I know the G5 powerbook will come. But I think that time is far enough away to require the next Powerbook upgrade to remain G4 based.
Along those lines, I think we'll see a powerbook with a redsigned mobo that makes use of L3 cache, bumps the system bus to 200 mhz, and maybe, just maybe, increases chip speeds to 1.4 Ghz.
This won't be the longest lived powerbook model...but I suggest investment costs will recouped by using it as the basis for the next iBook, once the G5 is ready to handle the Powerbook.
I agree...and it is partially why I said screw it and ordered one now.
if Apple wants to stay ahead of the PC market, then a G5ivver in a PB should be its top priority.
Business wise, it would be great to win the 64 bit mobility race, but to win it by a few months as opposed to a few weeks over the PC 64 bit market would position Apple in a commanding position in terms of portables in 2004.
I think Apple would greatly benefit from this 'headstart' in terms of mobile 64 bit computing sales.
Even the beloved iPod is facing stiff competition from other manufacturers/services...(from Dell, and Napster/Samsung).
We all know the iPod is the best, but these new players can only hurt the iPod's position. (how much so, it has yet to be determined, as these new devices severely undercut the iPod in terms of price).
the iMac/eMac product line demand immediate attention also, and the new rumors of the mag alloy iMac sound intriguing, but again this is another thing that has to be addressed in 2004.
2002 was a good year.
2003 was even better (G5, Panther, $$$$$$$ iTunes, Al PBs).
2004 will be the kicker. Apple will either falter, by resting on its laurels, or it will secure itself a better position in both the desktop and (perhaps more importantly) mobile computing arena with the much aticipated G5 PB.
Business wise, it would be great to win the 64 bit mobility race, but to win it by a few months as opposed to a few weeks over the PC 64 bit market would position Apple in a commanding position in terms of portables in 2004.
I wonder if a delay in getting the G5s into the laptops will impact sales significantly. (Did that ridiculously long wait for the 15" AlBook impact those sales significantly?) I have a feeling that dual G4s (either full chips or dual core) in the PowerBooks will look like more of a copout for bad performance now than they did in the desktop line, and it didn't exactly look good then.
Year of the laptop, laptop of the year. Ugh. Waiting for these laptop updates seems like a nightmare that never quite comes to an end. And then after $BIGNUM months to get the design just right and straightened out, the white spot issues...
I guess I'd best not cry into my Ti400 about it, I'm going to need it to hang in there for another 6-18 months. Maybe we'll see a too much, too early AlG5Book that you can use as a space heater... my house gets kind of cold anyway, and too little, too late just makes everyone sad.
A G5 PowerBook would be nice - but I'm sort of intrigued by the possibility of a dual G4 PowerBook first. If they couldn't manage to get a G5 into the PowerBooks, then a dual G4 would be pretty darned good! ...heat issues aside, of course.
I don't think you'll see anything like this until a 0.045 300-series - so 2007 is a long time to hold your breath.
the iMac/eMac product line demand immediate attention also, and the new rumors of the mag alloy iMac sound intriguing, but again this is another thing that has to be addressed in 2004.
Lemon Bon Bon 8)
I don't see the PowerBook 'G4' clocking any higher. So. What will keep it cooking until the G5? Steep price cuts or the novelty dual 1.25 gigger?
A dual laptop? Maybe the 2nd cpu would kick in when the laptop is plugged into mains power? Hmmm.
Maybe Apple and IBM have that 'G3 class +' processor waiting in the wings...or something they haven't told us...
A dual laptop? Maybe the 2nd cpu would kick in when the laptop is plugged into mains power? Hmmm.
This sounds like a good idea, but I find very improbable that Apple will adopt such a solution for a short time period, assuming that 2005 will bring something efficient and monoprocessor based. If the recent rumors about Apple adopting new architectures (PPC 440 & 300 cells or similar) and leading a new programming paradigm in order to adapt software are true, then there is perhaps some chance we will see a dual processor (G4?) powerbook in 2004.
Quote:
...or something they haven't told us...
