Apple Unveils New iMac G5s

[g-smooth2k]

Source: Apple (http://www.apple.com/uk/pr/310804_imacg5.html)

Apple Back Pic (http://images.apple.com/euro/hotnews/appleexpo/2004/images/k1.jpg)
Apple Side Pic (http://images.apple.com/euro/hotnews/appleexpo/2004/images/index_show2.jpg)

World’s Thinnest Desktop Computer Features High-Performance G5 Processors

APPLE EXPO, PARIS — August 31st, 2004

The new iMac G5, which begins shipping worldwide mid-September, features the high-performance G5 processor and a stunning new design that integrates the entire computer right into its 17- or 20-inch flat panel display. The iMac G5 packs a complete computer system into a mere two inches of depth — the world’s thinnest desktop computer, with a G5 processor running up to 1.8 GHz.

Apple today unveiled the new iMac G5, featuring the high-performance G5 processor and a stunning new design that integrates the entire computer right into the flat panel display. The iMac G5 packs a complete computer system into a mere two inches of depth — the world’s thinnest desktop computer. The new line offers 17- or 20-inch active matrix widescreen LCDs and G5 processors running up to 1.8GHz starting at just £919 (inc VAT).

“Just like the iPod redefined portable digital music players, the new iMac G5 redefines what users expect from a consumer desktop”, said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With the entire system, including a gorgeous 17- or 20-inch display, just two inches thin, a lot of people will be wondering ‘where did the computer go?’”

The new iMac G5 makes the ultimate statement in design simplicity. The entire computer, including the power supply and slot-load optical drive, is built right into the display and rests on a sleek aluminium foot. All the I/O ports line up neatly along the rear right side for easy access, and with optional AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth wireless modules, there’s no more cable clutter. With its elegantly thin profile, compact footprint and whisper-quiet operation (less than 25 dB), the new iMac G5 is the perfect fit for any room in the home or office.

The new iMac G5 features the breakthrough performance of the PowerPC G5 processor, as well as numerous system performance improvements designed to help consumers turbocharge their digital lifestyle applications. The 17-inch models come with either a 1.8GHz PowerPC G5 processor and a SuperDrive for burning professional-quality DVDs, or a 1.6GHz PowerPC G5 processor and a Combo drive for watching DVD movies and burning CDs. The 20-inch model has a 1.8GHz PowerPC G5 processor and a SuperDrive. With a completely redesigned system architecture, the new iMac G5 now offers up to a 600MHz frontside bus, 400MHz DDR memory expandable to 2GB, AGP 8X graphics and 7200 rpm Serial ATA drives up to 250GB. The new iMac G5 comes standard with high-performance NVIDIA graphics with dedicated video memory for outstanding graphics performance and realistic game play.

The new iMac G5 was designed to be the perfect computer for iLife ’04, Apple’s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications. iLife ’04, which comes with every new iMac G5, includes iTunes for managing and buying digital music, iPhoto for organising and sharing digital photos, iMovie for digital movie-making, iDVD for creating and burning Hollywood-style DVDs and GarageBand, a revolutionary music application that turns the iMac G5 into a professional-quality musical instrument and recording studio.

The new iMac G5 desktops offer a total of five USB ports (three USB 2.0) and two FireWire 400 ports for easy plug-and-play connections to popular peripherals such as Apple’s market-leading iPod digital music player, digital video camcorders, digital still cameras and printers. Providing the latest in wireless communications, the new iMac G5 offers an optional internal Bluetooth module and includes a built-in antenna and card slot to support an optional AirPort Extreme Card for 54Mbps 802.11g fast wireless networking*. The new iMac G5 also includes built-in 10/100BASE-T Ethernet and a 56K V.92 modem for fast Internet access.

