Absolutely: the only place the powerbooks win are in looks. The centrinos smoke powerbooks in battery life and performance.
If apple wants to charge such a huge premium, they better rise up to the challenge!
And while we are at it whatever happened to bundling a word processor with pro machines. Erveryone has to write letters...add in Appleworks. For $2600 you deserve it!
Good point... its rediculous... we have every other tool out there... but they are all hobby tools. We need real tools... but I guess apple doesn't remember what a word processor / drawing program / spreadsheet program is.
Personally I've lost all respect for apple. This nonsense has gone on long enough. They obviously aren't serious about being everything they could be. I knew this ipod thing would end up being bad. If apple didn't have that they would either die off or be forced to change focus to more important products.
They should sell rights to have ipod clones made. That way the ipod wouldn't be in danger of becoming extinct due to AAC / Mp3 only formats. Real Networks is right... when they claim the ipod will end up losing this battle unless they start accepting other formats.
Once they sold the rights to ipods... they could have a consistant income from that and then focus on other things... like um... lets see... FREAKING POWERMACS!? Maybe a POWERBOOK!?! Oh wait... how about a damn iMac!?!?
Its rediculous... and if apple doesn't do something soon... this is one developer they will lose.
They should sell rights to have ipod clones made. That way the ipod wouldn't be in danger of becoming extinct due to AAC / Mp3 only formats. Real Networks is right... when they claim the ipod will end up losing this battle unless they start accepting other formats.
Didn't Apple do something like this with the HP-Apple iPod deal? I mean sure ACC may not be a huge format but it's a little early to call it dead isn't it?
PS: Do you mean that Apple should support more formats with the iPod or that Apple should sell the design/hardware to venders other than HP?
Didn't Apple do something like this with the HP-Apple iPod deal? I mean sure ACC may not be a huge format but it's a little early to call it dead isn't it?
PS: Do you mean that Apple should support more formats with the iPod or that Apple should sell the design/hardware to venders other than HP?
I kind of meant both... but I also meant 1 or the other. I think the iPod could be a great device for apple. But they should NOT make it the #1 priority. I'm not calling the AAC format dead yet... but the iPod won't be around forever if you can only get music for it from 1 or 2 places... when you can get other music from 20 different places. Apple is cornering themselves because of the iTMS... they would sell way more iPods if they opened up the formats. Buying from the iTMS should be a pleasure... not a force. Just my opinion though.
I just want them to focus on Computers instead. They have been focusing on the iPod for WAY too long. Its time to go back to the way it was.
Exactly. I was thinking about this yesterday, comparing the hardware/software releases during the first three months of 2003 to the first three of 2004...for this to be the 20th anniversary year, it's been pretty damn quiet!
Where are the new G5s? New redesigned displays that don't look like G4s? New iMacs that hit Anderson's "sweet spot"? Revved iBooks (been almost 6 months)? New eMacs (only product remaining to not sport USB 2.0)?
Honest to goodness, it really, really feels sometimes like Apple is hanging EVERYTHING on the iPod and the iTMS. It's the only thing that seems to get any play or real attention and promotion.
"Computers? Bah...we've got the iPod!"
Last year felt like an "anniversary celebration"...seemed like something was coming out every other week.
This year? Pretty much MWSF and the iPod minis...and that's it. Whoop-di-do. For all the hype and talk about the G5 and IBM, it's pretty much following a G4-esque course of updates. What, June 23 of 2003? Not counting that small "dual 1.8" release late last year. But here we are, going on 9 months (just like before) with nothing.
So much for Jobs' own statement about "we'll be celebrating in a big way...we have some amazing things planned for 2004..." during the keynote.
I guess they're going to save them all up until November or something?
\
This has been my thought exactly for the majority of the past months.
It will be great if Apple releases an update for every product they sell ... but nevertheless the past half year has pretty much su-ck-ed big time. I couldn't agree more on the start of this anniversary year.
The sooner updated G5 (dual 3.0) & matching displays & keyb/mouse come out the better. I've been waiting long enough for these updates. I - and most people I think - can do without the newest graphics card nvidia & ATI are bringing out in a month or two. So they don't need to wait for that.
Once they sold the rights to ipods... they could have a consistant income from that and then focus on other things... like um... lets see... FREAKING POWERMACS!? Maybe a POWERBOOK!?! Oh wait... how about a damn iMac!?!?