That's what I would like most see. Just why we don't know anything about it . Seriously now, I am wodering if Apple and IBM could (re)use current technologies from the available PPC generations, in order to develop something like a custom mobile chip. That would explain why IBM needs not to make an announcement, keeping the development... hmmm... secret, for Apple's sake. Is that possible or am I dreaming having my blanket fell on the ground? What are the options here?
PowerBooks are on a 2 year major update cycle, with minor updates every half year or so. So end of 2004, just like Apple has said, will probably be the next major update.
PowerBooks are on a 2 year major update cycle, with minor updates every half year or so. So end of 2004, just like Apple has said, will probably be the next major update.
If that truly is the mode of operation, then Apple is taking its laptop market for granted and is probably going to get burned. That'll be two abysmally slow upgrade cycles in a row on the "Pro" laptops, which were already falling behind thanks to the MOT G4. And at this point they'll have to stall the iBooks too, since they are a couple ports, a glowing keyboard and a handful of MHz away from being a PowerBook.
By 4Q they will both be 12+ month old models that haven't seen any notable speed increases. (And given how far behind the G4 is to begin with, the increases would have to be pretty significant to be notable.) Meanwhile the Pro desktops are now at least 3 to 4 TIMES faster than the best Pro laptop money can buy, and that's only going to get worse. And it's not like the PC makers are resting on their laurels. Hello disparity.
Ugh. If baby Jesus was an AAPL stockholder, he'd be crying if it pans out that way.
You misunderstand the situation. Upgrading the internals every 6 months is not a slow pace, it just seems that way when you have about 10 competitors - you have ten times more product announcements from them combined than from you. Apple can't do anything about the performance disparity between the Power Mac and PowerBook until they figure out how to fit a G5 (or an alternative CPU) in a PowerBook. I wouldn't be shocked at all if it takes them until a year from now to do that.
And the situation RIGHT NOW is that Apple makes the best laptops in the world, bar none.
You misunderstand the situation. Upgrading the internals every 6 months is not a slow pace,
...
And the situation RIGHT NOW is that Apple makes the best laptops in the world, bar none.
Well, let's get straight what we're talking about before we start accusing one another of "misunderstanding the situation". Ad hominem attacks are lame.
Major form factor changes every 2 years, and internal bus/cpu speed bumps maybe every 6 months. This is a reasonable pace, except that the existing Books are falling behind. Falling behind their PC competitors and the consumer desktop models, falling way behind the pro desktops. In order to maintain consumer interest in the iBooks they've been upgraded at a regular pace up to now where they are a hop, skip and jump away from being PowerBooks.
At this point, short of a new mainboard design "ahead of schedule" the whole line of *Books is going to be forced to stagnate for about a year if the G5 is really not going to be able to make it before 4Q2004. The MOT G4's don't look like they are going to go any faster, and switching to the IBM G3+ is probably going to require a mainboard change, which you argue isn't feasible. Plus faster clocks would dictate doing something about the slow bus problem anyway.
Apple's products are the best bar none, except for the quality control problems on the mobo nuking iBooks, and the white spots on the PowerBooks and the performance concerns as high-end PC laptops begin to significantly outrun Apple's product offering. How about the lack of 5400 RPM drives? Oh and let's not talk about the inexplicable failure to ship hot spares (with a deposit, of course) to business customers who have machines going in for warranty service like nearly every other vendor.
I like Apple, and their products (and own several), but I think there are a few bars more the Apple could step up to, and may have to in order to maintain a compelling product lineup. Luckily they still have the silver bullet of ease-of-use...
Major form factor changes every 2 years, and internal bus/cpu speed bumps maybe every 6 months. This is a reasonable pace, except that the existing Books are falling behind. Falling behind their PC competitors and the consumer desktop models, falling way behind the pro desktops. In order to maintain consumer interest in the iBooks they've been upgraded at a regular pace up to now where they are a hop, skip and jump away from being PowerBooks.
