Dream Machine....
Summary
? Dual 800MHz PowerPC G4
? 1.5GB SDRAM - 3 DIMMs
? 3x72GB Ultra160 SCSI - Dual card
? Apple Cinema Display (22" flat panel)
? iPod
? Zip 250 Drive
? Apple SuperDrive
? NVIDIA GeForce3 - 64MB DDR-SDRAM
? 3 Radeon PCI cards - 32MB SDRAM each
? Ultra SCSI PCI card & cable adapter
? 56K internal modem
? Apple Pro Speakers
? AirPort Card
? Apple Pro Keyboard - U.S. English
? Mac OS - U.S. English
? APP for Power Mac (w/ or w/o display) - Enrollment Kit
? Gigabit Ethernet
? Two USB ports
? Two FireWire ports
? Apple Pro Mouse
$12,803.00
Now, if I can just sell my 1 year old Maxima, I can but two!
Subtotal $12,803.00
? Dual 800MHz PowerPC G4
? 1.5GB SDRAM - 3 DIMMs
? 3x72GB Ultra160 SCSI - Dual card
? Apple Cinema Display (22" flat panel)
? iPod
? Zip 250 Drive
? Apple SuperDrive
? NVIDIA GeForce3 - 64MB DDR-SDRAM
? 3 Radeon PCI cards - 32MB SDRAM each
? Ultra SCSI PCI card & cable adapter
? 56K internal modem
? Apple Pro Speakers
? AirPort Card
? Apple Pro Keyboard - U.S. English
? Mac OS - U.S. English
? APP for Power Mac (w/ or w/o display) - Enrollment Kit
? Gigabit Ethernet
? Two USB ports
? Two FireWire ports
? Apple Pro Mouse
$12,803.00
Now, if I can just sell my 1 year old Maxima, I can but two!
Subtotal $12,803.00
Comments
1.2 GHz G5
400 MHz system bus
512 MB DDR RAM
60 GB HD
GeForce 3 Ti 500 (don't expect it on machine....but to add on)
new slick enclosure with 2 full drive bays
Lite-On 24x10x40x CD-RW (from my G3)
DVD-RW
FireWire 2
USB 2
some good speakers
Mac OS X
<strong>My dream machine for MWSF:
1.2 GHz G5
400 MHz system bus
512 MB DDR RAM
60 GB HD
GeForce 3 Ti 500 (don't expect it on machine....but to add on)
new slick enclosure with 2 full drive bays
Lite-On 24x10x40x CD-RW (from my G3)
DVD-RW
FireWire 2
USB 2
some good speakers
Mac OS X</strong><hr></blockquote>
You forgot to mention a monitor. I suppose you'd get the Cinema Display, right?
It's a funny cycle that begins 2-3 months before, and increases in intensity and more far-out wishes/predictions as the keynote nears. Then, almost ALWAYS, the actual unveilings/announcements are NOWHERE NEAR what we've all been speculating about and guessing.
In the three or so years that Jobs has been back and these MWSF and MWNY keynotes have become the two high-points of many of our Mac-using lives, has there been a keynote that has represented such a wild-ass, dramatic leap that came anywhere near our hopes?
I can't think of maybe more than one.
What I'm getting at is this: Apple, for whatever reason (blame it on Motorola or others...if not Apple themselves and whatever reasoning they're going by) never quite seems to deliver what we're screaming for and has, in the past couple of years, been known for those mildly placating slight speed/feature bumps, when it's so obvious that so much more should (and needs) to be addressed.
For over two years now, it's been 50-100MHz speed bumps, spread out over an entire year! So that make me wonder: what in God's name makes us actually believe - based on the previous 2-3 years of evidence - that Steve is going to unveil a G5 at Macworld? Not only that, a G5 with a HUGE leap of 400MHz or so, up to 1.2GHz.
MY prediction? No G5, merely an incremental scootching up of the G4, perhaps breaking the 1GHz barrier on the high-end model.
Don't get me wrong: it would be nothing but cool if an all-new, G5 or whatever, Power Mac was unveiled with 1GHz-plus speeds on ALL models, but I just don't think that's going to happen and I don't want to get myself - or see some of you - torqued up into knots for the next 7 weeks, thinking it's actually going to happen. Because if it DOESN'T...oh man, the floodgates of bitching, pissing and moaning and "CONFIRMED: Apple sucks!!!" and "How Jobs blew it..." threads are going to be all over this place.
Always shoot low, fellas. That way, you're never disappointed or let down...and then, every once in a while, you're genuinely surprised and satisfied out of the blue by a simple 100-200MHz speed bump or something like a slightly altered case design.
