MacWorld Expo!

[jessemann]

With all of this focus on video... why cant i have a realtime card that runs in osx for less than 1 grand? i think that apple has abandoned the pro user. at least the pro video user. A 17 inch powerbook is really useless to me unless i can do realtime compositing...and although apple likes to wave the "fcp is realtime" flag around...it isnt for professional users because fcp alone does not process video that is viewable on an ntsc monitor. the matrox rtmac still does not support osx and it is debatable that it ever will. my only option is an igniter card and for mac thats a grand easy. hate to say...editing pro dv on a pc is MUCH cheaper... and MUCh more expandable... upgradeable...

the pb/desktop systems would be great if there was realtime hardware. there isnt. if i can get paid for making home movies of my kids they would be great...but final cut pro should be called final cut home movie.

and realtime hardware literally saves 10-20 hours a week. but hey...i can have a 17" powerbook and leave the house! thats way better than a realtime desktop system...because when i make the smallest of compositing changes i will have the privilege of having an hour to consume a pot of coffee at the internet cafe while i wait for a render.

[matttichenor]

Give me the specs and the software / hardware pieces that is so cheap on the Windows Platform that also offers realtime Compositing? I'm not familiar with any cheap windows solutions that offer much better realtime previewing than what you get with FCP, for that price. $300.


m

[RogueLdr]

Originally posted by spikeovsky


Hard Drive??? 120 Megs??? Luxury!
Now *I* remember when I got my external double-density floppy drive for my Mac Plus - before that, if a program couldn't fit on one diskette, it would take ages to load - I had sit there waiting for it to read data off one diskette, then eject it and ask me for the second one, then eject that and ask me for the first and so on. I can still remember sound of a Mac Plus ejecting a diskette - it haunts my dreams.

This is sounding rather like "Four Yorkshiremen", though the guy with the 8088 beats me - my first computer was the Plus, may it rest in peace. I got it confused with a 220 volt model I got when my school was throwing it out, and plugged it into a 220 Volt outlet. It ran fine for about 5 minutes until I heard a bang and smoke started pouring out the sides. That was a bad day :(.

-spikeovksy

LOL Bummer of a story there!:(

Both you and Tom800 reminded me of my old 20MB external SCSI hard drive that I had for my Mac+. It was about the size of a dictionary but I just KNEW that I would never be able to fill it up! :p
And I do know that sound from the FDD to which you are referring. It was anathema to playing Uninvited!

RL

[Deltan]

I really don't mean to troll.. but...

I see people nattering on about AlBook specs, how neat Safari is, and iLife, but doesn't it piss you off that 802.11g isn't available to current ibook and tibook owners?

I'm absolutely livid! :mad: :mad: :mad:

[RogueLdr]

Originally posted by Deltan
I really don't mean to troll.. but...

I see people nattering on about AlBook specs, how neat Safari is, and iLife, but doesn't it piss you off that 802.11g isn't available to current ibook and tibook owners?

I'm absolutely livid! :mad: :mad: :mad:
If you don't mean to TROLL, then try to avoid phrases like "nattering on."

[edit]And if it actually makes you livid, then you are not a troller but a concerned owner of a recent iBook/TiBook....right??? And doen't it just burn you that you can't put an AGP card in a B/W G3! ;)

RL

[kmac]

I was very excited when I heard that there would be a sub-powerbook but after the release I'm thinking along similar lines as a few posts above that is it just an iBook in disguise?

My two biggest concerns are about the displays, personally I feel 1024x768 is just too small for OSX (it's plenty for windows but OSX just shines with more room) personally I think they could have gone with 13" wide screen, it'll only be increase very little width and not much else.

The second concern is the fact that there is no DVI out for external monitors, only VGA, would this be good enough for future Apple displays?

But all in one I'm happy with this macworld and I will definitely be buying many things including the powerbook, but I'm now just not sure if I should get the 12" or wait for the current 15" to be updated with aluminium, airport extreme and bluetooth (anybody cares to guess when they'll be updated?).

[Paul Turpin]

Well - with all you folks bitching about what the 12" lacks - let me tell you why I bought one :

#1 - I've been lusting after an iBook for months on end. But have held out. Now - I feel vindicated and will have (what I think) is a much cooler little toy.

#2 - there's just no bones about it - 802.11g is cool - and its a major draw for me. I foresee buying an airport extreme. But - I really want it for use away from home.

#3 - Smaller is better - tougher is better. I'm not using it like a desktop. I'm using it more like a palm that can actually do the things I want. I will aim to always have it with me - the coffee shop just got a lot more fun.

#4 - yes - I wish it had FW800 and DVI - but the point is using it on the go - not carting around screens and drives. However, I do wish I could fit a gig of RAM in it.

#5 - Maybe I'm wrong - but I think it'll still have a place next to that 17" PBG5 I'm gonna buy in a year.

Oh there's more - but you don't care. I'm voting yes. I just couldn't get excited about ibooks - and I tried. But - just the thought of whipping this out and fiddling around with it got me all hard - like a big shiny aluminum.......

oh yeah - this was my first post - hope it wasn't too annoying. I geeked out so much watching MWSF that I just had to join up.

[matttichenor]

I'd imagine Apple will update the 15" Powerbook when the current inventory is eliminated. It is unusual for them to have such a sloppy upgrade, adding models but not updating others? Seems odd, must be an inventory thing. Maybe 1-2 Months before the whole line is updated. In the meantime the current 15" might get a price reduction in order to clear it out faster.

m

[msxgames]

All great stuff announced but once more (I know there have been a lot of discussions about this), in Europe we are again robbed...

At today's currency convertsion rates:
12": US price: $ 1,799 / Europe (apple.be): $2,391
That is a 32.9% price difference!

17": US price: $3,299 / Europe: $ 4,406
That is a 33.6% price difference!

OK, VAT would explain 20% maximum ... but FOR WHAT are the extra 13% ???

Hmm, it's always been like this - i'm better off to take a cheap plane ticket to the US, spend a nice w/e somewhere and come back to my home country with a new laptop ... and I still will have saved money!

------------------
Otherwise excellent new stuff! But I really dislike Apple's policy to get $$$ from whatever they can - I understand they develop good new innovative stuff but remember the rip off with OSX.1 couponing thing to get a free update when a new version would be available that actually cost $170 ! Well, Steve can say there are hundreds of reasons to switch to Jaguar but I won't until I buy a new Mac (in the States). A pity, I would have liked using all this new stuff!

[jessemann]

not sure what fcp express lacks...but im assuming its pretty signifgant if those features are worth $700. If FCP express lets you edit as a pro and not just like a pro... then i do give big ups to apple. still... most pro users need realtime output to an ntsc monitor... and the rt cards are more available and cheaper on windows systems. i dont own a windows machine...but a client just got a 600 dollar new card from pinicale that offeres way more rt effects than rt mac (not that you can use it in xp) ..and wyswyg after effects...and it runs in xp... i was very...very jealous.

raid cards are cheaper... premire (although not my fav editing platfrom) is cheaper than fcp...

but hollywood fx and other compositing packages are much more available for windows. boris is nice...but its a complliacted interface and hard to get stellar effects on low scale jobs. apple needs to start making nice w/ pinacle or someone like them or making the products themselves. i thought w/ the aquisition of india titler pro we would see a fcp titler/ compositor.

i dont want a boring borg windows machine sucking the creativity out of my office... but i do feel unsupported with the lack of realtime hardware and compositing/ titling software.

[Deltan]

Originally posted by RogueLdr

If you don't mean to TROLL, then try to avoid phrases like "nattering on."

[edit]And if it actually makes you livid, then you are not a troller but a concerned owner of a recent iBook/TiBook....right??? And doen't it just burn you that you can't put an AGP card in a B/W G3! ;)

RL

Yes, a recent ibook, like a few months old. Now who's nattering on, mumbling about b/w g3's.

Edit: now that the apple site finally works for me, it appears I was wrong about who can & can't use them. My bad. :D

[nickmcghie]

Originally posted by drastik


You don't seem to get the idea of an ultra-portable. Many business users need only the most basic funtions. What they need is small and light an durable. As far as this class of notebooks goes, this one is quicker, smaller, lighter and cheaper than the competition (sony, mainly.) People drop thousands on these things because they are tiny, not for DVI out and PMCIA cards. What do you need a card lot for on the thing. It has built in ethernet and modem, airport for wireless, bluetooth built in. all the ocnnections you could want. What do you need a card for?

is the new 12" powerbook small? yes, definitely... is it TINY and ULTRAPORTABLE? no way.. i mean, really, come on apple, if you wanna make an ULTRAPORTABLE, you might as well go all the way.

Go take a look at Toshiba's Portégé 2010, now *that* is a true 12" ultraportable. Except for the built-in optical drive, inferior video card, and (arguably) slower processor, it is similar to the 12" powerbook spec-wise (256 RAM, 12.1" 1024x768 screen, full-size keyboard, etc.)... plus, its got a PCMCIA card slot, a SD card slot, and built-in wifi (yes, i know its only 802.11b, but still.. its built-in).

And yes, the toshiba does cost $200 more than the powerbook, but its real sexiness lies in its SIZE. It weighs 2.6lbs and the thickness is listed as 0.6/0.75" thick (i'm not exactly sure what that means, but even if we take the larger number, 0.75", its still thinner than even an ipod!!!)... i've seen this machine in person, and it looks damn SEXY =)

I hoped that Apple would release a laptop to compete with the likes of the Portégé 2010, but the machines aren't really even in the same league. The Portégé is a true ultraportable while the powerbook is just a nice, small laptop. By releasing it the way they did (i.e. a "full-featured" laptop), it is now competing against the ibook AND the other powerbooks.

I'm not saying that its a "bad" machine, cuz it certainly isn't.. but it'll cannibilize sales of ibooks. Yes, I know that Apple will probably get higher profit margins from these new powerbooks, but they could've kept their ibook sales strong AND gotten into a totally new market. As the guy I quoted said, many business users need only the most basic funtions, such as email, internet, presentations, etc... therefore, power shouldn't have been the main issue in designing this new 12" powerbook, weight and portability should have. What I think Apple should've done: get rid of the optical drive (make it external), use a 1.8" hard drive, and make a true ULTRAPORTABLE... something under an inch thick and less than 3lbs.

but oh well.. here's to hoping that they will indeed release a true ultraportable sometime in the future ;)

[RogueLdr]

Originally posted by Deltan


Yes, a recent ibook, like a few months old. Now who's nattering on mumbling about b/w g3's.

