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New iBooks and Apple Store

Posted by pudge on from the mmmm-istore dept.

Vokbain writes "Apple just released new 800 and 900 MHz iBooks, and unveiled a redesigned Apple Store as well." Looks kinda cluttered to me.

132 comments

  1. this is great news by hkon · · Score: 3, Funny

    I think I speak for a lot of Apple fans when I say "YEEESSSS!!! This rocks!!! It's absolutely brilliant!! Steve Jobs, you're my hero!!! This just shows Apple's ability to reinvent the computer industry in a way that Microsoft can only dream of!! HAHAHAHAAAA!!!!"

    what's this story about again?

  2. God bless Credit Card Companies by Komarosu · · Score: 5, Funny

    Thank god for credit card companies, if i didn't get rejected i would of bought one of the 700mhz ones about 2 days ago.

    Now i can get one of these slightly faster beauts for the same price...oh wait i cant :(

    --

    "What do you mean you have no ice? Do you expect me to drink this coffee hot?" - Random Customer, Clerks
    1. Re:God bless Credit Card Companies by gabeman-o · · Score: 2, Informative

      if a new model computer is released within 30 days of purchase, Apple will allow you to exchange yours

      Also, Apple delays shipments when they intend on releasing new models, you would have recieved the new model anyway.

    2. Re:God bless Credit Card Companies by Komarosu · · Score: 1

      thanks for that small nugget :)

      --

      "What do you mean you have no ice? Do you expect me to drink this coffee hot?" - Random Customer, Clerks
    3. Re:God bless Credit Card Companies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative
      I call bullshit. Someone please moderate this misleading post down.

      Apple's sales policies are here. The only policy even remotely resembling what you said is stated:

      Should Apple reduce its price on any shipped product within 10 calendar days of shipment, you may contact Apple Sales Support at 1-800-676-2775 to request a refund or credit of the difference between the price you were charged and the current selling price. To receive the refund or credit you must contact Apple within 14 business days of shipment.

      You cannot exchange an item for a just-released newer version, ever. You may exchange one for the same item or refund within 10 business days, provided you didn't open the box. If you did open the box, there's a 10% fee. So the only circumstances under which one could do what you say are:

      • You send it back for a refund within 10 business days of receipt (not 30)
      • Only if the item was unopened
      • You then initiate a new order for the new version, and get stuck in the back of the queue for shipment (which can take weeks for just announced products)

      Otherwise, tough crap! That's the way it is when purchasing technology. It may well be obsolete by the time you get it!

    4. Re:God bless Credit Card Companies by miyako · · Score: 2, Interesting

      the exact same thing happened to me, I bought an 800mz iBook with a 30gb hard drive two days ago, instead, i'll be getting a 900mz with a 40gb hard drive. w00t!

      --
      Famous Last Words: "hmm...wikipedia says it's edible"
  3. new iBook, bye bye crystal white? by sharl · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I played around with the options on the new iBooks, and the extra batteries are all showing up as opaque white.. previously this was only on the base model. Seems the lovely crystal white model is no longer available. Worse still, does this mean they all have the nasty, nasty, grey plastic hinge and chassis edge finish? Though the opaque white is fine, the plastic hinge looks much cheaper - acceptable in the very cheap low end, but not in the others.

    If true, this will make most of the purchasers at our site go for the 12" PowerCook ;-)

    --
    Clearly I have too much time on my hands.
  4. Is 800Mhz New? by MyGirlFriendsBroken · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I not so sure the 800 is new, I've had one for 4 months now, is this just an updated range with the 900 Mhx model new and the 800 Mhz model the only other one available?

    --
    If you read a speed reading book, does it take you less time to read the second half?
    1. Re:Is 800Mhz New? by jokell82 · · Score: 5, Informative

      The new 800Mhz replaces the previous 700Mhz as the low end iBook. You probably have a combo drive in your 800, well the new 800 only comes with a CD-ROM (as well as a few other changes to make it the low end).

      --
      I dunno who it is
      but it prolly is fhqwhgads.
    2. Re:Is 800Mhz New? by Brandon+Sharitt · · Score: 1

      Now the slowest iBook is 800MHz not 700. With the 32 MB video memory and if I upgrade the RAM to 256MB, the lowend iBook is a great deal at $1050, and that's before my student discount. If you compare the top 12.1" iBook to the 12" PowerBook, it looks like a rip off unless you really need altivec. Not only is the iBook's G3 faster in megahertz(900 to 867), that's an IBM G3, which is reported to be faster than a Mototola G4 for non altivec operations.

    3. Re:Is 800Mhz New? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      too bad the entire OS is optimized for Altivec...

    4. Re:Is 800Mhz New? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Parent didn't talk about any OS.

  5. Clutter? by Andy_R · · Score: 2, Funny

    1. Cluttered website
    2. ????
    3. Profit!

    --
    A pizza of radius z and thickness a has a volume of pi z z a
    1. Re:Clutter? by DNA+Land · · Score: 1

      Apple ho! Help, Pa!

  6. The Apple Store by lowmagnet · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The Apple Store appears to be more usable to me. For starters, I can click on a picture of an iPod and jump right to the iPod page, instead of the digital lifestyle device page. This link used to be in the upper left of the old store.

    I can see and pick from pictures of Apple products instead of going to a 'software' page and first. This is a big usability plus.

    All of the laptops and systems are laid out and ready to be clicked upon.

    If you want cluttered design, pick up a MacMall catalog, or visit the MacMall site, both grand examples of clutter and inappropriate exclaimation.

    --
    Heute die Welt, morgen das Sonnensystem!
    1. Re:The Apple Store by micaelus · · Score: 1

      At least they got rid of the brushed metal button bar for "tech specs-graphics-wireless-software." It was difficult to read with the new font Apple's recently adopted.

      I actually like the look of the new store--it's a little brighter, cleaner, and more aquaesque.

