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Apple revamps the iMac, Mac mini and Mac Pro with no fanfare
- ojbyrne 18y agoLove minis. I've had a g4 (gave it away), an intel, about to order another.
- wesley 18y agoRaising the prices and offering little new. Thanks Apple!
- river_styx 18y agoAm I missing something here? According to the article, the prices have fallen or remained the same, and Apple has upgraded all the hardware.
- sjh 18y agoBy chance, I was looking at Mac Minis in the UK online Store this morning (GMT), and the price of the lesser-spec'ed unit was £391. Now the price of the new lesser-spec'ed unit is £499.
- cturner 18y agoIt's a good thing the economist runs its purchasing power against burgers and not Apple hardware! Although that would be interesting for its own reasons.
- pmjordan 18y agoYou're getting screwed by the GBP exchange rate plunge. (some might say: correction, and having lived in the UK during times of the €1.50 pound, I'd tend to agree) Euro prices have stayed the same. And yes, ordering Apple gear via the UK store or UK Amazon was a bargain for mainland Europeans for a while because Apple only seems to adjust for fluctuations when they update products. Shows you what kind of mark-up they're using to be able to afford to do that. On the plus side, you'll be able to get cheap Apple gear from the continent if the pound picks back up.
- sjh 18y agoWithout wishing to belabour the point, the prices for the same unit (the lesser-spec'ed Mac Mini) also seem to have gone up in the Irish and German stores (to pick but two), from €499 to €599.
- pmjordan 18y agoI just checked amazon.de and you're absolutely right, sorry. For some reason I thought the old minis were €599, too. 166MHz and 40GB more, the nvidia chip, and losing the remote are worth €100? Hmm. Nevertheless, around 50% of the GBP 392->599 increase is down to correcting for the new exchange rate. Not that that helps you at all.
- redrobot5050 18y agoMy thoughts exactly. And I've been a mac user for 22 years (since I was six). I was hoping to see something new from the iMac line. Anything. A second display. Upgradeable hard drive. Consumer grade Raid 1 (y'know, like you'd see on a $1500 DELL tower.) Very little to see here. And a high end iMac makes no sense. At that rate, you're almost buying their quad-core tower. (But I suppose at the very high end, people don't buy Mac Pros as often as they do Mac Books, because they're usable for very long periods of time.)
- randallsquared 18y agoThe iMac form factor has its own advantages which offset the extra power of the low-end Mac Pro.
- redrobot5050 18y agoReally? Like what? Like forcing you to throw out the 24 inch LCD when the computer is obsolete? Like a lack of upgradable anything (besides RAM)? The iMac might have a unique form factor, but it doesn't necessarily convey any advantages other than aesthetics.
- randallsquared 18y agoFirst, aesthetics are not negligible. The iMac has at least two fewer cables, is more easily shifted around, doesn't require finding space on the floor for a tower, takes up very little desk space, and is very quickly packed up for overnight or weekend trips. For people who need to take their computers with them a few times a year, but don't want to make the sacrifices or pay the higher costs for a laptop, it's useful. Just speaking for my own category.
- rbanffy 18y agoDon't all iMacs support a second display? Can't you daisy-chain two (or more) external drives in the FW800 port? I do that with FW400 on a PPC iMac. Doesn't OSX support RAID? I am quite sure the server version does. And, you know, that Dell box will have Windows pre-installed. OSX is so much nicer.
- cubicle67 18y agoWhy the downmods? For those outside the US, there's a significant price rise (In Australia, an iMac is now 25% more expensive than it was yesterday) with very little to show for it. I've got some friends who I've told to hold off buying because there was an update due soon, but this is just embarrassing.
- mshafrir 18y agoThe laptop (MB, MBP) market is where it's at for Apple.
- antidaily 18y agoSo dual displays for the mini?
- henning 18y agoI still only see one DVI slot, so I don't think so. I could be wrong. Edit: sure enough I am wrong, see reply.
- pmjordan 18y agoThere's a Mini DisplayPort as well. It's the smaller port to the right of the Mini DVI port. Adapters are available at the usual overinflated prices... I hope there will be more of a 3rd party aftermarket for these than for the Mini-DVI adapters.