What! Do you think Apple is some kind of...I dont know...computer company ....or something. Watch out,uncle Steve will have your head...........
Personally I've lost all respect for apple. This nonsense has gone on long enough. They obviously aren't serious about being everything they could be. I knew this ipod thing would end up being bad. If apple didn't have that they would either die off or be forced to change focus to more important products.
They should sell rights to have ipod clones made. That way the ipod wouldn't be in danger of becoming extinct due to AAC / Mp3 only formats. Real Networks is right... when they claim the ipod will end up losing this battle unless they start accepting other formats.
Once they sold the rights to ipods... they could have a consistant income from that and then focus on other things... like um... lets see... FREAKING POWERMACS!? Maybe a POWERBOOK!?! Oh wait... how about a damn iMac!?!?
Its rediculous... and if apple doesn't do something soon... this is one developer they will lose.
You're right! Apple is going out of business! They will be bankrupt in 6 months! Just like we all said last year!
How do you figure that one little peripheral commands the attention of such an overwhelming percentage of Apple's hardware and software engineers? It's a big company, you know.
How do you imagine that a transition to a brand-new architecture will be quick or easy? Especially since the CPU that will be powering much of the line just came out?
There's a lot of 2004 left. I have this funny feeling that the people despairing now will be eating crow before very long. Things are just starting to get interesting.
Re: the new graphics cards, for example, Apple needs to wait for them because they use the brand-new PCI Express rather than AGP, so Apple can't ship ATi 9600s in the mean time. They have to build the machine with a new bus, and wait for the cards that can use that bus. The release schedule is up to ATi and nVIDIA, not Apple.
we all heard steve say he HOPES to have pb's at the END OF SUMMER! why do people think theyre coming out now????? pMACS i understand, but not pBOOKS [/QUOTE]
When was that. i must have been sick during that speech. all I remember is that last year he said pbooks would not be out in 2003.
How do you figure that one little peripheral commands the attention of such an overwhelming percentage of Apple's hardware and software engineers? It's a big company, you know.
How do you imagine that a transition to a brand-new architecture will be quick or easy? Especially since the CPU that will be powering much of the line just came out?
There's a lot of 2004 left. I have this funny feeling that the people despairing now will be eating crow before very long. Things are just starting to get interesting.
Re: the new graphics cards, for example, Apple needs to wait for them because they use the brand-new PCI Express rather than AGP, so Apple can't ship ATi 9600s in the mean time. They have to build the machine with a new bus, and wait for the cards that can use that bus. The release schedule is up to ATi and nVIDIA, not Apple.
How do you know that it is reliant on the video cards? No one has any proof of what the hold back is. Why couldn't apple release the new powermacs with agp8x... its not that big of a difference when it comes to graphics cards.
Well ponder this. The Inquirer blokes have gotten hold of the NV40 release dates. Plural because the European launch is the 14th of April, but the US launch is a day before, the 13th. Where in the US? San Francisco.
Isn't it conventional wisdom that the 10.3.3 update enables the new rev of G5s? Wouldn't 10.3.3 therefore hold appropriate code for any new ATI and/or Nvidia cards? Or would these cards not require any s/w changes for support?
Maybe the Wednesday date was set in stone earlier, and they are opening in the U.S. before that date so the U.S. gets it "first", but that magical 3rd day of the week connection is intriguing.
What is ATI doing? Wouldn't they want to be simultaneous, at least.
I actually need a dualie, and I can wait a little while; money for a new project rolled in. I was planning on getting it early, but the project starts May 15, so I'll have to get it soon, and if we get the standard "shipping in 4-6 weeks", I'm screwed.
How do you know that it is reliant on the video cards?
Read the little text description under "Future Hardware" in the forums list. Note the word "speculation."
Quote:
Why couldn't apple release the new powermacs with agp8x... its not that big of a difference when it comes to graphics cards.
Note the phrase "informed speculation" under "Future Hardware." PCI Express and AGP 8x are completely different, and PCI Express is capable of writing back from the card to main RAM as quickly as it writes the other way, a crucial difference that enables all kinds of functionality that is impossible with AGP (think Quartz Extreme, but for all of Quartz).
PCI Express is hot-pluggable. Think about the implications of that.
