Νέα επιτραπέζια Macintosh [τέλη 2008 - αρχές 2009]

[Freakster]

New iMacs Still Coming Before Holidays?

Friday October 17, 2008 09:40 PM EST; Category: iMac

Written by Arnold Kim

AppleInsider believes that Apple will still be introducing new iMacs before the end of the year. The site had previously reported that the updates would be "speed bumps" rather than major internal or external changes.

 

The iMac has traditionally shared an internal design with Apple's notebook computers so it's conceivable that they could see the same NVIDIA chipset revisions the current MacBooks and MacBook Pros have seen. The iMac, however, has already been using the faster 1066MHz front-side bus since its last revision in April.

 

The low end iMacs currently ship with ATI Radeon graphics cards with an NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS as an upgradable option. Apple has said they would start building in Mini Display ports into all their machines from now on. Firewire's fate on the consumer machines remain unclear.

macrumors.com

 

Due next from Apple: refreshed 20- and 24-inch iMacs

By AppleInsider Staff

Published: 06:00 PM ES

suming last minute snags are avoided, the coming weeks should bring new iMacs, rounding out Apple's 2008 hardware introductions as the company enters the holiday shopping season with one of its strongest product portfolios ever.

 

Avid AppleInsider readers will notice that our little 2008 hardware roadmap -- published back in August and reprinted below -- has thus far panned out quite nicely, clearing the way for new iMac models to edge their way to market sometime in the next four weeks.

 

People familiar with the company's plans have said changes to the iMac family will largely consist of performance improvements and technology refreshes. And while there's admittedly been few concrete details to go by since the August report, this week's notebook overhauls offer a window into the future of the iMac line, which sports an architectural resemblance to the MacBook lines.

 

CPU

 

While the processors used in the existing iMacs largely resemble those of Intel's current Montevina-based offerings, they're actually a special run of the chipmaker's Santa Rosa-based offerings developed at Apple's request. They operate at high clock speeds and support a faster 1066MHz bus versus the 800MHz of the Santa Rosa-based parts that were available to the broader market at the time.

 

Since then, Intel has unleashed its Montevina (Centrino 2) platform, which umbrellas new Core 2 Duos that are shipping inside the new unibody MacBooks, and are destined for the fall iMac line at clock speeds close to those currently available.

 

Intel has also been working diligently on quad-core mobile chips that should eventually find their way into iMacs, especially around next year's release of Snow Leopard; the operating system will include Grand Central technology designed to leverage Macs with an increasing number of processor cores.

 

As it stands, the chipmaker currently offers a quad-core 2.53GHz Core 2 Extreme mobile processor that sports a similar thermal envelope to the special run 3.06GHz Core 2 Duo employed by the existing top-of-the-line iMac. With its $1000+ price tag, however, Apple may be hesitant to use the chip even if there doesn't appear to be anything else stopping the firm from adopting the chip this year for a high-end iMac.

 

DisplayPort

 

Processor performance aside, Tuesday's MacBook introductions hinted at a couple of other technologies that should find their way into iMacs. The first is DisplayPort, a new royalty-free, digital audio/video interconnect that chief executive Steve Jobs noted would be built into every suitable product Apple develops.

 

"This is what we're going to for all video out on all of our products. It's pretty outstanding," he said during Tuesday's event. "We can do everything [a full-size DVI] connector can do and more -- including driving 30-inch displays -- out of something a fraction of its size. Now the new industry standard Mini DisplayPort. We're building it into everything we make."

 

Graphics

 

The other potential but less certain technology advancement would be a move towards more of NVIDIA's latest graphics technologies. The Mac maker is clearly impressed by the chipmaker's latest offerings.

 

"We said 'this is fantastic'," Jobs said of NVIDIA's pitch to Apple months ago regarding a next-generation part that initially combined the chipset with a powerful embedded graphics processor for desktop systems, not notebooks.

 

Apple currently offers an ATI Radeon HD 2400 or 2600 paired with an Intel chipset as the baseline offering in existing iMacs. An NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT is listed as a $150 build-to-order option.

 

It's possible Apple could use the same or a related NVIDIA controller in the iMac that it enthusiastically demonstrated in the new MacBook lines.

 

Apple to speak on Tuesday

 

The next time we hear from Apple will be on Tuesday, when the company holds a conference call with analysts and members of the media to discuss the results of its fourth fiscal quarter of 2008 and announce how many iPhone 3Gs were sold during its first three months on the market.

Filed under : Future Hardware [ 103 Comments ] Story topics: NVIDIA, Montevina, iMac

appleinsider.com

 

 

Και τι θα γίνει επιτέλους με τα mac mini??

[NemeSis1990]

Και τι θα γίνει επιτέλους με τα mac mini??

 

Ελπίζω η φτηνότερη έκδοση του μίνι να έχει 2gb ram...

[telegamesvg]

Kατσε να δουμε πρωτα αν επιτελους αποφασισει η Apple να βγαλει νεο μοντελο .

