NEW: possible new imac confirmation on...

[mi5moav]

For the last day or two news.com has been asking people what they believe the new imac may look like. Since I hadn't the time to read all the post I created a script to download and email to me. Well, yesterday I got a script and read it in the email... when I checked the website today that rumored design was eliminated. Here is the post that was deleted.

"Apple's designs unlike those from you pc bastards are rarely influenced by the public, they come from within the heart of the company, and are influenced by a few great minds. Again, Apple will change the way computers are thought of this fall with the imac. Everyone has been talking of a headless imac, when in fact they are going to be creating in a sense a bodiless imac. The screen will be of a similar design to that of the old imacs with the base being surrounded by ports and a dvd slot the arm shoot will be similar but less bulky since most of the weight underneath is gone. The guts of the machine however will be hidden under your desk or somewhere else in the room and will be tethered by an unusual flat apple cable that is incredibly flexible. This is the umbilical cord that will revolutionize the industry. Though the innards (HD, memory, cards, chips) will be housed in this off your desk cylinder the reason they moved it was to create space on your desk and allow for simpler future expansion with this larger case and of course more breathing area. One of the most unusual aspects of the case is the breathing element. Once again the fan is gone and is replaced by a teflon membrane that creates suction at needed intervals to increase air flow. I will not go further but Apple has created the modular computer of the future... but the most important aspect of this computer is of a special latching mechanism found on the arm that will wow audiences as did the first airport in the ibooks some years ago."

So, there you have it. I think it sucks but i guess others will see the genius....THINK DIFFERENT

 

[Randman]

There you have it? C'mon, name one prediction of yours that has come a mile of the actual mark?

 

[diablojota]

BS wrapped in a nice tight tortilla.

 

[diablojota]

I thought this was a pretty good mockup for a potential redesigned iMac...

 

[garymum4d]

I thought this was a pretty good mockup for a potential redesigned iMac...

I could not see this image. I just got a SpyMac Message. If you get the same here it is

 

[Zammy-Sam]

Wow... *starts dreaming*

 

[mi5moav]

boooyaaaa!!!! Heck, this wasn't my idea/prediction. Anyway, 80% of Apple's ideas are probably pushed through the feedback. 8 months ago the Georgia ipod thing was brought on by one individuals feedback. Look, now it's actually being implemented at Duke.

I wonder how that would look in white ice plastic?

 

[mindbend]

The ribbon cable idea won't happen simply because for now we're all still stuck with consistent use of CD/DVD media, which would be a pain to use with the guts at a distance. Unless, of course, the DVD drive was in the monitor somehow. Still, I can't see it happening.

On one level , though, I love the idea of just a monitor. For my home machine, carved a hole in the wall and placed the tower in the opposing room. Mostly this was because it was one of those jet engine towers, so the noise was insane. But also, the minimalistic bliss of just having a super clean work area with nothing but a monitor was appealing. Friends and family were like, uh, where's the computer?

I also prefer the white half globe style to the metallic, boxy look. My guess is that general iMac consumers would agree.

 

[Natobasso]

We already have the monitor by itself, and just look how the current cinema monitors mirror the iMac Screen! I like that rendering, even if it will never happen. But I think it will…

 

[CalSD]

I could not see this image. I just got a SpyMac Message. If you get the same here it is

That I like! I think, if that turns out to be the G5 iMac, it would sell very well!

 

[fryke]

I want that without the screen. It looks like the pizza box I'm missing at home. ;-) I'd hook it up to my video beamer. It wouldn't need a real screen, because other than serving as a media station for my home cinema/stereo, it would only act as a server... Sadly, Apple doesn't offer such a Mac (and probably won't...). A PowerMac's much too big and too noisy for that purpose...

 

[symphonix]

mi5moav - You're going to have to start getting a little stricter when you vet these rumours to determine which ones you believe, and which ones you disregard. Anyone who posts "... you PC bastards ..." is probably not an authority on what Apple is doing in the secretive labs of 1 infinite loop.

 

[lnoelstorr]

That mockup posted above makes me want to vomit!!

