<strong>I'm desperately hoping That I'm wrong and making a fool of myself. nothing would make me happier than to wake up to headlines about the 970. as a mac user from the beginning the last three years for me have seen stagnated chip speeds, low bus speeds, an aeon to get DDR, no Quadro/wildcat level graphics cards, peeling paint on my tibook, three dead emacs in succession, removing l2 and l3 cache on certain machines, a 1.5GB memory limit. cracks in my cube, 12 studio displays dead inside of 9 months, 10.2.4 totalling my dualie, peripherals that worked in 10.1.5 stopped working in 10.2, bizarre battery behaviour with my brand new ibook under 10.2.4, kernel panics by the truckload until Jagwire and, worst of all, my students are now spending more time at home on their PCs because everything renders faster.
I wish they'd stop fixating on white surfaces (which keep needing cleaning) and shiny metal (which scratches when you look at it) and focus on the system - hardware and software.
I want to feel the awe I felt with the original Macintosh, the IIfx and the B&W G3
maybe the new apple is not for the likes of me</strong><hr></blockquote>
[quote] We've had a little too much "sizzle" and not enough "steak"
<hr></blockquote>
That argument isn't without some merit. The 'meat'? We're talking leading performance instead of behind the pack performance from anything between 6-24 months in terms of some components used.
However, recent moves by Apple have seen the penny drop in my thoughts about the new Apple.
From my point of view, the 970 and its uberbandwidth are the missing pieces in the puzzle.
Spooky, I can understand your frustration at the whole cpu/performance issue...especially when your students are rendering on PC boxes (justifiably so...if they're doing Lightwave et al...)
However, I feel you are letting your frustration take an uneven hand.
Old Apple.
Mac Os Classic.
Performa brands.
Tower name confusion.
Shrinking market share.
Obscene prices.
On their way out of business.
Dodgy quality control on laptops.
Slow, buggy Internet Explorer.
HEAVILY dependent on M$ for software and...
...their own hardware for revenue.
A few cobbled together apps.
No Open GL (and a crap version of Lightwave.)
New Apple. (Now, let's do the 'Math' as some Americans might say...)
Mac Os X.2 (with X11, Java, iLife, i-sync/.Mac initiatives...address and mail apps, date i-synced...a stable and integrated digital hub that XP can't tough. 'X' QE running the OS through a graphic card. XP? Exactly.)
53 Retail Stores (and counting...)
Some and decent advertisements
The best laptops on the planet
4 billion plus in the bank
Safari
iPod (stunningly successful beyond the box, and more importantly 'non-Mac', initiative that courts x86 users...)
Software. Loads of it. Heavy hitter apps.
Free apps.
iLife (low-end revenue strat'/income line...)
...and with Final Cut Express (a new mid-level market springing up...)
A '.net' (.Mac) internet strategy that WORKS!
Services (eg .Mac, another revenue stream...200K users...)
Open Source (cherry pick the best software and Aqua-ize)
Stunning Unix strategy (picking up thousands of Unix apps...and Geeks who have apple laptops and these geeks have influence apple needs...)
Quicktime (vs Xp's turkey, Window Player?)
LESS software dependence on M$ (Gee, Steve has got to be happy about 'Old Apple's' reliance on Redmond. That's going to end. Whether 'appeasers' around here like that or not.)
The most stunning and price competitive monitors (LCD wise...) on the market.
Stunning hardware design on their desktops...that allows access to internals and adjustable LCDs on a chrome arm. Can Wintel tough that? I don't think so.
Desktop prices on their way down.
A STUNNING line of laptops that compete with Wintel across the board better than their own line of DESKTOPS!
Machines that are reliable and work and keep working...with some of the best R&D in town.
A vision.
A strategy.
A management team.
Aint losing almost a billion in a quarter.
Increasing R&D spend and cautiously...on the right moves...(instead of old Apple...leaping in, getting burned and letting M$ take the credit after...after the market is established...)
Real hardware and software integration.
A development kit.
A business strategy. Shock. I know...
An Xserve.
An X-Raid.
A long-term cpu strat' with the 970 on tap from IBM. (This is good thing. Intel go onto IBM's patch. IBM no likey. This is good thing for Apple.)
Keynote (business guys will be able to present with Apple software...on a decent laptop and join a windows network with wireless internet. oooh.)
A web-site. The best IT site on the net. it's actually interesting.(compare to M$ or Intel...yeah...I know...)
A growth strategy. eg Retail stores, 'Switcher' strategy, cool design, beyond the box with iPod, hardware that can integrate with Windows networks..., Workstation software...and yes, the 970 will probably be the final piece...
Apple listen. (Go see 'X' feedback, Keynote et al. Apple really are listening, folks...)
Java. Some of the best out there? Not crippled ala M$?
Games. Lots of them. The cream.(Open GL? Well, hello THERE!)
Open GL. (Decent graphic cards from Nvidia and ATi...)
A decent version of Lightwave.
A versin of Maya. And basic version parity with the PC and 25% of Maya sales are Mac.
The best looking versions of the Adobe Design Collection apps.
The best version of Office.
Developers are falling over themselves to get on 'X'.
Marketshare decline has been arrested. Now apple have a leading selling iPod player (they own the market, folks!)
...and their share (much to my credulity, considering their laptops hammer their desktops...) of desktops is no.5!!! At retail dollar value? Swooon. That's growth, folks. Didn't they use to be no.6?
Open Source emulation (sure, it's crap Bosch...but it might not be forever...)
OpenOffice. (iOffice, comin' up...bend over M$...this won't hurt a bit...)
So the last two bits and the bit about the 970 were speculative.
But if the 970 is the missing piece? I think it's icing on the cake. Because, when the 970 hits? It's going to come in at 3.6 gig G4 equivalent performance. (and that doesn't include the extra FPU! Or the added bandwidth Altivec will have...) Don't know about anybody else...but I'm looking forward to Intel hitting 3.6 gig so we can beat the sh*t out of them on the way past in the fast lane, folks.
And couple that to a Pentium 4 machine that doesn't dual outside of a Xeon? Or a M$ OS that is wayyyyyyyyyy pricey for a non-dual home OS?
When was the last time you heard about 64% of Workstation users (and that aint just 3D artists people!) getting a Mac in next 6 months?
(All along the Watch tower. There must be some kind of way out of here...said the joker to the thief...)
Or the fact we can BOAST about hitting 64 bit first or be a 64 bit OS first?
