[Hands0n]

It appears that everything Mac is heading to the Pro's aesthetics - apart from the Macbooks (not Pro) everything is going to be Brushed Ally



"As previously reported by Degadget back on June 19th, the iMac update due this summer and is expected to be available in 20- and 24-inch versions, while the 17-inch version set to be discontinued. Apple's next iMac revision is currently tracking for release in August, and will have a brushed aluminum enclosure with measure just 2-inch thick, according to ThinkSecret's sources. Furthermore, ThinkSecret's sources says, "The elegant new enclosure will somewhat resemble the current white iMac but is said to feature a shorter space below the actual display, where most of the internals are housed." The upcoming iMacs are expected to be based on Intel's Santa Rosa platform with speeds will reach the highest point at 2.4GHz."

Article Source: Slashdot (http://hardware.slashdot.org/hardware/07/07/07/1223214.shtml)

[chagle]

I've heard this - But I could have waited. I like my white iMac - Just looking forward to the new released of OS X - Leopard, looks like there's some great features!

[Hands0n]

Just looking around my study - all of my Mac equipment is brushed ally (Mini, Pro and MBP).

But I must admit to liking the Apple Mac White - it is striking and engineered superbly. Not sure if they're doing the right thing changing the iMac like this!

[chagle]

Still, I'd be interested in seeing this at Bluewater when they are released!

[Ben]

I think going aluminium with the iMac's is a mistake, they're not Pro machines and I love the white plastic casing they use. The other speculative points, about having a smaller/thinner enclosure and the inclusion of Intel's latest chipset and processors (which scream in the Macbook Pro!), sound pretty good.

Still, Jonathan Ive is an awesome designer, and I'm sure that new iMac's, if the rumour is accurate, will be striking and droolworthy. Fortunately, Ive's designs are so excellent that anything last-gen immediately becomes retro!

[miffed]

Sounds good to me !

I think all the iMacs have been beautiful , My personal favourite is the G4 , with the one grievance being the small screen -( in fact , I am still pondering buying one for my study as an ornament !)

I could live with a brushed Aluminum iMac TBH , in fact I am quite looking forward to it ! it was orginally my plan to upgrade the mackbook , but I am thinking of sticking with the macbook and getting a 24" , shiny new leopardy imac now :D

[Hands0n]

Well, it has arrived .... not sure when. I think it is a tad gorgeous to look at - perhaps even moreso than the white plastic versions. What do you lot think then?

And all that doom and gloom about the Mac Mini has been dispelled with the "New" Mini now sporting a Core 2 Duo processor claiming 39% faster! And iLife08. Cor!! Thats no slouch, the old Mini Core Duo was a speedy-enough little thing.

Oh, and what about those new anodised aluminium keyboards in wired and wireless forms - slim or what? Okay, so I like my white Mac keyboards but ..... as everything is going Ally I am sorely tempted ...... .... These'll have to go on my Christmas wish list :)

[Ben]

Tuesday, when else! ;)

Steve rolled out a very impressive line of 'catch up' updates at their campus. I say 'catch up' because these were undoubtedly updates that would have come sooner if it wasn't for the iPhone and Leopard. Fortunately the overstretch must surely be coming to an end now, and things seem to be returning to normal. I'm still not buying Leopard until they've had a few months to fix it when it comes out in October! :D

I'm tempted by the wired keyboard too, but only if the Return key is the right shape and size and all the other keys are where they should be for an Apple UK layout. No way I'm having that US-style one. I'll wait until I see it in person, the UK online store shows pictures of the US one but I'm pretty sure that's wrong becuase they'd never give us a keyboard over here without the Euro symbol marked. I see they still haven't taken to marking hash!

The wireless keyboard is a bit disappointing. Very cute, but was losing the number pad really necessary? Doesn't have look cool though...

So yes, plenty to be happy about. Now we're on the home stretch to Leopard and our very own UK iPhone.

