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Already Waiting for AIO 2 (3/31/98)
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Or, there's also the possibility posted by Mac OS Rumors that the AIO will include a sub-$1000 configuration after all. Recall, if you will, that Apple's currently working on the educational version of its online build-to-order Apple Store. If you've visited the Store's current incarnation (and if you haven't, where on earth is your spirit of adventure?) you know that for any build-to-order product, the shopper is first presented with a preconfigured choice between Good, Better, and Best configurations. The Good system is typically a stripped-down base model. For folks with a little more cash on hand, the Better config provides some happy little plusses like extra RAM and a faster processor. And the Best config typically includes all the bells and whistles imaginable and costs more than the national defense budget for many small-to-middling countries.
Now, let's blithely assume that Rumors' sources in the educational channel are telling the truth when they say that Apple's continuing the Good/Better/Best model in the forthcoming Apple Store for Education. According to Rumors, the Best option for educational buyers will be a standard G3 desktop and monitor bundle, probably running at over $2000. The Better option will be a $1300-$1500 AIO model. And the bargain-basement Good? That configuration is currently on hold, "pending an announcement... in April or May," which is expected to bring news of a G3-based system hitting the long-sought-after $1000 price point.
Could it be a Mac NC? Possibly, but given that the announcement is expected no later than two months from now, it's very unlikely. The best bet is a stripped-down AIO, perhaps running a cacheless 740 chip at a relatively slow clock speed, with a smaller hard disk and without the video extras in the current models. Still, it's hard to imagine what Apple could pull out of the existing AIO to drop the price another $400. Guess we'll all have to wait and see.
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SceneLink (585)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 3/31/98 episode: March 31, 1998: Artemis has arrived, and not a minute too soon-- the flashy toothlike beast aims to do some damage in the educational market. Meanwhile, the mad geeks chained to their desks in Apple's labs continue to try to squeeze the Artemis down to a $1000 level, and Boca beats Apple to the Global Village checkout counter...
Other scenes from that episode: 584: Artemis Has Landed (3/31/98) Apple officially announced the Power Macintosh All-In-One today (the Mac Formerly Known As Artemis), sooner than we had expected, but later than we had originally hoped. The good news is, pretty much all of the rumors about its specs have proven true: it's got a 233 or 266 MHz G3 chip (a full 750 with 512 KB backside cache, not the cacheless 740 model); it's got an integrated 15-inch monitor capable of displaying 1024x768 resolution; and it'll ship standard with 32 MB of RAM, a 24x CD-ROM drive, and a 4 GB (not 2 GB) hard drive... 586: GV Sheds Its Modems (3/31/98) So much for rumors about Apple buying Global Village-- turns out Boca bought them instead. For a measly $10 mil, Boca gets all of Global Village's modem business, including the brand name and logo. Details are in a Reuters story. After the transfer of its modem business to Boca, the Company Formerly Known As Global Village will re-emerge with a new name and a new stock ticker symbol, at which point they'll leap feet first into marketing their new product: a communications server designed for small businesses which provides fax, internet, and remote access services...
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