So...sure, Lemon Bon Bon whinges about the G4 now and then (hi, Amorph!) But, hey, I've been waiting for a competitive Apple tower for almost three years now. It's getting old. However, recent moves on the tower coupled with Moki's tea leaf readings and numerous 'hints' across the net from IBM and Apple 'sources' (the deafening silence from Apple is telltale...) gives me cause for optimism that we'll see this 970 powerhouse/Ives design masterpiece at Macworld New York. And Steve will keynote this. Cos his Company have been workin' their ass on this 970 for four years by all accounts.
So. I moan at the G4 and its starved bandwidth. And the price of Apple desktops. But it's only because I want to be included in one of Apple's target markets.
But I'd have to be frickin' blind not to see that 'New Apple' is like Muhammid Ali in his prime.
Compare that to the down and out drunken boxer 'Old Apple'...yeah, ('Stand the f*ck up!' they cried...)
A mighty long list but before you fall all over yourself and spill your koolaid:
[quote]Mac Os X.2 (with X11, Java, iLife, i-sync/.Mac initiatives...address and mail apps, date i-synced...a stable and integrated digital hub that XP can't tough. 'X' QE running the OS through a graphic card. XP? Exactly.)<hr></blockquote>Apple needs another switcher campaign, and that's one that getss OS9 users to switch. A lot of UI and optimization work needs to be done before OSX is clearly the better option than what MS offers. After all a little better ain't why most people suffer through slow machines and higher prices.
[quote]A '.net' (.Mac) internet strategy that WORKS!<hr></blockquote>.NET is a development platform, .Mac is a revenue stream. Don't confuse the two. At my heavily discounted half-price for the first year it is barely worth the money (new email address == new b-cards) and could use a major shot in the arm. Blogging, an SDK of sorts for .Mac developers, and an SDK for iSync would be a step in the right direction.
[quote]The best looking versions of the Adobe Design Collection apps.<hr></blockquote>Best looking and quite possibly the worst performing. Used Illustrator or InDesign on OSX lately?
Only a couple of quibbles, but there are some very basic things that need fixing--the most pressing being better performing hardware and better performing software. I just hope to hell Apple doesn't pull a MS and throw the PPC970 at OSX and consider speed issues "fixed."
<strong>Only a couple of quibbles, but there are some very basic things that need fixing--the most pressing being better performing hardware and better performing software. I just hope to hell Apple doesn't pull a MS and throw the PPC970 at OSX and consider speed issues "fixed."</strong><hr></blockquote>
Given that OS X has sofar gotten faster on G3-based hardware - even to the extent of Apple rewriting graphics drivers for Lombard-era PowerBooks - I doubt that they'll be content to throw hardware at the problem. They seem to have settled on a general plan of scaling the system's capabilities up with hardware (e.g. QE) while keeping a reasonable baseline.
[quote](All along the Watch tower. There must be some kind of way out of here...said the joker to the thief...) <hr></blockquote>
I'm sure you were referring to the Hendrix version, yes? \t
Nice list BTW...
Oh, and to the people here that realize that after Apple adopts the 970, the migration to 64-bit will be a vastly easier transition -- natural. As I and others here have surmised, The Windows world is going to take it on the chin with their migration to 64-bit desktops. For Windows desktop people it just won't happen until about 2010. It's been confirmed by Intel and confirmed through *actions* by Micro$oft only offering a SERVER version that runs on Itanic. Anyway, this has all been discussed before, but I figured I just provide a rehash...
I have been thinking about this, and I hope that I am right. This is what should happen:
1. The iBook gets a 9" super-high resolution display.
2. The Gobi is adopted on the iBook.
3. OS 10.3 "Panther" has vecor-based graphics.
4.The iPod HDD is instituted in the "microbook".
5. Maybe a reversable touch display?
[What this means] The iBook will be very small, very fast, very easy on the eyes, very light, and very versatile, respectively. [What this means/]
Why this should happen:
1. The iBook will become the "Mac tablet" dream.
2. The ibook will be able to compete with all of this Centrino crap.
3.The "mini-laptop" fantasy will be fulfilled.
The Powerbook line will be more distinguished, even with the 12".
5. And, last but not least, every sane individual will rush to their local Apple Store to buy one. Apple, once again, will provide a computer to lust over.
According to what I see, battery life of 2.5-6.5 hrs depending on type of battery if a standard one is used... with dual batteries and using the double-capacity li-ion battery (at $500 :eek: :eek: :eek: ) it claims up to 13 hours. The config that's supposed to allow the 13 hr claim is at the perfect consumer price point: $3999.
Not bad specs otherwise I suppose, but the notebook only comes with a 16MB Mobility Radeon. I'd expect more out of this type of notebook.
I don't know, having seen a lot of VAIOs in person, I have to say they look much better in pictures. I mean they're plastic and eww. I know the iBook is plastic, but atleast it's shiney and smooth.
[quote] I'm sure you were referring to the Hendrix version, yes?
<hr></blockquote>
As for the new Vaio, looks like they've taken a leaf out of Apple's book. Not impressed. I think Apple's Powerbooks look superior.
And the Vaio. Running 'X'? Didn't think so.
Playing catch-up.
I'm looking forward to the next iBook. OSGeek's idea of a 9 inch iBook itablet touchscreen thing. Good idea. Expand the Powerbook 12 incher downwards and generate an all new sub 1k iBook line with tablet like functionality. I like that idea. We'll see what Apple does, eh?
I noticed something...the laptop weighs in at 2.5 pounds WITHOUT the extra battery. It probably weighs 4 with it. That is some tricksy, decietful marketing.
That's a really impressive and thought provoking list lemon bon bon and one of the best posts I can remember. Here's how I see it initially:
[quote]Originally posted by Lemon Bon Bon:
<strong>
Old Apple.
Mac Os Classic.
</strong> <hr></blockquote>
despite the arguments from pro X users (and I too at home am now purely Jagwire based - at work it too expensive to move to X), the classic OS was loved and adored by mac users as the easy to use and understand OS for the rest of us. X has yet to get there. I've never had to buy a book on the mac os until X.
[quote]<strong>
Performa brands.
Tower name confusion.
Shrinking market share.
Obscene prices.
On their way out of business.
</strong><hr></blockquote>
can't really argue with any of those!
[quote]<strong>Dodgy quality control on laptops.</strong><hr></blockquote>
paint on the Tibooks, cracks in ibooks, flimsy hinges on ibooks, keyboards being pressed into screens - not a lot has changed here
[quote]<strong>Slow, buggy Internet Explorer. </strong><hr></blockquote>
Not a lot changes here!!
[quote]<strong>HEAVILY dependent on M$ for software and...
...their own hardware for revenue.
A few cobbled together apps.
No Open GL (and a crap version of Lightwave.)
