I seriously doubt that instead of an update, the price would be dropped instead. Graphics, CPUs, everything is always being updated. Even if the price goes down, there will be at least a minor update.
<strong>man bodhi, thanks for that info.... see that sweat rising in my eyes?? if that turns out to be true i´ll finally kiss my beloved pismo bye-bye!
shyte, this could really become a FANTASTIC mac- year!!!</strong><hr></blockquote>
Goodbye Pismo.... I finally got what I wanted in the latest rev-- ADC out and better screen--and have been hovering near the ORDER button on the AppleStore site, but just have not been able to close the deal since I have never loved the Ti enclosure. Throw in a superdrive and a slightly curvaceous enclosure or something that could make me forget the Pismo 500 and mine will retire too.
no way will apple rev the TiBooks so soon, it costs a lot of $$$ to re-tool the assembly lines, and to only have a short production run of somethin like a month or 2 does not make anysence...
Also, the rumor that the TiBooks will drop in price as a new laptop "pro" line with a superdrive, airport II, and bluetooth is highly unlikely... maybe a desktop replacement model, but nothing as sleek as the TiBook... also, since it wont have the same form factor as the TiBooks, there will be no reason for the TiBooks to drop in price... the "SuperBook" will cost $$$ and the "old" TiBooks will stay right where they are... no reason to change them...
<strong>no way will apple rev the TiBooks so soon, it costs a lot of $$$ to re-tool the assembly lines, and to only have a short production run of somethin like a month or 2 does not make anysence...
Also, the rumor that the TiBooks will drop in price as a new laptop "pro" line with a superdrive, airport II, and bluetooth is highly unlikely... maybe a desktop replacement model, but nothing as sleek as the TiBook... also, since it wont have the same form factor as the TiBooks, there will be no reason for the TiBooks to drop in price... the "SuperBook" will cost $$$ and the "old" TiBooks will stay right where they are... no reason to change them...</strong><hr></blockquote>
First: Apple is not going to have a 6 model Professional Powerbook line with the current enclosure and high end ones with a new enclosure. Who said anything about the form factor drastically changing anyway?
Apple makes money in the pro market, Apple does not make enough money to operate in the Consumer market. Apple is getting slammed by the Pro market and has been for about a year now. There is no reason for any pro customers to upgrade. You, me, Applenut and so on are not Apple's market. We buy one machine. I spoke to my friend who sells this stuff and I mentioned that it sucks that probably the new Power Macs will go back up in price and that Apple shouldn't do that to people like me who buys a machine every six months. You wanna know his answer to me? Apple doesn't care. What they DO care about are the companies my friend sells to who DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE PRICE, literally. Performance is what they care about. xServe with 4 hard drives? Sure I will take 5. Just like that. My friend was amazed when he started doing this.
Apple needs two things to happen and to happen quickly:
1. Apple needs the current Pro-Sumer INSTALLED base to upgrade. That's US, the ones who sometimes buy every six months or once a year and so on. Gotta admit...looking at a Dual 533 and a Dual GHz....am I really going to gain THAT MUCH performance gain to justify me backing all my stuff up, selling my machine, buying a new one, re-installing al of my software, moving all my files back on to it and so forth. A lot of people would say no it's not. Throw a GHz+ Power Mac with a new enclosure with DDR memory and other bells and whistles...hell yeah. Same with the Powerbook. And Apple is going to do it heads on, both of them at the same time. From what I hear both will have new architectures and designs. No one knows what anything looks like but I doubt they will ditch the titanium enclosure all together. It's very popular. BUT these same companies that buy in large volume like this also speak in large volumes when they complain and Apple listens to them. Scratches easily. Poor Airport reception. Hinges break. etc etc etc Apple needs to make changes to it to spark sales again.
2. Apple needs the production and ad houses to upgrade and from what my friend is saying they have been waiting too. He goes to these places and trys to get them to buy 50 new Power Macs. They say but we have single 533's, why should I spend the money and get an 800 when really there is nothing that much different other than MHz which Apple says means little? Literally they say this...or even better, why don't I get an 800MHz iMac cause I get a screen too! That is happening a lot. Apple needs to make a LARGE seperation between the Pro and Consumer markets so that companies like this are buying again.
