Apple to drop support for certain G4 Macs, Xserves

[AppleInsider]

Apple next month will discontinue repair support for a number of aging Macs powered by PowerPC G4 processors as well as a handful of Xserve products.

The news was relayed earlier this week to Apple Authorized Service Providers (AASP) via a support bulletin that was subsequently picked up by MacMerc. It included a list of Macs that will be classified as either "vintage" or "obsolete" in all markets come March 17th.

Obsolete products

At that time, the following products will be classified as "Obsolete products," or those which were discontinued more than seven years ago. Support for these products will be discontinued without exception, meaning none of the company's service providers will be able to order replacement parts for repairs.
PowerBook G4Power Mac G4 (Digital Audio)Power Mac G4 (Quicksilver)Macintosh Server G4 (Digital Audio)Macintosh Server G4 (Quicksilver)
Vintage products

Meanwhile, a trio of Xserve products (below) will be classified as "Vintage products," or those that were discontinued more than five and less than seven years ago. Apple discontinues hardware service for vintage products like it does obsolete products, with the exception of those purchased in California, as required by statute.
Xserve RAIDXserve (Slot Load)Xserve (Cluster Node)
Owners of these products may continue to obtain service and parts from Apple Service Providers within the state of California.

Apple maintains a complete list of vintage and obsolete products on its support site, which can be seen here. If you own one of the aforementioned products and it's in need of repair, you may want to contact your local AASP in the next few weeks.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[SpamSandwich]

Eck! Ack! Oop!

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by SpamSandwich

Eck! Ack! Oop!

!?!?!

[hillstones]

"PowerBook G4" is rather vague since there were so many different models of the PowerBook G4. However, the last Titanium PowerBook G4 was in 2002, maybe that is what it refers to.

[Virgil-TB2]

Originally Posted by hillstones

"PowerBook G4" is rather vague since there were so many different models of the PowerBook G4. However, the last Titanium PowerBook G4 was in 2002, maybe that is what it refers to.

It means all PowerBook G4's. I don't get what's confusing.

Are you saying there is a spelling mistake?

[teckstud]

Well I guess if Pioneer can stop making LaserDisk players then nothing lasts forever!
It (G4) does seem rather short lived though- doesn't it?

[SHAPIRO2]

Is this correct? I just bought my 1.67GHz PowerBook G4 in January of 2006.

I'd upgrade, but I'm still very happy with it & the speed it provides. Also, the new MacBook Pros are BS. They are ugly with that black keyboard and I don't want to carry adapters around just to plug it into devices.

I may have to go back to PC!

OOPS! This DOES NOT include the last edition of PowerBook G4's. WHEW!

[shanmugam]

new macs in march 17th? (imac, mac, mac mini?)

[Virgil-TB2]

Originally Posted by SHAPIRO2

Is this correct? I just bought my 1.67GHz PowerBook G4 in January of 2006.

I'd upgrade, but I'm still very happy with it & the speed it provides. Also, the new MacBook Pros are bullshit. They are ugly with that black keyboard and I don't want to carry adapters around just to plug it into devices.

I may have to go back to PC!

If you bought it then you must have bought one of the very last ones and you would have known when you bought it that it was a dead end. And three years is better than any Windows laptop I have ever owned by about 1.5 years.

[mjtomlin]

Not my 6 year old PowerBook!!! Whatever will I do? Damn you Apple.

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by JeffDM

!?!?!

A PowerPC chip got stuck in my throat... ahem.

[brianus]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

It means all PowerBook G4's. I don't get what's confusing.

Are you saying there is a spelling mistake?

It's confusing because the article says "obsolete" = "discontinued more than seven years ago." The last PowerBook G4s were not discontinued until the spring of 2006, less than three years ago. So obviously they're either radically revising the term "obsolete", or "PowerBook G4" refers to a specific, early model in that line.

Similarly, my company bought an XServe in October of 2005, so it does not fall into this article's definition of "Vintage." Yet, the article simply says "XServe (Slot Load)" will be put into this category, a description which does match our server since it does have a slot-loading drive. Hopefully they mean XServe G4 and not XServe G5.

[hillstones]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

It means all PowerBook G4's. I don't get what's confusing.