</strong><hr></blockquote>
can't argue with that
[quote]<strong>Mac Os X.2 (with X11, Java, iLife, i-sync/.Mac initiatives...address and mail apps, date i-synced...a stable and integrated digital hub that XP can't tough. 'X' QE running the OS through a graphic card. XP? Exactly.)
</strong><hr></blockquote>
QE requires at least a radeon which cuts out a large number of machines that X will actually run on. previously in the classic mac os Quickdraw, QT and the mac graphics routines were not hardware restricted - they all ran on VRAM - you might need to add some more to get it to run quicker but it ran. It seems that apple are only keen to improve X as long as it means you have to keep replaacing your hardware faster and faster
[quote]<strong>
53 Retail Stores (and counting...)
</strong><hr></blockquote>
Not in the UK
[quote]<strong>
Some and decent advertisements</strong><hr></blockquote>
Apple's advertising is at best bizarre. I have never seen a switch advert anywhere except at apple's web site - why advertise to existing mac users about switching. if I open any "mac" magazine around me right now half the ads will be for pc hardware/software - the same is not true of the pc mags I have lying around. The only mac aads I have seen on tv aare the imac in the window (which my pc using friends taunt me with as an admission by apple that the imac is a toy and not a serious computer) and the minime 17" alubook one - neither of which mentions anything about the machine and its possibilities - just the way they look
[quote]<strong>
The best laptops on the planet</strong><hr></blockquote> see above
[quote]<strong>4 billion plus in the bank </strong><hr></blockquote> yippee for the shareholders
[quote]<strong>Safari</strong><hr></blockquote> I'm still undecided on this one - I'll wait until the final release
[quote]<strong>iPod (stunningly successful beyond the box, and more importantly 'non-Mac', initiative that courts x86 users...)</strong><hr></blockquote> all mys students (who ALL have pcs at home despite using macs exclusively at college) drool over the ipod. however they will never buy one. why? its too expensive - they can buy a real nice picture phone for that money
[quote]<strong>Software. Loads of it. Heavy hitter apps.
Free apps.
iLife (low-end revenue strat'/income line...)
...and with Final Cut Express (a new mid-level market springing up...)</strong><hr></blockquote>
But very little that you can't really do on a pc. when I started on macs the idea of using a pc for graphics was ridiculous. I mean photoshop for pc? you've got to be kidding right? iLife is great for the home user, as long as you have a new mac - imovie 3 has made my dual 450 feel like a bondi imac. As for heavy hitters - wintel still rules - SoftImage, Houdini, Max . . .
[quote]<strong>
Open Source (cherry pick the best software and Aqua-ize)</strong><hr></blockquote> is this really happening?
[quote]<strong>
Stunning Unix strategy (picking up thousands of Unix apps...and Geeks who have apple laptops and these geeks have influence apple needs...) </strong><hr></blockquote> this is something I feel contributes to the nightmare scenario of X. the geeks don't want aqua and would be happy to stay with a command line or any variety of xwindows type interface. Maya for X doesn't look like or behave like a mac program at all - it looks and feels just like a port. I fear that the consistency of the interface will be lost as developers decide that this app is for this market and this app for this market etc instead of just making apps for the mac platform. one of the HUGE points of the classic OS as that the interface was always the same and you didn't have to waste time with a new app learning the interface (Kai Kruse excepted!)
Quote:
<strong>Quicktime (vs Xp's turkey, Window Player?)</strong><hr></blockquote> I adore qt and marvel at its superiority but has it really got what it takes? I can't for the life of me understand having to purchase a new key everytime I upgrade qt pro - at 40 licenses every time this is a considerable cost for me
[quote[<strong>LESS software dependence on M$ (Gee, Steve has got to be happy about 'Old Apple's' reliance on Redmond. That's going to end. Whether 'appeasers' around here like that or not.)</strong>
this will drive mac sales down steeply unless apple have something genuinely persuasive in readiness
[quote]<strong>The most stunning and price competitive monitors (LCD wise...) on the market.</strong><hr></blockquote> agreed they look gorgeous but they don't have the resolutions or the controls that the competition is now offering. Formac make LCDs that are every bit as good, look almost as good but cost less - and I can plug them into my rage 128pro
[quote]<strong>Stunning hardware design on their desktops...that allows access to internals and adjustable LCDs on a chrome arm. Can Wintel tough that? I don't think so.
Desktop prices on their way down.</strong><hr></blockquote> Amen
[quote]<strong>
A STUNNING line of laptops that compete with Wintel across the board better than their own line of DESKTOPS! </strong><hr></blockquote> this I don't understand. take yesterday for example. in class I'm showing a student some stuff on lightwave on my ibook 800 14" and its running somewhat sluggishly. he then turns to his toshiba 900Mhz PC and runs Max at speeds and with a responsiveness I can't imagine getting on my shiny new ibook. I've never experienced the macs are as quick as pcs phenomenon.
[quote]<strong>
Machines that are reliable and work and keep working...with some of the best R&D in town.</strong><hr></blockquote> this I would dispute. in the bad old beige days I can't ever remember having to send any mac for repair - ever. this despite the fact that I have overseen probably over 1000 macs of various models in that time. now however, we send macs back for dodgey mobos, dead monitors, cracked and ill fitting cases, ram that no longer works, firewire ports that have fried, keyboards whose ALT keys keep dying etc ad nauseum. Macs of the last few years don't keep working and working. I have a 9500 that runs OSX (slowly and with a struggle but it does!) and it just manages to run iMovie. but anyone with a far newer clamshell ibook can't run the latest incarnation of iMovie!!
[quote]<strong>
A vision.
A strategy.
A management team.</strong><hr></blockquote> I can't comment on this. if they have a vision and a strategy then I don't know what it is.
[quote]<strong>
Increasing R&D spend and cautiously...on the right moves...(instead of old Apple...leaping in, getting burned and letting M$ take the credit after...after the market is established...)</strong><hr></blockquote>
equally, it means that apple are increaasingly shying away from using newer more powerful technologies long after they are being used on PCs (DDR, ATA100, AGP4, USB2 etc)
[quote]<strong>Real hardware and software integration.</strong><hr></blockquote> this I don't see at all. in my first suite a II, a IIcx, 4 IIxs and 8 IIsi's all ran the same software and would accept the same peripherals and components. Today I can't plug an isub or the pro speakers into my dualie but I can on the digital audio dualies at work!! The graphics prformance of nVidia based systems depend more on the drivers from nVidia than the MacOS and its hardware
[quote]<strong>
A business strategy. Shock. I know...</strong><hr></blockquote>
[quote]<strong>An Xserve.
