Last Minute Rumors and Notes

[MacRumors]

- AppleInsider (http://www.appleinsider.com) posted a new cryptic article today, but it should not be overanalyzed:

Sorry guys. The article was written quickly today. I don't have much time these days. I think people are trying to read between the lines when there is nothing there, or maybe the articles aren't clear enough. But I by no means meant to imply that the intel bit, or even the xserve bit, had any relevance to the WWDC.


- Several users have submitted regarding MacMice's reference to the 970 PowerBook - MacMice and MacWhispers are run by the same person, so this simply represents a rehash of those rumors rather than any new information.

- Historically, certain retailers have posted teasers prior to events without any specific knowledge of upcoming releases. Cancom's teaser (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2003/06/20030617130241.shtml) (Page 2) is felt to represent this phenomenon. Please see that thread for details.

-ThinkSecret (http://www.thinksecret.com/news/softwarenotes2.html) has noted some minor software updates coming in the future (iDVD, iPod Software, and AirPort software.

- iTunes for Windows Alpha reports have floated around. No clear indications that this is a real leak, as there is only minimal functionality.

- If any readers have direct access to the satellite feed, please contact us (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?threadid=29705).

- Multiple reports have indicated that the PowerMac photo is not real.

[Squire]

I suppose the most important thing is to remember that these are rumors. People often get their hopes up for nothing.

Squire

[shadowfax]

also, our own wardofsky's work has demonstrated how easily a render of that image can be very easily toyed with in image manipulation programs to appear like a rough scan--for the record on this thread :)

[pivo6]

The anticipation for this event, a developers conference no less, is so high, that everyone's wish list has been cited as a rumor. If even half of the so called rumors come true, then IMO, It will be a success. If only a few come true, then the uproar will be so deafening.

edit:This isn't meant as a criticism of this rumor site. Arn, I know that you just post the rumors as they come out. It is up to us, the reader, to determine the validity of those.

[arby]

All the rumblings are just rumors so far and not much else. We only have concrete assurance of Panther being previewed, no mention of anything more to be shown.

But remember before the last MWSF, hundreds of posts about something coming up, people going off about the prospect of an Apple branded PDA and such. Then out of the blue, Arn posts about boxes arriving and new laptops. Only hours later we get the 12" and 17" Powerbook.

Comparing the run up to the WWDC to that of the last 2 MWSF's and we can see some big similarities. A lot of noise on the grapevine, some of which is, admittently, trash. But then there is more legitimate stuff cropping up.

I, for one, wouldn't be the least bit surprised if late on Sunday night Arn or one of the other mod's post about some mysto box / sighting.

Besides that, what better time to show new products than a large assembly of Mac Devs?

Suppose we'll just have to wait and see. Sorry about this long, and probably boring post which is really just a recap... :rolleyes:

[Dunepilot]

Excitement is indeed at fever pitch - the stupid number of hits on that Powermac image of yesterday is evidence enough (+ the inability of the MR server to keep up with the traffic at that time).

Listen guys, please don't set yourselves up for a fall next Monday. This is only a WWDC, not a MacWorld - and even MacWorlds don't have the big product announcements these days (like last summer when all Jobs did was tout some unfinished features in iTunes and release a weak iMac update).

Perspective is the watchword!!:D

[Zaid]

There was another discussion over at MacAch discussing the authenticity or otherwise of the pic, (including weather the folds and scan story is fake)

Worth a read

link (http://arstechnica.infopop.net/OpenTopic/page?q=Y&a=tpc&s=50009562&f=8300945231&m=3740961865&p=8)

[nagromme]

Actually, we should NOT expect Panther to ship. Just a nice demo/preview of it.

[Freg3000]

Originally posted by arby


I, for one, wouldn't be the least bit surprised if late on Sunday night Arn or one of the other mod's post about some mysto box / sighting.

That is what I think will happen exactly: A late night Sunday leak. :)

[AidenShaw]

Originally posted by Freg3000
That is what I think will happen exactly: A late night Sunday leak. :)
You mean like the AOL info-mercial that revealed the Luxo-lamp iMac?

[pyrotoaster]

Originally posted by Freg3000
That is what I think will happen exactly: A late night Sunday leak. :)
I bet you're right. :)

arn's probably already preparing for massive forum traffic this weekend (especially considering yesterday's mishap of sorts).