[desertman]

αντε να βγουν τα καινούργια imac...!!!!!

[Cue]

Το θέμα με τα mini έχει παραγίνει...ούτε καν silent updates.

[punky]

To silent δεν είναι subtle enough.

Είμαστε στην εποχή των invisible updates

 

Κρίμα, γιατί είναι φανταστικό μηχανάκι. Αλλά φαντάζομαι πως αν το πουσάρουν κι άλλο, θα πάει ακόμη πιο άπατη η Apple TV. Πριν λίγο καιρό, είχα υπεξαιρέσει το mac mini της αδερφής μου, και της το γύρισα με μισή καρδιά. Το είχα συνδέσει με την TV, κι αν είχα κι ένα ασύρματο πληκτρολόγιο, νομίζω ότι αυτό θα ήταν παραπάνω από αρκετό για το 90% των χρηστών. Μουσική, τις φωτογραφίες σου, τα προσωπικά σου βίντεο, κινηματογραφικές ταινίες με το super sleek Front Row interface, ακόμη και το web browsing ήταν χορταστικό στην TV.

 

Κρύβεις μετά το πληκτρολόγιο κάτω από το coffee table στο σαλόνι, και πάπαλα!

Έχεις υπολογιστή και media player στο σαλόνι σου, χωρίς να χρειάζεσαι monitor και έξτρα γραφείο.

 

Όσον αφορά τα iMac, φαντάζομαι θα μας εκπλήξουν με κάποιο cpu boost της τάξης του 2%, την κατάργηση του firewire και ίσως κάνα backlit πληκτρολόγιο με μαύρα πλήκτρα.

Στη θέση του firewire θα μπει το επόμενο "standard that does not exist yet", ένας ωραίος καλόγερος ή βάση για τζελ μαλλιών που θα δένει χρηστικά με το καθρέφτισμα της νέας πιο glossy οθόνης.

[qwertyhata]

Για να δούμε, όλο εκπλήξεις είμαστε. Μακάρι να βγάλλει καινούρια γιατί δίνω το δικό μου MacBook Pro σε άψογη κυριολεκτικά κατάσταση (2κύκλους φόρτισης έχει η μπαταρία!!!) για να πάρω iMac.

[Freakster]

Apple Stops Mac Mini Shipments to Retailers, Says to Expect No More

 

 

The Mac mini may be pronounced dead as soon as today's Apple earnings conference call, as two major retailers in Europe have confirmed to me that they can't order any more of the little computers. While this could signal an updated model coming in, they have been told by Apple to expect no more of it. Their impression is that—once again—the Mac Mini may be dead dead DEAD for real, even while you can still order it at the Apple Store.

It would be weird to see it go in this time of crisis, but being their worst-selling computer, I'm not surprised.

The Mac mini was first introduced in January 2005 at the Macworld Conference & Expo. Labeled by Steve Jobs as the "most affordable Mac ever" it was well received by the critic and public. Apple positioned it as a cheap alternative to the Mac Pro for every PC user who wanted to switch to the Mac without having to buy new peripherals.

However, the son of the Apple Cube failed to grab traction, just like its predecesor. As the iMac and MacBooks kept being the number one sellers for the Cupertino company, the Mac mini kept receding into the background, even while receiving six hardware updates since its introduction. The last one was in November 2007, and it's quite outdated compared to the current hardware: Unlike the rest of the Mac hardware, it lacks 802.11n support, uses the older 667 MHz front side bus and 945GM chipset, which is two generations behind everything else.

If the termination of the Mac mini is finally confirmed, it will be sad to see it go. Hopefully, this may mean that a new update is in the works or that it will get replaced by something else, but seeing how most people don't seem to give a damn about the Apple Tax, judging from the MacBooks selling like hot cakes at the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue, I won't count on it. [Thanks Conito]

 

gizmodo.com

[poromenos]

αν κάνει update πάντως σε imacs(που λογικά θα το κάνει)αυτό θα γίνει σίγουρα πριν την holiday season

[Freakster]

Έλα ρε μακ μινι!

 

/me βγάζει φορητό απινιδωτή, και φορτίζει στα 240

 

Mac Mini Still Alive? New Model Coming?

Friday October 24, 2008 02:31 AM EST; Category: Mac mini

Written by Arnold Kim

MacMiniColo.net, an internet hosting company that has a vested interest in Apple's Mac mini computers, has published a "State of the Mac mini" report in which they claim that they have heard that a new Mac mini is on the way. Specifically, they believe (with some certainty) that it will gain the following specs:

 

- A new Mini DisplayPort

- Increase in max RAM to 4GB

- SATA Optical drive (instead of ATA/IDE)

 

MacMiniColo.net certainly has a financial interest in the continuation of the Mac mini and, as a result, may be in the position to have heard about its fate. The hosting company also dispels the notion that the Mac mini is selling poorly and believes that the mini is still a very popular model both for businesses and consumers.

