[da_n]

I too find that design decision perplexing. Personally, it is ongoing choices like these which have pretty much made me decide to build a hackintosh instead and in the long run move away from Apple to Linux (only Photoshop holding me back now Adobe!). I have been using Apple computers for more than a decade so it has not been an easy choice. If I continue to stick with Apple however my hardware choices are:

1. Mac Pro - gouging prices, several generation old tech. 2. iMac - a Macbook Air in a monitor, practically zero expansion options. 3. Mac Mini - poor expansion options, poor graphics, expensive once you start adding the ram you need etc.

Seem to me Apple is now almost entirely focused on iOS and iDevices, which is understandable as that's where the money is. I don't see them investing anything much into the desktop computer line at all going forward. Time to move on.

[Osmium]

Mac Pros are due for a significant update. That aside, I think it's disingenuous to say that they're not investing anything into their desktop line. These are the most powerful, most power efficient, computers they've ever released. How different do you really think they'd be if the iPhone/iPad didn't exist? The iMac has never had good expansion options, all the way back to its inception, so this should come as no surprise.

[da_n]

New Mac Pros won't be out till the end of next year, and no one knows what these are going to be. If Apple made a cheaper Mac (sans the 'Pro') with current high-end consumer components I would seriously consider it, but I can't hang-on another year playing wait and see and there isn't really anything tying me down to OS X anymore except Adobe CS. I guess what they think I need is the iMac, but it is too much of a compromise for me. I own a 2009 iMac, and I never really considered it a 'desktop'. It is a screen with a laptop stuffed inside it and it shows; I can't even watch YouTube 720p without the fans coming on full. I am tired of compromising on speed and power for just OS X and nice aesthetics, so I simply will not consider an iMac over a custom built PC for the sole advantage of having a 5mm edge. Building something myself means I get a ludicrously powerful i5 desktop with GTX 680, 16GB ram, 256gb SSD, 1TB HDD, Thunderbolt, USB 3, and a nice IPS monitor for around $1500. I am super happy they made the iPhone/iPad as I own both and the industry needed it, but I do think it has drawn their focus away from the desktop and it is much lower as a priority. Not saying they are going to abandon the desktop line tomorrow however I struggle to believe it will still be around in 5-10 years; I don't want to carry on investing in a low priority OS and Linux is much more mature than it used to be. I am probably in the 10-20% of computer users that Apple doesn't cater to, so I don't think they will lose sleep over it.

- Edited for clarity.

[Osmium]

I certainly agree with a lot of this. The lack of a pro machine is certainly a disgrace at the moment. I sometimes wonder if the decisions Apple made when computers were its entire business now need to be revisited now they've diversified a bit. I think they can afford to compete on price now, and not price gouge over BTO options. They've started being more reasonable with RAM prices, but they have a long way to go.

For what it's worth, your YouTube issues are down to Flash. I have an older iMac (2007) and 720p runs fine for me in HTML5.

[da_n]

Agreed, I really wish they had revisited it. I wonder if it was the failure of the Cube that made the mid-tier Mac disappear? I suppose it could be the Mac Mini which replaced it ultimately, I seem to remember the Cube was pretty underpowered.

Anyway thanks for the YouTube tip, I have tried the HTML5 version a few times and it is certainly less taxing on resources (just H264 without the Flash wrapper I guess). Can't remember why I went back to Flash, think I just had a few weird glitches in playback, I'll try it again.