First off, I'm sorry that there is no upgrade path for you iBook to move to APExtreme. I have run into Apple end-of-life technologies before (right after a big purchase) and I know how bad it can get.
But I must say that this does occasionally happen (as in the case of the B/W G3 and the lack of AGP expandability) and it seems that Apple's choices are either make the best product that they can with the most up to date technology or spend more money finding a way to make their new technology work with older systems. It looks like they went with abandoning the older tech (at least as far as a HW upgrade is concerned) this time.
I must say I am surprised at this development however. I thought that they would have been able to easily produce an APExtreme card that used the PCMCIA format. Perhaps there were extenuating circumstances that we are unaware of in the requirements of APExtreme?

RL

PS: I own a Gigabit Ethernet G4 and was hoping for a new card to pop in to go up to 802.11g myself and now I, too, am left out in the cold.

[JaseInNY]

Wow, FCPE has just been released, I really can't tell what the difference is with FCPE and FCP3 apart from the obvious that it is only DV. Having spent money on all the upgrades over the years from version FCP 1.25, it surprises me that us users of FCP 3 have not seen a release of version 4 alongside with FCE.

What worries me, is Apple on the same route as AVID? Is this a sign they are going to change there strategy? Are they on the way to releasing versions that only production companies, TV stations can afford?
That's what was so amazing about FCP, is the fact it is intergrated for all formats and it is up to the user to upgrade hardware to push it to the max. Avid cost's a fortune to own the top of the line "composer/symphony."

I am worried that I will not be able to afford the expected "amazing" FCP 4. Especially when it is my career/buisness using FCP.

What does this mean for the future release of FCP4? Any ideas?

[RogueLdr]

Originally posted by nickmcghie


is the new 12" powerbook small? yes, definitely... is it TINY and ULTRAPORTABLE? no way.. i mean, really, come on apple, if you wanna make an ULTRAPORTABLE, you might as well go all the way.

Go take a look at Toshiba's Portégé 2010...

snip


You are right in that the toshiba is really light, but Apple seems to like to release fully featured machines. And for that weight savings with the toshiba you pay $200 more for no combo drive and no firewire ports.
There is the PCMCIA slot in the toshiba, but that means you can either pick a firewire card for CD reading/burning or a wireless card for connectivity.
If my options are either carry a really light machine that I have to carry alot of cards and a cdrw/dvdr drive with or just carry one machine for $200 less...I can deal with the "extra"weight.

RL

[Abstract]

Quote by Steve Jobs when talking to the audience:

"I read some of the rumor sites that said this is going to be the most boring Macworld in history," Jobs told the audience. "I guess you shouldn't believe everything you read."

Hmmm......he reads rumour sites. This probably means that the more "good" suggestions you make, the more you get of what you ask for. :D

[Deltan]

Originally posted by RogueLdr


PS: I own a Gigabit Ethernet G4 and was hoping for a new card to pop in to go up to 802.11g myself and now I, too, am left out in the cold.

Wow, that's worse than my own predicament. I'm debating whether to pawn my ibook on ebay for cheap and take the loss for a new AP Extreme ready or hope that -someone- comes out with an 802.11g adapter that either fits in the airport socket or I'd even settle for USB. Either way, it's ridiculous that every notebook, and desktop out there now that mac owns is completely unable to take advantage of 802.11g. I'm I setting myself up for a big fall in thinking that they might still come up with something for existing customers?

[nickmcghie]

Originally posted by RogueLdr


You are right in that the toshiba is really light, but Apple seems to like to release fully featured machines. And for that weight savings with the toshiba you pay $200 more for no combo drive and no firewire ports.
There is the PCMCIA slot in the toshiba, but that means you can either pick a firewire card for CD reading/burning or a wireless card for connectivity.
If my options are either carry a really light machine that I have to carry alot of cards and a cdrw/dvdr drive with or just carry one machine for $200 less...I can deal with the "extra"weight.

RL


understandable.. but for ppl like you, the ibook should do the job just fine.. but i'll reiterate the point i was trying to make: by releasing the 12" powerbook the way they did (i.e. a "full-featured" laptop), it is now competing against the ibook AND the other powerbooks... and apple STILL doesn't have a true ultraportable.. honestly, not EVERY SINGLE PERSON who buys a laptop needs it to be completely full-featured.. believe me, there *is* a market out there for people who can do without an optical drive on the go and just want the smallest, lighest, sexiest ultraportable they can get.

i think apple is in danger of getting into the trouble they had before steve jobs came back.. namely, too many similar models that created some confusion amongst consumers and inefficiecy for the company itself

(btw, as i mentioned earlier, the toshiba has built-in wireless, so you wouldn't need a wireless card for connectivity)

[RogueLdr]

Originally posted by Deltan


Wow, that's worse than my own predicament. I'm debating whether to pawn my ibook on ebay for cheap and take the loss for a new AP Extreme ready or hope that -someone- comes out with an 802.11g adapter that either fits in the airport socket or I'd even settle for USB. Either way, it's ridiculous that every notebook, and desktop out there now that mac owns is completely unable to take advantage of 802.11g. I'm I setting myself up for a big fall in thinking that they might still come up with something for existing customers?

Unfortunately when you patronize a company that makes most of its dough selling hardware, you have to expect that there will be lots of "incentives" to upgrade to the new hardware.
Does that mean that there is nothing other than that holding Apple back from doing an 802.11g card for the "old" Airport? No, it just means that there is some design advantage to using the new card format and Apple has no qualms in moving older lines (and yes, I know you purchased really recently, but at some point some part of a recent computer just gets outdated instantly) of of the front page of the support pages on their site.

RL

[RogueLdr]

Originally posted by nickmcghie



understandable.. but for ppl like you, the ibook should do the job just fine.. but i'll reiterate the point i was trying to make: by releasing the 12" powerbook the way they did (i.e. a "full-featured" laptop), it is now competing against the ibook AND the other powerbooks... and apple STILL doesn't have a true ultraportable.. honestly, not EVERY SINGLE PERSON who buys a laptop needs it to be completely full-featured.. believe me, there *is* a market out there for people who can do without an optical drive on the go and just want the smallest, lighest, sexiest ultraportable they can get.

i think apple is in danger of getting into the trouble they had before steve jobs came back.. namely, too many similar models that created some confusion amongst consumers and inefficiecy for the company itself

(btw, as i mentioned earlier, the toshiba has built-in wireless, so you wouldn't need a wireless card for connectivity)

The problem that Apple runs into is that they do not have the resources to cover every angle of every market. With that being the case they release a "top-end" solution for their laptops.
And yes, you are right, the toshiba has Wi-Fi compliance, but NOT 802.11g compliance or Bluetooth compliance.

And the lack of an optical drive necessitates either an external optical drive or a secondary desktop computer to offload files that are accumulated on the road with the toshiba. The 12" Powerbook lets you own only that one machine. The price is a steal!

RL

[peterjhill]

Originally posted by agp
Has anyone downloaded the X11 beta? Could someone tell me how I set the display in the xterm so I can ssh into a remote machine and run an app across the X Server? Cheers

ssh -X xxx.yyy.zzz

you might need to do a
setenv DISPLAY ip.of.your.mac

[peterjhill]

Originally posted by valypan
[QUOTE]Originally posted by nickmcghie
[B]


yea i guess you're right, it IS an amazing first step, the ONLY thing i can see that is missing is tabbed browsing...

I could think of another couple of things: web pages passwords saved on Keychain (like with Chimera) and Auto Fill forms! :) Come on guys! lets start sending some feedback! :)

khtml is really konqueror, a kde browser. Check out the link below for pics of a recent patch that allows tabbed browsing. Did Apple release the source for safari? or just their changes to the rendering engine?

Yeah, autofill, I use it all the time, another thing is lack of certificate inport support of both site and personal certificates. Personal certificates are very nice. It is a way an enterprise can authorize users to corporate web sites.
http://www.konqueror.org/pics/tabbed.png

[peterjhill]

Originally posted by firestarter

Well the other PowerBooks need this too and they have DVI. DVI includes SVGA pins - all you need is an adapter. Looks like Apple have crippled this machine on purpose.


Why have a 4.6 pound ultraportable if you need to lug an adapter everywhere you go to connect to lcd projectors? There are plenty of LCD panels (maybe not made by apple) that accept VGA inputs. Dell (seriously) has a very nice LCD panel with vga, dvi, svideo, and composite video in.

I have an 800dvi tibook, and, though not as light as the 12" machine, lets me appreciate how light it is compared to my old pc laptop. If I could shed two pounds on it, I would. I know that you will probably say, it is only a few more ounces for the adapter, but it adds up. I think VGA is just fine. Thank goodness for dual display support.

I will also miss pc card support for digital cameras, this makes me wonder when they will build bluetooth into cameras. It runs at what, 1 mbps. So it would take about two minutes to transfer 128mb of pictures. That would not be too bad at all.

[firestarter]

Originally posted by peterjhill

Why have a 4.6 pound ultraportable if you need to lug an adapter everywhere you go to connect to lcd projectors? There are plenty of LCD panels (maybe not made by apple) that accept VGA inputs. Dell (seriously) has a very nice LCD panel with vga, dvi, svideo, and composite video in.

VGA LCDs are noticibly poorer video quality and colour than DVI. Also, Apple don't make VGA LCDs. Does SJ want me to buy a Dell?

Seriously - the reason there's no DVI is either because of its poor graphics chipset, it's an iBook board in a metal box, or Apple marketing want you to spend more on a 15 inch - not because DVI is a bad idea on a laptop.

Oh yes - and you have to lug an adapter anyway - the VGA port on the PowerBook isn't a standard one!

I have an 800dvi tibook, and, though not as light as the 12" machine, lets me appreciate how light it is compared to my old pc laptop. If I could shed two pounds on it, I would. I know that you will probably say, it is only a few more ounces for the adapter, but it adds up. I think VGA is just fine. Thank goodness for dual display support.

You can get dual display with external VGA on the iBook. You just have to take out the bit of software Apple's marketing team decided to put in which cripples this line...

I will also miss pc card support for digital cameras, this makes me wonder when they will build bluetooth into cameras. It runs at what, 1 mbps. So it would take about two minutes to transfer 128mb of pictures. That would not be too bad at all.
You're welcome. I use 512M cards, and PCMCIA transfers a whole lot faster than 8minutes.

Let's reiterate - this is not an ultraportable. Ultraportables weigh much < 4 pounds. IBM, Sony, Toshiba ultraportables are all around 2-3 pounds. It's only around 100g less than the iBook.

What differentiates the 12 inch from the rest of the PowerBook line?

No PCMCIA
No DVI
No Cache (potentially slower than the 800MHz iBook, 'cos G4 needs cache due to longer pipeline)
No FW 800
No Gigabit ethernet
No Memory expansion over 640M
Slower NVIDA chipset than the iBook
DDR is a joke 'cos it's still G4 bus limited

And why is the PowerBook better than the iBook?

Slightly smaller (4mm less tall - I suppose Alu is thinner than polycarbonate)
100g lighter?
Bluetooth
Takes new Airport card
Possibility for superdrive
£350 more expensive in the UK.

