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970 Machines Assembled/Sealed?

Re: This report is wrong.

Originally posted by MacWhispers
I don't know what's up with my French rumor-brethren, but I just exchanged emails wiht my factory rep at the Taiwan plant where the 970 Power Macs really are being manufactured, and there are **not** any finished products at this time. All I can get is a verification that "at least one model is starting into production soon."

I don't know about MacBidioulle, but my guy actually works at the plant, and this info, while not as flamboyant as the French report, is actually accurate.

Again: There are no finished/packed Power Mac 970's in existence at this time. Period.
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I believe you.


And watching Snowy_River count down to zero is like watching paint dry. Its also quite strange.


10...

EDIT: Oops never mind. The countdown DOES serve a purpose. :) :p
 
Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
Ok SnowyRiver - you're close to 6502 and a 'tar - but that doesn't mean you have to respond to every post in this thread ;)

You could post one or two and discuss more than one post per thread.

D
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that doesn't bother me nearly as much as the counting down, which has been going on for like the last 60 posts at least. snowy, you'll have your icon whether you count or not, and people will resent it much less if you don't. take a tip from me. i didn't start spamming till after i got my 'tar :p :D ;)
 
Originally posted by gotohamish
Originally posted by pkradd
i seriously doubt it. These chips run too hot for use in portables.
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What an utterly stupid, uneducated comment.

IF (yes, IF) Apple are to use the 970s in the Desktops then OF COURSE they'd use them in the Pro portables too.

Anything else would be plain ridiculous.
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How do you know? We still don't know if the 970 sports any power-saving features. IIRC, the most comprehensive description we have (the Ars Technica article) doesn't report any, and so doesn't the IBM white-paper. Thus, your logic is not compelling at all.
At least, I wouldn't expect a portable 970-based system soon.
 
I thought powermacs were made in California?

I don't remember if the product was outsourced or done on site, but I thought all current powermacs sold in the USA were assembled in the USA. If Apple owned such a factory, wouldn't they be obligated to announce an expected factory closing to their shareholders? If assembly was outsourced, this wouldn't need to be announced.
 
Originally posted by Snowy_River
Has it occurred to anyone else that MacB might not be the only ones who know about it, but they're the only ones with the freedom to publish? I mean, hey, maybe that's why this is a Page 1 rumor instead of a Page 2 rumor.

Just a thought...
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Well, it's a page 1 rumors because a lot of people are following MacBid's rumors with interest.

This is what I've heard

The chips will fall where they may... :)

arn
 
Re: I thought powermacs were made in California?

Originally posted by 10 Goto 10
I don't remember if the product was outsourced or done on site, but I thought all current powermacs sold in the USA were assembled in the USA.
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Ha, all 3 of the PowerBooks I've bought have been made in Taiwan - I would track them from Taiwan to Alaska to the Lower48, etc. I always assumed they were asembled overseas.
 
Originally posted by Flowbee
I don't think the sales reps at Apple stores (or any other stores, for that matter) are informed about new product announcements, especially not a month in advance. I remember overhearing a sales rep in an Apple store advising a customer to "wait until Tuesday" before buying a new iPod... that was back in February! I think they get their "inside" information from the same place we do. ;)
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I work for a major retail chain in the UK, trust me it just isn't done for the store staff to know detail before a major launch. All the NDA's in the world won't keep a launch from leeking.

The Apple store staff will know about upcoming product at the last possible moment and then only at certain level.
 
I'll be excited when it's formally announced... ;)

:confused:

I'll wait until July before I start in on saying anything bad about MacPoodle and the ticks sucking the blood out of this dessicated corpse.

But this isn't the first time that "it's currently in production" has been yelled this year about some spiffy new Apple product ... only to crush our hopes and dreams on the rocks as we come crashing down to reality.
 