An X-Raid.</strong><hr></blockquote> Are these actually selling? My IT manager absolutely refuses to discuss the Xserve and we are one of the biggest FE institutions in the UK. If apple could persuade my employers that the Xserve is viable then I would be impressed
[quote]<strong>
A long-term cpu strat' with the 970 on tap from IBM. (This is good thing. Intel go onto IBM's patch. IBM no likey. This is good thing for Apple.)</strong><hr></blockquote> again this is still conjecture at this point although if I was a betting man I would put money on it. However, I can see IBM continuing to push the envelope for its chips to compete with intel but I can't see how this guarantees that they will ensure that the version in apple's computers is a killer chip.
[quote]<strong>Keynote (business guys will be able to present with Apple software...on a decent laptop and join a windows network with wireless internet. oooh.)</strong><hr></blockquote> this will not happen. no matter what, businness guys will stay with their toshibas and their dells and powerpoint. after all they can use an ibook right now running powerpoint but they don't.
[quote]<strong>A web-site. The best IT site on the net. it's actually interesting.(compare to M$ or Intel...yeah...I know...)
A growth strategy. eg Retail stores, 'Switcher' strategy, cool design, beyond the box with iPod, hardware that can integrate with Windows networks..., Workstation software...and yes, the 970 will probably be the final piece...</strong><hr></blockquote> apple have a great site - they just have to find ways of getting wintel users to visit it.
[quote]<strong>
Apple listen. (Go see 'X' feedback, Keynote et al. Apple really are listening, folks...)</strong><hr></blockquote> As somone who works in ducation I can't agree that apple listens at all. if the emac is genuinely the result of apple listening to educators then how come the emac is not the biggest selling education computer in history and thir market is shrinking? apple treats education like politicians do - its as if only tiny little kiddies ever get educated. we teach students multimedia at the post 16 level and the emac just don't cut it.
[quote]<strong>
Open GL. (Decent graphic cards from Nvidia and ATi...) </strong><hr></blockquote> still no wildcat, quadro, firegl etc
[quote]<strong>A decent version of Lightwave.
A versin of Maya. And basic version parity with the PC and 25% of Maya sales are Mac.</strong><hr></blockquote> both are still excuciatingly slow on the mac compared to their pc bretherin. even simple things like a "quick render" to see the state of your scene in low res can take minutes instead of seconds. Maya also doesn't behave like a mac program. The irony is that Max which isn't available for mac has a far easier to use interface than Maya for X! BTW have you been to any of the maya forums? take a peek, mac users are routinely abused and belittled.
[quote]<strong>The best looking versions of the Adobe Design Collection apps.</strong><hr></blockquote> even though adobe apps are now all built for windows - check out the extra dvd features in premiere or the default gama setting in photoshop!
[quote]<strong>The best version of Office.</strong><hr></blockquote> for how much longer?
[quote]<strong>Developers are falling over themselves to get on 'X'.</strong><hr></blockquote> Not XSi, Discreet, Quark? we haven't seen any real moves to the mac platform other than maya for designers although for the geeks I'll admit that its been a blast.
[quote]<strong>Marketshare decline has been arrested. Now apple have a leading selling iPod player (they own the market, folks!)
...and their share (much to my credulity, considering their laptops hammer their desktops...) of desktops is no.5!!! At retail dollar value? Swooon. That's growth, folks. Didn't they use to be no.6?</strong><hr></blockquote> again i have to take your word for it as my experience leads me to believe that macs have become non existent. where art colleges used to be exlcusively mac based they're now 50-50 and every single one of the design companies we deal with have switched to pc in the last 4 years
[quote]<strong>
But if the 970 is the missing piece? I think it's icing on the cake. Because, when the 970 hits? It's going to come in at 3.6 gig G4 equivalent performance. (and that doesn't include the extra FPU! Or the added bandwidth Altivec will have...) Don't know about anybody else...but I'm looking forward to Intel hitting 3.6 gig so we can beat the sh*t out of them on the way past in the fast lane, folks.
</strong><hr></blockquote> and again we will have to wait and hope that developers will make their software natively altivec compliant, multithreaded etc in order to see the advantage. its maddening that poser on my dualie with 768MB of ram renders at one third the speed of my PII 400 with 512MB and win98se running the same software!
Once again, I hope I am wrong. I feel that apple have been chasing their tales in recent years remorselessly trying to rebadge themselves as a general comsumer computer manufacturer. those of us that are not called Uncle Bill and who want to use their macs for more than just email and mp3s feel seriously left out and let down
[quote]QE requires at least a radeon which cuts out a large number of machines that X will actually run on. previously in the classic mac os Quickdraw, QT and the mac graphics routines were not hardware restricted - they all ran on VRAM - you might need to add some more to get it to run quicker but it ran. It seems that apple are only keen to improve X as long as it means you have to keep replaacing your hardware faster and faster<hr></blockquote>
QuickDraw is hardware accelerated, although I don't think that was the case when it was introduced. If I'm right, it's much the same as Quartz and Quartz Extreme. In any case, having Q.E. doesn't seem to give much crucial functionality at this time.
[quote]in the bad old beige days I can't ever remember having to send any mac for repair - ever.<hr></blockquote>
I guess you never bought a Performa 5200. Though early Macs (80s and early 90s) do seem more reliable than anything I could buy today.
[quote]this I don't see at all. in my first suite a II, a IIcx, 4 IIxs and 8 IIsi's all ran the same software and would accept the same peripherals and components. Today I can't plug an isub or the pro speakers into my dualie but I can on the digital audio dualies at work!!<hr></blockquote>
Macs other than the II (which sold at the same time) wouldn't accept NuBus cards, and they wouldn't all run the same software either; for instance, the LC could only be expanded with PDS cards, couldn't use virtual memory (no PMMU), and couldn't run a number of apps due to the lack of an FPU. The IIfx had a custom graphics card and used SRAM, and PlainTalk microphones wouldn't work on machines prior to those manufactured in 1993 because of a special Apple minijack.
Comments
<strong>I'm desperately hoping That I'm wrong and making a fool of myself. nothing would make me happier than to wake up to headlines about the 970. as a mac user from the beginning the last three years for me have seen stagnated chip speeds, low bus speeds, an aeon to get DDR, no Quadro/wildcat level graphics cards, peeling paint on my tibook, three dead emacs in succession, removing l2 and l3 cache on certain machines, a 1.5GB memory limit. cracks in my cube, 12 studio displays dead inside of 9 months, 10.2.4 totalling my dualie, peripherals that worked in 10.1.5 stopped working in 10.2, bizarre battery behaviour with my brand new ibook under 10.2.4, kernel panics by the truckload until Jagwire and, worst of all, my students are now spending more time at home on their PCs because everything renders faster.
