Apple unveils faster iBooks

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Comments

  • Reply 101 of 165
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Towel

    You know that display spanning is only disabled in firmware, and there's a one-click program that will enable it? Works great. Yeah, Apple should enable it themselves, and yeah, it's an unsupported hack, but if spanning is your major concern it's surely not worth spending an extra $500 (minimum) on a Powerbook just for a little peace of mind?



    If you are a pro, then it could very well be a feature worth paying for, will the hack void the warrenty or applecare?
  • Reply 102 of 165
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by noirdesir



    Sure, the Pentium-M has a much faster bus and noticeably more L2 cache, but its progress is not better (in fact even worse) than that of the G4, but nobody is blaiming Intel or Dell for their lackluster updates.





    busses, compilers, instruciton sets, i/o bus speed, external clock speed (basicly the speed at which the RAM talks to the CPU)there is a LOT more to the Pentium M (or any chip) than the core internal clockspeed.
  • Reply 103 of 165
    synosyno Posts: 33member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by mikef

    Oh boy, give it a rest...



    Even if Apple did introduce a dual-core G5 notebook with 24 hour battery life, widescreen 1920x1080 pixel screen, etc. in a slim, 1 lb package selling for $25, our friends on this forum would still find fault in it.




    lol this is true. i happen to like the ibook updates. for a so called apple fan site there is alot of negative comments. the people who want to go to feature less (and incompatible with most media software) linux boxs or crappy windows xp laptops should go plague the appropriate forums.
  • Reply 104 of 165
    dona83dona83 Posts: 14member
    I love my iBook 12" with the G4 1.2Ghz processor, 256MB of RAM, ATI Radeon 9200 32MB video card, 60GB hard drive, Bluetooth, Airport Extreme, Combo Drive, which I bought for $1411 plus tax Canadian Dollars and have not regretted it a single bit, even knowing that if I had waited 19 days to get the new revision I could've got it for $1314 CAD, but that would've included a slightly faster processor, 512MB of RAM (with one free slot), the ATI Radeon 9550 which SUPPORTS COREIMAGE and is overall 20-30% faster than the 9200, has Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, scrollpad, yadda yadda. For average consumers like myself it's a huge thing, and although yes I have been tempted to dump my current iBook on my friend to get the newer faster iBook, the thing is this is my first Mac and it does have some sentimental value to it, and it does everything I personally need to do, surf the net, write on these BBSes, write e-mail, play Unreal and Simcity, use GarageBand and iMovie, actually use a computer off the battery for more than four hours, the list could go on. I just thought I'd put that into some perspective from the 90% of people who just needs a computer to make their life easier and nothing more. Why get a V8 Armada or Expedition when a 4-banger Nissan X-Trail or Ford Escape would do?
  • Reply 105 of 165
    sandausandau Posts: 1,230member
    ok, i've had some time to let the ibook update sink in. Please disregard my previous comments.



    For $999, it's a pretty good deal. I was most frustrated by the video card and resolution but after looking at the following upgrades compared to yesterday:



    Slight bump - no comment

    512mb standard soldered in - 1.5gb possible! Nice.

    Scrolling trackpad (already had a hack, but this is nice)

    9550 video card. ok its a stupid 32mb but it IS Core Image capable (ATi says so). that's pretty good.

    Bluetooth 2.0 standard - nice

    Drop whatever - bleh, so what, but a bonus



    nothing new but fantastic value

    OS X Tiger - installed - yeah!

    iLife 05 - yeah!



    For the price, its a good deal, I'd still recommend it. I don't know if I'll buy it (putting cash into a gaming rig with 7800 card) but I still might.



    Minor bump, better value. Sure beats yesterday by a LOT.
  • Reply 106 of 165
    reidreid Posts: 190member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by noirdesir

    Exactly, it surprises me always why people keep ignoring the obvious things. Just complaining, without even thinking for one second.