Are you saying there is a spelling mistake?

No. The PowerBook G4's went from 2001 to 2006. So they should clarify which models of the PowerBook G4 are being classified as Obsolete. Based on the 7 year timeframe, it would appear all the Titanium G4's are now obsolete, and the Aluminum G4's are still supported. Next year, the first generation Aluminum G4 would fall into the obsolete catagory.

[Virgil-TB2]

Originally Posted by hillstones

No. The PowerBook G4's went from 2001 to 2006. So they should clarify which models of the PowerBook G4 are being classified as Obsolete. Based on the 7 year timeframe, it would appear all the Titanium G4's are now obsolete, and the Aluminum G4's are still supported. Next year, the first generation Aluminum G4 would fall into the obsolete catagory.

Well now I'm confused also.

This story was on several sites yesterday and the consensus was that ALL PowerBook G4's were now obsolete. I don't see it as a problem either way, but I would prefer them all to be obsolete at once than to get down to version numbers. Even the newest of them are old enough to qualify IMO.

[hillstones]

Originally Posted by SHAPIRO2

Is this correct? I just bought my 1.67GHz PowerBook G4 in January of 2006.

I'd upgrade, but I'm still very happy with it & the speed it provides. Also, the new MacBook Pros are BS. They are ugly with that black keyboard and I don't want to carry adapters around just to plug it into devices.

I may have to go back to PC!

OOPS! This DOES NOT include the last edition of PowerBook G4's. WHEW!

You have 7 years of service support for your PowerBook G4 that was discontinued in 2006. After 7 years after the discontinued date, you won't be able to find service parts for it anymore. What adapters are you referring to with the new MBP? It has all the standard ports so I don't know what you are complaining about. The new MacBooks look so much better than the older models.

[brianus]

Originally Posted by hillstones

The new MacBooks look so much better than the older models.

Eh? The other guy was right; the black keyboard is pretty jarring and ugly. They should have gone with white, in keeping with the whole everything-looks-like-an-iPhone theme. After all the standalone keyboards have white keys, as does the iPhone on-screen keyboard. More distinctive and Apple-y too.. black keys just make it look like another PC laptop.

[Mr. H]

Originally Posted by brianus

Eh? The other guy was right; the black keyboard is pretty jarring and ugly. They should have gone with white, in keeping with the whole everything-looks-like-an-iPhone theme. After all the standalone keyboards have white keys, as does the iPhone on-screen keyboard. More distinctive and Apple-y too.. black keys just make it look like another PC laptop.

Dark keys give much better contrast on a backlit keyboard. On the old MacBook Pros and PowerBooks with silver keys and backlighting, there were some lighting conditions where the backlight made it harder to see the keys! I've got a new MacBook Pro and am very glad the keys aren't white. What Apple should be doing is updating the external keyboards so they have black keys. Oh, and Apple - release them with backlighting already!

[Buck]

That's it. I'm moving to California.

[kambeishimada]

Originally Posted by hillstones

"PowerBook G4" is rather vague since there were so many different models of the PowerBook G4. However, the last Titanium PowerBook G4 was in 2002, maybe that is what it refers to.

Apple names each CPU revision a specific name. For example my MacBook Pro is "MacBook Pro (early '08). If you look at http://www.apple.com/support/specs you'll see the specs that refer to this particular model. Take a look at http://support.apple.com/specs#powerbook%20G4 and you'll see the range of different PB models. So Apple is only announcing that a model named "powerbook G4" is considered vintage.

[rain]

Do you guys think this includes batteries?

[Tony1]

"Vintage"? Hmmmmm so does that mean that my Pismo is worth more now, like a "Vintage" Chevy. So I guess I'll wait a few weeks before I ask $1000+ on Ebay. ...just kidding she'll go with me to my grave.

[nagromme]

Judging by how the list phrases the other models, I'd say only the original (Titanium) PBG4 is obsolete. Later models would be listed as "PowerBook G4 (something)".

[elroth]

At least my iMac G3 (rev. B) isn't on the list. What? It was obsolete long ago? What'll I tell my screen saver goldfish??

[city]

Originally Posted by Buck

That's it. I'm moving to California.

Bring the 10 million US you need to buy a house. I love my cube!