Of course I don't know what's holding up the PowerMac release, or even if it's being "held up" as far as Apple is concerned. But it's not hard to see that It would be mindbogglingly stupid for Apple to ship a brand-new professional line with a slot that was incompatible with the next generation of graphics cards at all prices coming out a few weeks later. PCI Express is not going to be a high-end thing. Intel will be shipping their bottom-end onboard video chipsets using PCI Express in the coming weeks. The graphics card industry has been waiting for this for a very long time, and they're making the leap this spring. Why on Earth would Apple not want to be there? They have the only personal computer OS (and possibly the only OS) that uses the graphics chipset for routine work! And if they don't make the leap now, they'll have to be behind the industry for as many months as it takes them to prepare the next update, which will require a controller revision, which Apple does not want to do any more frequently than they have to. Their controller is an elaborate piece of work.
Basically, I can't see why they wouldn't be planning the release around the next-gen graphics cards. Maybe something will hold the release up beyond the date when they're introduced, but unless Apple secures the right to break the announcement before anyone else does we'll see Macs with the new graphics chipsets April 13th or later. Not before.
How do you figure that one little peripheral commands the attention of such an overwhelming percentage of Apple's hardware and software engineers? It's a big company, you know.
How do you imagine that a transition to a brand-new architecture will be quick or easy? Especially since the CPU that will be powering much of the line just came out?
There's a lot of 2004 left. I have this funny feeling that the people despairing now will be eating crow before very long. Things are just starting to get interesting.
Re: the new graphics cards, for example, Apple needs to wait for them because they use the brand-new PCI Express rather than AGP, so Apple can't ship ATi 9600s in the mean time. They have to build the machine with a new bus, and wait for the cards that can use that bus. The release schedule is up to ATi and nVIDIA, not Apple.
This is a bit OT but does anyone think the "This is the fastest Mac I've ever used" quote by Bob LeVitus on the Apple homepage is a bit...well....duh!! I mean, I'd be a bit concerned if Apple were releasing slower machines over time! But on the whole update thing I doubt Apple would be plugging the G5s right before a new release. And the G5s are not the computers in most need of an update, these are the iMacs and Powerbooks. The Powerbooks (particularly the low-end 12") look pretty pathetic value in comparison to the G4 iBooks and the iMacs have been stagnant for way too long.
Comments
Originally posted by jade
Absolutely: the only place the powerbooks win are in looks. The centrinos smoke powerbooks in battery life and performance.
If apple wants to charge such a huge premium, they better rise up to the challenge!
And while we are at it whatever happened to bundling a word processor with pro machines. Erveryone has to write letters...add in Appleworks. For $2600 you deserve it!
Good point... its rediculous... we have every other tool out there... but they are all hobby tools. We need real tools... but I guess apple doesn't remember what a word processor / drawing program / spreadsheet program is.
They should sell rights to have ipod clones made. That way the ipod wouldn't be in danger of becoming extinct due to AAC / Mp3 only formats. Real Networks is right... when they claim the ipod will end up losing this battle unless they start accepting other formats.
Once they sold the rights to ipods... they could have a consistant income from that and then focus on other things... like um... lets see... FREAKING POWERMACS!? Maybe a POWERBOOK!?! Oh wait... how about a damn iMac!?!?
Its rediculous... and if apple doesn't do something soon... this is one developer they will lose.
Originally posted by emig647:
They should sell rights to have ipod clones made. That way the ipod wouldn't be in danger of becoming extinct due to AAC / Mp3 only formats. Real Networks is right... when they claim the ipod will end up losing this battle unless they start accepting other formats.
Didn't Apple do something like this with the HP-Apple iPod deal? I mean sure ACC may not be a huge format but it's a little early to call it dead isn't it?
PS: Do you mean that Apple should support more formats with the iPod or that Apple should sell the design/hardware to venders other than HP?
Originally posted by Crusader
Didn't Apple do something like this with the HP-Apple iPod deal? I mean sure ACC may not be a huge format but it's a little early to call it dead isn't it?
PS: Do you mean that Apple should support more formats with the iPod or that Apple should sell the design/hardware to venders other than HP?
I kind of meant both... but I also meant 1 or the other. I think the iPod could be a great device for apple. But they should NOT make it the #1 priority. I'm not calling the AAC format dead yet... but the iPod won't be around forever if you can only get music for it from 1 or 2 places... when you can get other music from 20 different places. Apple is cornering themselves because of the iTMS... they would sell way more iPods if they opened up the formats. Buying from the iTMS should be a pleasure... not a force. Just my opinion though.
