Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

OWC: Get the Right Memory / Ram for your Mac. Top Quality, Competitive Prices, Lifetime Warranty. Expert Support and Video Installation Guidies too! 4.0GB Matched Sets from $87.99, Options up to 32GB. Click here

Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

Miscellaneous Ramblings

Thoughts on the iMac Price Hike

Charles Moore - 2002.03.26 - Tip Jar

According to a c|net news story last week, some Mac fans are "outraged" by Apple's announcement of a $100 across-the-board price hike on the G4 iMac last week at Macworld Expo Tokyo.

While nobody likes to see prices go up (at least from a consumer perspective), people who waste their energy getting outraged by a price increase on a commodity like a computer, especially when reasons for the change are indisputable and beyond the vendor's control, ought to get a life.

Apple explained that the reason for the price uptick is a "significant increases in component costs for memory and LCD flat-panel displays."

Indeed, given increasing RAM prices plus a worldwide shortage of the special type of glass used in flat panel iMac LCD display production, I have been wondering how long Apple could hold the line on both iMac and iBook prices.

If you've been following RAM prices over the past few months, then you know there have been sharp increases. For example, the price of a 512 MB RAM module for my Pismo PowerBook bottomed out last fall at about $85 but began to climb sharply toward the end of 2001. By the time I decided I'd better make my move in January, it cost me $124.95 for a RAM upgrade from Other World Computing. I checked the current price over the weekend, and it's now up to $139.95.

As for flat panel displays, the strong demand for glass laminate from manufacturers of thin-film transistor liquid-crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels combined with raw material procurement problems have caused a panel shortage, and glass panel suppliers in Taiwan have raised prices

DigiTimes.com reports:

The price of large-size TFT LCDs, including that of 14.1-inch notebook panels, 15-inch panels for both LCD monitors and notebooks, and 17-inch LCD monitor panels, have all increased in March. However, many industry observers now warn that while the continuous price hike is marvelous for panel producers, it certainly is not good news for end-product producers and consumers and might eventually hurt market demand.

15" LCD monitor panels like those used in the iMac have increased in price from $210 in October, 2001, to $250-$260 in March 2002, a jump of 19-24%.

If Apple is to be faulted, it would have to be because the writing was already on the wall last December when they would have been finalizing prices for the iMac. However, if they already had a stock of RAM and LCD displays purchased at the depressed prices of last year, why not pass them on to the early adopter iMac purchasers for as long as they could? And, of course, the low-ball prices helped in the with the initial publicity impact of the new model.

Even at US$1,399-1,899, the G4 iMac is a whale of a deal. When it was discontinued last spring, the basic 450 MHz G4 Cube with a DVD drive, 64 MB of RAM, and a 20 GB hard drive was selling for $1,299. When you added a 15 " Apple Studio Display, that bumped the total cost up to $1,898, or just a buck less than the high-end 800 MHz iMac with a 15" LCD display; SuperDrive for playing and burning custom CDs and DVDs; 256 MB RAM; a 40 GB hard drive; and nVidia GeForce2 MX graphics with 32 MB of DDR memory.

Viewed in that context, the new iMac is still a stupendous deal even at the new prices.

Charles Moore has been a freelance journalist since 1987 and began writing for Mac websites in May 1998. His The Road Warrior column is a regular feature on MacOpinion, and he is a news editor and columnist at Applelinks.com. If you find his articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.

Recent Miscellaneous Ramblings

WiFi Paranoia, iMac-O-Lantern, Magic Mouse Does Click, Free Clipboard Managers, and More, 11.05. Also strange time stamps, problem with ColorIt on Intel Mac, and the story behind OS X 10.5.4 install discs.
Google Chrome Mac Preview Has Made a Convert, 11.02. Officially a developer preview, Google's Chrome has finally made it to Intel-based Macs. It's fast, elegant, and could be your next browser.
Fixing a Narcoleptic PowerBook G4, the Future of Tiger Support, Spam Filtering, and More, 10.28. Also installing Leopard, disappearing features, portable Thunderbird, and web page design issues.
2 Wireless Alternatives to Apple's Magic Mouse, 10.27. Whether you prefer buttons to buttonless, are still using Mac OS X 10.4, or don't like Bluetooth, Targus has mice to consider.
More in the Miscellaneous Ramblings index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: 17" iMac G4/800 MHz, July 2002 - The iMac 'grows up' with a 17" 1440 x 900 display.
Group of the Day: LisaList supports Lisa users.
November 8 in LEM history: 99: OS 9: I think I like it - 01: The simplified Mac life - Soured on Windows - Flea market Mac - 02: Little room for improvement in new 'Books - Combo drive upgrade for iceBooks - 04: Re-Porter - 05: Fix the old iMac or buy a Mac mini? - Apple's Copland project - 06: MacBook Core 2 - MacBook value equation - Cheap is as cheap does - 07: Problems with Classic mode in Tiger - The G4 Power Mac that won't run Leopard
Support Low End Mac

Recent Deals

Best Mac Pro Deals, 11.03. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 8-core. $2,299; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.26 8-core, $2,799; 2.93, $4,999.
Best iPhone Deals, 11.03. New 8 GB iPhone 3G, $$99; refurb 16 GB 3GS, $149; new, $199; 32 GB, $299.
Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.03. Used 867 MHz SperDrive, $348; 1 GHz, $499; 1.33 Combo, $298; SD, $559; 1.5 Combo, $448; SuperDrive, $589.
Best Power Mac G3 and PCI Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used beige 300 MHz, $25; G4/366, $49; blue & white 350, $80; 400, $90; 450, $105; PCI video cards from $15; shipping additional.
Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used 400 MHz, $50; 733 MHz, $69; 933 MHz, $209; 1.25 GHz dual, $299.
Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 11.02. Used 2.0 GHz, $800; 2.2, $900; 2.4, $1,000; refurb 2.53, $1,449; 2.66, $1,699; 2.8, $1,949; 3.06, $2,169; new 2.53, $1,579; 2.66, $1,799; more.
Best Mac mini Deals, 10.30. Used 1.33 GHz G4 mini, $379; 1.42, $389; 1.5, $419; 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $350; Core 2, $439; new 2.26 GHz nVidia, $580; 2.53 GHz, $770; Server, $990.
Best G4 iBook Deals, 10.30. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo, $225; 1.33 GHz, $298; 14" 1 GHz, $349; 1.33 GHz, $398; 1.42 GHz SuperDrive, $498.
Best Classic Mac OS Deals, 10.30. System 6.0.8 floppies, $10; 7.1, $12; 7.5, $20; 7.5 CD, $4; 7.6 $13; 8.1, $11; 8.5, $20; 8.6, $90; 9.0, $20; 9.2.2, $30.
More deals in our archive.

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Miscellaneous Ramblings ©1999-2009 by Charles W. Moore. Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2009 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.