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Apple Opens The Book On 17" PowerBook Specs

Posted by timothy on from the r2d2-has-a-hologram-of-this dept.

maxentius writes "Apple released detailed specs on the new Aluminum 17-inch PowerBooks, apparently intended to spur compatible hardware development. A PDF is available."

35 comments

  1. Wonderful by TheCrimsonUnbeliever · · Score: 1, Insightful

    These are beautiful and wonderful machines - and with OSX - A nice to use and attractive gui - With a BSD core - You can do anything with these machines

    Shame about the prices being so high but you are paying for the quality

    1. Re:Wonderful by LordNimon · · Score: 3, Insightful
      If you are paying for quality, then is it really a shame that the prices are high? Doesn't that also imply that the quality is high?

      I think it's hypocritical to praise Apple for producing high-quality products and then criticize them for charging more.

      --
      And the men who hold high places must be the ones who start
      To mold a new reality... closer to the heart
    2. Re:Wonderful by TheCrimsonUnbeliever · · Score: 1

      You can get quality at a lower price - Apple do make money - And I cannot blame them for this - It does seem a shame though that their prices are a few hundered £/$ above what most people will pay

  2. now.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    is this gonna become what IBM's Purple Book did to the PC?

  3. Beating a dead horse by Znonymous+Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    ...apparently intended to spur compatible hardware development...

    Man these are nice machines. Let's hope we can get someone to spur faster processor development ASAP or Apple is dead.

    PS> I'm not a troll. Posted from an 800MHz 15in iMac.

    --

    Karma: The shiznight, mostly because I am the Drizzle.

  4. Apparently... what? by Twirlip+of+the+Mists · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...apparently intended to spur compatible hardware development.

    Huh? This technote isn't "apparently intended" to do anything. It's just part of Apple's normal documentation. Every time a new product comes out, Apple releases a technote documenting that product.

    In fact, technotes just like this one are available for every Apple product going back to the original Mac Classic.

    --

    I write in my journal
    1. Re:Apparently... what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      The Mac Classic was no more an "original" Mac than the Mac II, or the Quadra 950, or the 17" PowerBook for that matter. It *was* the first sub-$1000 Mac, with an 8 MHz 68000--just like the *real* original Mac (128k)--but it was introduced in 1990, not 1984. apple-history sez: "The Classic was more or less a reissue of the Mac Plus. It shipped in a newly designed case and had a large 512k ROM, which it could boot from. Most found it extremely slow. It sold for $1500."

      HTH
      WM

      P.S. BTW, you're 100% right about this dev note being a normal part of the documentation. I too was wondering what was meant by the whole "apparently intended" thing in the article...

      Also, I'm very happy to see this doc finally posted--interesting to note that the two new PowerBooks are the first Macs to use the new Intrepid memory/(I/O) controller--though the 1 GHz iMac, 1.33 GHz Xserve, and FW 800 PMG4s might use it as well.

    2. Re:Apparently... what? by nullard · · Score: 1

      I believe that by "original" Twirlip meant the first Classic as opposed to the Classic II or the Color Classic. At least that is what I understood.

      --


      t'nera semordnilap
    3. Re:Apparently... what? by silvakow · · Score: 1

      This developer note is a technical description of the PowerBook G4 17-inch computer. The note provides information about the computer?s internal design, input-output features, and expansion capabilities.

      This developer note is intended to help hardware and software developers design products that are compatible with the Macintosh products described here.

      Apparently it is designed to help developers release hardware and software.

      --
      In the long run, we're all dead.
    4. Re:Apparently... what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I believe that by "original" Twirlip meant the first Classic as opposed to the Classic II or the Color Classic.

      Good call! I didn't think of that. But I read it as "the original Mac, the Classic" (and I imagine many /.-ers did as well, especially those who aren't as familiar with Apple history as he, you, and I are). *shrug*

      Now, the Color Classic II, that's where it's at! :-D It was sold only in Asia, but IIRC it had a 68030 running at a whopping 33 MHz, and I don't think it was too expensive either...(too lazy to go to apple-history again)

      WM (was 4 when the Classic was announced, but used a Classic and three Classic IIs in 4th grade)

  5. Not compatible *computers* by 0x0d0a · · Score: 3, Insightful

    No, this is not being done to allow production of compatible *computers*, just compatible peripherals. Apple has always done this for all their computers. Why is this news?

    --
    May we never see th
  6. I like F7 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Informative

    F7 switches between making and external monitor and second screen and mirroring. This is nice if you hook up to a projector you can easily change it to mirror.

  7. So what? by coolmacdude · · Score: 2, Informative

    Someone apparantly thought this was a nonstandard Apple practice. In fact they have always provided detailed specs like these on all their systems.

