Are new Macs coming soon?

Now we’re getting into the post-Macworld/ Pre-WWDC rumors timeframe. All kinds of stuff being said about the next gen Macs and me being the cutting-edge, rumor-killing guy that I am, I should probably give my predictions. I mean I did SO well for the SuperBowl!

How can you tell when new Macs are on the way? One thing I find most telling about when new Apple products are going to be released is that the Bargains bin at the online Apple Store(the link with the big “Sale” image) is nearly empty. So predictions?

New iMac 20 and 24-inch. What I would like to see Apple do is allow us to use that empty space below the monitor with what I call the “Pismo”. Slotted removable cases for adding or upgrading hard drives with a lever to remove them. Kinda like the G3 Pismo laptops allowed you to do with their optical drives to put another battery or drive in. To replace the drives in the current crop or any model that has the built-in iSight is not easy. I replaced my kids hard drive in their G5 iMac (pre-isight) without many problems, but the ones since have a lot that needs to be moved aside and requires some major surgery.

Seeing how they are desktops, I don’t see much point in making them thinner. Maybe some new colors? Black/red/blue. Some have said they liked the lampshade G4 iMacs. I didn’t and have no desire to see that particular model again.

Laptops. The MacBook Pros need a design update. They kept them looking like the G4s when they switched to Intel to keep some consistancy, but we’re now almost a year and a half since their introduction. I think most Mac people would accept a slightly thicker design if it would improve performance and cool it down a bit. Again swappable drives would be a nice touch.

Towers. Nothing really wrong with the way the towers look. Just keep packing them with whatever the next gen Intel chip is and most people would be happy. I would like to see Apple come out with a mid-range tower for less than $1.5K. Doesn’t need to be the same processor, the Core 2s are plenty fast and this would give some expandabilty for those who want it…like with hard drives, or using the monitors of our choice instead of what Apple decides with the iMac.

Mini: What doesn’t the mini need? How about room for 1 or 2 full height 3.5-inch drives (cheaper and faster than the 2.5 drives they currently use) or a graphics card instead of the crappy integrated Intel. It might make the price a little higher, but could still be easily kept under $1K.

Anyway, it won’t matter too much since I just bought a 24-inch iMac for myself last Christmas and won’t be buying another for some time. Though my kids could use a new computer..hmmm, if I gave them MY iMac, maybe I could talk talk the wife into getting a new tower…nah, I’m dreaming.