[Quagmire]

Macrumors is reporting that there will be no new Powerbook before 2005. Could this mean a G5 Powerbook at MWSF?

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthre...threadid=93862

[Mac+]

Hmmm - bummer ... I was hoping that the iBook update would follow with new PowerBooks before MWSF. But, yeah, normally the beginning of the year - MWSF - ushers in a new "anticipated" hardware product ... thinking G4 TiBooks in 2001, G4 iMac in 2002, 12" and 17" AlBooks in 2003 (though I think these caught us off guard) and the iPod mini in 2004 (again, I think these were a surprise too!) ... and, of course, a new version of iLife!

[psmith2.0]

It's possible, I suppose. We just don't truly know how far along they are with those heating/cooling, battery usage, etc. issues.

Would definitely be the venue for it, MWSF.

But honestly...looking at the popular PR shot of the iMac G5 with its back cover removed. That just doesn't look like something elegantly stuffed into laptops as sleek and fine as the PowerBooks.

That funny pic that's been posted around, of the 4" thick PowerBook...that's probably not too far off the mark!



And I - and I'm sure countless others - don't want to go backwards. If the choice is having sleek, easily carried laptops with good power, features and battery life vs. a "bragging rights" G5 PowerBook that's thicker, heavier and has 22 minutes of battery life, then I'm in no hurry to see it.



And I still bet there's a long way to go, unless they just wanted to severely cripple the thing, OR forego decent battery life and scrotum-frying protocol.

[Gizzer]

On the basis of the above article, I have finally <gulp> ordered a 15" with 128Mb VRAM & 5200rpm drive.

Initially I was going to wait until the end of October based on the speculation that an update was imminent by the end of the month. Having read the article above, however, it's convinced me the update isn't coming.

I nearly fell into the "Well that MUST mean an update is due at MWSF so I'll wait until then" scenario. But, although I think some sort of change to PB's will be announced, realistically I guess they wouldn't ship until the end of Jan/Mid Feb, meaning I'd be waiting another 2-3 months again based on yet more speculation.

I really hope now that nothing is announced now before January or else I'll be really really

[psmith2.0]

They explicitly state "no new PowerBooks...the current portable offerings are what we'll have for the holiday season", or words to that effect.

So hush already, and enjoy.



Seriously, I think you're fine. Even IF (and that's a big if) a G5-based PowerBook came out at MWSF in January, recent history has shown me that two things will occur:

1. There will be random, maddening glitches, manufacturing defects and other various shortcomings (a first-gen model, remember?)

2. Steve may unveil a new PowerBook at MWSF in early January, but does anyone here honestly believe (just taking into account the iMac G5, iPod mini, the 30" Cinema Display and the dual 2.5GHz G5) that it'll be available and shipping in any sort of steady, reliable quantity before mid/late March 2005?

So even if you did wait until MWSF, you probably wouldn't have it in your hands until about St. Patrick's day at the earliest. And even then, you might boot it up and it'll have an upside screen with spots on it, a missing battery and a slot-load SuperDrive, minus the actual slot (oops!).



Except for the eMac and the iBook, Apple never seems to announce something, accompanied by "oh yeah, and we have 43,000 of them available at the show today for purchase and they're already waiting at all our retail stores, stacked to the ceiling! Go get one today...we made too many!"

[Luca]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 Except for the eMac and the iBook, Apple never seems to announce something, accompanied by "oh yeah, and we have 43,000 of them available at the show today for purchase and they're already waiting at all our retail stores, stacked to the ceiling! Go get one today...we made too many!"

I find this really funny because so many people complain about Apple being secretive about its upgrade plans. They say Apple doesn't announce anything beforehand, but they're wrong. Every damn PowerMac, PowerBook, and iMac update is a pre-release announcement, because they're never available until a month after the announcement.

It's also funny because iBook and eMac updates generally suck ass, so there's no point in waiting for them. Oh boy, 1.2 GHz instead of 1.0 GHz! It's going to change everything! Meanwhile, waiting for a PowerBook update is retarded because you have to tack on a month or three to determine when you'll actually get it. The only reason to wait for a PowerBook update is if you have a lot of time to wait, or if you're looking to pick up the older version for cheap. Any PowerBook update will be accompanied by a number of previous generation PowerBooks going up on eBay at discount prices.

[psmith2.0]

A 200MHz leap "sucks ass"?

After years and years of 100MHz leaps, I find THAT a funny statement. What, realistically, were you expecting? 500MHz? 800MHz? A G5 iBook? What could the iBook - realistically - have jumped to from 1GHz? If it was 1.1GHz, you'd really be irked and have a reason to say that.



It's not always about "changing everything". For new buyers or for those using a 600MHz G3 iBook (or even an orange or Key Lime toilet seat model), I'm sure they they're happy as a clam with this news. If they're truly needing horsepower and heavy-lifting, then they need to look at the iBook's aluminum-clad cousin.