    2. Re:The Apple Store by Sentry21 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Ugh, that site makes my soul hurt.

      My question is, why didn't they update the other stores - the Canada store for example? I would've thought that they would have one 'store' with different ways of getting to it, and based on which you used (Canada, US, UK, etc.) you'd get different prices, products, and some different links. How odd.

      Still, it's more usable for software, but less usable for hardware. Perhaps Apple's noticed a trend towards buying software from the Apple store? It's the logical place for it, since it can be hard to find a store that stocks decent selections of Mac software.

      Maybe this is to help make way for their music downloading service thingie. Hmm, would that mean the service is US-only? Bad thing.

      --Dan

  7. No new machines, just a speed-bump by Andy_R · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It's just the same old range of 3 iBooks, but with an extra 100 Mhz and an extra 10Gb drive capacity all round.

    Any other changes are too subtle for me to spot comparing the applestore spec with ads in last week's MacUser.

    --
    A pizza of radius z and thickness a has a volume of pi z z a
    1. Re:No new machines, just a speed-bump by iomud · · Score: 1

      They also bumped the low end graphics memory to 32MB. The old low end ibook had 16.

    2. Re:No new machines, just a speed-bump by jokell82 · · Score: 2, Informative

      The combo drive now burns at 24x...wish I could upgrade from my 700 with an 8x combo...

      --
      I dunno who it is
      but it prolly is fhqwhgads.
    3. Re:No new machines, just a speed-bump by dadragon · · Score: 1

      Guy, you're lucky. I have a 600mhz, its combo drive burns at 4x. I like the laptop all around, but when I'm at home, I use my 48x IDE cdrw.

      --
      God save our Queen, and Heaven bless The Maple Leaf Forever!
  8. iBooks disappointing by tm2b · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Hate to say it, but this is pretty disappointing. I bought my current iBook 18 months ago - it's a 600 MHz G3, very close in configuration to these iBooks. Only a 50% speed bump in a year and a half? That's just pathetic.

    It seems pretty clear to me that Apple is holding their iBook line back, limiting them to G3s, to encourage sales of their pro laptops. They are the only system Apple still sells with G3s, the iMac went G4 a long time ago and the low-end eMac is thoroughly G4. Oh well.

    I love my iBook, and I'd love to upgrade it after this long - but not for only a 50% increase in speed. I might be an Apple die-hard, but I'm not quite that eager to give them my money.

    --
    "It is our blasphemy which has made us great, and will sustain us, and which the gods secretly admire in us." - Zelazny
    1. Re:iBooks disappointing by Gropo · · Score: 4, Informative

      A 50% increase in clock frequency... and a 100% increase in L2 cache. A 900Mhz PowerPC 750fx will blow past a 1Ghz 7455 with its limp 256k L2 in a lot of instances.

      --
      I hate Grammar Nazi's
    2. Re:iBooks disappointing by pudge · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It seems pretty clear to me that Apple is holding their iBook line back, limiting them to G3s, to encourage sales of their pro laptops.

      Or maybe to keep the price down, perhaps? Nah, that couldn't be it ... ;-)

      If you want a G4 iBook, get a 12-inch PowerBook. Really.

    3. Re:iBooks disappointing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Quit complaining that the iBook has a G3 processor in it. There's been a G4 version of the iBook for months. Apple calls it the 12" PowerBook.

    4. Re:iBooks disappointing by Shishio · · Score: 1

      The graphics card, hard drive, and cache have been updated a few times since you bought yours. The Radeon 7500 with 32 MB video ram they put in it last fall has worked great for me, especially in speeding up OS X.

      Also, there have been rumors of a massive remake of the iBook line later in the year, so a huge upgrade to the line now would only slow the coming of that.

      --
      Twelve fingers or one, its how you play. ~Gattaca (Vincent)
    5. Re:iBooks disappointing by mailseth · · Score: 1

      It seems pretty clear to me that Apple is holding their iBook line back, limiting them to G3s, to encourage sales of their pro laptops.

      Or maybe to keep the price down, perhaps? Nah, that couldn't be it ... ;-)

      That and the batt life.

    6. Re:iBooks disappointing by tm2b · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Apples and Oranges. Er....

      I'm comparing machines at the same or similar price-point. The 12-inch PowerBook costs almost twice what I paid for my 600 MHz iBook, so you really can't compare them.

      But, come on... even Apple didn't think enough of this to say that the iBooks have been upgraded their front page. Their store redesign is bigger news in their opinion.

      --
      "It is our blasphemy which has made us great, and will sustain us, and which the gods secretly admire in us." - Zelazny
    7. Re:iBooks disappointing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      G3's may be less "powerful", but they are great for energy-efficiency and noise reduction.

      iBooks run cooler and more quietly because of G3's.

      I have a 500 MHz iBook, and the slightly slower response is MORE than compensated for by the excellent battery life, lack of hot spots, and sheer quietness.

    8. Re:iBooks disappointing by pudge · · Score: 1

      Of course it is a different price point. It has a G4 in it! That's the whole point. You put a G4 in it, it costs a lot more. If you want a G4, you can get one, and you pay a lot more. That's how it works.

      If you put a G4 in an iBook, what distinguishes it from the PowerBook? Plastic instead of aluminum? Most of the rest of the differences are not very significant. Video card here, Bluetooth there, sure, it adds up, but you can lower the capabilities of the PowerBook and just have a lower-cost 12" PowerBook.

      Right now a comparably equipped iBook and PowerBook (256MB RAM, 40GB) are $1349 and $1799, a difference of $450. That's probably pretty close to the cost in aluminum + G4 instead of plastic + G3. You are looking at increasing the cost of the iBook to at least $1300 or so just for a G4, if not more, and that is assuming 128MB RAM and 20GB HD, which is almost useless for that sort of horsepower.