Originally posted by IJ Reilly

The only thing that bothers me about this rumor is the X-factor -- 10.3. Maybe I've made a poor assumption, but I thought 10.3 was the minimum OS for the PPC 970 machines, and it's not even scheduled to be announced officially until WWDC. Is it possible Apple will also ship 10.3 in June? How else can these facts and rumors be reconciled?
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An IBM rep was on record as saying that a 32 bit PPC OS would require a small number of minor code changes to run on the 970. It is likely very possible to run a modified version of 10.2 on the 970.
 
Re: Re: I thought powermacs were made in California?

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
Ha, all 3 of the PowerBooks I've bought have been made in Taiwan - I would track them from Taiwan to Alaska to the Lower48, etc. I always assumed they were asembled overseas.
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Note I said "powermac" not "powerbook" or "imac." I'm aware of where my powerbook is from. I think this issue could give a clue as to what is happening and how much credibility one should give to overseas motherboard AND tower assembly.
 
Re: CONTRADICTION?

Originally posted by nikfel
I only have one problem ok maybe more than one but anyway hear me out. If Steve told us that this year is the year of the laptop then why would they introduce new powermacs with 970 processors, this would remove all the hype from the portables and make it the year of the Powermacs not the laptops. If new Powermacs are released in a months time with 970 processors....then they would have to also update the powerbooks with likewise processors or else ot would not be the year of the laptop, right. Any way what I am trying to say i cannot decide what year it is...

1. year of the laptop
2. year of new powermacs (970)
3. year of new powermacs and laptops (both 970)
4. year of nothing
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The year of the latop statement ONLY mean that the laptop would have an incredible year at Apple. It has, nearly 50 of total sales. Laptops are also out pacing desktops on the PC side, IDG called it, yep, 'the year of the laptop'.

Steve's statement has NOTHING to do with Apple's desktops or the 970.
 
Re: Re: Some cracks in this rumour

Originally posted by IJ Reilly
Another "makes me wonder" factor about the upcoming WWDC: The rumors are in unusually strong alignment pointing towards some sort of 970 rollout at WWDC next month, but so far at least, Apple's PR department does not seem to be preparing for the media bash we might expect for such a big announcement. In fact when WWDC was rescheduled, I e-mailed Apple PR with a question about media access to the keynote, and received no reply. Granted, I'm not on the media "A" list, but if Apple is indeed preparing to announce and ship a major product, I'd assume they'd want the hall filled with scribblers, and not just the heavy-hitters (who will probably see it beforehand under and NDA anyway).

Just trying to test this rumor from all angles. I still firmly believe it's going to happen, but some of the pieces haven't quite fallen into place yet.
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Interesting point. I think they may be trying to sort out reliable reporters from those that may use any information divuldged to them and spill it on a rumor site. Who knows. Not saying you are/aren't... but with something this big they don't want to even hint at it until it's sitting in our laps.

This next part is more of my general analysis. One thing _is_ certain... the 970 is coming. Look at the stock price. I think enough optimism is going around the big investors more than just the iTMS warrant. Granted, it's a HUGE benefit, but the 970 is also... and according to the big-name publications, it's just a matter of time.

The people that make a large volume stock move, like Apple, aren't people like me who have less than even a couple thousand shares... it's the big guys who get wind of something coming up. If you want an extra source for dirt, I suggest you check out investor forums such as finance.yahoo.com and finance.lycos.com. Obviously a lot of unconfirmable reports, but interesting reading from the daytraders.
 
Heard from inside the Cuppertino thinktank...

IBM lackey: "OK, Steve, um sorry, Mr. Jobs, the 970's are ready to go. Do you want us to put them in the next revision of the PowerMac and have them ready for WWDC?"

Steve: "Hell yes! This is gonna be so freakin' sweet man, I can't wait to see the looks on... Oh Sh*t! Wasn't it just a few months back when I said, "Year of the Laptop."

IBM lackey: "Um, ya but..."

