Apple's February 28th 2006 Event Rumors and Speculation

[mrfrosty]

what about BLUETOOTH MIGHTY MOUSE? it can't be that hard to pull the wire out of this thing...

Amen to that brother !

 

[ELTITO]

Remember this is apple... They did it with IBM G5

But are those chips set up for multiple CPU? Does intel (or anyone) have a motherboard that holds two of those CPU's? I doubt it.

We'll likely never see another dual chip configuration in a mac (or even PC) again. Intel has quads and even 8 core in their future lineup. It makes much more sense to wait for those instead of trying to create some kind of nightmare frankenstein mobo with multiple pentiums on it.

Here is a Sample of a Intel Chipset From the intel page

Intel® E7520 and E7320 Chipset Features


Features Benefits
Supports two Intel® Xeon® processors over an 800 MHz system bus for dual-processing workstation and server platforms Optimized performance for multiple DP market segments and price points, supporting a larger number of users/transactions with faster response times.
800 MHz system bus capability Increased platform bus bandwidth (50% more than 533 MHz) delivers increased system performance.
PCI Express*1 Serial I/O technology that provides a direct connection between the MCH and PCI Express* devices with bandwidth up to 4 GB/s on each PCI Express* x8 interface; PCI Express offers higher bandwidth, lower latency and less I/O bottlenecks than PCI-X.
DDR2-400 memory interface
Offers a maximum memory bandwidth of 6.4 GB/s.
Decreased power consumption—especially important on dense rack, HPC and blade configurations.
Increased DIMMs per system providing enhanced memory scalability for memory-intensive applications.
Intel® 6700PXH 64-bit PCI hub
Optional component introduces next-generation PCI/PCI-X performance and significant
enhancements to platform flexibility.
Supports two independent 64-bit, 133 MHz
PCI-X segments and two hot-plug controllers (one per segment).
Intel® Hub Interface 1.5 connection to the Memory Controller Hub (MCH) Point-to-point connection between the MCH and the Intel® 82801ER I/O controller hub or Intel® 6300ESB I/O controller hub provides 266 MB/s of bandwidth.
Advanced platform RAS
Features such as memory Error Correction Code (ECC), Intel® x4 Single Device Data Correction2 (x4 SDDC), DIMM sparring, DIMM scrubbingand memory mirroring can improve system reliability.
32-bit CRC on PCI Express*.
SMBus port hooks into Intel® E7520 and Intel® E7320 chipsets for remote management operation and support for variety of third-party Base Management Controller (BMC) and BIOS solutions.

 

[supergod]

If Apple is indeed getting ready to release a touchscreen iPod device, it looks like they've been beaten to it.

http://www.ehomeupgrade.com/entry/2166/acer_mp-500_pmp

I think the touch screen player is coming. I'm unsure if it will be the replacement for the current iPod however. The price for a device with such a large touchscreen and HD doesn't work in the range of the current iPod: it will have to be much higher.

I think Apple will stop sales of the 60gb iPod 5G but continue making the 30gb model for the rest of the year. The price will stay the same. Then, a touch screen iPod will replace the 60gb model as the highest end iPod model.

What I'm most interested in now is the iPod boombox. Seems like a very interesting product. It's strange that Apple would get back into the speaker business, after all, they've stopped making their G4/iMac speakers years ago. What the Boombox, with it's integrated HD reminds me of, is the Airport Express: a multifunciton device.

 

[maestro55]

Ugh guys, this looks pretty real:

http://www.macshrine.com/2006/02/24/another-image-of-ipod-video/

It doesn't look like it would be easy to carry around. The nice thing about the iPod is that it fits in your pocket. Something with a touch screen would be so hard to carry around anyhow without getting very dirty/scratched up.

I don't think the release will be a new iPod anyhow, the 5th generation ipods haven't been on the market very long.

 

[Glenn Wolsey]

Amen to that brother !

That would be awesome! I want scrolling, but wirelessly!

 

[excalibur313]

I love how on page 2 someone asked why people want a tablet, and thus far there are two reposnses: one was an incoherant ramble about drawing or something, and one was about taking notes on the go and keeping your calander. Every other post basically says "I want a tablet!" but nobody can say why.

That is because tablets are only good for specialized uses and tech nerds like us that hang out on this board.