I haven't seen the PC notebooks that are trouncing the iBook. If they're falling way behind the pro desktops, um, so? Apple's lineup was artificially compressed for several years by an across-the-board reliance on embedded CPUs. Now it isn't. A $3000 tower should be able to destroy any portable. In fact, by the time some variant of the 970 appears in a PowerBook, the PowerMac will probably have moved up to the 980, and it will probably continue to rip the 'Books a new one performance-wise. As well it should.
The iBook has nipped at the PowerBook's heels for years. Remember the iBook SE, with a 466MHz processor, when the PowerBooks came in 400 and 500MHz flavors? Other things than CPU clock speed distinguish iBooks from PowerBooks.
Quote:
At this point, short of a new mainboard design "ahead of schedule" the whole line of *Books is going to be forced to stagnate for about a year if the G5 is really not going to be able to make it before 4Q2004. The MOT G4's don't look like they are going to go any faster, and switching to the IBM G3+ is probably going to require a mainboard change, which you argue isn't feasible. Plus faster clocks would dictate doing something about the slow bus problem anyway.
A mainboard change to accomodate a different variant of what is essentially a G4 wouldn't be that big a deal. A 970-class CPU would require a complete revision, though.
There are laptops that can outrun a PowerBook, but they weigh 12 pounds, last 10 minutes on battery, roar and heat up like nobody's business. You can't even use them on your lap. If you actually want a meaningfully portable workstation that really can be a laptop, the PowerBook owns.
A mainboard change to accomodate a different variant of what is essentially a G4 wouldn't be that big a deal. A 970-class CPU would require a complete revision, though.
There are laptops that can outrun a PowerBook, but they weigh 12 pounds, last 10 minutes on battery, roar and heat up like nobody's business. You can't even use them on your lap. If you actually want a meaningfully portable workstation that really can be a laptop, the PowerBook owns. [/B]
I don't think we know if the G3+ is going to be an easy replacement yet though, do we? To move back towards the topic again, it seems fairly certain that they'll have to turn to whatever that thing is if MOT doesn't have an ace up its sleeve G4-wise and the G5 doesn't actually appear until Q4. Hopefully they can avoid the data starvation that IIRC impacted the G4 desktop's performance when it was running at those rates. The bus improvements with the G5 were worth the price of admission, even if the chip didn't rock as much as it does.
So a G3+ in Q1 or early Q2 at the latest and then a G5 in Q4 or Q1'05. That G3+ is going to want some umph behind it to keep things going. And if they do go with it, it might become an avenue for the iBooks (and eMacs?) in the future so that the mainboard design isn't wasted on a 6-9 month product run.
(There are laptops at 7 lbs. (same as the 17") with equivilant resolution, equivilant or slightly better CPU power, worse industrial design, less battery life (Thinkpad A31). Apple definitely has better industrial design and ease-of-use, but simply hand-waving at the competition probably isn't appropriate since they are part of the same marketplace that drives Apple's product cycle and lineup, and their products aren't as shabby as many RDF folk would like to make out. Knowing what the competition is up to does help inform about what Apple may be up to. But if you want to get worked up about comparisons, please just ignore this paragraph because I don't want to waste the time on a "who's better argument", and you really don't either. Really... you don't, trust me.)
(Oh and thanks for the dignified response. Glad to know that not being stuck in the RDF isn't a crime to all people.)
So end of 2004, just like Apple has said, will probably be the next major update.
With no visible speed bumps for the existing G4, it looks like they would not be able to update more than the hard disk and/or the graphics chip. But if I remember correctly, this happened again with the Pismo, just before the advent of the first Powerbook G4. Is that what you believe will happen?
I don't think we know if the G3+ is going to be an easy replacement yet though, do we?
We can make an educated guess. The most important variable is the bus. If it's a double-pumped version of the 60x bus that PowerPCs have used from their inception in 1994, the board differences will basically sum to different CPU pinouts and a modified memory controller. It won't be as easy a jump as from a 7455 to a 7457, but it will be no harder than a jump from a G3 to a G4. MaxBus is also based on the 60x protocol, with extensions for reducing access latency and for streaming data. This is familiar territory for Apple.
Quote:
To move back towards the topic again, it seems fairly certain that they'll have to turn to whatever that thing is if MOT doesn't have an ace up its sleeve G4-wise and the G5 doesn't actually appear until Q4.