To sit here and think that Apple will just sit on something because in the past they have done this and that is just baloney. You DO know that Apple had a profit warning a couple days ago. Apple needs to make the pro customers happy again and new Power Macs and Powerbooks are they way to do it. To give a little history: Last December, iMacs at my campus store (UCLA) were around $499. Power Macs in December and January? The 733 was $999. The two weeks before the last silent Powerbook upgrade? Prices down hundreds of dollars.
Current Powerbook prices:
667 $1899
800 $2499
Mark my words, as soon as the Power Mac rebate ends...the 800MHz model will be $899 or $999 at UCLA.
[quote]no way will apple rev the TiBooks so soon, it costs a lot of $$$ to re-tool the assembly lines, and to only have a short production run of somethin like a month or 2 does not make anysence...<hr></blockquote>
You are kidding right? I work in a manufacturing aspect for a HUGE company, one of the largest on the planet. We do special things all the time and manufacturing will bend over backwards to do whatever we need. Why? Cause there are dozens more out there that want our business just as bad. Case in point? The iMac. Too slow getting the machines out? BAM - Apple outsourced 200,000 to another company that was up and running with them in a matter of weeks. The last Powerbook revision made NO changes to the case whatsoever other than the bottom which has one less screw. It's not like Apple calls the plant and says "by the way....in two months we will be changing it completely..." this stuff is planned WAY ahead....months in advance. Design change so soon? Please. They were bumped last to trigger some sales instead of having them sitting on shelves for three months outdated. Did you ever think also that maybe they were refreshed just so the iBook could be refreshed?
Also, since we are on the subject of case design. Look at the next Powerbook and the current Powerbook like the B&W G3 to the G4. Same case, but modifications. And in case you were wondering....the B&W G3's were bumped three months befoe the G4 came out.
You have proven your argument with some solid arguments and strong examples. Well done, your high school english professor will be proud! I agree with Dave and hope that you are proven right within a few weeks time. Thanks for the info. I think this thread is now moot!
he he. Bodhi is brining back memories of myself in "Mercury Rising". and we all know how that turned out <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />
Here's an interesting tidbit.
Stanford University:
PowerMac G4/800 with 17 inch Apple LCD= $1750
PowerMac G4/933 with 17 inch Apple LCD= 1999
Powermac G4/1Ghz Dual with 22 inch Cinema Display= $3599
think that we are going to see new powermacs and displays at MWNY?
<strong>he he. Bodhi is brining back memories of myself in "Mercury Rising". and we all know how that turned out <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />
Here's an interesting tidbit.
Stanford University:
PowerMac G4/800 with 17 inch Apple LCD= $1750
PowerMac G4/933 with 17 inch Apple LCD= 1999
Powermac G4/1Ghz Dual with 22 inch Cinema Display= $3599
think that we are going to see new powermacs and displays at MWNY? </strong><hr></blockquote>
Yeah but with Mercury Rising we didn't have proof like this adding up!
But I do as always offer the disclaimer: As my friend has been telling me all along. Even though he is being told by Apple not to sell Power Macs and Powerbooks, anything can happen and things can change.
Well, I'll add what I know. I'v been pricing out new PowerBooks for a couple weeks now. My mother happens to work at the college I go to and she was told to tell me NOT to get a TiBook until after MWNY. She didn't say anything else, but she was very firm about this decision (I REALLY want one now). So much in fact that to stop me from getting it now she said she'll pay for the warrantee if I waited.
My mom loves me and only wants the best for me. I think this might be the reason she wants me to wait.
Improved housings for computing devices are disclosed. One improvement pertains to a multi-axis ventilation system. Another improvement pertains to a push button latch for a portable computer. Still another improvement pertains to a media bay ejection system provided with a dampener. These improvements can be provided separately or in any combination in a given computing device.
