Briefly: PowerBook G5, MWSF satellite feed, product availability...

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
Hypertransport enabled PowerBook G5?



The Inquirer claims to have obtained a copy of a Digital Video and Multimedia News writeup from the Electronics Summit 2004, a conference held for electronics editors. The document lists some of the ?design wins? of different technologies, and seemingly references an Apple PowerBook G5.



"Number 7 on the list is Hypertransport, that well known technology used in AMD 64 chips and Power Macs," the publication says. "But perhaps the most interesting confirmation is that Hypertransport has a design win for the Apple PowerBook. This would appear to be confirmation that a G5 PowerBook is definitely turning up and that despite thermal problems, it is at least in the works."



HyperTransport technology, which is featured in Apple?s G5-based Power Mac systems, is a new high speed, high performance point-to-point link for interconnecting integrated circuits on a motherboard. It can be significantly faster than a PCI bus for an equivalent number of pins, and is primarily targeted for the IT and Telecomm industries. However, any application where high speed, low latency and scalability is necessary can potentially take advantage of HyperTransport technology.



Apple offered employees Macworld satellite feed



Although Apple did not offer its fans and retail stores a live web steam or satellite feed of this year?s Macworld Expo keynote presentation, the company did broadcast the event over satellite for its employees, AppleInsider has been told.



The broadcast was available to employees in Cupertino, as well as those working for Apple overseas, including those in Ireland and several other countries.



"We were all very excited to see the MWSF via satellite here in Cork, especially the Mac mini,? said one employee, who works for the company?s technical support division. ?But we were not that exited about the iPod shuffle," he jested. "Almost every trouble-call is a Windows user with iPod issues."



Apple product inventory update



Apple is feverishly working to churn out ample quantities of several hot products early this year. While making strides towards quenching the demand for iMac G5s and iPods, the company is reportedly experiencing significant backlog of the following products: PowerBook G4s, most Xserve Raid configurations, the Mac mini, and iPod shuffle.



According to data obtained from reliable sources, the backlog on shuffles extends only several days, while Xserve Raid and Mac minis are carrying wait times in excess of three weeks. Meanwhile, the data suggests that new PowerBook models should arrive within the next 10 days.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 16
    Quote:

    Originally posted by AppleInsider

    Meanwhile, the data suggests that new PowerBook models should arrive within the next 10 days.



    The delay on the update is enfuriating. I only hope that it's a PowerBook G5 because if it's a meager G4 update, that's only going to look pathetic in the eyes of most folks.
  • Reply 2 of 16
    Now the real question is, if they had the Keynote broadcast over Satellite, why would they not show it at the stores? I'm still baffled by that.
  • Reply 3 of 16
    wilcowilco Posts: 985member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by varcos

    Now the real question is, if they had the Keynote broadcast over Satellite, why would they not show it at the stores? I'm still baffled by that.



    For the same reason they didn't stream it -- they didn't want the general public seeing it happen live. If they showed it in the stores, the public would see it.



    Why they didn't want the public to see it live has been speculated on other threads, with reasons ranging from concerns about a protest that would interrupt the keynote, to the potential for embarassing technical glitches, or overloaded servers.
  • Reply 4 of 16
    mcqmcq Posts: 1,543member
    Xserve RAID delays of 3+ weeks? That appears unacceptable to me if Apple is trying to get enterprise type customers. I wonder who's buying them.
  • Reply 5 of 16
    maccrazymaccrazy Posts: 2,658member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by MCQ

    Xserve RAID delays of 3+ weeks? That appears unacceptable to me if Apple is trying to get enterprise type customers. I wonder who's buying them.



    Virginia Tech?!
  • Reply 6 of 16
    well, no date when the conference was (february 2004???). this does not seem like a real "confirmation" of an upcoming pb G5 with HT. well, we all think that there will be one in th efuture; but if this weekend or next year ...
  • Reply 7 of 16
    maccrazymaccrazy Posts: 2,658member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by mbaudis

    well, no date when the conference was (february 2004???). this does not seem like a real "confirmation" of an upcoming pb G5 with HT. well, we all think that there will be one in th efuture; but if this weekend or next year ...



    not soon
  • Reply 8 of 16
    Quote:

    Originally posted by MCQ

    Xserve RAID delays of 3+ weeks? That appears unacceptable to me if Apple is trying to get enterprise type customers. I wonder who's buying them.