Maybe and maybe not. The Powerbook goes 9+ months without significant revisions on a regular basis. It's so tightly packed that it's not an easy machine to update. Apple could justify a one-shot VX-based PowerBook motherboard by bringing it right down to the iBook after the PowerBook goes G5, but they might elect to sit tight. It would be a bit painful, but it's a familiar pain to PowerBook watchers.
Quote:
Hopefully they can avoid the data starvation that IIRC impacted the G4 desktop's performance when it was running at those rates.
As I've said, if it's a 60x variant I'm not getting my hopes up.
Quote:
(There are laptops at 7 lbs. (same as the 17") with equivilant resolution, equivilant or slightly better CPU power, worse industrial design, less battery life (Thinkpad A31). Apple definitely has better industrial design and ease-of-use, but simply hand-waving at the competition probably isn't appropriate since they are part of the same marketplace that drives Apple's product cycle and lineup, and their products aren't as shabby as many RDF folk would like to make out.
They aren't in a position to throw Apple into crisis if they don't update the PowerBook constantly, either, which was the tone I got from your post ("falling behind?"). I know that you can get a good PC laptop if you're willing to spend the money. However, the fact that they're in "the same market" doesn't mean anything in particular to me. Apple should be trying to make the best PowerBook they can make, full stop. If they lose their lead for a month or so before a model comes out that sends the PowerBook right back out into the lead (I'm considering the whole package here, since there are always going to be the 12-pound "luggable desktop" models with near-desktop performance), that's acceptable.
Quote:
But if you want to get worked up about comparisons, please just ignore this paragraph because I don't want to waste the time on a "who's better argument", and you really don't either. Really... you don't, trust me.)
No, I don't. Apple has done as well as it has simply by trying to make the best machines they can make, and that seems to be working. If anything, you can tell where the market's going to go by watching Apple ("ooh, look! 17" laptops!").
Quote:
(Oh and thanks for the dignified response. Glad to know that not being stuck in the RDF isn't a crime to all people.)
Oh, I'm just keeping you occupied. The Men in Black will arrive shortly to take you into the bowels of Cupertino for "correction," Citizen.
Comments
Originally posted by Ompus
I know the G5 powerbook will come. But I think that time is far enough away to require the next Powerbook upgrade to remain G4 based.
Along those lines, I think we'll see a powerbook with a redsigned mobo that makes use of L3 cache, bumps the system bus to 200 mhz, and maybe, just maybe, increases chip speeds to 1.4 Ghz.
This won't be the longest lived powerbook model...but I suggest investment costs will recouped by using it as the basis for the next iBook, once the G5 is ready to handle the Powerbook.
I agree...and it is partially why I said screw it and ordered one now.
Originally posted by SDW2001
I agree...and it is partially why I said screw it and ordered one now.
I'm wondering if you're one of those who snatched up the refurbished 17" models!
Man, I checked Apple's refurbished site this morning and the 17" was available...but I got tied up at the office and now they're all gone!
Oh well, I really wanted a 15" model anyways. Hopefully one will pop up soon.
Business wise, it would be great to win the 64 bit mobility race, but to win it by a few months as opposed to a few weeks over the PC 64 bit market would position Apple in a commanding position in terms of portables in 2004.
I think Apple would greatly benefit from this 'headstart' in terms of mobile 64 bit computing sales.
Even the beloved iPod is facing stiff competition from other manufacturers/services...(from Dell, and Napster/Samsung).
We all know the iPod is the best, but these new players can only hurt the iPod's position. (how much so, it has yet to be determined, as these new devices severely undercut the iPod in terms of price).
the iMac/eMac product line demand immediate attention also, and the new rumors of the mag alloy iMac sound intriguing, but again this is another thing that has to be addressed in 2004.
2002 was a good year.
2003 was even better (G5, Panther, $$$$$$$ iTunes, Al PBs).
2004 will be the kicker. Apple will either falter, by resting on its laurels, or it will secure itself a better position in both the desktop and (perhaps more importantly) mobile computing arena with the much aticipated G5 PB.
