[Amadeus]

I think that there is a chance that Steve might announce something for the PowerBook line. My real hope is that we will see a surprise with the Power Mac, I have been holding off on a purchase. There is that surprise item that no one has mentioned yet.

[Jason]

Powerbook was only updated recently. The 'surprise' will probably be iPod/iTunes related.

[Dave Hagan]

My predicition is PowerBook G5s and iBook G5s.

[thegelding]

Originally Posted by Dave Hagan My predicition is PowerBook G5s and iBook G5s.

well if that comes true you will be looking like a genius as nobody else will be making that prediction

too freakin quiet for my tastes, but maybe that means big things

g

[Robo]

Power Mac G5 Cube/"Mac Cube". Single-processor, single-core - think of it as a headless iMac of sorts. Limited upgradability. It will replace the current single-processor tower (you know, the ones that weren't upgraded with the rest of the Power Macs.)

A 17" display might be announced, too.

If the iBooks aren't upgraded before then, then I'd expect a redesign on them, too (same processor).

[MBHockey]

Originally Posted by Dave Hagan My predicition is PowerBook G5s and iBook G5s.

Hahaha, no way.

[psmith2.0]

Perhaps a Mac mini update? And then probably something totally out of left-field...

[asian_boy5]

maybe a tablet mac, or maybe a tablet cinema display. That sure would be sweet, I could imagine the possibilities with illustrator and a display like that.

An uber capacity powerbook battery with enough juice for 20+ hours would be the nicest surprise for me. I don't want to see a powerbook g5 because i picked up the new g4 one just months ago, the jealousy would consume me.

[Bucolic Old Sir Henry]

Originally Posted by Dave Hagan My predicition is PowerBook G5s and iBook G5s.

PowerBook "G5" - very good chance. The G5 is in brackets because there's a chance it may not be a 970-based CPU, or at least, not a 970 that we know about.

iBook "G5" - not this time. With the PowerBook line transitioned to "G5", there's room for one or two more G4 speed bumps before making the move. In January, or perhaps at Paris.

I think we'll also get a PowerMac model using two 970MP chips (a quad Mac). It'll either replace the 2.7GHz or slot in above it, although it might only be clocked at 2.5GHz. If they've used up all their FX stocks (or enough of them) the rest of the line might move over to single 970MPs, otherwise that will happen later in the year.

Pip pip!

[FallenFromTheTree]

I'm fairly confident that we'll see an answer to
" The mother of all thermal challenges"

If not, I would hope for at least HD quality LCD's
and can't ignore the possibility of a 13" WS or tablet.

Bucolic Old Sir Henry could be right about Apple's first dual core offering as well,
but that seems to be a long shot so close to the recent PM revision.

An XServe mini might turn a few heads for cool factor.

A Revised single G5 cube of some sort still also seems possible.

Then there's always the iBooks

Seems something major is in the works for sure with all this silence.

[thegelding]

eh, most leaks come out in the last couple of days anyway...so silence isn't everything...

iBook seems like it has to be updated due to age, but it is still a "Estimated Ship: Same business day" at the apple store...that and it would rival PB with an update if the PB wasn't updated also...

still the iBook is apple's best selling portable and that could mean two things:

one, they update it and not overly care about stealing from the PB sales till the PB gets it's update

two, they don't update it because it is still selling so well and wait to update it till the PB gets it's next update in a few months...

waiting that long on an iBook update would be unusual, but apple has had long update schedules before


not sure how it is gonna play...but i, personnally, would most like an iBook update just because my daughter is in the market for one and i am holding off on buying one to see if they are updated next week

g

[gjas15]

I think Apple may announce something elaborating on the really confusing video function of itunes. Doesn't it seem just a bit odd that they would add a feature like that so quietly and that maybe they are just getting a sort of psuedo beta version of their "i(whatever the hell word for movie is used)" rolled into itunes for public testing. They could also be using it as a market testing ground to see how receptive the public is to the idea and method of organizing video in an itunes esque manner. Maybe Im just reading into things to much but id say if not at wwdc then at macworld '06 there will be something big annouced relating to the Movie Store/iHome/HT Mac concepts.

