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Getting Geeked Up For WWDC And Beyond |
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 WWDC is fast approaching and Mac geeks worldwide are getting even more geeked up than usual for the event. Rumors and predictions are flying all over the place, and supposed pictures of Apple's purported PowerMac G5 are plentiful.
The big news (for that one person who hasn't heard already) is that last night Apple posted a graphic on their Web site containing specs of the PowerMac G5. TheMacMind has the whole story, but here are the specs:
1.6GHz, 1.8GHz, or Dual 2GHz PowerPC G5 Processors
Up to 1 GHz processor bus
Up to 8GB of DDR SDRAM
Fast Serial ATA hard drives
AGP 8x Pro
3 PCI or PCI-X expansion slots
One FW800, two FW400 ports
Bluetooth & Airport Extreme ready
Optical and analog audio in and out
That would be pretty cool, but a MacWhispers article suggests that speculations as of late are very tame and that Apple's ENTIRE product line will be revamped with the new PPC 970 processor. While everything from rumor sites should be taken with a grain of salt, this is something that should be given serious consideration.
Now everyone and his brother (and his nephew's uncle's cousin Vinny) is predicting/speculating what will happen at Steve's keynote on Monday. We know Panther will be previewed, but beyond that nothing is concrete.
PowerMac G5's are obviously the #1 rumor. PowerBook G5's are a close second. Some people, like TheMacMind's Stefano Scalia (I'm going for as many links to TheMacMind as I can here), think that new mice and keyboards are imminent as well.
However here are my thoughts on the matter. Please keep in mind these are not predictions, merely what I think will happen in the future. (Bad lingual pun intended.)
The pro lineup, PowerMacs and PowerBooks, will be updated with G5 Processors. The 15" PowerBook will sport a new look akin to it's bigger and smaller brothers (ok, sisters for all you women's rights activists). Obviously, new mice and keyboards have already been made to go with the new PowerMac enclosure.
Now let's think past WWDC and look at Apple's consumer lineup. The flat-panel iMac is about a year and a half old now, and the last update was pretty much a speed-bump other than the addition of a 17" display on the high-end model - so it's due for a big change. The iBook hasn't changed from it's current form in ... well ... I think it's been about 2 years now, but correct me if I'm wrong. So not only is the consumer lineup long overdue for a major overhaul, but Apple has had plenty of time to do it.
I'm going out on a limb and saying new iMacs and iBooks will be debuted within weeks of WWDC (and possibly at the CREATE Conference by Joswiak).
I think both will also sport the new G5 chip, but even if the G5 isn't plentiful enough yet to be used in the consumer level Macs, the high-end G4's previously used in the pro models will be available. Either way, the iMacs and iBooks will be some seriously hot machines!
The general look of the iMac will remain relatively unchanged, just a 17" display across the board, and perhaps a color change. White is sooooo early 21st century. What does everyone think? Maybe chartruese?
The iBook however, I expect will be in an entirely new casing. The "iceBook" was extremely cool and thin for its day, but Jonathan Ive and the design team at Apple have learned a lot since then about how to pack stuff into ever smaller spaces.
Of course, what the hell do I know, I'm just a simple guy with simple pants. However, even if I am wrong about some of this stuff, I do know we're in for a very exciting summer as far as technology goes! Now, what do you guys think? Will we be seeing new consumer products from Apple soon? What are your WWDC thoughts? Will Phill Schiller tell a joke on stage that ends with, "Rectum? Damn near killed 'em!"? These are the burning questions that need answered!
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June 20 2003, 9:39 AM EDT, by
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Comments:
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| iKen |
6/20/03, 3:13 PM EDT |
I am still running in circles after reading the G5 specs... THAT'S AWESOME!!!!
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| Jedbeck |
6/20/03, 3:38 PM EDT |
I WANT, I WANT, I WANT!!! ME, ME, ME!!! MINE, MINE, MINE!!! GIVE, GIVE,GIVE!!!
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| Jonahan |
6/20/03, 4:27 PM EDT |
It's mine it's my precious! They took it, filthy hobbitses!!!!!
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| rlhamon |
6/20/03, 5:31 PM EDT |
When I read this I creamed in my jeans. Now I have to come up with 5g's to buy one.
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| Adam |
6/20/03, 11:38 PM EDT |
Yeah, those specs are REALLY AWESOME. My dual 1 GHz with a 167 MHz bus seems so pathetic now, LOL.
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| Adam |
6/20/03, 11:43 PM EDT |
LOL, chartreuse, that's a good one. I had to look that up to know what it was. "A strong to brilliant greenish yellow to moderate or strong yellow green." If there was ever a Mac like that, I think we could say Jonathan Ive has gone completely out of his mind. :)
Adam
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| MJ |
6/21/03, 2:15 PM EDT |
I agree; I think the pro desktop and laptop line will be 970. This will make the Laptop the fastest of any platform (except maybe obscure mods of LINUX running on the 970--but not this month).
The amateur line will wait a while, so that the early shoppers don't look for discount 970s and that all the processors can be sold in the high end as available.
We'll see a flat panel 17" and up for the pro line, with matching grey-metal and glowing white. Expect some beautiful use of grill work and LEDs. This will be the Harley Davidson of computer boxes and no one will put one under a desk.
Expect wireless keyboard and mouse options, two buttons if not also a scroll wheel on the pro line.
Expect a hint at a Workstation box, and a new headless 970 render box (no Xserve yet, I'm guessing all the work has gone into the bread and butter). It won't get displayed, but it will get inuendo'd.
Expect the unexpected. Steve knows this show will make or break Apple. And it will. They will either double their sales in the next six months or they will be hurting. All I know is, I have pent up demand and I want instantaneous video rendering.
Oh, and expect your old computer to get faster as well. The new GCC3.3 compiler is supposed to be a lot better optimized and this will make a real diffence in OS X.
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| Jonahan |
6/23/03, 9:08 PM EDT |
Good thoughts MJ :) Some didn't hit, but hey Apple's hard to predict. Heck I was way off - consumer G5's in a couple weeks? The Towers won't be shipping by then. What was I thinking? I guess I could blame it on the RDF, so I will ;)
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