Earlier this week, while visiting an Apple Store, a young woman there mentioned something that left me in shock. We were part of a small crowd being given an iChat AV demo. When the Apple rep paused his presentation so a few of us could get a hands on test of an Aiport and iSight enabled 12"PB, she turned to me and said something to the tune of: Apple has a killer 15" PB replacement for the week of Aug/25. I will sport a 1.2ghz IBM 970 processor at the same price point of the current model. I immediately asked if she meant a faster Mot G4, her reply being that she knew for a fact that the upcoming 15" will have a low power IBM 970.
To cut a long story short, her comments in summary:
- low power G5 (low speed??? low wattage???)
- same price as current 15" w/superdrive
- full specs and form factor as current 17" Al PB
- better battery life
- cooler (temperature)
- introduction and shipping date week of Aug/25
- performance info coming from her acquaintance at IBM
- form and price coming from bits she heard elsewhere
She mentioned that it would have a 50% to 75% overall performance boost over the current model, mostly due to a much faster "internal bus" and, obviously, the new G5. I couldn't believe her comments but tried to hide my skepticism and let her follow through with her story. She mentioned that her husband had pre-ordered a dual 2.0g G5 and that she would get the new "PBG5" by the end of the month, at the same time the "slower" G5 towers will start shipping.
This might have been yet another wishful thinking conversation between 2 Mac fanatics, but I still find her story quite credible. While my limited technical knowledge prevents me from shooting down her claims, she didn't seem to be the type that would make up a story like that just to share it with a total stranger.
I won't hold my hopes up for a PBG5 in just a few weeks, since I will get whatever Apple brings in place of the (aging) TiBook, G4 or else. But something similar to what this woman described would certainly fit in line with Jobs comments about this being the year of the portables.
The iChat demo was over and the crowd dispersed. We exchanged e-mail addresses as she promised to keep me posted if she learned anything new. Our conversation ended soon thereafter. Over the last couple of years, I have had numerous discussions with friends and strangers alike regarding upcoming Apple products; this is the first time I feel comfortable enough to post a roundup.
I wonder how she thinks she knows. Maybe she was sent be apple in civilian clothing to ley put a calculated leak of info to calm us all. Or maybe she was from Dell and trying to get our hopes up. So when Aug 25 comes we say screw apple and go buy dells ( yeah right).
I have to wonder about that internal bus. Since we now know that the 970 supports bus speeds other that 2 to 1 I'm wondering what Apple will choose. The answer isn't going to be obvious as the power savings could be significant, but it is possible that the performance issues will be also. Then we have the scarry thought that this might be a 970 with built in memory interfaces and built in hypertransport, now that would be groovy.
The thought of better battery life is not to be underestimated. In fact if it went the other way the attraction of the PowerBook would be greatly truncated in my view. Better battery life still has me thinking improved G4, but if Apple could greatly reduce power usage of the entire chipset, the 970 might have a chance. To deliever a 64 bit machine that is cooler runing with extended battery times would be one hell of an engineering triumph.
Not to sure about the 50% to 75% speed up. That does seem excessive considering what we know about the 970 and its reliance on a fast I/O bus. I'm thinking that, to cut power usage, Apple will lower the bus multiple to 3 to 1 or maybe 4 to 1 this should impact performance some. They could have extended on chip cache to make up for this.
It is amazing how such a posting gets ones mind a spinning. considering that you have her E-Mail address maybe you should pump her for more information! The rest of us would love it, especially if we could watch. I'm just hoping that we can actually buy these when they are released. If they follow the same design pattern as previous PowerBooks they will be awesome and much more useful for the dollar spent that the G5 Power Macs. Frankly though; the only way that I could see this happening is if Apple and IBM had parallel developement tracks for both portable and desktop products. Not impossible but it its surprising that they could bring them to market so closely together.
The other really wild thougth is that IBM beat Intel to 90nm. That is almost as exciting as the thought of a 970 based laptop.
Mind a churning
Dave
Quote:
Originally posted by Bill M
Earlier this week, while visiting an Apple Store, a young woman there mentioned something that left me in shock. We were part of a small crowd being given an iChat AV demo. When the Apple rep paused his presentation so a few of us could get a hands on test of an Aiport and iSight enabled 12"PB, she turned to me and said something to the tune of: Apple has a killer 15" PB replacement for the week of Aug/25. I will sport a 1.2ghz IBM 970 processor at the same price point of the current model. I immediately asked if she meant a faster Mot G4, her reply being that she knew for a fact that the upcoming 15" will have a low power IBM 970.
