$499 Mac?

[Peskanov]

Agree.
Small, silent, +good looking.
Nice in the inside (PowerPC, MacOSX) and the outside.

The kind of computer I like. Although I still miss computers using the clasic home computer shape (keyboard+board integrated like the amiga or the atari). All those damned cables and sepated pieces annoy me

 

[scribble]

The X86 (PC) format is liked much more by coders because the architecture makes up for small errors in programs.

Care to explain that? I've been an X86 coder for as long as X86s have been on the market, and I've got no idea at all what you could be referring to.

 

[Yaotl]

I would have liked one except for the HDD size, the price of RAM on it (and that's it only one DIMM), the single optical drive, and that it's a G4. I was hoping for something comparable to a cheap Dell for Apple, but looks like it's going to be a long long time before I can afford a decent Mac system

 

[Darat]

Again fantastic styling but let down with some very strange choices for the hardware.

This would have been an ideal "living room" media PC, but with a harddisc size of 40Gb and no recordable DVD drive and no wireles connection it rules itself out from being a serious contender for media PC.

I think it’s another one of those Apple pyrrhic victories. It will cost Apple a fortune to advertise it, everyone will drool over it, it will be used in all the TV shows and all the ads but won’t make any significant inroads against x86 based PCs. It’s a shame as a bit of tweaking and it “could have been a contender”.

I know they are offering a "build to order" and then you can increase the hard disc size to a massive 80GB(!) and memory to 1Gb and add an wireless adapter and a recordable DVD, but then it stops being the fantastically designed "cheap" Mac.

 

[Yaotl]

Again fantastic styling but let down with some very strange choices for the hardware.

This would have been an ideal "living room" media PC, but with a harddisc size of 40Gb and no recordable DVD drive and no wireles connection it rules itself out from being a serious contender for media PC.

I think it’s another one of those Apple pyrrhic victories. It will cost Apple a fortune to advertise it, everyone will drool over it, it will be used in all the TV shows and all the ads but won’t make any significant inroads against x86 based PCs. It’s a shame as a bit of tweaking and it “could have been a contender”.

I know they are offering a "build to order" and then you can increase the hard disc size to a massive 80GB(!) and memory to 1Gb and add an wireless adapter and a recordable DVD, but then it stops being the fantastically designed "cheap" Mac.

And don't forget the 32mb non-upgradeable video card.

 

[coalesce]

But it depends on what you're buying the machine for.

Simple surfing and word processing? Then this machine is for you. High-end video editing? Move along, you, there's nothing to see here.

Personally, this would be a great machine for people like my mother, who wants a computer for email, shopping and listening to music. She's not interested in making CDs, DVDs or graphics (that's why she has me--to do all that stuff on my Mac). And there's a lot of people like her out there who's needs are limited in scope.

And don't discount the "drool factor," Darat. That's what made me--and tens of thousands of other people--buy the first 5GB iPod for $400. That's something that Apple can do better than anyone else.

Michael

P.S.

Try the Kool-Aid. There's plenty to go around.

 

[JamesM]

This would have been an ideal "living room" media PC, but with a harddisc size of 40Gb and no recordable DVD drive and no wireles connection it rules itself out from being a serious contender for media PC.

I don't really understand who this new Mac is aimed at.

Nevertheless, I have a been a DOS and Windows user for most of my life, and have spent the last few years using Linux, but I recently ordered an iBook, and now something strange has happened to me. I find myself being tempted, very tempted by the iPod shuffle. But that needs the new iTunes, so may was well get the new iLife. Which has Garageband 2. Hmm, those jam packs look tempting. And you wouldn't want the iPod shuffle without the armbands and the in-ear headphones would you? Etc.

Is this how the Mac-sickness begins? It has claimed at least three other people in the lab...

 

[Peskanov]

Darat,

I think it’s another one of those Apple pyrrhic victories. It will cost Apple a fortune to advertise it, everyone will drool over it, it will be used in all the TV shows and all the ads but won’t make any significant inroads against x86 based PCs. It’s a shame as a bit of tweaking and it “could have been a contender”.

