TMO at Macworld - Apple Reveals First Intel Mac: iMac || The Mac Observer

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TMO at Macworld - Apple Reveals First Intel Mac: iMac

by , 1:30 PM EST, January 10th, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO -- As his Tuesday morning Macworld keynote drew to a close, Apple CEO Steve Jobs brought Intel CEO Paul Otellini on the stage. Last week, Mr. Otellini delivered a keynote address at Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that introduced his company's new processors but said nothing about Apple's plans for them. Now the two CEOs revealed that the iMac will be the first Mac to receive an Intel processor.

Mr. Jobs said that the new iMac will be available today in the same 17- and 20-inch configurations as the previous model, which was refreshed only last October. Pricing will be the same, but the new computers are two to three times as fast as their predecessors, according to the Apple CEO, thanks to their Intel Core Duo processors. Their overall design is also still the same, despite rumors that Apple would differentiate the Intel Macs from the PowerPC ones with new cases.

The new computers are loaded with iLife '06, a built-in iSight video camera, Front Row with an Apple Remote, an 8X Dual-Layer SuperDrive, 512MB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable to 2GB, PCI Express-based ATI Radeon X1600 video cards with 128MB of Video RAM, 10/100/1000 BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet networking, built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, three USB 2.0 and two USB 1.1 ports and two FireWire 400 ports.

In addition, the new iMac offers a mini-DVI video output for connecting an Apple Cinema Display up to 23 inches in size. The operating system is Mac OS X v10.4.4, which was also released during Macworld, and Rosetta is included for running most applications that were originally developed for use with PowerPC processors.

The 17-inch US$1,299 iMac features a 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo processor and a 160GB hard drive. The 20-inch version sells for $1,699 and includes a 2GHz Intel Core Duo processor and a 250GB hard drive.

Observer Comments

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Close Name:Nookster Posts: 94 Joined: 27 Oct 2004
Tue Jan 10, 2006 2:55 pm Subject:

Here's to new things.

The MacBook looks very tempting...

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Close Name:dhp Posts: 180 Joined: 22 May 2003
Tue Jan 10, 2006 2:58 pm Subject: cool, but...

Yeah, the new iMac is pretty cool, but I can't wait to get one of those 42-inch plasma MacTVs to watch streaming from the Apple video service.

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Close Name:kevdo Posts: 54 Joined: 09 Dec 2004
Tue Jan 10, 2006 3:02 pm Subject: I'm totally blown away

I'm soooo glad I waited until today to decide which Mac to purchase. I can't believe the iMac is getting Intel!

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Close Name:Al Swearengen Posts: 339 Joined: 10 May 2005
Tue Jan 10, 2006 3:04 pm Subject: And of course

I just bought an 20" iMac with iSight in November. It didn't really need it, I could have stayed with my PowerMac G4, but the wife said "Go buy it you cheapskate and stop nursing that G4 along." No problem, I can replace my ancient G3 iBook with a new MacBook Pro.

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Close Name:Dreadnought Posts: 160 Joined: 01 Jan 2005
Tue Jan 10, 2006 3:09 pm Subject: Kinda bummed ...

But not surprised. I was really hoping for a Mac mini w/Intel and integrated Front Row, but if that was the first machine released, it would really eat into the mid-range iMac sales.

I guess my next Mac won't come until next year - unless a quad-dual-core Intel PowerMac is released sooner (expect this to be the very last one). Maybe I'll just put my pennies towards the 30" display I've been lusting after... ... ...

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Close Name:mrhooks Posts: 272 Joined: 28 Jul 2003
Tue Jan 10, 2006 3:32 pm Subject:

My 1-year-old Power Mac suddenly seems so lame.

Oh well, at least it still runs all of my music apps natively. And by the time the second generation of Intel Mac towers are out (I'll estimate 1.5 years from now), enough time will have passed that I won't feel guilty about upgrading.

Now if only I could afford a new machine and a 30" display...

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View Name:Guest
Tue Jan 10, 2006 3:33 pm Subject: Imagine

Close Name:Billy K Posts: 297 Joined: 06 May 2004
Tue Jan 10, 2006 4:24 pm Subject: The Question for Me...

I bought a 20" iMac about 6 months ago (pre-Front Row), because I wanted to get one of the last G5 iMacs.

I know, I know... but really, it wasn't that dumb...I don't think. I use two critcal apps still in Classic mode. They're probably never going to be ported to OSX, and one of them has no equivalent, so I'm still Classic-dependant.

I seem to recall hearing that the new Intel Macs wouldn't run Classic. Anyone know if this is true?

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View Name:Guest
Tue Jan 10, 2006 4:38 pm Subject: Price reductions on imac G5's

View Name:Guest
Tue Jan 10, 2006 5:28 pm Subject: Windows support

Close Name:jimothy Posts: 581 Joined: 04 Jun 2004
Tue Jan 10, 2006 5:52 pm Subject: The name game

Let's play the name game! PowerBook is to be replaced with MacBook Pro. iMac has remained iMac, which seems wise because it's an established brand, and includes "Mac" in the name, which Mr. Jobs pointed out is important during the keynote, when introducing the MacBook Pro.

So, let's contemplate the remaining lines in the Mac family:
- iBook: Likely, this will be named the MacBook, since it lacks "Mac" in the name.
- Mac mini: The name will likely stick.
- PowerMac: It's got "Mac", which is good, but it's also got "Power," which is apparently bad ("We're done with Power," a not so subtle slight of IBM). Mac Pro?

What do you all think?

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View Name:Guest
Tue Jan 10, 2006 6:31 pm Subject:

Close Name:macinnerd Posts: 1682 Joined: 15 Jun 2005
Tue Jan 10, 2006 6:44 pm Subject:

All this reminds me of wha they were saying in the 1994 edition of the Mac Bible: "Sure, Macs are getting cheaper and better all the time. But if you wait forever, you'll never be able to enjoy all the new stuff. And of course, if you buy new, it will always get old pretty fast." You can get any conclusion you want from that.

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View Name:Guest
Tue Jan 10, 2006 9:15 pm Subject: Refurbished iMac

View Name:Guest
Wed Jan 11, 2006 4:10 pm Subject: Man -- glad I waited!

Close Name:NoVaMac Posts: 121 Joined: 16 Mar 2004
Wed Jan 11, 2006 5:04 pm Subject: Guest-get real win-

blows, SUCKS. Tiger WHIPS windows. And with 5 more years of office why would you even care. I say, avoid office if possible aswell.

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Close Name:stuartea Posts: 327 Joined: 08 Aug 2005
Wed Jan 11, 2006 7:06 pm Subject: BBC Trolls

Just caught the BBC report on the new Macs

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4600442.stm

Notice their featured choice of reader feedback? Incase you missed it

" Why don't Apple go the whole hog and run Windows XP on their laptops? That way their users could run some useful applications"

I didn't realise the BBC were a bunch of wind up merchants. It's not like Mac & PC users need any help to have pointless arguments.

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View Name:Guest
Thu Jan 12, 2006 7:21 am Subject: Re: Man -- glad I waited!

View Name:Guest
Fri Jan 13, 2006 8:50 am Subject: RIPE!

View Name:Guest
Fri Jan 13, 2006 12:47 pm Subject: existing software able to run on new intel powered Imacs?

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