That little 12" iBook went from 1GHz to 1.2GHz AND has an AirPort Extreme card built in...oh, AND is $100 cheaper than it was this time last week.

Yes, that totally "sucks ass"...how dare Apple!

**SMACK!!!**

[Luca]

Hey, I'm not saying that it's a BAD update. What I meant was that iBook and eMac updates tend to be functional, routine speed bumps, while PowerBooks and PowerMacs and iMacs get all the cool new toys. If I had bought an iBook a week before this latest update, I really wouldn't be that disappointed since it's pretty much the same machine. But who can pass up a PowerBook or PowerMac update?

[Gizzer]

pscates - I hear what you are saying - And it all makes sense (and it's the kind of logic I applied to the decision to finally buy).

I guess I just needed the wise and sane words of another forum user to help validate my choice .

It also occurs that another bullet hole in the "end of October" theory is the Apple/U2 music event tomorrow (Tuesday). No way would Apple announce new iPods & also a change to the PB line-up.

In the meantime, I can now stare longingly at the empty Tucano Second Skin which has been sat on my desk for the last 3 weeks waiting for a Powerbook to occupy it!

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by Luca Hey, I'm not saying that it's a BAD update. What I meant was that iBook and eMac updates tend to be functional, routine speed bumps, while PowerBooks and PowerMacs and iMacs get all the cool new toys. If I had bought an iBook a week before this latest update, I really wouldn't be that disappointed since it's pretty much the same machine. But who can pass up a PowerBook or PowerMac update?

Well, within each model design, they've been fairly routine, haven't they? Nothing that remarkable to speak of on the PowerBook side, other than ~200MHz bumps and standard bluetooth and some graphic card options on the 15" and 17". The G5 had that leap to 2.5GHz, but that's the exception rather than the rule. And it still required a bit of a delay and wait.

No pro-oriented updates have gotten me all torqued up in the past year or so.

Been about like the other stuff, only in aluminum and with a higher sticker price.

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by Gizzer pscates - I hear what you are saying - And it all makes sense (and it's the kind of logic I applied to the decision to finally buy). I guess I just needed the wise and sane words of another forum user to help validate my choice

No problem. It's what I'm here for.

Hearing someone ELSE say it often makes it sound "right", I totally understand.

Nah, I think tomorrow will just be about iPods and music stuff. I believe the guy from Apple when they say the current portable line-up is set for coming holidays. He knows he'd get his butt ripped if he made a huge misleading statement that monkeyed with people's purchase plans.

[Quagmire]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 Except for the eMac and the iBook, Apple never seems to announce something, accompanied by "oh yeah, and we have 43,000 of them available at the show today for purchase and they're already waiting at all our retail stores, stacked to the ceiling! Go get one today...we made too many!"

I believe when the 12"/17" Powerbooks were announced at MW '03 in January, they shipped immediately without delay.

[Luca]

The 12" was fairly prompt... if by "prompt" you mean "less than one month." The 17" didn't ship until mid-March though.

I also recall that in fall of last year, when the 15" PowerBook finally went aluminum, SJ announced that they were "shipping immediately!" with great enthusiasm. A bunch of people got theirs shortly after, and ended up having to return them many times in a row to fix the white spots. So on one of the few occasions where they got them out the door right away, it bit them in the ass. Not many people actually had a fully functional PowerBook until at least a month after their introduction. Orders placed more than about two weeks after the introduction were also greatly delayed because of the white spot problem.

[Quagmire]

Originally Posted by Luca The 12" was fairly prompt... if by "prompt" you mean "less than one month." The 17" didn't ship until mid-March though.

Thanks. I knew the 12" pbook shipped immediately. But, I wasn't sure about the 17". I looked for the MW video of it but, it looks like apple removed it.

[psmith2.0]

You know, if you just stop trying to refute stuff I say, we won't have to go through this.

[JayReding]

The problem is that Apple's stuck with the expectations game.

If they release a new G4 PowerBook, it's going to be viewed as a disappointment. At the same time, the G5 runs too hot to be used in a laptop right now. The G5 is basically a workstation chip that's been slapped into a consumer machine. The new iMac is an amazing piece of engineering to get that kind of component into that kind of space.

I'd guess that Apple's working with IBM to develop a G5 that can run cool enough to fit into an enclosure small enough for a PowerBook. Apple's too style-conscious to come up with a luggable brick of a machine. They want to get things right, which means waiting a bit.

[Luca]

That and the fact that Motorola has on their roadmap that the 7448 (next G4, supposedly will go up to 2 GHz) will not even be sampling until early next year. I bet they're working on getting the G5 to work in a PowerBook as hard as they can, but if they can't get it working in time, they could always release new 2 GHz G4 PowerBooks in the first couple months of 2005. It's better than just waiting endlessly for a G5, or getting a G5 too early and having it scorch your nuts because they couldn't work out all the cooling and power issues.