I have a hard trying to understand your thinking. Most people seems to blame Apple about not being Compaq or Dell. Why does anybody care about Apple not being other PC company, is there not enough of them?
Apple is one of the really few companies which still have the capabilities to design a computer totally. They design the hardware and the OS, and I can only think of Sun and HP doing this right now. The rest died years ago.
Wintel (or "WinAMD", which is the same for this case) takes 99%of the computing world or something like that.
The miracle of Apple is not "making significant inroads against x86", it's just surviving. Apple pays their software engineers from selling Macs and Ipods and whatever. And yes, they charge you more than the koreans because they make their own software!
Those computer aficionados, like me, who enjoy diversity and/or innovation cross our fingers to see Apple survive a few years more.
If you want to taste how another computer experience can be, forget for a moment about having the last videocard and the hottest CPU (literally ) and the biggest harddrive to fill of pr0n, and test a Mac for a month or two. Enjoy it or not, it could be one of the last chances we all have to use a commercial computer platform aside from Wintel machines.

 

[kookbreaker]

I don't really understand who this new Mac is aimed at.

No offense, but I heard the same thing about the iMac when it first came out.

Is this how the Mac-sickness begins? It has claimed at least three other people in the lab...

{Zombie Mode}
Maaaaacccccccssssssszzzzzzzzzz!
{/Zombie Mode}

 

[JamesM]

No offense, but I heard the same thing about the iMac when it first came out.

I've been slightly convinced by a discussion with my Mac-obsessed colleagues.

{Zombie Mode}
Maaaaacccccccssssssszzzzzzzzzz!
{/Zombie Mode}

I just ordered the new iLife, iWork and an iPod Shuffle. It has begun. Note to self: get a better-paying job.

 

[kookbreaker]

I've been slightly convinced by a discussion with my Mac-obsessed colleagues.

Not the folks to talk to, really. Some of the loudest initial critics of iMacs were the Apple faithful. Also, look at the Apple media's lackluster reaction to the iPods.

Of course it was amusing when the Apple bashers were using the same arguments long after the products had proven themselves.

For the record, I'd be interested in one of these. But I'd need the memory and DVD burning drive, so this woul dbe closer to a $750 Mac for me. Still a bargain from my perspective.

I just ordered the new iLife, iWork and an iPod Shuffle. It has begun. Note to self: get a better-paying job.

You're doomed.

 

[Ian Osborne]

I just invested in a G5 Power Mac, with dual 1.8Ghz processors. Can't wait until it arrives, though I'd better invest in a monitor soon or it will gather dust. My trusty old (five years) G3 iMac will soon retire...

 

[cesium]

I think that apple is trying to appeal to people with a pc who
would like to switch to mac but dont want to buy a whole new
monitor with thier computer (imac and emac). Apple does need
to work on the price, a brand new midrange computer setup complete with monitor can be bought for this price from dell
or emachines. The pc option would be best for someone who wants to replace thier aging setup.

For the most part, apple desktops are more expensive then thier pc counterparts, but the laptops are a good buy.

 

[coalesce]

I think that apple is trying to appeal to people with a pc who
would like to switch to mac but dont want to buy a whole new
monitor with thier computer (imac and emac). Apple does need
to work on the price, a brand new midrange computer setup complete with monitor can be bought for this price from dell
or emachines. The pc option would be best for someone who wants to replace thier aging setup.

For the most part, apple desktops are more expensive then thier pc counterparts, but the laptops are a good buy.

First and foremost, welcome to the board and enjoy!

Secondly, it's unlikely that Apple will introduce a midrange model to rival a Dell or eMachine because Apple's profit margins are high (around 25 percent, I believe.) They maintain that high a margin to reinvest the extra money into R&D. Dell and eMachine don't have to worry about developing new software or an operating system. Apple does, which is why all their applications work so well together. And Steve Jobs also knows that his products must make a design statement because that's why the faithful expect and demand. We don't want just a bland beige box. We want something that looks as good as what we're creating on the machines. We even want the packaging to be different. Anyone's who ever opened an iPod box knows what I'm talking about.

Michael

 

[Kevin_Lowe]

Apple does need
to work on the price, a brand new midrange computer setup complete with monitor can be bought for this price from dell
or emachines. The pc option would be best for someone who wants to replace thier aging setup.

Compare the software you are going to get with each package, though. The Mac comes with OSX, iLife and iWork, which are non-trivial packages.

Of course you can pirate Windows software, but you can also heave a brick through and Apple Store window and run away with a Mac. I'm not sure it's a fair argument.

 

[webfusion]

new techno-speak

I liked the new acronym Jobs has given us -- biodkim.
That's my new sig.


____________________________________
BYODKM