It is odd that Apple is blowing 12" PBs out to employees at $1300, though. Seems a bit unusual for a machine not 6 months old, don't you think?
That's 'cause they're going to be updated soon, along with the entire Powerbook line.
There's no reason Apple can't use the 19 watt 1.2 GHz 970 in the AlBooks right now. They could "under"clock it to 1.0GHz for the 12" for both heat and product differentiation.
The G4 is stuck at 1GHz for laptops. They only way they can go up is to move to the 970 across the line. This also has the huge benefit of allowing the iBooks to go G4 across the line at 867/1.0/1.0
Call me optimist, but the more I think about it the more convinced I am that Steve is gonna go G5 on everything as fast as he can. It's gonna be a cool summer. 8)
Yes. That, the price drops, the whole talk of the 970s, Jobs comment about 2003 being the "year of...", the waiting and waiting on a redesigned 15", the 12" and 17" are coming up on being 6 months old, the 12" is crippled in many ways and perhaps Apple is listening, etc.
I don't know...all that together just makes me go "hmmm...".
The 970/G5 rollout could be just a huge thing in that it immediately encompasses the entire "Power" line: Mac AND Book?
Again, I don't know. But it would be about the coolest thing in the world if Jobs' little "oh yeah, there's just one more thing..." (after laying the G5 towers on everyone) was a portable version "to go" as well, in the form of updated PowerBooks.
...but the more I think about it the more convinced I am that Steve is gonna go G5 on everything as fast as he can...
As well he should. Would be so nice to - in addition to the bragging rights and outright level of superiority we currently enjoy (and often take for granted, it seems) in the OS and media app arenas - to know that we no longer have to make excuses or try to convince ourselves that a 1.2GHz G4 truly is on par with a 3.0GHz something-or-other from the other side.
Always feels like we're holding back, being tossed little crumbs here and there (in the area of power and performance only...I'm TOTALLY thrilled and happy with X, the iApps, the consumer-oriented iGear, the iPod, the new music store, the various technologies (AirPort, QuickTime, etc.
Just gets old - on many levels - doing all this on machines that you just KNOW could - and should - be more robust and ballsy.
Maybe that all changes in a couple of weeks? After years of twice-a-year (hell, if that) 100MHz bumps pretty much being the norm, we've all earned the right to have our hair blown back a bit and our jaws dropped.
I just hope they're sturdier and better put together than the 12" PB. I like the look but I have not been impressed at all by build quality / material quality.
My 12" PB is just as impressive as my dual USB 12" iBook was build wise. I have had no issues with it at all.
Would still trade it off in a minute when the 970's are available but I'm in no rush.
I don't think this will happen, but wouldn't it be great if Steve ended the kenote at WWDC by saying that 970 powerbooks were availbe to take home today for nyone attending the conference with the right plastic in their wallet. Imagine a bunch of developers getting their hands on the greatest laptop in the world and having bragging rights while the rest of us wait. Happy developers. </dream>
PS, I'm not a developer, I'm just dreaming for them today.
My 12" PB is just as impressive as my dual USB 12" iBook was build wise. I have had no issues with it at all.
Would still trade it off in a minute when the 970's are available but I'm in no rush.
The only external issue I have with the 12"PB now is that the track pad seems less responsive than what is on the 15" and 17", but maybe it is just the store samples that I've used.
I have a question to anyone in the know. From what I have been told the superdrives in desktop-machines support both CD-RW and DVD-RW assuming you use a non-Apple program such as Toast.
When do you think the DVD-RW feature will be available in the much smaller superdrives of the Powerbooks?
I assume that the reason why Apple has been crippling the desktop superdrives is because the laptop ones don't have the feature yet, and thus don't wan't to create confusion by stating that one superdrive has DVD-RW and another just has DVD-R. I sure hope that the next generation brings not only DVD-RW but also DVD+RW to the table. Who makes the slim superdrives that reside in the Powerbooks and why haven't said features been incorporated seeing as how PC-laptops have atleast the DVD-RW feature and possibly even the DVD-RW/DVD+RW one. I'd be grateful for some insight.
Heat and power generally go hand-in-hand. This is the real killer for space to make room for heatsinks, fans, etc.
It should be noted, that in any machine equipped with the 970, the CPU is not the only extremely power-hungry part. The 970 has a radically different (and much faster) RAM-interface. It might be hard to even buy SO-DIMMs with the specs required. And the RAM is going to run much hotter.
