Apple Updates PowerBooks

Tablespork writes "Apple this morning has updated the PowerBook G4. The new models feature 1.5 or 1.67 ghz processors, 8x superdrives, 512MB memory standard, Bluetooth 2.0, updated graphics cards, a sudden motion sensor, as well as a scrolling trackpad. Looks like we'll have to wait a little longer for the PowerBook G5."

Comments

Dont forget

[TheKidWho]

the 15" and 17" can now drive 30" cinema displays!

And optical audio out on the 17"

Plus, brighter backlight, better prices and 5400rpm drives across the board.

Now where is my powerbook G5 damnit!

Re:Dont forget

[Ford Prefect]

Now where is my powerbook G5 damnit!

Tuesday, duh.... ;-)

Re:Dont forget

[for_usenet]

You'll probably see a Freescale G4 CPU with an embedded memory controller before you see a G5 in one of these.

One of the primary advantages of the G5 over the G4 was the memory bus speed, and also also the reason that most Pentium and Athlon chips were kicking the G4's ass ... However, if Freescale can harness this benefit (an on-die memory controller) without a lot of the other power-hungry features of the G5, we'd probably have not only a neat laptop CPU, but probably a chip that plays the same role against the G5 that the Pentium-M does against the Pentium-4. I'd really like to see the outcome of this... I thought I read somewhere that this was one option Freescale was looking into for the G4 line...

G5 PowerBook - Keep Waiting

[Matt Clare]

Not surprising that Apple would do this. They needed to keep the line fresh while they attempt the Herculean task of getting a super hot, server-oriented G5 chip into a PowerBook.

Tablespork, you must have been the only one

[karmaflux]

Who still expected a G5 Powerbook any time this year. TOO MUCH HEAT, PEOPLE. I don't care how strong the Apple engineers' kung-fu is, there's just no way to cram the G5 into that small a form factor without melting the keyboard. Give it some time, and it'll happen. But not soon.

Re:Tablespork, you must have been the only one

[NicolaiBSD]

But.. but.. I heard from somebody who read some story on some website about some company having a 1x1 pixel placeholder jpg with "g5" in its title, so the G5 powerbook will be released very soon! ..Right?

Re:Tablespork, you must have been the only one

[Daniel Dvorkin]

Every single time any CPU (x86, PowerPC, SPARC, whatever) gets faster, someone always asks the question, "Does anyone really need this?"

And the answer, ultimately, is always, "Yes."

Re:Tablespork, you must have been the only one

[LWATCDR]

I was thinking in terms of a notebook. Just like everything else CPUs should not be judged on just one features. Think of cars. Do you always buy the fastest car? What about gas mileage, handling, breaking, or room? In a notebook and now even in PCs other things such as heat/power and cost are factors. For a notebook a G5 maybe a bad trade off. The G4 for most people is a better trade off. As I posted I wonder if Apple might jump right over the G5 in notebooks to something based on the CELL cpu that IBM is developing.
I was thinking. Since Microsoft is moving the XBox to the PowerPC is there a chance that we will see a special version of the CELL? Maybe even a CELL that is modified to emulate the x86 at very high speed to act as a bridge away from x86? Frankly now that Longhorn is going to drop all DOS support this seems like a good time to make the move. With windows running in native mode the emulation speed could be very good.

Re:Tablespork, you must have been the only one

[daviddennis]

As someone who does heavy video editing, I can say that a 1ghz PowerBook G4 will perform flawlessly for any video editing task not involving heavy compositing. You'll see instant previews for everything that matters (dissolves, simple superimpositions, etc).

A G5+ processor is indispensible if you're converting from one video format to another (like when someone gives you a video screen capture that needs to be integrated) or when you're doing compositing (layering of images). In my experience, most of those are best done on the dual processor G5 in any event, and a dual processor G5 is unlikely to ever land in a laptop since the heat and power consumption problems are too difficult.

But the cold truth - in my opinion, anyway - is that few true Apple obsessives want to feel left out from the G5 revolution and so we are holding back from buying G4 PowerBooks because we just know it will be downright embarassing to have last year's model when the G5 PowerBook comes out.

In a sense this is very good because the flood of orders that will come when the new PowerBook G5 is introduced keep Apple in business. At the same time, it's a kind of sad testament to the power of ego in human life.

D

Re:Tablespork, you must have been the only one

[ArbitraryConstant]

" I was thinking in terms of a notebook. Just like everything else CPUs should not be judged on just one features. Think of cars. Do you always buy the fastest car? What about gas mileage, handling, breaking, or room? In a notebook and now even in PCs other things such as heat/power and cost are factors. For a notebook a G5 maybe a bad trade off. The G4 for most people is a better trade off."

The G5 is a bad tradeoff at the moment, but the G4 is bad as well. I agree G4s may be appropriate for iBooks, but these are PowerBooks, and the slow bus simply precludes their use in many applications. The Centrino platform from Intel has lower power usage and dramatically better performance (particularly with the FSB), and it's only going to get worse with Centrino II.

Apple needs upgraded PowerBooks. Very soon.

Re:Tablespork, you must have been the only one

[InvalidError]

OS/2 2.0 was a joint project between Microsoft and IBM. When the two "divorced", IBM continued to use the OS/2 brand and Microsoft forked its side of things into what would become NT's starting point.

Having common origins does not mean one has to stick to the original's APIs, file systems and other implementation details. The current Linux kernel probably looks and behaves like it has no relation with the 1.0 code as well.

Re:Hmm

[TheKidWho]

You can scroll with the trackpad now in an ipod esque manner. Of course many PC laptops have had scrolling built into the trackpad, this new feature on the powerbooks might prove to be interesting.

Ohh and it is different from other features by the fact that first of all, it requires both fingers on the track pad, secondly you can either scroll up or down, left or right, or you can scroll in a circle.

I dunno, but on the portables I dont find ctrl+clicking to be that bad mainly because one of my hands is already in that general area ontop of the ctrl key, and the other hand on the trackpad.

Can't wait for ....

[Anonymous Coward]

Great, can't wait for the article about some guy trying to stuff a pc laptops guts into the 12" PB and claiming success even though you have to use an external optical drive and use two little wires to connect the battery that will no longer fit, but it works damnit!

