Clearing out G5s?

[Mr.Hey]

What I do not understand is the passion with which people are stating - 3Ghz G5's are not coming, Steve Jobs has no power over IBM Fabrication problems, blah blah blah.

Does anyone here work for IBM or Apple in such a way that they CAN be as passionate and overflowing with negativity as they are?[Pointing to websites does not consititute insider information, it is public information of which none says "NO 3Ghz G5!"]

It's their way of preparing themselves of the possibility of no 3-Ghz G5's debuting at WWDC. Regardless of the fact that Steve made it clear that Apple will have a 3-Ghz Power-Mac by summer(?) or a short time after that . By making that statement, Steve placed the reputation and credibility of both Apple and "The Big Giant Steve" on the line. I have no doubts about a Power-Mac running at 3-Ghz by the timeline that Steve stated.

 

[rdowns]

im running a 1.6 right now and its a great machine.. Best Mac I have ever used.! stop trashing it..

My Physician's Desk Reference calls this Dual Envy.

 

[rdowns]

is the imac (ie, a consumer machine) really going to be discussed at this show for professionals?

i don't think it's really been done before


i believe that the 1.6 with the adc discount is 1299 bucks. which is great. but, it's still not really "worth" just buying because of the price... i mean, the machine ain't all that great.

It's the perfect venue for announcing a G5 iMac. First, Steve loves the hoopla a big event like this produces; lots of press. Second, developers develop for all markets and Apple announcing a (stupid label) "prosumer" machine may make it more likely that developers start to develop software that can exploit this beast.

Besides, I really want a new G5 iMac.

 

[ffakr]

big deal, $100 cheaper than edu

The option to buy 5 extra machines on a select developer account is a big deal, but the discount is only $100 less than the edu pricing. I was about to send a mail around to some admins on my campus till I noticed it wasn't all that big of a discount.

 

[ImAlwaysRight]

You could bet but don't bet too much. You'd lose your shirt.

LOL, you have short term memory loss. Let's go back to Jan 1 of this year and look at a Macrumors MacWorld roundup:

Appleinsider has been the most vocal about the release of updated PowerMacs at MacWorld San Francisco. A December 4th report claimed that speeds of 2GHz, 2.2GHz, 2.4GHz and 2.6GHz processors were currently being produced by IBM with expectations of the release of new PowerMacs at MacWorld SF 2004. Later, "collaborating information" from the same site claimed PowerMac (and Xserve) updates with speeds up to 2.4GHz would indeed be coming at MacWorld SF 2004.​

https://www.macrumors.com/pages/2004/01/20040109023348.shtml

So, looks like u lost your shirt back in January (you seem like the type to buy into this). Be prepared again with your 3.0GHz prediction.

If Apple was capable of even 2.2GHz up until now, even in Feb, March, or April, don't you think it would have happened? Yes, it would have. So I contend, since no updates of even 2.2GHz have happened by now, don't think the new product line will go 2.2/2.4/2.6 with 3.0 also available a few month later. IT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN!

Remember, only the 1.6GHz is discounted. If the base was going to be 2.2GHz, we'd see the whole current product line discounted.

Sorry to be the voice of reason and to burst some people's bubble, but I hate to see such naivete.

 

[PRØBE]

Feelin' Hot Hot Hot

for the past year doesn't mean they won't hit 3GHZ. Steve never said there would be incremental updates throughout the year, he said there WILL BE 3GHZ G5's within a year. So you can't gauge progress based on something that might not have been planned.

If Apple was going to just modestly bump up the speed, it WOULD NOT be during WWDC, they would just do it, (Powerbook, eMac, iBook) an updated line is not a major event nor has S.J. ever showcased something at WWDC/Macworld that was a simple update. He knows what was said and would not risk public humiliation on the same stage introducing a 2.2GHZ G5 where he promised 3GHZ.NOtice how I did not say iMac, they will have G5's in them not 90nm but the current 130nm 1.6/1.8GHZ

Another thing is I think you will see 3GHZ shipping first, from a business sense it's stupid not to do it this way. You have people waiting for faster machines and offer them a less expensive one right away, most people will jump on it since they've been waiting and it's available immediately, this will take away from the bottom line. You offer the high end, so you sell them at a higher price point and probably a higher profit margin.

