they are not going to be brushed metal, mark my words.

Plastic = low end series

Brushed Metal/Gray = Pro series.

Its been this way for a while now, and there is no reason to suspect its going to change since the MacBook was just updated and is still black and white

Why AI continues to post this completely contradictory statement to anything Apple has EVER done in the past is beyond me. They should know better at this point.

One thing about Apple products... A few years later you look back and realize how tacky they really were. I mean what is that with a 1/2 basketball for a base ???

One thing about Apple products... A few years later you look back and realize how tacky they really were. I mean what is that with a 1/2 basketball for a base ???

I remember the gumdrop versions. They had a 'kibets green' - which looked a lot like envy.

I want my headless mac / iMini update damnit!

Listen to me Steve. It is the sound of money crying out for an updated Apple product that doesn't require me to buy a screen that I don't need.

I'm going to be looking to get a new computer in a couple of months and I'm thinking of getting a Mac, but I'm finding it hard to pull the trigger. I've always had a PC and I've never had any problems. No crashes, No viruses, No spam, not one problem dating all the way back to the early 90's. I just wish I could try out a Mac. I've done the PC thing and the Linux thing. Now I'm looking for something new. I knew about five people in the past year though that have switched from Macs to PCs and they were the only people I knew that had a Mac.

Apple would you please do a "try a mac for a month and if you don't like it return it for free" deal.

The iMac definitely could benefit from being freshened, especially when you look at the apparent price bloat that occurs with 24" iMacs. Just to give you an idea:

Rev. C MacBook Pro
+ 15.4" LED-backlit Display
+ 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo (Santa Rosa)
+ 2GB memory
+ GeForce 8600 Mobile GT w/ 256M VRAM
+ 160GB 5400rpm HDD
+ AppleCare
$2848.00

24-inch iMac
+ 24.0" CCFL-backlit Display
+ 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo (upgraded from 2.16GHz)
+ 1GB memory (upgraded from 1GB)
+ GeForce 7600GT w/ 256M VRAM (upgraded from 7300GT w/ 128M VRAM)
+ 500GB 7200rpm HDD (upgraded from 250GB)
+ Apple bluetooth Mighty Mouse and Keyboard (upgraded from USB)
$2977.00

If you wanted to keep things more on parity and omit the disk upgrade, it's $2778, still putting it within $70 of a very well-equipped MBP. I realize that by-and-large iMacs use mobile components (with the exception of the hard disks and video chipsets), but that price is too close for comfort, regardless of the large panel size difference.

I find myself sitting here wondering if I get an MBP and occasionally hook it up to my 23" HD ACD and some speakers (which I'd rather not have to do), or wait for a new iMac to put things more on the level. I'm just not a laptop fan, and I like the idea that the iMac just needs to be plugged into a wall and I'm done (everything else is bluetooth or wifi).

My prediction on the iMac? Leopard hits in October. Intel's next iteration of Core2, Penryn, is also due late this year. I expect to see a less chunky iMac toting Penryns close to 3GHz, as well as a video chipset upgrade, and 1TB internal disks as an option. LED-backlit would be nice, but I still think that's a year away from them introducing 20" and 24" LED-backlit panels.

the 1/2 basketball was the motherboard hard drive and optical drive, and actually I like the support it has over the current iMac (we have 2 labs of 30 of them)

The problem was the arms, as engineered they where, they still failed and got loose after 2-3 years.

i like falconfire's assessment, now to be dubbed "Falconfire's Law".

we can watch with great anticipation to see if the law holds up past september 1st. i think it will.

The Mac mini line will be discontinued.

A redesigned display-less iMac will be announced in late-Aug/early-Sept at a special event to replace both the Mac mini and current iMac form factor.

Newly designed 20/24/30" Cinema Displays will also be announced at the same time as the new iMac. They will feature an integrated webcam (iSight) and a glossy black bezel.

You will be able to use the new iMac with the display of your choice (ala Mac mini). Or you may combine it with the new Cinema Display to form a single unit similar to the current iMac design (Cinema Display in front, iMac components around back). It will be like sliding a MacBook into a slot on the back of the Cinema Display. With this added flexiblity, you will be able to take your iMac with you and connect it to a display at your destination.

Apple will also move away from using mobile chips in the iMac, instead relying on desktop variants that run much cooler/efficient than they have in the past. Intel Core 2 Quad (Yorkfield) will be featured in high-end iMacs. Intel Core 2 Duo (Wolfdale) will be available in lower end models.

Expect prices to start at $999 for the new iMac (no display) and $299 for the 20" Cinema Display. iMac + Cinema Display bundles will start at $1199.

@ starbrox

Very interesting. You're completely guessing, but I think some of what you said would be great. I too have no love for a computer that has a monitor built in.

Your idea about sliding the macbook into the back of the monitor is pretty awesome. But this puts us back to where we were. If you buy a macbook (which I want to do) you'll also buy the monitor because of that great feature. Yeah, you get the added benefit of being able to take the macbook and leave the monitor, but you're still buying the monitor which brings us back to the iMac with the built in monitor with one new feature. A great feature I think.

Now if the iPhone integrated with a computer via blue tooth and you could use iChat to talk with your peeps... that'd be cool. Dreaming I am...

CRAP!!!!
I waited until after WWDC for this?!?
I wanted to use the computer during the summer when I can, not when going back to school.
I'm not waiting any longer.

re: Falconfire's first post. Read the article man. They may have said something about "brushed metal" iMacs in their initial report, but now they only say:

As was reported exclusively by AppleInsider in March, Apple engineers have been toiling long-hour days on a pair of radically redesigned 20- and 24-inch iMacs that will be both slimmer and sleeker than today's offerings.

The Giz only mentions, "...possibly those brushed metal ones...." which doesn't mean that Appleinsider mentioned brushed metal in their report.

For the record I agree with you about the product separation. It won't be brushed metal as they like to keep their product lines separate. And my 2 cents....its probably just going to be Santa Rosa....

we're not going to see a new imac design until imac: multitouch.

It'll be a tablet with a power doc. there will be a virtual keyboard and possibly a real one for when it is doc'ed.

also, why would they try to make it more professional? have you looked at the mac pro lately? they can't make an imac to compete with that thing and why the hell would they want to?

i hate mac rumors. nobody ever pays attention to the design philosophies of apple or even industry trends. if anybody said "dell is going to release..." everybody would stop listening because the ideas are stupid. apple can't turn shit into gold and that's what these 'rumors' are.

The best looking macs were also the most problematic. The Cube and the Desklamp iMac are icons of design. The current iMac isn't pretty at all. I hope they come up with something interesting or fancy this time.

@ halfro,
The new iMac won't have a display. It will be about the size of a MacBook or AppleTV. We'll call this "the body". This body will attach to the rear of the new Cinema Displays to form the new iMac. Or the body can just sit/stand on the desk and connect to any LCD via DVI/VGA.

As for multitouch... no Macs in 2007 will have multi-touch. But wait until 2008 for something even better. Hint: Jedis do this to move objects. ;o]

I'm converting to macs, and I want to buy the best macbook there is. Anybody know if there's anything going around about a small update after leopard is released? Because, i know they were just updated.

google is going to buy Apple.
News corp will buy intel.
Oracle will buy Amd.