Blow em out at 1299$ sell them as long as the inventory last? I thinnk they would still sell since some people don't want the latest machine. (ie web servers, other servers,)
Perhaps the moving of WWDC was because they **knew** the machines would be available early. The new Powermacs/architecture will do more to revive sales than 10.3... at least in key areas.
SO - if you know you have to do a "second coming" sort of rollout, meaning massive manpower from every level of the company sans the 10.3 group: just push back WWDC and divert attention by talking about 10.3. Secretly build up the resources to make a massive early June announcment of the 970 & new architecture. Roll through the logistics of announcements (including PR schedules, sales and facilitations operations) and while the press is still hot, strike again with 10.3 and some great new features that will unlock the real potential of the just-released hardware.
Makes sense to me, though it would signal a shift in Apple's rollout thinking.
Blow em out at 1299$ sell them as long as the inventory last? I thinnk they would still sell since some people don't want the latest machine. (ie web servers, other servers,)
Macbidoulle's site said that the current Pro G4's (and 17" iMacs, hmmm...) are being offered to Apple employees at 30% off.
All prices and specs are purely theoretical (and hopefully will be better).
edit: All announced on the same day -- ship as soon as possible with the above as a projected schedule -- more or less the normal way they release products
ps Dig the poster!
dump that is,
announce all on the same day, start selling high end direct, and low end 2 months later, milk the cow as good as possible, just like imac2.
no complaints because the best to get is there first.
I am for the bastard G4-PPC970 transition theory !
Remember how the PPC G4 400 Mhz came first with the B&W G3 features: no AGP, low speed bus etc. ? It was just a 350 Mhz B&W G3 with a new G4 proc inside clocked at 400 and then 350 Mhz and a slightly new casing.
But Apple didn't hesitate to push this bastard thing at the front row.
They aren't above doing it again with the PPC970 : this time there will be also the perspective of using -64 bits ready-Panther to help things a little on the marketing side.
Im still sceptical that the 970 PMac would be released in May, Apple themselves believe there is HUGE pent up demand for the next PMacs, so this could well be the build up necessary (for once) to satisfy this demand upon announcement.
Unless this is from one of the OEM parners, now Im thinking PBooks?, since Apple builds the desktops themselves. And the 15" still Ti?. I cant see this model getting a 970 when the 12/17 Als remain G4's, The next update (for the 12/17's) due around September - sure.
10.2.6 970 would be fine for Apple's current constituents, Panther and WWDC, hopefully will be a huge song and dance to get as much 64 development as possible to drive the 'switch' campaign hard on the creative and sundry markets.
Makes sense, I guess well just have to wait and see.
The 970 PowerMacs get released at the end of May, beginning of June in some very big PR event. That way they can totally talk about them at WWDC, because they're already shipping.
In addition:
1. They can focus on Panther at WWDC and not have it totally overshadowed by the 970.
2. Get a double-whammy of publicity - the 970 first at its own event and then Panther at its own event.
3. WWDC will be REALLY buzzing in the aftermath of the 970 rollout and everyone will give it, and Panther, much more attention because of the hype following the 970.
The old one-two!! A knockout punch...
Further - why have only one bite at the cherry when you can get two??
It seems to me that 1) if the 970 was coming out wouldn't they be clearing out the G4 PowerMacs?...
Some posters at MacRumors commenting on this same story have pointed out that the Apple Store has "an unusually large selection" of refurbished G4's for sale now. I don't know if I buy this connection to the subject of this thread, but stranger things have happened.
(The refurbs can be found in the "Special Deal" section of the Apple store - the red flag in the lower left corner of the front page is the way in.)
Wow, MacBidouille's not kidding around! Whenever I read rumors on MacBidouille, I recall the time they posted pictures of the PowerMacs with the two oval bay doors (what were they called again?) before anyone had any clue they were coming. They've definitely had good inside info in the past.
Maybe the PPC 970 will indeed be in PowerMacs first (makes more sense than in PowerBooks). And maybe, just maybe, I'm going to have to buy a low-end 970 PowerMac and 20-inch ACD instead of a Rev.B 12-inch PowerBook as my next system. What if the Rev.B 12-inch PowerBook were to ship with a 1Ghz 970, though? I'd be all over it in a second.
I'm crossing my fingers, knocking on wood, but not yet holding my breath.
