Archive for: imac
- September 14, 2011 2:05 am
With the partnership between Apple and Intel barreling through the tech world at lightning speeds, so making sure we stay connected at these speeds is a plus. With Apple equipping Thunderbolt on it’s latest round of refreshes, it isn’t out of the norm for companies to jump on the bandwagon of peripherals to keep us connected.
Just as it was when Apple rocked FireWire years ago, and just like USB 3.0 will soon start to catch on – we are left with only a few items that are able to utilize the blazing loud thunder clapping speeds on our shiny new MacBook Airs. But don’t worry folks, Belkin is here to save the day!
Hop on in to read all about it!
Students, teachers and anyone else in the education world looking for an affordable “in” into the OS X way of life now have one thanks to Apple’s new student-specific iMac. In order to make the 3-digit $999 price bracket, some performance had to be lost. Still, the configuration isn’t too terrible — 21.5″ 1920 x 1080 display, 3.1 GHz Core i3 dual-core processor, AMD Radeon HD 6750 GPU, 2 GB DDR3 RAM and 250 GB hard drive. If you’d like to upgrade the RAM to 4 GB (and we highly suggest you do so) the ultra-affordable factor is slightly lost. Nonetheless, options are options, right?
Get the new “student” iMac for $999 on Apple.com.
While many men stair at scantly clad women, nerds stare at the insides of plastic boxes looking for the most intricate and tiny pieces of silicon. (Ok, there’s some women thrown in from time to time too…) In that regard, the “PlayBoy” of the gadget world, iFixit, continues to impress and intrigue with their detailed teardown guides full of big, vivid pictures. And like clockwork 24 hours after Apple unveils their new 2011 iMac line complete with Thunderbolt I/O technology and new Sandy Bridge architecture, iFixit is ready to deliver the goods. Try not to drool too much.
– iFixit 2011 iMac Teardown
Just as rumors suggested, Apple unleashed new iMacs today. The biggest upgrades include the highly successful Intel Sandy Bridge processors and Intel’s new Thunderbolt I/O connectivity which first debuted on the recently revamped Macbook Pro line. More surprising, however, is a new option for a Mac Pro-like graphics card by way of the AMD 6970M with 2GB of video memory. With that said, the big question you’re probably asking: Are the new iMacs worth it? Hop inside for a full breakdown…
It’s pretty much a guaranteed bet that Apple will be refreshing their Mac hardware (Mac Pro, iMac, Mac Mini, MacBook Air) lines with the latest generation of Sandy Bridge processors. Current rumors say this week (likely tomorrow). While Apple never comments on such things, subtle evidence is popping up. Take for example, a new Best Buy sale where interested customers can get up to $250 (average is ~$100) off Apple’s shiny hardware. For those who know Apple’s premium pricing and reluctance to offer sales, $250 is quite a steal.
Besides the speedier Sandy Bridge platform, the upcoming refresh will also likely bring Thunderbolt (the new super speedy I/O port.
Who’s ready for some new Apple hardware?
Since October, an ongoing thread in Apple’s Discussion Forums has drawn light to a potential hardware issue affecting Apple’s 27-inch Cinema Displays. The issue according to over 200 hundred responses thus pertains to audio — specifically USB audio, as newer Macs which send audio to the display via mini-Display Port aren’t affected.
At this point, it’s unclear whether the audio problems are caused by a software issue or hardware issue. For what it’s worth, Windows users have reported the same audio problems as well. But honestly, cross-platform audio problems can be caused by both software and hardware.
Either way, Apple is aware of the issue. Though as is common, they have yet to announce any official plans to recall the affected units. With that said, if users make a warranty call, Apple will replace the displays. But be forewarned, the same thread is claiming that even new replacement displays show the same audio problems.
At this point, you might as well hold on to your CInema Display because something isn’t right whether it be hardware or software. Hopefully Apple can get to the bottom of this quickly. There’s nothing like unwrapping a brand new piece of gadgetry only to find that it’s tainted.
I remember hearing the beginning rumors of a touch iMac years and years ago, probably before the first iFone. None the less, this is still a much desired piece to my Apple collection. Supposedly, Apple is testing out panels for a future touchy type iMac. Now, if these rumors are actually, *finally* true, what do you think will come of it? Do you think we’ll have a hit like we have with all the iPhones and iPods we use and fingerblast all day long? Or will the dorks, including myself, just be sitting at their desks at home “greasing” up their monitors and making huge messes.
I like the idea. But at the same time I kind of don’t. I would for sure get some sort of Jersey Shore protective film for it, since no one that reads this site would ever enter to win it, but still. Would this benefit our desk lives? Or should we push for a touch MacBook. I’m sure most of you remember the touch MacBook mod from like a year ago. I think Apple would have more success with a portable model, somewhat like their iPad, just lest party piece, and more work related. I mean, the iPad is more for your wider screened iFapping than it is business.
I guess we’ll see what happens in the future, if these are just stupid iRumors, or if they turn into a reality. Either way, my iDevices probably won’t be able to WiFi sync with it… 
Read more @ Digitimes
- September 22, 2010 9:08 am
I’ve often heard that gadgets/electronics are a waste. They venture into obscurity and irrelevance at alarmingly quick rates and are a real pain to recycle after their useful life has passed. Some people mod said gadgets into a new uber creation. Others simply save hamsters and give them a home. What kind of person are you?
After reading through OWC’s new iMac teardown, I’ve come away depressed. Why? I really wanted at 27″ iMac so I could get a speedy SSD and slap it in myself, saving a couple hundred bucks in the process. But lo and behold, Apple’s our way or no way policy shines though yet again.
If you object to the SSD drive bubble on the ordering page, it’ll be a nice little test of your ingenuity and resourcefulness when it comes time for you to install your own SSD. You see, Apple designed the new iMacs to require proprietary cabling and mounting hardware to fit an SSD into the iMac’s body if it wasn’t originally ordered with one — in which case, the required hardware is obviously included. Furthermore, end users have to remove part of the logic board just to plug in the SSD. Seems like an awful lot of work for a simple hard drive upgrade/addition. Honestly — that’s because it is. Some will flame me for needlessly bitching, pointing out that the iMac isn’t a tinkerer’s machine, and if more power is warranted, upgrade to a Mac Pro. Ya, ok, let me just pull $3,500 out of the couch.
The most disappointing, though unsurprising move with the new iMac SSD option is the choice of drive itself. For an anal leaking $600, Apple will proudly sell you a low-end 2568GB Samsung SSD. People will immediately gravitate towards the storage size of 256GB. But it’s pretty useless. If you’ve read your SSD reviews thoroughly, you’ll know the Samsung drives are some of the slower SSD’s on the block. Drives featuring either Indilinx or Sandforce controllers are leaps and bounds better — even “lower-end” drives with said controllers. Even worse, a drive of that size needs TRIM to keep it performing optimally over the life span of the drive. Seeing as how this drive is both slow and can’t make use of TRIM (OS X doesn’t support it yet), it’s a no-brainer — Don’t buy this option! A solid year down the road, Apple’s only SSD offering is going to c.r.a.w.l.
Again, it’s nothing revolutionary that Apple empowers complete control over their products and aims to make the most money possible with proprietary hardware and software. It’s just that I thought with as much attention (both good and bad) and increased market share Apple is acquiring, they’d look at listening and catering to customers’ best interests a little more. Guess i was wrong.