    Um, except that the Euro is strong right now, not the Dollar. 1,059 Euro = 1,271.54 Dollars. (Thanks, Dashboard!)
  • Reply 107 of 165
    chagichagi Posts: 284member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Bronxite

    This school buying season thing is made up by analysists.



    Most school systems purchase throughout the year and if they do have a set period of purchase time usually place orders before the close of the school year in may/june with delivery of systems sometime in august/september.




    Sorry, but while you have a point regarding institutional orders (the business faculty at my uni is finally upgrading one of our larger computer labs as I write this), you are overlooking that the "back to school season" is very real.



    Over the next month or so you have waives of students, ranging from kindergarten thru university, getting ready to head back to school in September. New computers are part of the overall shopping list in many cases. That said, it isn't nearly as significant as the Christmas holiday season.
  • Reply 108 of 165
    chagichagi Posts: 284member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Reid

    Um, except that the Euro is strong right now, not the Dollar. 1,059 Euro = 1,271.54 Dollars. (Thanks, Dashboard!)



    You need to look at a historical graph, not a single quote, the Euro has been weakening over the past few months vs. the US dollar. USD/EUR has appreciated by roughly 13% since the beginning of 2005.
  • Reply 109 of 165
    a j steva j stev Posts: 79member
    These updates maintain cost competitiveness without any major surprises. $250-300 extra dollars worth of capability ain't bad. I agree with alot of the previous posters on this point...why wait so long? You almost get the feeling that they were aiming higher but something happened...



    I'm surprised that no one has noticed the whopping() 9Mhz increase in the FSB on the 14 inch model as well as a 30 day trial of iWorks. Alternately idiosyncratic and a sad reflection of reality.
  • Reply 110 of 165
    sunilramansunilraman Posts: 8,133member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by mattyj

    Such a random video card and bus speed...



    re: bus speed, apple just up to its usual stuff. essentially its a g4 cpu 10x multiplied of the buss speed.



    bus speed 133mhz x 10 = 1.33ghz



    bus speed 142mhz x 10 = 1.42ghz

    (probably an overclocked motherboard version of the 133mhz boards for the 12")



    note that all new mac minis are showing 167mhz bus speed.



    DISCLAIMER

    i've just been teaching a flash class so my mind is kind of jumbled up and i could just totally be talking out my ass. feel free to slap me around. it will be nicer if someone could explain apple's clock speed and bus multiplying stuff. like on the powerbook 1.5ghz with 167mhz system bus, does that mean that it is a 9X multiplier of the 167bus to get 1.5 ghz? 10X multiplier means yes 167mhz x 10 = 1.67ghz on the 17" and 15" supah drive
  • Reply 111 of 165
    a j steva j stev Posts: 79member
    No wakkas, mate...I'm not going to take you to task.



    It just strikes me as weird that Apple would bother with such an incremental improvement. It is also the first time that the 142Mhz FSB speed has ever (looking over my shoulder) been used in any Apple product.



    Why start now? Have they only now, 5 years too late, realised that FSB speed is an issue with overall system performance?



    The mind boggles...



    Quote:

    Originally posted by sunilraman

    re: bus speed, apple just up to its usual stuff. essentially its a g4 cpu 10x multiplied of the buss speed.



    bus speed 133mhz x 10 = 1.33ghz



    bus speed 142mhz x 10 = 1.42ghz

    (probably an overclocked motherboard version of the 133mhz boards for the 12")



    note that all new mac minis are showing 167mhz bus speed.



    DISCLAIMER

    i've just been teaching a flash class so my mind is kind of jumbled up and i could just totally be talking out my ass. feel free to slap me around. it will be nicer if someone could explain apple's clock speed and bus multiplying stuff. like on the powerbook 1.5ghz with 167mhz system bus, does that mean that it is a 9X multiplier of the 167bus to get 1.5 ghz? 10X multiplier means yes 167mhz x 10 = 1.67ghz on the 17" and 15" supah drive




  • Reply 112 of 165
    noirdesirnoirdesir Posts: 1,027member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by a_greer

    busses, compilers, instruciton sets, i/o bus speed, external clock speed (basicly the speed at which the RAM talks to the CPU)there is a LOT more to the Pentium M (or any chip) than the core internal clockspeed.



