Poll: When do you think Apple will first _ship_ Macs with PPC 970's?

[MacRumors]

Vote: Poll: When do you think Apple will first _ship_ Macs with PPC 970's? (http://www.macpolls.com/?poll_id=183&ref=forums.macrumors.com)

[mim]

We should start a book.

Not sure what we could bet with though.....MacRumor status levels?

I also have complete confirmation that it will end of June. An astrologer told me that my love life would change for the better, and I would see new horizons next month.

That can only mean 970's ;)

-what?

a.

[PretendPCuser]

Two months after they announce it...

Let's hope for, "one more thing, these machines are available today!"
:D

[Mblazened]

June 17th? Sounds good to me. If i'm right, i claim mac supremacy!

[stefman]

Originally posted by PretendPCuser
Two months after they announce it...

Let's hope for, "one more thing, these machines are available today!"
:D

I second that. Announced at WWDC and most probably available in Aug. or Sept.

Of course, I won't be upset if they are available sooner! :D

[Snowy_River]

Well, gee, no one seems to think that Uncle Steve is going to ship us 970s for Christmas...

Personally, I hope (and voted for) June (WWDC).

Say, mim, do you think that your astrologer could predict when I'll be getting my new 15" PowerBook? (And the first person who says 'Shortly after you order it' will get smacked upside the head :D)

[Gelfin]

Wow, you guys are optimistic. I'm guessing October, and that's even assuming they're announced at WWDC. Major changes generally mean major unplanned delays.

[Nermal]

I voted September. I would like to see them earlier than that, but if I was voting on what I'd like, it would've been a 970 PowerBook for $1499 in February (cause I bought a $1499 iBook in Feb!)

[mim]

Originally posted by Snowy_River
Say, mim, do you think that your astrologer could predict when I'll be getting my new 15" PowerBook?

She sees.....

1) You loosing a left shoe,
2) An accident involving blue-gel toothpaste,
3) A date that goes terribly, terribly wrong (this is combined with flashes of 2),
4) No updated powerbook for you for the next 5 years.
5) Related to above - Snowy loosing the popular vote for the position of chairman for the "Stuck in pre-G3 hell Powerbook Club" - 3 votes to 4.

She's not very positive, I may try different one ;)

a.

[Centris 650]

I voted for September. They really need to be shipping at least by then to whet peoples tastes for Christmas. I think there will be many a customers buying themselves an early Christmas present when these babies roll out.

On the business end we always tried to spend light through the year in case we needed something unseen and unexpected. However, if we had any money left by years end we really needed to spend it or the "powers that be" would cut our budget by what we didn't use. I could see some businesses buying the machines to finish off their budgets and still getting them on their taxes (for depreciation, etc.) for the same year.

Whenever they do release them...it's going to be very very sweet.

[MacFan25]

I think the 970s will be put in PowerMacs, and announced at WWDC. But, it may be a few weeks before they start to ship them.

[pyrotoaster]

I say they'll announce at WWDC and ship in July. Seems to make sense.

[Ambrose Chapel]

Does anyone know how stocks of the current towers and x-serves are looking? I imagine that if they start to deplete by the beginning of June that'll be a good sign of a WWDC announcement. Whether they are immediately available after the announcement or a month away, PM sales will screech to a halt, so I doubt Apple will pull up the 970 curtain until they clear out the existing channels.

As for the poll, I think a WWDC announcement with shipping in a month, then a slight week or 2 delay after that, so a final ship date of August.

[-hh]

Originally posted by Gelfin
Wow, you guys are optimistic. I'm guessing October, and that's even assuming they're announced at WWDC. Major changes generally mean major unplanned delays.


I also voted October. The most recent scuttlebutt does seem to infer slightly later rather than a surprise early present.

I expect them to be announced in June, promised by the end of August/beginning of September (call it Labor Day), and they'll probably make that date with one configuration in very limited quantities.

But I don't count this as really shipping. If we count very limited stuff, the answer is that Apple has already shipped (those developmental units to various developers, etc)

So discounting a small, "one shot" batch like they had with the 17", the earliest that I see that the entire announced product line is going to be freely available will be no earlier than October.



-hh

[Snowy_River]

Originally posted by pyrotoaster
I say they'll announce at WWDC and ship in July. Seems to make sense.