The really interesting points with the new PowerBook are the 128M onboard RAM and the port layout.

Port layout is IDENTICAL to the iBook - very interesting - could this have been a motherboard intended for a different machine?

The 128M onboard is an example of Apple really abusing their users. The lowest spec 12 ships with 256M, so Apple could have soldered this onto the motherboard and let you upgrade to 768M. Why not?

Use of the 420 chipset is bad news (possibly this also explains lack of DVI - does the 420 support it?). Did Steve fall out with ATI, or is this a political move to get the Nvida FX parts early for the desktop range?

[artistry]

Originally posted by edvniow



I have to disagree with their logic on that.

The resason I use tabs is not because page rendering is slow, it's because it's a helluva lot more convienent.

...

Like I said before, it's so much easier and more productive to manage a group of tabs tather than a group of seperate windows, especially when you have little screen space to begin with.

Just been thinking about the tabs thing. I like tabs, so don't get me wrong here - just being devil's advocate ;)

I wonder if tabs are a 'power user' type of thing? For the average user, might tabs be a bit confusing if they're used to windows opening for new sites etc? The 'open in new tab' command might not be as intuitive as we think. I'd like to see a 'normal' user attempt to use Netscape or Chimera's tab facility to see what they actually do.

If, as I suspect, they find it confusing, then Apple's stance is correct and should be applauded. However, they could always have it as an option (as, indeed, it is in the others - so what am I on about?)

But just wanted to point out that we aren't Apple's number one priority when they make these decisions and we, unlike a typical home user, know how and where to get hold of alternative browsers. In my experience, most computer owners stick with what came on their machine and very rarely update or change things like browsers (almost everyone I know is still on the Mac OS that shipped with their machine, for example). So Safari is aimed at a different market, maybe, and maybe they don't like tabbed browsing.

As I say, devil's advocate time...

[Tariq]

BlueTooth would not be fast enough to transfer large photos from a camera to the laptop if it only runs at 1mbps. Remember mbps does not equel MB pers second.

Tariq

[artistry]

Originally posted by rhfactor
(I'm late to this thread... perhaps everything I have to say has been covered already...)

"Year of the Notebook"

"We want to replace Desktops with Laptops" is a fantastic goal, and combined with Airport Extreme wireless, Apple's got all the right stuff to redefine (again!) the way we use computing machines.

I have an original TiPB on my desk at home sitting on a Lapvantage dome which makes it the same eight as an LCD iMac. I have Airport and a Pro keyboard and mouse.

When I give a lecture I take the Powerboo off its stand, put it in a bag, and walk to work.

My laptop is a desktop computer. I was considering getting an iMac with Superdrive for making DVDs and music, but now I'm thinking of the 17" PowerBook and selling my current model.

I know a laptop at the moment doesn't cut it for many uses, but for me it's fine. More than fine. I think a lot of people need to start realising that there comes a point when speed is not an issue, it's the quality of the experience (Macs' advantage over PCs) and for me personally, a faster Mac than the one I've got won't actually benefit me. For me, Keynote is a much better development than a G5 chip!

As someone else pointed out elsewhere, blue and white G3s were top of the range when they came out, and still do what they were doing then. Maybe we're spoilt these days. I remember using Photoshop on a IIFX, then a Centris 650, then an LC475. In many ways, speed is a backward step cos in those days i used to get a lot more coffee breaks! :D

[artistry]

Originally posted by spikeovsky


Hard Drive??? 120 Megs??? Luxury!
Now *I* remember when I got my external double-density floppy drive for my Mac Plus - before that, if a program couldn't fit on one diskette, it would take ages to load - I had sit there waiting for it to read data off one diskette, then eject it and ask me for the second one, then eject that and ask me for the first and so on. I can still remember sound of a Mac Plus ejecting a diskette - it haunts my dreams.


-spikeovksy

You were lucky. I had to get up at 5am, half an hour before I went to bed, just to make sure my MacPlus was booted up byt the time I got to work.

And you tell the kids of today that, they won't believe you!


ah... I miss the sounds that machine used to make.

PS and I am a Yorkshireman, and yes, we do talk like that. :D

[KarenM]

I'm a non-teckie, non-"pro" Mac user w/some simple, practical questions.

When they say you cannot boot from OS9 on the new 17" PB, does this also mean that you cannot open any of your apps which ran on 9?

For example, I have many documents from versions of Wordperfect, [I never got or used Word] all email folders & bookmarks on OE/IE, etc. Would I not be able to access them at all? Or, could I install OS9 from the most recent disc package which came with my 2001 iBook to allow me to still access these files?

I'm now using Jaguar on the iBook for most everything else, but did not use it's Mail program bec I was familiar w/IE & OE, & bec I never figured out how to get my TCP/IP settings into Mail so it'd work.

I'm considering the jump to the 17" PB, but am concerned about these issues. Any clarifying, simplifying comments will be appreciated.

[iShater]

Originally posted by nickmcghie

I'm not saying that its a "bad" machine, cuz it certainly isn't.. but it'll cannibilize sales of ibooks. Yes, I know that Apple will probably get higher profit margins from these new powerbooks, but they could've kept their ibook sales strong AND gotten into a totally new market. As the guy I quoted said, many business users need only the most basic funtions, such as email, internet, presentations, etc... therefore, power shouldn't have been the main issue in designing this new 12" powerbook, weight and portability should have. What I think Apple should've done: get rid of the optical drive (make it external), use a 1.8" hard drive, and make a true ULTRAPORTABLE... something under an inch thick and less than 3lbs.

but oh well.. here's to hoping that they will indeed release a true ultraportable sometime in the future ;)

Amen brother! :)

[Squire]

Hi. I just joined.

I've been checking out this site- nice predictions, by the way- for the last month or so. Looks like I'll be buying my first Mac (probably the new 12" PB) as soon as they arrive here in Korea. Originally, I had my heart set on a new new iMac, but the last thing I wanna do is buy one and have them upgraded the next day. (Already happened when I bought my Canon Powershot G2.)

My wife was drooling over a little Sony notebook last week but I want a Superdrive. Looks like the new 12" is the best compromise.

Question: Why does the average Joe need Bluetooth? I don't get the part about "not having to reach into my backpack to get my phone."

BTW, my streaming video was almost flawless. I got up at 2 AM- 9 AM PST, Tuesday- to take a leak and decided to check out the Keynote. Being a newbie, I thought it would only be 20 minutes or so.

Cheers.

[PretendPCuser]

What it means is that your OS9 apps will run in "Classic" mode. You should still be able to use your OS9 apps, so full speed ahead for you! If you do, go to an Apple store if you can and go for the "early bird special"

http://www.apple.com/retail/

And a "Mac Genius" will install any software you purchase then and there, get 10% off, and will probably be able to configure your TCP/IP settings and answer any of your other questions far better than i could. Good luck!! :)

Originally posted by KarenM
I'm a non-teckie, non-"pro" Mac user w/some simple, practical questions.

When they say you cannot boot from OS9 on the new 17" PB, does this also mean that you cannot open any of your apps which ran on 9?

For example, I have many documents from versions of Wordperfect, [I never got or used Word] all email folders & bookmarks on OE/IE, etc. Would I not be able to access them at all? Or, could I install OS9 from the most recent disc package which came with my 2001 iBook to allow me to still access these files?

I'm now using Jaguar on the iBook for most everything else, but did not use it's Mail program bec I was familiar w/IE & OE, & bec I never figured out how to get my TCP/IP settings into Mail so it'd work.

I'm considering the jump to the 17" PB, but am concerned about these issues. Any clarifying, simplifying comments will be appreciated.

[etype]

Given the width & depth of the 17" PowerBook, could it

1. Run much cooler than present 15" models?
2. Fit a second processor in the future, if they figure out solution that doesn't drain too much battery power?

(Sorry, just thinking out loud...)

[ryan]

Originally posted by Deltan
I really don't mean to troll.. but...

I see people nattering on about AlBook specs, how neat Safari is, and iLife, but doesn't it piss you off that 802.11g isn't available to current ibook and tibook owners?

I'm absolutely livid! :mad: :mad: :mad:
Actually there are 802.11g PC Cards that would work in the TiPB if there were proper drivers for it... But I have to say hearing people b*tch when previous generation devices don't support new generation features gets sooo tiresome. At some point a company simply needs to draw a line and say, sorry, you'll need to upgrade to take advantage of the new technology.

[spikeovsky]

Originally posted by artistry

ah... I miss the sounds that machine used to make.


Yes, I miss it, but when you had to USE a program on several floppies...The horror!
Originally posted by artistry

PS and I am a Yorkshireman, and yes, we do talk like that. ;)


The horror! The horror!
Originally posted by RogueLdr

LOL Bummer of a story there!

It certainly was a bummer - I loved that machine and had just maxed out its RAM to 4 megs. BTW, the smell of an exploding Mac Plus is awful. (The horror! The horror! The horror!) :D

To pretend that this message is on topic, I will add the following rough transcript of the reaction here to the new 17" PowerBook:

spikeovsky to roommate: YOU HAVE TO GET IN HERE NOW.
roommate to spikeovsky: Oh mah face! That just blew my mind.

-spikeovsky

[NicoMan]

Originally posted by Squire
the last thing I wanna do is buy one and have them upgraded the next day. (Already happened when I bought my Canon Powershot G2.)
Well tell me about it, not only can i relate to your experience for the G2, but I also bought in november an iBook combo thinking there would be some time before the laptop line is updated again...DANG!!

Originally posted by Squire
Question: Why does the average Joe need Bluetooth? I don't get the part about "not having to reach into my backpack to get my phone."
At the moment there aren't that many things that use Bluetooth: synchronizing you Palm Tungsten-T or your SonyEricssonT68i wirelessly is nice but it is not the end of the world either. I suppose in the near future we will see more practical apps using Bluetooth once it becomes ubiquitous (like the Microsoft mouse/keyboard, but better I can only hope).

NicoMan

[artistry]

At the moment there aren't that many things that use Bluetooth: synchronizing you Palm Tungsten-T or your SonyEricssonT68i wirelessly is nice but it is not the end of the world either. [/B]

I've got a Tungsten and a T68. The Tungsten won't sync with my mac using Bluetooth - I have to use the cradle (why???)

However, running iSync and then hearing my phone beep in my coat pocket the other side of the room as it is updated is still what I call a 'Star Trek' moment...

You know, when I stop to think how ,uch we take for granted these days and how far we've come from when I was born (1970) I wonder if we should sometimes stop and say 'Wow'. That's what I was thinking during the Keynote with 'simple' things like integration of itunes libraries in iPhoto, and the bookmarks listing in Safari. Just little things but... 'wow'. :eek:

[artistry]

Somebody asked about Safari and Applescript (maybe it wasn't here - I get so confused).

