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Apple Updates at MacWorld
fishboy writes "There are updates to apple's product line and, most significantly, a significant update to OS X-- 10.1 that features improved performance, dvd support and a seamless client for windows-based networking." Here is coverage
of the keynote from
macnn.com and info about OSX.1
on apple's site (quicktime required to read much beyond the homepage). Looks like wireless setup might be fixed up (hazah!) but mainly those speed improvements are needed.
It's really too bad today's business world is so much about "rush, rush, rush". The Steve Jobs ethic is very much "futz with it until you finally get it right". It may be annoying now, but September is only about a month and a half away. If you consider how long we've been waiting for this, I'd say we can hang on a couple more months.
:-).
:-).
And Puma certainly looks awesome from what I could see. So chill out. I know it would have been nice to see 300ghz G7s unexpectedly introduced, but think how lousy that would make you feel about your current Mac
I just hope September brings with it cool new hardware. But I suppose since there's no new hardware of significance this month, it's time to buy the Cinema Display I've always wanted
D
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Not quite. The first time they sold dual CPU models, they introduced the dual 450 and dual 500 at the usual $2,500 and $3,500 price points. What you were probably seeing is the previous model 500 going up against the current 450 (which is the machine I own).
:-(. A little corner of me resents it; another corner of me says it's how Apple survives and thrives in tough times, get over it, etc.
Before today, they sold the dual 533 at a price point below the single 733, most likely because MacOS 9 made the 733 work more consistently for all Mac software, while the dual 533 was better for MacOS X users and Photoshop/Final Cut Pro addicts. It was still ironic then to see the fastest machine in many applications $1,000 cheaper than the top-line system.
Today, because of the gathering acceptance of MacOS X, we see more logical pricing. You're probably right about the dual 800s versus the single 866 - but in that case, I sure wish the dual 800s weren't $1,000 more expensive than the 866. True, you get 128mb more RAM, but that's something like $20 on the open market nowadays.
I'm afraid Apple milks the pocketbooks of the people with giant egos who want the latest, greatest and fastest, with products like the Titanium PowerBook 500 ($1,000 more expensive than the only slightly slower 400) and the G4 dual 800 ($1,000 more expensive than the 866). Unfortunately, people like me with big egos are all too likely to succumb
D
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I attended the keynote by proxy - I was at the Glendale Apple Store at 6:00am for the keynote broadcast. (Well, I was ten minutes late, actually, but got most of it).
:-(.
..." it's always tomorrow.
... or ... um ... or ... cough. And that's the problem, isn't it? It's not like we're going to switch to Windows or Linux, is it? (Well, I have a Linux machine or two as well - but you get the idea) :-(
The good news is that the Puma upgrade to MacOS X looks like it will be awesome, with the speed gremlins totally vanquished.
More good news is that it looks like most of the vital vendors are fully on target to release OSX applications. We had demos from Adobe, Quark, a few game people Microsoft, and so on. (I must confess that the Microsoft Office demo was surprisingly cool). There will be no lack of software for OSX.
Except Photoshop, which was conspicuous by its absence in the Adobe demo. Looks like Adobe is coming out with the first upgrades for software in markets with genuine competition (Illustrator has Freehand, InDesign has Quark, and GoLive has a few million competitors). Photoshop, well, is Photoshop. Nuff said
The iMacs were all but unchanged. The adventures in plastic moulding are all gone; Indigo, Snow and Graphite return. There was a decent speed bump and CD R/W throughout the line, but nothing that would really thrill as far as I could see.
The new PowerMacs were significant improvements over the old ones, but nothing to make me run over to the store and replace my dual G4/450 straight away. The 733 is now at the bottom of the line, which is a nice bump from the older 466-odd models. The 867 is also nice but less than one would hope. But what's with dual 800s? Why not dual 867s? Surely availability can't be a major problem with the 867s in the mainstream of the line.
