The Official Macworld San Francisco Thread

ensign pulver · November 6, 2002 5:06PM

OK, now that the new iBooks and Powerbooks have been announced, it's safe to assume that the Apple hardware lineup is locked down for the rest of the calendar year. You know what that means, open season on MWSF predictions!

I'll kick things off:

iMac

17" 1440x900 800/128/60/GeForce4MX32/Combo $1399

17" 1440x900 800/256/80/GeForce4MX64/Superdrive $1699

19" 1600x1024 1000/256/100/GeForce4MX64/Superdrive $1999

Bluetooth on the motherboard, new wireless bluetooth keyboard and mouse. All 15" models discontinued

Displays

17" 1440x900 Apple Cinema Display $699 (All new)

19" 1600x1024 Apple Cinema Display $1299 (All new)

23" 1932x1200 Apple HD Cinema Display $2499 (existing display with new price point)

Current 17" Studio Display and 22" Cinema Display discontinued.

Digital Hub

iCam. Hard drive based combination DV camcorder/still camera. Capture MPEG-4 video and traditional JPEG stills through the same lens on the same device to the same built in drive. No Mini DV tapes or other removable media. Auto download to both iMovie and iPhoto over single FireWire connection. Drool inducing iPod styling. Support for 16x9 capture and editing via iMovie 3 which will introduce consumer widescreen and tighter .Mac integration.

Software

AppleWorks 7.0. All new, all cocoa from the ground up. OS X only to justify no 9 boot policy. Ships standard on ALL Macs, consumer and pro, finally giving everyone a robust but simple office suite. Leads OS X push into education.

That should be enough to get you guys talking!

fran441 · November 6, 2002 5:18PM

So it's the 'official' thread is it?

sdw2001 · November 6, 2002 5:22PM

So it is written, so it is done.

nebrie · November 6, 2002 5:32PM

I disagree with the bluetooth prediction. I predict Apple will come up with bluetooth digital lifestyle devices but not keyboards or mice.

addison · November 6, 2002 5:48PM

[quote]Originally posted by Ensign Pulver:

OK, now that the new iBooks and Powerbooks have been announced, it's safe to assume that the Apple hardware lineup is locked down for the rest of the calendar year. You know what that means, open season on MWSF predictions!

I'll kick things off:

iMac

17" 1440x900 800/128/60/GeForce4MX32/Combo $1399

17" 1440x900 800/256/80/GeForce4MX64/Superdrive $1699

19" 1600x1024 1000/256/100/GeForce4MX64/Superdrive $1999

Bluetooth on the motherboard, new wireless bluetooth keyboard and mouse. All 15" models discontinued

Displays

17" 1440x900 Apple Cinema Display $699 (All new)

19" 1600x1024 Apple Cinema Display $1299 (All new)

23" 1932x1200 Apple HD Cinema Display $2499 (existing display with new price point)

Current 17" Studio Display and 22" Cinema Display discontinued.

Digital Hub

iCam. Hard drive based combination DV camcorder/still camera. Capture MPEG-4 video and traditional JPEG stills through the same lens on the same device to the same built in drive. No Mini DV tapes or other removable media. Auto download to both iMovie and iPhoto over single FireWire connection. Drool inducing iPod styling. Support for 16x9 capture and editing via iMovie 3 which will introduce consumer widescreen and tighter .Mac integration.

Software

AppleWorks 7.0. All new, all cocoa from the ground up. OS X only to justify no 9 boot policy. Ships standard on ALL Macs, consumer and pro, finally giving everyone a robust but simple office suite. Leads OS X push into education.

That should be enough to get you guys talking!<hr></blockquote>

Agreed but iCam and iMacs still on 100mhz bus

PowerMacs to get the 7457 probably.

murbot · November 6, 2002 6:34PM

Let's get this rule in early.

No quoting the entire first post in the thread.

Come ON people.

ensign pulver · November 6, 2002 7:09PM

[quote]Originally posted by Fran441:

So it's the 'official' thread is it?

<hr></blockquote>

A bit presumptive, yes. But I'm a Member now and besides, maybe this way we'll only wind up with 114 MWSF threads instead of the 462 we had last year.

eugene · November 6, 2002 7:36PM

The iMacs should be updated soon, before the Christmas shopping season is over...

xionja · November 6, 2002 7:40PM

Maybe no iMac update, but before christmas (Chanukah is early this year, to early for the update) But maybe 100 dollors off for the christmas season in preperation to knock off the 700mhz models for a good MWSF update. right, i wish

flashgordon · November 6, 2002 7:47PM

I think both the top 17inch iMac and 19incher will be 1ghz, with the lower 17 at 800 or 867. And maybe slot load opticals like they did with the original iMac.

By then we may get a 40 gig iPod if Toshiba can come out with the appropriate hard drive.

I totally see Apple moving towards making bluetooth huge. I really think they want to replace USB with bluetooth and leave it with no wires at all except for the power cord, and firewire connecting to iPod or DV cam. of course they will leave USB on there but Apple will not really use it for their perepherals.

I also agree with the monitor predictions size wise but hopefully the 19incher will be closer to a grand (1099 or 1199)

Mainly I see Apple really pushing Bluetooth next year.

applenut · November 6, 2002 8:23PM

[quote]Originally posted by Eugene:

The iMacs should be updated soon, before the Christmas shopping season is over...<hr></blockquote>

i agree

matsu · November 6, 2002 8:30PM

I'm not so sure we'll see a 19" iMac. I think they could sell a lot of them, but I'd rather see Apple work on making the consumer desktops cheaper and faster.