    --

    -You may license this sig for only $6.99.
  8. Dear Apple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
    Dear Apple,

    I am a homosexual. I bought an Apple computer because of its well earned reputation for being "the" gay computer. Since I have become an Apple owner, I have been exposed to a whole new world of gay friends. It is really a pleasure to meet and compute with other homos such as myself. I plan on using my new Apple computer as a way to entice and recruit young schoolboys into the homosexual lifestyle; it would be so helpful if you could produce more software which would appeal to young boys. Thanks in advance.

    with much gayness,

    Father Randy "Pudge" O'Day, S.J.

  9. Dear Father O'Day by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
    Dear Father O'Day:

    Thanks for your letter. Being Catholic myself, I know exactly what you're talking about! It has always been our plan here at Apple Computer Inc to revolutionize personal computing with our high-quality and highly gay products.

    I'm happy to answer your letter by letting you know that YES we will be releasing an entire hLife ("homo-life") software line. You'll be able to recognize it in stores by the small stylized logo depicting a large cock entering a tight anus with an Apple logo on it. ("Suddenly it all comes together" indeed!).

    Anyway, I hope you and other members of our community will join us on our mission, and purchase the exciting new hLife boxed set. Only the boxed set comes with translucent cock rings!

    Sincerely,

    Harry Rodman
    Vice-president
    Homosexual Liaison Services
    Apple Computer, Inc.

  10. MOD DOWN PLEASE!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    Its a hollow first post. What was so insightful about it?

  11. Apple != Sun by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Apple = releases specs on their hardware

    Sun = does not release specs on their hardware

    there, got it? good.

  12. Great feature by Eslyjah · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is not new for the Powerbook, but...

    The Ethernet port on the PowerBook G4 17-inch computer supports Auto-MDIX. It switches between MDI (Medium Dependent Interface) and MDI-X operation automatically, so it can be connected to another device by either a straight-through cable or a cross-over cable.

    This attention to detail is why I love Apple hardware. Why don't all computer companies do this?

    1. Re:Great feature by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      1. Cost.
      2. Number of people who use it.
      3. Apple only does it for bragging rights.

    2. Re:Great feature by captainbonehead · · Score: 4, Funny

      3. Apple only does it for bragging rights.
      That must be why they have so many ads spotlighting auto-mdix ....

    3. Re:Great feature by Ster · · Score: 3, Interesting

      1. Cost.
      2. Number of people who use it.
      3. Apple only does it for bragging rights.

      1. I doubt that it costs more than a dollar (maybe two tops) at the volume that Apple runs.
      2. Almost everyone I know who has a machine with this capability has used it at some point or another.
      3. Nope. See (2). I've personally used it for large file transfers w/ PCs using SMB. (They don't have FireWire, so no target disk mode, and can't mount HFS+ natively anyway.) It's great for setting up appliances (i.e. Base Stations) or SSHing into a box who's GUI has locked (much less frequent of late, thankfully!).

      -Ster
    4. Re:Great feature by RzUpAnmsCwrds · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Buy the right ethernet card, and it does. MDI-X is a feature on my Gigabit card.

      When you build a PC, you get what you want.

    5. Re:Great feature by Space+Coyote · · Score: 2, Insightful

      That's all well and good for people who build PC towers. For laptops, though, it's absolutely rediculous to have to carry around an extra cable in my carrying case.

      --
      ___
      Cogito cogito, ergo cogito sum.
  13. How does mac ownership make you not a troll? by solios · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You're beating a dead horse. The 970 is on deck and will likely come in the same time Apple kicks OS 9 out the door. I'll save the rest of the schpeal, as you obviously haven't been paying attention and hence won't want to hear it from me. Sufficed to say, if not getting a faster processor ASAP is going to kill Apple, then grab a sharpie and marker "RIP" on that iMac of yours, because by the numbers game, Apple has been DEAD for YEARS.

    1. Re:How does mac ownership make you not a troll? by tbmaddux · · Score: 1
      ...will likely come in the same time Apple kicks OS 9 out the door.
      What does this mean? MacOS 9 booting is already gone on any new machines for this year, including (but not necessarily limited to) the 17" and 12" PowerBooks, the new 17" 1GHz iMac, and the new mirrored-drive-door Power Macs. Are you suggesting that Classic support will be dropped? That's neither reasonable nor likely.
      --
      Can't you see that everyone is buying station wagons?
    2. Re:How does mac ownership make you not a troll? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

      It's not "schpeal", it's "spiel". German/Yiddish.