I wish they'd stop fixating on white surfaces (which keep needing cleaning) and shiny metal (which scratches when you look at it) and focus on the system - hardware and software.
I want to feel the awe I felt with the original Macintosh, the IIfx and the B&W G3
maybe the new apple is not for the likes of me</strong><hr></blockquote>
Spooky it all those bad vibs your putting out.
<img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[oyvey]" />
<strong>The 1.2v (low voltage) variant of the 970 has already been announced.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Link?
By the way, this is a Centrino thread, not a Apple Invented Firewire, so they R cool thread.
[ 03-14-2003: Message edited by: os10geek ]</p>
<hr></blockquote>
That argument isn't without some merit. The 'meat'? We're talking leading performance instead of behind the pack performance from anything between 6-24 months in terms of some components used.
However, recent moves by Apple have seen the penny drop in my thoughts about the new Apple.
From my point of view, the 970 and its uberbandwidth are the missing pieces in the puzzle.
Spooky, I can understand your frustration at the whole cpu/performance issue...especially when your students are rendering on PC boxes (justifiably so...if they're doing Lightwave et al...)
However, I feel you are letting your frustration take an uneven hand.
Old Apple.
Mac Os Classic.
Performa brands.
Tower name confusion.
Shrinking market share.
Obscene prices.
On their way out of business.
Dodgy quality control on laptops.
Slow, buggy Internet Explorer.
HEAVILY dependent on M$ for software and...
...their own hardware for revenue.
A few cobbled together apps.
No Open GL (and a crap version of Lightwave.)
New Apple. (Now, let's do the 'Math' as some Americans might say...)
Mac Os X.2 (with X11, Java, iLife, i-sync/.Mac initiatives...address and mail apps, date i-synced...a stable and integrated digital hub that XP can't tough. 'X' QE running the OS through a graphic card. XP? Exactly.)
53 Retail Stores (and counting...)
Some and decent advertisements
The best laptops on the planet
4 billion plus in the bank
Safari
iPod (stunningly successful beyond the box, and more importantly 'non-Mac', initiative that courts x86 users...)
Software. Loads of it. Heavy hitter apps.
Free apps.
iLife (low-end revenue strat'/income line...)
...and with Final Cut Express (a new mid-level market springing up...)
A '.net' (.Mac) internet strategy that WORKS!
Services (eg .Mac, another revenue stream...200K users...)
Open Source (cherry pick the best software and Aqua-ize)
Stunning Unix strategy (picking up thousands of Unix apps...and Geeks who have apple laptops and these geeks have influence apple needs...)
Quicktime (vs Xp's turkey, Window Player?)
LESS software dependence on M$ (Gee, Steve has got to be happy about 'Old Apple's' reliance on Redmond. That's going to end. Whether 'appeasers' around here like that or not.)
The most stunning and price competitive monitors (LCD wise...) on the market.
Stunning hardware design on their desktops...that allows access to internals and adjustable LCDs on a chrome arm. Can Wintel tough that? I don't think so.
Desktop prices on their way down.
A STUNNING line of laptops that compete with Wintel across the board better than their own line of DESKTOPS!
Machines that are reliable and work and keep working...with some of the best R&D in town.
A vision.
A strategy.
A management team.
Aint losing almost a billion in a quarter.
Increasing R&D spend and cautiously...on the right moves...(instead of old Apple...leaping in, getting burned and letting M$ take the credit after...after the market is established...)
Real hardware and software integration.
A development kit.
A business strategy. Shock. I know...
An Xserve.
An X-Raid.
A long-term cpu strat' with the 970 on tap from IBM. (This is good thing. Intel go onto IBM's patch. IBM no likey. This is good thing for Apple.)
Keynote (business guys will be able to present with Apple software...on a decent laptop and join a windows network with wireless internet. oooh.)
A web-site. The best IT site on the net. it's actually interesting.(compare to M$ or Intel...yeah...I know...)
A growth strategy. eg Retail stores, 'Switcher' strategy, cool design, beyond the box with iPod, hardware that can integrate with Windows networks..., Workstation software...and yes, the 970 will probably be the final piece...
Apple listen. (Go see 'X' feedback, Keynote et al. Apple really are listening, folks...)
Java. Some of the best out there? Not crippled ala M$?
Games. Lots of them. The cream.(Open GL? Well, hello THERE!)
Open GL. (Decent graphic cards from Nvidia and ATi...)
A decent version of Lightwave.
A versin of Maya. And basic version parity with the PC and 25% of Maya sales are Mac.
The best looking versions of the Adobe Design Collection apps.
The best version of Office.
Developers are falling over themselves to get on 'X'.
Marketshare decline has been arrested. Now apple have a leading selling iPod player (they own the market, folks!)
...and their share (much to my credulity, considering their laptops hammer their desktops...) of desktops is no.5!!! At retail dollar value? Swooon. That's growth, folks. Didn't they use to be no.6?
Open Source emulation (sure, it's crap Bosch...but it might not be forever...)
OpenOffice. (iOffice, comin' up...bend over M$...this won't hurt a bit...)
So the last two bits and the bit about the 970 were speculative.
But if the 970 is the missing piece? I think it's icing on the cake. Because, when the 970 hits? It's going to come in at 3.6 gig G4 equivalent performance. (and that doesn't include the extra FPU! Or the added bandwidth Altivec will have...) Don't know about anybody else...but I'm looking forward to Intel hitting 3.6 gig so we can beat the sh*t out of them on the way past in the fast lane, folks.
And couple that to a Pentium 4 machine that doesn't dual outside of a Xeon? Or a M$ OS that is wayyyyyyyyyy pricey for a non-dual home OS?
When was the last time you heard about 64% of Workstation users (and that aint just 3D artists people!) getting a Mac in next 6 months?
(All along the Watch tower. There must be some kind of way out of here...said the joker to the thief...)
Or the fact we can BOAST about hitting 64 bit first or be a 64 bit OS first?
So...sure, Lemon Bon Bon whinges about the G4 now and then (hi, Amorph!) But, hey, I've been waiting for a competitive Apple tower for almost three years now. It's getting old. However, recent moves on the tower coupled with Moki's tea leaf readings and numerous 'hints' across the net from IBM and Apple 'sources' (the deafening silence from Apple is telltale...) gives me cause for optimism that we'll see this 970 powerhouse/Ives design masterpiece at Macworld New York. And Steve will keynote this. Cos his Company have been workin' their ass on this 970 for four years by all accounts.
So. I moan at the G4 and its starved bandwidth. And the price of Apple desktops. But it's only because I want to be included in one of Apple's target markets.
