I don't think anyone's really arguing that most of Apple's improvements weren't catch up. Heck, when Steve Jobs was on stage he was saying how everything they added was "the latest PC standard". How could it not be catching up if it's already a standard on the PC?
But the real question is how widely adopted are these standards? It's like USB and the iMac, sure it was available for intel-based computers, but how many people were using it? Not that many. Apple switches over to it and now USB is omnipresent. I haven't seen many systems out there with all the features Apple introduced, the 8xAGP and the 400 mhz DDR sure, the PCI-X, not so much. So while Apple is "catching up" in that they aren't advancing any absolutely never beroe seen new standards, they are using standards that have not reached mainstream acceptance. Can you really consider it catch up if the tech is not standard across all intel/amd mobos?
Seems to me that Apple's in a bit of a no-win situation here. If they go it completely on their own they get castigated for being non-standards compliant, a big complaint about the "old apple." But if they do use the standards that have been created for intel/amd they get dismissed as "playing catch-up."
I mean yeah, the G4 line was getting very stagnant, but isn't that the nature of the game, you leapfrog ahead of the other guy, who then leapgrogs ahead of you etc...
"Motorola is huge for us," said Joswiak. "Our partnership with Motorola is not going away, G4s are in every other part of our product line. As you can see, [the G5] is not going in a PowerBook anytime soon. Motorola remains very important to us, but IBM is the one that can take us to the next level."
So does this mean we're going to be seeing G4's in the iBook line?
How about that ridiculous comparison of Logic Audio on the G5 to Cubase on the PC (don't remember if it was on the Xeon or the P4)? First of all, they're different programs, for god's sake. Given the same hardware, Logic is way better optimized for running lots of virtual isntruments. I've used both Cubase and Logic on the same machine (500 MHz TiBook), and the reason I now use Logic is that I can run more synths at once. I can't speak for Cubase's performance on the PC, but in what way did that little demo compare ANYTHING head-to-head? It told us nothing about the underlying speed of the hardware. It wasn't even a fair comparison of the applications.
It was mostly to demonstrate that logic is a cool app that can beat the pants off of the "best in class" for windows. Sure, it wasn't a truly valid comparison, but it was still pretty impressive, and it looked good to the folks in the audience, which is really what this shindigs are about.
-sam
And if they're wanting to create a media creation and/or editing system, then of course they would have optical in/out.
Precisely, Macs are also used extensively in the Pro Audio market, and Apple has been strengthening their position in the field over the past year, their purchase of eMagic. It only makes sense that they would include some features that would make the new Macs more attractive to this segment of their customer base. Though why you'd use optical in a pro-setting is beyond me.
-sam
Can somebody please explain this to me? Doesn't good old CD audio have greater-than-or-equal quality to any format supported by Minidisc players?
Because more devices than just lossy minidiscs use optical s/pdif. Remember, lots of macs are used in Pro Audio.
-sam
Reform bills Bush signed because Enron imploded, natch. Besides, in what state was Enron headquatered? Which governer was Ken Lay's best buddy? Wait for it...
-sam
Slashdot Mirror
errr, you mean Logic, ProTools, Digital Performer, Peak, Deck, Spark etc? Yeah, there's only one app for audio work available on OSX
-sam :)
But the real question is how widely adopted are these standards? It's like USB and the iMac, sure it was available for intel-based computers, but how many people were using it? Not that many. Apple switches over to it and now USB is omnipresent. I haven't seen many systems out there with all the features Apple introduced, the 8xAGP and the 400 mhz DDR sure, the PCI-X, not so much. So while Apple is "catching up" in that they aren't advancing any absolutely never beroe seen new standards, they are using standards that have not reached mainstream acceptance. Can you really consider it catch up if the tech is not standard across all intel/amd mobos?
Seems to me that Apple's in a bit of a no-win situation here. If they go it completely on their own they get castigated for being non-standards compliant, a big complaint about the "old apple." But if they do use the standards that have been created for intel/amd they get dismissed as "playing catch-up."
I mean yeah, the G4 line was getting very stagnant, but isn't that the nature of the game, you leapfrog ahead of the other guy, who then leapgrogs ahead of you etc...
-sam
So does this mean we're going to be seeing G4's in the iBook line?
-sam
It was mostly to demonstrate that logic is a cool app that can beat the pants off of the "best in class" for windows. Sure, it wasn't a truly valid comparison, but it was still pretty impressive, and it looked good to the folks in the audience, which is really what this shindigs are about.
-sam
I thought ATRAC compression was 16 bit/44.1k? Course i'm more of a DAT user, so what do I know. -sam
And if they're wanting to create a media creation and/or editing system, then of course they would have optical in/out.
Precisely, Macs are also used extensively in the Pro Audio market, and Apple has been strengthening their position in the field over the past year, their purchase of eMagic. It only makes sense that they would include some features that would make the new Macs more attractive to this segment of their customer base. Though why you'd use optical in a pro-setting is beyond me. -sam
Can somebody please explain this to me? Doesn't good old CD audio have greater-than-or-equal quality to any format supported by Minidisc players? Because more devices than just lossy minidiscs use optical s/pdif. Remember, lots of macs are used in Pro Audio. -sam
Reform bills Bush signed because Enron imploded, natch. Besides, in what state was Enron headquatered? Which governer was Ken Lay's best buddy? Wait for it... -sam