Re:Can't wait for ....

[pmc]

Well, they could do that I suppose, but the Apple case is rather big so it would rattle about. An IBM X40 is 10.5 X 8.3 X 0.95 against 10.9 X 8.6 X 1.18 for the 12in power book. It is also lighter. The X40 has a smaller volume than the Mac Mini - and includes a Screen, Keyboard, Touchpad and Trackpoint.

Trying to fit an Apple 12" G4 powerbookin a X40 case would be tricky....

Sudden Motion Sensor

[SlashCrunchPop]

Now every PowerBook G4 is equipped with Apple's Sudden Motion Sensor to help protect your most valuable asset: your data. The Sudden Motion Sensor senses change in axis position and accelerated movement. In the event of a drop or fall, the Sudden Motion Sensor instantly parks the hard drive heads so they wont scratch the disks on impact, lessening the risk of damage and improving your chances of retrieving valuable data. When the Sudden Motion Sensor senses your PowerBook is once again level, it unlocks the hard drive heads automatically.

This sounds like a cool feature, can anyone confirm from personal experience that it really works?

Re:Sudden Motion Sensor

[Timo_UK]

...and it invalidates the warranty instantly. Now they have proof that you have dropped it!

Re:Sudden Motion Sensor

[frankthechicken]

Indeed I have. Today I experimented by dropping PowerBook G4's (PB G4) from various heights, hammering a nail into a piece of maple with the PB G4, and finally attempting to bat against the Australian bowling attack using the PB G4.

From these test, I can only conclude that Apple is falsely advertising the merits of the Sudden Motion Sensor, in each and every case, not only was the data corrupted, the PB G4 broken beyond all recognition, but the most staggering result being the complete destruction of my bank account.

Please take these experimental results as a note of severe caution when purchasing your next computer.

Re:Sudden Motion Sensor

[haluness]

It works on an IBM thinkpad

Re:Sudden Motion Sensor

[strelitsa]

Count your lucky stars that Windows is NOT the OS here.

(annoying popup)

"Hi! I'm Clippy the official Microsoft paper fastener mascot! It looks like you are trying to use your computer while in a vehicle that is in motion. Are you:"

- Wardriving? Unauthorized use of a wireless connection is a federal offense, buster. Just so ya know.

- Operating your computer while talking on a cell phone, using an electric razor, applying chapstick, and drinking a latte? Get a friggin' chauffeur.

- About to throw up? Turn your head - its not easy to get used penne pasta alfredo out of a laptop keyboard.

Re:Sudden Motion Sensor

[NetJunkie]

It works. My Thinkpad T42P has it. If you move it too much you'll see the icon in the tasktray change and sometimes hear the drive park the heads. It is configurable so you can turn it off. If you more it a lot, say when I grab it off the coffee table quickly, some things slow down. Video will skip if it's not buffered enough, etc.

It also adjusts to constant steady motion, like a car or train. It's pretty neat and I think a very worthwhile feature. I use my PB around the office going from place to place in the data center a lot. I'd like it on that.

Re:Sudden Motion Sensor

[sjwrick]

Is this one of those don't try this at home stories?

Re:Sudden Motion Sensor

[nuggetman]

apple care doesn't cover accidental insurance

Re:Sudden Motion Sensor

[Niten]

One of my roommate's professors was talking a little while ago about a similar motion-detecting feature in the IBM Thinkpads which was supposed to protect the hard drive in the event of a fall. According to whatever studies or experiments this professor cited, between the time it takes for the sensor to realize the computer had been dropped and the time it takes to park the hard drive, these things simply weren't effective for falls of under five feet or so.

Does anybody have any (slightly more informed) comments on this claim? If true, might this apply to the PowerBook's system as well?

When are they going to update the Mac mini?!

[SamSeaborn]

I've been waiting forever for them to update the Mac mini.

Come one! Get to it Apple people!

;-)

Sam

Scrolling trackpad

[kingLatency]

I think this is a great feature to have. For those interested in such a feature on an older PowerBook (which I was), check out SideTrack, software that will allow you to set the edge of your trackpad to be a scrolling area. Good on Apple to include this standard, and the two-finger idea seems neat.

Re:Scrolling trackpad

[TheRaven64]

I'd be careful of installing SideTrack. It's a kernel extension, and I found it to have a seriously detrimental effect on system stability (I needed to reinstall to fix it). Of the two other PowerBook users I know, one experienced the same thing (the other uses SideTrack and swears by it).

Re:Eh

[TheKidWho]

1.5ghz vs 1.2ghz
64mb geforce vs 32mb radeon
512ram vs 256ram
167bus vs 133 bus
5400rpm 60gb HD vs 30gb HD
DVI out vs mirror VGA
Having the powerplug on the same side as all the other ports vs the way the ibook has it which makes it slighlty uncomfortable to use on its side
motion sensing vs nothing

I dunno, these new 12" powerbooks look like a great deal to me, especially for $1400 with a student discount!

price drop

[jxyama]

prices dropped as well, by $100, i believe.

12" used to be $1599, now it's $1499.

Re:price drop

[FHMyles]

That's what I was hoping for too, but it still doesn't justify a PowerBook for me. I'm quite happy with my combination of big, rugged x86 desktop with small, light but still quite peppy Apple laptop (I've got a 12" iBook from the most recent generation, 1.2GHz G4 with 512MB of RAM) because I never really *need* to do any really demanding stuff while mobile. I find PDAs aren't enough, but this lil number is plenty powerful enough for e-mail, IRC, web browsing and a bit of light gaming with plenty of battery time. (I can get about 4.5 hours while using 802.11g networks and I can play a solid two hours of World of WarCraft off the battery, with all graphical options turned way down but completely playable framerates). And I got all this for a little more than $1400 CDN. (bought Kingston RAM, not Apple branded)

For many people I know, especially students like me, the G4 iBook is perfect alongside our homebuilt PC desktops. The only guys I know who can justify PowerBooks are my friend who works at a video production shop and need to work while moving around (12" PBG4) and another who's a music student and uses his as his only computer and for taking around for recording, mixing and editing at gigs. (17" PBG4) The PowerBooks are wonderful for those kind of people, but for us less-demanding (and less financially able) folks, we're fine with our iBooks, thanks, and we'll take battery life over bleeding-edge power any day.

