Laptop Rumor Wrapup: Winners and Losers

MacRumors · Nov 7, 2002, 01:55 AM

Few Apple product announcements have been preceded by such a discordant flurry of rumors as the Powerbook and iBook revisions that took place on November 6, 2002. After each announcement, MacRumors attempst to sift through the rumors and their sources to reveal their accuracy in hindsight.

PowerBooks

Powerbook rumors have been floating around since their last revision in April... so much that we wrote a Powerbook Rumor Summary back in September, 2002 to recap rumors up until that point. In review, both MacOS Rumors and Spymac provided early hints that Powerbooks would be updated before the New Year, contrary to PowerPage's continued reports.

Relative rumor newcomer -- Kodawarisan -- provided many hints since September, with initial predictions of 800MHz/1GHz Powerbooks in the 3rd week of October. As this date approached, MacPlus.org provided the definitive date of November 5th, 2002 - which was confirmed by our own sources. They revealed that both Powerbooks and 19" LCD's would be released on this day... but LCD's have yet to arrive. The actual date was, of course, pushed back by one day, as reported by ThinkSecret.

The Superdrive option was one that many sites (ThinkSecret, MacOSRumors, MacUser UK) definitively denied... but was one point that MacRumors' own sources persisted on... and proved to come true.

One of the most notable mis-calls was made by MacUser.co.uk. Typically, when the non-rumor Mac press reports on rumors, readers listen... but their report of 933MHz, No Superdrive, Yes Bluetooth Powerbooks turned out to be inaccurate.

iBooks

The iBook updates were low on the radar throughout most of the recent weeks. Kodawarisan hinted at 13" iBooks, and YourDailyMac posted reports of an iBook update with Powerbooks in November.

ThinkSecret provided early iBook specs which turned out to be true, and PowerPage provided final specs in the days before the annoncement.

Rower_CPU · Nov 7, 2002, 02:12 AM

I just want to say that you did a great job keeping track of rumors and posting what information from sources you could.

Looks like you've got good sources. Let's hope they keep on giving out the info.

Foocha · Nov 7, 2002, 02:50 AM

What a great rumourfest this has been - it has total renewed my faith in idle speculation. I just wish I could afford a 1Ghz PB.

cubist · Nov 7, 2002, 11:02 AM

I remember reading about the superdrive here, and MR stuck to it when everyone else was repudiating it.

MacRumors outshines everyone else as the premier rumors site. The place to go when you want to know.

Future Man · 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Macrumors

All in all, an diverse collection of sites and rumors... with some real information coming from relatively unknown (rumor) sites -- MacPlus.org, Kodawarisan, YourDailyMac.com.

Great Coverage Arn. Fantastic round up as well. I am a little confused about who is who in the macrumor site world... Can you give me like a top 5 most popular site list. A who's who, so to speak. Just curious. Thanks.

Cheers!

mcrain · Nov 7, 2002, 12:23 PM

I have to say thanks to the MR sources for helping to keep me patient. I knew what I wanted and was hoping for, but without the rumors of its impending arrival, I wouldn't have been able to hold out!

Hot damn, I can't wait for my new baby to come to daddy!

IJ Reilly · Nov 7, 2002, 12:26 PM

What happened to the 17" (or 19") iMac rumors? A few weeks ago we had pretty clear signals that Apple was clearing the channels of 15" iMacs in anticipation of new models. Those rumors vanished in the deluge of laptop rumors.

TrunksGoku · Nov 7, 2002, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by IJ Reilly
What happened to the 17" (or 19") iMac rumors? A few weeks ago we had pretty clear signals that Apple was clearing the channels of 15" iMacs in anticipation of new models. Those rumors vanished in the deluge of laptop rumors.

Yeah I'm dying to find out if Apple will release a 19 inch widescreen monitor...because im in the market for one, It's either the samsung 191t or an apple widescreen for me, and 19 inches is the perfect size...money wise and speace wise for me...

anyone have any say on the monitors or any idea when or if apple will release a 19 inch, and whether or not it's widescreen. If i didnt come on to MR and read those rumors about a 19 inch monitor by apple i would've long gone bought the samsung 191t

ryan · Nov 7, 2002, 02:17 PM

Anyone care to speculate when we'll see case revisions for the PowerBook and iBook? Don't get me wrong, I think both designs still look very nice but Apple is known for staying on the progressive side of industrial design. Maybe when the iBook gets a G4 and the PowerBook gets a 970 PowerPC? So say 12-18 months?

mr evil brkfast · Nov 7, 2002, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Future Man

Great Coverage Arn. Fantastic round up as well. I am a little confused about who is who in the macrumor site world... Can you give me like a top 5 most popular site list. A who's who, so to speak. Just curious. Thanks.

Cheers!

Lowendmac has a best of the web survey just recently completed- might give you an idea of both the most popular and more respected.