Same goes for the chipset. Remember why the TiBook was for years one of the smallest full-featured laptops in the marketplace: the wintels just generated too much heat. Consequently, intel has invested massivly to create the Neutrino.
It could well be that with the 970, Apple would have to severely castrate the bandwidth on the mainboard or make the books much thicker
I really hope the Rev.B of the 12" will have an L3 cache. Plus a higher resolution (aside from the obvious speed boost). That would definitely make it sexier.
With £2000 of Dixons Vouchers should I buy the 15" Ti Book now?
I know that new products are around the corner but, how expensive are they gonna be?
Let's face it, they know that a 970 equipped 15.4" AI Book is gonna fly so they can charge a premium price...£2500
Do I blow the vouchers and be happy with my lot or hang on in the hope that the new stuff will be at the same pricepoint.
HELP
I would wait. The difference in specs between the 15 Ti and the 15 Al would probably be worth the extra 500 pounds. You will probably get a better video card, airport extreme, firewire 2, a larger hard drive, a faster CPU (regardless of if it is a G4 or a 970), some more RAM, and most importantly of all, the 15 Al will probably have a light up keyboard.
Besides, it is looking increasingly difficult to find a 15 Ti.
I would wait. The difference in specs between the 15 Ti and the 15 Al would probably be worth the extra 500 pounds. You will probably get a better video card, airport extreme, firewire 2, a larger hard drive, a faster CPU (regardless of if it is a G4 or a 970), some more RAM, and most importantly of all, the 15 Al will probably have a light up keyboard.
Besides, it is looking increasingly difficult to find a 15 Ti.
Also, isn't the display panel stiffer/more solid on the aluminum models? And it'll have that cool iBook-inspired hinge design (like the 12" and 17" PowerBooks have). And better AirPort reception/performance. And easily accessible side-mounted ports, with no annoying door covering them. It'll probably be a bit lighter. And a larger screen: 15.2 to 15.4, that is probably going to be a 16:10 widescreen. And the RAM and AirPort will load from the bottom, resulting in what is - by all accounts - a very nice, solid keyboard with no "wobble" or dipping in it.
All that, combined with Yevgeny's list above...there's no way in hell I WOULDN'T wait on the new 15" aluminum! It'll probably beat the Titanium all to hell in nearly every department!
Comments
Originally posted by johnsonwax
It is odd that Apple is blowing 12" PBs out to employees at $1300, though. Seems a bit unusual for a machine not 6 months old, don't you think?
That's 'cause they're going to be updated soon, along with the entire Powerbook line.
There's no reason Apple can't use the 19 watt 1.2 GHz 970 in the AlBooks right now. They could "under"clock it to 1.0GHz for the 12" for both heat and product differentiation.
The G4 is stuck at 1GHz for laptops. They only way they can go up is to move to the 970 across the line. This also has the huge benefit of allowing the iBooks to go G4 across the line at 867/1.0/1.0
Call me optimist, but the more I think about it the more convinced I am that Steve is gonna go G5 on everything as fast as he can. It's gonna be a cool summer. 8)
I don't know...all that together just makes me go "hmmm...".
The 970/G5 rollout could be just a huge thing in that it immediately encompasses the entire "Power" line: Mac AND Book?
Again, I don't know. But it would be about the coolest thing in the world if Jobs' little "oh yeah, there's just one more thing..." (after laying the G5 towers on everyone) was a portable version "to go" as well, in the form of updated PowerBooks.
I'm dreaming, I know.
Originally posted by Ensign Pulver
...but the more I think about it the more convinced I am that Steve is gonna go G5 on everything as fast as he can...
As well he should. Would be so nice to - in addition to the bragging rights and outright level of superiority we currently enjoy (and often take for granted, it seems) in the OS and media app arenas - to know that we no longer have to make excuses or try to convince ourselves that a 1.2GHz G4 truly is on par with a 3.0GHz something-or-other from the other side.
Always feels like we're holding back, being tossed little crumbs here and there (in the area of power and performance only...I'm TOTALLY thrilled and happy with X, the iApps, the consumer-oriented iGear, the iPod, the new music store, the various technologies (AirPort, QuickTime, etc.
Just gets old - on many levels - doing all this on machines that you just KNOW could - and should - be more robust and ballsy.
Maybe that all changes in a couple of weeks? After years of twice-a-year (hell, if that) 100MHz bumps pretty much being the norm, we've all earned the right to have our hair blown back a bit and our jaws dropped.
I just hope they're sturdier and better put together than the 12" PB. I like the look but I have not been impressed at all by build quality / material quality.
