[Robo]

Originally Posted by jcoley2 Nothing on the iPod?

Note that these are "My Predictions for the Mac in 2006." I'm sure something will happen on the iPod front, but my post was long enough without delving into Apple's media player!

Originally Posted by Wrao There will not be a mid-range, 'headless imac', new cube...whatever. The mini is the new cube, and the iMac(especially with monitor spanning) is more than enough for the average user. Apple doesn't like to cater to the DIY market, because the DIY market fucks shit up. I am positive on this much.

I disagree. (Duh.) I think that Apple showed a renewed commitment to "headless" desktops when they introduced the Mac mini (effectively replacing the aging eMac). I don't think Apple can take the Mac to the masses with just the Mac mini and the iMac. I think introducing a mid-range desktop will be a key part of making 2006 the Year of the Mac, along with Intel and 10.5.

Originally Posted by The Grim For me, Merom would be good enough for new iMac. Conroe is mean for Desktop, and Merom is for Laptop. iMac is not a very Pro Machine, so it does not need a High-end CPU. Conroe would be more expensive, more heat, and more power consumption then Merom.

I would agree, but you must remember - Apple put a G5 in the iMac. It's clear that they want the iMac to be a fairly capable machine. Also, I'm sure even the Conroe will run cooler than the G5 did.

You have to look at other desktops. Will other $1,000 desktops be running notebook processors? I don't think so.

I think the iMac (and mid-range Mac) will get the Conroe. The Mac mini will get the Merom, and the Mac Pro will get the Woodcrest (it needs to, for multiple processor support).