Steve: "Dammit! Well, put the 970s in storage until January! We'll just put the latest G4's in the new PowerMacs. What is Motorola up to now, 1.5ghz? Maybe nobody will notice that Windows machines are twice as fast at half the price..." ;)

C'mon people! If IBM has the 970s ready ahead of schedule, Apple is going to use them as soon as freakin' possible. Plain and simple! PowerMac sales can't get any worse. Apple has no reason to wait... unless they want to release it at the same time as 10.3.

I don't know if they'll be ready by WWDC but here's to eternal optimism.

BTW, As crazy, loud and continuos as these 970 rumors have been, I wonder what Apple's take on them is...

"I can't believe all of this hype we're getting over the 970! Everybody's gonna be stoked to see them in June."

or

"Man did you see these crazy ass 970 rumors?! We are screwed when everybody finds out the 970 won't even be ready by Jan. there's gonna be mass rioting! Double up on Steve's security at WWDC!" ;)
 
Re: Intel 64-bit desktops - buy one today...

Originally posted by AidenShaw
Intel 64-bit workstations, with 64-bit Windows XP or 64-bit Linux - just click on the "buy" button:

http://www.smb.compaq.com/ctoBases.asp?ProductLineId=433&FamilyId=1427
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Well, you can buy a 64-bit Wintel machine, but they're not consumer grade. They run specialized apps in very small quantity. I think the 970 is much more prosumer oriented and will, obviously, run a vastly larger library of mainstream apps.

That isn't meant to knock the fact that we won't be the first to the plate with 64bit... but we certainly will be for consumers and prosumers. The performance will also be vastly improved to what we have now, no matter if we are a couple of percentage points behind Wintel in performance. Who cares, right? We get more done on a Mac because it's intuitive.
 
Originally posted by Snowy_River
What makes you think that they are so unlikely?
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I never said anything against the possibility of 970 Macs. In fact, I choose to be neither optimistic nor pessimistic, and guess that they'll be out in July or August. WWDC, however, seems unlikely to me--but would be great.

One possible basis for a false rumor: a few prototypes might be boxed up someplace for secret demos at (or even before) WWDC... and people could mistakenly think they were actual products.

Then again, if I was Apple, I'd wrap black plastic around boxes of bricks, stamp Top Secret on top, and stash them all over the planet just for fun :)

Misc replies:

970 in a PowerBook? That's what I'm waiting for, so I hope it's soon after the towers! But it wouldn't surprise me if PowerBooks stayed at G4 (but higher MHz) for a while: PowerBook G3s lasted quite a while after G4 PowerMacs were out. Dual CPUs sound practical too, at least in the 17": one of them (and its heavy-duty fan) would only run on wall power.

If the rumor is true by some miracle, why wait a month to ship them? Perhaps there are SOME boxed now, but Apple wants to have a LARGE supply stockpiled before they ship. Many criticize Apple for announcing a product before stocks are large. And a large stock would be good for the initial momentum.

Re iBooks: a new G3 with AltiVec added by IBM (as has beeen rumored) would simply be called a G4 by Apple. iBooks could move to G4 AND be Motorola-free. (Not that I think Motorola should be dropped just for spite, IF they have any chips of use to Apple's future.)
 
Just Wondering...

Who the hell clicks the Negative selection on the front page for a story like this? :confused:
 
Originally posted by leo
We still don't know if the 970 sports any power-saving features. IIRC, the most comprehensive description we have (the Ars Technica article) doesn't report any, and so doesn't the IBM white-paper.
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Well, to be fair, can't that be done in software? I think the lack of a 15 inch powerbook is suspicious right now, but I'm m not sure what all of this means, per se.
 
University

I'm actually worried about these rumors, I get a new comp when I ship off to Guelph University but they run Linux there so if Yellow Dog or one of the other Red Hat ports dose not work on 64 bit 970's I'm gonna be forced to get a Wintel. (Insert PO'd Smiley)
 
Re: Just Wondering...

Originally posted by zigi
Who the hell clicks the Negative selection on the front page for a story like this? :confused:
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Trolls, neysayers, and the typical doomsday gents. There's always a couple that refuse to be happy about anything.