[hillstones]

Originally Posted by kambeishimada

Apple names each CPU revision a specific name. For example my MacBook Pro is "MacBook Pro (early '08). If you look at http://www.apple.com/support/specs you'll see the specs that refer to this particular model. Take a look at http://support.apple.com/specs#powerbook%20G4 and you'll see the range of different PB models. So Apple is only announcing that a model named "powerbook G4" is considered vintage.

That is exactly my point. Some may be confused as to whether or not their specific PB G4 is obsolete or not. Not many pay attention to Apple's particular revision name for each PB G4 model.

[hillstones]

Originally Posted by Tony1

"Vintage"? Hmmmmm so does that mean that my Pismo is worth more now, like a "Vintage" Chevy. So I guess I'll wait a few weeks before I ask $1000+ on Ebay. ...just kidding she'll go with me to my grave.

You do know that your Pismo is regarded as one of the best PowerBooks made. My PowerBook G4 (867 MHz) 15" Titanium still looks brand-new and it will be 7 years old this year.

[hillstones]

Originally Posted by brianus

Eh? The other guy was right; the black keyboard is pretty jarring and ugly. They should have gone with white, in keeping with the whole everything-looks-like-an-iPhone theme. After all the standalone keyboards have white keys, as does the iPhone on-screen keyboard. More distinctive and Apple-y too.. black keys just make it look like another PC laptop.

The iPhone's on screen keyboard is gray. My iPhone is black (when off), so I don't know what you are thinking when you claim they should go white, like the whole iPhone theme. Here is the problem with white keyboards: even if your hands are clean, the white keyboard still gets dirty, and they show all the dirt. So after awhile, your white keyboard looks like crap.

My PowerBook G3 and PowerBook G4 have black keyboards and they look brand new. The black keyboards also work better with the illumination. The keys washed out with the silver keys and illumination.

[xwiredtva]

Originally Posted by city

Bring the 10 million US you need to buy a house. I love my cube!

Check with the banks directly... You'll be able to pickup 3bd/2.5ba for less than $200k near Cup/San/Los easy... Getting a loan might be tougher but foreclosures are buy one/get one. Ca is over 22% foreclosure as of Jan 28th, 2009.

You want a real winner, Cape Coral, FL. 4bd/3.5ba, 3700sq, NEW never lived in... 1/4 mile to the beach... $144k.

I have both MBP designs here. They both look good. The old one is having screen envy of the new one, the new one is having keyboard envy of the old one. I ran some baseline performance stuff today. New one is 2.4ghz, old one is 2.16ghz. Both 2gb of ram, old one has 7200rpm Scorpio Black. Exporting 1hr10min iMovie (09') to AVI was NILL difference (ok maybe a couple seconds). Exporting to Full HD, the new one did it in a couple mins quicker but since total time was over 30...

The new keyboard isn't bad but it sticks out. Would be cool if they painted the recess something. The screen alone is worth buying it.

Wish business would pickup.

[brianus]

Originally Posted by hillstones

The iPhone's on screen keyboard is gray. My iPhone is black (when off), so I don't know what you are thinking when you claim they should go white, like the whole iPhone theme.

Uh... no. The onscreen iPhone keys are white on a gray bezel, just like the Apple USB and bluetooth keyboards are white on aluminum. Duh.

[KingOfSomewhereHot]

I guess I really don't care if my '06 PBG4 is obsolete by Apple's standards or not. If it "broke" to the extent that I needed to order parts from Apple (at their prices ) there would be no hesitation on just replacing it with a new computer instead. (In reality, it wouldn't take that much breakage... a simple dead hard drive would probably drive me to replace the entire machine rather than just the HDD... even the $999 white MB is a much better machine these days.)

[Mooch]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

Well now I'm confused also.

This story was on several sites yesterday and the consensus was that ALL PowerBook G4's were now obsolete. I don't see it as a problem either way, but I would prefer them all to be obsolete at once than to get down to version numbers. Even the newest of them are old enough to qualify IMO.

I'm pretty sure "PowerBook G4" only refers to this model (introduced Jan 2001):
http://support.apple.com/kb/SP114

[xanthohappy]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

If you own one of the aforementioned products and it's in need of repair, you may want to contact your local AASP in the next few weeks.