All in all, it looked like most of the great stuff was in the future. It's time to go back to bed, snore and dream of September and MacOS 10.1. Then, we Mac fans should have something to rave about.
"The sun comes out, tomorrow
Come September, we'd better see some changes or
D
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I have 2 mac clones.. I'm very happy with them. My next machine will be a mac.
I've been very happy with my machines. They've been painless in terms of both OS and hardware (I've upgraded the CPU and memory added 2nd video card... all easy). It seems a lot of thought was put into the machines. I had a quantum harddrive I added fail (twice actually, the one covered under warrenty failed too...), but the original IBM drive is still ticking 5+ years later.
The machines aren't cheap, but they last a long time, and save me lots of time and hassle, and after working with computers all day (HPUX) and fixing some friends windows pc's they work great.
OS-Xs unix underpinnings make the decision easier (I can perl and grep!!!)
The old machines make good LinuxPPC servers too!
Profit doesn't drive stock prices. Success doesn't drive stock prices. Expectations drive stock prices, and when profit and success do not meet expectations, then the stock price will fall. Expectations are usually based on a company's predictions for that quarter, so in this case, Apple probably fell on its own sword.
On a side note, I would love an G4 Powerbook or iBook with MacOS X if a) the price weren't so high, or b) the hardware requirements didn't make the price so high. A pretty box and a pretty interface don't matter if you can't afford either. That is why, IMHO, Apple has not been able to penetrate the market.
Apple's cease-and-desist tactics have also made them less than endearing to me. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.
"It take 9 months to bear a child, no matter how many women you assign to the job."
Although güd Mr Jobs didn't announce it, OS 9.2 has been (somewhat) released. You can't download it yet, but OS 9.2 is running on the fancy new G4s at the Apple booth at Macworld. (They're running OS X 10.0.4 as the current OS, but 9.2 starts up for Classic applications.) Classic launched about twice as fast on the dual 800 that I was using as compared to my Pismo 400 powerbook. Don't know how much of that is 9.2 being good and how much is the machine. I'm guessing more of the latter. Anyway, it should be available soon.
MacSlash will be updating throughout the expo. Check us out and discuss your thoughts.
nothing new or revolutionary...
lets see, 10 of the most popular mac programs are now ported to run natively on OSX.
"All three Power Mac G4 models feature 256K L2 cache per processor, running at full processor speed (you can imagine how well this plays out with the dual 800MHz Power Mac G4). In addition, the 867MHz system has 2MB of L3 backside cache running at one-fourth the processor speed and the dual 800MHz Power Mac G4 has hefty 2MB backside L3 cache per processor, for a total of 4MB."
and, OSX.1 was delayed 2 months, NOT OSX. OSX has been out, as has OSX Server.
oh, and they still posted a profit, albeit a smaller one, while many of their competitors are losing hefty amounts of money in this erstwhile economy.
yea, nothing special.
Networking is also more compatible: Mac OS X version 10.1 now includes the ability to connect to AFP servers over AppleTalk making it easier to integrate Mac OS X into legacy networks with older AppleShare servers and Windows NT servers. We've also added support to natively connect to Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Unix-based SAMBA file servers with the built-in SMB client. These servers appear right in the Finder like any other file server. This makes Mac OS X fluent in all of today's network languages.
Now I can connect to my company's Windows network without extra software! This will be very important for those wanting to move from Windows to the Mac without buying extra software.
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James Hromadka
"The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved." -- John Ashcroft
1)Like I said, there are no new apps out that are not crash test dummy betas. You backed up my point, thanks. Preview releases and promises of future releases don't cut it after MacWorld SF. Jobs said, "MWNYC will be the Mac OS X app show". Well if you count Betas as release software, I guess you have a point
2) Try to go to the Apple Store, order a new PowerMac G4 and have it delivered this month. Ain't gonna happen. As for iMacs, Apple is shooting itself in the foot for bumping the price up. One expects a speed bumped machine to be the same price as last year's model. That has been the model since the first iMac.