    9. Re:iBooks disappointing by Trurl's+Machine · · Score: 1

      A 50% increase in clock frequency... and a 100% increase in L2 cache. A 900Mhz PowerPC 750fx will blow past a 1Ghz 7455 with its limp 256k L2 in a lot of instances.

      The change from 8-megabytes ATI RAGE 128 to 32-megabytes ATI RADEON will have itself a tremendous effect on MacOS X 10.2, not to mention games - many of them will simply refuse to install on 600 MHz iBook, but will run pretty well on the 800 and 900 models, just because of Radeon. So in overall experience you would notice way more than 50% of speed bump. And if you really need G4 for heavy graphics tasks, you should not buy an iBook in the first place.

    10. Re:iBooks disappointing by WasterDave · · Score: 1

      It seems pretty clear to me that Apple is holding their iBook line back, limiting them to G3s, to encourage sales of their pro laptops.

      And? What're they supposed to do? The iBook you have sitting on your desk is *so* close to being a 12" powerbook - if they dropped a G4 in it, or bumped it to 1GHz then they'd never sell the PB's.

      In my opinion (owner of a recent 700Mhz iBook), I'd hang on to it until the 970 based powerbooks start showing up. I expect we'll see a flood of G4's coming down to the iBook then - but it'll be at least a year :(

      Dave

      --
      I write a blog now, you should be afraid.
    11. Re:iBooks disappointing by tm2b · · Score: 1

      You're totally missing what I'm saying.

      After 18 months, a machine at the same price point should be twice as fast. That's basic Moore's law, and PeeCees follow the rule. The technical details will of course be different - Moore's law is about bang for buck, not about particulars of the processors, G4, G3, or whatever.

      --
      "It is our blasphemy which has made us great, and will sustain us, and which the gods secretly admire in us." - Zelazny
    12. Re:iBooks disappointing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      You don't understand Moore's Law.

      Moore's Law (which isn't a law at all, but merely a name for a general trend) says that the density of semiconductor junctions on a microprocessor doubles every eighteen months. If you really squint hard, you MIGHT be able to twist that around to imply that processor speed doubles every eighteen months, but that's definitely not the case in any general sense.

      To go a step further and say that your a computer that costs $X today should be twice as fast as the computer that cost $X eighteen months ago is just bullshit.

    13. Re:iBooks disappointing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You need to get out more. What you quote is literally true but does translate roughly to power at the same price as has come to have that meaning as well.

      http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20011115. html
    14. Re:iBooks disappointing by pudge · · Score: 1

      After 18 months, a machine at the same price point should be twice as fast. That's basic Moore's law, and PeeCees follow the rule.

      Laptops have never followed that "rule," (in quotes because it is not a real rule or law, of course) and it simply isn't feasible to do it with a G4. I am not missing what you are saying, I am saying that what you are saying is imaginary happyland.

    15. Re:iBooks disappointing by Rinikusu · · Score: 1

      Interestingly enough, notice that the new "Centrino"'s are running at whopping 1.2, 1.3, and 1.6 ghz for most applications? Heck, Transmeta is just now getting to the 1Ghz range, too. A quick cursory examination at the CompUSA tonight revealed 1.8 ghz Celerons and 2.4 ghz P4's, but I'd love to see their battery life compared to the typical Apple offering, not to mention form-factor (I like my portables to be, well, portable).
      If you really want to get technical, I just my Sony Vaio 505FX 3 weeks ago. That's a P266MMX. Not a PII. P266. That laptop is approximately 5 years old. Now, imagine, Moore's law, double every 18 months (and that's a fallacy, too, he just said transistor density would double, nothing about Mhz ratings):(5*12)/18 = 3.33 ghz. Hell, even the Alienware Area51m isn't running that fast. Again, it's all relative and if someone is going to bitch about spending $1700 on a laptop that is damn well *worth* every penny (but who would complain if it were $1200 or even $1500?), well, they should look elsewhere. If speed is that important to someone, then I'd strongly suggest to that person to check out www.dell.com or www.ibm.com. :: shrugs ::

      --
      If you were me, you'd be good lookin'. - six string samurai
    16. Re:iBooks disappointing by dwightk · · Score: 1

      What Graphics card does your iBook have? Most likely a Mobility Radeon 16MB

      These have MR 7500 32MB Much better QE performance

      What size L2 Cache? some of the 600MHz models had 256K, these have 512.

      You also get a G3fx (v2.2?) instead of a G3cxe (or 745/755 v 3.1).

      Also, if Panther does exclude some machines, this one probably won't be excluded (but it might, don't quote me)

      But, I really like my Powerbook 12"

      --
      Like anyone can even know that
  9. The new store looks like... the new stores by truthsearch · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I recently saw an Apple store in my local mall for the first time. Having all white glowing walls and glass tables it felt a little space-fantasy-ish. It was nice and had all their products laid out with salesman around but not annoying. The new online store gives me the same sort of feel. Someone probably gave their marketing department a good kick in the pants recently and it's paying off. Someone in marketing is earning their bonus.

    --
    Developers: We can use your help.
    1. Re:The new store looks like... the new stores by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you have issues with your sexuality, don't you?

    2. Re:The new store looks like... the new stores by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      LOL

    3. Re:The new store looks like... the new stores by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, Not at all.

  10. What's different? by Singen · · Score: 1

    All models recieved a 100 mhz speedbump. The low end and middle models now have 10Gb additional hard drive space (30Gb). The top end model adds 20Gb additional hard drive space (40Gb).

    A new graphics card, the ATI Mobility RADEON 7500 is now standard on all models with 32Mb of DDR SDRAM.

    But why o' why is the built in RAM still only 128Mb?

    1. Re:What's different? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because 256 MB of additional iBook RAM is $59 from RamJet.

    2. Re:What's different? by jo_ham · · Score: 1

      I don't think the iBook's logic board can take more than 640 Mb in total, so if they increase the base memory to 256, adding a 512 stick to the user slot would be problematic.