The diagrams are quite interesting:
Lookks knida like a TiBook, but modified. 2 buttons?. Totally different "media bay".
This really is fun. Glad I have waited. IN fact, even if we dont see new PowerBooks in July, I am so excited about a new model I might even wait until MWSF...
"In addition, the portable computer 100 includes a media bay that is accessible through a media bay opening 128 and an eject lever 130. A media device can be inserted into the media bay opening 128 to add functionality or capacity to the portable computer 100. After a media device is inserted into the media bay, the media device can be ejected by pulling one end of the eject lever 130 away from the surface of the base 102. The lever 130 and the ejection of the media device from the media bay is explained further below with respect to the third aspect of the invention.
Once the media device 510 is inserted into the media bay opening 508, the functionality provided by the media device 510 becomes available for use by the portable computer 500. As examples, the media device 510 can be a digital versatile disk (DVD), a ZIP drive, a battery, audio CD drive, CD-ROM, or hard drive.
Another advantage of the invention is that acoustic noise associated with media ejection systems is significantly reduced."
As a side not this was filed by Apple on Feb 15, 2002.
The lid latch seems to be to be a lot like the ones for the original iBooks, but with a dampening system. It really looks like an improved ventalation system and there are 2 buttons. (!) Also, it looks like the drive bay is removable which is really great.
All in all, if we see 50% of this next month I'll be a happy new powerbook owner! <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
Improved housings for computing devices are disclosed. One improvement pertains to a multi-axis ventilation system. Another improvement pertains to a push button latch for a portable computer. Still another improvement pertains to a media bay ejection system provided with a dampener. These improvements can be provided separately or in any combination in a given computing device.
The diagrams are quite interesting:
Lookks knida like a TiBook, but modified. 2 buttons?. Totally different "media bay".
Let the speculation begin.....</strong><hr></blockquote>
Speculate! This is why I love AI, where else could you get linked to the patent application. What I liked best were the curves in the diagram.
i think the iBook is more likely than the commentary here would lead to believe, because the last update was much smaller than anticipated and hinted at. the last update appeared to me to be a small "hold over" update until some larger one could be prepped and made - when is macworld tokyo? i thought that was the traditional portable announcement spot.
at any rate, i think the iBooks are in need of an upgrade and can only hope this summer will see it. the ti books are fine capabilities wise they are just too damn expensive - they will not drop the price i bet, so i guess they have to upgrade that one!
i know some people that work at the Apple store here in cupertino, and some say the iBook is better than the Titanium Powerbook in many ways. it is much tougher for one thing - the drop test kills TiBooks dead, while an iBook has a 50/50 chance of surviving. the TiBooks is apparently so thin and has so little space inside it that the littlest damage is major. the plastic case on the iBooks is supposed to help a lot with it's flexibility.
as for the screen size discussion, personally i am going for the smaller iBook. the larger screens make the "portable" part invalid i think... the idea is a small supplement to a major home machine, and the main thing is portability to me, so those little iBooks look the best.
of course , the main complaint is the hard drives - they are so slow! at least the Ti you can get a large one that is 5400rpm, but the iBooks are limited to 4500rpm! and replacing them is a nightmare. so i guess for pro music or something an external firewire drive is the best solution...
DAMNIT... arg i was so psyced for getting a powerbook this wekend when i went up to BC............................ damnit now you are forcing me to @ least wait....!!! arg... i almost want to buy an iBook just to tide me over <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" /> I said what i said because i didnt want to even admit the possibility of the TiBooks being reved for MWNY... oh well i guess i could look on the bright side and that we are getting new TiBooks @ the show, but I REALLY hope they dont change the form factor... <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" /> DAMNIT!!!
[quote]And in case you were wondering....the B&W G3's were bumped three months befoe the G4 came out.<hr></blockquote>
That revision was a 50MHz bump on the top end. The PowerBook revision was a new chip with L3 cache, a revised motherboard, new heat ducting, new GPU, new screen resolution, DVI-out, audio-in, removal of IRDA. That's too significant an upgrade to be a three-month holdover until something else is released.