To cut a long story short, her comments in summary:
- low power G5 (low speed??? low wattage???)
- same price as current 15" w/superdrive
- full specs and form factor as current 17" Al PB
- better battery life
- cooler (temperature)
- introduction and shipping date week of Aug/25
- performance info coming from her acquaintance at IBM
- form and price coming from bits she heard elsewhere
She mentioned that it would have a 50% to 75% overall performance boost over the current model, mostly due to a much faster "internal bus" and, obviously, the new G5. I couldn't believe her comments but tried to hide my skepticism and let her follow through with her story. She mentioned that her husband had pre-ordered a dual 2.0g G5 and that she would get the new "PBG5" by the end of the month, at the same time the "slower" G5 towers will start shipping.
This might have been yet another wishful thinking conversation between 2 Mac fanatics, but I still find her story quite credible. While my limited technical knowledge prevents me from shooting down her claims, she didn't seem to be the type that would make up a story like that just to share it with a total stranger.
I won't hold my hopes up for a PBG5 in just a few weeks, since I will get whatever Apple brings in place of the (aging) TiBook, G4 or else. But something similar to what this woman described would certainly fit in line with Jobs comments about this being the year of the portables.
The iChat demo was over and the crowd dispersed. We exchanged e-mail addresses as she promised to keep me posted if she learned anything new. Our conversation ended soon thereafter. Over the last couple of years, I have had numerous discussions with friends and strangers alike regarding upcoming Apple products; this is the first time I feel comfortable enough to post a roundup.
I didn't know that when that other guy from Apple (a little bit higher up on the chain) said that the G5 won't go into a Powerbook "anytime soon" that he meant 2 weeks to announce it and still have it ship along with the Powermacs. He was just toying with us right?
I don't think anybody has mentioned this yet here but AppleTurns in the current post mentions the possiblility of PB's very soon it references speculation from MacBidoulle. Just thought i'd mention it.
I don't think we'll see PowerBook G5s, but given what we're hearing there's a real (though not necessarily large) possibility that we'll see an update during a very specific timeframe: between August 18th and the 25th.
At this rate, though, if an update doesn't happen in that timeframe I would just buy whatever PowerBook strikes my fancy (if I were in the market). You don't want to find out that there is no PowerBook update at the Apple Expo and wait even longer to get your new system.
On this note, I don't think that Jobs feels compelled to hold off a 15" aluminum PowerBook intro until the Apple Expo so that he can introduce it himself. As it probably wouldn't have a G5 (not unless IBM is even further ahead with their technology than we've heard) there's no point to this. Aside from the aluminum enclosure, it would really just be a speed bump. That would take all of 5 minutes (if that) to introduce, and since Panther has already had its big debut we're not about to see a PowerBook update tacked on to the end of a recap of WWDC.
On this note, I don't think that Jobs feels compelled to hold off a 15" aluminum PowerBook intro until the Apple Expo so that he can introduce it himself. As it probably wouldn't have a G5
I agree there is no reason for steve to intro another powerbook himself unless its a G5, actually any computer unless its going G5.
Last June I was dazzled with the possibility of an IBM 970 PB. Having had a little more time to think it over I would now prefer a G4 7457 based 15" Al PB.
My reasoning is that compared to a desktop a PB requires tight integration of the components. Things have to fit together in a very small space, they can't put out too much heat, they can't put out too much electrical noise, they can't be sensitive to vibrations and handling.
Apple has a lot of experience with making G4 PBs. A 7457 based PB would be easy for them and would work well with a backlit keyboard, bluetooth, AE, better display, etc. All the parts would sing together in harmony.
The 970 is a new beast. Until the 90nm version comes it may be difficult to deal with the total heat produced. We also don't know what problems a faster bus and more heat from other components may introduce.
I would rather have something that was possibly a little slower, but which worked really well compared to something that had flat out speed but didn't handle as well in the curves. If you were going driving up Highway 1 in Marin would you rather have a Porsche or a dragster?