3) As much as I would like to think the short pipeline in my Dual 500 G4 makes my machine fast, outside of Photoshop and Media Cleaner Pro, I do not feel like I am driving a HotRod compared to a 1Ghz+ x86 box.
Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
None of the most-recent iMacs played DVDs, either. At least now all of them include CD-RW drives.
Check out their educational pricing: There is an entry-level iMac at $849. You used to have to go up to the $1200 iMac for CD-RW, now the $999 ($949 education price) model has it. 20Gig drive in the entry-level iMac now, also.
I agree with you here. You'd figure they could sell the iMacs as loss-leaders at this point since they are bound to have recouped the R&D costs. $600 sounds like a good price to hook the masses with.
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NetInfo connection failed for server 127.0.0.1/local
Actually, Apple will never sell a $499 PC purely because that would be too cheap. Jobs wants Apple to remain a "premium" brand, like Sony. Therefore, no budget models.
One thing that you'll see in the video that isn't mentioned that often in the text reports is Steve Jobs' little fiasco with the digital camera while at the computer.
Steve: Just got to turn your camera on. [pause]
Steve: Alright. [stares at the camera]
[Someone in the front row says something.]
Yeah, I need some help out here, it's technical. My camera's not turning on.
[Same guy.]
Steve: What's that? I did slide it in like that. It's not turning on. Here. [throws the camera offstage at the guy]
[Crowd goes ooh - some applause, some laughter, bit of nervous tension.]
Steve: We'll let an expert see if he can turn it on. Hopefully he can. Shall I show you, uh... Got it on?
[Guy says something about batteries.]
Steve: Batteries have to go back in from me throwing it. Sorry.
streaming quicktime rebroadcast of the stream can be seen here. enjoy
Time for some tasty Shiner Bock!
I'll tell you what, I will gladly trade you my 1.2 GHz PC for your Dual 500 G4. Then you can feel like you are "driving a HotRod", and we will both be happy.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
WTF? I am shocked that Steve didn't introduce _________ [new feature] that _________ [big OS vendor] has had for years! And why didn't the _________ [model] come in a _________ [weird-ass design] instead of these _________ [abusive term 1], _________ [abusive term 2] toys for _________ [derisive term for Mac users]. Clearly Apple is never going to provide the leading _________ [OS, PC, 802.11 hub, video standard, etc.] because they are so far out of touch with _________ [broadly written user type that includes ME]. Instead they spend all their time cracking down on _________ [favorite Mac rumor site] and writing crap like _________ [crappy consumer utility] I'll never use.
Aw, fuck it, I'll switch to _________ [Yellow Dog / LinuxPPC / WinXP]. That will show those _________ [derisive term for corporate types] in Cupertino. Just as soon as it supports _________ [fancy Mac feature that nobody uses] and has a better user interface than Mac OS _________ [6, 7, 8, 9, X]. Watch out, Steve, you're going to lose a _________ [number > 10] year Apple loyalist!
sulli
RTFJ.
Apple will never sell a computer for $500 in order to gain marketshare. That would make too much sense.
I pointed out here on /. back in March that the lack of DVD playback in the original Mac OS X release was very curious given the Apple DVD marketing push, since if the operating system was up to DVD playback, it should require little more than a utility program to provide it. I speculated that this implied a deeper system problem which would take significantly longer to fix, possibly something related to non-real-time process scheduling. This suggestion was greeted with a mixture of disbelief and exasperation.
At this point, it looks like my speculation has been validated. The reason DVD playback is not yet available for Mac OS X is not simply because the program wasn't finished in time, but because it has proven difficult to implement on the Darwin kernel.
The remaining questions, given that it is being reported that DVD playback was still flaky during today's demo, are whether the new, extra-slipped September ship date for the feature is realistic, and whether the fix for the problem is robust enough to deal with new applications that will require steady high-bandwidth real-time data delivery.