Re:Too bad...

[capmilk]

That's not bad at all. You really don't want to buy the first generation of an Apple product. Remember the first Powerbook G3? Or the first Powerbook G4?
See, you want something like those current Powerbooks which are thoroughly tested.

Why use a tiny keyboard on the 17"?

[Andy_R]

The 17" machine is wide enought to fit a full-sized keyboard, but it still comes with the same cramped minature one as the 12" machine has. I'd be far more likely to buy one if Apple fixed this.

Re:Why use a tiny keyboard on the 17"?

[frankie]

Um... the keyboard is NOT tiny. Hold a standard keyboard up against an AlBook, you'll see that the main keys are exactly the same width.

Yes, I suppose on the 17" they could have gone wild and put in full-height arrow keys, maybe even a number pad. But the keyboard is already normal size.

Re:Why use a tiny keyboard on the 17"?

[Andy_R]

While the point about not sitting centrally is definitely valid, take a look at this picture of the 15" machine and compare it to the standard Apple keyboard. The inverted T is half-height, the function keys are half height (and not all 15 are there), there is no numeric pad, no pageup/down/home/end/help/del block, the return is single height not double, the control alt, space and apple keys are smaller than usual, there is an extra key to the left of the spacebar and the gaps betwen all the blocks that I'm used to on my desktop mac keyboard (which, incidentally measures 17" across) have gone.

I can see why they have had to compromise like this on the 12" machine, but the 17" could have been far closer to the desktop layout, if not identical. Learning the new layout is certainly possible, and after a bit of use I'm sure it would feel 'just right', but why do I need to relearn when the extra space is there?

Re:Why use a tiny keyboard on the 17"?

[dhuff]

I'm all for this. The otherwise rather poor quality Dell that I use at work has a gorgeous 125 dpi screen. Bright, decent colors, etc...

So when is Apple gonna upgrade the dim, washed-out, and kinda "soft" looking LCDs on the iBooks and 12" Powerbooks ? Hell, it's an embarrassment - esp. in comparison to even some cheap, crappy Dell...

Re:Why use a tiny keyboard on the 17"?

[BaseSequence]

I have the 17" PowerBook, and the keyboard is its only flaw (and a big one at that). The half-height function and cursor keys are awkward, and you have to hold down the "fn" key for such rare combinations as "home" and "page down". Furthermore, most function keys by default are used for feature management (e.g. speaker volume and brightness) so you also need to hold down "fn" to access the raw function key mapping. I tried an extension to reverse the function key "fn" requirement, but it resets whenever you (gasp) unsleep your portable. All this makes accessing keyboard combinations in a dev environment unworkable. A rare instance of bad design from Apple. (BTW, first post! [for me at least])

Re:Why use a tiny keyboard on the 17"?

[nottsp1]

They keyboards on the 12 thru 17 models are all the same size, purely for cost efficiency. They are, in fact, 'full size' keyboards, although the minor keys (arrows, directions, some modifiers) are smaller. What is interesting is the area of the trackpads... Apple seems to maintain proportions between screen size and trackpad surface area.

You forget something

[kanweg]

Bluetooth 2.0+EDR 1 Gbit Ethernet on top models Firewire 800 Airport extreme (802.11g) is built in (no additional cost) My (2) employees have iBooks. Next time I buy them PowerBooks. Bert

Re:Hmm - One Mouse Button

[malcomvetter]

All those artsy "mac-only" people have a hard time with their left's and right's ... so in the interest of a simple UI we have the reft mouse button, er, the light mouse button ... I mean ... the mouse button.

Two-finger scroll

[American AC in Paris]

Now there's a nifty little way to do one's scrolling with the trackpad--use one finger, it's a pointing device; two, and it behaves like a scroll wheel. If it works as advertised, it'll be a far cry better than the "scroll zone" trackpad hacks out there today...

Re:Two-finger scroll

[moonbender]

Eh, I wouldn't be too sure about that. I've got a budget laptop (Averatec), and it supports three pressure points. Only in Linux, though, the Windows driver doesn't seem to make use of it. Anyway, if my cheap laptop has that kind of a touchpad I figure most current models do.

Re:Two-finger scroll

[nuggetman]

Two fingers is used specifically for scrolling quickly (e.g. tap the upper right corner of the pad, then the bottom right to get to the bottom of a page)

This is slightly different
Dragging one finger across the pad acts as a normal movement moition of the pointer
Dragging two fingers up/down or left/right will drag the scroll bar

Potentially off-topic question

[RLiegh]

Given how expensive new macs are, is there any resources for getting decently new ones used at a good price? I don't mean ebay, either (I've had too many bad experiences with them).

Re:Potentially off-topic question

[zaren]

Apple's online store has a "Special Deals" section where they sell refurbs. You can also try Smalldog - they're a pretty reputable reseller of older / refurb gear.

Re:don't forget the dual link DVI port

[capmilk]

You're right! Why get a 30" stationary display when you can have a 30" Powerbook?

The Screens?

[LighthouseJ]

Looking at the 17" model, it specifies the screen as having 1440x900. My Dell i8600 with WSXGA has a 15.4" screen (same display aspect ratio too) with 1680x1050. The 15" model has a 15.2" screen with 1280x854, if you want to compare as closely as possible. Is it just me or does Apple not seem to have the best deal here? Apple has been known as the machine to do graphics on but it doesn't lead the class as far as display resolution in a given area?

I'm not trying to Troll or Flamebait here but it just doesn't sound like the best deal out there to me.

Re:The Screens?

[slamb]

Looking at the 17" model, it specifies the screen as having 1440x900. My Dell i8600 with WSXGA has a 15.4" screen (same display aspect ratio too) with 1680x1050. The 15" model has a 15.2" screen with 1280x854, if you want to compare as closely as possible. Is it just me or does Apple not seem to have the best deal here? Apple has been known as the machine to do graphics on but it doesn't lead the class as far as display resolution in a given area?