Well I just planned a great script to produce a tab-like solution involving writing a floating window app and - should've done this first! - was horrified to see that Safari has nothing that I would describe as 'scriptableness'. You can open and close windows, get the URL, possibly save a page in RTF format and that's about it.

Very poor - but, hey, still only beta I suppose. I hope this improves in the full version.

[iShater]

Originally posted by etype
Given the width & depth of the 17" PowerBook, could it

1. Run much cooler than present 15" models?
2. Fit a second processor in the future, if they figure out solution that doesn't drain too much battery power?

(Sorry, just thinking out loud...)

I was thinking the same thing. There seems to be more room available in there if they ever had to go dual. Now the problem would be the battery life, but I am sure they can turn off one processor on the battery.

[chetwilliams]

Originally posted by ryan

Actually there are 802.11g PC Cards that would work in the TiPB if there were proper drivers for it... But I have to say hearing people b*tch when previous generation devices don't support new generation features gets sooo tiresome. At some point a company simply needs to draw a line and say, sorry, you'll need to upgrade to take advantage of the new technology.

You are right and yet so wrong. Yes technology does march on and some things will be outdated. However, this is not one of them. The Airport card for iBooks/PowerMacs/15" TiBooks is just an Orinoco PCMCIA card with the antenna pulled off and replaced with a connector for the integrated antenna's included by Apple. There is no reason for Apple to not provide a new PCMCIA card that supports Airport Extreme. There are plenty of vendors out there that would sell it to Apple with a nice Airport Extreme logo on it (and would probably right some drivers for Apple too).

In fact, there is every reason for Apple to allow older users to buy a new Airport Extreme capable card:
- There would be a lot of people who would buy a new card and Apple could pocket the ~$30 profit margin for these. No card, no purchase.
- There would be a lot of people who would go out and buy a new Airport Extreme Base Station. The majority of these purchases would be replacing existing Airport Base Stations. Apple pockets some money on these too. Now, the kicker is that there is absolutely ZERO reason for most people to replace there existing Airport Base Station with the Extreme version. Why, you ask. Because if there is just one non-Extreme Airport laptop around the base station throttles down to the old 11Mbps speed to remain compatible. You lose the entire reason for upgrading (discounting the wireless bridging and USB printer sharing which I don't think are big enough reasons for most people to shell out $200). This means that even if an organization bought a bunch of new 17" PBs, it still would not be worth it to get AP Extreme if they have any legacy laptops since you can't pop in a new AP Extreme card in those laptops.

Everybody is right to be upset about this. It is just a bad move because it gives a huge reason for not going AP Extreme. The only reason that Apple could be using to justify it is that people will go out and by these new laptops because of AP Extreme. That is ludicrous. These new laptops have a lot of cool features but I am not going to go shell out $3300 just so I can have a 55Mbps wireless connection.

[matznentosh]

Does anyone know if iDVD 3 will run on external dvd burners? Since I don't have a supedrive mac, it's important.

[blueBomber]

alright, heres the deal... I'm a new switcher, and I ordered a 12" powerbook as my first ever os X machine (my previous mac was an old 604 that was a hand-me down). Seriously, is the specs and performance of the 12" PB supposed to be that bad? I'm happy to be able to say that I'm free of Microsoft, but I also want to have some confidence in what I'm buying. I waited forever to actually buy a new machine and debated endlessly on if I should buy an ibook or the new PB. One of the things that helped me decide was the G4 that is in the PB, and now I'm hearing that the G3 in the ibook is probably going to be faster due to larger cache? C'mon, I'm a nervous wreak over here! Ugh, nobody said switching would be easy, but my stomachs in knots because of comments like this.

[Rocketman]

Originally posted by xrhajj


I concur with you about it has the edge on Sony in the ultraportable area, but it still needs a PCMCIA slot for mobile wireless cards, like to use with your cellular phone provider and for Firewire 800 expansion!!!

Doesn't the PBG4 have FW800, APExtreme, and BTooth thus is offering everything you just said? I have a PBG4 with a PC card slot that is very lonely. I suspect the only thing it will ever see is a 802.11g device when Apple refuses to do what it should and make one that fits in the Airport 1 card slot.

Rocketman

[smelias]

I am soooooooo disappointed to read how many people replied to this thread indicating how this was the best Macworld ever. Given that not a single revolutianary product was announced (FW-800 & 802.11g not included because they are part of the evolution of the PB), I personally believe that this was one of the most boring. Yes, the evolution of the PowerBook has it's cool factor, but it pales to the announcement of the original PowerBook, the Newton, the Cube, the iMac, the TiBook, the iPod, Airport etc... Those were products the defined their respective category.

It is my belief that the Mac community has lowered their expectations so much that they now confuse evolution with innovation. I seriously wonder what it was that you people expected?

I personally expected an innovative digital lifestyle product. I think it is great to see how far they have come along on the software side, but how about a Newton PDA, an Apple TiVo, Video iPod etc... what happened to those innovations??

My feeling is that they are going after the $$$$$. Like previous post indicated, PB's are highly profitable products for Apple, so if they are going to introduce bluetooth, 802.11g, and FW 800, it might as well do so using the PB as the launch pad. Once the early adopters pluck down their $$$, other, less expensive products will arrive which will also take advantage of their new "connectivity" bundle. The fact that Airport Extreme is only $199 makes me quite confident that there will be a range of new devices that work around 802.11g and will focus around video streaming/transfer. These are the devices that will be innovative, not a rebadged iBook or a Biggie sized PB.

BTW, what were the 6" Apple Store product displays that everyone was talking about for?

[mangoman]

Originally posted by smelias
BTW, what were the 6" Apple Store product displays that everyone was talking about for?

Hmmm. Good question... Anyone?

[bentmywookie]

Originally posted by blueBomber
alright, heres the deal... I'm a new switcher, and I ordered a 12" powerbook as my first ever os X machine (my previous mac was an old 604 that was a hand-me down). Seriously, is the specs and performance of the 12" PB supposed to be that bad? I'm happy to be able to say that I'm free of Microsoft, but I also want to have some confidence in what I'm buying. I waited forever to actually buy a new machine and debated endlessly on if I should buy an ibook or the new PB. One of the things that helped me decide was the G4 that is in the PB, and now I'm hearing that the G3 in the ibook is probably going to be faster due to larger cache? C'mon, I'm a nervous wreak over here! Ugh, nobody said switching would be easy, but my stomachs in knots because of comments like this.


Ok, I'm one of those people saying the iBook will probably be faster, BUT that's just my speculation. I wouldn't worry about your purchase - I personally think they powerbook 12" is very aesthetically pleasing, and the ability to have a slot loading superdrive seems awesome. Ok, so your concerns are about performance, well I never doubted it would perform well, I just don't know how it will compare to a G3 iBook. Someone previously mentioned that they had been playing around with the 12" powerbook at the expo and that it seemed to run really well.

The 12" powerbook is a fine computer in my opinion, there are just some things I personally want to wait for to be included in it. Otherwise, it seems like a beautiful machine to me.


On another note - I can't wait for the 15" powerbook to be updated to the same specs as the 17" (with backlit keyboard and everything) - that will be a real sweet computer for those not minding the extra size and weight.

[blueBomber]

thanks for putting my mind at ease, all of my mac friends were telling me that buying a G3 would be like buying a Pentium 3 when the Pentium 4's are not much more expensive, and waaaaay faster. I have another question too, I've checked all of my hardware (my hp scanner and printer, my Wacom Tablet, my Intellimouse, etc.) to make sure it will work perfectly. The only concern I still have left is if my Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro (with media buttons) will work on my new mac. Does anybody know the answer to this one? As you know, Apple doesn't make a natural keyboard, and given a choice, I prefer it.

[bentmywookie]

Originally posted by smelias
I am soooooooo disappointed to read how many people replied to this thread indicating how this was the best Macworld ever. Given that not a single revolutianary product was announced (FW-800 & 802.11g not included because they are part of the evolution of the PB), I personally believe that this was one of the most boring.
It is my belief that the Mac community has lowered their expectations so much that they now confuse evolution with innovation. I seriously wonder what it was that you people expected?


Hardware-wise, I was a little dissappointed - the new powerbooks are cool, but until the new processors come, apple's not so well of. I do think it was a smart move to focus on the laptops though since there is much room for innovation there that could outweigh speed benefits. I personally don't feel like they really did have anything innovative, but I am glad they are focusing on the portables.


I personally expected an innovative digital lifestyle product. I think it is great to see how far they have come along on the software side, but how about a Newton PDA, an Apple TiVo, Video iPod etc... what happened to those innovations??

I was really hoping for an Apple Tablet, but alas none came. I don't feel like a Video Ipod is very innovative though, plus Archos has had a similar product out for a while.

Again, hardware-wise I was definitely dissappointed. Software-wise, I was very pleased. This was truly the highlight of the keynote for me.

[Bali Cockfight]

The ATI 9000 or the GetForce, which is better?

[justdavid]

Originally posted by pilotgi
Apple website says Safari is even faster than Chimera.
167Mhz bus on the 17" powerbook.

What's the deal with iTunes3? I already have iTunes 3.

It shipped with hidden features that weren't usable, because the new versions of iMovie, iPhoto, and iDVD (which tie into those features) haven't shipped yet.


D.

[justdavid]

Originally posted by Over Achiever
I'm breathless.

After being sad that I didn't buy my powerbook before the beginning of the year, I must say I'm estatic about the 17.1" Powerbook. And aluminum! And firewire800! And bluetooth! And airport extreme! And DDR memory! And slightly faster graphics card. And the no paint! And the airport antennae in the screen!

And the backlight keyboard took my breath away.

Here, I'd been planning to look into ripping an iMac's keyboard apart and rearranging the keycaps in a Dvorak pattern to help me learn that setup. I think this'd be really difficult with the AlBook's lighted keyboard...


D.

[blueBomber]

If you mean the GeForce4Go that is in the new PBs, then they are about the same performance wise. The opengl compatibility tends to be better with nvidia, but color and overall image quaility is a bit sharper on ATI

[bentmywookie]

Originally posted by blueBomber
thanks for putting my mind at ease, all of my mac friends were telling me that buying a G3 would be like buying a Pentium 3 when the Pentium 4's are not much more expensive, and waaaaay faster.


It's funny that you mention this because I remember reading that the P4s are better than the P3s only because of sheer speed, but that the P3s are a better processor, and have a more energy efficient core. This is why Intel's mobile division decided to use the P3 core in their upcoming mobile processor technology (Banias), which is going to result in a LOSS of megahertz for a better, more efficent processor.