Tim
Additional keynote coverage can be found here. Also, there's a synopsis of the upcoming OS X 10.1 on Apple's website. Note that 10.1 won't be available until September. But you gotta love it! Now if I could only afford that 22" cinima display.
MacCentral:
Keynote
Mac OS X.I
iDVD 2
New iMacs
New G4s
New Apple Stores
The Register:
Hardware
Software
News.Com
Macintouch
Low End Mac
And lastly:
Apple's Official News
--Volrath50
I sympathize with all of the people who were disappointed with Steve's keynote this morning. I too was expecting a new iMac. I too was expecting DVD playback for OS X. I too was expecting... well, something interesting and new. The lack of any major announcements is understandable, though.
Remember folks, the economy has crapped out. Consumer spending is down. Corporate spending is way down. People just aren't spending the money to get the latest toys anymore. Just look at SUV sales recently. In a weak macroeconomic environment new product releases are a major risk. They have to do R&D, marketing, retool their manufacturing, etc., all of which cost big money.
Frankly, I'm amazed that Apple has managed to turn a profit over the last two quarters. They've already released several major new products this year (Ti Powerbook, iBook, OS X). They've also just launched their massive retail initiative. Apple has a lot on its' plate right now, and I think that their CFO wants to sit tight and not rock the boat anymore than they have to. When the economy picks up and people have the cash to go get the latest greatest flat-panel iMac (or whatever), then we'll see some big announcements from Apple.
Meanwhile, I'll be content with continued refinements on a kick-ass product line. The SteveNote wasn't so bad. Warcraft III on a dual 800 G4 running a superfast OS X seems pretty darn cool to me.
This
so, IANACT (i am not a conspiracy theorist), but i think the announcement today was suposed to be much bigger. the faithful among us will have noticed the absence of the "one more thing" tag that steve has traditionally saved till the end, for whatever really big announcement he has this time around. not so compelling, i admit.
but if you watched the keynote (or catch the rebroadcast), you'll notice that things started to slow pretty hard during the iDVD demo, in particular. my money says steve was waiting for someone to show up, and he got the signal to stall for time from someone offstage. so, there's the demo, then the return to the digital camera (come on...like anyone at macworld doesn't know how it works...), then re-running the old commercials, along with one new one...my guess is he used that time to run offstage and find out what the deal was.
he essentially came back onstage right after the commercials, did a tiny bit more, re-hashed, and asked for a round of applause. that was it after he came back onstage from the commercial break.
so i think something went seriously wrong (a box didn't arrive, or a person maybe); steve stalled for time, hoping to make the announcement, but then found out when he went offstage that it was going to be impossible today. you could see he was disappointed when he came back onstage there at the end.
next guess: watch the next media event. i'm betting whatever wanted to be shown off today finds its way to that. hopefully on time.
this is, of course, pure conjecture.
every good
That tells me only one thing: Wall Street is completely irrational.
Okay, two things: Wall Street is completely irrational and the success of a company should never be judged by its current stock price.
There are no apps (unless you count the crash test dummy betas)
Um, VPC is almost ready, the preview is downloadable today (very important for me), the new Illustrator is very cool as well as the web integration of Quark totally rocks, WCIII is on shedule for simultaneous release, Word looks good. Even if these don't ship today, at least they are progressed far enough that they look very good in a presentation. I'm pretty happy with the software announcements so far.
On the hardware side, one big YAWN! Speed bumped PowerMac G4s that you can't order and receive for another month. Nothing new in the notebook area and the iMacs are getting pretty lame -- only a RAM boost and a price increase
Well, you are wrong. Plain and simple.
I'm dissapointed that UMA 2 with DDR didn't make it but the high end mac is now the lowest model, and the dual 800MHz model is a huge jump over a single 733MHz at the top of the line.