I think this is a deliberate choice. Apple seems to have the idea of an ideal DPI - see this page, which says "After years of experience, Apple engineers have discovered the ideal resolution to display both sharp text and graphics -- a pixel density of about 100 pixels per inch (ppi)." If my trig is correct, a 1680x1050 screen with a diagonal width of 17" has a horizontal width of arccos(tan(900/1440)) * 17" ~= 13", and a DPI of 1440/13" ~= 110, so this PowerBook is already over their ideal.

In the long run, Apple is clearly wrong - if you have high-resolution images and can scale them any way you like, there's no reason not to display that detail. But for now, scaling probably isn't a good idea. In addition to having to change all the software for it, you'd probably be upscaling slightly, at odd ratios. It would make the images look worse. And having more resolution but not rescaling just means that the icons are smaller and harder to see. I think Apple made the right choice for the short term.

I'm using a 17" PowerBook right now, and for what it's worth, I'm fairly happy with the resolution.

Re:The Screens?

[illumin8]

Looking at the 17" model, it specifies the screen as having 1440x900. My Dell i8600 with WSXGA has a 15.4" screen (same display aspect ratio too) with 1680x1050. The 15" model has a 15.2" screen with 1280x854, if you want to compare as closely as possible. Is it just me or does Apple not seem to have the best deal here? Apple has been known as the machine to do graphics on but it doesn't lead the class as far as display resolution in a given area?

One thing that a lot of PC laptop users might understand is that smaller pixels is not always better. Apple sells to a lot of graphics and design professionals that are used to 100 dpi resolution, and that is the nice thing about Apple displays. They always maintain 100 dpi resolution across the board, no matter what size you buy. It's very important to note that a lot of applications (especially in Windows) don't scale fonts properly so viewing some things on a 14" screen that is 1600x1200 can be painful sometimes. I've marvelled at some of the Dell laptops that have very high resolution LCDs, but I don't think I'd want to work on one for an extended period of time. I think it would hurt my eyes after a while.

Re:The Screens?

[extra88]

Looking at the specs for current Dell UltraSharp LCDs (link may expire), viewing angle is the *only* thing Apple's LCDs have over the UltraSharps. I know earlier UltraSharp models were not as good as the current ones but were still better than Apple's. The brightness and contrast ratio of the UltraSharps are superior to Apple's LCDs and I think for most people those are more important values than viewing angle.

I'm comparing them to Apple Cinema Displays because I haven't found good information about the 'Book LCDs but I believe they're comparable. I think folks would have a cow if the screen on a new PowerBook was noticably superior to a new Cinema Display.

Re:The Screens?

[Cmdr TECO]

There have been reports that Apple is moving toward resolution-independent display.

Re:The Screens?

[Dr. Sigmund Freud]

Digitimes had an interesting article about visual acuity and pixel density. This issue was further thrashed out over at ArsTechnica a while ago (I don't have a link - search there if you want to read the original discussion), but here are some of the salient points:

Digitimes claims that 0.23 mm is about the lower end of the sweet spot for pixel pitch and the upper end is about 0.28 mm for the average person. The ideal pixel pitch is about 0.25 mm for most people and current OSes. 200 ppi is the limit of visual acuity for most people at average working distances. 110 ppi is the upper limit that most people like, (BTW this value is increasing with time.) Although people do gravitate to higher pixel densities when looking at a spec sheet, the industry agrees that most would probably be happier (or as happy at least) with 110ish ppi and not higher.

1600x1200 on a 15" laptop works out to 133 ppi which is far too high for most people (0.196 mm pixel pitch)
1600x1200 on a 14.1" screen works out to 142 ppi which is just insane (0.179 mm pixel pitch)
1680x1050 for a 17" screen, may still be just a little too high for most folks at 117 ppi (0.217 mm pixel pitch)

Apple's current laptop offerings tend to be between 0.24 and 0.254 mm pixel pitch (which is within the limits or the Digitime numbers of 0.23 and 0.28):

12.1: 1024x768 (106 ppi) or (0.24 mm pixel pitch)

14.1: 1152x864 (102 ppi) or (0.249 mm pixel pitch)

15.0: 1280x800 (101 ppi widescreen) or (0.251 mm pixel pitch)

15.2: 1280x854 (101 ppi widescreen) or (0.251 mm pixel pitch)

15.4: 1366x768 (102 ppi widescreen) or (0.249 mm pixel pitch)

17.0: 1400x900 (100 ppi widescreen) or (0.254 mm pixel pitch)

YMMV with what you like (young eyes, glasses, work environment, work applications {graphics, spreadsheat, text} ...)

Re:Worst Mod EVER

[geoffspear]

It's flamebait because the sole purpose of posting a comment about the mac's one button on slashdot is to generate a string of flaming replies. It's been discussed at great length, with everyone calling anyone on the other side either a brainwashed mac zealot or an idiot who can't figure out how to use a control key or plug in a different mouse, and nothing productive is going to come of the discussion.

Flamebait or troll is certainly the right moderation. Possibly offtopic, as the powerbook doesn't even come with a mouse.

G4 PowerBooks are already fine

[kurt555gs]

I have a 12" PowerBook, I love it. I was just on Groklaw and PJ admited she uses a PowerBook.

I would love a G5 laptop except for 2 things.

1: Battery life. All that heat has to come from an energy source, so unless you have jumper cables hooked to a huge Cat Battery, the G5 oven will not last long.

2: Heat. I have a Dual G5 PowerMac, and when CPU usage starts to go up, I hear all 6? 7? fans spooling up like some scene for the old movie "Strategic Air Command" getting a 50's SAC bomber ready for take off. This is not what I want in a lappy.

Besides, how fast does a lappy need to be. I love my PowerBook, and I'll bet everyone that has a PowerBook will say the same thing. It is a product that is just right, it really is.

Cheers

I need the 2nd Button!

[Ironsides]

You don't need a right mouse button. Of course, you can use a mouse that has a right mouse button and a mouse wheel, and they all will be supported by Mac OS X, but you don't really need them (at least the right mouse button).

Dude, of course you need a right mouse button. And a scroll wheel. How else are you going to change weapons and use the alt-fire in Unreal and other FPSs?

Whodunnit first?