If that's the new iMac, I will not be getting one.

The 'current' one is 10000000000000000000000000000000000 times better than that.

 

[Quicksilver]

me either, welcome back 1980's.

The screen mabey good but i some what feel the monitor may be apart of the board kind of like a big a** picture frame.

 

[mdanda]

The ribbon idea is more plausible than the pizza box mockup posted above. I mean, come on, isn't the whole point of Apple's design philosophy to get away from set-top/pizza box designs? That mockup looks like a Sony product. Yuck.

 

[texanpenguin]

That mockup is scum.

I do like the potential idea for a display with an optical drive, an FW400 and FW800 port, and two USB ports for the keyboard with the rest of the computer tethered a distance away.

I mean, the power button's on the keyboard anyway.

 

[fryke]

Power buttons have not been on keyboards for a while (sadly!), only on PowerBooks and iBooks.

 

[markceltic]

I see no innovation in this idea of a design other than the use of aluminum.While I can't offer any ideas of my own where are those great departures like the one they took from the 1st gen. iMacs to the present? If this really is the final product they never took their own words to heart to "Think Different"! Besides we'll have to listen all those all in one bashers for another 4 years!

 

[symphonix]

If you remember developments over the last few years with Apple's iMac line, you'll be quick to dismiss any designs that include expensive materials or fabrication processes such as in the mock-up above. Not long ago, the iMac was changed to a magnesium frame in order to cut production costs, and its clear that Apple are really focussing on getting the level of quality, form and structure at a lower and lower production cost.

As it stands, the actual specifications of the iMac are not likely to differ by too much from the current versions in terms of the display, drives, or standard features. The only thing that is confirmed to be different is that it will feature a G5 processor. My guess is it'll be clocking around 1.8 to 2.0 ghz. While Apple would almost certainly want to ship it with more RAM, the G5 uses faster RAM and this might push production costs up slightly, so it may well ship with only 256mb standard.

Will there be a new form-factor? Probably, yes, since Apple will want to change the overall appearance of the iMac, as well as allow for the different cooling requirements of a G5 processor. Will it be drastically different to the previous iMacs? No. It may well be very different in appearance, but the basic spirit of the iMac as an all-in-one computer with integrated movable display, highly portable, small footprint, and easy setup will be exactly the same.

Any changes we're likely to see will be purely cosmetic or feature changes, not changes to the design philosphy of the machine.

Maybe the screen will be detachable and or upgradable, probably not. Maybe there will be other changes: bluetooth as standard, rather than a BTO option, I'd guess as being quite likely. A VESA/ADC connection for video out to keep it compatible with the new external displays is another likely addition. Optical audio out, using the same combined optical/analog plug from the airport express, is also likely. And perhaps we may even see Airport Extreme added as a standard feature in order to push Airport Express into the public arena a little more, though this is unlikely due to the large number of school purchases and the drive to keep costs down.

There you go. Not the most adventurous speculation, I know, but I think it'll be closest to the truth.
(BTW: Even if the update is even less impressive than what I've outlined here, I'd probably still be getting one. The iMac G5 will be about getting the G5's power to the everyday users, and I am confident Apple will handle it well)

 

[mindbend]

I'm going to speculate that the monitor pivot arm will basically remain. It seems too cool to take a step backward with anything that isn't as flexible.

Me thinks the big revisions will be in the base and overall material. I wouldn't be surprised to see colored alum like the iPod minis. The form will be asymmetrical and have a flowing feel to it, like a wave.

Here's some slightly more off the wall speculations:

The base will include a somewhat hidden iPod dock (maybe it pops out when pressed like a hidden door).

The Superdrive will be slot loading but at an angle, like 30°.

The monitor will pivot 90° and automagically orient to portrait display.

It will be entirely about the wireless experience. Wireless keyboard, mouse, done deal. The first wireless Firewire will be used. Bluetooth and APX ready to go.

Like the original iMac did to the floppy drive, the new iMac does to the modem. It's gone. Enough already.

Dang, I'm actually starting to like some of these impromptu ideas…