[Rocketman]

Originally posted by rhfactor


Yes, it will be truly exciting to take the 17" Powerbook on the road to edit a feature film, or mix a new CD on a mountain top. The question remains: For those Pros who need the expandability of extra hard drives, multiple cards, driving multiple displays, a desktop machine is still an important part of the way we work.

I am not a businessman so i don't know the financial merits of business strategies.

The use of a FW800 port allows raid to be attached directly to the computer so no PCI card for drives or boxes to hold them are needed. It has 1000BT ethernet so no PCI NIC card is needed.

The ONLY issue becomes rendering. But if you are thumbnailing a movie and knowing you are doing the rendering later anyway, or if you do the edit, go to sleep and let it render overnight, all of a sudden the PBG417 is truly sweet. Let's not forget a project that would use such a beast would likely have 3-4 units at the incredibly cheap cost as compared to any alternative to a $3300 computer with $900 software and $800 RAID attached. In the film world you can buy 4 full set-ups of those and still feel like you just robbed a bank.

As for the people comparing top end G3 iBooks to the new G412 and complaining about minor cache and processor issues, I remind the reader that disc access and graphics processing are still the main bottlenecks of portable computers.

Besides the target market of the G412 is subnotebook users wanting a device with an expected lifespan as long as practical. ANY G4 will meet that goal better than any G3 and the added features of the G412 make the decision to spend more money fairly easy for new users and switchers.

I wonder how much faster VPC runs on the PB12 vs the iB14?

Finally for those people reading my posts just because I was RIGHT about a theatyer class Powerbook for several months, I now ask Apple to do something radical in light of the processor quagmire they expect to see for almost 2 more years. Make a box like this:

http://www.v-serv.com/-upload/avatar.jpg

[Bali Cockfight]

What is meant by "tabbed browsing"?

[blueBomber]

Originally posted by bentmywookie



It's funny that you mention this because I remember reading that the P4s are better than the P3s only because of sheer speed, but that the P3s are a better processor, and have a more energy efficient core. This is why Intel's mobile division decided to use the P3 core in their upcoming mobile processor technology (Banias), which is going to result in a LOSS of megahertz for a better, more efficent processor.

I think it's more of a cooling issue rather than a more efficient process. Pentium 4's require gigantic amounts of cooling, and the mobile p4's that exist now, will not run at full mhz when on battery, simply because they also suck so much power

[mangoman]

Originally posted by Bali Cockfight
What is meant by "tabbed browsing"?

New feature found in Netscape 7. Very cool. Hope to see it in Safari, but I won't post any mindless rants or swallow a revolver if it doesn't show up in the final build.

("OHHH MY GAAAWWWD!! No TABS? AHHHHH!", he screamed, weeping, clumsily loading the bullets into the pistol.)

[justdavid]

Originally posted by lmalave
All in all a great Macworld. I always said that notebooks are where Apple is still competitive with Wintel Machines. I can't believe Apple's biggest laptop - 17 freakin' inches - still only weighs 6.8 lbs. And at $1999 for the Superdrive 12.1" iBook, Apple is SO far ahead of the competition (Sony, Dell, Fujitsu) in the ultraportable laptop arena.

Still hoping for a cool new device, but I can't blame Apple for sticking to its bread and butter during this rough period. Until the 970 comes along, Apple can expect PowerMac sales to tank, so hopefully these notebooks will keep revenues and profits afloat.

About a year ago, I heard rumors that Apple was working on a) a PDA and b) a cellphone and c) a PDA+cellphone+iPod gizmo.

I didn't put much faith in any of them, since Apple would be fighting a pretty entrenched base with any of these ideas (iPod's large share of the MP3 player market notwithstanding). I think that playing it conservative is Apple's best-possible winning strategy.

Besides, it's not like others don't a) already have, or b) will soon release, cellphone+PDA+MP3 player gizmos. It'd be a tough nut to crack right now.


D.

[mangoman]

...but it's a nut that I'd like to chew on, nonetheless (wait, did that sound funny?)...

[justdavid]

Originally posted by paulwhannel
Hope everyone else is happy, i really don't want to hear "but there's no tablet"... blah...

Can't remember where I read this, but someone's come out with a hardened tablet (for construction sites, etc) that can talk over wireless to a CPU that's sitting in a nearby, but safely climate-controlled location. That's the sort of tablet I'd like to see -- it's instantly sync'd with your main machine, because it's using your machine machine as a backend.

Is this ringing any bells with anyone? I can remember approximately zero names or other useful, identifying details.


D.

[justdavid]

Originally posted by mangoman
...but it's a nut that I'd like to chew on, nonetheless (wait, did that sound funny?)...

In context, no. Just start hoping that no one starts taking it out of context.

I wouldn't mind them taking a stab at it (0) either. I've been thinking of the gizmo I want to replace my current cellphone, and the list is somewhat substantial:

Phone features:

1. A really good speakerphone.
2. Voice recognition. Not just "Call Joe" and it looks up the number you've associated with the name "Joe," but voicerec of phone numbers themselves.

Not-Phone features:

1. PalmOS.
2. MP3 player.
3. Radio receiver (I know a few have FM receivers, I want AM and those weather-report frequencies).
4. Digital camera.
5. GPS.

I don't want much, do I? And this is from a guy who's not normally into gadgets. Kyocera's 7135 has a lot of what I want, but not all.


D.

(0) : This puts me very close to my Daily Cliche Allowance...

[mangoman]

I'm getting away from gadgets, lately, but, as a thirty something dude who doesn't use a cell phone (yet), your menu of goodies is right up my alley. An 'all-in-one' device' with a good battery-- and able to be dropped.

Yeah.

That oughta do it.

(hmmm. deez nuts are soundin' tasty!)

[justdavid]

Originally posted by jaykk
Arn, how did u pull this one off? Great Job. One of the best Mac World. Safari is great..but after using tabbed browsing, its hard to get use to no-tabbed browser :) Oh well, its beta

I'm still on Page One of a 13-page thread, so apologies if this has already been mentioned: This would be a good time to hit 'em with "Tabbed Browsing please" feature requests. I'm using it now, but I likely won't switch from Chimera/Mozilla until it's got Tabs -- I'm that addicted to 'em.


D.

[justdavid]

Originally posted by Mudbug
I'm using Safari now and it is ROCKING along. Makes IE look like a bad beta version of old software.

This brings back a memory; the parallel should be obvious.

I actually first saw Windows back in my undergrad days, after I'd worked for a year or two in a computer lab on campus. (That lab was half DOS, and half MacOS 6.?.) So I was somewhat comfortable with DOS, and pretty comfortable with MacOS -- despite what our admins had to do to it, to provide some semblance of security.

So I went into one of the other labs one day, which had recently gotten new machines and was among the first to have Windows, not DOS. This would have been 3.11, or perhaps NT 3.51.

My first thought? "You have GOT to be kidding me! THIS is a shipping operating system?" Compared to that ancient version of MacOS, that Windows version looked like it'd been designed by Fisher Price for the kindergarten set.


D.

[Rocketman]

The desktop computers while very likely to have no impressive processor speed upgrades could have "feature upgrades". As such I would like to propose a "swiss army knofe" box to help Apple besome the home media server supplier to the stars, er, the general masses.

Proposed Desktop CPU
Apple Computer
2Q 2003

Dual processor with OSX
Internal quad 100ATA bus.
Internal dual firewire800 bus
External dual firewire800 bus
Dual I/O USB 2
Dual external 1000 BT
Audio stereo I/O and analog video I/O (RCA)
Composite video I/O

Comes with 1 or 2 internal drives at RAID 0
Comes with Pooch and a coupon for 3 for the price of two for additional CPU's at that site.
Comes with a multiple use coupon for 4 for the price of 3 drives and devices.
Coupon for networking and connecting cables, hubs, transceivers, wireless WAN units

Protocols include TCP/IP over Firewire and EN
Remote printers and servers

[DrGruv1]

Dual processor with OSX
Internal quad 100ATA bus.
Internal dual firewire800 bus
External dual firewire800 bus
Dual I/O USB 2
Dual external 1000 BT
Audio stereo I/O and analog video I/O (RCA)
Composite video I/O

That would be a nice machine and would replace my current 733!!!:)

[matttichenor]

Not sure about the Microsoft Keyboard... but I have a friend who has an HP scanner and he has had some odd USB problems with it. Hopefully you will not encounter the same issues, but I wanted to make you aware just in case.

I think it had something to do with HP's Scanning Software and Driver for OSX. If you do have problems, slowness of the OS, nasty Kernal Panic Crashes, try disconnecting the HP and see if that helps... furthermore, VueScan is a great little piece of software for OSX that supports HighQuality Scans on many different scanners, might be worth looking into.

Here's hoping HP has addressed these software problems and this is no longer an issue.

Good luck with your new Mac, I think you will be very happy with it. And realize the best thing about owning a Mac is that you are part of community of users who look after each other. If you ever have problems and don't know where to go, the forums over at MACNN.Com are great as are many other Mac Help forums. Apple's own support pages are also excellent and if you live near an Apple Store, they offer great support as well.

One more bit of advice, look into the AppleCare Program. Can be well worth the cost, especially for 1st generation devices. The beauty of it though is that you don't need to make a decision until the last day of the 1 year warranty. That means you can decide to extend the warranty 1 year from the date of purchase, great if you have been having problems, or feel like you may encounter problems in the future... extends the warranty for 2 years and offers free telephone support for that entire period... it is so worth it.


Enjoy,

Matt


Originally posted by blueBomber
thanks for putting my mind at ease, all of my mac friends were telling me that buying a G3 would be like buying a Pentium 3 when the Pentium 4's are not much more expensive, and waaaaay faster. I have another question too, I've checked all of my hardware (my hp scanner and printer, my Wacom Tablet, my Intellimouse, etc.) to make sure it will work perfectly. The only concern I still have left is if my Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro (with media buttons) will work on my new mac. Does anybody know the answer to this one? As you know, Apple doesn't make a natural keyboard, and given a choice, I prefer it.

[artistry]

Originally posted by justdavid


This brings back a memory; the parallel should be obvious.

...

My first thought? "You have GOT to be kidding me! THIS is a shipping operating system?" Compared to that ancient version of MacOS, that Windows version looked like it'd been designed by Fisher Price for the kindergarten set.


D.

I remember feeling the same way after leaving college (Mac Plusses with OS6) and being given a PC with Win 3.x on it. No true fonts, and a bizarre colour scheme, files listed (no folders etc).

Parallel not obvious though...

