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jefhatfield

Retired
Original poster
Jul 9, 2000
8,803
0
what do you think the specs will be of apple's next imacs, ibook, emac, tibook, powermac, and ipod?

and will there be an os x 10.3?

or any new gear?

your thoughts;)
 

jefhatfield

Retired
Original poster
Jul 9, 2000
8,803
0
by mwsf, i predict:

tibook will go to 1 ghz, no superdrive
powermac will stay the same
ibook will go to 800 mhz high end
imac will go to 900 mhz high end
emac will to go 900 mhz high end
crt imac will be retired
ipod will go down to $249 USD
jaguar will remain and os x 10.3 will come mid 2003

and all basic level macs will have a minimum of 256 MB RAM since 128 MB RAM is too small for OS X

my 2 cents;)

but here is what i want which i don't really expect in reality:

tibook with superdrive and up to 1.25 ghz
or...dual tibook

ibook to 1 ghz
or...g4 ibook

emac and imac to 1 ghz
ipod to $199 USD
crt imac to $649 USD

:D :D :D
 

3777

macrumors 6502
Jul 25, 2002
379
0
Originally posted by jefhatfield
by mwsf, i predict:

tibook will go to 1 ghz, no superdrive
powermac will stay the same
ibook will go to 800 mhz high end
imac will go to 900 mhz high end
emac will to go 900 mhz high end
crt imac will be retired
ipod will go down to $249 USD
jaguar will remain and os x 10.3 will come mid 2003

and all basic level macs will have a minimum of 256 MB RAM since 128 MB RAM is too small for OS X

my 2 cents;)

but here is what i want which i don't really expect in reality:

tibook with superdrive and up to 1.25 ghz

or...dual tibook

ibook to 1 ghz
or...g4 ibook

emac and imac to 1 ghz
ipod to $199 USD
crt imac to $649 USD

:D :D :D


If these predictions are correct then Apple is finished. They need to get everything to at least 1ghz, iMac, eMac, and get g4's in their iBooks, or they are going to lose even more people.
 

dricci

macrumors 6502a
Dec 15, 2001
542
236
10.3 in Mid 2003? I just bought Jaguar! There's no way they'd release a new OS that quickly unless they offered a major upgrade discount or something...


The only thing I really want to see is the entire line going to DDR and 1GHz, and Cheap (sub-$1,000) Towers that can compete with some of the other offerings. I see no reason why Apple couldn't release an affordable G4 Tower. If anything it'd get more Switchers who want a Mac but hate the non-expandablility of the eMacs and iMacs... and trust me, I know a lot of them.
 

jefhatfield

Retired
Original poster
Jul 9, 2000
8,803
0
Originally posted by dricci
10.3 in Mid 2003? I just bought Jaguar! There's no way they'd release a new OS that quickly unless they offered a major upgrade discount or something...


The only thing I really want to see is the entire line going to DDR and 1GHz, and Cheap (sub-$1,000) Towers that can compete with some of the other offerings. I see no reason why Apple couldn't release an affordable G4 Tower. If anything it'd get more Switchers who want a Mac but hate the non-expandablility of the eMacs and iMacs... and trust me, I know a lot of them.

here is an idea...10.3 in mid 2003 and for $19.95 for owners of jaguar or even for free

entire line going to 1 ghz and ddr, and a cheap, expandable tower?

right on, i am with you on that one 100 percent

i have noticed even very cheaply priced athlon xp laptops are now using ddr ram in them...and the pc world has had inexpensive, expandable towers for a long time now

those things would definitely help apple's sagging market share...anything to make us keep pace in this field
 

iShater

macrumors 604
Aug 13, 2002
7,027
470
Chicagoland
Originally posted by dricci

The only thing I really want to see is the entire line going to DDR and 1GHz, and Cheap (sub-$1,000) Towers that can compete with some of the other offerings. I see no reason why Apple couldn't release an affordable G4 Tower. If anything it'd get more Switchers who want a Mac but hate the non-expandablility of the eMacs and iMacs... and trust me, I know a lot of them.

