Is there an anti-glare option for new iMacs yet?

Hi Jonathan

I encourage you to send Feedback to Apple about your need and desire for a matte display option.
http://www.apple.com/feedback/imac.html

I feel the same way and sadly over the last year I've considered replacing my 17" Early Core Duo with everything from a Pre-Owned White iMac, a Mac Mini and yes even a Mac Pro.

Oh and of course there is always a way to cloud over the glossy display.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JplqRNxCFDk&feature=fvw

Dennis

I purchased one of the last white iMacs soon after the aluminum iMacs came out precisely because I could not tolerate the glassy screen (and I spent hours in the store trying to find a way to deal with it because I really loved everything else about the aluminum iMac and would have purchased it were it not for the screen) so I too am hoping that Apple adds a matte screen option, or else when the time comes to replace my white iMac, I will either have to go with a Mac Mini and external monitor, or I will have to go back to a PC. From a marketing perspective, Apple is only losing sales because of the lack of a matte screen option. Now that Apple has relented on its glassy-only stance in the MBP category, I am hoping Apple sees fit to do the same on the next iteration of its iMac. Not doing so doesn't make sense to me from a marketing perspective, because Apple isn't gaining any sales solely because of the glass screen, but it is definitely losing sales on account of it.

If you don't need the highest-end graphics hardware, you should consider a Mac mini. I just helped with setting one up, and it is very impressive (especially for being the lowest "low end" Mac option).

He bought it with the lowest config possible from MacConnection ($580, free shipping, no tax). Using RAM from OWC and hard drive from Newegg (about $160 or so total), and the excellent +how to upgrade a Mac mini+ videos at OWC, I upgraded it to 4GB RAM and 320GB 7200 RPM drive (WD Scorpio Black). My experience with opening iPods helped with opening the case (the hardest part of the whole process). He already had the LCD that he likes, and his aluminum thin keyboard and Mighty Mouse from his previous Mac. He can add a second display later, if he wants one.

Although the clock speed at 2.0 GHz is the same as my +Late 2006+ Core 2 Duo 17-inch iMac, the new Mac mini feels significantly more zippy. All those supporting hardware improvements must add up. And best of all, for the glassy screen haters, you can choose any DVI (or even VGA) display that you want to use... even two of them. And one can even be a 30-inch dual-link DVI display at a whopping 2560x1600. If Apple still has a Mac mini that can power two displays when I upgrade my hardware a few years from now, it may be the Mac that I buy next.

You can connect a new Apple LED Cinema Display to the mini using the mini display port. The LED Cinema Display has a built-in iSight.

But then, you'd have a glass-covered display similar to the iMac's. Wasn't the point of this topic to find a way to not have a "glossy" display? 🙂

There are advantages to having a separate web cam. You can place it and point it anywhere, unlike a web cam that is embedded into the top of the display and only points in one direction. I had one mounted on a mini-tripod.

Apple seems to be reversing somewhat on matte screens, with the option available now on the 15-inch MacBook Pro.

Jonathan,
I am so with you on this. I am stuck in an endless loop of staying with old hardware & an old OS. I use Freehand for my work, so I must keep my G-5 iMac running OS 10.4.11 (Thanks Adobe!) I'd love to buy a second iMac to run Snow Leopard & all the cool new Apple apps (like iWeb) and the future releases of Photoshop, but... I can not stand the glossy screen. I have been sending "feed back" monthly for over a year. I do not think they care. I do very detailed design work with extensive color matching. Staring at that glossy screen for even a short time, makes my eyes tear.

I would gladly pay more for the anti-glare screen as well. (I will save money on not having to have cataract surgery when I get old.) I don't know how else to get the message to them!

Maybe you should, try to find a +Late 2006+ iMac. I bought mine way later in Feb. 2008 as an Apple-certified refurb for $850. Mine is the low-end 17-inch model, but it has 2.0 GHz Core 2 Duo and non-integraged graphics (ATI), currently at 2GB RAM. I got it because because I wanted to use my own display connected externally as the primary display, with the iMac's display off to the right as the secondary display (so smaller was better). It worked out very nicely. Oh, and it has a matte screen.

With the Snow Leopard upgrade, it is running better than when it was new. It came with Tiger (plus the Leopard upgrade disc in my case), it can run 10.4.11. You can have a separate partition, or external drive for starting up to Snow Leopard. It is Core 2 Duo, so it runs the 64-bit apps, although it cannot run the 64-bit Snow Leopard kernel, without using some type of hack. Most Macs are currently running the 32-bit kernel, so that's not a big deal, especially since it maxes out at 3GB RAM.

I should have no problems using it for at least another three years, if not longer. It needs to be a LATE 2006 model and one that is 2.0 GHz or higher. The +early 2006+ iMacs were 32-bit Core Duo, and there was a +late 2006+ model at 17-inch 1.83 GHz with integrated Intel graphics (instead of ATI).

Apple Palace may have a couple of refurbished 24" 2.16 GHz Core 2 Duo iMac's left.

http://www.applepalace.com/apple-mac/apple-computers/imac-desktop-systems/imac-i ntel/index.asp

I'd check out den.thed's link - I love my 24"; got it last year locally (craigslist) from someone who had just bought it refurbished from Apple and promptly got Applecare for it. Pretty cool - a 2006 iMac with Applecare to 6/2011! As a bonus, it has the GeForce 7600 GT graphics card with 256 MB which was only available as a BTO option.

Oh. just thought of something, since you mentioned a need to run Tiger. If you find a +late 2006+ iMac used and decide to buy it, make sure it comes with the original Mac OS X installation disc (for Tiger). Since all Intel Macs came with Tiger (or later), Apple never produced a retail Tiger installation disc for Intel Macs. Tiger was actually two releases, first for PowerPC and second for Intel, and they are separate builds (unlike Leopard which is universal). The only retail Tiger discs are for PowerPC. So the only way to install Tiger on a supported Intel Mac is by using the disc that came with it.