Something will probably happen on Sunday. Maybe a new pic, or some juicy rumor about something completely new. Info on a 970 Powerbook or pics of some new communications/Digital Lifestyle device (if there was such a device ;) ) would probably do the most damage (along with a better Powermac pic, of course).

[Freg3000]

Originally posted by pyrotoaster

arn's probably already preparing for massive forum traffic this weekend (especially considering yesterday's mishap of sorts).


We should have a poll asking when you think the forums will be closed due to traffic. :)

I am still unclear about what happened yesterday. Was it anyone's fault? Is it just always going to be that when the forums get to 1500 users, everything will shut down?

[nagromme]

AppleInsider has been down for a day (for me). The forums work, but not the "main" site.

Anybody know what the "cryptic" article says that we shouldn't take too seriously? (And anyone know what they said when they posted the controversial "WTC" tower image?)

Just curious.

As for that page 2 "boxes opened" thing... blatant hoax.

[dabirdwell]

How do you know it's a hoax?

[From Win to Mac]

lol, read the 700 comments about it.

[pyrotoaster]

Originally posted Freg3000
I am still unclear about what happened yesterday. Was it anyone's fault? Is it just always going to be that when the forums get to 1500 users, everything will shut down?
I was in the IRC when arn explained the problem yesterday. Apparently the forum just couldn't handle 1300 active users. It just caused the whole thing to come to a screeching halt. If we were to blame someone, it would be the numskull who shoved that pic down his pants. :p

As for your poll idea, I hope arn's reading this thread, that would be one fun poll... :D

[yzedf]

Originally posted by pyrotoaster
I was in the IRC when arn explained the problem yesterday. Apparently the forum just couldn't handle 1300 active users. It just caused the whole thing to come to a screeching halt. If we were to blame someone, it would be the numskull who shoved that pic down his pants. :p

As for your poll idea, I hope arn's reading this thread, that would be one fun poll... :D
Sounds like vBulletin needs a "lite" mode (text only ala Slashcode maybe) for when traffic gets over a certain number of active users. Or maybe just tuen off the avatars and smilies and such other graphics (high traffic situations only) that kill the server.

What is the server hardware setup that runs this site anyway?

[Pentium Killer]

These rumors over at Appleinsider start to get crazy.They talk about 2 GHZ and 2.4 GHZ single and dualcore.Not dual,but dualcore.If this is true Apple did a great job not letting information leak too early.And these will be fantastic machines no one ever thought about that early.But I do not believe it.Too good to be true.

[arn]

Originally posted by Freg3000

I am still unclear about what happened yesterday. Was it anyone's fault? Is it just always going to be that when the forums get to 1500 users, everything will shut down?

For reference, 1500 users at one time is actually a lot of users as far as these things go. But yes, when there are that many users, the forums will come to a halt due to server load.

Solution? Well, if traffic consistently stayed that high then there would be a few options depending on finances.

That gets beyond the point where one server may be used, and I think the forum server would then have to be split into a load-sharing sort of site. Which means more servers. This also costs significantly more.

Since this is a sporadic event, the solution in actuallity is to shut down the forum. The forum will likely be open only to the demi-gods(contributors) during the WWDC.

Current Forum Server is a Dual 1.4GHz P4 w/ 2GB RAM.
The main site server is a single 1.26GHz P3 w/ 1GB RAM.

arn

[sososowhat]

http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/markets/stockwatch/10094582.html

Apple Gets an Upgrade

By Meredith Derby
Editorial Assistant
06/18/2003 10:56 AM EDT


Needham upgraded shares of Apple (AAPL:Nasdaq - news - commentary - research - analysis) on Wednesday, citing strong iPod sales and a potential PowerMac rebound.

Analyst Charles R. Wolf upgraded the company's shares to buy from hold, set a $23 price target and increased his full-year 2003 and 2004 earnings estimates.


iPod sales have increased unexpectedly since late April after the launch of the iTunes Music Store and the availability of new iPods, Wolf said. He added, "Sales of the iPod should receive an additional boost when Apple ports its award-winning iTunes jukebox software, which powers the iPod, to the Windows platform later this year."

