I recently was reading this article:
http://lowendmac.com/myturn/05/0516.html
and it got me thinking and I wanted to start a discussion about it. To me it is amazing what old technology can do today. Even todays laptops (I currently have a 1.33 Ghz 12" powerbook) have more horsepower than any of the top of the line G4 powermacs albeit they have only single processor. Do we really need or use all the power in brand spanking new computer? Sure I understand, if your are a professional with deadlines, you need to get things done. But I'm speaking about the 95% of users out there that don't make TV commercials that need to be done by 4 pm... today. I guess I'm speaking from a home user prospective. One of the highest processor intensive tasks I can think of is DVD authoring. However, one can still put the project together, do all the editing, put the titles together, and add chapters almost as fast using a 500 mhz imac as someone with a 2.5 ghz G5 powermac. The G5 will have a huge leg-up when it comes to the encoding process. However, I think most people sleep and have other things in their lives that keep them busy and can have their computers working while they sleep or are out for a bike ride. I hope we are not a generation of people that live in front of the computer 24/7 that the highlight of the day is to see how fast the thermometer bar takes to reach the end (edit... I'm a swim coach and working on a masters in exercise science, so Im a little biased. I see couch potato's all the time and in my work I want to see people active again. All couch potatoes and McDonald's fans... please see Super Size Me and read Fast Food Nation... sorry... little off topic).
Anyway, my point is I always read comments like my lowly powerbook 1.33 is still capable of x,y, or z. However I am constantly amazed at my sisters 5 or 6 year old iMac with 256 ram recently upgraded to Tiger. Also, I recently put Virtual PC 7 on it and no, it is not winning a speed race, but it is functioning extremely well. And now that apple is doing things like incorporating xgrid technology into every computer via panther and tiger, even a high school with legacy imacs sitting in the computer lap could have a "super computer" running on the weekends (although I'm not sure what kind project a high school would do... maybe figure out a way to batch process H.264 video? anyone know if this is possible or if anyone is working on such a thing?). With such a technology things are increasingly moving the focus from the power and specs away from the desktop. Maybe in the future we will have services that you send your processor intensive task out to a server farm to have it rendered for a very short time and have it send back via broadband for a small fee (i.e. encode movie and have it sent back to you). I'm at a loss figuring out what I can't do on my laptop (Yes I know, its fairly new but I read people complaining about it often) or older macs, but I can't stop saying to myself... "holy cr*p, look at all the stuff you can do on an 8 year old computer!" I love apple for making old computers more functional then the day they were built. This is a huge plus for apple! How many Window users found their old computer was to slow to run the new xp operating system!? And what is the outlook for legacy computers running longhorn? Yes, my sisters computer is missing out on the whole ripple effect experience, but is that a reason to go out an purchase a brand new imac g5 or powermac when she is still able to make a cool dvd on her external burner with her old imac running tiger? Ok rant over. I love apple, Ive been a user since the apple II days and Ive never owned a pc. Thanks to Mr. Jobs saving Apple in the mid-90s disaster, since then Apple rocks! And Thanks apple for a great computing experience over the years!
I'd love to hear other peoples thoughts!
http://lowendmac.com/myturn/05/0516.html
and it got me thinking and I wanted to start a discussion about it. To me it is amazing what old technology can do today. Even todays laptops (I currently have a 1.33 Ghz 12" powerbook) have more horsepower than any of the top of the line G4 powermacs albeit they have only single processor. Do we really need or use all the power in brand spanking new computer? Sure I understand, if your are a professional with deadlines, you need to get things done. But I'm speaking about the 95% of users out there that don't make TV commercials that need to be done by 4 pm... today. I guess I'm speaking from a home user prospective. One of the highest processor intensive tasks I can think of is DVD authoring. However, one can still put the project together, do all the editing, put the titles together, and add chapters almost as fast using a 500 mhz imac as someone with a 2.5 ghz G5 powermac. The G5 will have a huge leg-up when it comes to the encoding process. However, I think most people sleep and have other things in their lives that keep them busy and can have their computers working while they sleep or are out for a bike ride. I hope we are not a generation of people that live in front of the computer 24/7 that the highlight of the day is to see how fast the thermometer bar takes to reach the end (edit... I'm a swim coach and working on a masters in exercise science, so Im a little biased. I see couch potato's all the time and in my work I want to see people active again. All couch potatoes and McDonald's fans... please see Super Size Me and read Fast Food Nation... sorry... little off topic).
Anyway, my point is I always read comments like my lowly powerbook 1.33 is still capable of x,y, or z. However I am constantly amazed at my sisters 5 or 6 year old iMac with 256 ram recently upgraded to Tiger. Also, I recently put Virtual PC 7 on it and no, it is not winning a speed race, but it is functioning extremely well. And now that apple is doing things like incorporating xgrid technology into every computer via panther and tiger, even a high school with legacy imacs sitting in the computer lap could have a "super computer" running on the weekends (although I'm not sure what kind project a high school would do... maybe figure out a way to batch process H.264 video? anyone know if this is possible or if anyone is working on such a thing?). With such a technology things are increasingly moving the focus from the power and specs away from the desktop. Maybe in the future we will have services that you send your processor intensive task out to a server farm to have it rendered for a very short time and have it send back via broadband for a small fee (i.e. encode movie and have it sent back to you). I'm at a loss figuring out what I can't do on my laptop (Yes I know, its fairly new but I read people complaining about it often) or older macs, but I can't stop saying to myself... "holy cr*p, look at all the stuff you can do on an 8 year old computer!" I love apple for making old computers more functional then the day they were built. This is a huge plus for apple! How many Window users found their old computer was to slow to run the new xp operating system!? And what is the outlook for legacy computers running longhorn? Yes, my sisters computer is missing out on the whole ripple effect experience, but is that a reason to go out an purchase a brand new imac g5 or powermac when she is still able to make a cool dvd on her external burner with her old imac running tiger? Ok rant over. I love apple, Ive been a user since the apple II days and Ive never owned a pc. Thanks to Mr. Jobs saving Apple in the mid-90s disaster, since then Apple rocks! And Thanks apple for a great computing experience over the years!
I'd love to hear other peoples thoughts!
- but for most of us the pocket is the limiting factor!
