Has it ever been this quiet?
Last year there was all that hype coming directly from Apple more than a week before MWSF. This year nothing. All of the rumor sites are being very conservative as well. Updated iMac/eMac, updated iPod, maybe a 19 inch Monitor... these all seem like obvious things as they have been due for quite some time. Not really enough to fill a keynote to start the new year. This is either going to be the most boring keynote ever or will show that Apple can keep their plans secret in an amazing fashion. So I ask, does anyone remember such a lack of interesting rumors or predicted specs this close to an expo?
Comments
The only likely surprise would be some kind of new digital device and I haven't really heard any good speculation about what it might be. If the PowerMacs or portables are updated that would be quite surprising too.
<strong>So I ask, does anyone remember such a lack of interesting rumors or predicted specs this close to an expo?</strong><hr></blockquote>
Not that I can recall. It could be because the people who used to indulge in ever-escalating flights of fancy before previous expos have finally accepted reality. Naaah - I think the very definitive date given by IBM for the 970 (3rd quarter - NOT sooner) has postponed the excitement for six months or so. This is probably a good thing, because it gives Steve a real chance for a surprise out of left field like the original iMac.
<strong>I think the very definitive date given by IBM for the 970 (3rd quarter - NOT sooner) has postponed the excitement for six months or so. </strong><hr></blockquote>
agreed. i think most die-hard rumor-mongering has fallen in line with more plausible (and low-key) ideas as a result.
however, unless someone can check this, i THINK apple's hype-fest started either new year's eve or day last year, and ran for the week prior to MWSF. so we might still get something on apple.com between now and the weekend.
we'll see, i guess...
Some news: since the last power mac revision, Apple received two LARGE shipments of G4 parts that clock beyond 1.25 GHz. When they make their appearance depends on how quickly Apple can get 200MHz MPX buses - no info on this. It?s pointless to put higher clocked Dual G4s on the existing bus though, so it's possible to do some logical deduction. I think an announcement next week is likely, with the usual ?Available in 6-8 weeks? showing up on the Apple Store. $150 price drops on the existing inventory are likely.
Apple's plans for the OS 9 booting Power Mac are less clear. They have a large stock of 1.25 GHz machines and they are estimating it will run out in early summer - hence their follow-on to Quark's comments. Meantime, there may not be the ?transition? people expect. The newly minted machines (all three) will probably boot OS X only. That last part I?m less clear on, but the higher clocked G4 parts exist and are being "packaged".
Sweet dreams.
This MWSF might-just might, be better than you think. For once.
Happy new year.
Perhaps it's a little more quiet around here because people learned their lesson from the pleasant surprise of the last TiBook revision; keep your expectations low and you'll end up happier for it.
<strong>namely Moki, among others. (There was the guy who kept on talking about those "experimental" G5 Power Macs that he was supposedly beta testing at his workplace, but I forgot his name.)</strong><hr></blockquote>His name is Andrew Welch, "el presidente" of Ambrosia Software. I don't believe he ever made claims of directly testing units but rather that he had "sources" of information about them.
edit: oops, I just re-read that post and realized you probably were not referring directly to moki there. my bad.
[ 01-01-2003: Message edited by: Brad ]</p>
All seems a little strange to me, unless Apple has something up their sleeve to hold them over (profit wise) as they did in the past with consumer oriented equipment (iPod, iMac-LCD). Still is a bit odd (along with the silence). Time will tell.
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Kirk Rundstrom
<a href="http://www.burritodeluxe.com"; target="_blank">http://www.burritodeluxe.com</a>;
<strong>(There was the guy who kept on talking about those "experimental" G5 Power Macs that he was supposedly beta testing at his workplace, but I forgot his name.)</strong><hr></blockquote>
You're thinking of Dorsal.
[quote]<strong>Perhaps it's a little more quiet around here because people learned their lesson from the pleasant surprise of the last TiBook revision; keep your expectations low and you'll end up happier for it.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Can I get an amen?
<strong>It will be a good year for Apple, especially in the second half. The G4 will become good old bread and butter at the consumer level.
</strong><hr></blockquote>
i dont think the G4 will stay for too long if Apple moves to IBM, which i think they'll do as soon as "get the **** out of my office" ...
<strong>IIt's still not clear to me why IBM announced work on the 970 unless Apple gave their approval. Why would Apple do that in that it would hurt their sales if nothing comes out for a year - Nov. 2002 to Nov 2003 (Q3)? Why would Moto pull their page with the 7457-RM?
All seems a little strange to me, unless Apple has something up their sleeve to hold them over (profit wise) as they did in the past with consumer oriented equipment (iPod, iMac-LCD). Still is a bit odd (along with the silence). Time will tell.</strong><hr></blockquote>
You make really good points -- why WOULD Apple even let IBM publish information about the new processor, knowing good and well that there are some people who will undoubtedly wait for this new-fangled piece of equipment in an Apple machine. However, Apple's target for machines that would be of the 970 (currently the G4) are big-ticket professionals, not consumers that sit on their hands waiting for the latest. When professionals decide to buy, they're going to buy prudently. More than likely some have been made aware of this new processor by Apple, so this means that they have about a year to construct budget plans if they so choose -- turning over an entire magazine or publishing firm's equipment is expensive. More than likely, the release of the 970 will coincide with both Quark 6 for OSX and 10.3.
Oh, and Nov. 2003 would not be Q3 by Apple's fiscal calendar.
[ 01-01-2003: Message edited by: fred_lj ]
[ 01-01-2003: Message edited by: fred_lj ]</p>
<strong>
Can I get an amen?
Amen....and wasn't one of the last things we heard from Dorsal relating to running OS X on an RS/6000??
<strong>Quiet or noisy, I hope Apple will give a great show and meet our expectations!!</strong><hr></blockquote>
but unfortunately they ever do
This isn't exactly saturation-level advertising, but it's something.
<strong>
but unfortunately they ever do</strong><hr></blockquote>
...is that what is termed a "Freudian slip".
<strong>
but unfortunately they ever do</strong><hr></blockquote>
Oh, I think it'll be a great show. Apple will never meet some of the silly expectations around here, but that doesn't mean it won't be a great show!
<strong>For what it's worth, at <a href="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/mwsf03/"; target="_blank">the page for the keynote webcast</a>, Apple is saying that it's "an event you won't want to miss."
This isn't exactly saturation-level advertising, but it's something.
they say that on every keynote page when its put up before the show. They change the date, expo, and sometimes steve's image, but its the same.
-Owl