- alabut 18y agoSo wait, the mini can do a dual display setup or does it just have two display ports?
- fefzero 18y agoIt can do a dual display setup. Click on "compare" then on "complete specs" (2/3 of the way down) on the page for the Mac Mini here: http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/mac_mini?mco=MTE3MDI http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/mac_mi... "Connects to up to two external displays with digital resolution up to 2560 by 1600 via Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter or 1920x1200 via Mini DisplayPort, Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter, or Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter. Analog resolution (VGA) up to 2048 by 1536 using Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter or Mini-DVI to VGA Adapter."
- alabut 18y agoSweet! I got a mini back in Nov when I went freelance and I've been thinking of getting another, because they're so cheap that you can have a second just as a backup. This pushes me over the fence into actually getting one, can't wait.
- pmjordan 18y agoOnce again the premium you pay for the better models is totally ridiculous. I don't mind paying for quality, but I'm sorry, the difference between a 320GB vs 120GB HDD and 2GB vs 1GB RAM is not worth €200! In fact, I can buy the bigger HDD and RAM for about half that at retail, never mind the difference between the larger and smaller configurations. I've been playing with the idea of getting a Mac Mini to replace my current media PC which can't handle HD video, but it looks like I'll still need to open it up if I want a decent spec.
- CalmQuiet 18y ago"Once again the premium you pay for the better models is totally ridiculous." Yes, ridiculous for you to pay the premium. But a great opportunity for you if you need a top-tier Mac and know how to upgrade RAM & HD -- which is the only way I buy mine. From the company's standpoint, it makes sense: lower entry-level price; higher profit margin for items sold to those with more $ than tech-savvy. ::Keeps the company profit margins high while giving the self-upgraders a nice break.
- pmjordan 18y agoI don't mind too much when it's actually relatively easy to upgrade. (though the attitude annoys me - what the hell am I supposed to recommend to my less tech savvy friends & family?) My white MacBook is currently running a 500GB HDD and 4GB RAM, all of which took me about 10 minutes to install. With a Mac Mini, I'd need to get special tools (some kind of spatula I believe?) to get the damn thing open, and run a serious risk of ruining my warranty. Same thing for my girlfriend's iMac, at least for the HDD (you need to remove the screen with glass handling equipment apparently) - the RAM is easy at least, which was the main worry, there's always gigabit ethernet and the file server for disk space.
- rsayers 18y agoIf its anything like the G4 and original Intel Minis (I own and have opened both), 2 putty knives will open it right and leaves no marks. From discussion I remember reading way back when the g4 mini was originally launched, this will not void the warranty, but take that with a grain of salt.
- nickb 18y agoTo me, the big win is the new TimeCapsule: * MobileMe 'back to Mac' integration * 802.11n * guest Wi-Fi feature * dual-band Wi-Fi * 500GB TimeCapsule * Wi-Fi printer hub = $299 Sold.
- CalmQuiet 18y agoThank you for calling that to my intention. When I went to Apple Store the default data showed - for the 1TB: $499. For small home use the 500GB @ $299 - does sound great: way better bargain than an Airport Extreme. Why ever buy one of those now?
- kylec 18y agoYou can get an Airport Extreme for $179 and a 500GB USB external on Newegg for $60, the combination of which would provide all the features of a Time Capsule for $239. Granted you have to deal with two devices and a decreased throughput to the disk, but for casual use it may be enough for some people. (you can also get 1TB externals on Newegg starting at $95, for a total of $274, a significantly lower price than the $499 1TB Time Capsule)
- DenisM 18y agoAre you sure it will be compatible with time machine?
- kylec 18y agoI believe so. Just make sure that the Airport Extreme is running at least version 7.3.1 of the firmware. I personally use an Extreme and a WD MyBook as my backup solution and while I wouldn't say it's fast I've never had issues where it wouldn't work. see also: http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/19/time-machine-now-works-with-airport-extremes-airdisk-feature/ http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/19/time-machine-now-works-wi...
- mikeyur 18y agoYes, they are compatible. I have a 500GB drive hooked up to my AirPort extreme right now and it's recognized to work with TimeMachine. Unfortunately I need to run my network in mixed mode, 2.4ghz Wireless N so transfers are much slower.
