How does everyone feel about the Macless Macworld?

rubaiyat · #1 January 11th, 2007, 06:33 PM

Whilst I liked the new iPhone and to a lesser extent the AppleTV, neither will do anything for me for at least a year.

I'm left feeling very frustrated by the lack of any Mac announcements at this Macworld.

My son has $3000 burning in his pocket that he earned over the last year. He is just starting High School and desperately wants to buy a computer. So far he has followed my advice and is aiming for an iMac 24" but with the lack of news both he and I are left in limbo.

If he buys now he faces a hefty upgrade bill when Leopard comes out and iWorks '07 eventually appears. The iMacs are also overdue for an upgrade as well, so a purchase would be bad timing all round.

Don't know how long I can hold my son off and given the uncertainty it may not be a Mac.

Viro · #2 January 12th, 2007, 01:39 AM

I think the wise thing to do is to wait until Macworld is over. Nevertheless, if it is important you get a Mac there is no harm in buying now, and setting aside $200 for the iWork and Leopard upgrade. New models of computers get released all the time on the PC side, and there is much less ruckus about it. I don't see why there should be so much fuss about Apple potentially upgrading their line of machines.

There is no point in waiting for new hardware. Otherwise you will constantly be waiting and never purchase anything.

Thank The Cheese · #3 January 12th, 2007, 09:28 AM

I feel for you, it is a bad position to be in. I've heard some experts talking about this on various podcasts/blogs and some have suggested Jobs didn't mention leopard/Mac hardware because it would have gotten lost amongst all the iPhone excitement. If leopard is going to be the Vista killer Apple is hoping, they would want to give it the attention it deserves. I think this theory makes a lot of sense, but it doesn't really help you in your current situation

My instinct tells me they will have the "real" keynote in February, once iPhone buzz has died down a little. But my instinct is very often wrong.

I agree with Viro though, there is always going to be a bigger, faster computer around the corner, and you could circle the block forever.

btw, you would have to pay for iWork anyway. that isn't free with new Macs, only iLife.

lbj · #4 January 12th, 2007, 03:35 PM

Wow! I wish I had 3 grand burning a whole in my pocket when I was 13...

How about instilling at an early age the value of compounding interest and savings, thereby helping to insure a lifetime of fancy Macs?

I would recommend the Apple refurb page and a 20" Core 2 Duo for a little over a grand, then save the rest. Chasing the latest and greatest is the surest way to churn through the cash.

Satcomer · #5 January 12th, 2007, 03:35 PM

I believe when 10.5 comes out this spring Apple will put new Intel processors in all it's Macs. This is only a guess.

**mdnky** · #6 January 12th, 2007, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thank The Cheese

I've heard some experts talking about this on various podcasts/blogs and some have suggested Jobs didn't mention leopard/Mac hardware because it would have gotten lost amongst all the iPhone excitement.

I think it has more to do with their announced name change than anything else. Going from Apple Computer, Inc. to just Apple, Inc. Let the non-computer products reinforce the decision to do this.

Ferdinand · #7 January 13th, 2007, 06:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdnky

I think it has more to do with their announced name change than anything else. Going from Apple Computer, Inc. to just Apple, Inc. Let the non-computer products reinforce the decision to do this.

I think it's sad that they changed the name from Apple Computer Inc. to just Apple Inc., since, if they would have done it properly, would have done it in 2001 with the announcement of the iPod. I mean, everybody knows it like that, and that has been the name since, the very beginning. But ok, time changes.

And I mean you gotta realize! A few years ago they had the G3 iBooks, the great new G4 iMac Flat screen, the iPod came out, you know, and now they sell mobiles, set-top-boxes and that stuff. Apple is turning more and more over to something what Sony is now. Not a computer manufacturer, but a Electronics Manufacturer. Soon they'll start with photo cameras like they tried some years ago, then they'll maybe go back to printers like the LaserWriters and everything. Many years ago they tried to get away from only computers, but it failed miserably. Then they went back to making exclusively computers, now they're giving it a shot again. Will it work? At the latest at the next MacWorld 2008 we will see...

But you also gotta have faith in Apple - I like 99 % of all their products were bestsellers (think iPod, iBook). I mean they know what they're doing.
You just gotta wait...

Timotheos · #8 January 16th, 2007, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ferdinand

I think it's sad that they changed the name from Apple Computer Inc. to just Apple Inc., since, if they would have done it properly, would have done it in 2001 with the announcement of the iPod. I mean, everybody knows it like that, and that has been the name since, the very beginning. But ok, time changes.

And I mean you gotta realize! A few years ago they had the G3 iBooks, the great new G4 iMac Flat screen, the iPod came out, you know, and now they sell mobiles, set-top-boxes and that stuff. Apple is turning more and more over to something what Sony is now. Not a computer manufacturer, but a Electronics Manufacturer. Soon they'll start with photo cameras like they tried some years ago, then they'll maybe go back to printers like the LaserWriters and everything. Many years ago they tried to get away from only computers, but it failed miserably. Then they went back to making exclusively computers, now they're giving it a shot again. Will it work? At the latest at the next MacWorld 2008 we will see...

But you also gotta have faith in Apple - I like 99 % of all their products were bestsellers (think iPod, iBook). I mean they know what they're doing.
You just gotta wait...

I agree with you completely. Slowly i come across over all these none computer products apple released that never worked and now they are doing it all again (with jobs) and everything they released looks so great.

I have a tiny feeling (thats slowly growing) in the bottom of my stomach that tells me June is going to be a huge month for apple. To me it just feels like the last year or so apple have been building up to a climax of some sort. I bet my money that the whole mac computer line up will be significantly re-designed (appearance and hardware), iPhone will be out with a few surprises, Leopard will be amazing, more amazing than anything we have seen so far and it will change the way we use a computer.

June is the perfect time for apple to do something really amazing with their computers (although they are already pretty amazing compared to the competition). They will have a huge spot light on them from the iPhone release and i know that they know that if they pull off something that changed phones and computers forever one after the other, they will be sitting pretty.

Its an opportunity I cant see jobs missing to be honest.