I just want them to focus on Computers instead. They have been focusing on the iPod for WAY too long. Its time to go back to the way it was.
Originally posted by pscates
Exactly. I was thinking about this yesterday, comparing the hardware/software releases during the first three months of 2003 to the first three of 2004...for this to be the 20th anniversary year, it's been pretty damn quiet!
Where are the new G5s? New redesigned displays that don't look like G4s? New iMacs that hit Anderson's "sweet spot"? Revved iBooks (been almost 6 months)? New eMacs (only product remaining to not sport USB 2.0)?
Honest to goodness, it really, really feels sometimes like Apple is hanging EVERYTHING on the iPod and the iTMS. It's the only thing that seems to get any play or real attention and promotion.
"Computers? Bah...we've got the iPod!"
Last year felt like an "anniversary celebration"...seemed like something was coming out every other week.
This year? Pretty much MWSF and the iPod minis...and that's it. Whoop-di-do. For all the hype and talk about the G5 and IBM, it's pretty much following a G4-esque course of updates. What, June 23 of 2003? Not counting that small "dual 1.8" release late last year. But here we are, going on 9 months (just like before) with nothing.
So much for Jobs' own statement about "we'll be celebrating in a big way...we have some amazing things planned for 2004..." during the keynote.
I guess they're going to save them all up until November or something?
This has been my thought exactly for the majority of the past months.
It will be great if Apple releases an update for every product they sell ... but nevertheless the past half year has pretty much su-ck-ed big time. I couldn't agree more on the start of this anniversary year.
The sooner updated G5 (dual 3.0) & matching displays & keyb/mouse come out the better. I've been waiting long enough for these updates. I - and most people I think - can do without the newest graphics card nvidia & ATI are bringing out in a month or two. So they don't need to wait for that.
Originally posted by emig647
Once they sold the rights to ipods... they could have a consistant income from that and then focus on other things... like um... lets see... FREAKING POWERMACS!? Maybe a POWERBOOK!?! Oh wait... how about a damn iMac!?!?
What! Do you think Apple is some kind of...I dont know...computer company ....or something. Watch out,uncle Steve will have your head...........
Originally posted by emig647
Personally I've lost all respect for apple. This nonsense has gone on long enough. They obviously aren't serious about being everything they could be. I knew this ipod thing would end up being bad. If apple didn't have that they would either die off or be forced to change focus to more important products.
They should sell rights to have ipod clones made. That way the ipod wouldn't be in danger of becoming extinct due to AAC / Mp3 only formats. Real Networks is right... when they claim the ipod will end up losing this battle unless they start accepting other formats.
Once they sold the rights to ipods... they could have a consistant income from that and then focus on other things... like um... lets see... FREAKING POWERMACS!? Maybe a POWERBOOK!?! Oh wait... how about a damn iMac!?!?
Its rediculous... and if apple doesn't do something soon... this is one developer they will lose.
You're right! Apple is going out of business! They will be bankrupt in 6 months! Just like we all said last year!
Originally posted by Eupfhoria
You're right! Apple is going out of business! They will be bankrupt in 6 months! Just like we all said last year!
I was talking about the ipod dying...
Originally posted by emig647
I was talking about the ipod dying...
Have faith e, have a lil faith.
How do you figure that one little peripheral commands the attention of such an overwhelming percentage of Apple's hardware and software engineers? It's a big company, you know.
How do you imagine that a transition to a brand-new architecture will be quick or easy? Especially since the CPU that will be powering much of the line just came out?
There's a lot of 2004 left. I have this funny feeling that the people despairing now will be eating crow before very long. Things are just starting to get interesting.
Re: the new graphics cards, for example, Apple needs to wait for them because they use the brand-new PCI Express rather than AGP, so Apple can't ship ATi 9600s in the mean time. They have to build the machine with a new bus, and wait for the cards that can use that bus. The release schedule is up to ATi and nVIDIA, not Apple.
Originally posted by Smircle
I know, I am childish right now, but please, someone tell me Apple is going to release PowerBook G5's in the next weeks, damnit.
I know, Powerbooks are among the stronges selling machines they offer, but heck, I don't understand it. They are so freaking underspecced.... *grmbl*
When was that. i must have been sick during that speech. all I remember is that last year he said pbooks would not be out in 2003.
Originally posted by Amorph
Two questions:
How do you figure that one little peripheral commands the attention of such an overwhelming percentage of Apple's hardware and software engineers? It's a big company, you know.