[blueBomber]

thanks for the suggestions, I was wondering about the value of the Apple care program, depending on how things go, I may get it. I know these questions are kind of off topic, but I'm freaking out about the whole switch thing (which is only half true- I'm keeping my desktop pc around for games). But for the first time in a while I'm excited about a piece of technology. It's strange, but when I was constatnly upgrading my computer every 6 months or so, I just took it in stride. But with my new PB, I feel an emotional attachment to the thing, and I haven't even recieved it yet! Just thought I'd share with the group, that the magic of Apple does still exist.

ps
If anyone hasn't read the book "Macintosh: the naked truth"
by Scott Kelby, do so, and then recommend it to your windows buddies. This book is the reason I switched, not because some high paid lawyer on a white background convinced me

[mangoman]

Welcome to the cult, BlueBomber. Our Kool-Aid is WAAYYYY better than Bill's!

[blueBomber]

boy I hope so, it's definatly more expensive ;)

[Doctor Q]

Originally posted by matttichenor
...I have a friend who has an HP scanner and he has had some odd USB problems with it. Hopefully you will not encounter the same issues, but I wanted to make you aware just in case.

I think it had something to do with HP's Scanning Software and Driver for OSX. If you do have problems, slowness of the OS, nasty Kernal Panic Crashes, try disconnecting the HP and see if that helps... furthermore, VueScan is a great little piece of software for OSX that supports HighQuality Scans on many different scanners, might be worth looking into.

Here's hoping HP has addressed these software problems and this is no longer an issue.
Here's some info on this subject from Chris Breen at Macworld Magazine:

I mentioned that you might try open-source drivers for certain Hewlett-Packard printers because of an incompatibility between Mac OS X 10.2.2 and some HP printer models. Since I originally penned that suggestion, Apple has release Mac OS X 10.2.3, which fixes that incompatibility.

For those who care about such things, the incompatibility was related to a general USB polling problem -- one where a memory leak resulted from the HP communications application constantly polling the USB chain to determine if a camera memory card was inserted in a Photosmart printer. This problem affected any USB device that polled the USB chain so can't be pinned strictly on HP's drivers or hardware.

Apple has shown HP a way to get the same results without polling the USB chain. Future drivers will use this Apple-recommended method.

[blueBomber]

this may seem like an odd question, but does simpletext still have all of the different voices and things to choose from in osX?

[blueBomber]

hopefully the usb issue won't effect me then, I'm hoping I can move everything over with minimal problems.

[justdavid]

Originally posted by pyrotoaster
I just discovered that in Safari, your toolbar bookmarks are automatically assigned a keyboard shortcut! :)
The first site is apple-1, the second is apple-2, and so on...

Safari is really cool, I just want it to have tabbed browsing!

I'd really like to see that sort of hotkey setup for switching between tabs. Unless Mozilla has one, and I've just managed to miss it...


D.

[QuiteSure]

Originally posted by Bali Cockfight
What is meant by "tabbed browsing"?

Tabbed browsing occurs when 2 windows are open and a "tab" at the top tells you what is going on in each of them. There is usually a keystroke you can type to jump from one tabbed window to another. It's better than having 2 windows open at the same time because the tabs of all open tabbed windows are always visible.

Safari does not have tabbed browsing, but it does have a nifty "snapback" feature that allows you to enter a URL, click on links to browse and then click on the snapback icon to go to your first window. You can also easily set a window to become your snapback window. According to some reports that I've read since the Keynote yesterday, Apple decided to use snap back and fast page rendering instead of focusing on features such as tabbed browsing. After spending a few hours with Safari I feel that the choice was a legitimate one.

Make the switch. OS X is amazing. I have 16 apps open right now (768 mb ram) without any performance impact. I need absolutely no additional software to find Windows machines on my network: they appear magically through the power of Rendezvous. My only regret is that I bought a refurbished 12" iBook in November for what I thought then was a very good deal: $999, 700 mhz, combo drive. I would gladly have spent another $800 to get the G4 12" powerbook. Oh well, the iBook is still awfully sweet!

[jettredmont]

Originally posted by justdavid


I'd really like to see that sort of hotkey setup for switching between tabs. Unless Mozilla has one, and I've just managed to miss it...


D.

Mozilla might. Phoenix (Win/Linux only) does. Chimera apparently doesn't.

[Doctor Q]

Originally posted by QuiteSure
Safari does not have tabbed browsing, but it does have a nifty "snapback" feature that allows you to enter a URL, click on links to browse and then click on the snapback icon to go to your first window. You can also easily set a window to become your snapback window. According to some reports that I've read since the Keynote yesterday, Apple decided to use snap back and fast page rendering instead of focusing on features such as tabbed browsing. After spending a few hours with Safari I feel that the choice was a legitimate one.

I disagree. Snapback handles the push-down-stack model of web surfing, where you follow links (e.g., from a Google search results page) and want to get back to that point. Just as often, I want to open multiple sites and switch back and forth among them. For example, if I want to comparison shop at MacMall and MacZone, I want two windows or tabs so I can go back and forth. In either of them, I might use Snapback to get back to a starting page, but I still need either separate windows (harder to manage) or tabs (easier to manage).

I consider Snapback to be a convenience for one set of situations and tabs to be a convenience for another set of situations. It shouldn't be either/or. They gave us one of the features; we want both.

[BWhaler]

Originally posted by blueBomber
alright, heres the deal... I'm a new switcher, and I ordered a 12" powerbook as my first ever os X machine (my previous mac was an old 604 that was a hand-me down). Seriously, is the specs and performance of the 12" PB supposed to be that bad? .... C'mon, I'm a nervous wreak over here! Ugh, nobody said switching would be easy, but my stomachs in knots because of comments like this.

BlueBomber,

Don't worry, you have made an outstanding purchase.

I was the one who previously posted that I used the 12 inch PowerBook at the Expo, and thought the negative posts were not something to be worried about.

I was at the Expo again this morning and played with the machine again. It is a beautiful piece of hardware, and I had a ton of applications open doing all sorts of things with them, and I think the speed is more than acceptable. I haven't made a final decision, but after using it, I am 90% sure this will be my next purchase.

Finally, welcome to the Macintosh family. As you said, Switching isn't easy, but as issues come up, keep coming back to these boards with questions and issues. You'll find people are more than enthusiastic to help in any way they can. You won't look back to the PC World.

--BWhaler

[justdavid]

Originally posted by mangoman
I'm getting away from gadgets, lately, but, as a thirty something dude who doesn't use a cell phone (yet), your menu of goodies is right up my alley. An 'all-in-one' device' with a good battery-- and able to be dropped.

Yeah.

That oughta do it.

(hmmm. deez nuts are soundin' tasty!)

Droppable? How about run-over-with-a-car-able? Or so the guy at Radio Shack claimed, about one model that's about as thick as a half-dozen credit cards. It wasn't much more than a phone, though, so I didn't buy it.

I'm not into gadgets at all, but I've been think that it's about time to research a PDA.

I don't use my cellphone much, but I'm really glad to have it, when I do.

The MP3 player and FM radio for entertainment aren't quite as important to me as the AM radio (because the state DoT broadcasts highway alerts on AM stations), and the weather stations (for obvious reasons).

The digital camera's just about the only fluff on the list, but I have run into a couple of situations in the last few weeks where I really wanted a camera.

So.

I either look for an all-in-one device, or I talk to the nearest police officer about where I can buy a belt that'll hold all of that crap.

Hadn't heard about the Sony Ericsson P800. Looks like a contender as well, though I didn't look at it long enough to see if it has the radio-reception circuitry.

Even with a good battery, I don't know how shock-resistant anything would be if it meets all the other items. The more things on the list, the fewer options from which to choose...


D.

[QuiteSure]

Originally posted by Doctor Q
I consider Snapback to be a convenience for one set of situations and tabs to be a convenience for another set of situations. It shouldn't be either/or. They gave us one of the features; we want both.

Yes, I agree; I want both too. Thank you for your comment.

The next question will be: is there any performance hit to be taken by including tabbed browsing?

[banjoboy1979]

the silent drop in price of the high end ibook? went from $1,599 where it was two months ago when i bought it, to $1,499. this computer couldn't really be a better deal now...

and again, i'm waiting for the benchmarks to see if the now $300 difference in price is worth it...

[justdavid]

Originally posted by artistry


I remember feeling the same way after leaving college (Mac Plusses with OS6) and being given a PC with Win 3.x on it. No true fonts, and a bizarre colour scheme, files listed (no folders etc).

Parallel not obvious though...

Safari making IE look like a bad beta, parallels (at least in my mind) MacOS making Windows look like a bad beta.


D.

[QuiteSure]

I know this is somewhat off topic, but does anyone else out there have trouble getting work done the day after a keynote?:confused:

[justdavid]

Originally posted by QuiteSure
I know this is somewhat off topic, but does anyone else out there have trouble getting work done the day after a keynote?:confused:

What, isn't it obvious?


D.

[blueBomber]

Originally posted by BWhaler


BlueBomber,

Don't worry, you have made an outstanding purchase.

I was the one who previously posted that I used the 12 inch PowerBook at the Expo, and thought the negative posts were not something to be worried about.

I was at the Expo again this morning and played with the machine again. It is a beautiful piece of hardware, and I had a ton of applications open doing all sorts of things with them, and I think the speed is more than acceptable. I haven't made a final decision, but after using it, I am 90% sure this will be my next purchase.

Finally, welcome to the Macintosh family. As you said, Switching isn't easy, but as issues come up, keep coming back to these boards with questions and issues. You'll find people are more than enthusiastic to help in any way they can. You won't look back to the PC World.

--BWhaler

I'm hoping so, since I'm going to be doing some serious graphic design work for school on it.

Thanks for the welcome, I'm hoping I'll be here for a while

[ryan]

Originally posted by chetwilliams


You are right and yet so wrong. Yes technology does march on and some things will be outdated. However, this is not one of them. The Airport card for iBooks/PowerMacs/15" TiBooks is just an Orinoco PCMCIA card with the antenna pulled off and replaced with a connector for the integrated antenna's included by Apple. There is no reason for Apple to not provide a new PCMCIA card that supports Airport Extreme. There are plenty of vendors out there that would sell it to Apple with a nice Airport Extreme logo on it (and would probably right some drivers for Apple too).

In fact, there is every reason for Apple to allow older users to buy a new Airport Extreme capable card:
- There would be a lot of people who would buy a new card and Apple could pocket the ~$30 profit margin for these. No card, no purchase.
- There would be a lot of people who would go out and buy a new Airport Extreme Base Station. The majority of these purchases would be replacing existing Airport Base Stations. Apple pockets some money on these too. Now, the kicker is that there is absolutely ZERO reason for most people to replace there existing Airport Base Station with the Extreme version. Why, you ask. Because if there is just one non-Extreme Airport laptop around the base station throttles down to the old 11Mbps speed to remain compatible. You lose the entire reason for upgrading (discounting the wireless bridging and USB printer sharing which I don't think are big enough reasons for most people to shell out $200). This means that even if an organization bought a bunch of new 17" PBs, it still would not be worth it to get AP Extreme if they have any legacy laptops since you can't pop in a new AP Extreme card in those laptops.