The 7457 should provide a healthy speed increase on its own and Panther is rumored to be "snappy" even on G3s so this should be a fantastic PB. A year or two from now I'll happily upgrade to a G5 PB. (Magnesium?)
Last June I was dazzled with the possibility of an IBM 970 PB. Having had a little more time to think it over I would now prefer a G4 7457 based 15" Al PB.
My reasoning is that compared to a desktop a PB requires tight integration of the components. Things have to fit together in a very small space, they can't put out too much heat, they can't put out too much electrical noise, they can't be sensitive to vibrations and handling.
Apple has a lot of experience with making G4 PBs. A 7457 based PB would be easy for them and would work well with a backlit keyboard, bluetooth, AE, better display, etc. All the parts would sing together in harmony.
The 970 is a new beast. Until the 90nm version comes it may be difficult to deal with the total heat produced. We also don't know what problems a faster bus and more heat from other components may introduce.
I would rather have something that was possibly a little slower, but which worked really well compared to something that had flat out speed but didn't handle as well in the curves. If you were going driving up Highway 1 in Marin would you rather have a Porsche or a dragster?
The 7457 should provide a healthy speed increase on its own and Panther is rumored to be "snappy" even on G3s so this should be a fantastic PB. A year or two from now I'll happily upgrade to a G5 PB. (Magnesium?)
Good points Neutrino and I think our wishes are going to be filled. If it's introduced in August, it won't be a G5 - no way Steve lets a G5 PB out of the bag without a big show (ie Paris Expo).
Earlier this week, while visiting an Apple Store, a young woman there mentioned something that left me in shock...
I really do not understand why you give this girl so much credit. Why would she have any knowledge more than any of the other people on this board. Isn't her credibility in question just because she points to a dual 2 Gig tower being slower than the proposed 1.2 Gig 970 PowerBook?
Most likely she had read some rumor site and was trying to impress you with her knowledge.
I would also point to onit's reasoning and cast more doubt to her story - if it is a G5 PB, there is no way that it's just gonna appear on the Apple front page in mid to late August. Steve will definately want to share some stage with the first 64 bit laptop and the earliest that could be is in Paris.
My reasoning is that compared to a desktop a PB requires tight integration of the components. Things have to fit together in a very small space, they can't put out too much heat, they can't put out too much electrical noise, they can't be sensitive to vibrations and handling.
Apple has a lot of experience with making G4 PBs. A 7457 based PB would be easy for them and would work well with a backlit keyboard, bluetooth, AE, better display, etc. All the parts would sing together in harmony.
The 970 is a new beast. Until the 90nm version comes it may be difficult to deal with the total heat produced. We also don't know what problems a faster bus and more heat from other components may introduce.
I would rather have something that was possibly a little slower, but which worked really well compared to something that had flat out speed but didn't handle as well in the curves. If you were going driving up Highway 1 in Marin would you rather have a Porsche or a dragster?
I don't know weather to make fun of your logic are agree with you. You point out good points but you say other things that are ridiculous. Heat issues may be a problem its true.
I do believe that a G5 at 1GHz would blow the G4's at 1GHz away though, so I wouldn't say a little slower. Also Apple puts things together, they don't slap them together. It's not like they would make a G5 PBook and just stick a G5 in the G4 slot and hope its works so saying you don't want a G5 because the G4 will work in harmony seems crazy to me.
But you will get your wishes, updated PBooks are on the way, and no G5 in them unless there is a SteveNote.
In the straight aways the dragster, in the corners the Porcshe, off the road and over the cliff, the dragtser has a parachute.
You would need it with the dragster they handle like crap. To quote Douglas Adams, "Looks like a fish, Moves like a fish, Steers like a cow. (Wow, I just got the pun in that sentence)
Just a couple of clarifications about my original post above. First of all, I wasn't like taking notes or anything of that sort. I am just relying on my old and fuzzy recollection of the event. So, albeit the conversation lasted several minutes, only the most juicy details stuck in my mind. Alas, it is not a matter of why I award this woman so much credibility in her comments, but rather that I find it hard to believe she would make up such a story and share it out of the blue if she didn't believe it. Could she have been misguided? Probably. Did I fall for a too good to be true story? Probably, only time and whatever Apple delivers will tell. Either way, I am on the market for a new PowerBook (just sold my Ti400), so I am sure I will get anything Apple delivers as a 15" PB replacement. Hopefully that means soon. Ok, back to the story...