Hopefully, the latter is what materializes.
Originally posted by shabbasuraj
Business wise, it would be great to win the 64 bit mobility race, but to win it by a few months as opposed to a few weeks over the PC 64 bit market would position Apple in a commanding position in terms of portables in 2004.
Game over. Some time ago.
Originally posted by PB
Game over. Some time ago.
i guess what i meant was win the overall 64 bit mobility race (mainstream wise)...
my bad.
Year of the laptop, laptop of the year. Ugh. Waiting for these laptop updates seems like a nightmare that never quite comes to an end. And then after $BIGNUM months to get the design just right and straightened out, the white spot issues...
I guess I'd best not cry into my Ti400 about it, I'm going to need it to hang in there for another 6-18 months. Maybe we'll see a too much, too early AlG5Book that you can use as a space heater... my house gets kind of cold anyway, and too little, too late just makes everyone sad.
too little, too late...is what we all wish for Apple to avoid.
Originally posted by Mac+
A G5 PowerBook would be nice - but I'm sort of intrigued by the possibility of a dual G4 PowerBook first. If they couldn't manage to get a G5 into the PowerBooks, then a dual G4 would be pretty darned good! ...heat issues aside, of course.
I don't think you'll see anything like this until a 0.045 300-series - so 2007 is a long time to hold your breath.
the iMac/eMac product line demand immediate attention also, and the new rumors of the mag alloy iMac sound intriguing, but again this is another thing that has to be addressed in 2004.
Lemon Bon Bon 8)
I don't see the PowerBook 'G4' clocking any higher. So. What will keep it cooking until the G5? Steep price cuts or the novelty dual 1.25 gigger?
A dual laptop? Maybe the 2nd cpu would kick in when the laptop is plugged into mains power? Hmmm.
Maybe Apple and IBM have that 'G3 class +' processor waiting in the wings...or something they haven't told us...
Originally posted by Lemon Bon Bon
Lemon Bon Bon
A dual laptop? Maybe the 2nd cpu would kick in when the laptop is plugged into mains power? Hmmm.
This sounds like a good idea, but I find very improbable that Apple will adopt such a solution for a short time period, assuming that 2005 will bring something efficient and monoprocessor based. If the recent rumors about Apple adopting new architectures (PPC 440 & 300 cells or similar) and leading a new programming paradigm in order to adapt software are true, then there is perhaps some chance we will see a dual processor (G4?) powerbook in 2004.
...or something they haven't told us...
That's what I would like most see. Just why we don't know anything about it
Originally posted by Barto
PowerBooks are on a 2 year major update cycle, with minor updates every half year or so. So end of 2004, just like Apple has said, will probably be the next major update.
If that truly is the mode of operation, then Apple is taking its laptop market for granted and is probably going to get burned. That'll be two abysmally slow upgrade cycles in a row on the "Pro" laptops, which were already falling behind thanks to the MOT G4. And at this point they'll have to stall the iBooks too, since they are a couple ports, a glowing keyboard and a handful of MHz away from being a PowerBook.
By 4Q they will both be 12+ month old models that haven't seen any notable speed increases. (And given how far behind the G4 is to begin with, the increases would have to be pretty significant to be notable.) Meanwhile the Pro desktops are now at least 3 to 4 TIMES faster than the best Pro laptop money can buy, and that's only going to get worse. And it's not like the PC makers are resting on their laurels. Hello disparity.
Ugh. If baby Jesus was an AAPL stockholder, he'd be crying if it pans out that way.
[edit: I'm my own grammatical nazi]
And the situation RIGHT NOW is that Apple makes the best laptops in the world, bar none.
Barto
Originally posted by Barto
You misunderstand the situation. Upgrading the internals every 6 months is not a slow pace,
...
And the situation RIGHT NOW is that Apple makes the best laptops in the world, bar none.
Well, let's get straight what we're talking about before we start accusing one another of "misunderstanding the situation". Ad hominem attacks are lame.