      The 256Mb one comes with a 128Mb soldered on and a 128 Mb stick in the user slot.

      As will all Apple products, buy it with the base amount of Ram and buy some cheaper stuff from Crucial or someone on ramseeker.com

  11. Re:iBooks not as disappointing as others by ubiquitin · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Well, to Apple's credit, the iBook battery life still beats the pants off anything that Intel or AMD make. Also note that the iBook has held this advantage for a year and a half. IMNSHO battery life makes a much bigger practical difference than processor speed.

    --
    http://tinyurl.com/4ny52
  12. Thanks for the UI tip, Slashdot. by SpamJunkie · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Looks kinda cluttered to me.

    And Slashdot is what? The web's best use of white space?

    Call it a hunch but Apple probably spend a few million dollars on testing and revising the hell out of this design. You wouldn't be seeing it on apple.com if they weren't sure it would increase sales and confuse users less than the old one. This is Apple we're talking about.

    1. Re:Thanks for the UI tip, Slashdot. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

      Yeah sure they did.

      You obviously have no idea how Apple works. Jobs OK'd the design, and that was the entire way it was tested.

      Actually, in the ten minutes it took him to OK it, Apple probably did give Jobs a few million dollars, so maybe you're right.

    2. Re:Thanks for the UI tip, Slashdot. by pudge · · Score: 5, Funny

      Sorry, next time I won't have an opinion. My bad.

    3. Re:Thanks for the UI tip, Slashdot. by chasingporsches · · Score: 1

      well, i must admit, it does look kinda cluttered, and it took me a good 30 seconds to get used to the new design. frankly, i liked the old design. don't be so hard on the guy!

    4. Re:Thanks for the UI tip, Slashdot. by mkelley · · Score: 1

      Slashcode is cluttered and /. is still using ancient font tags. What is this, 1999? Sorry, programmers don't usually give the best UI advice.

      --

      m.kelley
      life is like a freeway, if you don't look you could miss it.
    5. Re:Thanks for the UI tip, Slashdot. by Mikey-San · · Score: 4, Funny

      Speaking for SpamJunkie:

      "And next time, I won't have an opinion on your opinion."

      Pudge:

      "After that, I won't say anything about your thoughts on my opinion."

      SJ:

      "Opinion opinion opinion opinion opinion opinion opinion opinion opinion opinion opinion opinion opinion opinion opinion opinion opinion opinion opinion opinion opinion opinion opinion opinion opinion opinion opinion opinion opinion opinion."

      AC:

      "omg shut up u faces jeez why dont u just go back to you're gay appple MACs??"

      -/-
      Mikey-San
      Burninating karma at the speed of TROGDOR!

      --
      Mikey-San
      Karma: +Eleventy billion (mostly affected by watching Celebrity Jeopardy)
    6. Re:Thanks for the UI tip, Slashdot. by krow · · Score: 1

      Yeah right..... :)

      --
      You can't grep a dead tree.
    7. Re:Thanks for the UI tip, Slashdot. by goldid · · Score: 1

      I think you're right, pudge. I also sure hope that Apple spent less than "a few million" what a collosal waste of money that would've been. I like it overall, but it is a wee bit cluttered.

      Tangent: I like slashdot overall too--there's just too much damn info sometimes. Somehow, though, I am amazed at slashdot's lack of evolution in terms of design given the graphical talent of some staff members.

  13. No Bluetooth. by zulux · · Score: 1

    Ugh. Just a speed bump.

    I'd have my credit-card in hand if the little bugger had bluetooth. I'd love to be able to ssh into all my severs over a cell-phone internet connection.

    (Apple is proably hopeing that people like me will buy the PowerBook - probably smart on their part)

    --

    Moneyed corporations, non-working 'poor' and criminal prisoners are turning productive citizens into tax-slaves.

    1. Re:No Bluetooth. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      D-Link DBT-120 USB Bluetooth Adapter: $49.95

      It's smaller than your thumb. Just plug it into a USB port and giddy-up.

    2. Re:No Bluetooth. by zulux · · Score: 1

      D-Link DBT-120 USB Bluetooth Adapter: $49.95

      No way - It want it built in so I don't break it off accidently. A dongle would be ok if the laptop say on a desk most of the time - but I'd like to use it as a laptop.

      --

      Moneyed corporations, non-working 'poor' and criminal prisoners are turning productive citizens into tax-slaves.

    3. Re:No Bluetooth. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you worried about breaking the screen off of your laptop? Or how about all those little keys on the keyboard?

      If you want built-in Bluetooth, buy the PowerBook. If you want an inexpensive laptop, buy the iBook and the $50 Bluetooth adapter. If you think built-in Bluetooth is, by itself, worth a THOUSAND BUCKS, then you've got a different set of priorities from mine.

      In other words: quitcher bitchin.

    4. Re:No Bluetooth. by zulux · · Score: 1

      If you want built-in Bluetooth, buy the PowerBook. If you want an inexpensive laptop, buy the iBook and the $50 Bluetooth adapter. If you think built-in Bluetooth is, by itself, worth a THOUSAND BUCKS, then you've got a different set of priorities from mine.

      In other words: quitcher bitchin.

      I'm not going to spend $1000 extra to get buitin Bluetooth. Apple just lost a sale. IBM, with their X31, just gaind a sale.

      I won't buy a laptop without Bluetooth, just like I won't buy a laptop wihout Etherenet. It's just a feature that I must have.

      And the $50 - easuy to loose, easy to break, USB dongle doesen't cut it.

      I understand that Apple intentionaly crippled the iBook inorder to gain PowerBooks sales - it's just that the PowerBooks is so much more expensive that they lost a sale in my case.

      YMMV.

      --

      Moneyed corporations, non-working 'poor' and criminal prisoners are turning productive citizens into tax-slaves.