That's my strategy, and going by that, I've yet to have a Macworld Expo keynote break my heart or piss me off.
However, I will say this: I think this G5 talk is about nothing and that what will take center stage in Frisco in a month and a half will be a brand-new, redesigned iMac.
It HAS to be...it's is BEYOND time for it. Nobody gets a flying damn about the iMac in its current form and feature set...Apple surely has to know this and can't let their flagship, bacon-saving product eek out another disappointing 6-8 month cycle with the same tired case design, sissy-level speed bumps, a low-rent video card and something that EVERY Mac should have on it (at least as an option): a DVD/CD-R combo drive!
Not to mention not addressing the whole 15" monitor thing.
It is SO time for a new iMac. Of SOME sort. Doesn't even have to be LCD-based, but it has to address - once and for all - the gripes/complaints aimed the iMac's way over the past couple of years, only getting louder and more intense: screen size, weak video, etc.
I don't think it's in Apple's nature, for whatever reason, to truly come through and dazzle with a G5, 1.2GHz. Not yet, anyway.
It would make too much sense and result in too many sales.
[ 11-17-2001: Message edited by: pscates ]</p>
Apple needs to re-vamp all of their products if you ask me.
It shouldn't be unrealistic to expect towers over a GHz, G5 or not. The Apollo G4 is obviously ready for action and it has speeds of 1-1.333 GHz. Of course knowing Apple they would feel that's too much speed for us. So 7460 at 1-1.333 GHz or G5 at 1.2-1.6 GHz.
I doubt the G5 will be dissapointing
1.5 gigs RAM
3x80gig drives internal
6x80 drives firewire external
Three Cinema Displays side to side
Kensington TurboMouse
<strong>pscates you read too many rumor sites
I doubt the G5 will be dissapointing
What? Not hardly. THEY'RE the guys saying all this wild "G5 at 1.4GHz..." stuff. I'm merely poo-pooing in.
Doesn't take a rumor site reader to do that.
Unless of course, you were being sarcastic. In that case: "hehehehehe!"
Besides, I only know of one rumors site: MOSR. And believe me...I take EVERYTHING I see there with a grain of salt about the size of my car.
In any case, I, too, don't think the G5 will be "disappointing". If it actually exists and materializes, I'm sure it'll be supremely groovy. What I talked about in my initial post was everyone betting the farm that a 1.whateverGHz G5 is DEFINITELY on hand for MWSF, and the enormous letdown and bitchfest that's gonna result if one isn't.
Happens here all the time.
[quote] For over two years now, it's been 50-100MHz speed bumps, spread out over an entire year! So that make me wonder: what in God's name makes us actually believe - based on the previous 2-3 years of evidence - that Steve is going to unveil a G5 at Macworld? Not only that, a G5 with a HUGE leap of 400MHz or so, up to 1.2GHz.
MY prediction? No G5 <hr></blockquote>
That's great, but you see, the Kandinski's painted on both sides. Turn it over and here's the picture... Apple is an innovator. It needs to be on the edge every now and again to maintain that reputation. It's been TWO YEARS since the ibook took my breath away. You know that they must have something coming. The iPod's great, but it has a different purpose. So many here feel that that something is just around the corner. Maybe it's the G5. Maybe it's the flat screen iMac. There is a reasonable expectation based on Apple's stated goal to make insanely great computers.
Second...
[quote] Always shoot low, fellas. <hr></blockquote>
Worst advice I've seen in awhile. I hope you don't really mean it. If you shoot for the stars, you might, some day, hit the moon and impress the hell out of everyone. But yeah, we could all due with a dose of sober thought once in awhile WRT our expectations.
NO G5 'till MWNY! Got it?
1 Ghz g3
100 mhz bus
radeon mobility 16mb
30 gig hard drive
built in airport
dvd drive
Okay, if Apple and Jobs were at my mercy and had to produce a custom, one-off Mac for me, I think here's what I would do:
Some sort of all-in-one G4.
I LOVE the whole "iVibe" and the style, ease-of-use and appeal of the iMac and iBook...always have. Even WAY more than the pro-level stuff, which always felt out of my reach or league or something. Hard to explain.
Anyway, staying within reason (existing components/technology), here's would would float my boat, Mac-wise (for the sake of this, we'll just call it an iMac):
- iMac (all-in-one design)
- LCD-based design, with the same screen size/resolution as the current 15" Studio Display (1024x768)...OR possibly some sort of cool wide-angle thing, kinda like the Titanium PowerBook, only a bit larger for desktop?)
