It's sooooo beutiful!!! ::::Weeps openly:::::

I'm not sure what to think of these myself. - a little underwhelming for my taste - certainly they don't have the visual 'wow factor' of the G4 sunflower iMacs - they look a little 'eMaccy' from the front view.

I'm sure they will grow on me once I meet one in person - it'll be interesting to see the speed differences in the real world also.

quite ugly for my taste

they are kinda elegant on closer inspection - I just wish they were aluminium - oh well I guess I'll have to save for the PowerMac!

Indeed, the new iMac does look more like an eMac due to its white color. The long, wide space beneath the screen does look somewhat odd, but how they were able to fit a G5 in there with the components and ports so well-organized is quite a remarkable feat.

Don't really like it.. but who cares... I don't have to buy it anyway...

My double G4 is still powerful enough to suffice my needs.. heck is too powerful by far...
There's too much pressure on upgrading in the computer world sometimes and people tend not to be realistic on their needs in computing...

and yet.. we have to move forward and innovate... quite a conundrum...

The widescreen monitor wthout the previous sticker shock pricing...the middle config hits the sweetspot withe Superdrive and extar RAM and AE card included. This will be one merry Christmas indeed!

Heh. Who would have thought that we already knew what the iMac looked like...they're just pro monitors but a bit thicker.

Nice.

You can buy a G5 tower and a monitor, or you can just buy a thicker monitor and forget the tower. I can see how that will appeal to the genearl masses. I like it.

EDIT: Oh, and what about the footprint...could this be the smallest desktop footprint for any home computer yet? Dunno...but I can't imagine what else would claim that title.

Practically, it's an amazing thing indeed - I'm in the market for a flat-panel computer to replace my ageing Powerbook so I'll definitely get one.

Aesthetically, it's got a very big chin. What else can I say? It makes the screen seem small.

I'm reserving overall judgement until I see one in the flesh...

What is it going to look like with 2 Firewire, 3 USB and an Ethernet cable out the back ?

Yeah... The chin. I love what they have done, but that chin... I guess once it's set up and you're using it, you'll not even notice it, but still, that chinnnnn.... But boy what a great way to get the power of a G5 for that sort of entry price. Even the 17-inch model would be fantastic.

But there is that chin...

Hey so are we gonna get to see a shot of that giant poster now that the mysterious black cloth has been removed?

Apple raised the standards too high with the Cube and has found out that it is not that easy to surpass that. The compact image of the new iMac will be spoiled with all these ugly USB and firewire cables hanging out from the monitor. And, most importantly, many people are simply afraid of having the monitor integrated with the main computer part. It's ok if you live in USA, UK or Germany but in countries where Apple has lame representation (e.g. Greece) you are screwed if something happens with the monitor. I would prefer having a small factor G5 mac with the option to choose our own monitors - maybe running a DualHead environment.

... and I hate having these "whisper quiet" fans spinning 40 cm from my ear

Our favorite troll assured us iLemmings that prices would be higher...and yet they are in fact significantly lower. The high-end model was around $2,200. It's now almost 14% less expensive, at $1,899.

Regardless, I'm sure we'll still be blessed with his insight before long.

Leave it to Apple to give us yet another innovative design. At 2" thick, diminutive is the first word that comes to mind. Serious computer power without serious real estate. I'm already considering one as a wall-mounted TV alternative for my bedroom. I find the digital audio out to be a nice touch. I know it is small, but if they TRULY want the iMac to be a digital hub for the home, this puts it one step closer. Now I can truly see this iMac connected to my home theater, allowing me to enjoy my audio, video, computing, and internet all in one spot. Kudos Apple! One afterthought...I may be in the minority, but I for one will miss the prior incarnation of the iMac. I loved the display on the chrome arm. ::sigh::

i have the current iMac LCD. The computer, which I love, was not embraced by the general public because it is, well, somewhat odd looking. I think the new minimalist design is beautiful, in keeping with the iPod, iBook, Cinema Display and the Powerbooks. The usual whinning will occur. Nothing can meet everyone's expectations. Supplies will be constrained, of course, but every new iMac G5 made will fly out the re-sellers door... duck!