I check out Thinksecret, Macrumors and Macosrumors (sometimes spymac for a laugh!)- the first two sites are the most reliable.

Nebrie · Nov 7, 2002, 03:19 PM

It seems that YourDailyMac gets most if not all it's rumors from the Mac web, most notably message boards, like all those powerbook rumors it got from the MacNN forums before it was critisized for not giving credit.

Kid Red · Nov 7, 2002, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mr evil brkfast

Lowendmac has a best of the web survey just recently completed- might give you an idea of both the most popular and more respected.

I check out Thinksecret, Macrumors and Macosrumors (sometimes spymac for a laugh!)- the first two sites are the most reliable.

you forgot ATAT or www.appleturns.com they nailed the superdrive, the only site that did.

jaykk · Nov 7, 2002, 07:13 PM

Kid Red, you are right.
I like As the Apple Turns site, and his information seems to be correct most of the time

good job Appel Turns and MacRumors

sweedledee · Nov 7, 2002, 08:16 PM

The new IBM harddisk that is creating some. It would work in the Tibook? I presume so but not 100% certain?

scem0 · Nov 7, 2002, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Rower_CPU
I just want to say that you did a great job keeping track of rumors and posting what information from sources you could.

Looks like you've got good sources. Let's hope they keep on giving out the info.

I would like to echo this. I think MacRumors has done so well in monitoring other sites, and keeping us up to date. I mean, I would never have thought that we would be getting major rumors from a Japanese site. Well, I hope MacRumors keeps the quality it has right now forever. I love macrumors. Thank you.

solvs · Nov 8, 2002, 03:51 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by sweedledee
The new IBM harddisk that is creating some. It would work in the Tibook? I presume so but not 100% certain?

The new IBM drives should work if they are industry standard 2.5, 12.5 (9.5 in iBooks) size. The 80GB 4200 RPMs will be out soon, with the 5400 RPM on their way. Eventually (they say a couple of months) we'll have the 7200 RPMs. IBM made an official announcement, but they haven't yet update their web page with the new specs. We don't know how loud, hot, or power hungry the 7200s are yet, but the others are pretty quiet and cool

Imagine a 1 GHz G4 with an 80 GB 7200 RPM hard drive. Nice.

I like ThinkSecret, they're usually right, but everyone makes mistakes. And you can't believe everything you hear (these are RUMORS people). MOSR is laughable at best. I'm still laughing over how they begged for a free video card, then destroyed it by overclocking it... WITH A PENCIL. Sure, it can be done. But should it!?! Thank you Arn for consistently rising above the rest.

And thank you Anya, 6-month old As The Apple Turns intern-in-training (she hasn't been there for 6 months, she's half a year old, see the site) for the correct prediction of the Ti Superdrive. Though she predicted 800 MHz as the low-end, we can forgive her for now. She probably just hasn't learned her numbers yet.

Great for we, the Mac supporters, who have no life (yeah I know, speak for yourself).

StuPid QPid · Nov 8, 2002, 07:40 AM

I don't want to dismiss the great works done by MacRumors, but what's the difference between speculation and a good rumor? I mean that it is almost inevitable, given what was already known (i.e. ATI radeon mobility 9000, release of thin superdrives etc.) to guess what was coming. The only things one couldn't predict without a little inside knowledge were the date of release and the 1GHz processor, although these too were open secrets it seems. Is there anyway to distinguish whether some of the correct predictions were just lucky guesses or the result of a bit of real inside knowledge...

mcrain · Nov 8, 2002, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by StuPid QPid
Is there anyway to distinguish whether some of the correct predictions were just lucky guesses or the result of a bit of real inside knowledge...

Yes, but if they told you, they'd have to kill you.

fatalerror101 · 07:11 PM

O i am sooooooooooooooooooooo happy I Just recived for my Brithday a Ti PowerBook top of the line, but w/ out the DVD burner. It is sooooo sweet!!!,
I have not idea what this has to do with this thread but i thought that you guys would understand my JOY!

