At this point I'm planning on getting the bottom line, 12" iBook. I thought about getting something better, but once I realized that Applecare is 250, I quickly went back down to the $999 model. I am, however, planning on doubling the ram and putting in a bigger HD.
Hopefully Apple will do one of those things for me this week.
I'm not expecting much from the next revision iBook. As already mentioned, the fact remains that it's currently not very far off from PB specs.
So, what can we hope to see?
Well, let's be realistic. It will probably be in the same improvements that the PB just received (bluetooth, scroll pad, drop protection). Yeah, pretty boring stuff.
Sure they'll be a small speed bump, but I'd really love to see an improved keyboard with a stiffer bottom.
Of course I'd love to see true monitor spanning and a better video card, but I somehow don't see that happening until an all new form factor is designed.
well, i sold my current laptop, and i sold a few other things and came up with some more cash.
i was looking at the 12" and 15" powerbooks at compusa and i think i will go for the 15" with combo drive. my last laptop lasted me over 3 years, so i figured that since i dont upgrade often, $1800 (edu discount) is a fair price to pay for a great laptop.
is it just me, or are the powerbooks just sexy?
i'm going to order one from apple.com tomorrow, letting my credit card clear.
It seems that the iBook updates aren't as sure of a lock as everyone thought, or I would think they would have been included in the update today.
How long should I wait (keeping in mind that patience is not one of my virtues) before I just go ahead and get my iBook? Can someone re-assure me that waiting would be a good idea?
It seems that the iBook updates aren't as sure of a lock as everyone thought, or I would think they would have been included in the update today.
How long should I wait (keeping in mind that patience is not one of my virtues) before I just go ahead and get my iBook? Can someone re-assure me that waiting would be a good idea?
The new iMacs were released days after the new powermacs, so Apple is probably going for a delayed refresh for their whole line to coincide with Tiger. Patience, grasshopper. If the iBooks are refreshed anytime soon, it'll be next tuesday.
The new iMacs were released days after the new powermacs, so Apple is probably going for a delayed refresh for their whole line to coincide with Tiger. Patience, grasshopper. If the iBooks are refreshed anytime soon, it'll be next tuesday.
It can bee any day of the week, we've discussed this more than once in the last month. This is the first update on a tuesday in a LONG LONG time. I'd say any of the following days are a possibility (mon, tue, wed)... never count those out.
It seems that the iBook updates aren't as sure of a lock as everyone thought, or I would think they would have been included in the update today.
How long should I wait (keeping in mind that patience is not one of my virtues) before I just go ahead and get my iBook? Can someone re-assure me that waiting would be a good idea?
I can reassure you waiting is a good idea. Steve Jobs is giving his keynote address at WWDC2005 on Monday, June 6, 2005. This is the place where he unveils new hardware so if the iBooks have a new form factor this is where we will see it for the first time, and this is the reason for you to wait! If all it gets is a graphics card that supports Core Image then that alone will be worth the wait because you will have a computer that can take full advantage of software that uses Core Image.
If you want to see what kind of effects Core Image can produce watch Steve's Macworld San Fransisco keynote address. Click the link below and go 20 minutes into the speech and watch him demonstrate Dashboard. When he adds widgets to Dashboard the rippling is Core Image in action.
Not just CoreImage, but CoreVideo as well. Also quartz Extreme is fully off loaded to the graphics card now (if you have a good enough graphics card) for rendering EVERYTHING. Including webpages, drawing programs etc. Its a good idea, especially with tiger, to have the best card you can get.
I have a strong (and somewhat supported through sources) hunch that the next iBooks will have the FX 5200 Go in them (and probably 64 MB ones). It's not a fast chip, but in Tiger it'll be faster just because it has full CoreImage support. The extra VRAM would help a lot, of course.
I have a strong (and somewhat supported through sources) hunch that the next iBooks will have the FX 5200 Go in them (and probably 64 MB ones). It's not a fast chip, but in Tiger it'll be faster just because it has full CoreImage support. The extra VRAM would help a lot, of course.
My knowledge of video cards is limited - how does this compare to the ATI Radeon 9600 XT I have in my desktop machine?