While reasonable, I'd say that it's at least as likely that the low end models would ship immediately. So, say the 'Fast' model is immediately available, the 'Faster' model is available July, and the 'Fastest' model available in August/September.

[Snowy_River]

Originally posted by mim
She sees.....

1) You loosing a left shoe,
2) An accident involving blue-gel toothpaste,
3) A date that goes terribly, terribly wrong (this is combined with flashes of 2),
4) No updated powerbook for you for the next 5 years.
5) Related to above - Snowy loosing the popular vote for the position of chairman for the "Stuck in pre-G3 hell Powerbook Club" - 3 votes to 4.

She's not very positive, I may try different one ;)

a.

Gee, now I'm depressed. I guess I'll just have to look to someone else...

[Masker]

I think what this poll really tells me is not when the 970s will be shipped, but rather, how many people are going to be really, really, really, really upset if 970s are not demo'd at WWDC. And I mean REALLY upset. Really.

I can see it now (though I'm not an astrologer, maybe more of a psychohistorian like Harry Seldon in Foundation... :D ):


1) No 970s demo'd at WWDC

2) The blood runs through the exhibition halls just after the keynote, with many developer's lives lost due to uncontrollable mobs; Jobs is escorted out to his Gulfstream by dozens of Apple Secret Service agents and barely gets off the ground

3) Disgruntled developers call MacRumors, and thousands of rumor mongers & hopeful Mac users FREAK OUT, with behaviors ranging from massive suicide (think "black tuesday" -- people jumping from skyscraper windows) to rioting and concentrated guerilla warfare at 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino.

4) Apple completely implodes financially, since Jobs has to continue to orbit the globe, spending his savings on mid-air refuellings since he knows death awaits him where-ever he lands...

5) The "journey towards the Dark Side" has been completed, and 2004 becomes the new (Orwellian) 1984, with drab Windows PCs becoming the only option. <shudder>

6) The world ends, not with a bang, but a wimper.

Steve: PLEASE! Save us from this future!

(Masker removes his tongue from its firm emplacement in his cheek. The cheek on his face, you filthy #$()&s! :D :D :D)

[eric_n_dfw]

I optimistically voted July - but August is my gut feel.

I got burned with a Rev A B&W (not that the IDE problem was that big of a deal) so , even if I could afford one, I'll wait 6 - 12 months for them to work the kinks out before slapping down my cash this time.

[Snowy_River]

Well, if latest rumors on other threads are any indication, it looks like we may be waiting a bit longer. I won't be too upset by this, but I'll be a little disappointed. Just bring me a new 15" PowerBook (G4, if it must be, 970 if possible!).

:)

[g3ski]

They will not announce a new 970 unless they are ready to ship within a few days or a few weeks at most. If they announce in June that they will be shipping in September....no one in their right mind will buy the current tower. Apple will have no tower sales for 3 months. That's a lot of lost dough.

So if we see or hear anything about the 970 at WWDC, then we will be seeing them listed at the Apple store that day.

(I predict low end ships within 1 weeks, mid level ships within 2 weeks, highend starts to ship within a month)

[shadowfax]

good lord, people! this is the shipping date, not the release date. you're all completely out of your minds who voted within 2 months of june. they will announce them in late june at WWDC, MAYBE. they won't be shipping within 8 weeks of that, i'll bet you some serious cash. think 17 inch powerbooks.

[wdlove]

I do think that Steve will announce the PPC 970 along with Mac OS X 10.3 at WWDC in June. My understanding is that sales of the tower is low now. So if there is a wait on shipment it won't really make a difference!

[shadowfax]

Originally posted by g3ski
They will not announce a new 970 unless they are ready to ship within a few days or a few weeks at most. If they announce in June that they will be shipping in September....no one in their right mind will buy the current tower. Apple will have no tower sales for 3 months. That's a lot of lost dough.

So if we see or hear anything about the 970 at WWDC, then we will be seeing them listed at the Apple store that day.

(I predict low end ships within 1 weeks, mid level ships within 2 weeks, highend starts to ship within a month) i don't think that they will entirely switch the full pmac line to 970, myself. i think the low will still be G4--much like the way they came out with iPods, and the way they didn't update the 15" powerbooks. also, apple could guess that waiting 10 weeks to ship that 17 inch powerbook would cannibalize 15 inch sales. but they did it anyways.