[gandell]

Didn't IBM introduce this feature on their laptops a few months ago?

Re:Whodunnit first?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes.

IBM Active Protection System

IBM Active Protection System is available on many ThinkPad X, T and R Series models and features an integrated motion sensor that continuously monitors movement of the ThinkPad notebook. Like an airbag's sensor, it can detect sudden changes in motion and temporarily stop the hard drive to protect your valuable data from some crashes due to everyday notebook accidents. This ThinkVantage Technology provides up to four times greater impact protection than systems without this feature, thereby helping to decrease employee down-time and reduce support cost.

It is a sad day when the 'innovators' at Apple have to resort to imitation of the PC world.

Re:Whodunnit first?

[moonbender]

On a more positive note, at least Apple manages to describe the technology without resorting to buzzwords ("Active Protection System", "ThinkVantage Technology") or made-up statistics ("up to four times greater impact protection").

That said, the new Powerbooks do feature "PowerPC G4 processors with Velocity Engine".

Re:Whodunnit first?

[TheRaven64]

Yes. Which makes me slightly suspicious of Apple's claim in the press release that it is patent pending. Although it may come under some kind of cross-licensing deal IBM and Apple have - if so, I don't know whether it will transfer to the new owners of the ThinkPad brand.

Re:Whodunnit first?

[Lars T.]

Apple aims to patent fall-detecting iPod

The patent:

An improved media player anda method for operating a portable computing device(e.g., media player) are disclosed. According to one aspect, a portable computing device is able to protect its disk drive when being subjected to undesired levels of acceleration . The portable computing device protects its disk drive by monitoring for such accelerations and operating to avoid usage of the disk drive during periods of acceleration. Through such protection, the likelihood of damage to the disk drive or loss of data stored on the disk drive is able to be substantially reduced. According to another aspect, a user of a portable computing device can be alerted when the portable computing device is being subjected to undesirable levels of acceleration.

Filed: June 16, 2003

Fingering the Trackpad

[NaughtyNimitz]

Oh my god, i am still looking for that G5-spot while using my two fingers...

Of course

[lexarius]

I can explain why this speedbump occured when it did: I just bought one of the previous models this month. They're just doing it to spite me.

Re:Of course

[papasui]

Just in case someone did actually purchase one in the last 10 days Apple does have a policy to trade it back in for the new model.

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.

And just for the record I switched to an Apple two years ago from using pcs since the 286 all my life and I wonder why I waited so long. If your thinking about switching, do it. OS X really is that great. The only thing that I can honestly say PCs have going for them that is better is the game selection, but all the really good ones do come out for the mac (but it takes a few months usually). But that's why I have a ps2 and a Gamecube.

Re:Of course

[AragornSonOfArathorn]

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.

To clarify, that is NOT a trade-in policy, it is a price-matching policy. You can't return something unless it is defective without paying a restocking fee.

I tried to do this with my 15gb iPod, which I purchased right before the current model came out. I tried to exchange it for a 20GB model that was selling at the same price as my 15gb was the week before. They wouldn't let me return it without paying a restocking fee, but they did give me about $50 back to match the markdown they gave to the remaining stock of 15GB ipods.

Welcome to 2005.

[Anonymous Coward]

The G5 heat problem has been solved with the latest rev.

Its just an industrial design problem at this point to make the case look nice.

Stop making excuses for Apple. These PB's you see will be the last with a G4. The PB line is just old and creaky at this point. You would only buy one right now if there is some reason where you *HAVE* to have a PB (i.e. you use one for work and your current PB is stolen).

But if you can wait 6 months, it would intelligent to wait, because you'll get something that doesn't sport a 3 year old design.

Finally got the RAM right

[frankie]

I'm more glad they finally installed the right amount of RAM: 512MB on a single stick. First off, no Mac should ship with 256MB, especially not a "pro" machine. Second, last year's high-end models came with 2x256MB sticks, which means you lose half of it when you upgrade. Adding a 512MB stick (for 768 total) was severely value-deficient, and unfortunately 1GB SO-DIMMs are still at a nasty price premium.

Re:Finally got the RAM right

[TheKidWho]

Only on the 12" and that is because the 12" has 256mb RAM soldered onto the logic board.

The 15" and 17" come with 512mb ram on one stick.

Re:Finally got the RAM right

[Alan Partridge]

They don't give you a desk with it either. How are you supposed to use a desktop PC without a desk?

Apple are just taking the piss!

Re:Unequal Articles under Slashdot

[bmalnad]

Parent has been modded down to -1 troll, but he does have a point here. I don't ever recall seeing a post about a new Dell Latitude or Inspiron that runs 0.2 GHz faster than the previous model. I could see posting for an entirely new model, or at least one with a new generation of processor, but why make such a big deal about a minor upgrade?

This is the g5

[darkmeridian]

Look at the AdBlock elements: one of the links on the page: http://switch.atdmt.com/action/apple_g5_powerbook

Yup. Remember this thing about how there was going to be a new G5 Powerbook? Hehe.

Re:don't forget the dual link DVI port

[Torulf]

The most impressive part of that laptop is the CD drive. I mean, look at it. It's large enough to use old vinyl LPs! Maybe we have another Apple breakthrough here. Picture yourself ripping vinyls to iTunes with that machine.

The SMS

[Illserve]

Nice idea and I hope it works.

But it's the kind of gadgety feature I can imagine going bonkers and effectively shutting down your computer until you send it in for a refit.

Ordered my PBG4 last week as a 1.33Ghz...

[r0d3nt]

...with an estimated ship date of 02-18-05. This morning after the announcement from the order status page.

PBG4 15.2/1.5/512/80/COMBO/APX-USA
Open Est. Ship 02/09/2005

W00T!

I've ordered system before on the verge of an announcement of new Apple systems. When the order arrived, it was the newer announced system, with slight upgrades from the original order.

Looking forward to some PowerBook G4 goodness!
Way freakin' cool!

Not Too Bad for me

[evolutionaryLawyer]

I had put in an order for a 15" powerbook, on friday, (I didn't believe in a G5book) and checking my order status today, apple upgraded everything in the order, and dropped the price. they even dropped about a week off the ship date. Pretty happy with them right now.