    Sure, but until yesterdays announcement the P-M bus was 'stuck' at 400Mhz, since March 2003 to be precise. Whether the compilers for the P-M or the G4 have improved more, is hard to say, but probably the P-M got more attention in the developer community.



    Don't get me wrong, the P-M is a noticeably higher performing chip than the G4 but it has not progressed better than it.



    Already at the start of the P-M, the G4 was behind and it has stayed behind, but it has not fallen back further. It simply took a while for everybody, Mac and PC-users, to realise how good the P-M is. This created the impression that Apple is falling back further, in fact they were in the same corner the day the a decent number of P-M based laptops were available.
  • Reply 113 of 165
    Quote:

    (o.k. the P-M bus speed has increased by 33%, the G4 bus only by 26%, and doubling of the L2 cache, which both processors got, was discounted with the G4 by the removal of the L3 cache, but adding the 7448 to the game, the G4 would be ahead on these points as well) [/B]



    Hey you've said it. But wait a minute there is not 7448 (in a box yet!)! that is the problem! It doesn'y look like the will be either.
  • Reply 114 of 165
    sunilramansunilraman Posts: 8,133member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by mikef

    The Apple Cinema display doesn't have an analog input, so it cannot work with an iBook regardless. I thought this is why the Powerbooks have DVI out?



    umm.. good point. iBook spanning hack works nice with VGA lcd monitors... for tha DVI that be powerBook line.
  • Reply 115 of 165
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by OfficerDigby

    But wait a minute there is not 7448! that is the problem! It doesn'y look like the wil be either.



    Sorry, this chip exists. This is the fact sheet of the MPC7448, which is already available in limited quantities. Freescale announced some weeks ago that mass production starts this October. That is, in time for the next Powerbook update.
  • Reply 116 of 165
    reidreid Posts: 190member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Chagi

    You need to look at a historical graph, not a single quote, the Euro has been weakening over the past few months vs. the US dollar. USD/EUR has appreciated by roughly 13% since the beginning of 2005.



    Fine... be right. I was comparing in my mind to a longer history, where the trend has been downward (Dollar is 30% weaker vs. the Euro than this time in 2001). Your comparison makes more sense in this context, though, because the Dollar has gained ground since the last round of iBooks were introduced.
  • Reply 117 of 165
    jlljll Posts: 2,713member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by PB

    Hold your horses here. For us europeans, the iBook 12" is 50 euros more expensive now, at 1059 euros (around 1270 dollars).





    This is certainly an acceptable update, but not for congratulations.




    Please, not again. DON'T QUOTE PRICES WITH SALES TAX.



    The iBook 12" is EUR 887 - USD 1,068 - in Germany, EUR 877 - USD 1,056 - in France and other Euro countries.
  • Reply 118 of 165
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by JLL

    Please, not again. DON'T QUOTE PRICES WITH SALES TAX.



    The iBook 12" is EUR 887 - USD 1,068 - in Germany, EUR 877 - USD 1,056 - in France and other Euro countries.




    Correct, but it does not change the fact that the iBook in Europe is around 50 euros more expensive than before.
  • Reply 119 of 165
    relicrelic Posts: 4,735member
    The new FreeScale MPC7448 looks pretty interesting but unless it?s introduced at 2 GHz I think I?ll skip the next PowerBooks update. The G4 is starting to feel ?VERY? poky to me now, I find myself drawn to the IBM 43P (with Solaris 10) more and more. According to the FreeScale spec sheet for the 7448, it is pin compatible with the older 7447. Hmmm, anybody want to try this upgrade?
  • Reply 120 of 165
    jlljll Posts: 2,713member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by PB

    Correct, but it does not change the fact that the iBook in Europe is around 50 euros more expensive than before.



    And the dollar is stronger now than it was when the previous iBooks were launched.
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