Apple was already been seeing yields in the 2.6GHZ range 2 months or so ago, there was no mention of top end.

I think that's highly unlikely unless they triple the size of the case and add half a dozen fans. You should read some of ThatWendigo's posts about the 130 nm G5 and heat disappation. Imacs are about space-saving, convenience, silence and elegance, so even a redesigned form factor is likely to be compact. I would therefore have thought the lower heat output of a 90nm chip would be crucial to making a G5 imac work.
I also think they will need to apply the perforated "cheese grater" look to any redesigned imac to help cooling. About time they invented some "nano-fans" Imagine a few hundred thousand of them silently pushing air particles around...

 

[nuckinfutz]

ImAlwaysRight

Well let's hope in "this" case you're wrong. This is a situation when eating some crow is something we all would do happily. But also think of this. If Apple was moving to a new Rev of motherboards including PCI Express then perhaps it is likely that they realized that they could rev the processors and Motherboards at the same time.

Well just over a month to go. We'll all know then. However if IBM is all that they are cracked up to be then they'll hit 3Ghz by summers end. If AMD can get the Opteron to 2.4 they should be able to hit 3.

 

[hacksaw]

LOL, you have short term memory loss. Let's go back to Jan 1 of this year and look at a Macrumors MacWorld roundup:

Appleinsider has been the most vocal about the release of updated PowerMacs at MacWorld San Francisco. A December 4th report claimed that speeds of 2GHz, 2.2GHz, 2.4GHz and 2.6GHz processors were currently being produced by IBM with expectations of the release of new PowerMacs at MacWorld SF 2004. Later, "collaborating information" from the same site claimed PowerMac (and Xserve) updates with speeds up to 2.4GHz would indeed be coming at MacWorld SF 2004.​

https://www.macrumors.com/pages/2004/01/20040109023348.shtml

So, looks like u lost your shirt back in January (you seem like the type to buy into this). Be prepared again with your 3.0GHz prediction.

If Apple was capable of even 2.2GHz up until now, even in Feb, March, or April, don't you think it would have happened? Yes, it would have. So I contend, since no updates of even 2.2GHz have happened by now, don't think the new product line will go 2.2/2.4/2.6 with 3.0 also available a few month later. IT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN!

Remember, only the 1.6GHz is discounted. If the base was going to be 2.2GHz, we'd see the whole current product line discounted.

Sorry to be the voice of reason and to burst some people's bubble, but I hate to see such naivete.

MY WORDS EXACTLY!!!

 

[ClimbingTheLog]

Money Makes the World Go 'Round

"The man" has no influence on the yields in the proc factory. Especially because there have been problems before. So I will believe when I see, but I sure hope there will be 3G.

There are exactly two things that improve yields: time and money. "The man" has some influence regarding the latter.

 

[Postal]

Remember, only the 1.6GHz is discounted. If the base was going to be 2.2GHz, we'd see the whole current product line discounted.

Sorry to be the voice of reason and to burst some people's bubble, but I hate to see such naivete.

That's not necessarily the case. They could simply have decided that a discount would be needed to clear the 1.6 models from inventory, where the others are selling briskly enough with the current promos. There could also be an unusual excess of 1.6 GHz models that Apple thinks would need some extra incentives to clear out beyond just display and memory discounts.

Also, remember that the Brilliant Savings and Memory for Less promos apply to any G5 model. That means that they want to purge G5 inventory as a whole, not just lower-end models.

 

[ClimbingTheLog]

Sales Forecasting 101

I think the reason it's only 1.6 G5s is that they aren't selling half as well as the dual proc models. So never fear, 3GHz will be here!

Right. Somebody in Sales looked at the current inventories and the current sales rates. At the current rates, by June 30 the supplies of 1.8 and 2.0 machines will be at acceptable lows.

At current rates, the supplies of 1.6 machines will be unacceptably high. Time to liquidate.

So, yes, this means the entire line will be out of stock come the new machines, which means they're all going to be higher than 2.0.

2.3, 2.6 and 3.0 - there, I've got a dollar on it.

 

[ClimbingTheLog]

Definition of Impatient?

Because in about 7 days I'll be buying for my business:

Did you machines suddenly die? Wait a month and stop whining, eh?