The end of May seems unlikely for a new PowerMac. It would be just four weeks before WWDC, and according to the claim, Apple would be shipping only the low end single processor version. I think it is worth waiting the four weeks for several reasons.
First, the new 970 processor and 64-bit Panther go together, and it would be awkward to promote one without promoting the other as well. I feel certain Steve Jobs wants to talk about both these items at the same time.
Second, Steve is not giving the keynote at the newly reorganized Macworld expo. Apple has a big hall for WWDC, and this is likely where Steve's keynotes will be from now on. If the PowerMacs are introduced at a special event at the end of May, the WWDC keynote will seem like a let down. This is especially true if Panther is not ready to ship until a little later.
What I now think will happen is that both the 970 PowerMacs and 64-bit Panther will be introduced at WWDC by Steve Jobs. The PowerMac will be available, at least some models with the others to follow soon afterward. Panther will be demonstrated on these machines, but will ship sometime later.
This introduction of the 64-bit Macintosh is a big deal. It's going to happen at a big newsworthy event, highlighting both the processor and OS. With everything revealed, it is then only natural to talk about the future of computing and how Apple is leading the way.
all they have to do is take preorders of the ones not shipping like they have in the past.
I don't agree with panther and 970 must go together. we don't know the specs of the subsystem so its very possible that they kick so much butt now that they could show its current power .. then say when panther ships its will also do an impressive X,Y,Z
as other have mentioned, with a double barrelled attack in late may and late june and then panther in august... apple could own a large portion of the PR mindshare over this summer.
The sooner they get these machines out the better. though the Powermac is not Apple's education mac, I see mostly Powermacs used throughout my university. May and June is the time educational institutions make their buying decisions and getting these machines out asap. I think the introduction of the 970 will be very similar to the G3. The G3 macs utilized a new chip with a new architecture. In addition they were able to put one into a powerbook. I am hoping for an event at the end of Mac with a complete Powermac 970 lineup, and a surprise 970 in the Powerbooks.
I'm skeptical, but Apple is under a lot of pressure to improve their PowerMac sales and if they really can get them out the door a full 3-4 months ahead of Panther then I suppose they'd probably go for it.
<snip>
Only time will tell and I'll believe it when I see it.
Yes, but they are also under pressure to get educational sales back up to snuff. Perhaps we'll see another Apple Event with the announcement of an eMac replacement? That might explain the Hon Hai origins?
Eh, too much speculation, not enough specification.
Given the revised range of clock speeds that IBM briefly claimed for the 970, I still have to wonder if the 1.4GHz is the low voltage version, and the single CPU machine being manufactured by Hon Hai is the sort of machine Hon Hai specialized in: Either a notebook or an iMac.
If Hon Hai is making PowerMacs now, I can only imagine that the PowerMac is going to be vastly different. You just don't need that kind of expertise to put a tower together, especially not one as built for accessibility as the current PowerMac.
Given that Apple is currently using Special Funky G4s from Motorola, which simply cannot be cheap, I imagine that Apple could actually go all dual in the professional desktop line. The 970 is bigger than the G4, but IBM will be rolling it out in quantity from a clean, modern fab, and on a smaller process.
The only part of the rumor that really doesn't make any sense to me is the time difference between the low speed and high speed cpus causing different ship dates. Large differences make sense, but if it's only a matter of 2 weeks, then it would make sense to me to annouce them both at the same time. It seems like it would be in Apple's interest to hold off till WWDC for the official launch, and then launch everything.
Now, considering Apple's desire these days to do big announcements at non-regular announcement events, why did they move WWDC to June? What can we normally expect at a WWDC? Haven't most of the developer releases of Apple OSes been at WWDCs? It would make sense that Apple, deciding that there was a trememdous convergence of events, ie WWDC, early availabilty of 970 and developer release quality 10.3, all around May/June, that they would hold off announcing any 970 machines in May and wait 2 weeks and get far more bang for their buck. They would have 970's ready for sale with 10.2 and for the developers and bleeding-edge types they would have DR of 10.3 with 64bit support available. Perhaps with a few exotic 64bit apps to go with it as demos.
Some people seem to thing that it is an instant 50% speed increase and with out it we will see huge performance cuts - That is simply not true.
