Comments on: A new iMac for under $500?

The annual exercise of the Mac faithful--guessing what Apple will release at MacWorld--has prompted rumors of a lower-priced desktop.

[Dachi]

I hope they do.

I have an aging second computer that is on my KVM switch that I am looking to replace. I am not willing to spend $1,500 to put a powermac there but a $500 headless mac is MUCH more reasonable.

I am one of the people that surf apples store, wanting but never buying.

The neglect in this market I believe is the reason that OSX has a much better reputation than OS9 but never translated to more market share.

[rbannon]

Why not . . .

look for an older Power Mac? I bet you could get one for under
$500, and it would probably be more inline with what you
expect a computer to look like. They're well-engineered and will
give you lots of upgrade options.

[Llib Setag]

CNET Hack Journalism

CNET QUOTE: "These details, while concrete, have not been
confirmed by Apple..."
HELLO! Until The Steve reveals his infamous "and one more
thing..." at MWSF IT IS NOT CONCRETE.
CNET constantly under estimates Apple in its' journalism, but
some how they have a clue what goes on within Apple HQ in
Cupertino? NOT!
Start being professional technology journalists & stop being
High-Tech National Enquirer hacks.

[baggyguy1218]

Im gonna send you some cheese...

to go along with that whine!

[Jonathan F]

They're not totally out to lunch

In all fairness, the main source (Think Secret) is generally reliable. With few exceptions, they only tend to post rumours when they're much more certain.

[olePigeon]

$500 Mac + AirPort + PVR Software = Awesome!

$500 Mac with a DVD-R and 802.11g would be great! Stick that
little sucker in a living room, instant TiVO, Stereo, DVD, MP3,
everything.

Man I hope it's true!

[kms007]

interesting, but is it true?

I find the idea of a sub-$500 Mac to be a good one -- but I
strongly feel that CNET should be focusing on news and shying
away from rumors that have yet to be confirmed. So far, only
one major rumor site (ThinkSecret.com) has 'broken' this story,
and it seems as if every major news site is sourcing their
information as 'fact'. Please, CNET, focus on tech news -- not
tech rumors.

Krishna Sadasivam
Cartoonist
http://www.pcweenies.org

[baggyguy1218]

WHINNERS!!

Man you guys at Cnet must be troubled by the negative comments comming out about rumors and such. To bad, I still think your swell.

Lub ya.

[saleen351]

About that Tivo Comment...

My buddy lent me his 1500 MS media Center PC and it's ok, but way way way too expensive and too difficult to use. So if this Mac is legit could it be used as a tivo out of the box? Can it run a tv and a monitor at the same time? Does Mac have a free tv guide like MS does? Hey cnet, how about an artice on making a cheap tivo..????

Thanks..

[PCCRomeo]

FYI, It's not under $500

HELLO! It don't come with a monitor, therefore it's not a whole computer meaning it's not under $500. Maybe under $700, but definately not under $500.

uhh

dont all iMacs have a built in monitor?

[JuggerNaut]

Monitor or no monitor?!

The whole point behind this cheaply priced Mac is targeted to
those who already have a monitor and/or want to purchase a
computer that does not have a monitor built-in.

CRT monitors are not expensive, so why fuss on the price and
then inflate it for your own reasoning?

A monitor is not required to compute

The CPU (central processing unit) is the computer, not the
monitor. The monitor does just what the name implies; it allows
you to visually interact with the computer itself.

[Jonathan]

Duh...yes it is.

OK then take myself. I have a 20" monitor. So it is indeed under $500. Take your "find-any-excuse-to-trash-on-a-Mac-no-matter-what" crap somewhere else. It could be priced at $19.95 and you'd find a reason why it sucks. What no floppy? DAMN YOU APPLE!!
People like you who are so blinded by an irrational rage against Mac (and vis versa for Macheads) make me sick. Please do grow up.

CNET is speculating; where is proof?

In the story Robert Lemos and/or Ina Fried writes:

"These details, while concrete, have not been confirmed by
Apple. However, the strategy itself sounds sensible, said Gene
Munster, a senior research analyst with investment firm Piper
Jaffrey."

How are they concrete? Where is the proof that this product
exists? Who has seen this product for themselves? This
speculation seems to have originated on Apple rumor websites
and has spread like wildfire.

Something that *sounds* sensible doesn't make it necessarily
so.

Where's CNET's proof? If you can offer none, it is still speculation
and this story from a journalistic standpoint is void of reliable
sources to support such a bold declaration.

Thanks.

You can get a Dell laptop for this price

with 802.11b and 2 (count them: 2) gighertz.

Stupid Apple freaks must be borned stupid. No one could be working this hard at being so stupid.

[Jonathan]

Did anyone smell a troll's antiperspirant fail?

Yah for trolling idiots who wouldn't know a good thing if it bit em on the ***. Now you will excuse me. I need to go reimage a user's system because one of the latest MS patches (think it was 037) has completely hosed her system. But such things are lost on urchins like you who give Gates a virtual ******* overtime you post this kind of crap.

[Llib Setag]

Get the facts OOW MAK...