That revision was a 50MHz bump on the top end. The PowerBook revision was a new chip with L3 cache, a revised motherboard, new heat ducting, new GPU, new screen resolution, DVI-out, audio-in, removal of IRDA. That's too significant an upgrade to be a three-month holdover until something else is released.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Comments
Barto
[ 06-20-2002: Message edited by: Barto ]</p>
<strong>man bodhi, thanks for that info.... see that sweat rising in my eyes?? if that turns out to be true i´ll finally kiss my beloved pismo bye-bye!
shyte, this could really become a FANTASTIC mac- year!!!</strong><hr></blockquote>
Goodbye Pismo.... I finally got what I wanted in the latest rev-- ADC out and better screen--and have been hovering near the ORDER button on the AppleStore site, but just have not been able to close the deal since I have never loved the Ti enclosure. Throw in a superdrive and a slightly curvaceous enclosure or something that could make me forget the Pismo 500 and mine will retire too.
Also, the rumor that the TiBooks will drop in price as a new laptop "pro" line with a superdrive, airport II, and bluetooth is highly unlikely... maybe a desktop replacement model, but nothing as sleek as the TiBook... also, since it wont have the same form factor as the TiBooks, there will be no reason for the TiBooks to drop in price... the "SuperBook" will cost $$$ and the "old" TiBooks will stay right where they are... no reason to change them...
<strong>no way will apple rev the TiBooks so soon, it costs a lot of $$$ to re-tool the assembly lines, and to only have a short production run of somethin like a month or 2 does not make anysence...
Also, the rumor that the TiBooks will drop in price as a new laptop "pro" line with a superdrive, airport II, and bluetooth is highly unlikely... maybe a desktop replacement model, but nothing as sleek as the TiBook... also, since it wont have the same form factor as the TiBooks, there will be no reason for the TiBooks to drop in price... the "SuperBook" will cost $$$ and the "old" TiBooks will stay right where they are... no reason to change them...</strong><hr></blockquote>
First: Apple is not going to have a 6 model Professional Powerbook line with the current enclosure and high end ones with a new enclosure. Who said anything about the form factor drastically changing anyway?
Apple makes money in the pro market, Apple does not make enough money to operate in the Consumer market. Apple is getting slammed by the Pro market and has been for about a year now. There is no reason for any pro customers to upgrade. You, me, Applenut and so on are not Apple's market. We buy one machine. I spoke to my friend who sells this stuff and I mentioned that it sucks that probably the new Power Macs will go back up in price and that Apple shouldn't do that to people like me who buys a machine every six months. You wanna know his answer to me? Apple doesn't care. What they DO care about are the companies my friend sells to who DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE PRICE, literally. Performance is what they care about. xServe with 4 hard drives? Sure I will take 5. Just like that. My friend was amazed when he started doing this.
Apple needs two things to happen and to happen quickly:
1. Apple needs the current Pro-Sumer INSTALLED base to upgrade. That's US, the ones who sometimes buy every six months or once a year and so on. Gotta admit...looking at a Dual 533 and a Dual GHz....am I really going to gain THAT MUCH performance gain to justify me backing all my stuff up, selling my machine, buying a new one, re-installing al of my software, moving all my files back on to it and so forth. A lot of people would say no it's not. Throw a GHz+ Power Mac with a new enclosure with DDR memory and other bells and whistles...hell yeah. Same with the Powerbook. And Apple is going to do it heads on, both of them at the same time. From what I hear both will have new architectures and designs. No one knows what anything looks like but I doubt they will ditch the titanium enclosure all together. It's very popular. BUT these same companies that buy in large volume like this also speak in large volumes when they complain and Apple listens to them. Scratches easily. Poor Airport reception. Hinges break. etc etc etc Apple needs to make changes to it to spark sales again.