 

[ClimbingTheLog]

Processing Speeds?

Why is Apple (the makers of the leading OS) sooooo far behind in prossing speeds?

Processing Speeds, you say? Do you mean clock oscillations or Processing Speeds? The former gets attention, the latter really matters. Check out some benchmarks - Apple isn't actually behind on processing speeds.

And in a month they'll be well ahead.

 

[ClimbingTheLog]

Use the Google, Luke

Does Jobs usually keynote the WWDC? It just seems unusual that he would do so without a major announcement.

Yeah, every year since he's been back.

It's his way of supporting the developers without jumping around the stage like a sweaty idiot.

God, I bet Jobs sits around with a joint making fun of Balmer at least once a week.

 

[mountainmac]

Just Ordered 1.6

I just ordered a 1.6 G5 for my school music program for $1900 CAD. It was only $600 difference to the emac I was first considering and a heck of a lot more computer. 10 days and counting!

 

[BornAgainMac]

Perhaps Apple will provide a new color for the Powermac 2Ghz for 2004. LOL
I can't believe my G5 machine is still the top dog since I bought it. I bought it back in 2003. The fastest Mac "on the planet" that you can buy from Apple TODAY.

 

[~Shard~]

It's the perfect venue for announcing a G5 iMac. First, Steve loves the hoopla a big event like this produces; lots of press. Second, developers develop for all markets and Apple announcing a (stupid label) "prosumer" machine may make it more likely that developers start to develop software that can exploit this beast.

Besides, I really want a new G5 iMac.

I agree, I wouldn't discount Jobs from unveiling a G5 iMac at WWDC at all. I could be wrong, but wasn't the G4 iMac released at MWSF or WWDC a few years back? I seem to recall it was a similar type of event in any case when Jobs unveilied it.

The other question would be, what is the new form factor G5 iMac going to be like? What if Apple gives us the 1.6 or 1.8 GHz G5 in the iMac and upgrades the guts substantially? As a result, what if APple turns the iMac into a mid-grade model, with the eMac being the only true consumer level machine, the PowerMac being the pro-level machine, and the iMac being a mid-level machine which also carries a higher price tag than we're used to? Speculation for another thread, I suppose...

 

[blakespot]

Based on what? Apple's never been out in front on graphics card technology. That's one reason why it's never been a big draw to hardcore gamers.

The Mac was the debut platform for the Rage 128 and the (at the time) revolutionary GeForce 3. Avail for Mac before PC.


blakespot

 

[BWhaler]

Yeah, every year since he's been back.

It's his way of supporting the developers without jumping around the stage like a sweaty idiot.

God, I bet Jobs sits around with a joint making fun of Balmer at least once a week.

The may just be the funniest Mac related post off all time.

 

[~Shard~]

If Apple was capable of even 2.2GHz up until now, even in Feb, March, or April, don't you think it would have happened? Yes, it would have. So I contend, since no updates of even 2.2GHz have happened by now, don't think the new product line will go 2.2/2.4/2.6 with 3.0 also available a few month later. IT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN!

Remember, only the 1.6GHz is discounted. If the base was going to be 2.2GHz, we'd see the whole current product line discounted.

Sorry to be the voice of reason and to burst some people's bubble, but I hate to see such naivete.

I disagree. Even though the 1.6 GHz is the only discounted model, it could easily be because:

a) it is the low-end machine and not selling as much as the DP 1.8 GHz (the best bang for your buck) or the DP 2.0 GHz (top of the line!) so they are trying to clear them out of inventory
b) it is the low-end machine in the PowerMac line, and since Apple is going to be releasing a 1.6 GHz G5 iMac, and PowerMacs up to 3.0 GHz, a 1.6 GHz G5 PowerMac makes little sense to still have around

I'm not saying this is the case, but it is just as likely as your scenario in my opinion, so I definitely wouldn't go around quoting yourself as the voice of reason and implying other people's comments are naive. Perhaps the reason we haven't seen 2.2 Ghz G5s yet is because Jobs, focused on bringing his 3 GHz promise to fruition, has been concentrating all efforts on making it happen, and not focusing on marginal gains - go for broke!