Nov 7, 2002, 01:55 AM	#1
MacRumors macrumors bot Join Date: Apr 2001	Laptop Rumor Wrapup: Winners and Losers Few Apple product announcements have been preceded by such a discordant flurry of rumors as the Powerbook and iBook revisions that took place on November 6, 2002. After each announcement, MacRumors attempst to sift through the rumors and their sources to reveal their accuracy in hindsight. PowerBooks Powerbook rumors have been floating around since their last revision in April... so much that we wrote a Powerbook Rumor Summary back in September, 2002 to recap rumors up until that point. In review, both MacOS Rumors and Spymac provided early hints that Powerbooks would be updated before the New Year, contrary to PowerPage's continued reports. Relative rumor newcomer -- Kodawarisan -- provided many hints since September, with initial predictions of 800MHz/1GHz Powerbooks in the 3rd week of October. As this date approached, MacPlus.org provided the definitive date of November 5th, 2002 - which was confirmed by our own sources. They revealed that both Powerbooks and 19" LCD's would be released on this day... but LCD's have yet to arrive. The actual date was, of course, pushed back by one day, as reported by ThinkSecret. The Superdrive option was one that many sites (ThinkSecret, MacOSRumors, MacUser UK) definitively denied... but was one point that MacRumors' own sources persisted on... and proved to come true. One of the most notable mis-calls was made by MacUser.co.uk. Typically, when the non-rumor Mac press reports on rumors, readers listen... but their report of 933MHz, No Superdrive, Yes Bluetooth Powerbooks turned out to be inaccurate. iBooks The iBook updates were low on the radar throughout most of the recent weeks. Kodawarisan hinted at 13" iBooks, and YourDailyMac posted reports of an iBook update with Powerbooks in November. ThinkSecret provided early iBook specs which turned out to be true, and PowerPage provided final specs in the days before the annoncement.

Nov 7, 2002, 02:12 AM	#2
Rower_CPU Demi-God (Moderator) Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: San Diego, CA	Top notch rumoring I just want to say that you did a great job keeping track of rumors and posting what information from sources you could. Looks like you've got good sources. Let's hope they keep on giving out the info. __________________ Join MacRumors.com - Team Folding!

Nov 7, 2002, 02:50 AM	#3
Foocha macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: London	Thank you What a great rumourfest this has been - it has total renewed my faith in idle speculation. I just wish I could afford a 1Ghz PB.

Nov 7, 2002, 11:02 AM	#4
cubist macrumors 68000 Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Muncie, Indiana	Good job, MacRumors. I remember reading about the superdrive here, and MR stuck to it when everyone else was repudiating it. MacRumors outshines everyone else as the premier rumors site. The place to go when you want to know.

Nov 7, 2002, 12:23 PM	#6
mcrain macrumors 68000 Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: IL	I have to say thanks to the MR sources for helping to keep me patient. I knew what I wanted and was hoping for, but without the rumors of its impending arrival, I wouldn't have been able to hold out! Hot damn, I can't wait for my new baby to come to daddy! __________________ Fear the Taxman! Winner of the third ever Beej's "That's Damn Funny Award"

Nov 7, 2002, 12:26 PM	#7
IJ Reilly macrumors 603 Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Palookaville	Updated iMacs? What happened to the 17" (or 19") iMac rumors? A few weeks ago we had pretty clear signals that Apple was clearing the channels of 15" iMacs in anticipation of new models. Those rumors vanished in the deluge of laptop rumors.

Nov 7, 2002, 02:17 PM	#9
ryan macrumors 6502 Join Date: May 2002 Location: Denver, CO	New Case Design's Anyone care to speculate when we'll see case revisions for the PowerBook and iBook? Don't get me wrong, I think both designs still look very nice but Apple is known for staying on the progressive side of industrial design. Maybe when the iBook gets a G4 and the PowerBook gets a 970 PowerPC? So say 12-18 months?

Nov 7, 2002, 03:19 PM	#11
Nebrie macrumors regular Join Date: Jan 2002	It seems that YourDailyMac gets most if not all it's rumors from the Mac web, most notably message boards, like all those powerbook rumors it got from the MacNN forums before it was critisized for not giving credit.

Nov 7, 2002, 07:13 PM	#13
jaykk macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Chandler, AZ	AtAT got it right Kid Red, you are right. I like As the Apple Turns site, and his information seems to be correct most of the time good job Appel Turns and MacRumors

Nov 7, 2002, 08:16 PM	#14
sweedledee macrumors newbie Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: New York	IBM harddisk in Tibook? The new IBM harddisk that is creating some. It would work in the Tibook? I presume so but not 100% certain?

Nov 8, 2002, 07:40 AM	#17
StuPid QPid macrumors member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Lo Cation? Is this a chemistry test?	Rumors vs Speculation? I don't want to dismiss the great works done by MacRumors, but what's the difference between speculation and a good rumor? I mean that it is almost inevitable, given what was already known (i.e. ATI radeon mobility 9000, release of thin superdrives etc.) to guess what was coming. The only things one couldn't predict without a little inside knowledge were the date of release and the 1GHz processor, although these too were open secrets it seems. Is there anyway to distinguish whether some of the correct predictions were just lucky guesses or the result of a bit of real inside knowledge...

Nov 14, 2002, 11:36 PM	#19
fatalerror101 macrumors newbie Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: San Jose	O i am sooooooooooooooooooooo happy I Just recived for my Brithday a Ti PowerBook top of the line, but w/ out the DVD burner. It is sooooo sweet!!!, I have not idea what this has to do with this thread but i thought that you guys would understand my JOY! Last edited by fatalerror101 : Nov 15, 2002 at 07:11 PM.

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