If iBooks can cost between 999-1599, with all the miniturization costs a laptop entails, eMacs and iMacs should be a lot cheaper than they currently are, and a lot faster too. eMac really is an iMac successor and needs to move into the G3 iMac's price range 799 to 1199 tops, including Superdrive. 15" iMacs are doable at 999, 17" at 1599. It can be done, prices need to move downward.

Just look at the buzz on this site. Apart from the lowest iBook, none of Apple's laptops is really cheap, especially not the pro machines, but at least a dozen people have ordered them up. Why? Because for a change they represent a move in the right direction both on price and specification. They're not exactly where they should be, but a lot of that blame falls to the state of the PPC now, Apple is at least doing some of its part.

It's what I was saying all along, make improvements and consistently lower prices and sales will come. Apple can do it cheaper, if these new books show anything, it's that such moves will be well rewarded by consumers. Time to start repeating that example all over the Mac line-up!

brussell · November 6, 2002 8:41PM

I don't think much is happening at MWSF 2003. iBooks and PowerBooks aren't gonna happen, probably not PowerMacs either, with the mid-August update less than 6 months earlier. I'd guess iMacs, but I think they should be updated before then - it's been too long.

I think we'll see some good stuff at MWNY 2003 - the 7457 (or whatever the .13µ G4 is called) should be out, making for real nice PowerBook & maybe even iBook upgrades, and perhaps the IBM 970 will first appear in Macs then.

:cool:

But the calendar just doesn't look good for MWSF.

blue2kdave · November 6, 2002 9:45PM

[quote]Originally posted by murbot:

Let's get this rule in early.

No quoting the entire first post in the thread.

Come ON people.

<hr></blockquote>

I second that! What an annoyance.

kecksy · November 6, 2002 9:50PM

Basically it's going to be another software expo.

gfeier · November 6, 2002 10:18PM

I figure there's still one more improvement due in the Quicksilver/MDD line.

MWNY01 - dual 800MHz Quicksilver

MWSF02 (almost) - dual 1GHZ Quicksilver

MWNY02 - dual 1.25GHz MDD

MWSF03 - dual 1.5 to 1.6GHz MDD

I don't believe Apple is going to get rid of the MDD enclosure until it has been in service for a year, like the Quicksilver. The speed prediction is based on the steady 25% increases we have been seeing recently. It looks like these four releases were planned a long time ago. The overall speed increase will be right around 100% in 18 months. Sound familiar?

murbot · November 6, 2002 10:19PM

[quote]Originally posted by Eugene:

The iMacs should be updated soon, before the Christmas shopping season is over...<hr></blockquote>

Boy do I hope you're right. I just can't see anyone buying a 15" iMac right now - and if the 17" had some more horsepower they would be flying off the shelves. I'd have one on my desk if it weren't for the fact that it has basically a year old processor.

I was thinking initally that MWSF would be an iMac show, but damn - that just seems so far away. They'll sell what, maybe 20 iMacs between now and then?

leonis · November 6, 2002 10:41PM

Announcement of the price increase of $200 to the Powerbook line due to component cost (or other BS)

frost · November 6, 2002 10:47PM

A 1ghz G4 iMac would have to have at least a 133mhz bus. I forget offhand what the max bus multiplier for the G4 was, but I recall it was below 10.

ensign pulver · November 6, 2002 10:48PM

Wow, I'm really surprised at the number of people who think the iMac line will be updated before January. I not only don't think Apple will, I don't think they should.

Have you seen the response to the new portables in these (and many other) fora? Each one is filled with people who have already placed orders, especially for the Superdrive Powerbook. Steve's gonna have a hard enough time satisfying demand as it is. An iMac update would just get lost in the shuffle right now. Better to wait until Macworld when the laptop frenzy has died down a bit and a much bigger splash can be made about new iMacs. Believe me, the current 17" iMac, the new portables and the iPod will get Apple through the Xmas buying season just fine. (BTW, new "Hello, stocking" outdoor iPod ads are already out. This is Apple's holiday push.)

Apple's desktop strategy for 2003 will be all about Widescreen. All iMacs will have it, all Studio/Cinema Displays will have it and the iCam will bring 16x9 video capture and editing to the masses. Steve will want to make a mission statement out of all this, and that, my friends is what Macworld Expos are all about.

[ 11-06-2002: Message edited by: Ensign Pulver ]

macjedai · November 6, 2002 11:09PM

I agree with alot of what Ensign P sees in his "Crystal Apple' (time frames ... Oh well), but I also agree that the price of the proposed 19" cinema could be lower. The iCam seems a bit much, at the moment, for me to accept. Cool idea though! Kudos, if Apple comes through on that one. The talk about the iMac before Christmas seems right, but agressive (would really like to see Apple pull that one off too).

What I really want to see is a debut of the PPC970 in a new desktop Mac, but MWSF seems a bit too early for it. February seems better, with ship dates in the March/ April timeframe (speculation and wishful thinking on my part, emphasize the word 'want').

If Apple pulls off some 'miracles', then ... Basically, I agree with Kecksy, another S/W Expo ... with iDevice and monitor updates (does seem a bit lame for an Expo though). Which means that Apple could delay an iMac release for the Expo, because a 970 debut would be too early, unless ... IBM has production at FishKill up to 'par' by beginning January '03 (which they are supposed to be on schedule, if memory serves).

What ever the case, I'll probably be buying a new desktop in the middle of next year. Although, I was extremely tempted when I read the TiBook update today.

BTW, I'm planning on attending MWSF (pre-registered and everything), anybody else gonna be there? I'm definitely gonna be taking pictures, and if anybody wants some (gotta put the Canon D60 to work) ...

The Official Macworld San Francisco Thread

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