Re:Not Too Bad for me

[jcostantino]

Same here, I ordered a 15" PB and two 17" PBs (sadly, none for myself) and called my rep who assured me that not only would we get the newer machines but the lead time was shortened to 1-3 days. Bonus!

(Goes back to using antiquated Inspiron 4100)

Still not as nice as the TiBooks

[corporatemutantninja]

I bought an aluminum G4 PowerBook 15" to replace my TiBook, mostly for the faster processor, backlit keyboard, and acceptable WiFi reception. But I still use the old unit sometimes, and whenever I do I'm immediately struck with how beautifully made it is. It's slightly smaller, the keyboard and trackpad feel nicer...it's really a design masterpiece. It just makes me happy to be using it. The new enclosure gets the job done but Jonathan Ives really took a step back with it.

12" still crippled

[Johnny Mozzarella]

Apple still is crippling the 12 " PB by not including
- Gigabit Ethernet
- FireWire 800
- backlit keyboard

OK the backlit keyboard just looks cool but why can't they at least make these optional?

I have a 15" but would have liked to have gotten the 12" if it had better specs. The only real advantage the 12" PowerBook has over an iBook is the dual screen capabilities. Even that can be hacked into the iBook.

Re:12" still crippled

[dcocos]

I'm with you on the back lit keyboard, but as for calling it crippled, I'm not so sure, I personally don't know of any people who use GB ethernet. For me the key Powerbook specs are the DVD burner on the 12inch and that that the PB can drive DVI out so I can use it with my projector. After carrying around a 12in for a while the 15in seems big and heavy.

Re:12" still crippled

[MoneyT]

Connect two laptops together with a CAT 6 patch cable and do some highspeed file transfers. Gigabit is wonderful when trying to transfer 10 - 15 GB of data over a network.

Re:12" still crippled

[benmhall]

> The only real advantage the 12" PowerBook has over an iBook is the dual screen capabilities. Even that can be hacked into the iBook.

You know, I was thinking that too, but it's just not the case. Here are the diffs:

- Faster (1.2GHz to 1.5GHz on the 12")
- Faster buss speed (100MHz vs 167, IIRC)
- Faster, bigger HD (iBook's are only 4200RPM)
- Better Video (32MB ATI9200 vs 64MB GeForce 5200 on the 12"PB)
- Supported split-screen
- Audio in
- Better keyboard

All told, these differences are worth the ~400CDN difference to me.

Re:12" still crippled

[mbbac]

The Ibook doesn't have:

1.5GHz PowerPC G4
512MB PC2700 (333MHz) DDR SDRAM
NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 with 64MB of DDR SDRAM
60GB Ultra ATA/100; 5400 rpm
8x SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW) [optional]
built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
GraphicConverter, OmniGraffle, OmniOutliner, QuickBooks for Mac New User Edition
Mini-DVI to DVI adapter

I bolded what I believe are the key advantages of the PowerBook.

Re:12" still crippled

[Johnny Mozzarella]

Your being facetious and missing the point at the same time.

The point the original poster was making was not that Apple should include these features because the competition is. The point is that Apple should make small powerful notebooks because their customers want them and are willing to pay for it.

Some people want huge 17" screens and others want small screens and more portability. My 15" PowerBook was $3500 and I would love to have spent that money on a smaller PowerBook with all the features the 15" has. Unfortunately no such beast exists.

Re:12" still crippled

[argent]

Really. I don't care much for either, after using the Thinkpad. I'd really like a laptop that invested an extra half inch of depth in a keyboard like the ones on the old Toshiba Satellites, with almost full travel keys. They were SO much better to type on than any laptop available today... most of which feel like I'm trying to type on the scales of a slightly putrified dead alligator.

Dockingstation

[ga53n]

What I am missing for Apple notebooks is a viable dockingstation. There are bookends but they are not integrated into OS X and you still have wear and tear on the onboard connectors. It would be nice to have the onboard port still free. Why should I use a 30' Cinema-Display when I have to connect at least 2 cables ervery time I want to use it. I think most people will have to connect 4 cables (keyboard&mouse, power, network and Video) plus optional sound, scanner/camera, external drives &c.

Re:Dockingstation

[papasui]

I agree with you on the docking station. But if you actually have a 30' cinema display then:

1.) You can afford a desktop machine to have it hooked up to.
2.) Your obviously better off than at least 90% of the slashdot crowd so stop bitching.

Re:Dockingstation

[NRP128]

Hmmm...built in Bluetooth 2.0 + Apple Bluetooth keyboard + Logitech MX900 = Wireless keyboard mouse. so you'd plug in the 1 cable, unless you need firewire for an ipod, ext harddrive, etc.

Re:Dockingstation

[Jahz]

I have had a PB 15" for over a year now. I agree that a docking station would be nice to have... but it will not be happening anytime soon.

Docking stations legitamize clutter (keep reading). Apple is about pure simplicity and eliminating the rats nest of wires found around most PC's. Anyone remember the TV spot Apple released when the G5 was unveiled about getting rid of wires?

So Apple will never help you create a wire nest, even if it is easier for many. Instead you have the Apple solution to wires: dont use them. In other words, the Apple solution includes a Bluetooth keyboard, mouse (optional BT cell phone) and an Airport extreme internet/intranet gateway. You can even use an Airport Express so that you dont have to plus in an Audio cable.

Of course External HD's (including the iPod) will be wired for a few more years due to bandwith limitations. Same goes for the external display. Therefore, you should ideally have to plug in 1-3 devices, which isnt really a hassle. If you have 50 USB devices, just use a hub! Also note, Apple will also do everything it can to protect the sleek finish of the PowerBook, including adding additional holes beyond what is needed.

Re:Powerbook LCDs

[ivan256]

Don't count on that happening any time soon.

Apple still tries to appeal to the publishing and photo industries. They make a big deal about keeping their screens at 100 dpi no matter what the size or model.

Re:G5 laptop holdup? AMD's been doing it already!

[FunWithHeadlines]

"Now, admittedly, my laptop is big, bulky and basically the antithesis of what I would imagine a Powerbook laptop would look like"

And there's your answer, frankly.

Right Button is useful !