But I'd have to be frickin' blind not to see that 'New Apple' is like Muhammid Ali in his prime.
Compare that to the down and out drunken boxer 'Old Apple'...yeah, ('Stand the f*ck up!' they cried...)
1999. Long time ago.
'Things Are Different Now'(TM)
Lemon Bon Bon
[quote]Mac Os X.2 (with X11, Java, iLife, i-sync/.Mac initiatives...address and mail apps, date i-synced...a stable and integrated digital hub that XP can't tough. 'X' QE running the OS through a graphic card. XP? Exactly.)<hr></blockquote>Apple needs another switcher campaign, and that's one that getss OS9 users to switch. A lot of UI and optimization work needs to be done before OSX is clearly the better option than what MS offers. After all a little better ain't why most people suffer through slow machines and higher prices.
[quote]A '.net' (.Mac) internet strategy that WORKS!<hr></blockquote>.NET is a development platform, .Mac is a revenue stream. Don't confuse the two. At my heavily discounted half-price for the first year it is barely worth the money (new email address == new b-cards) and could use a major shot in the arm. Blogging, an SDK of sorts for .Mac developers, and an SDK for iSync would be a step in the right direction.
[quote]The best looking versions of the Adobe Design Collection apps.<hr></blockquote>Best looking and quite possibly the worst performing. Used Illustrator or InDesign on OSX lately?
Only a couple of quibbles, but there are some very basic things that need fixing--the most pressing being better performing hardware and better performing software. I just hope to hell Apple doesn't pull a MS and throw the PPC970 at OSX and consider speed issues "fixed."
<strong>Only a couple of quibbles, but there are some very basic things that need fixing--the most pressing being better performing hardware and better performing software. I just hope to hell Apple doesn't pull a MS and throw the PPC970 at OSX and consider speed issues "fixed."</strong><hr></blockquote>
Given that OS X has sofar gotten faster on G3-based hardware - even to the extent of Apple rewriting graphics drivers for Lombard-era PowerBooks - I doubt that they'll be content to throw hardware at the problem. They seem to have settled on a general plan of scaling the system's capabilities up with hardware (e.g. QE) while keeping a reasonable baseline.
[quote](All along the Watch tower. There must be some kind of way out of here...said the joker to the thief...) <hr></blockquote>
I'm sure you were referring to the Hendrix version, yes? \t
Nice list BTW...
Oh, and to the people here that realize that after Apple adopts the 970, the migration to 64-bit will be a vastly easier transition -- natural. As I and others here have surmised, The Windows world is going to take it on the chin with their migration to 64-bit desktops. For Windows desktop people it just won't happen until about 2010. It's been confirmed by Intel and confirmed through *actions* by Micro$oft only offering a SERVER version that runs on Itanic. Anyway, this has all been discussed before, but I figured I just provide a rehash...
--
Ed M.
[ 03-14-2003: Message edited by: Ed M. ]</p>
it is a beautiful machine.
-up to "13.5 hours of computing time on battery"
-2.1 kg in weight
-combo type drive
-up to 60 Gig hard drive
-either1.3 or 1.6 Pentium M
-usb 2
-firewire (iLink)
-14.1 ultra sga active matrix lcd
the design is absolutely stunning.
link (in japanese, but with many pictures):
<a href="http://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/Products/PCG-Z1/"; target="_blank">http://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/Products/PCG-Z1/</a>;
1. The iBook gets a 9" super-high resolution display.
2. The Gobi is adopted on the iBook.
3. OS 10.3 "Panther" has vecor-based graphics.
4.The iPod HDD is instituted in the "microbook".
5. Maybe a reversable touch display?
[What this means] The iBook will be very small, very fast, very easy on the eyes, very light, and very versatile, respectively. [What this means/]
Why this should happen:
1. The iBook will become the "Mac tablet" dream.
2. The ibook will be able to compete with all of this Centrino crap.
3.The "mini-laptop" fantasy will be fulfilled.
The Powerbook line will be more distinguished, even with the 12".
5. And, last but not least, every sane individual will rush to their local Apple Store to buy one. Apple, once again, will provide a computer to lust over.
<a href="http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_BrowseCatalog-Start;sid=dWAXjFlvZ60XrWcd0sYdhxZhY8sp6UAncIE=?Dep t=cpu&CatalogCategoryID=Q6AKC0%2eNMYEAAADzXuETluG2 " target="_blank">Sony Z1 Notebook Series</a>
According to what I see, battery life of 2.5-6.5 hrs depending on type of battery if a standard one is used... with dual batteries and using the double-capacity li-ion battery (at $500 :eek: :eek: :eek: ) it claims up to 13 hours. The config that's supposed to allow the 13 hr claim is at the perfect consumer price point: $3999.
Not bad specs otherwise I suppose, but the notebook only comes with a 16MB Mobility Radeon. I'd expect more out of this type of notebook.
Edit: 500th post
[ 03-14-2003: Message edited by: MCQ ]</p>
<strong>sony's new, just out, centrino sporting laptop.
it is a beautiful machine.
-up to "13.5 hours of computing time on battery"
-2.1 kg in weight
-combo type drive
-up to 60 Gig hard drive
-either1.3 or 1.6 Pentium M
-usb 2
-firewire (iLink)
-14.1 ultra sga active matrix lcd
the design is absolutely stunning.
link (in japanese, but with many pictures):
<a href="http://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/Products/PCG-Z1/"; target="_blank">http://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/Products/PCG-Z1/</a></strong><hr></blockquote>;
I don't know, having seen a lot of VAIOs in person, I have to say they look much better in pictures. I mean they're plastic and eww. I know the iBook is plastic, but atleast it's shiney and smooth.
<hr></blockquote>
As for the new Vaio, looks like they've taken a leaf out of Apple's book. Not impressed. I think Apple's Powerbooks look superior.
And the Vaio. Running 'X'? Didn't think so.
Playing catch-up.
I'm looking forward to the next iBook. OSGeek's idea of a 9 inch iBook itablet touchscreen thing. Good idea. Expand the Powerbook 12 incher downwards and generate an all new sub 1k iBook line with tablet like functionality. I like that idea. We'll see what Apple does, eh?
Lemon Bon Bon
<img src="graemlins/cancer.gif" border="0" alt="[cancer]" />
<strong>
Link?</strong><hr></blockquote>
See page 14 of <a href="http://www-3.ibm.com/chips/techlib/techlib.nsf/techdocs/A1387A29AC1C2AE087256C5200611780/$file/PPC970_MPF2002.pdf"; target="_blank">this PDF</a>, which is IBM's presentation of the 970 to the Microprocessor Forum.
[quote]Originally posted by Lemon Bon Bon:
<strong>
Old Apple.
