eMacs Changing?

cool... maybe a whole new imac thats better than the current ones. hopefully the current imacs will drop down to the prices of the current emacs.

The eMacs are due for an update, and not just an under-the-hood features update. The low-end of the Apple's line needs a major jolt of excitement, whether this comes in the form of a headless box, or some new cool all-in-one form factor.

As I recall, eMacs have been there since they were updated in like November. Unless something has changed that I am missing?

$599 headless mac here we come!

I would really enjoy this. A headless iMac for an emac price. Yeah.

This would be excellent. iMac = attached monitor - take the monitor away and you have an eMac. Cool.

I hope Apple keeps the eMac line. The eMac is the continuation of the popular all-in-one Macintosh product. Sure, the iMac is all-in-one too - and maybe it IS time to say goodbye to the CRT-based machines in favor of LCD screen technology.

But update the eMac with the G5 chipset in the 2-3 gHz range, bump up the bus speed to at least 1 gHz, upgrade to USB 2, put in a bigger hard drive and the eMac will be still be a great machine for a few more years yet.

Apple apparently decided that the eMacs got new 'models' when they changed the prices. Even though the 'old' 1GHz Combo drive eMac (at $999) seems like it should be identical to the 'new' 1GHz Combo drive eMac (at $799,) it's not.

The old ones came with Jaguar pre-loaded, and could still boot into OS 9. The new ones come with Panther pre-loaded, and can *NOT* boot into OS 9.

I'm guessing that that 'previous model' one is one of the 'old' Jaguar models. Even though it has the same specs as the current model, it's listed by Apple as separate. (The 'old' 1GHz Combo drive had a model number of M8950, the new one has a model number of M9252.)

The most important fact about the eMac:

the CRT is loved by schools and parents because they don't break so easily if abused by children

The same is true for the all-in-one setup and the build in speakers with the strong plastic grill. I don't think it's wise to leave out a CRT based Mac. It would be good though if they made a headless box with about the same price. There is demand for such a thing, some people just don't like the all-in-one concept or the big tower.

Originally posted by backspinner
The most important fact about the eMac: The same is true for the all-in-one setup and the build in speakers with the strong plastic grill. I don't think it's wise to leave out a CRT based Mac. It would be good though if they made a headless box with about the same price. There is demand for such a thing, some people just don't like the all-in-one concept or the big tower.

Apple should definitely keep the eMac around. It shouldn't be the only low-end solution but for the K-12 market, the eMac works like a dream. And no, it doesn't need a 3 ghz G5 chip to work. If anything, I'd like to see it get the rumored 750vx and keep the costs down (assuming that the 750vx is cheaper than a G4 or G5).