I have a strong (and somewhat supported through sources) hunch that the next iBooks will have the FX 5200 Go in them (and probably 64 MB ones). It's not a fast chip, but in Tiger it'll be faster just because it has full CoreImage support. The extra VRAM would help a lot, of course.
The nVidia FX 5200 Go was in the 12" PowerBook at one time and it was 32MB, but whatever card Apple does put into the iBook it better be 64MB since the graphics card is going to be doing alot more work.
Personally, I think the inability of Apple to produce the Powerbook that they would like is holding back the iBook update.
PC notebooks are currently advancing in a number of areas. Screen resolutions are getting higher. The Pentium M which is a better performer than the same clock speed G4, is moving on above the 2Ghz clock speed. Battery performance is good.
If Apple is to upgrade the iBook they need to be able to compete (for the next 6 months or so) with the ever improving PC notebooks (which already are much better value for money) which means CPU, GPU and screen improvements. Unfortuantely this would make them in some cases perhaps better than the current Powerbooks.
In recent years the iBook has been upgraded in April & October but this year it hasn't. The introduction of Tiger would surely have brought about updated iBooks if there were no Powerbooks. After all, all desktops except the new Mini were upgraded.
So I think that we won't see any iBook updates until Apple are able to update the Powerbook. I don't think that the Powerbook is really worthy of its name anymore. I think Apple are aware of this. Will we see price drops if Apple are unable to update soon? But then we won't be impressed when the new 'books come out at a higher price.
I therefore think that the Powerbook might get any earlier than expected update if Apple are able to deliver what they would like. Could we see new 'Books at WWDC or will it be in Paris in September? Apple surely can't expect too many iBooks to sell if they are not updated until September.
My knowledge of video cards is limited - how does this compare to the ATI Radeon 9600 XT I have in my desktop machine?
The FX 5200 Go is considerably slower; the 9600 XT is almost in a different league. The FX 5200, however, does have all the features needed for full CoreImage support.
The nVidia FX 5200 Go was in the 12" PowerBook at one time and it was 32MB, but whatever card Apple does put into the iBook it better be 64MB since the graphics card is going to be doing alot more work.
Might want to do your homework next time. The FX 5200 Go has been in the 12" PowerBook ever since Sept. 2003, and it was only when it was first introduced that it shipped with 32 MB of video RAM. The April 2004 update (which I have) and the January 2005 update both have 64 MB of memory onboard.
Comments
Originally posted by DrewMG
Just registered here last week for the exact purpose of the new iBook.
Welcome Drew! What would you get ? the 12 inch or the 14 inch?
Hopefully Apple will do one of those things for me this week.
So, what can we hope to see?
Well, let's be realistic. It will probably be in the same improvements that the PB just received (bluetooth, scroll pad, drop protection). Yeah, pretty boring stuff.
Sure they'll be a small speed bump, but I'd really love to see an improved keyboard with a stiffer bottom.
Of course I'd love to see true monitor spanning and a better video card, but I somehow don't see that happening until an all new form factor is designed.
i was looking at the 12" and 15" powerbooks at compusa and i think i will go for the 15" with combo drive. my last laptop lasted me over 3 years, so i figured that since i dont upgrade often, $1800 (edu discount) is a fair price to pay for a great laptop.
is it just me, or are the powerbooks just sexy?
i'm going to order one from apple.com tomorrow, letting my credit card clear.
thanks for the help and suggestions guys.
How long should I wait (keeping in mind that patience is not one of my virtues) before I just go ahead and get my iBook? Can someone re-assure me that waiting would be a good idea?
Originally posted by DrewMG
It seems that the iBook updates aren't as sure of a lock as everyone thought, or I would think they would have been included in the update today.
How long should I wait (keeping in mind that patience is not one of my virtues) before I just go ahead and get my iBook? Can someone re-assure me that waiting would be a good idea?
The new iMacs were released days after the new powermacs, so Apple is probably going for a delayed refresh for their whole line to coincide with Tiger. Patience, grasshopper. If the iBooks are refreshed anytime soon, it'll be next tuesday.