How do you imagine that a transition to a brand-new architecture will be quick or easy? Especially since the CPU that will be powering much of the line just came out?
There's a lot of 2004 left. I have this funny feeling that the people despairing now will be eating crow before very long. Things are just starting to get interesting.
Re: the new graphics cards, for example, Apple needs to wait for them because they use the brand-new PCI Express rather than AGP, so Apple can't ship ATi 9600s in the mean time. They have to build the machine with a new bus, and wait for the cards that can use that bus. The release schedule is up to ATi and nVIDIA, not Apple.
How do you know that it is reliant on the video cards? No one has any proof of what the hold back is. Why couldn't apple release the new powermacs with agp8x... its not that big of a difference when it comes to graphics cards.
Well ponder this. The Inquirer blokes have gotten hold of the NV40 release dates. Plural because the European launch is the 14th of April, but the US launch is a day before, the 13th. Where in the US? San Francisco.
And 13th of April is a Tuesday.
Two (Euro) cents and lick of salt...
Screed
Isn't it conventional wisdom that the 10.3.3 update enables the new rev of G5s? Wouldn't 10.3.3 therefore hold appropriate code for any new ATI and/or Nvidia cards? Or would these cards not require any s/w changes for support?
Maybe the Wednesday date was set in stone earlier, and they are opening in the U.S. before that date so the U.S. gets it "first", but that magical 3rd day of the week connection is intriguing.
What is ATI doing? Wouldn't they want to be simultaneous, at least.
I actually need a dualie, and I can wait a little while; money for a new project rolled in. I was planning on getting it early, but the project starts May 15, so I'll have to get it soon, and if we get the standard "shipping in 4-6 weeks", I'm screwed.
Originally posted by emig647
How do you know that it is reliant on the video cards?
Read the little text description under "Future Hardware" in the forums list. Note the word "speculation."
Why couldn't apple release the new powermacs with agp8x... its not that big of a difference when it comes to graphics cards.
Note the phrase "informed speculation" under "Future Hardware." PCI Express and AGP 8x are completely different, and PCI Express is capable of writing back from the card to main RAM as quickly as it writes the other way, a crucial difference that enables all kinds of functionality that is impossible with AGP (think Quartz Extreme, but for all of Quartz).
PCI Express is hot-pluggable. Think about the implications of that.
Of course I don't know what's holding up the PowerMac release, or even if it's being "held up" as far as Apple is concerned. But it's not hard to see that It would be mindbogglingly stupid for Apple to ship a brand-new professional line with a slot that was incompatible with the next generation of graphics cards at all prices coming out a few weeks later. PCI Express is not going to be a high-end thing. Intel will be shipping their bottom-end onboard video chipsets using PCI Express in the coming weeks. The graphics card industry has been waiting for this for a very long time, and they're making the leap this spring. Why on Earth would Apple not want to be there? They have the only personal computer OS (and possibly the only OS) that uses the graphics chipset for routine work! And if they don't make the leap now, they'll have to be behind the industry for as many months as it takes them to prepare the next update, which will require a controller revision, which Apple does not want to do any more frequently than they have to. Their controller is an elaborate piece of work.
Basically, I can't see why they wouldn't be planning the release around the next-gen graphics cards. Maybe something will hold the release up beyond the date when they're introduced, but unless Apple secures the right to break the announcement before anyone else does we'll see Macs with the new graphics chipsets April 13th or later. Not before.
Originally posted by Amorph
Two questions:
How do you figure that one little peripheral commands the attention of such an overwhelming percentage of Apple's hardware and software engineers? It's a big company, you know.
How do you imagine that a transition to a brand-new architecture will be quick or easy? Especially since the CPU that will be powering much of the line just came out?
There's a lot of 2004 left. I have this funny feeling that the people despairing now will be eating crow before very long. Things are just starting to get interesting.
Re: the new graphics cards, for example, Apple needs to wait for them because they use the brand-new PCI Express rather than AGP, so Apple can't ship ATi 9600s in the mean time. They have to build the machine with a new bus, and wait for the cards that can use that bus. The release schedule is up to ATi and nVIDIA, not Apple.
Originally posted by jade
When was that. i must have been sick during that speech. all I remember is that last year he said pbooks would not be out in 2003.
well, either way, people shouldnt be expecting g5 pbooks right now, which was my point.