Think Secret reports that Apple is going to make an announcement of a headless (no monitor) iMac at MacWorld san Francisco and I am very excited at the prospect.
According to the report, the idea is to get a machine below $500 to attract Windows users currently using iPods who might buy Macs if the prices were just a bit lower. This machine certainly would achieve that goal, feeling like an iBook, but looking more like a white XServe / or closed laptop. To me, this type of box represents a machine most Mac users would want!
A headless machine is perfect for a home server! It takes little space either under an existing iMac (I have the 15″ 800MHz version) or taking up a small corner on your desk, or even in a closet. You can operate the whole thing via Apple Remote Desktop connect all your peripherals and run iTunes, file and print sharing, scheduling, sync your handhelds etc and etc…
Even though it would be considered a lower end machine by desktop standards there would be more than enough juice to handle all of the tasks and more I just mentioned. Our current home machine, that trusty iMac has been doing just that for a few years and has yet to let me down. You could utilize the DVI or VGA connector to use the machine as a great home theater mac as well … something I’ve often wondered just how to do with my current iMac since the monitor, while nice to look at, would stand out a bit much in my stereo rack. Home automation would be another simple to add feature / task for a machine like this…
I really hope this is true. A machine like this would really be a great addition to any Mac home.
I agree. I just hope they don’t make it white. Silver or Black would match most televisons.
This could really shake things up if Apple can Grand Slam this intro.
I hope this is the first step in Apple’s living room Blitzkrieg. If they also offered a 6×8 wifi / bluetooth “web pad-controller”, they would own the living room and a lot more. I’m taking the requisite software for granted, of course.
Re a bluetooth pad-controller: this can already be done with Salling Clicker software and a bluetooth-enabled Nokia or Ericsson cell phone or Palm PDA.
but wouldn’t that sort of jeopardize the supposed “home entertainment server” wallstreet analysts have been talking about? if apple ever does intro such a device, I’ll prolly have shinier specs than a headless Imac. but if they do release this headless Imac as the kind of device meant for the uses you mentioned, then that would point to the home entertainment server. And the specs dont match. So, either they wont release a home enrtainment server or the Headless Imac wont be designed for the uses we mentioned. sorry
They could certainly be the same and the purpose is getting confused through leaks… Selling the box as a desktop is a tough one when Apple no longer offers inexpensive monitors. Just a guess…
It’s all speculation at this point. Whatever it is (if anything) will be presented with some serious Steve polish, so it should all make sense soon enough.
I have the Sony Clie NZ-90 and, with Clicker, it works great for controlling i-tunes (and other stuff). It fails in three major areas- web surfing, battery life, and mac integration. The screen is very sharp but it’s too small for the web (landscape mode would solve part of the problem but Sony punted) and the WiFi burns through the battery quickly. Hell, even the built-in BT is pretty power hungry. And the Missing Synch isn’t as integrated as I would like.
If Apple builds the web-pad they will own the living room and possibly the whole HA market. The reality is we already have a “server” in our primary computer and can get audio to the living room for $129 with AirPort Express. The video side of things hasn’t been addressed yet and that probably requires a box, but a Tivo is still cheaper. A thin and efficient WebPad is the missing key. It would shake up the entire home automation industry.