Mac OS X version 10.3 “Panther” is pre-installed and delivers breakthrough features including iChat AV, an easy to use desktop video conferencing solution; FileVault, which uses the latest security standards and 128-bit encryption technology to ensure that data in the home directory is kept secure; Exposé, a revolutionary new way to instantly view all open windows; Instant On, which wakes the computer from sleep in just one second; and Automatic Networking, which automatically switches the network connections between Ethernet, 802.11 wireless and modem. The new iMac G5 also comes with a collection of productivity, learning and entertainment titles including AppleWorks, Nanosaur 2 and MarbleBlast Gold. Everything you need for your digital lifestyle is included right out of the box.

Pricing & Availability
The new iMac G5 line will begin shipping worldwide in mid-September through the Apple Store (http://www.apple.com/uk/thestore/) and Apple Authorised Resellers (http://applefn.infonow.net/bin/findNow?CLIENT_ID=APPLE_EUROPE&COUNTRY=GBR&LANGUAGE=GBR_ENGLISH).

The new iMac G5, for a suggested retail price of £919 (inc VAT), includes:

17-inch widescreen LCD with 1440-by-900 pixels;
1.6GHz 64-bit PowerPC G5 processor;
256MB of 400MHz DDR SDRAM;
Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) optical drive;
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra graphics processor with 64MB video memory;
Two FireWire 400, three USB 2.0, two USB 1.1 ports;
10/100 BASE-T Ethernet networking, 56K V.92 Modem;
Internal support for AirPort Extreme wireless networking and Bluetooth;
80GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm; and
Built-in stereo speakers and microphone.


The new iMac G5, for a suggested retail price of £1049 (inc VAT), includes:

17-inch widescreen LCD with 1440-by-900 pixels;
1.8GHz 64-bit PowerPC G5 processor;
256MB of 400 MHz DDR SDRAM;
SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW) optical drive;
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra graphics processor with 64MB video memory;
Two FireWire 400, three USB 2.0, two USB 1.1 ports;
10/100 BASE-T Ethernet networking, 56K V.92 Modem;
Internal support for AirPort Extreme wireless networking and Bluetooth;
80GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm; and
Built-in stereo speakers and microphone.


The new iMac G5, for a suggested retail price of £1349 (inc VAT), includes:

20-inch widescreen LCD with 1680-by-1050 pixels;
1.8GHz 64-bit PowerPC G5 processor;
256MB of 400 MHz DDR SDRAM;
SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW) optical drive;
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra graphics processor with 64MB video memory;
Two FireWire 400, three USB 2.0, two USB 1.1 ports;
10/100 BASE-T Ethernet networking, 56K V.92 Modem;
Internal support for AirPort Extreme wireless networking and Bluetooth;
160GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm; and
Built-in stereo speakers and microphone.


Build-to-order options and accessories include up to 2GB of RAM, 160GB and 250GB hard drives, AirPort Extreme Card, AirPort Express and AirPort Extreme Base Station, internal Bluetooth module, Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple Wireless Mouse, and the AppleCare Protection Plan.

The new iMac G5 systems, including a new configuration without an optical drive, are also available to education customers.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Apple is widely recognised for its innovative and award-winning Mac desktop and notebook computers, Mac OS X operating system, and iLife digital lifestyle and professional applications. Apple is also leading the digital music revolution with its market-leading iPod line of portable music players and iTunes online music store.

[g-smooth2k]

Source: PC World (http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,117655,00.asp)

Stylish desktops conceal the processor, hard drive, and optical drive behind the display.

PARIS -- Apple Computer will begin shipping its new IMac G5 desktop computer worldwide in mid-September, the company's top marketing executive says.

Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, showed off the new machine during a keynote speech at the start of the Apple Expo trade show in Paris this week. The screen of the new IMac is suspended above the desk like that of its predecessor (http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,78384,00.asp), but its processor, hard drive, and DVD drive are concealed behind the screen rather than in the base.

"A lot of people are going to be asking, 'Where did the rest of the computer go?'" Schiller says.