[ehack]

I used to own a NeXT, and used the old Xerox machines, which believe it or not existed before the Mac. The nice thing about pulldown menus is that they appear wherever your mouse already is - click the right button, get a menu. On the NeXT all the apps could generate a menu anywhere with the right button, this meant you could avoid going to the screen menu and made life much faster.

I just wish there were a second *hardware* button on the machine, bound to the same action, and an OS preference to activate it to generate the pulldown menu which is still buried somewhere in the Mac OS if I remember rightly. That way noone gets confused, and power users get the second button.

This is not a troll, if Apple is not made aware that their target audience want improvements to the already excellent machines, the machines won't get better. Ah, yes, I also would like better battery life.

Re:Too bad...

[tgibbs]

I'd probably prefer a dual-core G4 to a G5. In my experience, dual processor Macs just feel really snappier than single processor models, even when the clock speed is significantly lower.

Hey, come on, this is Slashdot!

[artemis67]

If you want a faster Mac laptop, just kill Aqua and use the command line!

Not Everyone Can Deal with that.

[OS24Ever]

I help my coworkers and we all got Thinkpad T41s recently and they do 1600x1400 or something of that nature.

90% of them immediately after getting their new laptop were upset/couldn't read/needed help fixing and then weren't happy with how it looked.

Adjusting it down to 1024x768 or whatever they were comfortable with was fuzzy and looked like trash.

reading 1600x1400 on a 14 - 15" screen is hard for them older folk, you know, people over 25 - 30.

But...

[MachineShedFred]

But these go to eleven...

Re:Powerbook LCDs

[kuwan]

An earlier post proved the following link:

Best Resolution for Images and Words

The quality of the pixels you see impacts how you use your computer. After years of experience, Apple engineers have discovered the ideal resolution to display both sharp text and graphics -- a pixel density of about 100 pixels per inch (ppi). Other vendors may offer a larger monitor, but with less resolution, so you end up with fewer pixels, or a smaller monitor with a high resolution that causes eyestrain and headaches. Apple's balanced 100 pixels per inch format is optimized for images, yet allows you to easily work with text in email, Safari and sophisticated type treatments in layouts.

So that would be the reason why they don't make higher resolution displays.

--
It works.
Free Flat Screens | Free Mini Mac

Re:don't forget the dual link DVI port

[Anonymous Writer]

Who has arms that long?

E... T... pho-o-o-one... ho-o-o-o-ome...

Re:Too bad...

[kuwan]

Since the dual core freescale supposedly outperforms a G5 at same clock speed, I really would have liked to see the freescale in the new specs.

Not to flame, but I'm interested in where you're getting your information from (benchmarks, reviews, etc). I wouldn't be surprised at all to see a Dual Core G4 outperform a single core/CPU G5 when it comes to apps that are fully MP-aware (threaded properly). But I would be surprised to see a Dual Core G4 outperform a single core G5 on apps that are not threaded. I'd love to see some real world comparisons.

Remember just because it has 2 cores doesn't mean that it's twice as fast. It only means that there's the potential to do more at once if the software can take advantage of it through threading. Here's a great article that explains the problems/challenges software developers are going to face with multi-core CPUs.

Now I'd love to have a dual core CPU in my laptop and I'd love to program for it, but I image Apple would face some of the same challenges trying to get the dual core Freescale CPU into a laptop as they would in getting a G5 into a laptop, namely heat. A dual core G4 is going to be hotter and more power hungry than what they've got now. I'd love to see either the dual core G4 or a G5 in a laptop.

It works.
Free Flat Screens | Free Mini Mac

Re:Too bad...

[kuwan]

I forgot to add that the Mac platform is probably the best place to have a dual core CPU or even a dual CPU machine. Mac OS X already has excellent dual CPU support and already balances the workload very well among available CPUs. And since Apple has been shipping Dual CPU machines for years application developers have already done a lot to take advantage of Dual CPUs. As a result we, the users, benefit.

--
It works.
Free Flat Screens | Free Mini Mac

Re:Unequal Articles under Slashdot

[jht]

Seriously? There's a couple of reasons. First off, Dell (or PC vendor X) does upgrades/updates differently from Apple. When Intel ships a newer, faster chip, Dell just slipstreams it into their existing models/lineups. Also, Dell offers so many different models that a change to one isn't really a news event. Besides, every other PC vendor offers something equivalent - Dell's only innovation is in the supply chain (and making it hyper-efficient). They don't actually make anything, they just package it into a cheap beige box.

Slashdot does cover all the new Intel and AMD announcements, which means that to run a feature when Dell puts it into a system would just really be covering the same story twice (not that Slashdot doesn't routinely cover things twice).

The difference is that Apple actually engineers their own products and OS. Also, they upgrade less often, and then when they do they upgrade a whole family of products simultaneously. That helps make it newsworthy. Yes, the speed improvement is a whopping 167 MHz per config (or only 1x on the multiplier), but when they revved the PowerBooks today they also added features (like dual-DVI support and the funky new scrollpad), changed video cards, and upgraded other stuff like Bluetooth.

Plus, Apple is Apple. Dell is just another PC vendor. If Dell is doing an upgrade, chances are all the other PC vendors are putting the same feature in their equivalent model at the exact same time. Like I said above, the news is when Intel or AMD introduce the upgrade that everybody then puts into their product lines, not when Dell does theirs.

Re:Worst Mod EVER

[Total_Wimp]

Of course, +1 Funny would be a good mod too. But that would only work if you had a sense of humor about the issue.

Possibly irrelevant story to follow:

I went to military journalist school about 15 years ago. One of the interesting aspects of the school is that it wasn't just an Army school (my branch of service), but, in fact, trained military journalists from all branches of service. This was my first interactions with significant numbers of Air Force, Navy and Marine personnel.

One of the things I found out is that the different branches have very different core cultures. One of the way this was exhibited was in the status they gave to their branch.

Army people will bitch incestantly about the Army. They may be slightly annoyed when others do it, but they won't give them too hard a time because they all had such a good time cutting it down themselves.

Air Force people really do look at their service like a job. If you were to cut down the Air Force to them they'd just shrug and not pay much attention.

