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Mac Musings
OS X and the econoMac
Dan Knight - 25 May 1999 - Tip Jar
Our friends at the Macintosh Broadcasting Company (MacBC) are thinking different.
In the article Is it time for a cheaper Mac?, they propose that Apple wait to release a new inexpensive modular Mac until it can ship with OS X Client installed.
I think it's brilliant. Once OS X Client ships (I'm guessing at or shortly after the Macworld Expo on January 2000), a lot of Mac owners are going to be left out in the cold.
My Mac Plus, SE, and Portable can't run Mac OS 7.6. Neither can my more powerful Mac II or IIcx. The IIci, IIfx, and PowerBook 150 won't do OS 8. The Centrises and Quadras (610, 650, 660av) don't run OS 8.5.
And neither the SuperMac J700 nor the SuperMac S900 are expected to run Mac
OS X Client, although they will probably run Sonata (expected to be
released as OS 8.7).
Out of over a dozen Macs in the house, not a single one will run Mac OS X, the operating system for the 21st century.
Not a single one.
Which leads MacBC to propose Apple ship a less expensive Mac when OS X ships.
The idea has great merit. I already have monitors, a network, and more. If I could swap out a Quadra or SuperMac for a new inexpensive G3 model running OS X, it would be a very natural upgrade.
I wouldn't mind doing it today, but the only options are the US$1,200 iMac 333 and the US$1,600 Power Mac G3 Pro. Both are out of my price range. Besides, the iMac's 15" monitor is too small for me - working with a 21" screen at work, I even find the 17" monitor at home small (see Living Large for a discussion of huge screens).
The release of Mac OS X Client should be a compelling reason for a lot of longtime Mac users to upgrade from our antiques. We love them, but they'll be left behind by the new system architecture. (We'll keep the old Macs. Count on that. We haven't surrendered them yet - and we'll do our best to use them until they can no longer display the proper date.)
I think MacBC is on to something important here. OS X Client can create a hardware market such as Apple has never seen before as every pre-G3 Power Mac is suddenly outdated (at least as far as the current OS is concerned).
Still, I'd rather see Apple release an economical Power Mac before January. It could share almost all its components with the iMac, Power Mac G3 Pro, and even the PowerBook G3. Here's what I'd like to see:
- 350 MHz or faster G3 CPU
- 64 MB RAM, one memory expansion slot
- accelerated motherboard video with 8 MB VRAM
- 10/100 ethernet
- USB and FireWire ports
- at least one PCI slot
- 4 GB or larger IDE hard drive
- 24x or faster ATAPI CD-ROM
I'm guessing Apple could leverage current designs and parts inventory to offer this for $600-750 in an attractive case and still maintain their usual margin.
But to go a step beyond what MacBC proposes, what if Apple released this econoMac in August with a free upgrade to OS X Client - instead of waiting until January to ship both the new inexpensive Mac and the new OS?
At a price that's a reasonable alternative to a 400 MHz daughter
card for my old SuperMac (currently $800 and up), a computer that
may never run OS X Client, the econoMac (or cMac) at under $800
could be a very attractive option.
Dan Knight has been using Macs since 1986, sold Macs for several years, supported them for many more years, and has been publishing Low End Mac since April 1997. If you find Dan's articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.
Recent Mac Musings
- IDE Is Dead; Long Live SATA!, 11.04. SATA has displaced parallel ATA. While IDE hard drives haven't disappeared, the best deals are in SATA hard drives.
- The Future of Personal Computing: Personal Servers and Low Cost Portables, 11.02. With WiFi everywhere, virtual network computing, and remote access, your iPhone, iTouch, iTablet, or MacBook Air becomes a gateway to your home or office computer.
- The Late 2009 Mac mini Value Equation, 10.21. We called the Mac mini 'the best value in desktop Macs' two months ago, and the refreshed Mac mini only improves that value.
- The Late 2009 MacBook Value Equation, 10.21. The redesigned consumer MacBook uses unibody construction, gains LED backlighting and battery life, but loses FireWire.
- More in the Mac Musings 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 Content on Low End Mac
- Quad-Core CPU Makes Sense in MacBook Pro, OS X 10.6 Causing Overheating, Overseas Power, and More, The 'Book Review, 11.06. Also Late 2009 MacBook reviewed, how to add RAM to new MacBook, 18.4in Acer notebook used Intel i7, and SanDisk SSD chosen for Sony VAIO X.
- Dumping Macs for Google Apps, SSD in iMac, Late 2009 iMac Performance Problems, and More, Mac News Review, 11.06. /newsrev/09mnr/1106.html
- WiFi Paranoia, iMac-O-Lantern, Magic Mouse Does Click, Free Clipboard Managers, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.05. Also strange time stamps, problem with ColorIt on Intel Mac, and the story behind OS X 10.5.4 install discs.
- QuickTime X in Snow Leopard Imports, Trims, and Publishes Video Quickly and Easily, Alan Zisman, Zis Mac, 11.04. The long, slow process of importing video into iMovie to edit it, then render it to another format, is history as QuickTime X does that much more quickly.
- More links in our archive.
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.
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