Now I could be completely wrong, and I admit that, but I think we will indeed see the 3 GHz G5s @ WWDC, and if we don't then I will stand corrected - I have no problems with that. The reason I believe this though is one based on being reasonable, logical and realistic, not because I am blindly naive as you seem to be implying some people are.

 

[BWhaler]

Well, I'm an optimist, and I don't think there is a chance of 3 Ghz at WWDC. No delayed ship announcement either since it'll screw with sales. I've been waiting for the updates to buy the G5, and if there is a smaller bump, the rev. A issues are worked out, and as long as there are new displays, I'm buying.

I bet the 1.6 is done, the 1.8 and 2.0 will find their way into the iMac, and we'll see 2.2, 2.4, 2.6. Everyone will be pissed for a moment, that horse's ass Paul Thurott will write about it for weeks, the MS shill CNET will write an article about it.

But none of US will care since they are still new, faster Macs and I know Apple has a few things up their sleeves to get the attention and press cycle away from no 3.0.

 

[LaMerVipere]

Technical Specs Aside...

...Does anyone think we will see an updated case design?

I really hope so! Maybe something with more curves but still all aluminum, smaller than the current tower (maybe similar in size to the Power Mac G4), and room for 2 optical drives.

It would be nice to have some rumours about the look of the Rev. B G5's too.

 

[slooksterPSV]

...Does anyone think we will see an updated case design?

I really hope so! Maybe something with more curves but still all aluminum, smaller than the current tower (maybe similar in size to the Power Mac G4), and room for 2 optical drives.

It would be nice to have some rumours about the look of the Rev. B G5's too.

That really depends on how often the change the design of their case. I think they probably will change it pretty soon I'd say with in a year or two. I mean look at how fast everyone elses' cases are changing. How about when they come out you make one and show it to everyone? I've seen some pretty awesome ones out there.

 

[~Shard~]

Well, I'm an optimist, and I don't think there is a chance of 3 Ghz at WWDC. No delayed ship announcement either since it'll screw with sales. I've been waiting for the updates to buy the G5, and if there is a smaller bump, the rev. A issues are worked out, and as long as there are new displays, I'm buying.

I bet the 1.6 is done, the 1.8 and 2.0 will find their way into the iMac, and we'll see 2.2, 2.4, 2.6. Everyone will be pissed for a moment, that horse's ass Paul Thurott will write about it for weeks, the MS shill CNET will write an article about it.

But none of US will care since they are still new, faster Macs and I know Apple has a few things up their sleeves to get the attention and press cycle away from no 3.0.

This could very well be the case too, but the other thing to consider when discussing the delayed shipping announcements you touched on briefly, is that perhaps that is another reason there have been no updates to the PowerMac line (3 GHz or otherwise) prior to WWDC - as opposed to announcing updated PowerMacs the second they are ready, but tag a "shipping in 2 months" caveat to the announcement, Apple is perhaps holding back such that once they announce the updates, the Apple Store will be raring to go for people's orders, with shipping commencing immediately. Until Virgina Tech puts in another order and eveyrone else gets bumped 4 months...

If Apple doesn't announce the 3 GHz @ WWDC, I won't be disappointed - any speed bump is progress, especially with the supposed issues Apple and IBM have been having with the evolution of the G5, however the majority of people will be disappointed, and rightfully so - an entire year without speed bumps is quite extreme, so when it does happen, hopefully they'll be significant increases.

I guess we'll see in a month!

 

[~Shard~]

...Does anyone think we will see an updated case design?

I really hope so! Maybe something with more curves but still all aluminum, smaller than the current tower (maybe similar in size to the Power Mac G4), and room for 2 optical drives.

It would be nice to have some rumours about the look of the Rev. B G5's too.

Usually for a Rev B and an update not involving a complete redesign of the system's guts, an updated case design doesn't happen, so I don't see it being too likely. Mind you, if Jobs has those 3 GHz G5s ready to go, perhaps a case redesign is necessary in order to house and cool that thing - even the cheese grater with 8 fans may not cut it!

My gut feel is that we won't see a case redesign for the Rev B PowerMacs - if Apple is busy redesigning anything right now it would be the new form factor for the G5 iMac, the necessary modifications for the G5 PowerBooks, and new displays - oh, and throw 4G iPods in there too.