The processor does not have to emulate a 32 bit environment - it will run it at full speed.
Being 64 bit it can handle and process larger variables faster. (laymens terms, feel free to give a more technical statement about this)
As for software the places that are going to see these increases helping out the most are universities doing huge mathematical equations or research institutes, Perhaps Special effect houses. In 90% of the named places the people buying the powermac are going to write their own software anyways.
It will run it at full speed, but will it not also avoid the bottleneck that the G4 suffers from in regards to the memory and available bandwidth? If so, then could we not expect significantly better performance from the 970 over the G4 at the same clock, both running 32 OS and apps?
Comments
Blow em out at 1299$ sell them as long as the inventory last? I thinnk they would still sell since some people don't want the latest machine. (ie web servers, other servers,)
SO - if you know you have to do a "second coming" sort of rollout, meaning massive manpower from every level of the company sans the 10.3 group: just push back WWDC and divert attention by talking about 10.3. Secretly build up the resources to make a massive early June announcment of the 970 & new architecture. Roll through the logistics of announcements (including PR schedules, sales and facilitations operations) and while the press is still hot, strike again with 10.3 and some great new features that will unlock the real potential of the just-released hardware.
Makes sense to me, though it would signal a shift in Apple's rollout thinking.
Originally posted by keyboardf12
Firesale on G4?
Blow em out at 1299$ sell them as long as the inventory last? I thinnk they would still sell since some people don't want the latest machine. (ie web servers, other servers,)
Macbidoulle's site said that the current Pro G4's (and 17" iMacs, hmmm...) are being offered to Apple employees at 30% off.
970 powered 17" iMac... temptation could... be... too... much...
Originally posted by Nitzer
I say:
1.4 single - $1800 - shipping in late may
1.6 dual - $2300 - mid to late june
1.8 dual - $3000 - late june to early july
All prices and specs are purely theoretical (and hopefully will be better).
edit: All announced on the same day -- ship as soon as possible with the above as a projected schedule -- more or less the normal way they release products
ps Dig the poster!
dump that is,
announce all on the same day, start selling high end direct, and low end 2 months later, milk the cow as good as possible, just like imac2.
no complaints because the best to get is there first.
Here's hoping to a mass sell-out of G4 based Macs.
Remember how the PPC G4 400 Mhz came first with the B&W G3 features: no AGP, low speed bus etc. ? It was just a 350 Mhz B&W G3 with a new G4 proc inside clocked at 400 and then 350 Mhz and a slightly new casing.
But Apple didn't hesitate to push this bastard thing at the front row.
They aren't above doing it again with the PPC970 : this time there will be also the perspective of using -64 bits ready-Panther to help things a little on the marketing side.
Unless this is from one of the OEM parners, now Im thinking PBooks?, since Apple builds the desktops themselves. And the 15" still Ti?. I cant see this model getting a 970 when the 12/17 Als remain G4's, The next update (for the 12/17's) due around September - sure.
10.2.6 970 would be fine for Apple's current constituents, Panther and WWDC, hopefully will be a huge song and dance to get as much 64 development as possible to drive the 'switch' campaign hard on the creative and sundry markets.
Makes sense, I guess well just have to wait and see.
The 970 PowerMacs get released at the end of May, beginning of June in some very big PR event. That way they can totally talk about them at WWDC, because they're already shipping.
In addition:
1. They can focus on Panther at WWDC and not have it totally overshadowed by the 970.
2. Get a double-whammy of publicity - the 970 first at its own event and then Panther at its own event.
3. WWDC will be REALLY buzzing in the aftermath of the 970 rollout and everyone will give it, and Panther, much more attention because of the hype following the 970.
The old one-two!! A knockout punch...
Further - why have only one bite at the cherry when you can get two??
Originally posted by Bigc
It seems to me that 1) if the 970 was coming out wouldn't they be clearing out the G4 PowerMacs?...
Some posters at MacRumors commenting on this same story have pointed out that the Apple Store has "an unusually large selection" of refurbished G4's for sale now. I don't know if I buy this connection to the subject of this thread, but stranger things have happened.
(The refurbs can be found in the "Special Deal" section of the Apple store - the red flag in the lower left corner of the front page is the way in.)