- CalmQuiet 18y agoFor HN visitors, I think one of the most interesting questions is what this says about Apple's business/marketing model: ?Does the lack of fanfare for these releases mean that something more worthy of fanfare is planned relatively soon? In recent months iMacs have been in top 3 sales positions on Apple's home page. And for me, the $1500 price on a 24" iMac is a great break on something I need for a instructional machine. Could they really just be saving a few bucks and some labor by omitting fanfare? ...or are they focusing on some MacAir / netbook / iPhone extravaganza in next few months?
- gabrielroth 18y agoIf they held a big event to introduce these new models -- or just about any other product -- the headline would be the absence of Steve Jobs, which is probably not what Apple's PR department is hoping for right now. If they bring out a tablet PC or something equally dramatic, they might want to risk that, with the spin 'Even without Jobs we can still generate excitement.' But for ordinary improvements to the existing hardware line, a big Jobsless presentation would be a negative, on balance.
- bonaldi 18y agoAlso, when you're offering less for more, you don't want to shout about it too much. Prices have gone up (by large amounts for some, esp. the UK) , specs have gone sideways in a few cases (bottom two iMacs with integrated graphics, headline clock speed drops on the Pros, etc)
- CalmQuiet 18y agoExcellent point. The downside, however, of not having Tim MC an smallish event such as these upgrades is that it puts more pressure on whatever attempts to be the standard Apple-fare fanfare. The longer the wait the more Steve's absence at such an event will be felt. But... if they can get him back in July or so... and they have a major announcement... that'll make for a huge hype opportunity. And yes: it's just playing with fans' minds. That's okay by me: I'm just up for learning about marketing - and Apple's certainly one place to do it.
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- jaymstr 18y agoI love my Macs, but man, I wish they would update on a more continuous basis. I have a 3 month old Mac Mini, and this is pretty frustrating.
- harpastum 18y agoI'm sure that's very frustrating, but I feel the lack of a pre-defined roadmap is actually one of Apple's _strong_ points. I've seen more than my fair share of weak/broken releases from companies trying to keep a schedule.
- weegee 18y agowith the economy in the state it's in today, I don't think many are contemplating a new computer. I thought they would wait until the fall. I'm not planning to upgrade until at least when 10.6 is released.
- DLWormwood 18y agoI don't know... I've budgeting money for a new tower for over a year now, waiting for Apple to finally refresh. I had to buy a used G5 on eBay as a stop gap in the interrum... now I can finally buy the machine which will probably be the last new Mac I'll ever own. (I think Moore's Law has finally run it course for home PCs, and most of the current development work is Web based anyways.)
- henning 18y agoWell, now I feel like kind of a schmuck for buying one a couple weeks ago.
- cadalac 18y agoFunny that the Mac mini has FireWire, but the base MacBooks don't. Sigh...
- MikeCapone 18y agoAnother new (I think) thing is the Radeon 4870 GPU for the Mac Pro, now sold in the Apple store. Finally an upgrade path.
- CalmQuiet 18y agoFWIW, Fortune's take on the marketing decision is "clever thriftiness": "Here’s a thrifty marketing strategy tailor-made for these troubled times. "Rather than pay for all the accoutrements of a high-profile product roll-out — promotional media, special events, keynote speeches, etc. — just leak a few spy shots to obscure bloggers and let the Internet rumor mill do the heavy lifting." http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/03/03/apples-new-macs-marketing-by-spy-shot/ http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/03/03/apples-new-m...
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- ComputerGuru 18y agoSomething with even less fanfare: Apple actually bumped the specs on the MacBook Pro, too. http://www.macrumors.com/2009/03/03/apple-quietly-bumps-15-macbook-pro-speed-256gb-ssd-option-and-new-keyboard/ http://www.macrumors.com/2009/03/03/apple-quietly-bumps-15-m... 256GB SSD options for all MacBooks, and a CPU bump to both the higher-end MacBook Pro configurations for the same price as before.
- donw 18y agoFinally a Mini with 4G of RAM! I'll hold off until Snow Leopard, though.