  14. It means.... by solios · · Score: 1

    .... rolling out the 970 on the desktop end is the perfect time to drop OS 9 as any kind of a feasable boot option. New data bus means new motherboards, so hey.... better to move forward, you know? :-)

    Any time before that, you'll wind up with some section of the userbase pissed about not being able to boot into 9, for whatever reason, when the previous revision of the same hardware DID. A big change in hardware is a great way to soften the blow of OS 9 no longer booting- something some people may miss, believe it or not. :-P

    1. Re:It means.... by tbmaddux · · Score: 1
      ... rolling out the 970 on the desktop end is the perfect time to drop OS 9 as any kind of a feasable boot option.
      No, it's a too-late time. Apple has a list of currently-shipping Macs that do not boot MacOS 9 today.
      --
      Can't you see that everyone is buying station wagons?
  15. an interesting idea... by di0s · · Score: 1

    In the PDF, it mentions that the G4 has full SMP support. Since the PBG4 17" is so frickin' big anyways, why not slap another G4 in there for good measure? I'm sure battery usage would be of concern, but it sure would be the final blow in replacing a PowerMac with a PowerBook.

    1. Re:an interesting idea... by RalphBNumbers · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Actually, if you follow the rumor mill, Apple did give serious consideration to putting dual processors in notebooks. They appearantly decided not to for the moment.

      It's just as well in my opinion. Dual processors wouldn't actually boost speeds that much for the kinds of applications most people run on notebooks, even high end notebooks. A bit of photoshop work is one thing and might benefit a bit, but noone runs a renderfarm of laptops or serves a big database intensive site from one. And the cost would be prohibitively high, not to mention the power supply and heat problems.

      It might be possible to build a dual processor notebook, but it would involve alot of compromises, and there wouldn't be much of a market.

      --
      "The worst tyrannies were the ones where a governance required its own logic on every embedded node." - Vernor Vinge
    2. Re:an interesting idea... by bmerlin · · Score: 1

      With OS X, the issue is not whether individual applications use multiple processors, like it was in OS 9. OS X distributes processes and threads between the two processors on its own. So, as long as you're running more than one process (is your computer on?), dual processors offer a world of benefit.

    3. Re:an interesting idea... by Gortbusters.org · · Score: 1

      Would it heat up with 2... or more importantly, does it heat up with just 1?

      --
      --------
      Free your mind.
  16. Comaptible hardware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait
    This is great news, since Apple stopped licensing their hardware development and put the 'mac clones' out of business.

    All we need now is someone to build an Apple compatible based on the AMD Opteron... that will scream!

  17. Apple Laptop Keyboards Unsuitable for Unix Users by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Notice that Apple never indicates how to re-program the CapsLock key into a Ctrl key. That is because it isn't yet possible, due to the fact that Apple is still using a built-in ADB keyboard, which is broken by design.

    My standard rant follows, because Apple hasn't yet listened to me.

    Apple laptops are effectively unusable for unix users.

    I am a long-time Unix user. That means I need to have the Ctrl key to the left of the A key. This is a genuine need, not merely a want; it is based upon ergonomics. The Ctrl key is heavily used in unix, and it must be easily accessable. It cannot be off in the lower left corner of the keyboard where it is difficult to get at, and where it distorts the position of your left hand such that you can't easily type other keys while holding the Ctrl key down.

    Apple desktop keyboards are now all USB. They are all OK. The CapsLock key can be re-mapped into a Ctrl key.

    Unfortunately, even in this modern age, all Apple laptops have built-in ADB keyboards. The ADB keyboard is broken-by-design. It is, in general, not possible to remap the CapsLock key into a Ctrl key.

    There are some exceptions, but they are horrible kludges. They are horrible kludges because the original design of the ADB keyboard was a horrible kludge. The correct solution would be for Apple to re-design their laptop motherboards to use built-in USB keyboards. This hasn't happened yet. If you run Linux, use Debian's solution. For Mac OS X users, uControl works. There are no solutions (that I know of) for either NetBSD or OpenBSD. Please note once again that the "solutions" above are in fact kludges, because of the original bad design of the ADB keyboard.

    Apple provides a technical note on how to remap the keyboard, but provides no solution to the hardware problems caused by the design of the ADB keyboard. This tech note helps foreign language users, but does nothing for the CapsLock/Ctrl problem.

    Apple is (currently) ignoring Unix users! This is not merely speculation on my part. In an on-going email exchange I am having with an Apple employee (whom I won't name) in their marketing department, the Apple marketing person directly stated to me that Apple was catering to their historic Mac customers, and is purposely ignoring the Unix market. He also claimed that Apple would soon start paying more attention to the Unix market. I won't hold my breath. Apple has been ignoring Unix users for more than 12 years. I expect that trend to continue.

    Apple has now lost two opportunities to sell me hardware. I really wanted an Apple laptop for their superior battery life, and for the PowerPC with Altivec CPU. (The Altivec is vastly superior to the x86 line for DSP.) Because I can't live with the broken-by-design built-in ADB keyboard in all Apple laptops, Sony and IBM sold me laptops instead. If Apple fixes this problem, they will sell me a PowerBook next year; if they don't, I'll still be running OpenBSD on x86 hardware, and wishing I could use a Mac.

  18. Stupid Moderators by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How is this offtopic? Just because I read the damn spec on the keyboard. Read the article before moderating!