[psmith2.0]

A good post from JayReding, and I tend to agree 104%.

I don't think Apple will go backwards and put out bulky, crappy-looking machines. The PowerBooks will stay the same size, OR they'll blow us all away and actually somehow get THINNER.



If they DO go up in size - at all - it won't be any thicker than the current 12" PowerBook, but I don't even think they'll want to do that. And I, for one, don't mind that approach (if indeed that's one they take).

[Quagmire]

According to Mr.MacPhisto at ai who claims he has knowledge from IBM about the G5 mobile says expect them by the end of the year to early '05. According to him they will not be crippled and be par with the PM(Pentium M).

The mobile version of the G5 will be far from crippled. I'd say its power consumption should be on par with the new Pentium Ms, from all I've heard from IBM. It will not run hot. Apple should be able to keep the 1-inch thick cases.

if the schedule plays out, there should be mobile-tuned G5s delivered to Apple in December or January. These are low-voltage 970FXs featuring PowerTune and an increase in L2 cache. I'm not sure what the clockrates will be.

He also claims if plans go well the Mobile G5 dual core will be out late next year.

http://forums.appleinsider.com/showt...threadid=47354

[blissed]

I'd be happy with a nice fat price drop and no updates... wtf

[murbot]

Yes, don't worry there Gizzer old buddy, your PowerBook should be the top dog for a fairly long time.

Even if we know for a fact that updates are coming in January, and we'd likely see shipping in quantity some time in very late Feb or early March, that's 4 or 5 months of waiting. There would have to be some great bloody spec bumps to make it worth waiting that long.

Imagine waiting for over 4 months. It's been killing you. You check Mac message boards daily. You have your homepage set to the Apple Store.

Then you find out that your "update" is a 1.8GHz G4 (or whatever the hell it can ramp up to), a stock 5400 rpm drive, and standard 128MB graphics, for $100 less than you paid for yours. Think that would be worth reloading the Apple website hourly with a thumb up your ass for 4 months? I don't. Well, I think some here would, but I don't think it's the computer updates causing their excitement.

Of course I may also be leaning this way because I am buying one this week, most likely, so I could be slightly biased. Wait, let me clarify that, I am having one bought for me. Still, I wouldn't have too hard a time plunking my cash down for one today. The 15" SuperDrive model is a really, really good laptop, and you'll love the bastard to death. Just enjoy it and stop thinking about the updates.

[Gizzer]

Originally Posted by murbot Yes, don't worry there Gizzer old buddy, your PowerBook should be the top dog for a fairly long time. Even if we know for a fact that updates are coming in January, and we'd likely see shipping in quantity some time in very late Feb or early March, that's 4 or 5 months of waiting. There would have to be some great bloody spec bumps to make it worth waiting that long. Imagine waiting for over 4 months. It's been killing you. You check Mac message boards daily. You have your homepage set to the Apple Store. Then you find out that your "update" is a 1.8GHz G4 (or whatever the hell it can ramp up to), a stock 5400 rpm drive, and standard 128MB graphics, for $100 less than you paid for yours. Think that would be worth reloading the Apple website hourly with a thumb up your ass for 4 months? I don't. Well, I think some here would, but I don't think it's the computer updates causing their excitement.

It's 2 days on from my having ordered it and I have to say that (especially after the iPod updates today) I'm really glad I ordered now and didn't wait. As you say If I wait another 3 months or so just for a 200Mhz speedbump I would not be impressed! MWSF will almost certainly announce new PB's but I can more than live with that expectation.I can even handle a G5 PB announcement I think without being disheartened - this (the G4 PB) is a proven platform after all and whenever I see friends using theirs they absolutely scream along

As it is, I've maxed out all the BTO options on a 15" Superdrive PB (except RAM) so what ever happens, it'll be a mean mutha!

My estimated ship date is tomorrow and I've already got that excited schoolkid feeling which definitely means I'm happy

Shame it's gonna take 10 days to ship (if it's from China)

[psmith2.0]

Gizzer, bear this in mind (this might help you along): even IF - a big ol' IF - a G5 PowerBook is announced at MWSF in January, recent history has shown that Apple frequently struggles with a few issues in some of their Rev. A products.

So you'll have a great proven PowerBook now (a model that's been out for an entire year and seems to have the white spots, faulty latches, etc. all under control), to take you through 2005 and this time next year, you could always pounce on a nice, glitch-free Rev. B PowerBook G5 (assuming one comes out in January...if not, and it's only a 100-200MHz G4 bump, you already said you won't be impressed).

You kinda win either way, is how I see it. You'll have at least a full year with a proven winner. Let all those adventurous risk-takers out there confront the inevitable PowerBook G5 Rev. A engineering/manufacturing/QC issues.

Does that help?