PowerBook and iBook Developer Notes

[MacRumors]

Apple has posted detailed developer documentation for the newest PowerBook revisions.

17" G4 PowerBook
15" G4 PowerBook
12" G4 PowerBook
iBook

[darkwing]

Do these really matter to application developers?

Or is it more for drivers and hardware developers?

[TrenchMouth]

is this in any way shape or form different from how Apple usually releases information on new builds? i dont remember this happening with previous releases, though for some reason i am sure it must have on a certain level.

[neb_greely]

I don't remember hearing that they had changed the battery:

Previous Model
46 watt-hours battery
Current Model
50 watt-hours battery

What does this mean? Longer battery life?

[musicpyrite]

Originally Posted by neb_greely

I don't remember hearing that they had changed the battery:

Previous Model
46 watt-hours battery
Current Model
50 watt-hours battery

What does this mean? Longer battery life?

Maby it's because the processor runs at a higher clock rate, so it uses more power.

[The Red Wolf]

Developers need to know the terms Apple uses for all of the standard and upgrade equipment on the PowerBooks (or any computer listed this way for that matter). All of us know what FireWire is, but sometimes is necessary for a developer to know that a machine is equipped with 1394 and what revision of the hardware I/O it is. This came into effect when a device runs into trouble such as the FireWire 800 issue with Hardrive Manufacturers.

[srobert]

I have a "windows" key on my Powerbook's keyboard??? What is that for? Virutal PC?

[denm316]

I thought this was something Apple already did before. It's funny how Airport Extreme is a new feature, the only new part is they dont charge you $99 for it.

[Warphammer]

Originally Posted by neb_greely

I don't remember hearing that they had changed the battery:

Previous Model
46 watt-hours battery
Current Model
50 watt-hours battery

What does this mean? Longer battery life?

Yep. Question now, of course, is, will it fit the 1/1.25 15"... It's not a gigantic difference, but it'd be nice...

[Doctor Q]

The New Features page, for the 15" model only, has a nice old/new comparison chart, showing changes such as going from a 2x SuperDrive to a 4x SuperDrive. That's where you can see the battery change mentioned above.

[Biker21098]

Sure would be nice if the 50 watt fit my now slightly old 1.25 PBook. one can only hope. I love my PBook and I've been able to use it for almost all school year, but i sure am jealous of the 4x burner, and 9700 mobility. Is there really much difference between teh 9600 and 9700?

[Lloyd Intalan]

Originally Posted by Biker21098

... Is there really much difference between teh 9600 and 9700?

According to this, yes.

[john86441]

I reviewed the new features for the iBooks and Powerbooks, and clicked on the Superdrive link. It says the new Superdrive now reads and writes to both DVD-R and DVD-RW disks. Why hasn't Apple published this info?

[Snowy_River]

Originally Posted by srobert

I have a "windows" key on my Powerbook's keyboard??? What is that for? Virutal PC?

Take a moment to read...

...Other control keys can take on the functions of certain keys on a PC keyboard, for use with PC emulation software...

[spud]

Originally Posted by neb_greely

I don't remember hearing that they had changed the battery:

Previous Model
46 watt-hours battery
Current Model
50 watt-hours battery

What does this mean? Longer battery life?

i'm confused...
i think powerbooks run an average of about 60 watts, so with a 50 watt-hour battery a pb would get just barely more than one hour of unpluggedtime.
??

[advocate]

Originally Posted by Warphammer

Yep. Question now, of course, is, will it fit the 1/1.25 15"... It's not a gigantic difference, but it'd be nice...

I just did a mock checkout on the Apple Store of a 1.5 GHz 15" alBook with an extra battery. It appeared as a M9325G/A on the resulting order. According to Amazon.com that part number has been available since September 2003. I don't know where Apple got the new battery capacity figure from, but it looks like the identical battery pack as I have in my 1.25 GHz 15" alBook!

I wonder if Apple decided to do some creative number skewing to make the battery look bigger. As you may know, you can play a bit with when you say a battery is fully charged. The 12V lead-acid batteries in cars are totally full when they hit 13.8V, for example. My battery is labelled 10.8V nominal. Apple's new specifications lists the battery as 12.8V nominal. Just making that change could give them a claim of anywhere up to 54.5 Watt-hours, assuming the previously claimed 46 Watt-hours at 10.8V was accurate

[srobert]

Originally Posted by Snowy_River

Take a moment to read...

Nay! I like pictures better. Real man don't read instructions.

( He sure showed me. My bad. Gotta be more careful. You get eaten alive for showing any sign of weakness/imperfection on these boards. May all those typo-typing fools rest in peace ^_^ Cheers! )

[aldo]

Spud, I think you are wrong.

My AC adapter only outputs a max of 48watts, and considering it charges a 48Wh battery in less than 2 hours (24watts), that means the rest of the computer can run on less than 24 watts - probably closer to 10-15W as transformers don't last long if they run at fully capacity for long.

[Snowy_River]

Originally Posted by srobert

Nay! I like pictures better. Real man don't read instructions.

( He sure showed me. My bad. Gotta be more careful. You get eaten alive for showing any sign of weakness/imperfection on these boards. May all those typo-typing fools rest in peace ^_^ Cheers! )

He he he. No worries, mate. No offense intended. I was only intending to point out that the answer to your question was there...

http://www.ghwphoto.com/smilies/wink.jpg

[topicolo]

Hey, did anyone notice that the ibooks now use a full 512k of 1:1 backside cache? They finally upgraded the G4 to the same revision the powerbooks are using.

[klanda]

There appears to be an error in the iBook note:

Quoting from the note:

Bluetooth: One configuration comes standard with built-in Bluetooth. In other configurations, Bluetooth is available as a build-to-order option. For more information, see “Bluetooth Technology”.

Best I can figure, no iBook configuration comes with BT standard.

Correct me if I'm wrong...

By the way, anyone have any idea what the 'LL' stands for in the following product description: IBOOK 1.2G4/256/60G/SUPER/AP/LL ?

K

PS. Ordered the above iBook. Faithful dog #2 knocked the Pismo off the table last week, killing the ol' girl.

[innervision]

friend of mine told me that he had read that the new 12" had better sound than the previous generation because they added a third speaker. didn't believe him until i saw the diagram which distinctly shows three speakers.

block diagram for 12" PB

pretty nifty

[Threnody]

I was just looking at the memory specs, and it looks like standard PC2100 should work. I'm going to be ordering a new iBook G4 in the next couple of days and want to throw another 512MB or RAM in there. How picky is the iBook/Powerbook G4 in taking third party RAM? I'm in Canada, and I've found that the 3rd party RAM made especially for the iBook is a lot more expensive than standard PC2100!

Adam

[AndrewMT]

Why isn't the ATI Radeon 9700 operating on a AGP 8X bus like all the rest of the laptops with this processor?

[NatronB]

Originally Posted by innervision

friend of mine told me that he had read that the new 12" had better sound than the previous generation because they added a third speaker. didn't believe him until i saw the diagram which distinctly shows three speakers.

pretty nifty

Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't there always been a 3rd speaker on the 12vy?

-N