[utahraptor]

They may release them soon, but they will be much slower than expected. This is not because they do not have faster ones ready, it is because they want to sap every last cent out us that they can. They will release slow ones (faster than the already slow ones available) to appease those who have been eagerly awaiting the next update. Then when sales really start to fall they will release the next slow iteration (not the fastest ones they have available). Do any of you really believe that they will simply hand down a fast processor just like that when they could baby step their way from here to infinity?

PS Since Microsoft owns the whole thing anyways, why would they want to bring apple computers up to a speed that could compete with their current main interest? They might eventually, but by the time that happens, their new current main interest will be much faster. In essence, the speed of the apple computers will remain at a speed at least 6 months to a year behind those of IBM based ones until apple rots away or is simply eaten up.

[eric_n_dfw]

Maybe the question should have been, "When will Apple start taking orders for 970 based machines?"

[Bear]

...when it is ready for release.

[pbrennen]

...what's that 20th anniversary of 1984's Superbowl ad going to be about? You know, the one that Apple has told the commissioned ad company has to be bigger than the 1984 ad. 970s in January people. Sorry : P

[Kethoticus]

...we'll see anything before Jan 2004. Sorry, just too many disappointments with rumor-fueled, eagerly-anticipated updates that never materialized. I mean, how many MWExpos were we supposed to see firewire B or DDR-RAM and never got it?

I know some reputable sources are saying that Apple will likely be one of IBM's biggest customers for their spanking brand new 970. I'm sure that this is a CPU that might eventually make its way into Macs. But I'm not optimistic for anything as soon as 9 months after IBM's announcement of said chip.

[yzedf]

Back to school push would be great for sales. Too bad I am no longer in school...

[Flickta]

I answered June, cause I want to believe...

I'm not sure Apple will survive another update: "This G4 Dual 1.6 Ghz compares to Pentium 4 3.6 in Photoshop, to Tefal in Steakmaking and to Concord in noise levels!"

[shadowfax]

Originally posted by Flickta
I answered June, cause I want to believe...

I'm not sure Apple will survive another update: "This G4 Dual 1.6 Ghz compares to Pentium 4 3.6 in Photoshop, to Tefal in Steakmaking and to Concord in noise levels!" heh. indeed. but they won't get much of an edge with a 1.8 GHz 970 either, maybe not even two, if we don't get PS 8 64 bit edition :p

[wdlove]

Kethoticus & pbrennen thank you for a dose of reality, but now you have me depressed! :( I do have to admit that I've been greatly disappointed by what Steve announced during his keynote addresses. One can always hope that this will be out time of great joy, but cautious!

[mim]

Originally posted by Shadowfax
good lord, people! this is the shipping date, not the release date. you're all completely out of your minds who voted within 2 months of june. they will announce them in late june at WWDC, MAYBE. they won't be shipping within 8 weeks of that, i'll bet you some serious cash. think 17 inch powerbooks.

Why? Would there be a good reason for this? I think, for a hugely important release like this, Apple would want to be selling them straight away. There are too many reasons for them not to hold off, and no explainations for why they might hold off, except for "well, look what happened with the 17" powerbooks."

Now, I think you're right to press for some caution on a WWDC 970 announcement. But when they are announced, the machines wil be there ready and waiting. Apple know they have a bad reputation for late shipping. They'll want the 970's release to be as perfect as possible. I would say a week or 2 after. They'll want just enough time to gauge pre-order numbers to ramp up production if they start selling too fast.

a

[3G4N]

i believe they will ship on the tail end of the above bell-curve of optimism - hopefully August, likely Sept.

[pimentoLoaf]

I think the new toys will arrive in June for developers, but it'll be September before the general public will get their mitts on 'em.

[mim]

Originally posted by pimentoLoaf
I think the new toys will arrive in June for developers, but it'll be September before the general public will get their mitts on 'em.

But seeing as they will run all existing un-modified software much much much faster, why would they give them to developers first? There is no beinift. If they are being released, then Apple will have tested them for compatibility internally anyway.

If you buy into the recent rumors, it's likely that some important developers have already seen pre-production machines.

a.

[macdong]

Gee, I can't believe there are people who voted "Never".
Have you completely lost confidence to Apple?

[Kethoticus]

Gee, I can't believe there are people who voted "Never".
Have you completely lost confidence to Apple?
What has Apple done to give us uncompromised confidence in them? I do think that the 970 is likely, but not definite. C'mon. If there's one thing the past 4 years have taught us is if it's not officially announced, it might as well not even be up for consideration in fora such as these. More than half the time we're disappointed. Need I bring up the quintessential example of last year's pre-MWExpo super-hype on Apple's own web site?