Major form factor changes every 2 years, and internal bus/cpu speed bumps maybe every 6 months. This is a reasonable pace, except that the existing Books are falling behind. Falling behind their PC competitors and the consumer desktop models, falling way behind the pro desktops. In order to maintain consumer interest in the iBooks they've been upgraded at a regular pace up to now where they are a hop, skip and jump away from being PowerBooks.
At this point, short of a new mainboard design "ahead of schedule" the whole line of *Books is going to be forced to stagnate for about a year if the G5 is really not going to be able to make it before 4Q2004. The MOT G4's don't look like they are going to go any faster, and switching to the IBM G3+ is probably going to require a mainboard change, which you argue isn't feasible. Plus faster clocks would dictate doing something about the slow bus problem anyway.
Apple's products are the best bar none, except for the quality control problems on the mobo nuking iBooks, and the white spots on the PowerBooks and the performance concerns as high-end PC laptops begin to significantly outrun Apple's product offering. How about the lack of 5400 RPM drives? Oh and let's not talk about the inexplicable failure to ship hot spares (with a deposit, of course) to business customers who have machines going in for warranty service like nearly every other vendor.
I like Apple, and their products (and own several), but I think there are a few bars more the Apple could step up to, and may have to in order to maintain a compelling product lineup. Luckily they still have the silver bullet of ease-of-use...
How's that for an ad hominem attack.
Originally posted by go2wac
Major form factor changes every 2 years, and internal bus/cpu speed bumps maybe every 6 months. This is a reasonable pace, except that the existing Books are falling behind. Falling behind their PC competitors and the consumer desktop models, falling way behind the pro desktops. In order to maintain consumer interest in the iBooks they've been upgraded at a regular pace up to now where they are a hop, skip and jump away from being PowerBooks.
I haven't seen the PC notebooks that are trouncing the iBook. If they're falling way behind the pro desktops, um, so? Apple's lineup was artificially compressed for several years by an across-the-board reliance on embedded CPUs. Now it isn't. A $3000 tower should be able to destroy any portable. In fact, by the time some variant of the 970 appears in a PowerBook, the PowerMac will probably have moved up to the 980, and it will probably continue to rip the 'Books a new one performance-wise. As well it should.
The iBook has nipped at the PowerBook's heels for years. Remember the iBook SE, with a 466MHz processor, when the PowerBooks came in 400 and 500MHz flavors? Other things than CPU clock speed distinguish iBooks from PowerBooks.
At this point, short of a new mainboard design "ahead of schedule" the whole line of *Books is going to be forced to stagnate for about a year if the G5 is really not going to be able to make it before 4Q2004. The MOT G4's don't look like they are going to go any faster, and switching to the IBM G3+ is probably going to require a mainboard change, which you argue isn't feasible. Plus faster clocks would dictate doing something about the slow bus problem anyway.
A mainboard change to accomodate a different variant of what is essentially a G4 wouldn't be that big a deal. A 970-class CPU would require a complete revision, though.
There are laptops that can outrun a PowerBook, but they weigh 12 pounds, last 10 minutes on battery, roar and heat up like nobody's business. You can't even use them on your lap. If you actually want a meaningfully portable workstation that really can be a laptop, the PowerBook owns.
Originally posted by Amorph
A mainboard change to accomodate a different variant of what is essentially a G4 wouldn't be that big a deal. A 970-class CPU would require a complete revision, though.
There are laptops that can outrun a PowerBook, but they weigh 12 pounds, last 10 minutes on battery, roar and heat up like nobody's business. You can't even use them on your lap. If you actually want a meaningfully portable workstation that really can be a laptop, the PowerBook owns. [/B]
I don't think we know if the G3+ is going to be an easy replacement yet though, do we? To move back towards the topic again, it seems fairly certain that they'll have to turn to whatever that thing is if MOT doesn't have an ace up its sleeve G4-wise and the G5 doesn't actually appear until Q4. Hopefully they can avoid the data starvation that IIRC impacted the G4 desktop's performance when it was running at those rates. The bus improvements with the G5 were worth the price of admission, even if the chip didn't rock as much as it does.
