Year of the powerbook indeed!
The power consumption of a 970 is higher then a g4, but lower then a pentium 4. even the 4m need 24 watts to work at 1.6ghz
at 1.1 ghz the 970 only need 19 watts. i think the 970 at low ghz can happen in a powerbook, even this year if they wanted to.
http://www.arstechnica.com/cpu/02q2/.../ppc970-1.html
at 1.1 ghz the 970 only need 19 watts. i think the 970 at low ghz can happen in a powerbook, even this year if they wanted to.
http://www.arstechnica.com/cpu/02q2/.../ppc970-1.html
Comments
I totally expect PPC970 powerbooks. Or elese powerbook sales to flag like current PMacs, as people 'wait' for a 970 powerbook. Like I'd buy a G4 powerbook after seeing 970 specs.
I hope the 970 Powerbooks would be released at the same time as the Powermacs... (at WWDC). But I wouldn't be surprised if they came out a few months later (to make sure IBM can keep up with demand.
A real double "f**k you" to the Wintel World.
Originally posted by Brian Green
I agree with the above statements. Those of us reading these forums and all the hints about the 970 will certainly wait for the 970 to be released before we purchase another Mac...
The cool thing about this: think of all the interest you'll get from the bank for depositing money with them for that period. You'll get, what, 2%?
Way to go dude!
I've been saying that I'm waiting for a Rev.B 12-inch PowerBook with at least a 1Ghz G4 (plus 1GB RAM and DVI-out). But a 970-based 12-incher, even at the same 1Ghz, would kick double the ass.
Here's hopin'...
Escher
Cooling the PB is something people use as an excuse to give the PM the 970 first. I have to say that with idiotic companies like Dell, a hot laptop is the result of not really caring about the consumer. This couldn't be further from the truth in regard to Apple. The 15.4 with the 970 will have a new motherboard, therefore new internal components. Who is to say that Apple hasn't directly attacked the heat issue with new dispersal methods and shielding techniques? Are you saying that Apple's technicians are a bunch of idiots who couldn't possibly handle the heat issue of the 970? Do you all think that such an issue is far beyond them? I certainly hope you're not thinking that.
As for Clive's comment about the 2% interest I'll be making as my money sits in the bank waiting for the purchase of the 970 PB, all I have to say is this. Free money, is the best money. :-)
As for the footlong getting a 970 --- I wouldn't bet on it. For the mobility it offers, the current proc. gets the job done, and there's not much room in that case as is ('been hearing about minor heat problems with the 867 G4 in it). I would think the 12" would get the 970 (if not all the PowerBooks) by the time the 90nm process chips are ready come Oct-Nov. of this year.
Originally posted by 1337_5L4Xx0R
Dude, it totally could. Which leaves me wondering why it took years to get a G4 powerbook. They were feasible from the start(?)
Keep in mind that the G4 in the current powerbooks uses less engery and heat then the first versions 'G4e'
The 15 inch with the 970 will really be an amazing 'book. Not that long ago a Cray computer the size of a minivan, costing millions of dollars and sucking kilowatts of power did not have the computing power of this upcoming Al-book which runs on a battery and you can carry it in your briefcase.
This will replace my 867 Quicksilver. It will drive the same cinema display (along with the internal display), run faster, have a larger harddrive and run almost silently and have faster FW, faster WiFi plus Bluetooth and it is portable when I need to travel.
Originally posted by Brian Green
After all, I'm sure there are still people out there dedicated to their Apple IIe's. For the rest of us, let the good times roll.
Actually, you are quite right. Check this out-
http://apple.slashdot.org/apple/03/0...id=107&tid=187
Heh. But seriously, I doubt Apple will lock out any G3's or any of the sort. If they want to appeal to the education market, this move would be horrible. I know my school is just coming around, and locking out the (g3) iMacs (which we have at LEAST 1000 of) would be plain stupid. Apple wants the education market, and must make OSX compatible with what they have. Secondly, they DO make money on old hardware through software sales. Naturally, they want to sell new machines, but at 129 per OS, that is not bad for something without hardware. (Well, box and cd and stuff) And if they continue to do one payed release per year, that is say 100 dollars per copy after it is all said and done per user per year. I know I am one of 'em. Would I like a new machine? Absolutely, but Apple would lose my business for awhile if they chose to make my machine obselete, as I will not be buying a new one for quite some time. Even if they did, I am sure Xposto Facto would have me covered on my Beige G3.
Former Lurker, I think you're on to something with the redesign being for cooling issues. Then again, with the 970, there are also new MoBo's and configuration issues with that, but there's no saying that they couldn't have done both at the same time. I have to admit that I'm curious just how much free space they have to play with in the 17".
Jeremiah Rich, I fully understand that schools are using the G3's, aside from the new eMac that I've seen in schools. Many schools are using the iBook and other older Mac's. But to be honest, and perhaps you can share with us your particular situation, the school my mom works at has tons of Blueberry iMac's running 9.2.2, and there are even a few older Mac's running system 7, so in their particular case the lack of G3 or older inclusion in 10.3 would be a non-issue. The way I see it, if they were uninterested in migrating to 10.2, why would they be more inclined to seek out 10.3? They seem to be of the mentality that they are content with what they currently have. I am aware that there are schools out there that do use 10.2, and perhaps yours is among them, but the system administrator where my mom works is going to migrate to Dell regardless of how many times I tell him he's an idiot. When you can drop a couple hundred and get a PC, that's what they are going to do when we all know that schools have little to nothing to work with when it comes to a budget. I'd love to see Apple build a laptop that can handle 10.3 well and be very attractive to the education market. I'm using a 600 MHz iBook and it does okay with 10.2, but I've played with a G4 and the difference is notable, I'm rather nervous about how slow 10.3 will be on my iBook. You are correct is saying that old computers do make Apple money through software sales. Now that Apple is taking the reins and creating a lot of the cool software itself, it'll make even more. I was simply making the point that a few grand is better looking to Apple than a hundred bucks. But you're right, every dollar counts. I'd love to see an iBook that would make everyone's jaw drop in the education market, and a 970 Power Book that will make all of our jaws drop.
Powerbooks. We're going to live with the titanium unill Apple is ready to let OS9 die on the portable pro segment. Its perfomance is identical to the 17" TiBook's, so they can't do an update of it unless they also have enough PPC970's to do an update of the big al book.
Apple might want to get a 970 laptop out there, but if they don't have enough chips, they can't. If they really wanted to make an impression, they might release the 15.4" al book with a G4 and move the 17" up to a 970. It's the more expensive model, and volumes are bound to be lower than they would be at 15" price points, so it may actually be possible to keep up with demand at 3299.
Remember that Moto also has the 7447 and 7457 ready to go (not the RM, which may or may not be cancelled depending on who you believe) and these are frugal and would make good laptop chips for the next 12-18 months.
Now about the Moto 7447's and 7457's. I have to say I've never been more unexcited about a processor in my life. There's just not a lot of added horsepower there and a hudred or two MHz just isn't turning my eyes back to Moto. I think Steve knows that full well and knows that to generate sales, we all need the 970 to make us lust after an immediate upgrade.
You also have to remember that there are plenty on Mac users that won't upgrade anyway because they seem to be happy with what they have, or can't budget for one in their current financial status. So all we have to do is supply the people who actually want to stay current with technology and "switchers", of which we all hope there will be many. Not only do I think IBM is up to the challenge, but has already been quietly coming through.