Apple Updates iMac

[Ben Tex]

[castaway]

[Ray Finkle]

[devo]

I read about some anti-glare screen covers one time (you know like the protectors they sell for phones and the iPad) for the iMac. They were supposed to cut down on the glare and not effect the overall screen quality that much. I could be wrong, but I think these were the ones.

http://www.photodon.com/c/AppleiMac.html

[Bandit Bill]

I think Apple should offer a matte option as well.

I like the Apple iMacs but they can be annoying. I work with one 8 hours per day. I have a huge bank of windows behind me and at times the reflections drive me nuts. I can't control the environment, I just have to deal with it.

On the other hand, my girlfriend has a 24" iMac at home. We can control the environment at home and I love it.

It really depends on the environment, but being this isn't always controllable, Apple should give us an option.

[drh]

Before rushing out to buy one of the new iMacs, be sure you fully understand what Apple has done to them to (apparently) further limit user upgrade. While there may be workarounds in the future ... it appears that currently, you may not be able to user upgrade/replace the hard drive that comes installed in the iMac.

See the following reports:

http://www.macrumors.com/2011/05/12/apple-restricts-hard-drive-replacements-on-new-imacs-2/

http://blog.macsales.com/10146-apple-further-restricts-upgrade-options-on-new-imacs

Talk about this is rather limited on the Apple support forums, as it seems to be related to Apple policy and therefore off limits as far as discussing/complaining (though there are a few posts about it).

Dennis
_________________
C2D Mac Mini, 2.53 GHz, 8 GB RAM;
C2D Mac Mini, 2.4 GHz, 4 GB RAM;
G5 iMac ALS, 20 inch/2.0 GHz, 2 GB RAM;
G4 Mac Mini, 1.5 GHz, 1 GB RAM;
G3 iBook, 900 MHz, 640 MB RAM;
G3 iMac, 266 MHz, 384 MB RAM;
PPC 8500, G3 500 MHz (Sonnet), 832 MB RAM

[Ben Tex]

[Bandit Bill]

It is pretty ridiculous and unnecessary.

The majority of people who will be affected by this are those that have a drive failure and their iMac is no longer covered by warranty. Being forced to purchase an Apple replacement part at a premium sucks. Especially given Apple doesn't make hard drives.

I don't know who thought this was a bright idea, but it's a big turn off for many buyers.

[devo]

+3. There might end up being some after-market parts or solutions, but that's REALLY, REALLY, REALLY lame of Apple. I mean...proprietary cables and firmware on the HDD? WTF?

[Cypher]

[Smithcraft]

It is a deal breaker.

SC
_________________
Grumpy old man of computing.

[Desktop] G4 mini - 1.5Ghz 1GB 80GB HDD - Newer miniStack v2 500GB - 10.5.8

[Media System] Intel i5 mini - 2.33Ghz 8GB 500GB HDD - 4 x Hitachi 2TB HDD in a qBOX-SF - 10.7.5 (Thanks Phil!)

Make sure it has pins!

[Bandit Bill]

Quote from Other World Computing

"The bottom line is that work around options are in play now, and with further testing, we should be able to be confident in one solution of another. Whatever the solution – the best solution, in my opinion, would be not needing to find a solution in the first place. Certainly it’s a very small percentage that are even going to want, or need, to replace drives in their iMac… Apple made that hard enough as it is… But for those few, it didn’t need to be this hard."

full article
http://blog.macsales.com/10206-further-explained-apples-imac-2011-model-hard-drive-restrictions

BTW this certainly wouldn't be a deal breaker for me. The new iMacs are awesome. As indicated in the article, down the road all drives may work just fine with the new iMacs.

[ez061111]

Over the years, Steve and Team, have made it challenging to modify computers, ipods and iphone. It is frustrating, but part of their business plan to keep consumers constantly purchasing the newest products; the cost is waste and certainly can't be considered green for the environment or to our pocket books.

The cost to get exactly what you want in a new computer may be either too expensive, in some cases still not possible or if you have deep pockets for the apple upgrades...achievable. Kind of a bummer to have to pay the excessive up-charges.
_________________
2.0 GHz i7 Mini 8 GB RAM, OWC Merc Extreme SSD & Samsung Spinpoint
2.6 GHz i7 Mini 16 GB RAM, Samsung 830 & Hitachi
15" 2.3 GHz i7 MBP 16 GB RAM, OWC Extreme Pro 6G SSD & WD Black

[Glenn]

[Rightondamark]

Who actually services an iMac on their own anyways? It's almost impossible for the average user. So I really don't see this as being an deal breaker for fans of the iMac. I know I won't be buying one though. I gringe when I hear the words Apple and proprietary in the same sentence.