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Looking Ahead to Tiger, Powerbook G5s

Posted by michael on from the save-your-pennies dept.

sebFlyte writes "ZDNet is running a preview of Apple's newest version of OSX, Tiger, after Jobs said it was still on track for a q2 2005 release (long before Longhorn...)." And an anonymous reader writes "The Register is reporting that Powerbook G5s will ship in Q2 2005."

10 of 524 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Too hot? by Xpilot · · Score: 5, Funny

    Easy, just have marketing gussy it up as a "feature", not a bug.

    Powerbook G5! Not only does it have a 64-bit CPU, it makes you fried eggs and barbequed sausages for breakfast! Automatically!

    --
    "Backups are for wimps. Real men upload their data to an FTP site and have everyone else mirror it." -- Linus Torvalds
  2. Re:Too hot? by TheKidWho · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It could be that they are using the new freescale dual core G4 chipsets with on die memory controllers and 1mb L2 cache. They are supposed to be really really good with power consumption too.

  3. I can confirm the new Powerbooks... by bay43270 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I just bought a Powerbook G4, so you can expect the G5 announcement any day now.

  4. Re:64bit is new in OS X Tiger?! by HeghmoH · · Score: 5, Informative

    No, Mac OS X 10.3 and below are strictly 32-bit. They run on a 64-big G5 processor by virtue of the fact that the 64-bit PowerPC is 100% compatible with 32-bit code.

    --
    Mod down posts with a "Free Mac Mini/iPod" sig, they're spam!
  5. PB-G5 in 2Q 2005? Probably not. by Psykechan · · Score: 5, Informative

    After reading TFA, I don't think that we will have G5 laptops anytime within the first half of this year.

    It states that sources close to the Taiwan manufacturer claim they will ship. Aren't these the same sources that have been promising a Tablet Macintosh?

    It also states that there are the known heat problems, Apple saying it won't happen, and has a link to a more likely higher speed 90nm G4 (MPC7448) to be used in the newer models. This doesn't even factor in the fact that a G5 PowerBook would likely have been mentioned at the conference. It even suggests that the quoted source has made a typo!

    Is this hype that we should be reading on the front page? It's /. so of course!

  6. I Seriously Doubt It Because ... by Compulawyer · · Score: 5, Insightful
    1. Apple itself has called putting the G5 into a notebook "the mother of all engineering challenges." That doesn't mean that Apple hasn't overcome those challenges but ...
    2. Apple's usual policy when asked about new products is "no comment." It is unusual that Apple would expressly deny a product. Everyone KNOWS there will be a G5 notebook SOMEDAY, but ther question is WHEN? Given Apple's tremenndous stock run-up since August 2004, I think it more likely that Apple does not want premature rumours of a G5 PowerBook to cause a bubble effect on its stock price.
    3. The linked article ITSELF acknowledged that the original source may have mistakenly typed a "5" instead of a "4." It is far more likely that the iBook and PowerBook lines will get a speed bump, most likely announced at the upcoming WWDC.
    --

    Laws affecting technology will always be bad until enough techies become lawyers.

  7. Re:Too hot? by MajorDick · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yeah or TOASTED NUTS , depending on where you actually use your laptop....

    Chestnuts roasing on an open fire.....

    But seriously I Hold my laptop on my legs (away from my nuts) but now Ive got an 802 preN Even that make me nervous I swear I feel em tingling only when the card is active, my wife says it because Ive got balls of steel and its the RF Interferance, maybe true but how long before the get roasted my em radiation....

  8. Re:Question by TylerL82 · · Score: 5, Funny

    If you buy a Mac or Panther AFTER THE OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT OF A RELEASE DATE, you will get Tiger for $20.

    Tiger hasn't been formally announced yet, so you will not get it for free(cheap) if you buy now.

    So, in conclusion, wait until Tiger comes out.
    No, wait!
    Wait another 2 years for Lion.
    And another 2 for Tabby.
    And another...
    On second thought, don't buy a Mac until Apple stops releasing OS X upgrades completely. That way you'll never have to buy another OS again!

    You're much better off buying an Etch-A-Sketch. I hear there's no update coming for those ever.

  9. Tiger commercial idea by allanc · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm envisioning a longhorn cow grazing stupidly in a field. A tiger sneaks up and noisily devours it.

    Then, later, RedHat could make a competing commercial. Same thing happens, except after the tiger attack, a fat little penguin waddles up and eats the tiger.

    --AC

  10. Re:Too hot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    One data point: Apple employees get an email about once a quarter with things they can buy at a discount - informally called "qpromo". The current qpromo is selling off all sizes of Powerbooks. Generally, qpromo is used to sell off something that's about to be upgraded or revved. For example, I bought my 15" titanium Powerbook through qpromo, and a month or two later they brought out a titanium Powerbook with a higher screen resolution and a faster processor. The next time titanium Powerbooks appeared on qpromo was just before it was replaced by the aluminium 15" Powerbook. The presence of all sizes of Powerbooks in qpromo hints strongly at either a speed rev or a totally new processor.