 

A recent report has raised the question about the fate of the low end Apple Mac, with claims that the model has already stopped shipping to retailers. This report, however, was in contrast to recent claims (March 2008) that at least one more model is on the way. According to our Buyer's Guide, the Mac mini has not been updated for 444 days.

macrumors

[NemeSis1990]

Πότε θα παρουσιαστούν τα καινούργια?

[Freakster]

Πριν τις γιορτές απ'ότι φαίνεται. Πότε ακριβώς; Ένας τζομπζ ξέρει.

[giorgos_k]

Apple: No New Products Before Holidays

Monday November 03, 2008 08:40 PM EST; Category: Mac Pro, Mac mini, iMac

Written by Arnold Kim

Apple has issued a statement to Macworld clarifying that there are no plans for any new products before the holiday season.

"Our holiday line-up is set," Apple spokesman Bill Evans told Macworld.

 

This announcement squashes circulating rumors that the iMac and Mac mini are scheduled for imminent updates.

 

An iMac update had initially been seen as a surprising possibility, as it was one of the more recently updated Apple products. Still, the iMac generally shares the same internal hardware as Apple's notebooks, making it natural to believe that they might see similar upgrades. The fate of the Mac mini remains unknown, as it has not been updated since August 2007.

 

The next major Apple event is Macworld San Francisco which will be held in early January 2009.

 

Πηγή: Macrumors

 

Απ᾽ οτι φαίνεται πάμε για Γενάρη, που σημαίνει καλές απόκριες μέχρι να έρθουν Ελλάδα. Γμτ, τουλάχιστον ας γίνει μεγάλη αλλαγή κ οχι απλά speed bump!

[Freakster]

Rumor: New Mac Mini Coming to Macworld 2009

 

By Brian X. Chen December 15, 2008 | 7:42:43 PMCategories: Apple, Rumors

 

 

Apple will launch an upgrade to its low-end desktop, the Mac Mini, at January's Macworld Expo in San Francisco, according to an Apple corporate employee who contacted Wired.com.

The source, who wished to remain anonymous (to keep his job), could not disclose details about the Mac Mini other than its upcoming announcement at Macworld Expo, which begins Jan. 5. That's where CEO Steve Jobs traditionally launches major products during his famous keynotes (assuming he does indeed show up).

An upgrade to the Mac Mini is long overdue: The product hasn't seen a refresh since August 2007, and Apple computers normally have a life cycle of roughly six months. This long period of silence led many to speculate that Apple was going to drop the Mac Mini from its product line. However, Apple has shown no signs of discontinuing the product. It's also noteworthy that although Apple has been quiet about Mac Mini sales numbers, the diminutive desktop appears to be selling quite well. For example, the Mac Mini has been among the top 5 of Amazon's best selling desktops; it currently stands at No. 3.

Though our source confirms there will be a new Mac Mini announced January, it's unlikely this will be Apple's big product launch at the show. (Last year's major Macworld announcement was the MacBook Air; the year before that was the iPhone.) However, speculation about Apple's next major Macworld launch has been surprisingly quiet, so word about the Mac Mini is the most we have so far.

Here's what Wired.com believes will be in the next Mac Mini, based on trends seen in Apple's latest products:

 

• Similar to the MacBooks, the Mac Mini will sport a silver enclosure composed of a block of aluminum.
  
• Some internal parts will be PVC-free, and combined with its size and low power requirements, Apple will tout this as the "greenest Mac ever."
  
• For video output, the Mac Mini will use the DRM-crippled DisplayPort for connectivity, which Apple is offering to manufacturers for a no-fee license.
  
• It'll have a CD-DVD slot loader (i.e. Super Drive). There will be no Blu-ray player, because Steve Jobs believes the format is a "bag of hurt."
  
• It'll ship with 2 GB of RAM, expandable to 4 GB — up from the current 1 GB, expandable to 2 GB. (The aluminum case should make expanding RAM easier than in the original Mini.)
  
• It'll ship with at least a 160-GB hard drive.
  
• The Mac Mini will come in two options with different processor speeds: a 2.0-GHz Core 2 Duo and a 2.3-GHz Core 2 Duo (up from 1.83 GHz and 2.0 GHz).
  
• Like the higher-end MacBook and MacBook Pro, the 2.3-GHz Mac Mini will ship with an Nvidia video card, making this higher-end model a decent gaming device.
  
• The 2.0-GHz Mac Mini will ship with an Intel video card, perhaps the GMA X3100 graphics card found in the low-end, white MacBook.
  
• The slower model will cost $500, and the faster model will cost $700 ($100 less than the current Mac Minis), in light of the recession.
  

That's as much as we're going to speculate right now. Have anything you'd like to add?

Photo: Apple

 

 

 

 

blog.wired.com

[alexzzz]

(όταν βλέπεις Freakster σε Mac topic να ξέρεις ότι υπάρχει mac rumor)