When the woman mentioned that she expects to get the new PBG5 at the same time the "slower' G5 towers start shipping, she was talking about the 1.6 and 1.8 G5s, as compared to the fastest dual 2.0 G5s that should (according to her husband) ship in late september. She never meant that the new PB would be faster than any of the new towers. My fault, if I misrepresented that.
"Same form factor as the current 17"PB"... I believe those were her words, but alas she was talking about the material and overall appearance at the time. I don't think she meant size.
Even if her comments were half true, or utterly false, it was indeed an interesting conversation. As I said, I have heard even more sensational stories before, that have proven to be all lies or fabrications, but I thought this was worth sharing here this time around.
I just sent her an e-mail, in case she remembers our conversation and wishes to add anything new. If and when she replies, I will post any news here.
If her story is indeed true, then Apple would have some sort of "press event." I can think it would be fair to say if Apple does announce it will hold a "press event," it will be because it's announcing a PowerBook with a G5.
Even if her comments were half true, or utterly false, it was indeed an interesting conversation. As I said, I have heard even more sensational stories before, that have proven to be all lies or fabrications, but I thought this was worth sharing here this time around.
thanks for sharing. i've never written off the possibility of a G5 PB this year, although i accept the consenus that it is less likely than the 7457 'Apollo 7' powerbooks. afterall the info coming from motorola seems to be firming about the 7457's. their latest PDF in July (MPC7457RXNXPNS.pdf) had better power dissipation figures than the first one (MPC7457EC.pdf).
the G5 1.3GHz processor has similar power dissipation to the present Apollo 7455 at 1GHz; about 19W. others have stated that the power issues with the G5 are in the rest of the motherboard chips, power controllers, faster buses etc. But i can't believe that Apple had time to design a unique CPU like the G5 tower, without concurently working on a PBG5. maybe it will come out in a 17" formfactor first, like the conversation said.
If her story is indeed true, then Apple would have some sort of "press event." I can think it would be fair to say if Apple does announce it will hold a "press event," it will be because it's announcing a PowerBook with a G5.
So, given that Apple usually gives the press a week's notice when they hold a press event, ifi Rothenberg or someone else who works for a media outlet too big to be intimidated by Steve mentions an invite to a press event around mid-week... well, we'll have some firm evidence that this is indeed true.
The timing isn't bad, either. In fact, it's on the early side of what I'd expect based on Apple's usual 9-12 month update schedule for PowerBooks.
Apple has let the channel run bone dry with PowerBooks before, although it's been a while since they last did. If the channel's only drying up now, and the revision comes out in 10 days or so, that'll be a sign of particularly good execution on their part.
Comments
Originally posted by Bill M
Earlier this week, while visiting an Apple Store, a young woman there mentioned something that left me in shock. We were part of a small crowd being given an iChat AV demo. When the Apple rep paused his presentation so a few of us could get a hands on test of an Aiport and iSight enabled 12"PB, she turned to me and said something to the tune of: Apple has a killer 15" PB replacement for the week of Aug/25. I will sport a 1.2ghz IBM 970 processor at the same price point of the current model. I immediately asked if she meant a faster Mot G4, her reply being that she knew for a fact that the upcoming 15" will have a low power IBM 970.
To cut a long story short, her comments in summary:
- low power G5 (low speed??? low wattage???)
- same price as current 15" w/superdrive
- full specs and form factor as current 17" Al PB
- better battery life
- cooler (temperature)
- introduction and shipping date week of Aug/25
- performance info coming from her acquaintance at IBM
- form and price coming from bits she heard elsewhere
She mentioned that it would have a 50% to 75% overall performance boost over the current model, mostly due to a much faster "internal bus" and, obviously, the new G5. I couldn't believe her comments but tried to hide my skepticism and let her follow through with her story. She mentioned that her husband had pre-ordered a dual 2.0g G5 and that she would get the new "PBG5" by the end of the month, at the same time the "slower" G5 towers will start shipping.
This might have been yet another wishful thinking conversation between 2 Mac fanatics, but I still find her story quite credible. While my limited technical knowledge prevents me from shooting down her claims, she didn't seem to be the type that would make up a story like that just to share it with a total stranger.