Regarding the company's PowerMac computer line, Wolf expects sales could rebound in the first quarter of 2004. He said he expects a narrowing of the gigahertz gap between PowerMac and Windows machines when Apple unveils its new PowerMacs that run on IBM's (IBM:NYSE - news - commentary - research - analysis) 970 processor family in late June. He added that the graphics application Quark Express was released for Mac OS X last week, and said demand for the PowerMac could possibly increase among graphics professionals.

Wolf upped Apple's 2003 earnings-per-share estimate to 23 cents from 22 cents and its 2004 estimate to 60 cents from 50 cents. Analysts expect 15 cents a share in 2003 and 26 cents a share in 2004. The company earned 33 cents a share in 2002.

"Apple is abandoning its long-standing strategy of confining its award-winning software to the Mac platform," said Wolf.

Shares of the Cupertino, Calif.-based company were up 19 cents in early trading at $18.38.

[MrMacMan]

Sounds good, now lets get started. :)

[jdang]

come on dude, what is this P4 business? hit it up with the Xserve or something. me no like wintel. haha JK.

[Sonofhaig]

Originally posted by Freg3000
We should have a poll asking when you think the forums will be closed due to traffic. :)

I am still unclear about what happened yesterday. Was it anyone's fault? Is it just always going to be that when the forums get to 1500 users, everything will shut down?

My guess is the amount of users responding yesterday to the alleged image.

[Cappy]

Can someone post the jist of what was posted? I can't seem to reach the site now.

[QuiteSure]

I don't know if this is the best time to be a macrumormonger, but it certainly is the funniest. I'd like to see a new poll:

If Apple comes out with the dream 970 machine everyone is anticipating, will Apple's market share increase to 5%?

[phranque27]

Originally posted by sososowhat

Regarding the company's PowerMac computer line, Wolf expects sales could rebound in the first quarter of 2004. He said he expects a narrowing of the gigahertz gap between PowerMac and Windows machines when Apple unveils its new PowerMacs that run on IBM's (IBM:NYSE - news - commentary - research - analysis) 970 processor family in late June.

I'd still be skeptical. Remember when Cnet was reporting that Apple was definitely going to announce a video iPod in January?

Just because a web site outside of the incestuous world of Mac rumor sites says something, that doesn't mean its true. They get their info form the same spotty sources that we do.

These rumors have a way of feeding themselves to the point where they break out and seep into more *objective* news outlets. But that doesn't make them true.

[soggywulf]

Originally posted by QuiteSure
If Apple comes out with the dream 970 machine everyone is anticipating, will Apple's market share increase to 5%?

Yes, Bart. In fact, in Rand McNally, they wear hats on their feet and hamburgers eat people.

[pyrotoaster]

Originally posted by QuiteSure
If Apple comes out with the dream 970 machine everyone is anticipating, will Apple's market share increase to 5%?
Well, anything's possible...

Just not that. ;)

[adamfilip]

im expecting macrumors to hit a brick wall in overloaded traffic come monday.

anyone willing to paypall macrumors a few bucks (2-3)
so maybe arn can buy some extra gigs of bandwith for monday (and sunday)

im willing..

hey arn can you buy bandwitth? for a specific day??

[daveL]

phranque27: I think you missed the point here: Mr Wolf is a security analyst for Needham. This is a very reliable piece of information, in my mind. These guys live to know and understand everything about the companies they follow. The are privy to information that nobody outside the company knows. Companies go out of their way to keep these analysts informed and up to date. They can gain access to company execs simply by picking up the phone. Analysts upgrades and downgrades can make or brake a stock. Look at Apple today, in light of Mr Wolf's upgrade.

He not only confirmed new PowerMacs by the end of June, he also confirmed that they will be based on the 970 CPUs.

Just my $0.02.

[patmcfar8]

Just for the record AAPL is up 1.14 to 19.33 right now. When was the last time Apple stock was this high?

Methinks this adds a little bit of credibility to the 970 PM at WWDC. Anybody else?

EDIT: daveL beat me to it. :(

[phranque27]

davel: point taken. I suppose it would be very bad for Apple if it couldn't deliver what Wolf claimed it could deliver.

If the 970 wasn't going to be available in 'late June', Apple would make sure to let this guy know.