Mac Os Classic.
</strong> <hr></blockquote>
despite the arguments from pro X users (and I too at home am now purely Jagwire based - at work it too expensive to move to X), the classic OS was loved and adored by mac users as the easy to use and understand OS for the rest of us. X has yet to get there. I've never had to buy a book on the mac os until X.
[quote]<strong>
Performa brands.
Tower name confusion.
Shrinking market share.
Obscene prices.
On their way out of business.
</strong><hr></blockquote>
can't really argue with any of those!
[quote]<strong>Dodgy quality control on laptops.</strong><hr></blockquote>
paint on the Tibooks, cracks in ibooks, flimsy hinges on ibooks, keyboards being pressed into screens - not a lot has changed here
[quote]<strong>Slow, buggy Internet Explorer. </strong><hr></blockquote>
Not a lot changes here!!
[quote]<strong>HEAVILY dependent on M$ for software and...
...their own hardware for revenue.
A few cobbled together apps.
No Open GL (and a crap version of Lightwave.)
</strong><hr></blockquote>
can't argue with that
[quote]<strong>Mac Os X.2 (with X11, Java, iLife, i-sync/.Mac initiatives...address and mail apps, date i-synced...a stable and integrated digital hub that XP can't tough. 'X' QE running the OS through a graphic card. XP? Exactly.)
</strong><hr></blockquote>
QE requires at least a radeon which cuts out a large number of machines that X will actually run on. previously in the classic mac os Quickdraw, QT and the mac graphics routines were not hardware restricted - they all ran on VRAM - you might need to add some more to get it to run quicker but it ran. It seems that apple are only keen to improve X as long as it means you have to keep replaacing your hardware faster and faster
[quote]<strong>
53 Retail Stores (and counting...)
</strong><hr></blockquote>
Not in the UK
[quote]<strong>
Some and decent advertisements</strong><hr></blockquote>
Apple's advertising is at best bizarre. I have never seen a switch advert anywhere except at apple's web site - why advertise to existing mac users about switching. if I open any "mac" magazine around me right now half the ads will be for pc hardware/software - the same is not true of the pc mags I have lying around. The only mac aads I have seen on tv aare the imac in the window (which my pc using friends taunt me with as an admission by apple that the imac is a toy and not a serious computer) and the minime 17" alubook one - neither of which mentions anything about the machine and its possibilities - just the way they look
[quote]<strong>
The best laptops on the planet</strong><hr></blockquote> see above
[quote]<strong>4 billion plus in the bank </strong><hr></blockquote> yippee for the shareholders
[quote]<strong>Safari</strong><hr></blockquote> I'm still undecided on this one - I'll wait until the final release
[quote]<strong>iPod (stunningly successful beyond the box, and more importantly 'non-Mac', initiative that courts x86 users...)</strong><hr></blockquote> all mys students (who ALL have pcs at home despite using macs exclusively at college) drool over the ipod. however they will never buy one. why? its too expensive - they can buy a real nice picture phone for that money
[quote]<strong>Software. Loads of it. Heavy hitter apps.
Free apps.
iLife (low-end revenue strat'/income line...)
...and with Final Cut Express (a new mid-level market springing up...)</strong><hr></blockquote>
But very little that you can't really do on a pc. when I started on macs the idea of using a pc for graphics was ridiculous. I mean photoshop for pc? you've got to be kidding right? iLife is great for the home user, as long as you have a new mac - imovie 3 has made my dual 450 feel like a bondi imac. As for heavy hitters - wintel still rules - SoftImage, Houdini, Max . . .
[quote]<strong>
Open Source (cherry pick the best software and Aqua-ize)</strong><hr></blockquote> is this really happening?
[quote]<strong>
Stunning Unix strategy (picking up thousands of Unix apps...and Geeks who have apple laptops and these geeks have influence apple needs...) </strong><hr></blockquote> this is something I feel contributes to the nightmare scenario of X. the geeks don't want aqua and would be happy to stay with a command line or any variety of xwindows type interface. Maya for X doesn't look like or behave like a mac program at all - it looks and feels just like a port. I fear that the consistency of the interface will be lost as developers decide that this app is for this market and this app for this market etc instead of just making apps for the mac platform. one of the HUGE points of the classic OS as that the interface was always the same and you didn't have to waste time with a new app learning the interface (Kai Kruse excepted!)
<strong>Quicktime (vs Xp's turkey, Window Player?)</strong><hr></blockquote> I adore qt and marvel at its superiority but has it really got what it takes? I can't for the life of me understand having to purchase a new key everytime I upgrade qt pro - at 40 licenses every time this is a considerable cost for me
[quote[<strong>LESS software dependence on M$ (Gee, Steve has got to be happy about 'Old Apple's' reliance on Redmond. That's going to end. Whether 'appeasers' around here like that or not.)</strong>
this will drive mac sales down steeply unless apple have something genuinely persuasive in readiness
[quote]<strong>The most stunning and price competitive monitors (LCD wise...) on the market.</strong><hr></blockquote> agreed they look gorgeous but they don't have the resolutions or the controls that the competition is now offering. Formac make LCDs that are every bit as good, look almost as good but cost less - and I can plug them into my rage 128pro
[quote]<strong>Stunning hardware design on their desktops...that allows access to internals and adjustable LCDs on a chrome arm. Can Wintel tough that? I don't think so.
Desktop prices on their way down.</strong><hr></blockquote> Amen
[quote]<strong>
A STUNNING line of laptops that compete with Wintel across the board better than their own line of DESKTOPS! </strong><hr></blockquote> this I don't understand. take yesterday for example. in class I'm showing a student some stuff on lightwave on my ibook 800 14" and its running somewhat sluggishly. he then turns to his toshiba 900Mhz PC and runs Max at speeds and with a responsiveness I can't imagine getting on my shiny new ibook. I've never experienced the macs are as quick as pcs phenomenon.
[quote]<strong>
Machines that are reliable and work and keep working...with some of the best R&D in town.</strong><hr></blockquote> this I would dispute. in the bad old beige days I can't ever remember having to send any mac for repair - ever. this despite the fact that I have overseen probably over 1000 macs of various models in that time. now however, we send macs back for dodgey mobos, dead monitors, cracked and ill fitting cases, ram that no longer works, firewire ports that have fried, keyboards whose ALT keys keep dying etc ad nauseum. Macs of the last few years don't keep working and working. I have a 9500 that runs OSX (slowly and with a struggle but it does!) and it just manages to run iMovie. but anyone with a far newer clamshell ibook can't run the latest incarnation of iMovie!!
[quote]<strong>
A vision.
A strategy.
