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New Entry Level 21.5-inch iMac

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Re: New Entry Level 21.5-inch iMac

#101

Post by mturmon »

MrBuddyCasino wrote: post #93
dsr_ wrote: post #21

This has a 1920x1080 display. I fail to understand why someone would buy this over a Mac Mini and an external display: cheaper, more powerful, ability to change displays, only two more cables (power and data for the display). Anyone care to enlighten me?

Assuming that you are knowledgeable about computers and not just looking for the most simple solution, its aesthetics and simplicity. Well engineered up to the very last detail, beautiful, great software, very good hardware. There is no real competition in this space (unfortunately), so people pay a premium. If you care about how your room feels, let me tell you: it feels a lot better with an iMac instead of some ugl…

"If you care about how your room feels, let me tell you: it feels a lot better with an iMac instead of some ugly 3rd party monitor..."

Agreed. You'll see a lot of iMacs at design-conscious shops like art galleries and boutiques, and in architects' homes. These applications/people have different objective functions than many HN readers.

Re: New Entry Level 21.5-inch iMac

#102

Post by mikeash »

Pxtl wrote: post #96
gambiting wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my experience of looking for an all-in-one: if you want apple-quality but from any other manufacturer, be prepared to actually spend more money than you would on an iMac. Obviously with an iMac you are not getting a touchscreen that is standard on every other AiO,but I can't say I would use such feature.

Wait, iMacs don't have a touch-screen? I honestly didn't know that. This says both a lot about touch-screens and about how little I know about iMacs.

Apple's only puts touchscreens on devices that run iOS.

Touchscreens on computers running desktop OSes can be useful, but they're also pretty deeply compromised due to the "gorilla arm" effect and the fact that the UI is just not designed for it. That's fine for some people and companies but it's not how Apple does things.

Re: New Entry Level 21.5-inch iMac

#103

Post by thecosas »

Pxtl wrote: post #96
gambiting wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my experience of looking for an all-in-one: if you want apple-quality but from any other manufacturer, be prepared to actually spend more money than you would on an iMac. Obviously with an iMac you are not getting a touchscreen that is standard on every other AiO,but I can't say I would use such feature.

Wait, iMacs don't have a touch-screen? I honestly didn't know that. This says both a lot about touch-screens and about how little I know about iMacs.

I used to work in an Apple Store. People would constantly touch the iMac screens. It got much worse after iPads were all over the place.

You are not alone :o)

Re: New Entry Level 21.5-inch iMac

#104

Post by mikeash »

ansimionescu wrote: post #8
ChikkaChiChi wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These are new models at new price points. It's Apple attempting to be "budget"

I bought an iMac in 2012 for £860 (student discount, original price £1000) and sold it one and a half years later for £600. I also bought a 13" Sony Vaio S for around £1200 in 2011 and had to sell it 6 months later, because it was a total piece of shit. I got £650 for it. So I'd argue that buying cheap plastic crap is in fact the non-budget option.

That's how it always is. See the Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/72745-the-reason-that-the-ri...

Re: New Entry Level 21.5-inch iMac

#105

Post by dublinben »

gambiting wrote: post #76
Pxtl wrote: post #69

This is really closing the already-small-gap between Apple and their competitors in the All-in-one space. I've been shopping for an All-in-one and it's thoroughly unimpressive - to get something with Apple-level quality, you really have to pay an Apple-level price... and at that point, you start wondering why shop with a brand with a worse reputation than Apple? I mean, I like Asus hardware, but I wouldn't want to pa…

In my experience of looking for an all-in-one: if you want apple-quality but from any other manufacturer, be prepared to actually spend more money than you would on an iMac. Obviously with an iMac you are not getting a touchscreen that is standard on every other AiO,but I can't say I would use such feature.

Could you elaborate a little on why you're looking for an AiO computer? I've always seen them as overpriced, underpowered computers for people who don't really want a computer. I don't know why anyone on HN would be in the market for one.