It's great for adding post-it notes from your wife like "don't forget to pick up your mother-in-law", next to your's "buy more beer"

If the idea was to tie in with iPod, why in hell didn't Apple add a CLICKWHEEL to control the iApps and/or otherwise vol/brightness, smack-dab on the iMac G5's 'chin'? It would certainly reinforce the association (big-time), looking like the 17/20" color 'mother of all iPods'.

Vaughn

I think the price is still a problem. For the basic entry model to be Ј919 is good but I reckon they need it to hit the Ј700-800 mark. You can now get a Dell PC with a 15" LCD for Ј300, I'm not suggesting that Apple compete with this & yes you do get so much more for the extra Ј600 but it's still a hell of a lot for an entry level consumer computer.

This is a great day in the history of Apple, but it is also a sad day. We've just reached a point where design will become less and less creative and impressive. From the iPod to the Cinema Displays, the Powerbook/iBook line and now the iMac; everything is a rectangle.

Yeah, it's small, it's brilliant, it's advanced; but there really is no form to get excited about. It's just a flat rectangle.

I'm missing the SE more than ever now.

If Apple can put a G5 in a 2in. thick space (including the display) and figuring out the heat problem.....the PB solution can't be far behind.....at least we can hope.

Let's check that deal at $1899 for the new 20" iMac. The 256MB standard memory isnt't usable. Upgrade memory to 1G and with AppleCare your new iMac is $2,293, ouch. You can get a 3GHz Pentium 4 with 1G memory, 3 year warranty for less than half the price.

One problem Apple didn't have to solve with the iMac G5 is the power problem, since its not battery-powered. So they've still got that.

Also, they still have to about halve the thickness. The days of 2" Powerbooks is long gone. It may put Apple in an awkward position, but I'm banking on seeing dual-core Powerbook G4s before a Powerbook G5.

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Billy K wrote:
From the iPod to the Cinema Displays, the Powerbook/iBook line and now the iMac; everything is a rectangle.

Silly wabbit, they're not rectangles... they're RoundRects!

http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=Round_Rects_Are_Everywhere.txt

That space is for PostIt Notes, the paper kind, this way they don't hang down below the bottom edge of the monitor. Seriously I suppose there was an engineering reason for that space.

[quote=The long, wide space beneath the screen does look somewhat odd, but how they were able to fit a G5 in there with the components and ports so well-organized is quite a remarkable feat.[/quote]

i like it.
it's purty

plus, the g5 factor. thats just cool.

i'm assuming paul thurrott here used apple's ram upgrade form thing to jack up the price and prove his little point. only morons do that

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steviant wrote:
Silly wabbit, they're not rectangles... they're RoundRects!

Hilarious! I love that story.

Once Steve gets something in his head, he doesn't let it go. He did the cube at Next, then at Apple. And actually, the new iMac is really pretty simmilar to the TAM and other conceptual Macs from that time.

Round Rect....ha.

http://tam.axon.net/spartintro.htm

(Check some of these out - you'll see that this new iMac design has pretty much been what Apple's been working up to for a long time. And check out the Tizio...it's like the lampshade iMac's grand-dad.)

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RealityCheck wrote:
Let's check that deal at $1899 for the new 20" iMac. The 256MB standard memory isnt't usable. Upgrade memory to 1G and with AppleCare your new iMac is $2,293, ouch. You can get a 3GHz Pentium 4 with 1G memory, 3 year warranty for less than half the price.

Yes, and you would get exactly what you paid for. Windows.

Kind surprised they "only" have 10/100 Ethernet. Guess they don't think gigabit is that big of a deal to the iMac market?

Also seems to be a little against Apple's tradition that they don't have FireWire 800... but I think it makes sense. Maybe Apple is seeing the "Pro" market very differently from the "discerning consumer" (read "iMac") market?

Yes, they finally did it. You can hang the computer from the wall, use their wireless keyboard and mouse and have zero footprint! Now that is slick!

