Who needs a PB G5 if.....
Hi,
I have thought about this for some time and will hopefully get all of my thoughts down.
I know people are screaming for a PB G5 and it would be nice, but how many people really need all of that power sitting out in the woods knowing that the battery life would be 15 minutes.
What I think (and I hope Apple gurus listen to this) is that there needs to be more integration between Macs. In other words, a G4 PB would be just fine for a lot of people if they could get their G5 desktop to be the power behind it. When I am on the road, power doesn't matter to me. When I am at the office, it does. Why doesn't Apple take things a step further and allow multiple systems to share the load. I don't mean simple file/screen sharing, but something totally seemless.
I have a dual G4 that serves me fine at home. But I'd like to access all of my files (and desktop environment) seemlessly with a PB. I just had twins girls and will need to be in more places than one. A PB would serve me well, but then what do I do with the dual G4. The point is that I only want to deal with one machine. I don't want to have to figure out where the latest files are, etc. But I want seemless syncing when I go on the road and come back.
Also, with the Mac mini, more people are going to start having multiple Macs. They are going to be faced with a similar problem - "I want to get to my machine from the kid's Mac mini in the family room, but I don't want to go to my machine"
Another way to put it is that I want to be able to use either of several machines, have my files continually synced, lock out other machines when I am using one, transparently take advantage of more processing power as needed, etc.
I don't know if my point is coming across, but it seems like Apple could sell more Macs if it was MUCH easier to use multiple systems (not that Apple is having trouble selling machines).
I have looked at remote desktop ($300 is a bit much for 2 machines), OS X server (overkill), and VNC (works, but not for everything).
I have faith that Apple can come up with a new innovative way to deal with such issues and blow our socks off !!
I have thought about this for some time and will hopefully get all of my thoughts down.
I know people are screaming for a PB G5 and it would be nice, but how many people really need all of that power sitting out in the woods knowing that the battery life would be 15 minutes.
What I think (and I hope Apple gurus listen to this) is that there needs to be more integration between Macs. In other words, a G4 PB would be just fine for a lot of people if they could get their G5 desktop to be the power behind it. When I am on the road, power doesn't matter to me. When I am at the office, it does. Why doesn't Apple take things a step further and allow multiple systems to share the load. I don't mean simple file/screen sharing, but something totally seemless.
I have a dual G4 that serves me fine at home. But I'd like to access all of my files (and desktop environment) seemlessly with a PB. I just had twins girls and will need to be in more places than one. A PB would serve me well, but then what do I do with the dual G4. The point is that I only want to deal with one machine. I don't want to have to figure out where the latest files are, etc. But I want seemless syncing when I go on the road and come back.
Also, with the Mac mini, more people are going to start having multiple Macs. They are going to be faced with a similar problem - "I want to get to my machine from the kid's Mac mini in the family room, but I don't want to go to my machine"
Another way to put it is that I want to be able to use either of several machines, have my files continually synced, lock out other machines when I am using one, transparently take advantage of more processing power as needed, etc.
I don't know if my point is coming across, but it seems like Apple could sell more Macs if it was MUCH easier to use multiple systems (not that Apple is having trouble selling machines).
I have looked at remote desktop ($300 is a bit much for 2 machines), OS X server (overkill), and VNC (works, but not for everything).
I have faith that Apple can come up with a new innovative way to deal with such issues and blow our socks off !!
Comments
Originally posted by philbutler
Another way to put it is that I want to be able to use either of several machines, have my files continually synced, lock out other machines when I am using one, transparently take advantage of more processing power as needed, etc.
So out of your entire post, these are the things you are asking for concretely.
Depending on your size load, you can use .mac and iSync to sync folders. Transfer everything to your iDisk. If you want a crapload of data sharing, Apple will never (in the forseeable future) offer the kind of synching you are looking for. Why? How could they sustain such a huge data load, especially for $99/year? Removable storage is probably the closest thing you are going to get. USB/Firewire drives. Sync locally.
That would solve locking them locally as the data is on the removable drive.
As for the transparently taking advantage of processing power - ellaborate.
One awkward way to do this now would be to keep your home directory on the powerbook. When you get home connect the PB to the dual G4 in FW disk mode and figure out how to access your home directory that way. Similar to the people who put their home directories on iPods or other small FW HDs.
Basically, I want to have portability to travel with but when I'm home I want power for video and audio manipulation. It would be great to come home with a PB and somehow dock it into a dual G5/cinema display so that everything is there seamlessly.
First, Mac-peers would automatically sync in real-time. When you save a file on one, it would save on the other. Of course, they would have to be connected (wired or wireless) for this to happen. If you were remote, then a sync would occur as soon as connected. This part seems like it would be easy - but I haven't seen any products that do this. Another question on this would be what was synced. I personally would like my home directory (of course) and also any applications that I install. Now, this would open up all kinds of licensing issues.