Navy people seem to have all joined on a dare. They don't complain too much about the navy and they have a lot of pride in it, but they're not going to get into fisticuffs unless the offence is very bad.

Then there were the Marines. If you made fun of the Corp in front of a Marine, you'd get an extremely stern, "that's not funny" at best. Yes, even things that every other human being on the planet would find funny, the Marines would most certainly NOT find humourus if it even slightly disparaged the Corp. Of course, they had no problem at all making fun of every other service.

How is this relevant to the matter at hand? It's become my opinion over the last couple of days that The Mac Faithful (TMF from now on) are just like the Marines. They are proud and they have some good reasons to be proud, but they are completely incapable of finding fault with themselves or seeing humor in that fault.

Since I started this line of thinking, I'll have to compare a couple of other OSs too.

Windows users are definately the Army. They have the largest numbers and don't hesitate to crack on their own platform. Others don't hesitate either and for the most part no one gets too worked up about it.

Unix users are mostly the Air Force (Some of them show Marine tendencies though). They pretty much do their jobs and shrug it off if someone cracks on their OS.

Linux users are the Navy. They joined on a dare, but are pretty proud of their OS and wont hesitate to defend it.

Yeah I've stretched a bit with the other OSs, but I think I hit it dead on with TMF. The Few, the Proud, the Macs! pretty accurately describes their level of attachment. The thing is.... they should really lighten up.

TW

Sensor and warranty issues

[friendscallmelenny]

Anyone else think the acceleration sensor may play a role in warranty claims?

Mac user Jeff S.> Dude, my mac has stopped working...
Apple tech> I see you have had two acceleration events in the last week, abuse is not covered...

New trackpad, or just new trackpad driver?

[harlows_monkeys]

The Synaptics trackpad Apple uses supports scrolling, but Apple's software uses it in a mode that doesn't enable that.

So I wonder if they actually have a new trackpad, or if they have simply updated their software?

BTW, you can get third party drivers to enable the features that Apple isn't using, and more. For example, SideTrack gives you vertical and horizontal scrolling, corner taps for more buttons, and more.

Re:I respectfully disagree.

[Glendale2x]

I've had the case on my TiBook replaced three times under AppleCare because of the cracking issue - each time they explained that "normal wear and tear or abuse is not covered" to which I responded "you mean I can't open to cover?" They would take it back with the catch that if they determined it was abused, they'd charge me. However, every time they replaced the entire case (body, bottom case, screen) for free. This also fixed the paint chipping issue.

The case design on the TiBook is not very robust. Otherwise, it's been a good machine. And every year, it looks like it's brand new.

Re:forget the G5, but give us dual-proc G4's ..

[Nexum]

The G4 is fine, but that's not the problem, it's the anemic 167Mhz bus which is the bottleneck with the G4s.

Re:Finally a Superdrive update

[harlows_monkeys]

I'm glad they finally updated their 'Superdrive'. It was getting embarrassingly outdated, when competitors from the PC laptop realm had DVD±RW with DVD-RAM drive drives. I have a Powerbook 15" with the old DVD-R Superdrive and had to admit I was a bit envious that a professor who's new Toshiba laptop had DVD±RW and DVD-RAM drive capabilities

Check your drive...it might actually be +/-RW. Apple has included these for quite a while--they just didn't officially support it. My PowerBook from around last Thanksgiving is +/-RW.

You can check with "drutil" in a terminal window.

And if your does not include -RW or +/-RW, note its model number and Google for it, because some of the older drives Apple used can be updated via a third-party firmware update for -RW or +/-RW.

but what about iHeatSink

[EccentricAnomaly]

Who still expected a G5 Powerbook any time this year. TOO MUCH HEAT, PEOPLE.

But what about those pictures taken in the French elevator of the aluminum backpack and hose connected to that laptop... clearly this is the new prototype G5..

Re:Too bad...

[waffleman]

Well, at this point, no one really knows anything except for what IBM, Apple, and Freescale have published. There are no benchmarks, reviews, etc. that I know of. So everything I've said is a guess; I meant it as such and said "supposedly outperforms". On the same note, however, you're also guessing that the new dual G4 is going to be hotter than what we've got now. Pretty easy to agree with, (and I generally do agree with you) but like me, you haven't pointed out any benchmarks, reviews, etc. Note that the dual core chip takes a little less than 15W while an iBook G4 draws about the same. So, it looks to me like the dual will probably be hotter than than the current G4s, but not nearly as hot as the G5 at 40W, or thereabout.

As far as the practicality of dual core vs. single core machines goes ... Without concurrency there's no boost; with concurrency usually there is some boost and it is possible, in fact, to have a dual core system be faster than single core at twice the speed. It's not common but it all depends on what you're doing.

Yes, I already read the concurrent programming article a while back, but I'm afraid I don't share your enthusiasm for it. I think the author blurs program performance and performance programming. The first is about raw speed, the second is about making your program run X percent faster than your competitors' do. As such the "free lunch" he describes never really existed for people who actually do performance programming. Concurrency is already used whenever possible since you never know when you might be runnning on an SMP machine. Abstract machines can be massively parallel regardless of the hardware underneath. For everybody who doesn't do performance programming, the problem usually comes down to decoupling the performance bottleneck from the rest of the application, then handing it off to a performance person. (They still have to make sure their code is reasonably fast and lean, but parallelism isn't a big issue)

Anyway, I'm getting OT. I think the bottom line is that for the types of tasks I do, the performance benefit of SMP in a laptop sounds a lot better than the benefit of a G5.

Very accurate...

[Paisley Phrog]

The whole Mac/Marines analogy is very accurate..

Back when things seemed very grim for Apple (about 1997 or so), there was a webring/mailing list called MacMarines, specifically geared towards getting the positive word out about Macs. (The slogan was "Fighting back for the Mac!")

Yes, I was a member, and yes, I've mellowed a lot since then. ;-)

Re:PRICE drops are what gets me!

[Ohreally_factor]

now all i have to do is come up with $2400...anybody willing to help a poor college kid live the dream of OSX?

Well, I'll do my part to help you out. You can knock of about $20, if you buy a 3rd party spare battery. Slightly greater capacity on the Al batteries. More dramatic increases on the Ti and iBook batteries.