So a G3+ in Q1 or early Q2 at the latest and then a G5 in Q4 or Q1'05. That G3+ is going to want some umph behind it to keep things going. And if they do go with it, it might become an avenue for the iBooks (and eMacs?) in the future so that the mainboard design isn't wasted on a 6-9 month product run.
(There are laptops at 7 lbs. (same as the 17") with equivilant resolution, equivilant or slightly better CPU power, worse industrial design, less battery life (Thinkpad A31). Apple definitely has better industrial design and ease-of-use, but simply hand-waving at the competition probably isn't appropriate since they are part of the same marketplace that drives Apple's product cycle and lineup, and their products aren't as shabby as many RDF folk would like to make out. Knowing what the competition is up to does help inform about what Apple may be up to. But if you want to get worked up about comparisons, please just ignore this paragraph because I don't want to waste the time on a "who's better argument", and you really don't either. Really... you don't, trust me.)
(Oh and thanks for the dignified response. Glad to know that not being stuck in the RDF isn't a crime to all people.)
Originally posted by Barto
So end of 2004, just like Apple has said, will probably be the next major update.
With no visible speed bumps for the existing G4, it looks like they would not be able to update more than the hard disk and/or the graphics chip. But if I remember correctly, this happened again with the Pismo, just before the advent of the first Powerbook G4. Is that what you believe will happen?
Originally posted by go2wac
I don't think we know if the G3+ is going to be an easy replacement yet though, do we?
We can make an educated guess. The most important variable is the bus. If it's a double-pumped version of the 60x bus that PowerPCs have used from their inception in 1994, the board differences will basically sum to different CPU pinouts and a modified memory controller. It won't be as easy a jump as from a 7455 to a 7457, but it will be no harder than a jump from a G3 to a G4. MaxBus is also based on the 60x protocol, with extensions for reducing access latency and for streaming data. This is familiar territory for Apple.
To move back towards the topic again, it seems fairly certain that they'll have to turn to whatever that thing is if MOT doesn't have an ace up its sleeve G4-wise and the G5 doesn't actually appear until Q4.
Maybe and maybe not. The Powerbook goes 9+ months without significant revisions on a regular basis. It's so tightly packed that it's not an easy machine to update. Apple could justify a one-shot VX-based PowerBook motherboard by bringing it right down to the iBook after the PowerBook goes G5, but they might elect to sit tight. It would be a bit painful, but it's a familiar pain to PowerBook watchers.
Hopefully they can avoid the data starvation that IIRC impacted the G4 desktop's performance when it was running at those rates.
As I've said, if it's a 60x variant I'm not getting my hopes up.
(There are laptops at 7 lbs. (same as the 17") with equivilant resolution, equivilant or slightly better CPU power, worse industrial design, less battery life (Thinkpad A31). Apple definitely has better industrial design and ease-of-use, but simply hand-waving at the competition probably isn't appropriate since they are part of the same marketplace that drives Apple's product cycle and lineup, and their products aren't as shabby as many RDF folk would like to make out.
They aren't in a position to throw Apple into crisis if they don't update the PowerBook constantly, either, which was the tone I got from your post ("falling behind?"). I know that you can get a good PC laptop if you're willing to spend the money. However, the fact that they're in "the same market" doesn't mean anything in particular to me. Apple should be trying to make the best PowerBook they can make, full stop. If they lose their lead for a month or so before a model comes out that sends the PowerBook right back out into the lead (I'm considering the whole package here, since there are always going to be the 12-pound "luggable desktop" models with near-desktop performance), that's acceptable.
But if you want to get worked up about comparisons, please just ignore this paragraph because I don't want to waste the time on a "who's better argument", and you really don't either. Really... you don't, trust me.)
No, I don't. Apple has done as well as it has simply by trying to make the best machines they can make, and that seems to be working. If anything, you can tell where the market's going to go by watching Apple ("ooh, look! 17" laptops!").
(Oh and thanks for the dignified response. Glad to know that not being stuck in the RDF isn't a crime to all people.)
Oh, I'm just keeping you occupied. The Men in Black will arrive shortly to take you into the bowels of Cupertino for "correction," Citizen.