A management team.</strong><hr></blockquote> I can't comment on this. if they have a vision and a strategy then I don't know what it is.
[quote]<strong>
Increasing R&D spend and cautiously...on the right moves...(instead of old Apple...leaping in, getting burned and letting M$ take the credit after...after the market is established...)</strong><hr></blockquote>
equally, it means that apple are increaasingly shying away from using newer more powerful technologies long after they are being used on PCs (DDR, ATA100, AGP4, USB2 etc)
[quote]<strong>Real hardware and software integration.</strong><hr></blockquote> this I don't see at all. in my first suite a II, a IIcx, 4 IIxs and 8 IIsi's all ran the same software and would accept the same peripherals and components. Today I can't plug an isub or the pro speakers into my dualie but I can on the digital audio dualies at work!! The graphics prformance of nVidia based systems depend more on the drivers from nVidia than the MacOS and its hardware
[quote]<strong>
A business strategy. Shock. I know...</strong><hr></blockquote>
[quote]<strong>An Xserve.
An X-Raid.</strong><hr></blockquote> Are these actually selling? My IT manager absolutely refuses to discuss the Xserve and we are one of the biggest FE institutions in the UK. If apple could persuade my employers that the Xserve is viable then I would be impressed
[quote]<strong>
A long-term cpu strat' with the 970 on tap from IBM. (This is good thing. Intel go onto IBM's patch. IBM no likey. This is good thing for Apple.)</strong><hr></blockquote> again this is still conjecture at this point although if I was a betting man I would put money on it. However, I can see IBM continuing to push the envelope for its chips to compete with intel but I can't see how this guarantees that they will ensure that the version in apple's computers is a killer chip.
[quote]<strong>Keynote (business guys will be able to present with Apple software...on a decent laptop and join a windows network with wireless internet. oooh.)</strong><hr></blockquote> this will not happen. no matter what, businness guys will stay with their toshibas and their dells and powerpoint. after all they can use an ibook right now running powerpoint but they don't.
[quote]<strong>A web-site. The best IT site on the net. it's actually interesting.(compare to M$ or Intel...yeah...I know...)
A growth strategy. eg Retail stores, 'Switcher' strategy, cool design, beyond the box with iPod, hardware that can integrate with Windows networks..., Workstation software...and yes, the 970 will probably be the final piece...</strong><hr></blockquote> apple have a great site - they just have to find ways of getting wintel users to visit it.
[quote]<strong>
Apple listen. (Go see 'X' feedback, Keynote et al. Apple really are listening, folks...)</strong><hr></blockquote> As somone who works in ducation I can't agree that apple listens at all. if the emac is genuinely the result of apple listening to educators then how come the emac is not the biggest selling education computer in history and thir market is shrinking? apple treats education like politicians do - its as if only tiny little kiddies ever get educated. we teach students multimedia at the post 16 level and the emac just don't cut it.
[quote]<strong>
Open GL. (Decent graphic cards from Nvidia and ATi...) </strong><hr></blockquote> still no wildcat, quadro, firegl etc
[quote]<strong>A decent version of Lightwave.
A versin of Maya. And basic version parity with the PC and 25% of Maya sales are Mac.</strong><hr></blockquote> both are still excuciatingly slow on the mac compared to their pc bretherin. even simple things like a "quick render" to see the state of your scene in low res can take minutes instead of seconds. Maya also doesn't behave like a mac program. The irony is that Max which isn't available for mac has a far easier to use interface than Maya for X! BTW have you been to any of the maya forums? take a peek, mac users are routinely abused and belittled.
[quote]<strong>The best looking versions of the Adobe Design Collection apps.</strong><hr></blockquote> even though adobe apps are now all built for windows - check out the extra dvd features in premiere or the default gama setting in photoshop!
[quote]<strong>The best version of Office.</strong><hr></blockquote> for how much longer?
[quote]<strong>Developers are falling over themselves to get on 'X'.</strong><hr></blockquote> Not XSi, Discreet, Quark? we haven't seen any real moves to the mac platform other than maya for designers although for the geeks I'll admit that its been a blast.
[quote]<strong>Marketshare decline has been arrested. Now apple have a leading selling iPod player (they own the market, folks!)
...and their share (much to my credulity, considering their laptops hammer their desktops...) of desktops is no.5!!! At retail dollar value? Swooon. That's growth, folks. Didn't they use to be no.6?</strong><hr></blockquote> again i have to take your word for it as my experience leads me to believe that macs have become non existent. where art colleges used to be exlcusively mac based they're now 50-50 and every single one of the design companies we deal with have switched to pc in the last 4 years
[quote]<strong>
But if the 970 is the missing piece? I think it's icing on the cake. Because, when the 970 hits? It's going to come in at 3.6 gig G4 equivalent performance. (and that doesn't include the extra FPU! Or the added bandwidth Altivec will have...) Don't know about anybody else...but I'm looking forward to Intel hitting 3.6 gig so we can beat the sh*t out of them on the way past in the fast lane, folks.
</strong><hr></blockquote> and again we will have to wait and hope that developers will make their software natively altivec compliant, multithreaded etc in order to see the advantage. its maddening that poser on my dualie with 768MB of ram renders at one third the speed of my PII 400 with 512MB and win98se running the same software!
Once again, I hope I am wrong. I feel that apple have been chasing their tales in recent years remorselessly trying to rebadge themselves as a general comsumer computer manufacturer. those of us that are not called Uncle Bill and who want to use their macs for more than just email and mp3s feel seriously left out and let down
[ 03-15-2003: Message edited by: spooky ]
[ 03-15-2003: Message edited by: spooky ]</p>
QuickDraw is hardware accelerated, although I don't think that was the case when it was introduced. If I'm right, it's much the same as Quartz and Quartz Extreme. In any case, having Q.E. doesn't seem to give much crucial functionality at this time.
[quote]in the bad old beige days I can't ever remember having to send any mac for repair - ever.<hr></blockquote>
I guess you never bought a Performa 5200.
[quote]this I don't see at all. in my first suite a II, a IIcx, 4 IIxs and 8 IIsi's all ran the same software and would accept the same peripherals and components. Today I can't plug an isub or the pro speakers into my dualie but I can on the digital audio dualies at work!!<hr></blockquote>
Macs other than the II (which sold at the same time) wouldn't accept NuBus cards, and they wouldn't all run the same software either; for instance, the LC could only be expanded with PDS cards, couldn't use virtual memory (no PMMU), and couldn't run a number of apps due to the lack of an FPU. The IIfx had a custom graphics card and used SRAM, and PlainTalk microphones wouldn't work on machines prior to those manufactured in 1993 because of a special Apple minijack.