While the minimalist design won't cause the outrage and heated discussion that the first 2 iMac designs did (and that's always fun), I think it'll be an bigger seller because it just, well... pleasant. It's clean and simple and doesn't scream "look at me" like the old love-it-or-hate-it form factors did. It seems familiar because of its iPod-like design (a connection that NONE of the pundits anticipated, btw!).

MINOR questions/points:

-Any mention of VESA mounting adaptors? I imagine the iMac is a bit heavier than your avarage LCD screen, but for those of us who miss the ol' swivel of the previous iMac, it'd be nice to clamp this on the edge of the desk.

-CAN you actually wall mount this iMac? I see a little ridge along the top back edge. This would be the perfect KITCHEN computer if you used a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse!

--If they had only gotten it a teensy bit thinner it could have fit into a 1U (1.75") rackspace. Hello, Marathon?!! Where's my new iMac slide out, tilt up adaptor so I can stuff this puppy into a road case... making it perfect for us Mac musicians?

--As a designer, I would have at least put ll the I/O jacks in the MIDDLE of the case above the stand, so at least any cable clutter could be nicely tucked behind the base. And it REALLY needs at least one USB port on the FRONT where it'd be convenient to all the iPod users Apple's trying to attract! Reaching around the back is sooooo twen-cen!

Oh well, as I said, minor issues. And while it's not quite the headless pizza box some of us were wishing for, I think we'll quickly get over it it! Hey, they DID throw the monitor in for FREE!

-Ken P

You realise that all that blank real estate below the display will quickly be filled with all manner of odd stick-on accessories from all our favorite peripheral makers!

Just wait a few weeks! Any predictions??

-Ken P

A 20" display is $1,299 and a 20" iMac is $1,899 - that means the computer is $600 - not a bad price for a 1.8 G5, SuperDrive, 160GB HD and a little bit of memory that you can double for $75.

Think of it as a $600 computer ($550 if you take out iLife) and compare that with what you get from Dull. We don't even need to factor in OS X against Windows because everyone but RC already understands that. I have a feeling that this will be a very hot seller and anyone that doesn't order today (mine went in at 6:30 AM) will be in a waiting line longer than the iPod mini.

By the way, if you look at the open back of the iMac shown above you can see the reason for the "chin". The fact that it looks similar to the iPod will only help iPod uses in the Windows world (RC excepted) to take a long, hard look at the iMac.

If only IBM could deliver the chips APple stock would hit $50 by Christmas.

Quote

Biff wrote:
Hey so are we gonna get to see a shot of that giant poster now that the mysterious black cloth has been removed?

TMO makes it happen...thanks to Bryan & co! http://www.macobserver.com/gallery/Booth-MacG5/IMG_0289

-Ken P

So... many people were predicting/wishing for a "head-less" iMac, but what we ended up with is a "body-less" iMac.
ironic, isn't it? I think the "chin" effect makes it look a little like the SE/30 also. Some of you may recall the "TAM for the rest of us" which was an aftermarket design which took your PB 5300 guts and put it in a shell similar to the new iMac.

- Webmaster's Apprentice

I will want to see one in the flesh. I love the idea of wall mounting one, and they seem to have the cables (including power) neatly wound together to make that easier. However, if I want to use my USB drive (and EVERYONE has USB drives now), I want that connector in the front. Heck, and FireWire, too, for my video editing. The wall mount is a really slick concept, but not if I have to take it down everytime I want to quickly plug in a peripheral attachment.

Oh, well, nothings perfect.

Hey let's all have fun creating a system that is as far away from the $1,299 entry-level model as possible.

If you get the iMac G5 20" model with 2GB of RAM, a 250 GB HD, an AirPort Extreme card, the Internal Bluetooth module, the Bluetooth keyboard and mouse and AppleCare, it comes to a whopping $3,521. Yikes!

Apple has some nerve charging money for these computers!

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acdc1174 wrote:
nternet all in one spot. Kudos Apple! One afterthought...I may be in the minority, but I for one will miss the prior incarnation of the iMac. I loved the display on the chrome arm. ::sigh::

I find the new imac a bit bland, but Apple was smart to make it a bit more appealing to recent ipod lovers who are not so familiar with or own an Apple computer.

It fits perfectly with the ipod culture.

