New Low End Mac at August 7th Event?

Tue, 08/07/2007 - 2:39am — Quincy Pince-Nez

So we've heard many rumors about the new iMacs and what appears to be the loss of the 17 inch variety. We've also heard that the old 17 inch might be staying on as an eMac.

Add to that the reports of the death of the Mac Mini. This obviously leaves a huge hole on the low end side for Macs. It would be hard to believe that Apple would just cut off the under $1000 crowd (but not impossible).

More likely, there is some low end device waiting in the the wings. We've been kicking the idea around here a bunch and have come up with some interesting senarios:

A taller mini (Steve Jobs likes cubes - we know this) with some real 3.5 inch hard drive(s) that act as a media center or low end computer (WebTV lives!)
Older version iMacs that are drastically cut in price...iMac lite? Emac reborn?
Mini's on steroids! Core2 Duo with 200GB+ HDs and 2GB of RAM, Gig Ethernet, HD Optical
A new form factor computer all together. Maybe something that fits on the back of a monitor and includes a camera?
Smaller, cheaper towers. aybe you can turn them sideway and fit them into an entertainment rack. Mac Amateur, Mac Semi-Pro?
Status Quo. BORING!

Only a few hours left - I guess we'll find out soon enough. Most likely - as Apple events usually turn out – the news will be: 7. None of the above. But we love to speculate while we wait. Any one else have any ideas?

Edit: Looks like Apple landed somewhere in between Status quo and updated mini. Bo-ring!

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Comments

Cube!

Tue, 08/07/2007 - 3:34am — admin

Bring back the Cube!

7. Correct!

Tue, 08/07/2007 - 3:56am — macmanager (not verified)

Apple isn't going to waste their time with the poor people anymore. A computer is a big part of your life and if you can't throw a G at it the nbuy a shitty PC

Lame

Tue, 08/07/2007 - 4:09am — admin

Yeah, that is an elitist comment. I wonder why Mac users are called snobs a lot. Surely not because of this type of attitude.

Marie Antoinette lives!

Wed, 08/15/2007 - 3:18pm — bigpics (not verified)

[quote=macmanager]Apple isn't going to waste their time with the poor people anymore. A computer is a big part of your life and if you can't throw a G at it then buy a shitty PC[/quote]

In other words, for those of modest means, "let them eat PC's."

Geez. Talk about cold.....

PS: my first post here, and totally unrelated, but for those who don't know, I found it interesting to learn that "captcha" is not simply a hiphopping of "capture" (if it is that too), but a trademarked Carnegie Mellon acronym meaning "Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart."

Cube!!!

Tue, 08/07/2007 - 4:57am — macmanager (not verified)

the Mac I always wanted to get was the older, withdrawn cube. it was such an awesome design. T_T

I don't know how the rumors we've seen so far will stack up, but when you look at the Mac product line, it's got

the Mini
the iMac
the Mac Pro

the Macbook
the Macbook Pro

Apple TV

Would it make sense for Apple to merge the Mini and Apple TV? I know Apple TV has been launched very recently, but I had thought the whole point of the Mini was to do what Apple TV is also doing now -- working as a Living Room Media Center. I wonder whether the Mini / 17" iMac will go that way.

I think the one thing we are sure of is that there will be faster, slimmer and "new" iMacs. I would also like to see (though rather unlikely) another Processor upgrade for the Macbook Pro.

Finally, there's a rumored ultra light Macbook Pro; and the touchscreen iPods.

I imagine (hope) that new iPods will maintain current capacities but switch to NAND Flash drives; and will have the 3.5" touchscreens of the iPhone; *not really interested in new Nanos*

And then the ultra-light Macbook Pro. Not sure about my feelings about this -- I would like bigger screens on the iPods, and I'm definitely more inclined to a 15" Macbook Pro (for when I replace my rather old Powerbook -- which is like, in a week :-/). I'm curious nonetheless, about whether these rumors have something in them.