I won't hold my hopes up for a PBG5 in just a few weeks, since I will get whatever Apple brings in place of the (aging) TiBook, G4 or else. But something similar to what this woman described would certainly fit in line with Jobs comments about this being the year of the portables.
The iChat demo was over and the crowd dispersed. We exchanged e-mail addresses as she promised to keep me posted if she learned anything new. Our conversation ended soon thereafter. Over the last couple of years, I have had numerous discussions with friends and strangers alike regarding upcoming Apple products; this is the first time I feel comfortable enough to post a roundup.
I wonder how she thinks she knows. Maybe she was sent be apple in civilian clothing to ley put a calculated leak of info to calm us all. Or maybe she was from Dell and trying to get our hopes up. So when Aug 25 comes we say screw apple and go buy dells ( yeah right).
The thought of better battery life is not to be underestimated. In fact if it went the other way the attraction of the PowerBook would be greatly truncated in my view. Better battery life still has me thinking improved G4, but if Apple could greatly reduce power usage of the entire chipset, the 970 might have a chance. To deliever a 64 bit machine that is cooler runing with extended battery times would be one hell of an engineering triumph.
Not to sure about the 50% to 75% speed up. That does seem excessive considering what we know about the 970 and its reliance on a fast I/O bus. I'm thinking that, to cut power usage, Apple will lower the bus multiple to 3 to 1 or maybe 4 to 1 this should impact performance some. They could have extended on chip cache to make up for this.
It is amazing how such a posting gets ones mind a spinning. considering that you have her E-Mail address maybe you should pump her for more information! The rest of us would love it, especially if we could watch. I'm just hoping that we can actually buy these when they are released. If they follow the same design pattern as previous PowerBooks they will be awesome and much more useful for the dollar spent that the G5 Power Macs. Frankly though; the only way that I could see this happening is if Apple and IBM had parallel developement tracks for both portable and desktop products. Not impossible but it its surprising that they could bring them to market so closely together.
The other really wild thougth is that IBM beat Intel to 90nm. That is almost as exciting as the thought of a 970 based laptop.
Mind a churning
Dave
Originally posted by Bill M
Earlier this week, while visiting an Apple Store, a young woman there mentioned something that left me in shock. We were part of a small crowd being given an iChat AV demo. When the Apple rep paused his presentation so a few of us could get a hands on test of an Aiport and iSight enabled 12"PB, she turned to me and said something to the tune of: Apple has a killer 15" PB replacement for the week of Aug/25. I will sport a 1.2ghz IBM 970 processor at the same price point of the current model. I immediately asked if she meant a faster Mot G4, her reply being that she knew for a fact that the upcoming 15" will have a low power IBM 970.
To cut a long story short, her comments in summary:
- low power G5 (low speed??? low wattage???)
- same price as current 15" w/superdrive
- full specs and form factor as current 17" Al PB
- better battery life
- cooler (temperature)
- introduction and shipping date week of Aug/25
- performance info coming from her acquaintance at IBM
- form and price coming from bits she heard elsewhere
She mentioned that it would have a 50% to 75% overall performance boost over the current model, mostly due to a much faster "internal bus" and, obviously, the new G5. I couldn't believe her comments but tried to hide my skepticism and let her follow through with her story. She mentioned that her husband had pre-ordered a dual 2.0g G5 and that she would get the new "PBG5" by the end of the month, at the same time the "slower" G5 towers will start shipping.
This might have been yet another wishful thinking conversation between 2 Mac fanatics, but I still find her story quite credible. While my limited technical knowledge prevents me from shooting down her claims, she didn't seem to be the type that would make up a story like that just to share it with a total stranger.
I won't hold my hopes up for a PBG5 in just a few weeks, since I will get whatever Apple brings in place of the (aging) TiBook, G4 or else. But something similar to what this woman described would certainly fit in line with Jobs comments about this being the year of the portables.
The iChat demo was over and the crowd dispersed. We exchanged e-mail addresses as she promised to keep me posted if she learned anything new. Our conversation ended soon thereafter. Over the last couple of years, I have had numerous discussions with friends and strangers alike regarding upcoming Apple products; this is the first time I feel comfortable enough to post a roundup.
PS Wow this thread is HUGE!!
You know what they say - it's the journey that counts, not the desitination? In that case, we're all a bunch of masochists enjoying this endless wait.