    5. Re:No Bluetooth. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Man. What a moron you are.

      I'm not going to spend $1000 extra to get buitin Bluetooth. Apple just lost a sale. IBM, with their X31, just gaind a sale.

      The only difference you can see between an iBook and an IBM whatever is built-in Bluetooth? Wow. You're really oblivious, aren't you?

      And the $50 - easuy to loose, easy to break, USB dongle doesen't cut it.

      Mighty big talk from a bozo who's never owned one. I've got two of them, one for my G4 and one for my PowerBook. They are not easy to lose or to break. You're just wrong.

      I understand that Apple intentionaly crippled the iBook inorder to gain PowerBooks sales

      "Intentionally crippled??" Jesus Christ. What a twit.

      Hope you're happy with your IBM piece-of-shit Wintel laptop, dickhead.

    6. Re:No Bluetooth. by zulux · · Score: 1


      "Intentionally crippled??" Jesus Christ. What a twit.

      Hope you're happy with your IBM piece-of-shit Wintel laptop, dickhead.

      Great, another Microsoft troll - trying to make Apple look bad.

      Ta ta little boy.

      --

      Moneyed corporations, non-working 'poor' and criminal prisoners are turning productive citizens into tax-slaves.

    7. Re:No Bluetooth. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Great, another Microsoft troll - trying to make Apple look bad.

      Uh. What the fuck? What the hell are you talking about, junior?

    8. Re:No Bluetooth. by zulux · · Score: 0, Flamebait



      Uh. What the fuck? What the hell are you talking about, junior?

      You're probably some greasy faced, sweatshirt wearing, pasty Mircosoft intern who though it would be fun to post to Slashdot - pertending to be a foul mouthed, stupid Mac user.

      We'll - you got the stupid part down right - Natural ability.

      But you swearing leaves much to be desired - It's not even witty.

      --

      Moneyed corporations, non-working 'poor' and criminal prisoners are turning productive citizens into tax-slaves.

    9. Re:No Bluetooth. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uh. Let's see, let me get this straight. I'm telling you you're fucking stupid, so you conclude that I must be "some greasy faced, sweatshirt wearing, pasty Mircosoft intern."

      That's one hell of an imagination you've got there, sparky.

    10. Re:No Bluetooth. by zulux · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Uh. Let's see, let me get this straight. I'm telling you you're fucking stupid, so you conclude that I must be "some greasy faced, sweatshirt wearing, pasty Mircosoft intern."

      We'll perhaps you work for a fast-food joint, but you get the idea.

      That's one hell of an imagination you've got there, sparky.

      Thank you.

      Now get back to work.

      --

      Moneyed corporations, non-working 'poor' and criminal prisoners are turning productive citizens into tax-slaves.

    11. Re:No Bluetooth. by Llywelyn · · Score: 1

      Try the 12" PowerBook. It is still inexpensive as can be and comes with Bluetooth.

      --
      Integrate Keynote and LaTeX
  14. No AirPort Extreme by grouchomarxist · · Score: 2, Informative

    It looks like the new iBooks still use 802.11b instead of 802.11g.

    1. Re:No AirPort Extreme by MikeXpop · · Score: 1

      I'm glad. Most of the world uses 802.11b anyways, and if it's $20 cheaper, I'm all for it.

      --
      Etiquette is etiquette. He kills his mother but he can't wear grey trousers.
    2. Re:No AirPort Extreme by grouchomarxist · · Score: 1

      But 802.11g is compatible with 802.11b.

    3. Re:No AirPort Extreme by MikeXpop · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but it's more expensive. Buying an 802.11g card would be stupid when I could get an 802.11b card for cheaper, if all I'm gonna run into is 802.11b bubbles.

      --
      Etiquette is etiquette. He kills his mother but he can't wear grey trousers.
  15. Considering how well-known Apple is... by chasingporsches · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ... for jumping the gun on technologies, why don't they just go to 1GHz G3's? Leftover stock and engineering complications aside, it seems to me that the top-of-the-line ibook by now should be a 1GHz G3 processor, 1GB RAM (640MB is too low of a minimum), 60GB Hard Drive (finally they moved up to this), Radeon 7500 64MB DDR, and Airport Extreme. Why can't they just move it up to Airport Extreme? I don't know much about Mac laptop internals, but would they have to change something on the motherboard, or do they just want to get rid of the old Airport cards lying around? I've got way too many questions to ask here... but i am glad that they finally upgraded the iBooks to 60GB. Now i might actually get one...

    1. Re:Considering how well-known Apple is... by JonathanBoyd · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Because then no-one would buy the 12" PB. Fewer people would buy th 15" probably and the prices would be that bit higher. Of course,t hey'd probably gain a few sales form the higher specs, but would it be enough to make up for blurring the product lines and canabilsing PB sales? Evidently they don't think so. I think the iBook still does everything it needs to and represnts excellent value for money. My iBook 500 is still going very strong and the currnet line would kick its ass, largely because of the faster bus and grpahics card.

    2. Re:Considering how well-known Apple is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, given the current configuration of the iBook (128 MB soldered to the MB, 1 SODIMM slot), 640MB is the maximum for this machine. At least there's an option for maxxed out RAM now (by default, rather than through custom config).

      Posting AC today since I'm a mod... so sue me.

    3. Re:Considering how well-known Apple is... by chasingporsches · · Score: 1

      that makes sense. i never thought of it that way.

    4. Re:Considering how well-known Apple is... by Dr+Reducto · · Score: 1

      My one comment about airport is that what seems very old for Apple (the original airport came out in 1998), is pretty new for PC's. Most people only have 802.11b routers given how cheap they are and that 802.11g has not yet been finalized. It really doesn't matter which standard you use if you only use it to share a broadband connection. And the other things, well Apple usually only puts out a product when it can do it the best. Ex. iPod, Airport, OS X, etc.