Not shipping? Um, did you watch the same keynote? 733 and 867 ship today... dual 800's in a couple weeks (august).
Now as for you claim of increased prices (the bit you are truely wrong about), I told the boss to hold off on buying 4 Macs till the conference. For $300 LESS per machine we now get 200MHz faster processor, double the memory, and a CDR/DVD drive instead of a regular DVD. We even get a free inkjet printer with every machine... And this is more expensive in what way?
The really lame part of the hardware demo was Apple's hardware guru telling us, "Mhz doesn't matter" /. ? I thought this site was for tech people.
Why do you bother reading
Since when has MHz been a good indicator of overall performance? What's faster, a 1GHz Athlon or a 1GHz PIII? What's faster, a 1.2 GHz Athlon or a 1.5 GHz P4? (in almost every benchmark the Athlon is faster). Now for different instruction sets, what's faster... a 800 MHz 21364 Alpha, a 1GHz PIII, or a 1.8 GHz Pentium IV? The Alpha's FP performance smokes the other chips. The SpecFP scores for the new Alphas are truely staggering, so much so that Intel feels the need to kill them off within the next couple years, hence the buyout of the Alpha from Compaq.
Is is so hard to believe that the G4, with Altivec and a short pipeline can't outperform a chip clocked twice as fast in A/V and compression benchmarks? Especially when the opponent is routinely smoked by other i386 chips that are 50-60% slower in clock speed? Do you deny that a 20 stage pipeline is little more than a 'trick' to push clock speeds up? Why not crank up the core voltage too and just ship them overclocked from the factory (I think they did this too... or was that AMD... might have been the failed 1.13 GHz P3... someone tried it).
I'm not feeling witty so bite me
Um, software companies can't magically have their products finish development on the same day. It just doesn't work that way. I consider a product annoucement that is within a couple weeks to be a release when it's at an event such as this.
Not wanting to spend too much time, here is what I've found in just about 2 minutes.
If they are planning release dates a month or less in the future, they are probably in Final Candidate state... they still need time to press and ship CDs after all.
I'm sure I could find more if I had more time... More vendors will make their announcements over the course of the show anyway.
2) Try to go to the Apple Store, order a new PowerMac G4 and have it delivered this month. ;-) To be fair, I did go back and try the 867 and it did list 3-4 weeks ship time. I _believe_ this to be an error since that would push it's ship time back to the same frame as the Dual 800. Jobs made a point to indicate that the low and middle would ship now, and the dual in August.
I actually did. The ship date for the 733 model is 2 days! Not too bad if you ask me. That would be this month by the way.
I wouldn't be suprised if those ship times are based on how long it actually takes to ships a product. Since the 733 has been shipping, it would have an accurate figure (e.g. SAP queries the order database to make an estimate on the last weeks orders and posts that to the Apple Store page...). Since the 867 was just announced, there can't be an accurate ship time since they haven't shipped one yet. I would _guess_ that the ship time on the middle model will change drasticly within a week. Call Apple and ask if you need to know for sure.
3) As much as I would like to think the short pipeline in my Dual 500 G4 makes my machine fast, outside of Photoshop and Media Cleaner Pro, I do not feel like I am driving a HotRod compared to a 1Ghz+ x86 box.
This probably has something to do with the slow Aqua interface (poor finder performance). OSX 10.1 should fix this... this is a software issue, not a hardware issue. The fact that these machines DO routinely trounce much higher clocked x86 machines in A/V benchmarks, and in apache benchmarks (for Darwin running Apache, not for OSX) goes to show that the claims of Apple, though skewed tword Apple's core customers tasks, are valid. (wow, nice run on sentence huh?). You original assertion was that the "MHz doesn't matter" thing was dumb. I still claim that it is an important point, supported by many different platforms (Alpha's are good examples, though I don't consider the G4 an Alpha killer by any means).
I'm not feeling witty so bite me