I just hope that when these new CPUs do make it into Macs, they're worth it. I would be seriously disappointed if Apple gave us 1.6GHz 970s while Intel is offering a chip closing in on 4GHz. I don't care how much more powerful this new 970 is. And I also want to see a CPU that fully supports DDR-RAM. I also want Macs that utilize HT.

[scem0]

August seems like a wierd month but I think it will be shipping around then.

[Snowy_River]

Originally posted by Shadowfax
good lord, people! this is the shipping date, not the release date. you're all completely out of your minds who voted within 2 months of june. they will announce them in late june at WWDC, MAYBE. they won't be shipping within 8 weeks of that, i'll bet you some serious cash. think 17 inch powerbooks.

That makes no sense whatsoever. The 17" was delayed for design issues. Do you think that Apple wanted to string out the shipping of the 17"? Honestly...

I've said it before, but I'll say it again, I think that it's quite likely that when they're announced the 'Fast' model (say 1.4 SP970) will be available immediately, the 'Faster' model (say 1.6 DP970) will be available in two weeks or so, and the 'Fastest' model (say 1.8 DP970) will be available in about six weeks. That is how Apple has typically handled new product rollouts.

That said, we can always hope that Apple will actually have all three models available immediately... :D

[Snowy_River]

Originally posted by utahraptor
They may release them soon, but they will be much slower than expected. This is not because they do not have faster ones ready, it is because they want to sap every last cent out us that they can. They will release slow ones (faster than the already slow ones available) to appease those who have been eagerly awaiting the next update. Then when sales really start to fall they will release the next slow iteration (not the fastest ones they have available). Do any of you really believe that they will simply hand down a fast processor just like that when they could baby step their way from here to infinity?

PS Since Microsoft owns the whole thing anyways, why would they want to bring apple computers up to a speed that could compete with their current main interest? They might eventually, but by the time that happens, their new current main interest will be much faster. In essence, the speed of the apple computers will remain at a speed at least 6 months to a year behind those of IBM based ones until apple rots away or is simply eaten up.

I trust that your tongue was firmly planted in your cheek with that post...

[Snowy_River]

Originally posted by Kethoticus
What has Apple done to give us uncompromised confidence in them? I do think that the 970 is likely, but not definite. C'mon. If there's one thing the past 4 years have taught us is if it's not officially announced, it might as well not even be up for consideration in fora such as these. More than half the time we're disappointed. Need I bring up the quintessential example of last year's pre-MWExpo super-hype on Apple's own web site?

I just hope that when these new CPUs do make it into Macs, they're worth it. I would be seriously disappointed if Apple gave us 1.6GHz 970s while Intel is offering a chip closing in on 4GHz. I don't care how much more powerful this new 970 is. And I also want to see a CPU that fully supports DDR-RAM. I also want Macs that utilize HT.

Now, first off, this hasn't been entirely Apple's fault. Moto must share a significant amount of the blame for this (if not most of it).

The next point, I'd ask you about the MHz myth. While I will easily grant that the current crop of PCs are faster than the current crop of Macs, that doesn't mean that the MHz myth is true (more MHz!=faster computer). So, I'd ask, if a 1.6GHz DP970 actually could outperform a 4GHz Pentium in most areas (i.e. not just specially selected PS tasks, etc.), would you still say:

I don't care how much more powerful this new 970 is.

[Frobozz]

Originally posted by Macrumors
Vote: Poll: When do you think Apple will first _ship_ Macs with PPC 970's? (http://www.macpolls.com/?poll_id=183&ref=forums.macrumors.com)

What's so shocking to me is that, as of this writing, 50 people voted for "never". Dear god...

[scem0]

Originally posted by Frobozz
What's so shocking to me is that, as of this writing, 50 people voted for "never". Dear god...

50 people are wrong...










I hope.

[Snowy_River]

Originally posted by scem0
50 people are wrong...










I hope.

Me too.
:cool:

[macdong]

Originally posted by Kethoticus
What has Apple done to give us uncompromised confidence in them? I do think that the 970 is likely, but not definite. C'mon. If there's one thing the past 4 years have taught us is if it's not officially announced, it might as well not even be up for consideration in fora such as these. More than half the time we're disappointed. Need I bring up the quintessential example of last year's pre-MWExpo super-hype on Apple's own web site?