Or not.
At this rate, though, if an update doesn't happen in that timeframe I would just buy whatever PowerBook strikes my fancy (if I were in the market). You don't want to find out that there is no PowerBook update at the Apple Expo and wait even longer to get your new system.
On this note, I don't think that Jobs feels compelled to hold off a 15" aluminum PowerBook intro until the Apple Expo so that he can introduce it himself. As it probably wouldn't have a G5 (not unless IBM is even further ahead with their technology than we've heard) there's no point to this. Aside from the aluminum enclosure, it would really just be a speed bump. That would take all of 5 minutes (if that) to introduce, and since Panther has already had its big debut we're not about to see a PowerBook update tacked on to the end of a recap of WWDC.
Originally posted by Commodus
On this note, I don't think that Jobs feels compelled to hold off a 15" aluminum PowerBook intro until the Apple Expo so that he can introduce it himself. As it probably wouldn't have a G5
I agree there is no reason for steve to intro another powerbook himself unless its a G5, actually any computer unless its going G5.
My reasoning is that compared to a desktop a PB requires tight integration of the components. Things have to fit together in a very small space, they can't put out too much heat, they can't put out too much electrical noise, they can't be sensitive to vibrations and handling.
Apple has a lot of experience with making G4 PBs. A 7457 based PB would be easy for them and would work well with a backlit keyboard, bluetooth, AE, better display, etc. All the parts would sing together in harmony.
The 970 is a new beast. Until the 90nm version comes it may be difficult to deal with the total heat produced. We also don't know what problems a faster bus and more heat from other components may introduce.
I would rather have something that was possibly a little slower, but which worked really well compared to something that had flat out speed but didn't handle as well in the curves. If you were going driving up Highway 1 in Marin would you rather have a Porsche or a dragster?
The 7457 should provide a healthy speed increase on its own and Panther is rumored to be "snappy" even on G3s so this should be a fantastic PB. A year or two from now I'll happily upgrade to a G5 PB. (Magnesium?)
Originally posted by neutrino23
Last June I was dazzled with the possibility of an IBM 970 PB. Having had a little more time to think it over I would now prefer a G4 7457 based 15" Al PB.
My reasoning is that compared to a desktop a PB requires tight integration of the components. Things have to fit together in a very small space, they can't put out too much heat, they can't put out too much electrical noise, they can't be sensitive to vibrations and handling.
Apple has a lot of experience with making G4 PBs. A 7457 based PB would be easy for them and would work well with a backlit keyboard, bluetooth, AE, better display, etc. All the parts would sing together in harmony.
The 970 is a new beast. Until the 90nm version comes it may be difficult to deal with the total heat produced. We also don't know what problems a faster bus and more heat from other components may introduce.
I would rather have something that was possibly a little slower, but which worked really well compared to something that had flat out speed but didn't handle as well in the curves. If you were going driving up Highway 1 in Marin would you rather have a Porsche or a dragster?
The 7457 should provide a healthy speed increase on its own and Panther is rumored to be "snappy" even on G3s so this should be a fantastic PB. A year or two from now I'll happily upgrade to a G5 PB. (Magnesium?)
Good points Neutrino and I think our wishes are going to be filled. If it's introduced in August, it won't be a G5 - no way Steve lets a G5 PB out of the bag without a big show (ie Paris Expo).
Originally posted by Bill M
Earlier this week, while visiting an Apple Store, a young woman there mentioned something that left me in shock...
I really do not understand why you give this girl so much credit. Why would she have any knowledge more than any of the other people on this board. Isn't her credibility in question just because she points to a dual 2 Gig tower being slower than the proposed 1.2 Gig 970 PowerBook?
Most likely she had read some rumor site and was trying to impress you with her knowledge.
I would also point to onit's reasoning and cast more doubt to her story - if it is a G5 PB, there is no way that it's just gonna appear on the Apple front page in mid to late August. Steve will definately want to share some stage with the first 64 bit laptop and the earliest that could be is in Paris.
Originally posted by neutrino23
My reasoning is that compared to a desktop a PB requires tight integration of the components. Things have to fit together in a very small space, they can't put out too much heat, they can't put out too much electrical noise, they can't be sensitive to vibrations and handling.