  16. Apple has done it before by LinuxMacWin · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Apple has done it before. Close all the rumors of product upgrades, new products (ok music site) by announcing them before Macworlds and provide a single focus on Macworld. I can see many product launches over the next month, and then starts the evangelization of Panther (Mac OS X 10.3) right from developers conference and going into Macworld.

  17. Question by Znonymous+Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    What is this thing I am always hearing about with PCs and their "Giga Hertz"? What's that all about? It must not be worth anything if Apple won't put one in their "consumer class" laptops.

    --

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

    1. Re:Question by mrpuffypants · · Score: 1

      Well, if it's going to hertz me then I'm glad that Apple won't give it to me :)

  18. Little bits nice... by yourCat · · Score: 2, Informative

    New iBooks still boot with Mac OS 9. It's right enough to people needs only 9 on G3, and cheap :).

    1. Re:Little bits nice... by berniecase · · Score: 3, Informative

      I think you can thank education users for this, as the iBook has made great inroads into education in the past two years. They still have a lot of need for OS 9.

  19. Go Canada! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    The Apple Canada store, which hasn't changed, likely will still be another year or so before they update it, since it took so long to get it started (it was the last of the international ones to be launched).

    Americans: want a laugh, go to the canada store and check out the pricing in canadian dollars. You think your economy sucks, check out those $$$.

  20. Cheaper I book prices for Canadians!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Higher canadian dollar means $100-$200 reduction across the board!

    1. Re:Cheaper I book prices for Canadians!!! by mikeloader · · Score: 1

      For the iBook yes, but they didn't adjust their pricing across the board. The PB is still 1.6 x the US price while the iBook is now just 1.5 x the US price. I wish they'd adjust the Cnd pricing on other hardware.

  21. Re:iBooks not as disappointing as others by xWeston · · Score: 1

    Some of the new centrino (Pentium M) notebooks have been said to get 7 hours and a good majority of them claim 5-6 hours.

    The pentium M is the first chip by intel designed from the ground up to be a mobile processor. Very low voltage and doesnt run very hot. They are also pretty comparable to the P4 speeds in notebooks (although the mhz are way different).

  22. Go to IBM's Website by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and look at the technical specs of the G3 and you will see that they can provide a G3 processor running at 2Ghz, scales all the way up there.

    If IBM has these and Apple is worried about "Mhz" then something is wrong if you hold back the consumer product line just because the processor is far superior to moto's G4 but being used in the pro line.

    The quicker they can dump moto the better, then they can continue with the G3 (good processor imho considering its age but its ability to maximize battery life) right up till they reach those 2Ghz speeds.

  23. Because That's The 12" PowerBook by holygoat · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If they put all that stuff in the iBook, it would be competing against the pro model.

    The model you describe would even have more RAM and a higher processor speed (though no AltiVec).

    It would be a foolish move from a marketing point of view, and the internals would probably need a significant redesign to fit the differently-sized Airport Extreme card.

    So that's why.

  24. Small Speed Bump by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    The main reason Apple hasn't updated the iBooks to 1ghz, as someone was suggesting they do, is due to the confusion that would be created between the 1ghz PB and the iBook. Most consumers don't understand how different the G3 and G4 are. If the iBook has very similar features to the Powerbook, it would confuse a lot of their market.

    1. Re:Small Speed Bump by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Most consumers don't understand how different the G3 and G4 are.

      Yes, and many geeks don't either. Remember, for operations that don't make use of Altivec (or aren't optimized to do so), the G3 and G4 are pretty much equivalent clock for clock. Just as a random anecdotal example, my 600 MHz iBook and 733 MHz G4 tower render most scenes in povray in nearly the same time (usually less than 5% difference). Obviously I guess that means povray must not be Altivec optimized at all (and I imagine it could be). But the point is, a 900 MHz G3 is a damn fine machine, especially when compared with the price tag of any G4 powerbook - either 867 or 1000 MHz.

  25. Refurbished Deals more visible by jeblucas · · Score: 3, Informative
    That's where I've done my Mac shopping these last few years. You can find some real gems in there. I'm typing this message on an Apple refurbished Powerbook I bought last June-here's the specs:
    • 15.1" screen, 16MB ATI Rage
    • 667 MHz G4, 256 MHz L2, 133 MHz bus
    • 30GB HD, 512MB RAM (in bottom slot), Combo Drive
    • 2 USB, FireWire, PCMCIA, S-Video out, GigE, Airport
    • OS X and 9.2, Graphic Converter, OmniOutliner, OmniGraffle, Snapz Pro X, PixelNHance
    All for $2200! Had a scratch on the bottom. And you can get it with all the Apple Protection Plan you want, just like it was new. If you're a student, it gets knocked down by another 5% or so. Those Educational deals are more easily spotted as well in the new layout.

    The new design is busier for sure, but so is the rest of the web--hell, I can barely find the product I searched for on Amazon nowadays. They wanted more purchases on the front, trading "cleanliness" for "money."

    --
    blarg.
  26. iBook vs. Powerbooks by Onnimikki · · Score: 1

    Hey,

    does anyone know if the 12" and 17" powerbooks have the same keyboard-touches-screen-when-closed problem that my 15" 800 Mhz (bought October 2002) has? This was a problem since at least the release of the first TiBooks, as far as I know.

    My wife is looking at the 12" PowerBook or an iBook and I'd like to recommend one that she can close without worrying about putting a cloth over the keyboard.

    1. Re:iBook vs. Powerbooks by JonathanF · · Score: 1

      My understanding (from having seen one in person and having spoken to people in forums about it) is that at least the 12" PowerBook is fine in that regard, and the 17" PowerBook should be the same (same general keyboard and case design).

      You don't necessarily need a cloth for the keyboard, by the way: I have a standard 8.5-by-11 piece of paper for my 15" PowerBook, and I have yet to see marks despite a few months' use. You do occasionally have to replace the paper.