So I repeat the challange: Why does the general population need a tablet?

Calander Functions: PDA/Phone already does this for those that want it.

Note Taking: PDA/small laptop has it covered

What else is there!?!?!?! I think people just want a tablet because they think touch screen technology is cool.

And think about this: Outside of tech geeks like us, the general consumer does not even know what a tablet PC is. Ask your non-tech savy Mom or Neighbor if they even know what a tablet is. I guarantee you they won't.

If there is a Mac tablet PC EVER, I will be surprised. If there is one introduced on Tuesday, I'll eat my hat.

The only way a tablet would fly is if it also had a keyboard on it. A tablet is very useful during lectures, meetings, giving lectures or studying because currently a keyboard isn't very effective in those situations. It is difficult to put in diagrams and it is easier to remember something when you are physically writing it out than when you simply type it on the computer. I don't want a pda, small laptop, and regular laptop to do my computing needs, I want one computer that can do it all. For those who use photoshop, dreamweaver, flash and countless other applications (heck even mathematica!) it is waay easier to draw something on a screen than to try and remember where the command is or to go into some character pallet to find the integral sign. As a chemistry undergrad I could save hours of wasted time trying to format my lab reports, keynote files, or excel graphs just having a stylus. Even surfing the web would be really nice with a stylus for many people. (The keyboard would be needed for typing up a paper still) So I throw a question right back at you: why would you not want to have a tablet, especially if it is done right, which you know apple will do?

 

[Glenn Wolsey]

Here is another NEW image I found:

http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/6413/ipodvideo7bb.jpg

 

[croasmun]

Macworld 06 Keynote

Remember how Jobs gave hints at new revised iMacs in Paris a few years back at a WWDC where he demonstrated Spotlight? His search terms were "iMac" and "Paris" and, sure enough, that summer Apple discontinued the iMac G4 (and for a while wasn't selling iMacs at all) and then, at the Paris Expo anounced the iMac G5.

Fast forward: Remember Jobs' joke when he made his sample podcast in Garageband at Macworld in January? He suggested that he had "inside information" on the next iPod from Apple being 8 pounds with a 10" screen. It was key that he did the joke in that order--a 10" screen might not have been so ridiculous if he hadn't already speculated that it would be 8 pounds. The associated image also made it seem that much funnier, as it showed a huge enlarged iPod of the usual proportions (a 10" screen, but a 14" click-wheel). Clearly, 8 pounds is not where this is headed, but is it possible that Jobs dropped us a hint aobut the screen size of the upcoming "iPod"? Maybe something staking some middle ground between a tablet, iPod, and PDA?

Just wondering

 

[boncellis]

Good Find!

Looks can and ARE deceiving....

Google Translated Linky

In short that iPod on the wood floor is an (admitted) hoax.

Dave

Well done, both of you. Yet I'm not convinced that something like this won't be introduced.

Has anyone else noticed that there hasn't been quite as much chatter about the potential fingerprints/smudges as there was back when the images were mockups rather than alleged to exist? Interesting.

 

[Hattig]

Ugh guys, this looks pretty real:

http://www.macshrine.com/2006/02/24/another-image-of-ipod-video/

I'd like to show that picture to that guy who made a webpage dissing the previous pictures because of what looked like JPEG artifacts.

Edit: I mean, look how easy it is to make convincing iPod Video G6s....

 

[rasterbator]

We Can Only Hope

I would like to see Apple release a new type of wireless handheld device. Features for the OS X handheld: Mail, iPhone, iTunes, iLife apps (which could be like widget sized versions), Bluetooth, touchscreen technology, etc.

There is no doubt something like this will eventually happen. Especially since they are buying up space in Cupertino, hopefully for customer service for this device. iSync all of your Apple apps and access your .Mac account from this device. Awesome!

This will give the Blackberry competition and get RIM and NTP to settle their case out of court just in time for Apple to clean their clocks and take a large percentage of the market like they did with iPod.