Apple has a lot of experience with making G4 PBs. A 7457 based PB would be easy for them and would work well with a backlit keyboard, bluetooth, AE, better display, etc. All the parts would sing together in harmony.
The 970 is a new beast. Until the 90nm version comes it may be difficult to deal with the total heat produced. We also don't know what problems a faster bus and more heat from other components may introduce.
I would rather have something that was possibly a little slower, but which worked really well compared to something that had flat out speed but didn't handle as well in the curves. If you were going driving up Highway 1 in Marin would you rather have a Porsche or a dragster?
I don't know weather to make fun of your logic are agree with you. You point out good points but you say other things that are ridiculous. Heat issues may be a problem its true.
I do believe that a G5 at 1GHz would blow the G4's at 1GHz away though, so I wouldn't say a little slower. Also Apple puts things together, they don't slap them together. It's not like they would make a G5 PBook and just stick a G5 in the G4 slot and hope its works so saying you don't want a G5 because the G4 will work in harmony seems crazy to me.
But you will get your wishes, updated PBooks are on the way, and no G5 in them unless there is a SteveNote.
Originally posted by neutrino23
.....
If you were going driving up Highway 1 in Marin would you rather have a Porsche or a dragster?
.....
In the straight aways the dragster, in the corners the Porcshe, off the road and over the cliff, the dragtser has a parachute.
Originally posted by Bigc
In the straight aways the dragster, in the corners the Porcshe, off the road and over the cliff, the dragtser has a parachute.
You would need it with the dragster they handle like crap. To quote Douglas Adams, "Looks like a fish, Moves like a fish, Steers like a cow. (Wow, I just got the pun in that sentence)
When the woman mentioned that she expects to get the new PBG5 at the same time the "slower' G5 towers start shipping, she was talking about the 1.6 and 1.8 G5s, as compared to the fastest dual 2.0 G5s that should (according to her husband) ship in late september. She never meant that the new PB would be faster than any of the new towers. My fault, if I misrepresented that.
"Same form factor as the current 17"PB"... I believe those were her words, but alas she was talking about the material and overall appearance at the time. I don't think she meant size.
Even if her comments were half true, or utterly false, it was indeed an interesting conversation. As I said, I have heard even more sensational stories before, that have proven to be all lies or fabrications, but I thought this was worth sharing here this time around.
I just sent her an e-mail, in case she remembers our conversation and wishes to add anything new. If and when she replies, I will post any news here.
<edit: typos>
If her story is indeed true, then Apple would have some sort of "press event." I can think it would be fair to say if Apple does announce it will hold a "press event," it will be because it's announcing a PowerBook with a G5.
Originally posted by Bill M
Even if her comments were half true, or utterly false, it was indeed an interesting conversation. As I said, I have heard even more sensational stories before, that have proven to be all lies or fabrications, but I thought this was worth sharing here this time around.
thanks for sharing. i've never written off the possibility of a G5 PB this year, although i accept the consenus that it is less likely than the 7457 'Apollo 7' powerbooks. afterall the info coming from motorola seems to be firming about the 7457's. their latest PDF in July (MPC7457RXNXPNS.pdf) had better power dissipation figures than the first one (MPC7457EC.pdf).
the G5 1.3GHz processor has similar power dissipation to the present Apollo 7455 at 1GHz; about 19W. others have stated that the power issues with the G5 are in the rest of the motherboard chips, power controllers, faster buses etc. But i can't believe that Apple had time to design a unique CPU like the G5 tower, without concurently working on a PBG5. maybe it will come out in a 17" formfactor first, like the conversation said.
Originally posted by DHagan4755
If her story is indeed true, then Apple would have some sort of "press event." I can think it would be fair to say if Apple does announce it will hold a "press event," it will be because it's announcing a PowerBook with a G5.
So, given that Apple usually gives the press a week's notice when they hold a press event, ifi Rothenberg or someone else who works for a media outlet too big to be intimidated by Steve mentions an invite to a press event around mid-week... well, we'll have some firm evidence that this is indeed true.
The timing isn't bad, either. In fact, it's on the early side of what I'd expect based on Apple's usual 9-12 month update schedule for PowerBooks.
Apple has let the channel run bone dry with PowerBooks before, although it's been a while since they last did. If the channel's only drying up now, and the revision comes out in 10 days or so, that'll be a sign of particularly good execution on their part.