Originally posted by g3pro
The new iMacs were released days after the new powermacs, so Apple is probably going for a delayed refresh for their whole line to coincide with Tiger. Patience, grasshopper. If the iBooks are refreshed anytime soon, it'll be next tuesday.
It can bee any day of the week, we've discussed this more than once in the last month. This is the first update on a tuesday in a LONG LONG time. I'd say any of the following days are a possibility (mon, tue, wed)... never count those out.
I was just wondering how you guys figured that next week would be the release.
Also, it doesn't have a core technology compatible graphics card. I'm sure apple would like this to be compatible with all of tigers features.
Originally posted by DrewMG
It seems that the iBook updates aren't as sure of a lock as everyone thought, or I would think they would have been included in the update today.
How long should I wait (keeping in mind that patience is not one of my virtues) before I just go ahead and get my iBook? Can someone re-assure me that waiting would be a good idea?
I can reassure you waiting is a good idea. Steve Jobs is giving his keynote address at WWDC2005 on Monday, June 6, 2005. This is the place where he unveils new hardware so if the iBooks have a new form factor this is where we will see it for the first time, and this is the reason for you to wait! If all it gets is a graphics card that supports Core Image then that alone will be worth the wait because you will have a computer that can take full advantage of software that uses Core Image.
Originally posted by DrewMG
What is Core Image, exactly?
Apple's Core Image page can be found at
http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/coreimage/
If you want to see what kind of effects Core Image can produce watch Steve's Macworld San Fransisco keynote address. Click the link below and go 20 minutes into the speech and watch him demonstrate Dashboard. When he adds widgets to Dashboard the rippling is Core Image in action.
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/mwsf05/
Originally posted by Commodus
I have a strong (and somewhat supported through sources) hunch that the next iBooks will have the FX 5200 Go in them (and probably 64 MB ones). It's not a fast chip, but in Tiger it'll be faster just because it has full CoreImage support. The extra VRAM would help a lot, of course.
My knowledge of video cards is limited - how does this compare to the ATI Radeon 9600 XT I have in my desktop machine?
Originally posted by Commodus
I have a strong (and somewhat supported through sources) hunch that the next iBooks will have the FX 5200 Go in them (and probably 64 MB ones). It's not a fast chip, but in Tiger it'll be faster just because it has full CoreImage support. The extra VRAM would help a lot, of course.
The nVidia FX 5200 Go was in the 12" PowerBook at one time and it was 32MB, but whatever card Apple does put into the iBook it better be 64MB since the graphics card is going to be doing alot more work.
PC notebooks are currently advancing in a number of areas. Screen resolutions are getting higher. The Pentium M which is a better performer than the same clock speed G4, is moving on above the 2Ghz clock speed. Battery performance is good.
If Apple is to upgrade the iBook they need to be able to compete (for the next 6 months or so) with the ever improving PC notebooks (which already are much better value for money) which means CPU, GPU and screen improvements. Unfortuantely this would make them in some cases perhaps better than the current Powerbooks.
In recent years the iBook has been upgraded in April & October but this year it hasn't. The introduction of Tiger would surely have brought about updated iBooks if there were no Powerbooks. After all, all desktops except the new Mini were upgraded.
So I think that we won't see any iBook updates until Apple are able to update the Powerbook. I don't think that the Powerbook is really worthy of its name anymore. I think Apple are aware of this. Will we see price drops if Apple are unable to update soon? But then we won't be impressed when the new 'books come out at a higher price.
I therefore think that the Powerbook might get any earlier than expected update if Apple are able to deliver what they would like. Could we see new 'Books at WWDC or will it be in Paris in September? Apple surely can't expect too many iBooks to sell if they are not updated until September.
Originally posted by DrewMG
My knowledge of video cards is limited - how does this compare to the ATI Radeon 9600 XT I have in my desktop machine?
The FX 5200 Go is considerably slower; the 9600 XT is almost in a different league. The FX 5200, however, does have all the features needed for full CoreImage support.
Originally posted by troberts
The nVidia FX 5200 Go was in the 12" PowerBook at one time and it was 32MB, but whatever card Apple does put into the iBook it better be 64MB since the graphics card is going to be doing alot more work.
Might want to do your homework next time.