Everybody is right to be upset about this. It is just a bad move because it gives a huge reason for not going AP Extreme. The only reason that Apple could be using to justify it is that people will go out and by these new laptops because of AP Extreme. That is ludicrous. These new laptops have a lot of cool features but I am not going to go shell out $3300 just so I can have a 55Mbps wireless connection.
So following your logic when Apple first released Airport 3 1/2 years ago for the original iBook they also should have released PC Cards that worked with the then current generation of PowerBooks (Lombards?) or some sort of USB/serial/SCSI to Airport adapters to sell Airport Base Stations?

From a sales/marketing/support point of view:
Don't you think Apple would rather have people buy new Macs (hardware) which have the new technology as opposed to spending resources developing, and more importantly supporting, new technology on old hardware?

From a technical point of view:
The new Airport Extreme i.e. 802.11g, at least Apple's implementation uses a mini-PCI connection architecture, not the slightly modified PC Card architecture that the previous Airport employed. Granted, the reason for this change might have been to force people to upgrade their Macs but that again goes back a sales/marketing/support point of view.

As for spending $3300 to take advantage of AE you could only spend $1800 on the new 12" PowerBook.

As an aside I do find it odd that the 15" TiPB was not updated to include AE, DDR RAM, Bluetooth, etc, that the new 12" and 17" PowerBooks have. Hopefully we'll see those features added to the TiPB in the near future.

[mangoman]

Originally posted by justdavid

I either look for an all-in-one device, or I talk to the nearest police officer about where I can buy a belt that'll hold all of that crap.

LOL



Hadn't heard about the Sony Ericsson P800. Looks like a contender as well, though I didn't look at it long enough to see if it has the radio-reception circuitry.

Thanks for the reference. I'll take a look...



Even with a good battery, I don't know how shock-resistant anything would be if it meets all the other items. The more things on the list, the fewer options from which to choose...
D. [/B]

I'm gonna get blasted for mentioning this, but I fondly remember my faithful G-Shock watch: surfed with it in salt water, etc. almost every day. Why can't somebody develop that same kind of protection for an ultraportable? (OK. blast away)

[BOOMBA]

Originally posted by paulwhannel


iLife... wow. I'm going to get a DVD burner ASAP, i never saw the point but i'll find a reason to use it, those menus were phoenominal. Never seen anything like it.



:) :) :)
pnw

Did Steve (or the website) say anything about iDVD3 supporting any burner other than a built-in superdrive?

[Abstract]

In case any of you were going to buy a 12" ibook, a "Helper" at the Apple.com Discussion Board has already had a 12" iBook in his hands, and says that its hot. Not hot as in, "Wow, that's a hot lookin' laptop!!!" I'm talking about temperature and heat. If you're going to buy a portable laptop, I'd go with the 12" iBook for now. You only need a 12" Powerbook if you're desperate to use a Superdrive while on the run, or use your Sony-Ericcson mobile phone and bluetooth. Of course, you also probably would not need a superdrive because you probably have a desktop Powermac at home if you own a 12" laptop of any kind, since a 12" laptop could not serve as a desktop replacement. Well, it wouldn't be adequate, would it? If you were replacing your desktop completely, you definitely would not get the 12", but the 15" or 17" instead. I don't see a need for a 12" powerbook when they have a perfectly good laptop, the 12" iBook and entire iBook line, that could use some of these innovations like Airport Extreme. It can serve those who want an ultraportable laptop. This type of laptop is strictly for portability while you're not beside your desktop. If you really wanted to do graphics work, then you would probably opt for the larger 15" or 17" screen, right?

[mangoman]

Anyone wanna make an offer on my ol' azz PBG4/400mhz? It's got 768 of RAM, and a 20 gig drive. Excellent condition.

[sedarby]

When did Apple officially announce that the next processor will be the IBM 970? I see a lot of assumptions but no hard evidence that this is the path Apple will take.

Anyone care to post a link where Apple or any of its representatives stated their next processor would definitely be the IBM 970?

[dorleac]

Okay, I knew this was coming. Everyone told me in November that there wouldn't be another upgrade for a long time, but I held out.

Now I am wondering...

I remember reading speculation in the past about two issues/features that might be resolved/introduced in a Powerbook redesign. Since we have the new AlumiBook, perhaps this stuff is here or coming soon...

(Please forgive me if I either misinterpreted or misunderstood the rumors or if these issues were already resolved. I don't currently own a Powerbook, but have been waiting patiently for the right moment to buy.)

1) Employment of a Mac patent on a new heat-dispersement design for laptops with different placement of heat sinks, different metals used internally, etc. to aid in better cooling of the machine.

2) Variable bus timing where the machine would use power according to how many apps, what screen brightness settings were being used, etc. thereby saving battery life.

Anyone know if these things were included in the design of the new PB(s) or if they're still coming?

Please keep me posted if you hear anything.
Thanks.

[artistry]

I seem to be in a minority here - I think the UI of Safari is simplicity itself. Very neat, no space wasted, probably the first app to make the metallic interface look nice, looks like a grown up browser - IE's icons look like buttons on a toy in comparison.

For a beta, this is great. My online banking doesn't want to play, but I've sent a screenshot to Apple and I expect it will be sorted soon.

[artistry]

Originally posted by sedarby
When did Apple officially announce that the next processor will be the IBM 970? I see a lot of assumptions but no hard evidence that this is the path Apple will take.

Anyone care to post a link where Apple or any of its representatives stated their next processor would definitely be the IBM 970?

Macrumors.com - the clue is in the title ;)

[wdodd]

Originally posted by TRAUT
Also, please tell me the cool music composing site Steve used to demo Safari. :confused:
Loop Labs (http://www.looplabs.com/) Very fun to play with for short intervals, and a very cool and innovative use of Flash (IMHO).

[artistry]

Just caught this quote at Thinksecret.com of Steve Jobs being interviewd on TV today:

Jobs acknowledged that portables will be an "area of growth" for Apple in 2003, but said, "We've got some good things up our sleeve in the desktop area too."

[pyrotoaster]

Originally posted by artistry

I seem to be in a minority here - I think the UI of Safari is simplicity itself. Very neat, no space wasted, probably the first app to make the metallic interface look nice, looks like a grown up browser - IE's icons look like buttons on a toy in comparison.

For a beta, this is great. My online banking doesn't want to play, but I've sent a screenshot to Apple and I expect it will be sorted soon.

You're not alone, I like Safari's UI, too.

The way it manages window space is great. I like being able to add and remove the status bar at will, and the bookmarking system is very well thought out.
I like the brushed metal look, because it really defines where the page is versus where the browser is.
I can see why some people might want to stick with Chimera for now (it won't be leaving my dock for quite a while), but Safari is really much much better than Explorer, and pretty darn good for a beta.

[sedarby]

Originally posted by artistry


Macrumors.com - the clue is in the title ;) \

Everyone, and I mean everyone refers to the 970 as if it is a done deal. The only thing that is known is what IBM has released which seems to reference their Linux machines and some other company but who knows it may be for embedded controllers for all I know. Although Apple has supposedly taken delivery of some samples of the 970 what is to say they haven't prototyped with other manufacturers processors.

I'm just saying that assuming Apple will use this particular processor may be very disappointing if they stay with Motorola or go with another manufacturer that isn't so obvious. I mean surely there are more manufacturers than IBM, Motorola, AMD and Intel?

[pyrotoaster]

Originally posted by artistry

Just caught this quote at Thinksecret.com of Steve Jobs being interviewd on TV today:

Jobs acknowledged that portables will be an "area of growth" for Apple in 2003, but said, "We've got some good things up our sleeve in the desktop area too."

I just read the article at Think Secret (http://www.thinksecret.com/), and it looks like this is going to be a big year at Apple.

[Nipsy]

Originally posted by sedarby
When did Apple officially announce that the next processor will be the IBM 970? I see a lot of assumptions but no hard evidence that this is the path Apple will take.

Anyone care to post a link where Apple or any of its representatives stated their next processor would definitely be the IBM 970?

Apple will annouce it when they debut a PowerMac featuring it. Don't expect ANY previous confirmation from a company which holds its future plans so tightly.

You can choose to believe it or not based on empirical evidence:
It has AltiVec, a processor feature which is use ONLY by modern Macintosh Apps. The cost of mating AltiVec to a Power4 derived core for Linux is a non starter...for Mac OSX, it makes sense.
Apple, IBM, and Moto have had an alliance for years. Now that Moto has fallen behind, IBM is filling a void for Apple. Sure sounds much more reasonable than all this AMD claptrap.

Again, the choice is yours, but it would take some serious miracles for this processor NOT to make it into PowerMacs.

[chetwilliams]

Originally posted by ryan

So following your logic when Apple first released Airport 3 1/2 years ago for the original iBook they also should have released PC Cards that worked with the then current generation of PowerBooks (Lombards?) or some sort of USB/serial/SCSI to Airport adapters to sell Airport Base Stations?


I do not think that is a fair comparison as back then Airport was a completely new piece of technology, whereas AP Extreme is really just Airport+. Not to mention that having no Airport upgrade path actually hampers AP Extreme because an AP Extreme Base Station drops down to regular Airport speeds when an old Airport device comes in range. Since there is no Airport upgrade path this will happen quite often.


From a technical point of view:
The new Airport Extreme i.e. 802.11g, at least Apple's implementation uses a mini-PCI connection architecture, not the slightly modified PC Card architecture that the previous Airport employed. Granted, the reason for this change might have been to force people to upgrade their Macs but that again goes back a sales/marketing/support point of view.


I don't think cost is an issue as the healthy margin that could be charged for the new AP Extreme PC Card version would easily cover the support and driver development costs. Actual technical engineering costs would be practically nil because a 3rd party card could be used with an AP Extreme logo thrown on top of it.

[mikejshaw]

Wasn't Cyberdog Apple's first web browser?

[pyrotoaster]

Yes, CyberDog is from the OpenDoc days, and didn't have a very long life.
Safari is Apple's second web browser.
Apple was also an ISP for a short period of time, with a service called eWorld.