- G4, at 867MHz (basically the guts of the current 867 Quicksilver G4, including system bus and all that other stuff)
- 1GB RAM (plenty, and if it's not, I need another hobby/job)
- 100GB hard drive (see RAM above)
- Slot-loading DVD/CD-R combo drive (I know, I know...SuperDrive! But here's the deal: I'm being practical and reasonable here...I don't own a digital camcorder and at this particular point in my life, with no kids and stuff, I don't know what I'd film and put on a DVD that anyone would give two damns about). For my needs and uses, just a regular DVD/CD-R combo drive will suit me fine: watch movies, use software, burn data and music CDs. That's it.
- A really nice 16-32MB video card, so if ever accidentally stumbled across a video game and found myself liking one, I'd have a machine capable of getting the most from it and making the experience pleasant and fun. Not to mention for regular graphics and 3D stuff too.
- Standard I/O stuff: Firewire, USB (two each), Ethernet, PLUS the video-out/AV ports on the iBook, just for a well-rounded machine, modem (just in case).
- Pro keyboard and mouse (duh!)
Lookwise, I'm really a fan of that cool, more-squared-off-than-in-the-past body of the current iBooks, not to mention that righteous white glossy exterior that goes with any room or decor. Okay, maybe a little snap-on colored Apple logo...in orange, of course.
In summary (in case I lost you with all the yakking above):
G4-based, flat panel iMac with combo drive, gobs of RAM and hard drive and 17" screen in iBook glossy white, on some sort of base that allows for swivel/tilt capability (what the current iMac should've had ALL ALONG!).
That and some SoundSticks.
Now THAT would be my dream system!
Ah, why the hell not: an iPod to round it out, okay?
It was so...so, SQUARE. And no arcs of color or translucent plastics to be found!
- Give it a brighter, higher resolution display
- Move the USB, FireWire, Modem and Ethernet ports to the left
- Move the PCMCIA slot to the right side
- Move the IrDA port to the right side (My cell phone has the port on the left)
- Move the VGA and S-Video ports to the back left
- Add an ADC port
- Add a DTS connector
- Move the slot-loading drive so it's accessible from the right
- Make it a SuperDrive
- Remove the hinges, add one fat drop out hinge like the iBook
- Move the AirPort antennae into the display housing
- Assuming the display is at it's current resolution and brightness because of power concerns, try to extend battery life
- Make the Pro Mouse cable longer
- Add IrDA support for cell phones to OS X
- Add multi-session burning to OS X
- Make Cocoa versions of DVD Studio Pro and Final Cut Pro
How Apple can make my dream PowerBook:
- Move the USB, FireWire, Modem and Ethernet ports to the left<hr></blockquote>
Noooo! All my equipment is to the right of my desk! Leave them on the back, then it's not putting some people at disadvantage.
[quote]- Move the IrDA port to the right side (My cell phone has the port on the left)<hr></blockquote>
Then you can't surf with the thing balanced on your lap!
Amorya
Dual Athlon XP 1900+ (Overclocked to 1.8 GHz Each)
Inwin Q2000 Server Tower
A million and a half Delta Fans at 7000 RPM
SCSI Seagate Barracudas 15000 RPM 36 GB in a triple RAID array
Radeon 8500 DV
VisionTek Ti 500 overclocked to 266MHz core
2 GB DDR SDRAM
Soundblaster Audigy w/ Breakout Box
Dual Widescreen Sony 24" Trinitrons
Baybus
Pioneer 16X Slot Load DVD
Twin 32X CDRW Drives
5.1 Dolby Digital Reciever
Some speakers and sub that will shake the plaster off the walls
Wireless KBD
Intellimouse Wireless Optical
Gigabit Ethernet
OC46 Optical Fiber Connection
Ahhh....
Reorganize your desk! I want the ports at the side like the iBook. It makes life much simpler, especially with devices like the iPod. I hate having to fiddle around at the back of my PowerBook when I take it home. And I hate the door.
[quote]<strong>Then you can't surf with the thing balanced on your lap!</strong><hr></blockquote>
I'd manage a whole lot easier with it on the right, and I don't have a particularly wide lap, before you comment. It's easier to line things up when you can see them properly. For the most part, when I connect using my cell phone, I have a table, or desk, or car seat available anyway.
And putting the ports on the side would mean you can make the back one huge vent, take that temperature down a degree or two.
And it's my dream PowerBook, so there.
If MacAddict ever gets his dream system, I guess we can expect regular brownouts in Boston.
[ 11-22-2001: Message edited by: Belle ]</p>
Newton Messagepad 2100c
Color Screen
Newton OS 3.0 w/updated Rosetta
G3 400
64 MB RAM
1 GB Microdrive
Internal Airport built in
Firewire
USB
Sound in/out