    At least they get a free note immediately from Apple based on a sign on many secretaries' desks: "Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine." ;-)
  • Reply 9 of 16
    ionyzionyz Posts: 491member
    We watched the keynote live, fun stuff. All you needed was last years coordinates and some luck
  • Reply 10 of 16
    Quote:

    Originally posted by macFanDave

    At least they get a free note immediately from Apple based on a sign on many secretaries' desks: "Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine." ;-)



    I'm actually not amazed that Apple has suddenly encountered "hot product" status on Xserve RAID, but I am surprised.



    Xserve RAID and Xsan are so tailor-made for Sarbanes-Oxley (or whatever it is called) and the European counterpart, Basel II. If I was a CIO looking for multi-TB storage systems so that I could archive every pointless piece of email and record every broking/treasury management conversation, Apple's product would be pretty close to the only product on my shopping list, given the price/performance point.



    So, like I say, not amazed - just surprised that there are more CIOs than just the ones at Cisco and Oracle who have sufficient vision to chance their arm on Apple's Enterprise products.
  • Reply 11 of 16
    onlookeronlooker Posts: 5,252member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by MCQ

    Xserve RAID delays of 3+ weeks? That appears unacceptable to me if Apple is trying to get enterprise type customers. I wonder who's buying them.



    US government agencies. Publicly the ARMY had bought some.
  • Reply 12 of 16
    cubitcubit Posts: 846member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by IonYz

    We watched the keynote live, fun stuff. All you needed was last years coordinates and some luck



    me too!
  • Reply 13 of 16
    I just wanted to share 2 data points regarding PowerBooks.



    My wife has been shopping to get a new 12" PowerBook for a few weeks now. We started looking around about the time of Mac World conference.



    The local CompUSA sales guy told us that he could not order any more PowerBooks and that he believed a new model (perhaps only speed-bumped) was imminent. That was 2 weeks ago.



    Last night she went ahead and ordered a new 12" from Apple's on-line store. They just bumped our deliver date out by 14 days!



    So we figure, inventory must truly be low or non-existant. This can only be because of a higher priority manufactured item or items begin run through the factory. This could just be that the new Mac Mini is taking up all production volume, or maybe some other product. It still could be that a speed-bump is coming.



    Like other folks have said, I believe that if this was a significant upgrade to the PowerBook like coming they would have pre-announced it at Mac World.



    So, we're waiting to see what arrives at our doorstep!
  • Reply 14 of 16
    maccrazymaccrazy Posts: 2,658member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by fastfingers

    I just wanted to share 2 data points regarding PowerBooks.



    My wife has been shopping to get a new 12" PowerBook for a few weeks now. We started looking around about the time of Mac World conference.



    The local CompUSA sales guy told us that he could not order any more PowerBooks and that he believed a new model (perhaps only speed-bumped) was imminent. That was 2 weeks ago.



    Last night she went ahead and ordered a new 12" from Apple's on-line store. They just bumped our deliver date out by 14 days!



    So we figure, inventory must truly be low or non-existant. This can only be because of a higher priority manufactured item or items begin run through the factory. This could just be that the new Mac Mini is taking up all production volume, or maybe some other product. It still could be that a speed-bump is coming.



    Like other folks have said, I believe that if this was a significant upgrade to the PowerBook like coming they would have pre-announced it at Mac World.



    So, we're waiting to see what arrives at our doorstep!




    Mac minis are produced by a different company to the powerbooks. This would make no sense. They've obviously run out and not allowed another product to take over its production line!
  • Reply 15 of 16
    Glad to hear the minis are made on another assembly line.



    So why would production "run out"? MRP can't be that bad. Tooling for another product perhaps or maybe they've already started to assembly the next model and they are warehoused until announced.



    We're probably not alone in wanting our PowerBook.
  • Reply 16 of 16
    maccrazymaccrazy Posts: 2,658member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by fastfingers

    they've already started to assembly the next model and they are warehoused until announced.



    that would be my prediction - and I'm a realist. Hopefully tomorrow (Tuesday)
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