    2. Re:iBook vs. Powerbooks by osxuser-02 · · Score: 1

      I have a 14" iBook and the lid design is different than the TiBooks. The screen doesn't touch the keyboard. The 12" Powerbook has a similar case design to the 12" iBook and doesn't touch either. I don't know about the 17. I would imagine that if they addressed the issue with the 12", they would with the 17 also.

      --

      I went to college for this?...

    3. Re:iBook vs. Powerbooks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Here is something that might help your concern a little. I have seen everything from G3 powerbooks and G4 Ti's and iBooks do this. The problem, in the long run, is not that the keys touch the screen, it is that oils from your hands get onto the keys, and then if they touch the screen, they transfer. If they are not wiped off fast enough, they will actually soak into the protective film on the display, making the marks permenant. I hope this info will help anybody who sees this problem now or in the future, even if your keys touch, the marks are preventable. Good practice is to keep the screen clean, don't type with greasy fingers, and use a rag dampened with just a touch of windex every now and then and do a light cleaning of the keys.

    4. Re:iBook vs. Powerbooks by Dr+Reducto · · Score: 1

      the new 12 inch and 17 inch powerbooks have no problems with screen imprints. In the MacWorld where they review the 12 and 17, they bring that up and say it is not a problem, but I don't know about the iBooks.

    5. Re:iBook vs. Powerbooks by TClevenger · · Score: 1

      My Pismo (G3 Firewire) Powerbook has the same issue, as do several Toshiba models I've worked with. Seems a common problem among laptops in general.

  27. Re: MacMall Clutter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
    I agree that MacMall is cluttered. I'm an account manager for them (PCMall & MacMall), and I feel the same way. I don't want to sit and defend the clutter, but it is tough to advertise specials on roughly 150,000 products. Apple has it a bit easier only displaying their products, and a select few others. Again, I agree it's cluttered, I'm just offering my lame explanation.

    If anyone here is interested, I can get you at least somewhat of a discount on all of the PC/Mac equipment you're buying anyway. - Me

  28. RAM? by fm6 · · Score: 1

    Kind of sad that the hard-wired RAM is only 128K. Presumably they did it to keep the base price down (in particular, the price of the 12-incher down to $999.99) but it's still pretty irritating. You pretty much half to pay for a memory upgrade. And since there's only one memory upgrade slot...

    1. Re:RAM? by berniecase · · Score: 1

      Yeah, 128K would suck. Too bad it's actually 128M, which still sucks. 256M should be the minimum for any OS X computer.

    2. Re:RAM? by Chuck+Bucket · · Score: 2, Funny

      No kidding! My Apple //e had 64K, and now these iBooks only have TWICE that? After 20 years they should have made a bigger jump than that. (/me tries to image OS X booting with 128K)

      BTW: :)

      CB

      --
      free ipod and free gmail!
  29. Re: MacMall Clutter by lowmagnet · · Score: 1

    The biggest problem I have with Macmall is their print catalogues.

    First, every system page has about 9 squares of 'selling up' extra products like printers, RAM, etc. This should be limited to things directly related to the system.

    Second, everything has an exclaimation point after it. If I ended every sentence with an exclaimation point vocally, I'd scream all the time. Big turn-off

    Third, everything is 'ONLY $xxx'. It's not ONLY, sorry. Yes, I know that you display the only price for that product. That's cool and all, but I assume that the cost is limited to $xxx. 'Only' means nothing to me. It doesn't mean you beat all the competition. It just means you don't understand that price, not words sway people.

    Fourth, your memory installation prices are far from 'Free'. If I offered to take your free stick and wanted to install it myself, you wouldn't like that. The memory costs money, but I'm willing to bet the cost covers the memory, and you get the systems from Apple that way, nothing 'custom' about it.

    --
    Heute die Welt, morgen das Sonnensystem!
  30. Re: MacMall Clutter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Point(s) taken. I agree with all of your points, and have passed your feedback onto people that can actually do something about it.

    The one thing that I can comment on is the "free memory". You should know that nothing in this world is free, except for the free beer that I got at a bar a few weeks ago near my house. While it seems like a rip-off, it does list the price (albeit small print) for installing the memory. That sort of deal is aimed at people who aren't very tech-savvy, and don't want to mess with the install themselves. You can look at it as free memory - paid install or paid memory - free install.

    Also, about the 'custom' machines. We buy a bunch of each model machine from Apple - normally a bare-bones model. Then we offer specials for "free memory" or "free printer", etc. If you see that there is a custom config, it is physically getting taken out of the box and configured. A side note is we can do custom configures direct from Apple. So you could run through the Apple Store, config your system, email the specs, and I can order it for about 9% less than list from Apple Store.

  31. Give me a Dual Display feature... by henele · · Score: 1

    ... And I'd probably would have bought one of these...

    I can't think of any reason, other than differentiating the pro and consumer lines, to not include this feature in the iBooks, now they all pack 32MB Radeons...

    As it is I'll stick with my first rev. Dual USB and keep saving, and maybe my finances will get in phase with the 15.4 AluBook annoucement :)

    But if anyone can point towards any hacks to get iBooks dual displayin' please do :)

    1. Re:Give me a Dual Display feature... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      But if anyone can point towards any hacks to get iBooks dual displayin' please do :)

      Here you go!

    2. Re:Give me a Dual Display feature... by henele · · Score: 1

      Thanks! The 17inch iMac extending is very cool as well...

      I'm not sure why parent is modded down, I thought the battle between whining users and Apple's Engineers is part of any good hardware annoucement discussion, especially examples with cool solutions :)

      Thanks again..

  32. Plus, DDR video, ATA100, Faster CDR/RW, ... by BoomerSooner · · Score: 4, Informative

    runs OS 9 & OS 10, iLife, More Video Ram on low end model, 100MHz is 12.5% faster clock speed all for the same price.