However, it is wonderful to manipulate the previous imac's screen. I think that the previous gen imac will have a slightly better resell value because of this, of course with the minuses being the g4 among other things.

The half-moon imac made the gumdrop imac look horrible. I'm not so sure that the newest imac does this to the half-moon as much.

Wow, Apples vaulted industrial design group finally comes up with a panel PC http://advantech.com/products/Model_Detail.asp?model_id=1-KOILX&PD=APC

I'll keep my flatpanel iMac, thank you.

I have to say I am unimpressed by the new iMacs. I much prefer the design of the previous model of iMacs. The link between the iPod and this iMac is tangible at best, and a clear marketing ploy that will unfortunalteyl sucker alot of people in.

I understand iMacs are designed for the value/mainstream market, and the specs once you look at them closer, and breeze past the G5 fact, the specs are fairly admirable. Fairly...

However it still leaves me unimpressed. And through the worst way. Design. For a long while since Apple's 'rebirth', they haven't put a step wrong in terms of design.

Now with these iMacs, they've taken a step back from their last iMacs. I'd associate these with eMacs!!!!!!!!!

Yeah I agree that Apple's approach to comparing it with the iPod will do very well. But unfortunately, there won't be much reason for Apple to start marketing this puppy, since they won't ever have enough in stock to satisfy that kind of demand.

It's too bad Apple still considers DVI to be a "pro" feature. My non-Mac friend was about to order one for his living room until he noticed there was no DVI. And the mini-VGA port only does analog video signals, so there is no hope for anything to come from that.

Love it or hate it you have to respect the engineering that went into this. Not only did they fit evertying including the power supply in there, but they had to take center of gravity, cooling zones, and who knows what else into account at the same time! Well done!

Also if you look at the base, you'll see it has a hole in it on the back. I think thats for routing all of the cables through so they will drop down behind the base. Very slick.

Quote

Guest wrote:
Yeah... The chin. I love what they have done, but that chin... I guess once it's set up and you're using it, you'll not even notice it, but still, that chinnnnn.... But boy what a great way to get the power of a G5 for that sort of entry price. Even the 17-inch model would be fantastic.

But there is that chin...

That's what the "chin" of the new imac reminds me of. I can just see him in a print ad with one of these and a bag of Doritos.

Quote

Guest wrote:
If the idea was to tie in with iPod, why in hell didn't Apple add a CLICKWHEEL to control the iApps and/or otherwise vol/brightness, smack-dab on the iMac G5's 'chin'? It would certainly reinforce the association (big-time), looking like the 17/20" color 'mother of all iPods'.

Vaughn

That's a great idea. However, I wonder how much more it would have added to the price.. mabye someone could whip up a concept image...

Quote

gopher wrote:
Yes, they finally did it. You can hang the computer from the wall, use their wireless keyboard and mouse and have zero footprint! Now that is slick!

That's great but what would that be possible with all of the cables jutting out of the back of it?

One of the reasons I did not buy the last iMac (went for the G5) was that the iMac displays have an industry substandard viewing angle. Photos and Movies look lousy unless viewed straight on. All the adjustment arm freedom was required to get the display angled just right for viewing.

Wall mounting would be great if the display had a wide viewing angle. That was the first thing I looked for in the specs today, but no mention of viewing angle --I guess that means that they are not proud of it... Anyone know what the specs are?

If the display comes attached, I believe it should be a no compromise display if you can't get an upgrade.

Portables should be the only exception to this rule, because a wide angle display backlight requires more battery juice.

The new iMac has a non-upgradeable lame 64MB graphics card. All your friends will be playing great games with 128 and 256 MB graphics cards, and you'll be sol.

Look, if you're just going to do word processing, email, web surfing, and downloading iTunes, might as well get a $500 PC.

One word—Tattoos!

Yeah, the lack of DVI out is disappointing.

I'm about to move to a new house and will have to rewire everything. Part of that is that I'd like to do DVI to my remote living room monitor and home theater setup (only have VGA run downstairs from my office now). An iMac G5 might have been a good replacement for my dual 450 G4, but now I might just keep my current mac for a bit more.