I just hope that when these new CPUs do make it into Macs, they're worth it. I would be seriously disappointed if Apple gave us 1.6GHz 970s while Intel is offering a chip closing in on 4GHz. I don't care how much more powerful this new 970 is. And I also want to see a CPU that fully supports DDR-RAM. I also want Macs that utilize HT.

Ok, so you don't care about how much more powerful 970 is...
Then what do you care?
How much higher the "number" is?

[shadowfax]

Originally posted by Snowy_River
That makes no sense whatsoever. The 17" was delayed for design issues. Do you think that Apple wanted to string out the shipping of the 17"? Honestly...

I've said it before, but I'll say it again, I think that it's quite likely that when they're announced the 'Fast' model (say 1.4 SP970) will be available immediately, the 'Faster' model (say 1.6 DP970) will be available in two weeks or so, and the 'Fastest' model (say 1.8 DP970) will be available in about six weeks. That is how Apple has typically handled new product rollouts.

That said, we can always hope that Apple will actually have all three models available immediately... :D

who said anything about them wanting to delay it? it's just that this is something completely different from any other powermac release--it's changing to 64 bits. another thing to consider is that the day that the first 970 powermac comes out is the day that 64 bit Panther must arrive. apple can't just run a 32 bit OS on it, IMO. that would be really trashy.

so, how does my statement not make sense? the 17 inch powerbook was delayed for design issues. well, i'll frankly be pissed if apple doesn't redesign these powermacs. enough is enough. so, assuming, as rumored, they do redesign the box, and we all know they have to considerably redesign the internals and what not, as much of this will be very different from the G4-based systems out now, that it's more than conceivable that there might be a lot of design issues. i hope there are, quite honestly. if minimal innovation is the cost of consistently stable, on time releases, who wants them? bah!

[mim]

Originally posted by Shadowfax
....first 970 powermac comes out is the day that 64 bit Panther must arrive. apple can't just run a 32 bit OS on it, IMO. that would be really trashy.

No no no, please Shadowfax - not the 64 bit debate again.

To be best of our knowledge, yes - the 970's could run the existing OS's without any speed penalty due to it being a 64bit proc and the OS written for a 32 bit architecture. So they could just release the 970 for the speed, and then develop the OS later.

But you're right - the point being that people will want to develop for the 64 bit proc, so the OS needs to be upgraded. But is there any reason why this could not be ready for WWDC? No. There's no reason at all. The fact that WWDC was delayed shows that Apple wanted time to get SOMETHING ready for it. Is there any reason what so ever that it couldn't be for a Panther/970 coordinated release?

a.

[mim]

Originally posted by Shadowfax
the 17 inch powerbook was delayed for design issues.

Does anyone know the real reason for this delay?

I'd assume that the 15"Al not appearing yet is also tied into this. If it's a design issue then it would be common between the 15" and the 17" - they're going to use the exactly the same everything except the screen right? It's not an overheating problem - I mean some people whinge about hot G4's, but wintel machine's run way hotter - it's no big deal. So either there is some critical component that's in very short supply....or Apple did delay on purpose.

IBM's chip delivery program seems accelerated...what if apple did a huge about turn on the new 15" as the chips became closer to availablility? The 17" was already to be announced, they had a number in stock....but they just decided at the last minute to get the 15" ready for 970's. Would they delay the 17" to try and limit the number sold to try and limit the number of pissed off people when they were updated completely in 6 months?

I don't know. Actually sounds pretty crazy to me - just a thought.

a.

[Snowy_River]

Originally posted by mim
Does anyone know the real reason for this delay?

I'd assume that the 15"Al not appearing yet is also tied into this. If it's a design issue then it would be common between the 15" and the 17" - they're going to use the exactly the same everything except the screen right? It's not an overheating problem - I mean some people whinge about hot G4's, but wintel machine's run way hotter - it's no big deal. So either there is some critical component that's in very short supply....or Apple did delay on purpose.

IBM's chip delivery program seems accelerated...what if apple did a huge about turn on the new 15" as the chips became closer to availablility? The 17" was already to be announced, they had a number in stock....but they just decided at the last minute to get the 15" ready for 970's. Would they delay the 17" to try and limit the number sold to try and limit the number of pissed off people when they were updated completely in 6 months?