    What's your beef again?

    I'm getting one of these for my wife (and it will be mine if she doesn't like it!).

    1. Re:Plus, DDR video, ATA100, Faster CDR/RW, ... by dadragon · · Score: 1

      Or, if you're Canadian, $200 less than before.

      I guess our currency has finally caught up with Apple. I compared the U.S. Apple store to the Canada Apple Store, and on the 12" PowerBook Superdrive, there is a $300 price discrepancy between the two stores.

      --
      God save our Queen, and Heaven bless The Maple Leaf Forever!
  33. Sure sign that Apple is ready to get rid of them. by gdarklighter · · Score: 1

    No Airport Extreme. No Bluetooth. No Firewire 800. All technologies that Apple has really been pushing. Apple is obviously ready to get rid of the iBook or totally revamp them. They've already gotten rid of the original iMac. This is the next logical step.

  34. Cluttered I guess by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wow thats really horrible. Are they afraid that visitors are not going to go any further then page one? There must be 300 links on the first page! Hard to believe that design was approved. They must be trying to prove to the public that there is a lot of Apple hardware and software to choose from.

  35. New Design by Fawad · · Score: 1

    It seems so far only the American store website has been redesigned. Apple europe is the same old design (which I prefer in a way, but then Apple knows better..)

  36. I wasn't disappointed. The perfect consumer laptop by mactari · · Score: 2, Interesting

    When reading the specs I initially thought about the same thing. Even though the high end is 80% faster than my 500 MHz iBook and has 24 more megs of VRAM, there isn't anything screaming for me to upgrade. No Airport extreme, no G4, no screamin' fast Firewire upgrades, no higher screen resolution, no G4, and sure as heck no Superdrive, not that I expected one.

    But for a new/prospective Mac user, the iBook continues to be a great value. The things really do have five hours of battery life. The design is wonderful, especially the 12" model, which is noticibly smaller and easier to carry than most of the x86 notebooks I see coworkers and students lugging around. And 802.11 reception with the built-in antennae puts PCMIA cards to shame. What's more, the 32 meg video card means you get to take advantage of Quartz Extreme. All together, the performance of OS X on a new iBook -- 80% faster than the iBook I'm using now (which, though slow, is my daily-use PC, not the 2 GHz P4 with WinXP sitting next to it) *plus* Quartz Extreme -- has to be decent for your typical home user, which is what the "i" in iBook is all about.

    The only place I can fault my old iBook is the speed of running complicated Java apps, like Java-based IDEs, which suggests to me I was in the market for a *Power*book all along, whether I come around to admitting it or not. Same with anything that needs a G4. If you're editing video 50% of the time your laptop's powered on, you need a Powerbook. For consumer needs -- email, browsing, word processing -- the iBook was and is the perfect laptop.

    And heck, when was not wanting to upgrade a bad thing? It's nice to finally have a Mac that doesn't feel horribly obsolete in a few years!

    --

    It's all 0s and 1s. Or it's not.
  37. Apple Store Improvements by PKFC · · Score: 1

    You can now control-click (or right-click) on the image maps on the main store site, select open page in new tab (or window) and it opens the page you want instead of doing nothing or opening the same page...

    Don't believe me? Compare and contrast:
    New Apple Store: http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/A ppleStore/
    Old Apple Store (in the form of Canada's Apple Store): http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/c anadastore

  38. They designed what? by gerardrj · · Score: 2, Funny

    that is quite possibly the worst layout for the store I could imagine. No, no... there's no blinking text or animated icons.

    "Let's throw one of every product line on the main screen. Make sure there are at least 30 images so modem users have to wait as long as possible. Use a low contrast color set of light blue text on a light gray background. And oh yea, let's really confuse everyone: instead of showing you the one product you click on, lets just show them all the products in the family in case they spontaneously change thier mind. And just so things are harder to find, be sure the page is at least three "screens tall so people have to do a lot of scrolling to find what they want."

    --
    Article X: The powers not delegated... by the Constitution...are reserved...to the people
  39. My iBook... by DannyiMac · · Score: 1

    My 500Mhz iBook is jealous.

    --
    - Danny
    1. Re:My iBook... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I also have a 500 MHz White iBook. Yes, there is a "jealousy" factor, but you need to think logically.

      1. Do you really need a bit more speed? The iBook is still quite usable.

      2. Battery life is very good.

      3. It is an extremenly QUIET machine. No fan noise or lap heat.

      4. You can put some money in the bank instead of throwing it at the bleeding edge.

      5. Your iBook is now well into the bottom of the bathtub curve. Reliability for at least two more years (not counting abusive handling) is very high.

      Just my 2 cents.

    2. Re:My iBook... by DannyiMac · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but my iBook is the one who is jealous... I'm still happy with it ;)

      --
      - Danny
  40. New era? by NaveWeiss · · Score: 1

    What new era were you talking about?

    --
    Slashdot community, please notice: I am looking for a girlfriend.
    Nave H. Weiss
    1. Re:New era? by DNA+Land · · Score: 0

      Madam, I'm Adam.

    2. Re:New era? by NaveWeiss · · Score: 1

      You are?

      --
      Slashdot community, please notice: I am looking for a girlfriend.
      Nave H. Weiss
    3. Re:New era? by muzthe42nd · · Score: 1

      no, he's a twat. say hello to slashdot's first palindromic troll.

      --
      Pfft - Sorry, what?
    4. Re:New era? by NaveWeiss · · Score: 1

      That does explain a lot. Thank you very much!

      --
      Slashdot community, please notice: I am looking for a girlfriend.
      Nave H. Weiss
    5. Re:New era? by DNA+Land · · Score: 0

      Dammit, I'm mad!

  41. Engrish by chasingporsches · · Score: 1

    scary thing is, that when i read it the first time it made perfect sense to me...