We can only hope…

 

[rasterbator]

Or maybe…

http://66.134.41.67/~ron/Apple/index.html
Aluminum iMac 30" Intel Core Duo

http://66.134.41.67/~ron/Apple/index2.html
Desktop mini, featuring Core Duo

http://66.134.41.67/~ron/Apple/index3.html
Desktop mini, featuring Core Duo with optional wireless tablet

http://66.134.41.67/~ron/Apple/index4.html
MES - Macintosh Entertainment System with Core Duo
(xServe mini)

 

[kugino]

while it would be cool (mostly because it would be a new product from apple), i agree that a tablet would be a tough sell...apple would really have to show us why we need a tablet (and if anyone could do that, it would be steve)...

i still think the announcements will be far less significant than what's been discussed - ipod boom box, speakers, etc. no new ipods and no new computers. maybe an online movie service of some kind...that's all

 

[rockandrule]

I'm still having a hard time with those 'iPod' pictures. Both of them look as if the screen is not in the center of the 'hardware'. Both seem to be fake to me from that point. Just look at it really close and you'll see what I'm saying.

 

[kalisphoenix]

Ugh guys, this looks pretty real:

http://www.macshrine.com/2006/02/24/another-image-of-ipod-video/

*blinks* Well, I don't think *that* is a fake. It's a real something. I guess I'm about 90% sure it's the new iPod.

 

[obeygiant]

If they start shipping intel mac mini's I would like them to include free chocolate chip cookies. I think i'd be much more enticed to drop $500 on another mac if it came with a cookie... Unfortunately I think the cookie would get more attention from me when opening the box and I may break the mac getting to it...

Oh the things I think of at 8:30a.m. in the morning...

best idea EVAR!

 

[milo]

Supports two Intel® Xeon® processors over an 800 MHz system bus for dual-processing workstation and server platforms

Dual XEON? Yeesh, I can't imagine what a furnace that beast would be. Not to mention that it would probably cost a lot more than the current quad.

 

[sartinsauce]

Not really. No quad processors. No processors that are much of an improvement in processing power, heat, power usage.

And there aren't enough universal apps yet, tower users are the ones who need them the most.

Powermacs are the LEAST likely to get updated anytime soon, Apple won't do an upgrade until they can be a significant improvement over the current G5's.

I have to agree with this statement. I expect Intel Powermacs (or Tower Macs or Mac Pros or whatever) at next years MWSF Conference. It makes the most sense. Yes, it may seem a little late to some people, but if the machine comes at the same time or after Professional Universal Apps, we'll be able to use the damn things to it's full potential right out of the box. Plus, that's a nice hardy announcement for MWSF, which is a premier (or the premier) Apple Conference.

 

[milo]

why would you not want to have a tablet, especially if it is done right, which you know apple will do?

It wouldn't provide me with anything I don't already have. Handwriting recognition sucks, and writing by hand is WAY slower than typing.

Sure, here is a video. You have to first reset the iPod then boot into the diagnostics menu by holding rewind and the center button as son as it reboots. Then hit menu for manual test, select IO, Display, Color. Then you just press the center button to change the color. Can you all read .mpg files? It's on a quick iWeb site that I made. It might take a little while to load. Let me know if this works:

iPod Color Diagnnostics

Thanks for the video. But I didn't see color bars in there, are they included or not?

 

[obeygiant]

possible ibook specifications

Apple iBook Computer specifications
Interface Software: LCARS 2.3
Bio-Neural Gel Circuitry
Access Time: 48,000,000,000 kiloquads/nanosecond
Number of dedicated modules: 2,048
Capacity/Module: 636,960,000,000,000 pedaquads
Simultaneous access to 47 million data channels
Transluminal processing at over 575 trillion calculations per nanosecond
Operational temperature margins from 10 kelvins to 1,790 kelvins
Negative Polarity Hydrogen-based Ionized Liquid Plasma Coolant System

 

[bu113t]

what about BLUETOOTH MIGHTY MOUSE? it can't be that hard to pull the wire out of this thing...

Amen to that brother !

I think that would make the MacBook Pro about 100x better yet... Im going to have a hard time going back to one mouse button when I use my MBP.

 

[BritinNC]

I love how on page 2 someone asked why people want a tablet, and thus far there are two reposnses: one was an incoherant ramble about drawing or something, and one was about taking notes on the go and keeping your calander. Every other post basically says "I want a tablet!" but nobody can say why.

That is because tablets are only good for specialized uses and tech nerds like us that hang out on this board.