O.M. Quote: "with 802.11b and 2 (count them: 2) gighertz.

Stupid Apple freaks must be borned stupid. No one could be working this hard at being so stupid"

1. It is gigahertz (not gig-hertz)
2. 802.11b is LEGACY wireless standard (Apple uses 802.11g 128-bit encryption wireless)
3. Apples to Apples: a DULL $500 laptop at 2 ghz is not anywhere close to being equal to a 1.5 ghz PowerPC G4 RISC 64 bit chip. IT'S NOT just the gigahertz, it's the gigaflops (bits per cycles) Utilizing more bits per cycle means that the PowerPC chip DOESNOT have to be a 2 ghz in order to outperform the legacy Celeron chip in the DULL $500 laptop.
4. DULL $500 laptop DOESNOT include Firewire / Photo - Movie - DVD - Music applications / slot loading CDR or DVDR drives, etc. ALL OF THAT IS EXTRA.
[Unix/Mac/Win PC User]

[Thomas, David]

Grrr

I don't know where to begin. If you think that an intel chip
running at 2ghz is faster than a powerpc chip running at 1ghz,
and that if it was possible to actually get a such a mac at 500 is
stupid, then you should have your picture posted in the
dicitonary under the following categories:
1. deaf and dumb
2. Insane
3. woefully ignorant
4. stupid
5. uninformed

$499 Headless Mac and Revisiting the Clone Market

The iMac has been many things. It started out
in 1998 as the cheap mac for everyone, and
sold enough to give Apple a new chance at life
again as a viable company. Then came the
colors and after the death of the Cube, it
became a mid-level replacement for it when it
went to the flower design with the swingable
arm. And now with the flat panel, it is little
more than a laptop attatched to a stand, and
still it remains a mid-level product. The eMac
has not seemed to capture the numbers that
the original iMac did, nor even enough to push
Apple's market share up even a point or two.
The market share continues to drop, at least
for computers. Apple however has found new
life and profits in the iPod, and its online
music site.

And that model is not a bad one to consider
for its computers as well. With Apple pulling
minimal profits from the Music Labels, and
selling their hardware at a premium.

If indeed a $499 mac, headless or no, iMac or
no is in the pipeline, then it could do a lot to
have everyday people take a serious look at
the mac platform, and not just those BMW
owners who need a new stylish computer.

And the iPod model, could be a new and
interesting way to promote it. Could it work?
I'm not a market analyst, but the iPod
numbers are enough to convince me it stands
a more than even chance.

Clone Market Again? What was wrong with the
first time around? Jobs said the Cloners were
underselling Apple and taking profits away. It
was Microsoft's model, sell the software and
license the hardware. I have fond memories
of the Cloners, but Jobs was right, they were
taking market share and Apple wasn't making
enough from the OS to stay alive.

But the iPod model gives the software away.
Embeds it in the hardware and makes it
easier to use, ala the Apple mantra.

But if Apple gave the OS away, actually
licensed it to outside computer manufacturers
at minimal cost . And then had the hardware
shipped in Apples configuration at a halfway
price? Then instead of making 27% profit on
each machine, for only several hundred
thousand to several million machines, you
could look at 10 to 15% profit on several
million to several hundred million machines.
Which will give you more profit?

I thought so too.

So a upside down look at a New Clone
market. A hardware kept in Apple's control,
and a give away license for the OS along with
a minimal priced entry level mac could mean
a big market share shift.

Why?

Because of Windows Security issues.
Because of Blue Screen of Death and lockups
on windows boxes.
Because the proprietary Office Suites that
drive business now are being replaced by
HTML run suites that are accessible to your
browser regardless of the OS you run.
Because that means you aren't tied to
Windows except if you want to be.

And that may change with some right
strategies and some luck, and some re-
thinking, Not only at Apple, but that is where it
starts, but with the public. All of us computer
purchasers who look at new machines.

As a mac fan, I'd like to see Apple do this, and
hope it is a big seller for them as well.

-Chris C

[Azio]

Oh WOW!

It's... it's... amazing!! A 1.25GHz computer with a quarter-gig of ram and no monitor for ONLY 500 bucks!! Well I for one have never seen THAT before.

Oh, wait, I forgot you could already buy a 2.4GHz Celeron box for $434 Canadian (http://www.a-power.com/sys/ap12-celeron.asp). Looks like Apple's genius plan is shot.

Stop looking at speed

The chips in macs can do more per cycle, making a direct comparison foolish. The OS more then likely consumes far less resources then bloated windows.

If you only look at frequency, that just shows you know little about computers.

[Thomas, David]

You GET what you PAY FOR

Oh lawdy, lawdy, lawdy.

What's to get excited about? The most expensive part of a mac
is the monitor. One of the most prized parts of a mac is the
monitor.

Whether this is true or not, the only thing that would make this
exciting, and a viable option for those that need a mac, is that it
connects directly to a high definition television monitor.
Beyond that, no thanks.

Hmmm. Maybe they did it, maybe not. But it sure isn't worth
while getting worked up about.

[dejo]

Real fun starts when...

"But it sure isn't worth while getting worked up about."

At least, not until it's officially announced. ; )