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RIP G4 PowerMac
squiggleslash writes "An a not entirely surprising move, Apple has taken the PowerMac G4 out of production (see the last few paragraphs of this interesting article in Mac Central about the new G5s.) The PowerMac G4 had continued to be in production largely for users of Mac OS 9, and it had been speculated it might be kept as a lower-end headless entry-level Mac. You can still buy them from the Apple Store, while stocks last. On a seperate note, it looks like the 3GHz G5 is a while away, and G5 PowerBooks are no nearer production."
An a not entirely surprising move
That this post is on Apple doesn't mean that 'I' should be kicked out and replaced with an 'A'.
"RIP G4 PowerMac"
Apple is taking an obsolete machine out of the market, that means they're dying!!!!
The rumor mill is currently predicting (backed up by a few off-the-record comments from Apple) that they'll be announced in January 2005 and be available for purchase shortly thereafter.
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It still lives on Slashdot- actually it's the Quicksilver G4 that still exists as the Apple Desktops topic icon.
Now that we're into the second generation of G5's I think an icon update is in order.
When I first got my 17" Powerbook, I was dreading my inability to boot into OS 9. After the first couple of months, I stopped missing my OS 9 apps, having found better OS X replacements. Every once in a while, I'd accidentally launch a Classic app, but that was rarely an issue. The only problems I see with OS X now is that it's slightly less secure (though much more stable and powerful), and power users such as myself may run into a lack of available applications for specific tasks. (Rasterizing NOAA vector maps, for example.)
I imagine we'll hear a few people here and there complain about needing to migrate to OS X, but I think the pros for dropping G4s from the line outweigh the cons. Besides, I have a feeling that, unless they require very specific compatibiliy with a legacy app that's no longer available, they're going to be fine. Now we're going to see price drops increase on these suckers dramatically, and suddenly a bunch of students and other low-income folks be able to afford a machine that they didn't think possible for their budget. I'll bet DealMac will be listing some price slashing within a couple of days.
"The PowerMac G4 had continued to be in production largely for users of Mac OS 9"
I believe that statement is mostly speculation. There are people, like myself, who need a low cost Mac that doesn't saddle them with a built in monitor. I have a single processor 1.25ghz G4 with 2 gigabytes of RAM and I am totally happy with it.
Hopefully, Apple will one day offer something like the eMac without a built in monitor.
This is only the low-end of 3 configurations, leaving both dual-processor G4s still in production.
I know a lot of people that were hoping dual G4s would come down in price when the G5s came out. I think it would be nice to have a low-end *upgradeable* (not iMac or eMac) tower offering from Apple. Perhaps the G4 could have filled that niche. Dual G4s in a mini tower maybe, plus the G5 powermac. Kind of like the iBook Vs. Powerbook. (Oh yeah there isn't much difference between them now.)
I know, I know. Apple needs to sell G5s in order for IBM to make faster ones, cheaper ones etc. Still an only dual processor offering from Apple would be neat.
I boycott signatures
Apple has always been certain not to offer any "new world" Macs in a tower case for less than $2000. It seems like a bad move, discouraging people from switiching into Apples, but at least they are consistent. I would have bought an Apple by now if they kept selling a Power Mac a generation or two behind in the $1000 range, but I will never buy the eMac/iMac style computers they offer for that price segment.
For great justice.
And to the people that responded saying that the system is not liquid cooled, well, you are wrong. (Although you are right in that the liquid isn't water). Apple didn't use a heat pipe. In heat pipes the liquid is evaporated (taking the heat away) and the resulting vapor is condensed by releasing the heat to the outside. The fluid motion is produced passively. In Apple's design apparently the fluid is always in liquid state and is actively pumped (controlled by the processor).
(Credit goes to TamMan2000 for the finding the last link and providing some info.)
This is, far and away, the stupidest subject of rumor I've ever heard.
This isn't a case in which Apple could build them (faster G5's, and a laptop with a G5 in it) if they wanted and they're just holding out for a business case. And this isn't a case where they're making incremental improvements to the design to get it just right.
Both a 3 GHz G5 and a laptop with a G5 in it are TECHNICAL IMPOSSIBILITIES at this time.
When they cease to be impossible, Apple will make them.
This whole "they'll be announced in January" thing is crap. Utter, utter crap. It's not a rumor. It's just a guess.
I write in my journal
The G5 heatsink is too big to put in a laptop
The G5 heatsink is too big to put in an iMac
Putting the big G5 heatsink anwhere but inside a Power Mac is a "heck of a challenge," according to an Apple marketing director
But we have also heard, in the past week, that the G4 iMac is no longer being shipped to Apple stores. So, is Apple just being coy here? Or is the iMac line going into hibernation?
Your guessing.
No, he's quoting. "Mac OS X dynamically adjusts the flow of the fluid and the speed of the fans based on temperature." How can you adjust the flow in a system that lacks any mechanism to regulate the flow?
The Apple diagram you linked to shows no pump.
LOL. The "diagram" is an illustration from a marketing brochure. You might as well say, "The diagram shows no floor. Therefore, the G5 floats unsupported above your desk."
This is hardly innovation.
So?
I write in my journal
we should say OS 9 is dead. The death of an entire OS is more notable than the change from 32 to 64 bit.
if so acourding to this it is a pump, thus proving you wrong.... something tells me based on how old the article is it most likely is this watercooling setup.
"Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."
Oh, and the exact same problem exists for 3GHz G5s. The current ones still use the 130nm 970, which was expected to be phased out in favour of the lower power and higher speed 90nm 970FX by now.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
I guess he means when the "motherboard fries". Still, if your Mac's still under warrenty, of course Apple would replace it. If it's not, that's your problem. It wouldn't be any different with a PC.
You might want to look at the Basilisk II port for OS X. It will emulate an old machine, and you can run up to System 8 I believe (never ran System 8 myself - I ducked out of Macs at 7.5.5 and came back in at Jaguar).
Cheers,
Ian
By discontinuing the G4 before Microsoft has released VirtualPC for the G5, isn't Apple telling a lot of people that it doesn't want their business?
Anyone who relies on a Windows-only product, and who could previously accommodate that need on a G4 running Virtual PC, will in the future need to buy a Windows PC.
Unless Apple is about to announce at WWDC its own G4-friendly Windows emulation, this could be a MAJOR step backwards for Apple among cross-platform users who prefer Apple but NEED access to Windows applications from time to time.
Best quote I've ever heard about the state of Classic Mac OS security, from a friend who really knows his shit:
"Sure, you're right, I can't break into OS 9. But I can't telnet into a fucking rock now, either, can I?"
True story.
If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
Heat.
The G5 puts out a decent amount of it. And it's great that they could cram it into an XServe. But the Xserve is about an inch and a half thicker, and can have 3 very loud very fast fans running to cool it off (sorry, Xserves just aren't quiet). By contrast, people bitch and moan about the low hum that comes from their powerbooks when the fan kicks in. So while it may be possible to cram a g5 into a powerbook, it isn't possible to release a G5 powerbook until stylisticaly and operationaly it runs better than the current powerbooks.
T Money
World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
Actually, it looks a whole lot like the G5s used in the new Power Mac are 90 nm.
a G4 case for cheap... would be great box to mod.
If you want further proof, take a look at either the PowerMac White Paper or the Technology and Performance Overview. (Both are linked from the PowerMac main page).
The CPU isn't the issue. The issue is the system controller. In the Power Mac G5, the system controller is an Apple-designed, IBM-fabbed ASIC that connects all the components of the system via HyperTransport. It's about half the size of a pop-tart and dissipates enough heat to keep your toes nice and toasty-warm.
I write in my journal