in this case, replace the, well, COMPUTER part of the workstation with another.

I DO know quite a few people that swap out ("upgrade") their systems every two years (and either sell or, in many of my friend's cases, hand the older system down), both professionals and home users. Some of them are the type that WOULD buy a 20" or 23" monitor.

With the 20" iMac, to pick up a more powerful system, I'd essentially have to re-buy a monitor. Hopefully I turned a pretty penny when I sold the iMac used.
 
Arden, if you ever stack an Apple 20" and an Apple 17" standalone screen side-by-side, you will find that while there is a vast difference in width, they are the same height. This makes for some pretty cool setup options for working across displays - I've used a G5 with a 20" as the main and a 17" as extended, and it looks very neat because the desktops all line up perfectly.

Anyway, I like the look of the 20" iMac, and would definitely consider buying one if I were in the market for another desktop right now. It seems to be a move to offer some more options to us end users, and that's a good thing. (just think, only a couple of years ago we had one screen size for the iMac, and that was all)
 
Ripcord said:
When I said that, I wasn't referring to the limited upgrade capabilities of the iMac. I was referring to a user's limited ability to upgrade their workstation/system in general - in this case, replace the, well, COMPUTER part of the workstation with another.
Click to expand...

Ok, how about cpu upgrades, like from newer or sonnet.
And will Word run any faster? (sorry I had to throw that one in :)

Every time I look at that 20" iMac something happens to me! That almost reads like a spam subject.
 
Ripcord, I don't think you're in the targeted user group for the 20" iMac. You're a power user who wants full control over everything in his computer; I'm the same way, though I use an older iMac. If I were buying, I'd get a computer that I could tweak as much as needed, get a monitor that fits, etc. which is why laptops are a nonissue for me.

But a consumer with money to burn isn't going to care about having to transfer the screen over to a different computer. The kind of person most likely to get a 20" iMac is the same kind who will get a 60" TV to watch the game on, the same who will wash his car weekly but not care about putting a bigger engine in it. The monitor is a package deal, and to him that's fine because that means he can watch his DVD's on a that much bigger screen while surfing the 'Net.

So be happy with your G4's and G5's, and go forward with your 20" Cinema Display secure in the knowledge that you can move it to a better machine when the time comes. I'm sure when Apple releases a G5 iMac, you'll drool; meanwhile, kids have something to beg their parents for during the holiday season.
 
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