Well, I own a Quicksilver G4 that I took in for repair a month ago and was told that Apple no longer makes the logic board that I need to replace. I don't mind too much, because I wanted an excuse to buy a new computer anyway, but it doesn't seem consistent with this article.

[Mr. H]

Originally Posted by brianus

Uh... no. The onscreen iPhone keys are white on a gray bezel, just like the Apple USB and bluetooth keyboards are white on aluminum. Duh.

Congratulations on ignoring the points re: keyboard illumination, and on not knowing the difference between grey and white. Here's a hint: in the utilities folder on your Mac, you'll find an app called "DigitalColor Meter" launch it, change the drop down to "RGB as actual value, 8 bit", then mouse over the keys in that screen shot you provided. At know point will the meter show "255, 255, 255", which is what white is. The keys are grey. Granted, they're lighter than the grey bezel, but they're still grey. Duh!

[hillstones]

Originally Posted by brianus

Uh... no. The onscreen iPhone keys are white on a gray bezel, just like the Apple USB and bluetooth keyboards are white on aluminum. Duh.

Since you don't own an iPhone and you had to look for a bad stock photo, the keys are actually light GRAY. The search bar is white for comparison.



White keys on the MacBook Pro with the black screen bezel would look retarded. If you really have a need for a white keyboard, buy the white MacBook. Comparing the keyboard on the iPhone is really stupid considering the keyboard is not always visible and rarely used except for email or text. Also, the keyboard on the iPhone doesn't get dirty like a desktop keyboard would. Duh!

[mn_hawk]

Apple stopped selling the XServe RAID just over a year ago. How does this equal "more than 5 but less than 7"? They are saying something is discontinued based on the date it was introduced?

I'm one to stand up for Apple on most things, but you can't drop support for a product you still sold as NEW less than two years ago. I'm glad I don't personally own one . . . these guys are running away from it like it was on fire.

[TBell]

Your nuts. The newest Macbook is by far the nicest computer I have ever used. My step father recently bought one. First, the keyboard is exceptionally nice compared to the Mac Book Pro G4 that it replaced (don't get me wrong, that was a nice computer as well). Second, the screen is nicer on the newest Macbook Pro. Third, the multi-touch capabilities in the track pad are awesome. Except for maybe the price, I really can't find one thing to complain about. Even that isn't terrible.

Originally Posted by SHAPIRO2

Also, the new MacBook Pros are BS. They are ugly with that black keyboard and I don't want to carry adapters around just to plug it into devices.

[nofear1az]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

It means all PowerBook G4's. I don't get what's confusing.

Are you saying there is a spelling mistake?

yes, there is a spelling mistake.... it's called your smart@ss comment... maybe you should erase it to save face.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by Mr. H

Congratulations on ignoring the points re: keyboard illumination, and on not knowing the difference between grey and white. Here's a hint: in the utilities folder on your Mac, you'll find an app called "DigitalColor Meter" launch it, change the drop down to "RGB as actual value, 8 bit", then mouse over the keys in that screen shot you provided. At know point will the meter show "255, 255, 255", which is what white is. The keys are grey. Granted, they're lighter than the grey bezel, but they're still grey. Duh!

Now that's getting awfully fussy, a lot of that "gray" is within 5% of the white value. If a person has to use a fancy eyedropper tool to tell the difference, then for most intents and purposes in a casual discussion, it's close enough to white to be called white. If it were converted to MPEG, much of the keys could be clipped to white.

Though it's nice to know that tool is there, I never did try it before.

[city]

Originally Posted by xwiredtva

Check with the banks directly... You'll be able to pickup 3bd/2.5ba for less than $200k near Cup/San/Los easy... Getting a loan might be tougher but foreclosures are buy one/get one. Ca is over 22% foreclosure as of Jan 28th, 2009.
.

What can I get near Steve Jobs in Atherton wih the kitchen still in place?

[iPeon]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Apple next month will discontinue repair support for a number of aging Macs powered by PowerPC G4 processors as well as a handful of Xserve products.

Wow... How alarming!

You could have just said: "Apple next month will discontinue repair support for certain products that have been discontinued more than five years ago."

That's the entire content of this story.