[miffed]

Looking at the 2.8ghz model

Got a friend who is convinced he can get me one for little over £1k :D

[Hands0n]

Green


:)

[miffed]

,,,Although keep in mind I have been pondering a MBP for months now ... may never happen !
... But if my mate can get this price , then I will be VERY tempted !

got to move house on the 23rd of this month , so the ball will not even start to roll untill then - I have a funny feeling my existing iMac is going to get damaged in the move & need replacing (or at least thats what I'll tell the wife ;) )

[Hands0n]

I visited the Bluewater Apple Store this afternoon with the intention of picking up a screen protector for the youngest's iPod Nano only. About 15 minutes later I left without the protector (more on that in a moment) but armed with my own iPod Nano (4GB Blue) and a Griffin iTrip radio transmitter thingy for the car. More on that in a moment too.

I sought out one of the new iMacs with new aluminium keyboard. They are exquisite to look at - I think a vast improvement aesthetically on the previous model. The brushed aluminium gives them a really professional look.

The new keyboard was, at first touch, quite horrid with a distinct lack of tactile feedback when the Sinclair Spectrum-like keys were tapped. So I grabbed something with print on it and tried my hand at copy typing (which is one of my core skills learned back when I was a Post Office Telegraphist). I managed a fairly good speed, it felt rather as fast as I normally type on these modern keyboards. My error rate was no greater than normal - I did no correction but read the text through after typing it. It was when copy typing that I found the lack of tactile feedback not such a problem. The keys do depress sufficient for a trained typist to gain some feel. But any kind of general finger-poking feels much more cold and dead. Not too much of a problem for the non-trained user I'd suspect.

The look of the new keyboard is as gorgeous as expected from the Apple website pictures.

The Apple Store did not have any stock of the new wireless keyboard - and as Ben has mentioned it does not have a numeric keypad. I asked one of the store assistants who said that they did not know when the wireless keyboards would be in, it could be over a month yet! I asked more about the wireless keyboard and he said that it was the same as the Macbook (not the Pro). I tried one of those out and instantly disliked it - the Macbook Pro keyboard has a much better feel in my opinion.


What iPod?
I had debated about picking up an iPod Shuttle - purely for taking to work and chucking in my [motorcycle] jacket for taking to work. I don't feel at all comfortable using the 80GB iPod Gen 5 for very casual use - it just strikes me as too expensive/fragile for more rugged use. Instead I tend to use it when at a location such as my recent holiday or on the plane to watch movies I'd rather watch than the rubbish they usually put on (I watched Hostel and Hostel 2 on the way over to Turkey!).

But the Shuttle idea started to wane when I got to the store - it seems a decent enough device but I really wanted something with a screen. Then 2GB didn't seem sufficient [it wasn't] and so the 4GB Nano was selected. We already have three iPod Nano in the houshold courtesy of the kids.

Amazingly the Apple Store didn't have any Nano screen protectors, but I was able to pick a pack of two up from the ground floor near Virgin from one of the street stalls. It cost me £3.95 for the pack, and they fit a treat.

One Mac, two iPods
Each of the kids has their own computer and iPod combination - it keeps their grubby little fingers off my own kit. But I now had the challenge [as much as anything is a challenge in the Mac world] of sharing one Mac Mini between two iPods - the 80GB G5 and the 4GB Nano. Clearly, all of the G5 content is not going to fit on the Nano.

iTunes located the new Nano and brought it up on-line in no time. I spent some time setting up a few Smartfolders and Playlists which I could use to selectively load up the Nano. I tend to have a ton of Podcasts - and so these pretty much all had to load up to the Nano. I managed in the end to consume just over half of the 4GB capacity with my Podcasts and a few Albums/Playlists. Just fine for how I want to use it.

It is nice to see the built in intelligence in iTunes which seamlessly handles the different configurations of the 80GB G5 and Nano.

I'm happy :)