[healthboy]

you'd have to think that the price will rise, but the question is how long will it be up there....my head hurts with all the speculation and rumours....in a good way though

[yzedf]

Regarding the PM upgrade to the 970:

By Meredith Derby
Editorial Assistant
06/18/2003 10:56 AM EDT

....

Regarding the company's PowerMac computer line, Wolf expects sales could rebound in the first quarter of 2004. He said he expects a narrowing of the gigahertz gap between PowerMac and Windows machines when Apple unveils its new PowerMacs that run on IBM's (IBM:NYSE - news - commentary - research - analysis) 970 processor family in late June. He added that the graphics application Quark Express was released for Mac OS X last week, and said demand for the PowerMac could possibly increase among graphics professionals.

....
These are the writings of a Editor's Assistant. This has not much to do with reality, or what Mr. Wolf actually said. Note that there isn't a single quoted word in that paragraph.

This doesn't make it untrue, but it is a knock against its reliability as a bellwether.

[mainstreetmark]

I was just handed this jpg of a screenshot of iTunes for windows.

http://www.macgeneration.com/mgnews/categories/actualite/upload/itunes_windows.jpg

[solvs]

Originally posted by mainstreetmark
I was just handed this jpg of a screenshot of iTunes for windows.

http://www.macgeneration.com/mgnews/categories/actualite/upload/itunes_windows.jpg

I'm pretty sure that's a fake. It was brought up in another forum.

Back on topic, I won't believe anything til I see it. Most of these "insiders" are just guessing like the rest of us. It's good reading, but people seem to forget that these are just rumors. We'll see in a couple of days.

[Ayre]

Kinda off-topic there, but in regards to the picture... would Apple really put the Exit/Minimize/Maximize buttons on the left side of the window instead of the right? May screw some PC users up for those who aren't used to it.

[Frobozz]

Originally posted by mainstreetmark
I was just handed this jpg of a screenshot of iTunes for windows.

http://www.macgeneration.com/mgnews/categories/actualite/upload/itunes_windows.jpg

ugh. fake. Windows apps made by apple, such as Quicktime, have the X _ [] shapes for close, minimize, maximize, in the upper right hand corner. They wouldn't have the 3 widgets on the left side.

[skymaXimus]

Originally posted by mainstreetmark
I was just handed this jpg of a screenshot of iTunes for windows.

http://www.macgeneration.com/mgnews/categories/actualite/upload/itunes_windows.jpg
I don't know if I buy that. Looks fishy to me. Especially the readme file itunes-readme.txt, I would think apple would use .pdf and the T in itunes would be capital. I would think. who knows.

[mainstreetmark]

Well, I had no information at all on it, so I thought I'd offer it.

I had recalled that even Windows Media Player with some of it's default skins had the 'Close' widgets all over the place, so I figured that interface standard was out the window anyways.

[Ananna]

Originally posted by patmcfar8
Just for the record AAPL is up 1.14 to 19.33 right now.

Old Stockmarket Quote: Buy the rumor, sell the news. (http://www.fool.com/foolu/askfoolu/1999/askfoolu990901.htm)

Expect the stock price to drop again after the machines are released. At least, if you believe the theory behind the quote.



P.S. Hi, I'm new here. :)

[daveL]

Originally posted by yzedf
Regarding the PM upgrade to the 970:

These are the writings of a Editor's Assistant. This has not much to do with reality, or what Mr. Wolf actually said. Note that there isn't a single quoted word in that paragraph.

This doesn't make it untrue, but it is a knock against its reliability as a bellwether.

So, are you implying that an Editor's Assistant at TheStreet.com made stuff up and attributed it to Mr Wolf? I understand being cynical of the media, but really. This article is most likely a paraphase of the research note that Mr Wolf issued to his clients when he published the Apple upgrade. Short of a direct quote from an Apple executive, this is about as good as it's going to get. I'd suggest you stop wasting your time reading these posts and simply monitor the keynote on Monday, since it's obvious that nothing short of a direct Apple announcement would satisfy you.

[Sun Baked]

Looked at that one picture that came with the specs, and immediately thought...

Cool an eMac Tower. ;)

Looked at the rumors about the boxes at the stores and thought...