2. Apple needs the production and ad houses to upgrade and from what my friend is saying they have been waiting too. He goes to these places and trys to get them to buy 50 new Power Macs. They say but we have single 533's, why should I spend the money and get an 800 when really there is nothing that much different other than MHz which Apple says means little? Literally they say this...or even better, why don't I get an 800MHz iMac cause I get a screen too! That is happening a lot. Apple needs to make a LARGE seperation between the Pro and Consumer markets so that companies like this are buying again.
To sit here and think that Apple will just sit on something because in the past they have done this and that is just baloney. You DO know that Apple had a profit warning a couple days ago. Apple needs to make the pro customers happy again and new Power Macs and Powerbooks are they way to do it. To give a little history: Last December, iMacs at my campus store (UCLA) were around $499. Power Macs in December and January? The 733 was $999. The two weeks before the last silent Powerbook upgrade? Prices down hundreds of dollars.
Current Powerbook prices:
667 $1899
800 $2499
Mark my words, as soon as the Power Mac rebate ends...the 800MHz model will be $899 or $999 at UCLA.
[quote]no way will apple rev the TiBooks so soon, it costs a lot of $$$ to re-tool the assembly lines, and to only have a short production run of somethin like a month or 2 does not make anysence...<hr></blockquote>
You are kidding right? I work in a manufacturing aspect for a HUGE company, one of the largest on the planet. We do special things all the time and manufacturing will bend over backwards to do whatever we need. Why? Cause there are dozens more out there that want our business just as bad. Case in point? The iMac. Too slow getting the machines out? BAM - Apple outsourced 200,000 to another company that was up and running with them in a matter of weeks. The last Powerbook revision made NO changes to the case whatsoever other than the bottom which has one less screw. It's not like Apple calls the plant and says "by the way....in two months we will be changing it completely..." this stuff is planned WAY ahead....months in advance. Design change so soon? Please. They were bumped last to trigger some sales instead of having them sitting on shelves for three months outdated. Did you ever think also that maybe they were refreshed just so the iBook could be refreshed?
Also, since we are on the subject of case design. Look at the next Powerbook and the current Powerbook like the B&W G3 to the G4. Same case, but modifications. And in case you were wondering....the B&W G3's were bumped three months befoe the G4 came out.
[ 06-21-2002: Message edited by: Bodhi ]</p>
I think you have solidly proven your case for new PowerBooks. I hope you're right. I really hope you're right.
You have proven your argument with some solid arguments and strong examples. Well done, your high school english professor will be proud! I agree with Dave and hope that you are proven right within a few weeks time. Thanks for the info. I think this thread is now moot!
-Mo
Here's an interesting tidbit.
Stanford University:
PowerMac G4/800 with 17 inch Apple LCD= $1750
PowerMac G4/933 with 17 inch Apple LCD= 1999
Powermac G4/1Ghz Dual with 22 inch Cinema Display= $3599
think that we are going to see new powermacs and displays at MWNY?
<strong>he he. Bodhi is brining back memories of myself in "Mercury Rising". and we all know how that turned out <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />
Here's an interesting tidbit.
Stanford University:
PowerMac G4/800 with 17 inch Apple LCD= $1750
PowerMac G4/933 with 17 inch Apple LCD= 1999
Powermac G4/1Ghz Dual with 22 inch Cinema Display= $3599
think that we are going to see new powermacs and displays at MWNY?
Yeah but with Mercury Rising we didn't have proof like this adding up!
But I do as always offer the disclaimer: As my friend has been telling me all along. Even though he is being told by Apple not to sell Power Macs and Powerbooks, anything can happen and things can change.
Hope springs eternal...
My mom loves me and only wants the best for me. I think this might be the reason she wants me to wait.
application #20020075647
"Computer housing for a portable computer"
Abstract:
Improved housings for computing devices are disclosed. One improvement pertains to a multi-axis ventilation system. Another improvement pertains to a push button latch for a portable computer. Still another improvement pertains to a media bay ejection system provided with a dampener. These improvements can be provided separately or in any combination in a given computing device.
The diagrams are quite interesting:
Lookks knida like a TiBook, but modified. 2 buttons?. Totally different "media bay".