edit: Also, take into consideration the recent announcement from ATI that their next gen GPU's will have H.264 decoding onboard. If they are demoing them now whos to say if they will be on the market by macworld or maybe even near macworld paris? With one of these under the hood even a Mac Mini could decode HD resolution H.264... LINK

[silvergun]

I think apple will announce a new tablet like device with a built in Super drive/Bluray (if finished), it will also have the new chip that can convert video to h.264. It will have a fire wire port to connect to an ipod, built in wifi/blutooth and maybe a co branded 40 inch HiDef tv by Apple/Sony. A new airport express that lets you stream video aswell as sound to hifi/tv. Kick off the year of hidef with the abilty to stream video and sound to a dolby digital Sound System and high resolution Television. Throw in a Hard drive and you have a system that can take on anything.

[Unbeliever]

Originally Posted by Roboman Power Mac G5 Cube/"Mac Cube". Single-processor, single-core - think of it as a headless iMac of sorts. Limited upgradability. It will replace the current single-processor tower (you know, the ones that weren't upgraded with the rest of the Power Macs.) A 17" display might be announced, too. If the iBooks aren't upgraded before then, then I'd expect a redesign on them, too (same processor).

I know i`d kill for that!

Even though i can`t even afford a mac mini now (i live in a poor country and i`m a student), i`d sell my kidney to buy a G5 Cube

Hope springs eternal though

[meowza]

I'm not expecting anything more exciting than an iPod shuffle sock.

[Dave Hagan]

Originally Posted by MBHockey Hahaha, no way.

All I have to say is read this, this, and this.

Put the pieces together.

[Unbeliever]

digitimes is not the most reliable source so i wouldn`t put much faith in them :/

iBook G5 --> Definitely not, at this point the powerbook and ibook are so close with G4 processors they wont upgrade both, but i think its time to put a 64 bit into a laptop, the iMac was just a hint seeing the monster G5 fit into the skinny computer. So YES to PowerBook G5.

iPod --> COLOR! Supposedly flash based too, so we will see a lot more graphics and a lot more games!

iSight --> Hasn't been updated in a while... Wanna see them update it with a little sumthin sumthin (Windows campatibility?)

iPod-Phone? --> Well, there has been public information on this coming out (with motorola) but apple could not find a provider to back them up... maybe a triband international sim card? we will see.

Ciao For Now!
Mo

Check out ThinkSecret for more info!

[BenRoethig]

I predict WWDC being what it was every year except for 2003: a developers conference. Maybe a couple of developer tools announced in the keynote, but no new hardware. I also find the iCube/PowerMac Mini unlikely. While it would make sense to the rest of us, in Apple logic it would compete with the iMac. That's why they made the current SP unit so unappealing. I also consider a 17" display unlikely. What I'd like to see is a 256mb Geforce 6600GT as a $100 option in the PowerMacs..

[jwdawso]

Originally Posted by Dave Hagan All I have to say is read this, this, and this. Put the pieces together.

These links give us hope for BIG announcements at WWDC. Without a doubt multi-core, PowerBook "G5"s, and iBook "G5"s are on there way, it's just when. Freescale is giving lots of details on their 7448 and e600 processors in June, so maybe these are part of the WWDC announcements.

[Gargoyle]

Under the seat of every developer will be....

Sticky pink gum!!!

[pv2b]

I don't see Powerbook G5s at the WWDC. Absolute earliest I'd put that on is MacWorld. WWDC is just a little too early.

My completely baseless (but not entirely improbable) theory:

WWDC Stevenote:

Probably a lot of talk about Tiger's success and how a lot of third party developers have adopted Tiger's new core technologies. (Yada yada. It's WWDC after all.)

New updated iBooks and Mac Minis. (Still G4 based, and will probably remain so for the forseeable future. It'd make no sense to leave the just-updated eMac out in the rain as the only G4 Mac left.) Whether this is notable enough for him to make a big deal out of in a keynote is debatable, but I still think Apple is going to quietly or not-so-quietly update these. It'd make sense to make some kind of a deal out of updates though, since these are two very well selling Apple products. (At least the iBook is, I don't know about the Mac Mini, but I'd expect it to be popular.)