My 12" PB is just as impressive as my dual USB 12" iBook was build wise. I have had no issues with it at all.
Would still trade it off in a minute when the 970's are available but I'm in no rush.
My 12" PB is just as impressive as my dual USB 12" iBook was build wise. I have had no issues with it at all.
Agreed, my 12" AlBook has fared A LOT better than my Rev. A TiBook.
PS, I'm not a developer, I'm just dreaming for them today.
Originally posted by kcmac
by Moogs
My 12" PB is just as impressive as my dual USB 12" iBook was build wise. I have had no issues with it at all.
Would still trade it off in a minute when the 970's are available but I'm in no rush.
The only external issue I have with the 12"PB now is that the track pad seems less responsive than what is on the 15" and 17", but maybe it is just the store samples that I've used.
When do you think the DVD-RW feature will be available in the much smaller superdrives of the Powerbooks?
I assume that the reason why Apple has been crippling the desktop superdrives is because the laptop ones don't have the feature yet, and thus don't wan't to create confusion by stating that one superdrive has DVD-RW and another just has DVD-R. I sure hope that the next generation brings not only DVD-RW but also DVD+RW to the table. Who makes the slim superdrives that reside in the Powerbooks and why haven't said features been incorporated seeing as how PC-laptops have atleast the DVD-RW feature and possibly even the DVD-RW/DVD+RW one. I'd be grateful for some insight.
Originally posted by johnsonwax
Heat and power generally go hand-in-hand. This is the real killer for space to make room for heatsinks, fans, etc.
It should be noted, that in any machine equipped with the 970, the CPU is not the only extremely power-hungry part. The 970 has a radically different (and much faster) RAM-interface. It might be hard to even buy SO-DIMMs with the specs required. And the RAM is going to run much hotter.
Same goes for the chipset. Remember why the TiBook was for years one of the smallest full-featured laptops in the marketplace: the wintels just generated too much heat. Consequently, intel has invested massivly to create the Neutrino.
It could well be that with the 970, Apple would have to severely castrate the bandwidth on the mainboard or make the books much thicker
The sources, cited by DigiTimes, say Compal will start shipping 15.4in PowerBooks in the second half of the year.
Not long to wait then!
I know that new products are around the corner but, how expensive are they gonna be?
Let's face it, they know that a 970 equipped 15.4" AI Book is gonna fly so they can charge a premium price...£2500
Do I blow the vouchers and be happy with my lot or hang on in the hope that the new stuff will be at the same pricepoint.
HELP
Originally posted by RedEric
With £2000 of Dixons Vouchers should I buy the 15" Ti Book now?
I know that new products are around the corner but, how expensive are they gonna be?
Let's face it, they know that a 970 equipped 15.4" AI Book is gonna fly so they can charge a premium price...£2500
Do I blow the vouchers and be happy with my lot or hang on in the hope that the new stuff will be at the same pricepoint.
HELP
I would wait. The difference in specs between the 15 Ti and the 15 Al would probably be worth the extra 500 pounds. You will probably get a better video card, airport extreme, firewire 2, a larger hard drive, a faster CPU (regardless of if it is a G4 or a 970), some more RAM, and most importantly of all, the 15 Al will probably have a light up keyboard.
Besides, it is looking increasingly difficult to find a 15 Ti.
I really really really want a 970. I'll wait.
Originally posted by Yevgeny
I would wait. The difference in specs between the 15 Ti and the 15 Al would probably be worth the extra 500 pounds. You will probably get a better video card, airport extreme, firewire 2, a larger hard drive, a faster CPU (regardless of if it is a G4 or a 970), some more RAM, and most importantly of all, the 15 Al will probably have a light up keyboard.
Besides, it is looking increasingly difficult to find a 15 Ti.
Also, isn't the display panel stiffer/more solid on the aluminum models? And it'll have that cool iBook-inspired hinge design (like the 12" and 17" PowerBooks have). And better AirPort reception/performance. And easily accessible side-mounted ports, with no annoying door covering them. It'll probably be a bit lighter. And a larger screen: 15.2 to 15.4, that is probably going to be a 16:10 widescreen. And the RAM and AirPort will load from the bottom, resulting in what is - by all accounts - a very nice, solid keyboard with no "wobble" or dipping in it.
All that, combined with Yevgeny's list above...there's no way in hell I WOULDN'T wait on the new 15" aluminum! It'll probably beat the Titanium all to hell in nearly every department!