Maybe the PPC 970 will indeed be in PowerMacs first (makes more sense than in PowerBooks). And maybe, just maybe, I'm going to have to buy a low-end 970 PowerMac and 20-inch ACD instead of a Rev.B 12-inch PowerBook as my next system. What if the Rev.B 12-inch PowerBook were to ship with a 1Ghz 970, though? I'd be all over it in a second.
I'm crossing my fingers, knocking on wood, but not yet holding my breath.
Escher
First, the new 970 processor and 64-bit Panther go together, and it would be awkward to promote one without promoting the other as well. I feel certain Steve Jobs wants to talk about both these items at the same time.
Second, Steve is not giving the keynote at the newly reorganized Macworld expo. Apple has a big hall for WWDC, and this is likely where Steve's keynotes will be from now on. If the PowerMacs are introduced at a special event at the end of May, the WWDC keynote will seem like a let down. This is especially true if Panther is not ready to ship until a little later.
What I now think will happen is that both the 970 PowerMacs and 64-bit Panther will be introduced at WWDC by Steve Jobs. The PowerMac will be available, at least some models with the others to follow soon afterward. Panther will be demonstrated on these machines, but will ship sometime later.
This introduction of the 64-bit Macintosh is a big deal. It's going to happen at a big newsworthy event, highlighting both the processor and OS. With everything revealed, it is then only natural to talk about the future of computing and how Apple is leading the way.
I don't agree with panther and 970 must go together. we don't know the specs of the subsystem so its very possible that they kick so much butt now that they could show its current power .. then say when panther ships its will also do an impressive X,Y,Z
as other have mentioned, with a double barrelled attack in late may and late june and then panther in august... apple could own a large portion of the PR mindshare over this summer.
Originally posted by jdbon2
. . . May and June is the time educational institutions make their buying decisions and getting these machines out asap. . .
A very good point that I had not considered. Something like that could easily tip the scales in favor of an early-as-possible introduction.
Originally posted by snoopy
A very good point that I had not considered. Something like that could easily tip the scales in favor of an early-as-possible introduction.
...particularly the introduction of a low-end, single processor version - probably at the lowest price point.
Originally posted by Programmer
One of the sites (I can't remember which one) had a note about 10.2.6 coming soon.
It was MacRumors:
http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2003/...24125523.shtml
I'm skeptical, but Apple is under a lot of pressure to improve their PowerMac sales and if they really can get them out the door a full 3-4 months ahead of Panther then I suppose they'd probably go for it.
<snip>
Only time will tell and I'll believe it when I see it.
Yes, but they are also under pressure to get educational sales back up to snuff. Perhaps we'll see another Apple Event with the announcement of an eMac replacement? That might explain the Hon Hai origins?
Eh, too much speculation, not enough specification.
If Hon Hai is making PowerMacs now, I can only imagine that the PowerMac is going to be vastly different. You just don't need that kind of expertise to put a tower together, especially not one as built for accessibility as the current PowerMac.
Given that Apple is currently using Special Funky G4s from Motorola, which simply cannot be cheap, I imagine that Apple could actually go all dual in the professional desktop line. The 970 is bigger than the G4, but IBM will be rolling it out in quantity from a clean, modern fab, and on a smaller process.
Now, considering Apple's desire these days to do big announcements at non-regular announcement events, why did they move WWDC to June? What can we normally expect at a WWDC? Haven't most of the developer releases of Apple OSes been at WWDCs? It would make sense that Apple, deciding that there was a trememdous convergence of events, ie WWDC, early availabilty of 970 and developer release quality 10.3, all around May/June, that they would hold off announcing any 970 machines in May and wait 2 weeks and get far more bang for their buck. They would have 970's ready for sale with 10.2 and for the developers and bleeding-edge types they would have DR of 10.3 with 64bit support available. Perhaps with a few exotic 64bit apps to go with it as demos.
Guess we will have to wait and see
Some people seem to thing that it is an instant 50% speed increase and with out it we will see huge performance cuts - That is simply not true.
The processor does not have to emulate a 32 bit environment - it will run it at full speed.
Being 64 bit it can handle and process larger variables faster. (laymens terms, feel free to give a more technical statement about this)
As for software the places that are going to see these increases helping out the most are universities doing huge mathematical equations or research institutes, Perhaps Special effect houses. In 90% of the named places the people buying the powermac are going to write their own software anyways.