Top of the Line
Three models will be available. The top-of-the-range model has a 20-inch LCD screen with a resolution of 1680 pixels by 1050 pixels. It contains a 160GB hard drive, an optical drive for burning DVDs, and a 1.8-GHz G5 processor, and will sell for $1899.

The new machines have two FireWire 400 ports, three USB ports, audio line-in, optical audio-out, video out, modem, and Ethernet connections at the back of the screen. The speaker grills are concealed in the base of the screen and bounce sound off the desktop up to the user.

The other two models have 17-inch screens, 80GB hard drives, and optical drives that can burn CDs and read DVDs. The 1.6-GHz model will sell for $1299 and the 1.8-GHz model for $1499.

Customers choosing the optional Wi-Fi wireless networking and Bluetooth wireless peripherals need only plug in a power cord into the back of the machine and begin surfing the Net, Schiller says.

The power button is also hidden around the back, the only raised feature on the rear surface and exactly opposite the "sleep" light on the front "so you know where to find it," Schiller says.

"We like to joke that the back of our computer is more beautiful than the front of anyone else's computer," he says.

The machines contain a Geforce FX5200 Ultra 64MB video card connected to an AGP 8x graphics bus, and can hold up to 2MB of 400-MHz DDR RAM, connected via a 600-MHz front-side bus. The hard drives use Serial ATA. The slot-loading optical drive is mounted vertically, top-right of the machine, with the processor bottom left, cooled by three computer-controlled fans.

"We measured the IMac running," Schiller says, "and it's quieter than a whisper."

The 20-inch model will sell for $300 less than the current, less powerful model.

"It really is a breakthrough in personal computing," Schiller told the Apple Expo crowd. "I think that's what Apple is all about."

Also on Display
Schiller's presentation contained almost all the essential elements of an Apple keynote--screening of a new TV advertisement, slick software demonstrations, and a new product rising from beneath the stage to wild applause--but one ingredient was missing: Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs (http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,116731,00.asp), who is at home recovering from surgery.

"He's doing great, and will be back at work in September," Schiller says. "September can't come soon enough."

Jobs will be back at work just in time to play a new Mac video game based on "The Incredibles," a film produced by another company of which he is CEO: Pixar Animation Studios. Shiraz Akmal, director of development for the game's developer, THQ, joined Schiller on stage to demonstrate the game.

Other software showcased during the 90-minute presentation included a forthcoming rendering engine from Luxology, the San Mateo, California, publisher of the 3-D modeling tool Modo. Luxology President Brad Peebler showed the software prototype rendering a scene composed of 1.18 billion polygons in 37 seconds.

Apple's Motion real time moving graphics design package also put in an appearance, directed by its technical marketing manager, Joseph Linaschke. The software is now shipping, priced at $299. The product is priced low because "We want to get this power into the hands of a lot of our customers," Linaschke says.

Schiller also called on a number of his colleagues to demonstrate features that will be included in the next release of Apple's Mac OS X (http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,116935,00.asp), Tiger. It will go on sale in the first half of 2005, more than a year before Microsoft's update to its Windows operating system, Longhorn (http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,117174,00.asp).

"I'm not sure anyone knows when Longhorn is coming, but I know this is well in advance of that," Schiller says.

[mountain_rage]

They need a svideo out, or something of the sort so you can use it as a multimedia pc. That way you could replace all stereo, dvd player/burner. They need a all in wonder type model. It would be ideal as you could navigate your songs and stream them to your receiver. It would just be ideal as its sleak and has a screen.

[Sk8er Boi]

They need a svideo out, or something of the sort so you can use it as a multimedia pc. That way you could replace all stereo, dvd player/burner. They need a all in wonder type model. It would be ideal as you could navigate your songs and stream them to your receiver. It would just be ideal as its sleak and has a screen.

They do come with an s-video output, as well as 2 firewire 400, 3 usb 2.0, 2 usb 1.1, vga output and a composite video output.

Now if only I had money I could ditch Windows and Microsoft forever...