AMEN to that! Yours truly is one of them! :D
 

barkmonster

macrumors 68020
Dec 3, 2001
2,134
15
Lancashire
They could easily offer a barebones tower if they cut down on the expensive stuff :

100 MBit Ethernet instead of Gigabit
Combo DVD/CDRW with an optional superdrive.
Single 1Ghz G4 with no L3 cache
256Mb of PC2100 DDR SDRAM
60Gb 5400rpm HD with an optional 80 7200rpm
1 spare HD bay and only 1 ATA/100 controller instead of ATA/100 and ATA/66

That could push the price down a bit and offer a mid model between G4 tower and 17" iMac.

Saying that, $1000 isn't a lot of money to be spending on anything these days, even with the constantly lowering cost of components and apple bulk buying power, I'd say £949 including V.A.T. or $1,199 would be a good price for a barebones tower.

Maybe an ePowermac or something along those lines with a different case design
 

jefhatfield

Retired
Original poster
Jul 9, 2000
8,803
0
Originally posted by peter2002
MWSF 2003:

Powerbook 1GHZ

PowerMac Dual 1.6Ghz, 333DDR, 512 L2 cache

The rest don't matter. Its junk.

Peter

it's all junk until we get the iScooter;)

btw...what happened to apple's big investment in the human transportation vehicle?
 

rugby

macrumors regular
Feb 21, 2002
222
0
chicago
Apple will never come out with a low-end tower. There's no money in it. They need to sell their high-end....errr..high-price towers to make lots of money.

Also, a cheap tower would kill iMac/eMac sales.
 

scem0

macrumors 604
Jul 16, 2002
7,028
1
back in NYC!
Originally posted by rugby
Apple will never come out with a low-end tower. There's no money in it. They need to sell their high-end....errr..high-price towers to make lots of money.

Also, a cheap tower would kill iMac/eMac sales.

The money would still be going to apple even if it was from bare-bones towers instead of iMacs/eMacs. But it isnt like apple to do a barebones tower.
 

dricci

macrumors 6502a
Dec 15, 2001
542
236
Originally posted by rugby
Apple will never come out with a low-end tower. There's no money in it. They need to sell their high-end....errr..high-price towers to make lots of money.

Also, a cheap tower would kill iMac/eMac sales.

So what if it kills iMac/eMac sales? Let them replace the iMac and eMac for all I care.... If it could sell more than the iMac/eMac then that means there's more DEMAND for a cheap tower than the iMac/eMac, and in the end it would boost the marketshare. Take the LCD/CRT out of the iMac/eMac and put it into a Tower, and market it as a $899 G4 Tower, OC it to 1GHz and put in the fake DDR technology from the new Power Macs. I know several potential switchers that would be first in line.
 

BongHits

macrumors regular
May 2, 2002
181
0
chicago
Originally posted by dricci

OC it to 1GHz and put in the fake DDR technology from the new Power Macs.
y would u overclock chips, when u already have chips that run at that speed? you'd save alot of time(and money) by not selling a product that may melt when u plug it in (sarcasm). fake DDR technology? i don't think the g4 as we know it can handle a bus speed faster than what it's currently at (tho the new g3 can...wtf!?) so it's a true ddr implimentation...the g4's bus speed is just maxed creating a bottleneck that makes the ddr close to worthless (tho not entirely)
 

Nipsy

macrumors 65816
Jan 19, 2002
1,009
0
Originally posted by barkmonster
They could easily offer a barebones tower if they cut down on the expensive stuff :

100 MBit Ethernet instead of Gigabit
Combo DVD/CDRW with an optional superdrive.
Single 1Ghz G4 with no L3 cache
256Mb of PC2100 DDR SDRAM
60Gb 5400rpm HD with an optional 80 7200rpm
1 spare HD bay and only 1 ATA/100 controller instead of ATA/100 and ATA/66


This machine would require a second MoBo design. For Apple, each MoBo design is a huge investment in R & D.

Also, it sounds as though the current MoBo is fairly tighly integrated which means you can't just yank something out at random.

Of course a new case would have to be depracated from the current case to offer dual 5 1/4" bays, but with room for only one extra HD.

For people who want a pro tower on the cheap, do the following. Go to your local community colege. Register for a $12 class.

Go to Apple's .edu store, buy the machine for ~$1,200.