If those pallets are the new machines, where are the t-shirts and promotional items for the WWDC gala?

Now you all have me wondering if it's IBM or nVidia's turn to spill the beans early this time.

[daveL]

Originally posted by yzedf
Regarding the PM upgrade to the 970:

These are the writings of a Editor's Assistant. This has not much to do with reality, or what Mr. Wolf actually said. Note that there isn't a single quoted word in that paragraph.

This doesn't make it untrue, but it is a knock against its reliability as a bellwether.

As a follow up, this just came out of CBS MarketWatch:

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/yhoo/story.asp?source=blq/yhoo&siteid=yhoo&dist=yhoo&guid=%7B786058C6%2D9E65%2D4E84%2DAD0D%2D9506B7C5E7C6%7D

Note the quotes and elboration.

[CaptainScarlet]

Originally posted by daveL
As a follow up, this just came out of CBS MarketWatch:

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/yhoo/story.asp?source=blq/yhoo&siteid=yhoo&dist=yhoo&guid=%7B786058C6%2D9E65%2D4E84%2DAD0D%2D9506B7C5E7C6%7D

Note the quotes and elboration.

I'll tell you one thing...If Apple doesn't produce or show SOMETHING next week, ****** going to hit the fan!!!

CS

[ultrafiel]

Ya I was thinking, "man, if Arn setup a PayPal account for donations and all users donated a dollar or two, then they could buy an xServe for a server and all that." Would be interesting, for the price of a couple items on the dollar value menu we could do a lot of good.

[kylos]

or you could contribute by buying the mr mug for $30.

[daveL]

Originally posted by Macrumors
- Historically, certain retailers have posted teasers prior to events without any specific knowledge of upcoming releases. Cancom's teaser (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2003/06/20030617130241.shtml) (Page 2) is felt to represent this phenomenon. Please see that thread for details.

WRT the Cancom teaser: It also mentions Adobe. In addition, the Berlin Apple invitation specifically mentions Pro Media folks. Is it possible that WWDC will also announce Adobe product suite upgrades that are finally optimized for Altivec and the 970 CPU, thus further closing the gap with Adobe on Wintel? It seems resonable that Apple has turned up the heat on Mac application providers to get on board, given the long awaited QuarkXPress 6 announcement.

Just a thought.

[vniow]

Originally posted by mainstreetmark
I was just handed this jpg of a screenshot of iTunes for windows.

http://www.macgeneration.com/mgnews/categories/actualite/upload/itunes_windows.jpg

I got that same screenie in a supposed iTunes for Windows alpha that I picked up.

I made a thread about it here (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29062).

[taeclee99]

Itunes Skin for QCD player (winXP)

[billyboy]

Originally posted by Ananna
Old Stockmarket Quote: Buy the rumor, sell the news. (http://www.fool.com/foolu/askfoolu/1999/askfoolu990901.htm)

Expect the stock price to drop again after the machines are released. At least, if you believe the theory behind the quote.



The theory sounds about right, and also the AAPL share prices in May and June for the last three years have been almost predictable - a sharp rise in the first 2 or 3 weeks in May, short term investors try and choose the right moment to offload for a profit then they watch a price drop and then not much activity until this time in June. The thing is, the reasons not to sell this time round are more compelling than to offload - IMO.

I reckon a blockbuster film judged on performance over a matter of weeks in this instance has little to do with Apple's sales plan encompassing the next 6-18 months.

If over the next 6 months Apple dont bring out a 970 whizzo machine, then they will get hammered, so something exceptional has to be on the way because Apple cant afford to get hammered in the hardware dept. Add the new corporate software move offering iTunesMS coupled with iPods for Windows, and optimism for increased market share is quite high.

Factor in the 6-month period being mooted to bring out these goodies, ie new 970, iTunes for Windows and Panther, but not all in one swoop, the near future rather than "early July" is being laid out as an optimistic time. Also, the introduction of these goodies is the time in which Apple are laying the foundations for a good 2004. There is talk of success but not talk that Apple will be projected into the stratosphere so as to take over the number one spot from Windows.

Apple doesnt have to be a Lion King hit to generate confidence. It only has to at least bridge the gap with PC processors. I reckon Apple shares have at least 6 months of optimism awaiting them as the "new generation of product lines" comes out, and it is optimism that bumps up the share price.