Let the speculation begin.....
<strong>
The diagrams are quite interesting:
Lookks knida like a TiBook, but modified. 2 buttons?. Totally different "media bay".
Let the speculation begin.....</strong><hr></blockquote>
Link?
[ 06-21-2002: Message edited by: taboo ]</p>
"In addition, the portable computer 100 includes a media bay that is accessible through a media bay opening 128 and an eject lever 130. A media device can be inserted into the media bay opening 128 to add functionality or capacity to the portable computer 100. After a media device is inserted into the media bay, the media device can be ejected by pulling one end of the eject lever 130 away from the surface of the base 102. The lever 130 and the ejection of the media device from the media bay is explained further below with respect to the third aspect of the invention.
Once the media device 510 is inserted into the media bay opening 508, the functionality provided by the media device 510 becomes available for use by the portable computer 500. As examples, the media device 510 can be a digital versatile disk (DVD), a ZIP drive, a battery, audio CD drive, CD-ROM, or hard drive.
Another advantage of the invention is that acoustic noise associated with media ejection systems is significantly reduced."
As a side not this was filed by Apple on Feb 15, 2002.
The lid latch seems to be to be a lot like the ones for the original iBooks, but with a dampening system. It really looks like an improved ventalation system and there are 2 buttons. (!) Also, it looks like the drive bay is removable which is really great.
All in all, if we see 50% of this next month I'll be a happy new powerbook owner! <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
<strong>New patent application made yesterday by Apple.
application #20020075647
"Computer housing for a portable computer"
Abstract:
Improved housings for computing devices are disclosed. One improvement pertains to a multi-axis ventilation system. Another improvement pertains to a push button latch for a portable computer. Still another improvement pertains to a media bay ejection system provided with a dampener. These improvements can be provided separately or in any combination in a given computing device.
The diagrams are quite interesting:
Lookks knida like a TiBook, but modified. 2 buttons?. Totally different "media bay".
Let the speculation begin.....</strong><hr></blockquote>
Speculate! This is why I love AI, where else could you get linked to the patent application. What I liked best were the curves in the diagram.
at any rate, i think the iBooks are in need of an upgrade and can only hope this summer will see it. the ti books are fine capabilities wise they are just too damn expensive - they will not drop the price i bet, so i guess they have to upgrade that one!
i know some people that work at the Apple store here in cupertino, and some say the iBook is better than the Titanium Powerbook in many ways. it is much tougher for one thing - the drop test kills TiBooks dead, while an iBook has a 50/50 chance of surviving. the TiBooks is apparently so thin and has so little space inside it that the littlest damage is major. the plastic case on the iBooks is supposed to help a lot with it's flexibility.
as for the screen size discussion, personally i am going for the smaller iBook. the larger screens make the "portable" part invalid i think... the idea is a small supplement to a major home machine, and the main thing is portability to me, so those little iBooks look the best.
of course , the main complaint is the hard drives - they are so slow! at least the Ti you can get a large one that is 5400rpm, but the iBooks are limited to 4500rpm! and replacing them is a nightmare. so i guess for pro music or something an external firewire drive is the best solution...
<strong>
My mom loves me and only wants the best for me. I think this might be the reason she wants me to wait.</strong><hr></blockquote>
lol! no, that's the reason she wants you to marry a nice girl and have kids...
<strong>his huge post... </strong><hr></blockquote>
ummmm...... yeah.
DAMNIT...
hehe
That revision was a 50MHz bump on the top end. The PowerBook revision was a new chip with L3 cache, a revised motherboard, new heat ducting, new GPU, new screen resolution, DVI-out, audio-in, removal of IRDA. That's too significant an upgrade to be a three-month holdover until something else is released.
<strong>
That revision was a 50MHz bump on the top end. The PowerBook revision was a new chip with L3 cache, a revised motherboard, new heat ducting, new GPU, new screen resolution, DVI-out, audio-in, removal of IRDA. That's too significant an upgrade to be a three-month holdover until something else is released.</strong><hr></blockquote>
um...okay