For everyone else who's complaining that this or that will be the death of Apple, you are a bunch of blowhards:

Apple would like, and will build, faster towers, but does not today have the processors. Many of you moaning about speed don't need it. Apple does more R & D than companies five times their size. Apple is weathering this downturn in the economy better than most. Apple is $4,000,000,000 liquid. Apple has been on its deathbed since the late '80s. Apple stock is a BARGAIN right now (imagine buying Apple for $1,000,000,000, you can do that if you also buy their cash stockpile for $4,000,000,000). Apple has fired hundreds, and hired hundreds in a period when everyone else has fired thousands and hired none. Apple products have been getting steadiy cheaper for a decade (remember the $9000 Quadra 950, the $7200 IIfx).

If you are an Apple stock holder, who beleives that Appe is doomed, I'm buying anything I can get for $13.50 or less.
 

TheCat

macrumors member
Aug 2, 2002
35
0
Originally posted by peter2002
MWSF 2003:

Powerbook 1GHZ

PowerMac Dual 1.6Ghz, 333DDR, 512 L2 cache

The rest don't matter. Its junk.

Peter

Nice!! i like u :cool:
 

jefhatfield

Retired
Original poster
Jul 9, 2000
8,803
0
Originally posted by TheCat


Nice!! i like u :cool:

a dual 1.6 ghz would shut up some pc critics for sure:D

and i know this is not likely, but a dual tibook wouldn't be too shabby either
 

Pants

macrumors regular
Aug 21, 2001
194
9
Originally posted by BongHits

fake DDR technology? i don't think the g4 as we know it can handle a bus speed faster than what it's currently at (tho the new g3 can...wtf!?) so it's a true ddr implimentation...the g4's bus speed is just maxed creating a bottleneck that makes the ddr close to worthless (tho not entirely)


no it isnt true ddr. its currently a marketing ploy. its fake. a scam. sharp marketing. a rip-off.
:)
 

Pants

macrumors regular
Aug 21, 2001
194
9
Originally posted by Nipsy
Apple is $4,000,000,000 liquid. Apple has been on its deathbed since the late '80s. Apple stock is a BARGAIN right now (imagine buying Apple for $1,000,000,000, you can do that if you also buy their cash stockpile for $4,000,000,000). Apple has fired hundreds, and hired hundreds in a period when everyone else has fired thousands and hired none. Apple products have been getting steadiy cheaper for a decade (remember the $9000 Quadra 950, the $7200 IIfx).

If you are an Apple stock holder, who beleives that Appe is doomed, I'm buying anything I can get for $13.50 or less.

most of apples money in the bank comes from stock selling and not profits on computers, hence theres a reason why its stock is a 'bargain'. As for products getting cheaper for a decade - well, true, but then so has the rest of teh market. Again, this has zip to do with apple as such.
 

jefhatfield

Retired
Original poster
Jul 9, 2000
8,803
0
Originally posted by Pants


most of apples money in the bank comes from stock selling and not profits on computers, hence theres a reason why its stock is a 'bargain'. As for products getting cheaper for a decade - well, true, but then so has the rest of teh market. Again, this has zip to do with apple as such.

very true what you say about the sorry state of apple inc's financial position, but...

the consumer wins when apple and pc gear goes down in price

when the 233 mhz bondi blue imac, with just usb, came out in late 98, it was $1299 US and now that same basic machine, much faster at 600 mhz, with way more of everything and firewire, is $799 US

that is a good trend and i can see a mac one day soon for five hundred dollars

at some point, there will be a limit as to how cheap one could sell a working computer for

some of the early $399 dollar e-machines were barely acceptable machines...they have improved since then

my friend has one of those 1999 era $399 dollar e-machines and the fan became really loud after six months and the mouse had to be replaced very shortly after that...the monitor was good for a few months and then it went to heck and sometimes only displayed sixteen colors but it seems to somehow work in millions of colors most of the time now

overall, the machine still works, though with the super loud fan, and it's the only modern machine my friend has ever owned and if he ever gets a mac, he will see the difference since he has had the worst pc on the market for over three years now:p
 

bbarnhart

macrumors 6502a
Jan 16, 2002
824
1
Originally posted by Pants


most of apples money in the bank comes from stock selling and not profits on computers, hence theres a reason why its stock is a 'bargain'. As for products getting cheaper for a decade - well, true, but then so has the rest of teh market. Again, this has zip to do with apple as such.