[nickmcghie]

just wondering... has anybody noticed that APPLE'S OWN WEBSITE DOESN'T DISPLAY CORRECTLY IN SAFARI!?!?!? thats right.. go to Apple's very own homepage (http://www.apple.com) and notice that the toolbar on the top doesn't align with the rest of the page! it is slightly off center to the right!

i thought that this might just be a problem with my machine, but i've checked it on at least a couple of other macs and its all the same.. in chimera, netscape, and IE, it aligns correctly, but not in safari! hahahha.. i just thought that was very funny :)

[pyrotoaster]

It's barely off-center, I didn't notice until you pointed it out.
But it is kinda funny, in an ironic way. ;)

[MacKid]

Originally posted by nickmcghie
just wondering... has anybody noticed that APPLE'S OWN WEBSITE DOESN'T DISPLAY CORRECTLY IN SAFARI!?!?!? thats right.. go to Apple's very own homepage (http://www.apple.com) and notice that the toolbar on the top doesn't align with the rest of the page! it is slightly off center to the right!

i thought that this might just be a problem with my machine, but i've checked it on at least a couple of other macs and its all the same.. in chimera, netscape, and IE, it aligns correctly, but not in safari! hahahha.. i just thought that was very funny :)

That's because of the room that the scroll bar takes up. Visualize about 1/8" (or whatever it is) added to the right, and it will make sense.:cool:

[wdlove]

Do you think auto fill will be added? My wife has complained, "I miss it, annoying." Does Apple have a site to recommend this feature?

[nickmcghie]

Originally posted by MacKid


That's because of the room that the scroll bar takes up. Visualize about 1/8" (or whatever it is) added to the right, and it will make sense.:cool:


hmmm.. okay.. but why only the toolbar then? wouldn't the rest of page be centered with the toolbar taken in account? cuz the toolbar doesn't align with the rest of page...

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by wdlove
Do you think auto fill will be added? My wife has complained, "I miss it, annoying." Does Apple have a site to recommend this feature?

Just report a bug under the other context and ask for whatever your little heart (or big heart) desires.

[artistry]

Just caught this on BBC News (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2641265.stm) Bill Gate's vision of the future - watches that receive news and... what sounds like a video iPod, though all I got was the size of the screen (4 inches, or 10 centimetres if you've caught up with the 21st century ;) ) not the size of the device, disk etc, or the formats it uses.

Not keen on the idea of a watch that's hooked up - I waste enough time as it is, on the internet checking the latest news etc.

What annoys me is that when Apple announces something new, not a dicky-bird on the news. When Gates breaks wind it's front page stuff - and it's never actually new - read the stuff about wi-fi being in every house. Wow, what a visionary!

[artistry]

Now that we've got three new Powerbook models, could somebody at Apple send one over to HBO in time for the next series of Sex in the City? The lead character has been using an old model for ages and it's looking dated! Just bugged me last night (we're just seeing series 5 over here).

[justdavid]

Originally posted by mangoman

I'm gonna get blasted for mentioning this, but I fondly remember my faithful G-Shock watch: surfed with it in salt water, etc. almost every day. Why can't somebody develop that same kind of protection for an ultraportable? (OK. blast away)

Why would you get blasted? This doesn't strike me as a flame-happy forum?

My suspicions, though I make no promises as to their accuracy:

1) Hardening a PDA-sized screen isn't as easy as hardening a watch-sized bezel, especially if the touch-sensitivity is to be retained.

2) Solid-state memory hasn't advanced to the point where it fits within the desired size + capacity + price envelope.


D.

[mangoman]

Originally posted by artistry
Now that we've got three new Powerbook models, could somebody at Apple send one over to HBO in time for the next series of Sex in the City? The lead character has been using an old model for ages and it's looking dated! Just bugged me last night (we're just seeing series 5 over here).

Sex in the City's on the way out. Check the news. CNN had a headline this week 'bout the show going bye-bye. Sorry...

[justdavid]

Originally posted by pyrotoaster


You're not alone, I like Safari's UI, too.

The way it manages window space is great. I like being able to add and remove the status bar at will, and the bookmarking system is very well thought out.
I like the brushed metal look, because it really defines where the page is versus where the browser is.
I can see why some people might want to stick with Chimera for now (it won't be leaving my dock for quite a while), but Safari is really much much better than Explorer, and pretty darn good for a beta.

Agreed on all points. I like the brushed metal as well, though I don't overly much care -- Mozilla's Aqua look is fine with me too. I hadn't tried it on any secure sights, and the lack of tabbed browsing is a showstopper for me, but I'm going to keep checking back with future versions.


D.

[macdiehard]

Some asked why would anyone buy a imac over a 17 inch PB besides price.

Well someone like me. I currently use a PB for all my computing, 8 hours a day and I love having all data on one machine but I hate the ergonomics.

Also I feel at risk having only one machine that is a portable, there is a much great chance of it get stolen, or damaged. As my whole business depends on the computer I am more prone to get an imac 17 inch, with it's great ergonomics, and then an ibook or the PB 12 inch for travel.

This way I have good ergonomics at my desk and two machines in case one goes down. Total outlay around $3700 versus $3300 for one machine.

If the PB 12 inch could take 1 gig of Ram and had DVI out, I might consider using it with an external monitor as a destop replacement.

I am getting my wife a ibook 14 inch for home, I could always steal her machine if mine was broken :)

[eric_n_dfw]

A couple people have commented on the difference between Final Cut Pro 3 and the new Final Cut Extreeme.

Here's a clip from another forum with and (unconfirmed) list that makes me glad to be a "Pro" user:


http://www.lafcpug.org/phorum/read.php?f=1&i=20655&t=20629#reply_20655

Author: Paul from Apple (208.34.118.---)
Date: 01-07-03 18:03

Final Cut Express is the perfect solution for DV enthusiasts that are looking for a powerful, affordable DV editing application. Final Cut Pro is the solution for professional editors and advanced videographers/filmmakers.

Some key differences between FCP and FCE:
1. Final Cut Express is DV only (NTSC and PAL frame rates only, no 24fps support).
2. Final Cut Pro supports 3rd party capture cards.
3. Final Cut Pro supports timecode, Final Cut Express does not present timecode information to the user.
4. Final Cut Pro allows you to LOG and capture.
5. Final Cut Pro includes support for RS-422 control.
6. Pro users can use OfflineRT, Express can not.
7. Pro includes three-way color correction and other advanced tools that Express does not.
8. The keyframing model is substantially different in Express. Only Motion tab items can be keyframed. Filters cannot.
9. Final Cut Pro has a Media Manager, Express does not.
10. Final Cut Pro supports EDL I/O.
11. Final Cut Pro can be extended with Cinema Tools.
12. Final Cut Pro includes Audio OMF export.
13. Pro supports Edit To Tape and Insert editing.
14. Pro can do a Batch Export.
15. FXScript is not in Express.
16. AE plug-ins are not in Express.
17. Undo: FCP = 99, FCE = 32.

Log and capture is worth the cost difference (IMO) alone, not to mention OfflineRT and the Media Manager.

[artistry]

Originally posted by mangoman


Sex in the City's on the way out. Check the news. CNN had a headline this week 'bout the show going bye-bye. Sorry...

I know - but I meant at least get in in the last 20 episodes ;)

It'll probably go the way of Friends - more comebacks than Sinatra.

[mangoman]

:D

Good one.

[wdlove]

"Sex In The City" will start filming the last 20 episodes in March. Last episode due to air in January 2002, unless the ladies change their mind. It's a ladies prerogative to change her mind!

[tjwett]

Originally posted by firestarter


Not bad??

$500 for a new case and Bluetooth, compared to the 12 inch iBook?

The 12inch could be so much more. This does not compete with PC ultraportables. Again Apple misses the point on expandability.

This is a POWERBOOK. DVI, big memory and PCMCIA is missing!!!

L3 Cache is also missing and that is BAD. why would they take it away. they did this with the Rev B TiBooks and they were slugs! then they put it back in the Rev C. then they take it away again??? i just don't get it. they should have just called this the new iBook or something. the 17" however is AMAZING but the price keeps it out of my reach for now.

[Doctor Q]

Thanks, eric_n_dfw, for posting the details about Final Cut Express vs. Final Cut Pro. That's more detail than I found on my own. I'm glad I got Final Cut Pro, because a video editing bozo like me needs 33 (maybe 34) levels of undo! :)

Seriously, I wouldn't want to do without OfflineRT, and I'm surprised that OfflineRT wasn't included, since it seems of benefit to the "DV-only serious-hobbyist not-quite-professional less-than-top-of-the-line-equipped" users who are the target market for Final Cut Express.

[eric_n_dfw]

Originally posted by Doctor Q
Thanks, eric_n_dfw, for posting the details about Final Cut Express vs. Final Cut Pro. That's more detail than I found on my own. I'm glad I got Final Cut Pro, because a video editing bozo like me needs 33 (maybe 34) levels of undo! :)

Seriously, I wouldn't want to do without OfflineRT, and I'm surprised that OfflineRT wasn't included, since it seems of benefit to the "DV-only serious-hobbyist not-quite-professional less-than-top-of-the-line-equipped" users who are the target market for Final Cut Express.
You might want to follow the discussion on LAFCPUG site I linked - those differences are un-confirmed as of yesterday. (I haven't checked it again today)

[MacKid]

Originally posted by nickmcghie



hmmm.. okay.. but why only the toolbar then? wouldn't the rest of page be centered with the toolbar taken in account? cuz the toolbar doesn't align with the rest of page...

Well, it is a beta, and if you look closely, nothing seems to align correctly on the right side, and IE and Chimera and OmniWeb only solve this because the program has been told to stop the scroll bars from blocking the page.

Just give Apple some time . . . .:D

[Doctor Q]

I just opened my January 2003 copy of Emedia magazine and there's an article (http://www.emedialive.com/r17/2003/sauer0103.html) pitting Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, and Avid Xpress DV, head to head. Bill Hudson and Brian Meaney, the Apple spokesmen they interviewed, had to hold their tongues about Final Cut Express (not yet announced at the time) and let Emedia report "Obviously, the price difference makes Premiere more appealing to budget-conscious users."

Looks like eMedia needs an immediate update to their story.

(And this thread needs a split into separate discussions of each of Apple's announced products.)

[etype]

For those who, like me, crave screen real estate, particularly in laptops, and what to compare:

PowerBook 12" 1024x768 = 0.79 Mpx, 106.7 ppi
PowerBook 15" 1152x768 = 0.88 Mpx, 92.3 ppi
PowerBook 15" 1280x854 = 1.09 Mpx, 102.6 ppi
PowerBook 17" 1440x900 = 1.30 Mpx, 99.9 ppi
15" Studio Display 1024x768 = 0.79 Mpx, 85.3 ppi
17" Studio Display 1280x1024 = 1.31 Mpx, 96.4 ppi
22" Cinema Display 1600x1024 = 1.64 Mpx, 86.3 ppi
23" Cinema HD 1920x1200 = 2.30 Mpx, 98.4 ppi

(Mpx = megapixels, ppi = pixels per inch)

Given Mac OS X's typically larger font sizes, menu and other controls. I prefer the denser displays in the PowerBook 12" (106.7 ppi) & newer PowerBook 15" (102.6 ppi). I wonder if Apple would ever try to fit more pixels in the PowerBook 17" at some later date, say:

PowerBook 17" 1536x960 = 1.47 Mpx, 106.5 ppi

Would be lovely, wouldn't it?