My $19.14 worth and rising!????? Xmas 2000 was a good time for AAPL, so why not Xmas 2003?

[prosaic]

This is sort of OT, but has there been any word on whether Panther (OS X 10.3) will continue to support 32-bit hardware as it moves into the 64-bit realm? I wouldn't think Apple would be so silly as to do this, but then again, I haven't seen anything confirm that they're not.

[mathiasr]

Originally posted by prosaic
This is sort of OT, but has there been any word on whether Panther (OS X 10.3) will continue to support 32-bit hardware as it moves into the 64-bit realm? I wouldn't think Apple would be so silly as to do this, but then again, I haven't seen anything confirm that they're not.
Take it for granted, there will be a 32 bits version of Panther. You may even use it on 64 bits hardware if you do not care about 64 bits features. The other 64 bits solution vendors let their users choose between the 32 and the 64 bits kernels for years.
Even if Apple pushes the hype around 64 bits computing, they will still support 32 bits hardware.

[Foocha]

Macrumors runs on Linux/Intel. As much as I love Apple, I doubt that this messageboard would take as much load as it does if it was running on XServe/OS X Server.

Maybe one day...

[jccbin]

perhaps further review of the capabilities of the Xserve and OS X Server are in order.

[yzedf]

Originally posted by daveL
As a follow up, this just came out of CBS MarketWatch:

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/yhoo/story.asp?source=blq/yhoo&siteid=yhoo&dist=yhoo&guid=%7B786058C6%2D9E65%2D4E84%2DAD0D%2D9506B7C5E7C6%7D

Note the quotes and elboration.

Where is he quoted in this section:

Still, Wolf expects sales of Apple's high-end PowerMac family of computers, which have fallen for two years, could rebound beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2004 because of an alignment of three key PowerMac sales drivers.

First, he said, the processor speed gaps between the PowerMac and Windows machines should significantly narrow when Apple introduces new PowerMacs that run on IBM's new 970 processor. That introduction is expected at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 23.Nowhere. This is off the record conjecture, thus no quote.

[yzedf]

Originally posted by daveL
So, are you implying that an Editor's Assistant at TheStreet.com made stuff up and attributed it to Mr Wolf? I understand being cynical of the media, but really. This article is most likely a paraphase of the research note that Mr Wolf issued to his clients when he published the Apple upgrade. Short of a direct quote from an Apple executive, this is about as good as it's going to get. I'd suggest you stop wasting your time reading these posts and simply monitor the keynote on Monday, since it's obvious that nothing short of a direct Apple announcement would satisfy you.
I will monitor WWDC on Monday and later.

Just because it is CBS or TheStreet.com or whatever has nothing to do with truthfullness. Look at the situation in Iraq wrt the plundering of Iraqi museums and the "thousands" of missing or destroyed objects. What was the final tally, 33 pieces? And that was reported everywhere, both online and not.

We may live in the information age, but we do not live in the information accuracy age.

[yzedf]

Originally posted by jccbin
perhaps further review of the capabilities of the Xserve and OS X Server are in order.
Current bandwidth limitations kill the xServe as a high usage web server. As my computer consultant roommate says; "It's all about the bandwidth baby!"

[rjwill246]

Originally posted by billyboy
If over the next 6 months Apple dont bring out a 970 whizzo machine, then they will get hammered, so something exceptional has to be on the way because Apple cant afford to get hammered in the hardware dept. Add the new corporate software move offering iTunesMS coupled with iPods for Windows, and optimism for increased market share is quite high.

Quite right. All the naysayers about the 970s have to be dead wrong. This product is openly discussed from IBM, even if Apple is 'mum' on the subject. As you suggested, if Apple does not absolutely revolutionize its PM line, it is going to tank. The fact that the share prices are still rising is one indication that Wall Street is likely making positive comments to investors about Apple's future and the IBM link is going to be viewed as very positive, even if it's more to do with image than anything more concrete.
The point is not whether there are cameras, PDA-derivatives; these will count as zero with Wall Street (probably negatively, as I reflect on it) but an IBM link with a 64 bit future and a full on attack with enterprise orientation. That would be substance!