It is interesting to note that in the last reported quarter, Apple made a mere US$13 million selling computers and services. It also made US$26 million from interest (and other income). After a US$7 million tax payment, it netted its US$32 million. This has been the case for many previous quarters.

Apple ain't getting rich selling machines.
 

Archer

macrumors newbie
Jun 12, 2002
18
0
Here's probably no shocker but 10.3 I perdict will have an upgrade path, but will cost more than $19.95, perhaps $59.95.

The official announcement of 10.3 will be in MWNY, but will probably be touted throughout the year. It will be released around the end of Septempber and line up with the end of .Mac's one year anniversary. I also perdict that 10.3 will be free minus shipping and handling or a drive to an Apple store for .Mac users.

The catch, you have to pay an additional $29.00 annualy for free OS updates to the already set price of $99.00 .Mac supscription. Total cost, $129.00 a year.

More on a limb, a .Mac only hardware product has to be coming to complete the circle and enhance the .Mac brand.
 

Postal

macrumors regular
Jun 22, 2002
135
17
Ottawa, ON, Canada
I'd love to see a basic G4 tower, but I don't think Apple wants to add yet ANOTHER G4 model which would potentially undermine their existing lineup. I don't want to see the new iMac suffer the same fate as the G4 Cube.

That said, if they did it as others have suggested, I'd be tempted to get it. Here's the specs I'd like to see (based somewhat on earlier posts, so I apologize for duplication):

- a single 1 GHz G4 based on the PPC 7470
- true DDR system bus as well as memory
- 256 MB of memory
- a 32 MB or 64 MB GF4 MX
- base model with CD-RW
- 10/100 Mbps Ethernet instead of Gigabit, and the 56K modem is optional
- the single ATA100 controller
- include only OS X and any freeware/shareware apps by default, but give the option of AppleWorks and other apps at discounted prices

If Apple could do that, and drop the prices on their LCDs as well, they'd probably have a lot of sales coming their way. They'd just have to make sure that their all-in-one systems have incentives for people who don't mind integration.
 

jefhatfield

Retired
Original poster
Jul 9, 2000
8,803
0
Originally posted by Postal
I'd love to see a basic G4 tower, but I don't think Apple wants to add yet ANOTHER G4 model which would potentially undermine their existing lineup. I don't want to see the new iMac suffer the same fate as the G4 Cube.

That said, if they did it as others have suggested, I'd be tempted to get it. Here's the specs I'd like to see (based somewhat on earlier posts, so I apologize for duplication):

- a single 1 GHz G4 based on the PPC 7470
- true DDR system bus as well as memory
- 256 MB of memory
- a 32 MB or 64 MB GF4 MX
- base model with CD-RW
- 10/100 Mbps Ethernet instead of Gigabit, and the 56K modem is optional
- the single ATA100 controller
- include only OS X and any freeware/shareware apps by default, but give the option of AppleWorks and other apps at discounted prices

If Apple could do that, and drop the prices on their LCDs as well, they'd probably have a lot of sales coming their way. They'd just have to make sure that their all-in-one systems have incentives for people who don't mind integration.

that would be great

i would also like to see apple keep the crt imac around and eventually keep lowering the price until it got down to $499 USD

and along the way, it would be nice to up the processor up to 800 mhz, up level 2 cache to 512k so it can decently run os x, and get a flat screen crt...i think it would sell

as a plan, i would release it as a 700 mhz flat screen crt imac for $699 this fall with 512k level 2 cache and cd-rw

...drop price to $599 and scale to 800 mhz by mwsf

...drop price one hundred dollars in summer of 2003 for back to school crowd

we need something to compete will circuit city's five hundred dollar hp/compaq basic machines which are going 1.2/1.3 ghz...while their pcs may have the speed advantage at the five hundred dollar price point, the mac will have the built in monitor which the pcs don't have

(also if we can't reach $499 USD, then how about $599 USD but a 1 ghz g3 flat screen crt imac?)
 

mr evil brkfast

macrumors member
Jun 18, 2002
62
0
Toronto, Canada
emac 800 Mhz/ 933mhz
imac 800mhz/ 933 mhz 133mhz Bus in top model (all 17")
powermac- no idea- not any time soon...

ibook 700mhz/800mhz (880/900 would be nice)32 MB video
powerbook 800mhz/ 933 mhz (ATI 9700)
 
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