Another thing would be that Mac-peers would be able to share resources. If I was connected and using a laptop, then checking email would be on the local machine. However, if I was doing something CPU intensive (say Photoshop for example), then it would actually run on a top-end G5 but the user interface (windows, etc) would be on the laptop - effectively making the laptop into a higher powered machine. In other words, if your Mac was part of a peer system, load would be automatically distributed, taking into account the link speed, CPU speed/count, etc.
Another issue that I just thought of is the small hard drive size in laptops. I know 100G's are starting to come out, but what if I want/need something more. This would be easy if the peer machines were always connected, but life isn't that easy, is it ?
I mentioned before that this kind of technology might sell more machines for Apple (again, not that they are having trouble doing so), but it could have the reverse effect. Why get the latest powerbook when a 2 yr old PB could easily be a peer with a imac G5. This would effectively extend the life of older machines. I can see it both ways - and let's hope that the Apple marketing staff sees it as selling more machines.
If Apple is really developing a palm-top Mac, then some of the stuff mentioned above would be ideal for integrating this into an existing Mac environment.
In today's world, more people are starting to have multiple machines - portable/power, multiple machines in a business/family, etc.
Apple should lead the way in making multiple machines act as one.
Scheduling tasks between different processors over the internet is a much more complicated procedure, I guess it needs to be some kind of grid system - something along the lines of an improved xgrid.
The issues really are: that this really takes time to set up every time you disconnected the laptop, the dektop system is using a laptop drive and therfore some performace penateis, the desktop isn't utitlizing the laptop cpu.
On the software side: Create sotfare/routines to make connections one plug and one klick.
Create a power desktop that has pluin harddrives, a large ramdisk (compensation for the slower laptop drive).This unit should have installed apps and system (the apps and sytem sould gather prefereces and other to make the machine mirror the laptop system and files/prefereces created saved on laptop.)
Viktor
Originally posted by webmail
I need a 3.2ghz g4 laptop or better. Or shit maybe even 2.5ghz?
Don't need a 2.5 GHZ or faster ... need a 1.25 dual dore or dual processor ... or even 2x1.5GHz ;-)
In general, I am just putting these thoughts out there in the hopes that Apple will see a need here and address it. I know it may be 3 years before this type of thing can be done though.
Especially with the rumored palm-top Mac (and like I said with the Mac mini, etc) - more and more people are starting to have more than one Mac. They shouldn't have to treat them as separate computers, but rather as extensions of one another.
I want a 3 GHz 970mp Powerbook. I want the battery to last for days.
I want my Powermac G5 twin 3 GHz 970mp to sense my Powerbook when it gets within range of my Airport network, wake from sleep, mount my laptop's Home directory, and automatically synch with my desktop's home directory. Then I want both computer to remain synched until they are out of Airport range or one/both get sleepy or shut down.
I want to be able to specify which directories are synched, and which are not, but I want to be able to access ALL of my desktop's files on my Powerbook while in Airport range. I want to be able to view porn on my powerbook (on my hidden, encrypted disk image), but not hog 3 GB of precious laptop HD space with such smut.
I want the option of establishing an encrypted satellite uplink from anywhere in the world between my Powerbook and Powermac, and to be able to work with all files seamlessly, regardless of which computer they're on, and I want them synched. I want to be able to take my Powerbook to the South Fucking Poll, crack it open and view the porn files on my Powermac in Michigan - all without my girlfriend any wiser.
I want a 10" Powerbook that I can slip in my jacket. I want an 18" HD Powerbook that I use to edit all those porns I shoot. And on the Lapzilla? model, I want hot-swappable HDs, so when I'm in the midst of capturing a hot scene, I don't have to worry about running out of HD capacity.
If Apple cannot deliver on my wants then they suxx.
He's getting at the root of things - it's gotta be transparent !! I especially like the magically increased drive space when in Airport range.
Listening Apple ??
Viktor
Originally posted by philbutler
I agree with Dawg - except for the porn thing.
Do you mean you want your porn synched so your significant other can view it as well? Or are you a "family values" fundagelical sort?
Originally posted by farve
Apple has people emlpoyed at a full time basis to think up stuff like this, all points above are no brainers intended for our amusement only.
Viktor
Ahhh, but does Apple have anyone employed full time to LISTEN to those whose job it is to think up cool shit?
Of course Jobs has people employed full time and overtime to listen to HIS ideas and tell him how cool they are, but what about other people's ideas?
Originally posted by Junkyard Dawg
... Of course Jobs has people employed full time and overtime to listen to HIS ideas and tell him how cool they are, but what about other people's ideas?
Maybe Apple could be like Microsoft, where everyone sends the ideas to Bill G and tells them they're HIS ideas, and he can take credit for the ones he likes.
Originally posted by cubist
Maybe Apple could be like Microsoft, where everyone sends the ideas to Bill G and tells them they're HIS ideas, and he can take credit for the ones he likes.
LOL, quite right. Apple's got a great system, but I'd hate to keep it in place after Jobs is gone.