Macworld Stevenote:

Steve is going to make a big deal out of iTunes, and how they expanded their iTunes business into Sweden. (And those three or four other insignificant countries. What were they now again? ) This leads into...

Updated iPods. They'd be due right about then, and MacWorld seems to be a great place to unveil them.

Possibly new series of Powerbooks. Maybe G5s, or maybe some other offering from IBM or Freescale.


Why do I make these predictions? Because it is what I'd do if I had updated Mac Minis, iBooks, iPods and Powerbooks to offer, and a WWDC and a MacWorld coming up, and if I wanted to declare victory on the new iTunes stores.

Updating Mac Minis and iBooks simultaneously makes sense. Both of them have the same target market, and both of them are about ripe for updating.

Updating iBooks now also makes sense if Steve *knows* that he has Powerbook G5s up his sleeve for MacWorld, since he won't be too concerned with the iBooks cannibalising his Powerbook G4 sales. He knows that there are a *lot* of people in the market for a new iBook right about now, delaying more might just miss the window of the "back to school" crowd.

Also, by releasing the updates in such a one-two-three sense, with such a short delay between them, he'll be extending the media buzz as much as possible. (The first *wham* being new PowerMacs, eMacs, iMacs and LCD:s a month or so ago, even if the PowerMac updates were... underwhelming.)

Also, this way, the Powerbook won't steal the iBook's thunder too much.

Also, it's entirely probable that the extra features (scrolling trackpad, sudden motion sensor etc) were initially meant for the Powerbook G5, but they wanted to find their "Rev A" failings on the last of the Powerbook G4's first. The double whammy of making the Powerbook G4 more attractive made it a pretty good choice too.

Thoughts? Am I making sense? I think that this certainly is a plausible scenario, but it's definitely not the only possible one.

[Moogs]

New ACD screens at same price point. Same chassis look, new swivel capability, new panel for the 23" model, maybe the 20" model too.

[pv2b]

Originally Posted by Moogs New ACD screens at same price point. Same chassis look, new swivel capability, new panel for the 23" model, maybe the 20" model too.

The LCD:s were just updated a month ago! Maybe at Macworld, but even that's a little early.

[micmoo]

what part of the LCD line was just updated? They need to do something, there getting smoked by Dell bigtime, in price and performance. the 23" is an embarasment, with the pink/yellow cast, uneven lighting, etc. I'll pay more for good looks and great performance, but not for good looks alone.

[pv2b]

Originally Posted by micmoo what part of the LCD line was just updated? They need to do something, there getting smoked by Dell bigtime, in price and performance. the 23" is an embarasment, with the pink/yellow cast, uneven lighting, etc. I'll pay more for good looks and great performance, but not for good looks alone.

I'm sorry, you're right. I misremembered. What happened last month was just a price cut, not an update.

Originally Posted by Moogs New ACD screens at same price point. Same chassis look, new swivel capability, new panel for the 23" model, maybe the 20" model too.

This is what I'm hoping for - I've been holding off purchasing a 23" (just sold my old 20") for hopefully swivel..

I'll be in the audience at the keynote, so I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised.

[iDaver]

A couple of you have mentioned Macworld as if Apple is participating this summer. I don't believe Apple will be there, or are you referring to next January?

[pv2b]

Originally Posted by iDaver A couple of you have mentioned Macworld as if Apple is participating this summer. I don't believe Apple will be there, or are you referring to next January?

I seem to have been mislead to believe Apple was going to attend Macworld 2005 in Boston. I dug a little deeper, and can't find Apple listed as a speaker there. Damn misleading person. If I ever figure out who that person is... Sorry if I have mislead anyone. And in that case, I think I may just have to change my completely wild speculation. What I said simply does not make sense without a Stevenote at Macworld.

I could see him introducing new Powerbooks at the WWDC, though it's entirely possible they won't be announced for another 6 months. The iBooks may go through a quiet update some time in time for the NECC, or they may just not be updated for a cycle -- Apple counting on them being "good enough" as they are. The rather early timing of it could be explained away by saying that the latest PBG4 was just a stopgap measure, and that they still wanted to take advantage of the time at the WWDC to release it. I don't know.

[InvaderZim]

The prices on some of the displays were cut. Also Apple did not attend Macworld Boston last year either