I don't know. Actually sounds pretty crazy to me - just a thought.

a.

My understanding, and it comes from somewhat dubious sources, I'll admit, is that the primary problem with the 17" was heat. In the new AL case, there was some kind of problem with excessive heating causing some severe system instability. Due to this, they had to take some part of the system back to the drawing board late in the game. (From what I've heard, there were actually some 17" machines in stock that were declared non-functional and sent back to the assembly plant to be rebuilt.)

Now, if we are to believe what rumors are around, then, yes, the reason for the extended delay with the 15" AL PowerBook was initially due to the same heating problems as the 17", but, as the 970 became available earlier than expected, Apple changed course and decided to make the 15" AL a 970 machine.

As far as delaying the 17" so that there wouldn't be that many people upset by the release of the 970 PowerBook after just six months, I just can't see that. Six months is a standard product cycle in the PowerBook line. Anyone who is upset that they bought a top-of-the-line model that was dwarfed by the new top-of-the-line model six months later just doesn't understand the computer market. Personally, I'd be much more upset to finally get my 17" PowerBook after waiting for it for several months, only to have the 970 PowerBooks come out a couple of months later. No. I just don't believe that Apple delayed the release of the 17" PowerBooks on purpose.

[Kethoticus]

Ok, so you don't care about how much more powerful 970 is...
Then what do you care?
How much higher the "number" is?

Well to be perfectly honest, I'd feel better starting off with a CPU closer to 2GHz. Why? Because what I'm remember reading about this chip, it will topple the x86 hardware clock-for-clock. But at less than a 2:1 ratio in clock speed, it may not hold up and offer competitive performance. Perhaps I need to read more.

[wdlove]

Originally posted by Snowy_River
Me too.
:cool:

Me three!!!;) It seems that there are always a few contrarians in every crowd! :(

[rainman::|:|]

i say, they'll be announced at the WWDC, for projected july/august release; then production problems and delays will plague Apple, followed by a rushjob that's sort of buggy in November.

:)
pnw

[neutrino23]

I don't think Apple delayed the 17 inch PB shipment on purpose. It became available as soon as they finished the engineering.

Time to market is extremely important in this business. Each month they delay takes some of the shine off the new product.

I voted for July. Apple and IBM have been working on this for a long time. Apple has had time to develop the prototypes and do the R&D needed to hit the ground running as soon as the CPUs are ready.

My guess is that the new product will be announced in June at WWDC, orders will be taken immediately, delivery of some systems in July.

Another question is which OS will run on this chip? Will it require Panther (aka 10.3) or will it be able to run the last version of Jaguar (10.2.7?). If it requires Panter then indeed it might not ship till September or so.

[edenwaith]

Originally posted by g3ski
They will not announce a new 970 unless they are ready to ship within a few days or a few weeks at most. If they announce in June that they will be shipping in September....no one in their right mind will buy the current tower. Apple will have no tower sales for 3 months. That's a lot of lost dough.


Bingo. I don't have any exact numbers, but let's say Apple normally sells 100,000 PowerMacs every 3 months. Average somewhere around $2,000 for each PowerMac, and that will result in $200,000,000. By no means, pocket change, especially for Apple. So if they do announce the newer line too soon, then the sales will plummet.

So IF new PowerMacs are announced, then they probably will come out fairly soon, otherwise, Apple will just be shooting themselves in the foot. For some of us who know when to wait and when to expect the new models to come out, we might be a little more patient. But for those who don't realize when the new line might be released, they might buy at any particular time. But if Apple announces the new line, then Average Joe will also probably wait unless Joe needs the computers now.

[edenwaith]

Originally posted by Shadowfax
well, i'll frankly be pissed if apple doesn't redesign these powermacs. enough is enough. so, assuming, as rumored, they do redesign the box, and we all know they have to considerably redesign the internals and what not, as much of this will be very different from the G4-based systems out now, that it's more than conceivable that there might be a lot of design issues.

Christmas list time! What new changes would you like to see on a newly designed PowerMac? Or what do you like?

Here are things I like: being able to put in 4 hard drives (this doesn't include the CD drive either, from what I understand, but I could be wrong). Firewire 800...no use for it...haven't had any use for FW 400 either, but hey, it's good. :) But definitely keep the clean internal design! For those of us who have had to fight and struggle with putting in new hardware into a odd shaped PC, they certainly appreciate the simplicity and cleanliness of a PowerMac.

