Kihei Revisited

I've had some time to watch the Kihei/OS 9 announcement and read the Kihei developer notes. I'm more impressed with the new iMacs than ever.

Hardware

The sad news: According to the developer notes, the VGA port on the iMac DV and Special Edition only supports the same resolutions (640 x 480, 800 x 600, 1024 x 768) as the internal monitor. So much for attaching a nice 19-21" external monitor and working at 1280 x 1024. :-(

On the other hand, maybe someone will develop a workaround - RAGE 128 is certainly capable of supporting higher resolutions.

And that does seem to be the only fly in the ointment, and only one a geek would care about. (Guilty as charged.)

The good news: the new iMacs use less costly PC100 memory, have easy access to the memory slots, and can handle 512 MB of RAM.

The mind boggling speculation: Mac OS Rumors has been reporting that it may be possible to drop a G4 into Kihei, and possibly even a dual- or quad-processor G4 upgrade. If so, Kihei would eat Pentium IIIs and Itaniums (the chip formerly known as Merced) for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Wetware

That's the brain, not the computer. Apple is marketing the iMac as an appliance, not a geeky toy or hardware maven's dream machine. The iMac, especially with OS 9, is an internet appliance. And with iMovie, it's the perfect accessory for anyone who owns a digital camcorder.

These are people who have probably spent $1,500 to $3,000 for a digital camcorder. They are early adopters, users who tend to invest in technology before it becomes widespread. And they are naturals for the iMac DV and Special Edition (SE) - especially the Special Edition with its huge hard drive, 128 MB of memory, and iMovie software. Digital movie editing has never been easier.

If nobody else insists on the SE, these people will drive it to success. It's the perfect high tech gadget for the digital video user. It's as easy to use as a camcorder -- and they can share their results as QuickTime movies, on the iMac, or record them to video tape. There are three easy ways to share their movies with their friends.

All the talk of OS 9 and RAGE 128 pales compared with Apple's latest niche. That's because Apple will own the DV niche by Christmas. Wintel companies won't have a chance. Even Windows users will gladly pay $1,500 for a digital editing station. Then they'll discover the Mac ease of use and maybe, just maybe, never buy another Windows computer again.

Niches have made Apple what they are. Niches are responsible for building the new Apple, because niches target specific users with specific applications. Ten years ago, it was mostly desktop publishing. With the iMac, it was the easy to use internet appliance. With Kihei, it's digital video.

Apple already has more mindshare than any other computer company. Perhaps only Sony has a more recognized brand name. Apple is finally taking advantage of that by integrating the Mac/iMac, the Mac OS, and consumer electronics (especially digital video) in the new generation of iMacs.

For those who want an easy to use computer, Apple makes the iMac.

For those who want an internet-ready computer, Apple makes the iMac.

For those who want to edit digital video, Apple makes the iMac DV in both regular and special editions.

They're all winners destined to further grow Apple's market share.

Recent Content on Low End Mac

• Surprise, Average Broadband Throughput Is Lower than Maximum Throughput, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 01.08. If a service is advertised as 8 Mbps maximum, it shouldn't surprise anyone that the average speed is below that number.
• A History of Apple's Lisa, 1979-1986, Tom Hormby, Orchard, 01.08. Originally envisioned as a business computer to replace the Apple II, the Lisa brought the mouse and GUI to the computer market - only to be felled by the less costly Macintosh.
• The Innovative Lisa, Dan Knight, Online Tech Journal, 01.08. Apple's Lisa and how it paved the way for the Macintosh.
• The Lisa Legacy, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 01.08. We should always remember how Apple's innovation paved the way for all future computers.
• Lisa's DNA Is All Over Modern Computing, Ray Arachelian, Apple Seeds, 01.08. Those who label Apple's Lisa a failure are ignoring the computer's legacy that shows up in every personal computer sold today.
• Blackouts and Web Access, Death of a Kanga, the Future of PowerPC Macs, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 01.07. Also another email client suggestion and whether a G3 iMac can handle a 7200 rpm hard drive without overheating.
• The 17" Unibody MacBook Pro Value Equation, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 01.07. The new model is a bit faster, a bit smaller, a bit lighter, and has an incredible 8-hour battery life.
• How Netbooks Impact Microsoft and Apple, Tim Nash, Taking Back the Market, 01.07. Netbooks are keeping Windows XP alive, which may slow adoption of Windows 7, and perceived value keeps the Mac market share growing at the expense of Windows.
• The Ill-Fated Apple III, Jason Walsh, Apple Before the Mac, 01.07. "...not only was the Apple III mind crunchingly expensive, it was made with none of the passion of the Apple II or Macintosh."
• Apple's Worst Business Decisions: Another Perspective, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 01.07. Apple's poor business decisions predate the Macintosh. Let's hope they learn from their mistakes.
• 2 Apple Failures: Apple III and Lisa, Tom Hormby, Orchard, 01.07. Apple's two not-so-great product lines between the Apple II line and the Macintosh.
• Apple III Chaos: Apple's First Failure, Joshua Coventry, Cortland, 01.07. Apple had known nothing but success with its Apple II product line, but when it tried to enter the business world with the Apple III, the learned the cost of failure.

Latest Deals on Low End Mac

• More links in our archive.

Go to the iMac channel home page.

Low End Mac was started on 1997.04.07. The iMac Channel est'd 1998.06.06. This page and the entire Low End Mac site copyright ©1997-2004 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. Copyright for individual articles resides with the author. All rights reserved.

Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Computers are like that. Please report errors to Dan Knight .

Letters sent to Low End Mac may or may not be published at the editor's discretion. Email addresses will not be published unless the sender specifically requests it. If you prefer that your message not be published on Low End Mac, clearly mark your message "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.

LINK POLICY: This site allows and encourages links to any public page, so long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking the linked page.

PRIVACY POLICY: In brief, we don't collect any personal information unless you subscribe to one of our email lists, in which case you have to give us your email address.

Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Computer, Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iMac, and iBook are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of the individual companies and are hereby acknowledged.