Re: New Entry Level 21.5-inch iMac

#106

Post by Pxtl »

mikeash wrote: post #102
Pxtl wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait, iMacs don't have a touch-screen? I honestly didn't know that. This says both a lot about touch-screens and about how little I know about iMacs.

Apple's only puts touchscreens on devices that run iOS. Touchscreens on computers running desktop OSes can be useful, but they're also pretty deeply compromised due to the "gorilla arm" effect and the fact that the UI is just not designed for it. That's fine for some people and companies but it's not how Apple does things.

Of course. In hindsight it's obvious - Apple does something right or not-at-all, and Touchscreens on a normal desktop interface isn't "right". Hence the MS invention of Metro interface and the new shallow-slanting all-in-one devices to avoid gorilla-arm.

Re: New Entry Level 21.5-inch iMac

#107

Post by neovive »

morty16 wrote: post #25
dsr_ wrote: post #21

This has a 1920x1080 display. I fail to understand why someone would buy this over a Mac Mini and an external display: cheaper, more powerful, ability to change displays, only two more cables (power and data for the display). Anyone care to enlighten me?

This is for the education market, IMO.

It's definitely an interesting option for schools with a need for larger computers that also have space for labs. For schools with smaller budgets and space constraints, it's hard to compete with Chromebooks for price and portability. It really comes down to the intended use: students working on graphics, game design, video, etc. will benefit greatly from iMacs; students learning typing and/or basic programming do well on Chromebooks.

Re: New Entry Level 21.5-inch iMac

#108

Post by joezydeco »

judk wrote: post #98
joezydeco wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Always buy refurbished directly from Apple. You get a full year of AppleCare warranty attached to the purchase and can buy more years of AppleCare after that. http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals When a new model launches, that's the best time to buy refurbs on the older stuff. The older Macbook Airs are going for 35-40% off list right now.

Only if you like to upgrade frequently. Otherwise your prev gen refurbished will run into non-support for the next OS or hardware innovation.

Perhaps for iOS devices, but the desktop stuff can run for a long time on older hardware.

I'm personally using a refurbed Early 2008 iMac that runs Mavericks just fine. It needed more RAM and hard drive space, but that was nothing that I couldn't have purchased when I bought the machine.

Re: New Entry Level 21.5-inch iMac

#109

Post by grecy »

tmikaeld wrote: post #5

Too bad Hackintoshes are illegal, could get a lot more hardware for that kind of money.

I had a hackintosh Dell Mini 9 netbook that I used as my primary machine for 2 years.

As far as hackintosh's go, I think it's accepted that piece of hardware is one of the best supported ever. All the hardware worked flawlessly, all the time. It even slept and work up.

Even still, there were a hundred little things that it did (or didn't do) compared to Apple hardware running OS X. After all those years, the choice was very simple. I bought a MacBook Air, and I've never regretted it.

Re: New Entry Level 21.5-inch iMac

#110

Post by kennyledet »

cmelbye wrote: post #65
dsr_ wrote: post #21

This has a 1920x1080 display. I fail to understand why someone would buy this over a Mac Mini and an external display: cheaper, more powerful, ability to change displays, only two more cables (power and data for the display). Anyone care to enlighten me?

Simplicity? My grandma doesn't want to buy an "external display", she would truly have no idea where to even start to do that. And then after she's got the Mac mini, the external display, and the cable to connect the display (assuming she was able to find the right one,) someone then has to set it up for her. Compare that to an iMac. Go to the Apple store, drop $1k, take it home, plug in the power cable, and she's on…

> My grandma doesn't want

I strongly dislike when people use the "my grandma" argument. So what you're saying is either you're also as technically challenged or you're just an ass for not helping her and letting her go with the less optimal purchase because it's easier to set up.

Dropping $1k to browse Facebook does not make sense, and it never will, I'm sorry.

Disclaimer: I own a late 2013 rMBP.

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