However, they need to remain fairly quiet, and some USB ports on the front would be nice. And the return of the Zip drive! I really don't see much use to have TWO optical drives. Those poor saps who get a Dell which just has a CD-RW and a DVD-ROM, which then takes up two ports...well, that's just silly and a waste of space. Much better to just have one CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive (or a DVD burner if one uses that). And would quad processors be too much to ask for yet? Or what about a mega-sized tower to allow up to 9 video cards?

[Snowy_River]

Originally posted by Shadowfax
who said anything about them wanting to delay it? it's just that this is something completely different from any other powermac release--it's changing to 64 bits. another thing to consider is that the day that the first 970 powermac comes out is the day that 64 bit Panther must arrive. apple can't just run a 32 bit OS on it, IMO. that would be really trashy....

Well, whether or not you think it's trashy, it is very likely that the first OS that runs on the 970s will be a slightly modified 32bit OS. As for as this being something completely different, I'd argue fairly strongly that the transition to the PPC line was a bigger step, as was the transfer to Mac OS X. This transition (to the 970) I expect will be very smooth and almost invisible to most users, who will notice nothing other than the speed advantages that they gain from the more powerful chip (and from the 64bit architecture in applications that can be and are optomized to take advantage of it).

[YWN]

1st of all, I expect PPC 970 in June/July, why? well, because IF they announce on WWDC they will certainly not let the PPC hit the shelfs beyong July, because that will trash the G4 sales! I also think it is wise not to announce PPC 970 releases before WWDC (like they do with Panther, telling they will announce it then) that would be even more stupid, because then there will be almost no sale at all.

I am waiting for the PPC 970 before I buy a new computer, this is just, because the idea :) buying an G4 at this time, means no money for PPC 970. And well, there is always a chance they won't announce it at WWDC, so if I would choose for a G4, and then they don't announce, I have no problem, but if they do announce, I have a problem, because then I can't buy a PPC 970.

About the GHz myth. Well, has anybody tried an 1.5 GHz PC? I have, work on it regular, but I rather work on an 400MHz G3 (which I currently own) the PC craps out on everything, well, except games that is... So for games, yea, you need a PC, but for speeds, I rather use my own Mac, where I can do lots more things, without the system crapping out on me...

I don't care about design a lot, I like the current G4 design a lot, so just install the PPC 970 into a current G4 Design, and your done...

Anyways, they certainly will announce it this year, if not, they will lose so many costumers (especially the ones visiting such rumor sites), also mostly because P4 is going to be so much faster soon, a lot will switch...

JOBS, IF YOU READ THIS, ANNOUNCE THAT PPC 970 AND KEEP YOUR COSTUMERS, AND GAIN A LOT MORE (switchers) AND BE HAPPY, DROP PRICES, YOU WILL GET EVEN MORE SALES, AND YOU WILL BE EVEN MORE HAPPY, AND SO ARE WE!!!!

[OutThere]

August-it seems like just the right time to start shipping new computers, just in time for school and everybody is still in the summer spirit....wouldn't mind them coming earlier though...

[wdlove]

What give me such a positive feeling is that on the WWDC site it says Apple will introduce a new platform. Somewhere if read that Apple will redesign the Power Mac, thought design might be more like the Xserve? ;) I agree with the postings about the PPC release. I'm patienly waiting!

[e-coli]

Originally posted by Gelfin
Wow, you guys are optimistic. I'm guessing October, and that's even assuming they're announced at WWDC. Major changes generally mean major unplanned delays.

You mean like Motorolla stopping production on the G5 with no notice, leaving us in G4 wasteland for 4 years? :rolleyes: ;)

[noel4r]

not until 2004, too bad...

[wdlove]

Originally posted by noel4r
not until 2004, too bad...

Now that is a real downer! :( So you think that Apple will still announce at WWDC and not ship for >6 months. It seems like that will seriously hurt Apple sales!

[Dont Hurt Me]

a week later i see this thread oh well, a june announcement and shipping in july? my best optimistic guess, pessimistic? sept.

[wdlove]

Originally posted by Dont Hurt Me
a week later i see this thread oh well, a june announcement and shipping in july? my best optimistic guess, pessimistic? sept.

I can definitely live your your guestimate! Would be happy with either the optimistic or pessimistic option. ;) I don't plan on buying till this Fall anyway!