I, for one, will be happy if the 970's show up before August. If they are in June, I will mark this as a major turning point for Apple.
 
Re: This report is wrong.

Originally posted by MacWhispers
I don't know what's up with my French rumor-brethren, but I just exchanged emails wiht my factory rep at the Taiwan plant where the 970 Power Macs really are being manufactured, and there are **not** any finished products at this time. All I can get is a verification that "at least one model is starting into production soon."
Click to expand...

Kids, take a look at the original post. It says NOTHING about the PowerPC 970 machines being PowerMacs. As a matter of fact, I'm betting on experience and sheer simple intuition that the finished products awaiting shipment are 15.4" Aluminum PowerBooks, yes, complete with PPC 970 processors. Just a few days ago there was a rumor that the 15.4" PBs were finished and awaiting shipment. I think these two rumors complement one another.

As far as the PPC 970 needing Panther 10.3 in order to run properly, I bet we'll see the PowerBooks shipping with a patched version of 10.2.6 or even an exclusive 10.2.7. It wouldn't be available online as only these PowerBooks would utilize them. They may even ship with a beta version on Panther 10.3. Only time will tell.

Visit Blue Pudding!
http://bluepudding.1hwy.com
 
Re: Just Wondering...

Originally posted by zigi
Who the hell clicks the Negative selection on the front page for a story like this? :confused:
Click to expand...
... Arthur Dent had been in some hell-holes in his life, but he had never before seen a spaceport which had a sign saying, `Even travelling despondently is better than arriving here.' To welcome visitors the arrivals hall featured a picture of the President of NowWhat, smiling. It was the only picture anybody could find of him, and it had been taken shortly after he had shot himself so although the photo had been retouched as well as could be managed the smile it wore was rather a ghastly one. The side of his head had been drawn back in in crayon. No replacement had been found for the photograph because no replacement had been found for the President. There was only one ambition which anyone on the planet ever had, and that was to leave.

[...]

Trading was mentioned in the brochure. The main trade that was carried out was in the skins of the NowWhattian boghog but it wasn't a very successful one because no one in their right minds would want to buy a NowWhattian boghog skin. The trade only hung on by its fingernails because there was always a significant number of people in the Galaxy who were not in their right minds....

Bottom line: They're insane
 
Originally posted by Snowy_River
Has it occurred to anyone else that MacB might not be the only ones who know about it, but they're the only ones with the freedom to publish? I mean, hey, maybe that's why this is a Page 1 rumor instead of a Page 2 rumor.

Just a thought...


6...
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Not wanting to encourage Snowy to get to zero (or has he got there already!:rolleyes:) but I posted way back on page 2 (of this!) about the Think Secret cease and desist for iSync 1.1 and asked why Macoohlalah wasn't presented with one.
I'm sorry but I forget who corrected me but MacB is international and therefore not covered by the same legal difficulties Arn etc work under.

"Well, it's a page 1 rumors because a lot of people are following MacBid's rumors with interest.

This is what I've heard

The chips will fall where they may...

arn"

Arn's post from page 6 I think leaves us to make up our own minds.

As for Jack Cambells point of view (MacWhispers) that nothing has left the factory, well whilst I am beginning to believe his sources are generally accurate he assumes that XMacs are only being put together where he has sources...

Personally I'm looking forward to having some cash in July I've been waiting for since last year and the wait looks like a blessing....:D :cool: :)
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: So what are they called ?

Originally posted by Foxer
Remember that "Pentium" simply resulted from the fact that after 286, 386, 486, etc. Intel wanted to make the 586 flashier, and "pent-" being the prefix for 5, one thing led to another.
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Not exactly. A judge ruled that competitors (Like AMD and CYRIX), could use the x86 designation because numbers on their own weren't TM'able IIRC. This is why AMD could sell chips branded* as 386's and 486's.

Thus, Intel needed a new name they could trademark and use as a brand identifier to differentiate their product from everyone elses.

*note the word branded. Why AMD could make x86 compatable chips was an entirely different series of lawsuits...
 
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