So I repeat the challange: Why does the general population need a tablet?

Calander Functions: PDA/Phone already does this for those that want it.

Note Taking: PDA/small laptop has it covered

What else is there!?!?!?! I think people just want a tablet because they think touch screen technology is cool.

And think about this: Outside of tech geeks like us, the general consumer does not even know what a tablet PC is. Ask your non-tech savy Mom or Neighbor if they even know what a tablet is. I guarantee you they won't.

If there is a Mac tablet PC EVER, I will be surprised. If there is one introduced on Tuesday, I'll eat my hat.

I have asked myself the same thing in the past and so I started to use one at work (together with a laptop that just stays docked now) to see why people either love or hate these things.

The first this to remember about a keyboardless device is that it is obviously no good for anything that requires intensive input, even responding to email is a pain to be honest and I don't use it for that other than quick, blackberry/sms like responses, so you have to simply get over the fact that such a device is NOT a computer. The best way I can describe the way I use the tablet is that it is a companion to the desktop/laptop. It is far easier to pick up and take with me to meetings where I can look up something on the internet, view email or take notes without that annoying typing sound. But that is the work setting. At home I'd like to use such a device to run iTunes wirelessly to my hi-fi, and preferably a video to my tv. I'd like to keep my Powerbook plugged in and open but sync up with it so I can access documents or anything else from it from the companion device, and of course I'd like to surf the internet on the device which is very pleasurable in tablet format because scrolling can be much easier with a pen than a mouse.

What I hate about the Tablet PC I have is

a) It's too big for a companion device, I'd like something more the size of the OQO Model 1
b) It too slow to boot up from sleep, not like just opening up my PB. I used it at home for a few days but soon found that it was quicker to go to my PB.
c) Windows simply asks too many questions, has too many popups, etc, its just annoying and is oriented towards a mouse and keyboard.

So - I don't know if this is what is next Tuesday or not - but I would like to see a cross between a mac (application richness), a pda (form factor but I'd go a bit bigger than the standard in order to get the screen real estate needed to surf the web), a tablet (pen input and basic gestures), a remote control (for videos and music) that is an add-on to my mac. As some people have termed a MacPod. When the iPod first came out I suspected that was why Apple called it an iPod rather than iMusic or such because they expected it to be the glue between the mac and the digital entertainment. Now iPod is synonomous with music player and with Apple's new naming system MacPod seems like a great name for something that has some of the power and flexibility of a Mac but the convienience of an iPod.

There is a place for tablets in the market, and it not really with techies 'cos they like high input, but Windows Tablet doesn't cut it because they haven't reoriented the OS around the types of things a tablet owner would do.

I believe Apple will define this market when they bring a product in, just like the iPod defined the music player market. I think all the pieces are ready to go and the products on tuesday could be this MacPod device and the Video Airport Express, now that would be fun!

 

[ThomJensen]

Next Tuesday

Will macrumors be blogging next Tuesday's event?

 

[~Shard~]

Here is a Sample of a Intel Chipset From the intel page

Intel® E7520 and E7320 Chipset Features

Yikes! Dual Xeons would run extremely hot and it is doubtful that would benchmark any faster than the quad.

Plus, this transition is about the future. Apple is switching to Intel for their future chips, not Xeons, P4s and the like. Once again, it will be Conroe/Woodcrest in the Intel PowerMacs, not Xeons.

 

[scarletbiro]

Omg

[...] Take a look at the teaser... An iCal icon. Clearly this has something to do with some sort of life organiser such as a blackberry type PDA/iPod thingymajig. The invites in the past have always given a clue (sort of - sometimes with hindsight) as to what kind of avenue the product will be down.

I'm really hoping for a thin iPod-form-factor portable multimedia player, with decent apps for lifestyle organisation. Perhaps iLife on the go? not sure yet whether a stylus would be used or whether input would be with fingers only but i know i'd buy one in an instant.

Please let this be the case ... I really want this. I have been thinking the same thing -- why use iCal icon if not? I don't quite want a Treo (too much per month), but I am sick of carrying around phone, Palm (which I love), camera, iPod, PowerBook on occasion, etc. Two devices would be okay.

The only thing that could be better is the previously mentioned mini-OS X device on a PDA. I would fire up the credit card immediately for such a device.