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Willy S said:
To my very limited knowledge, Tiger and all or most applications for Tiger, are still just 32bit but not 64bit. If they were 64 bit, they should be somewhat faster on G5. Then G5 should smoke G4, but the difference is much less when all applications are 32bit.

So, will Apple start to ship 64 bit OS and when is that likely to happen?

The reason why I´m asking this is the futureproofing of G4 and G5 and whether the gap between them will get bigger with 64bit software.
No, 64-bitness is no guarantee that applications will be faster. In fact, in many cases a 64-bit application is SLOWER than its 32-bit equivalent. Therefore, we need not worry about when Apple makes Mac OS X fully 64-bit aware.
 
We can't accurately predict what will happen in the future, but I wouldn't worry too much about future technology "breaking" the functionality of your current mac.

Anything you can do with your mac today, you will contintue to be able to do that.

I have a Mac Plus, that can connect to the internet, send email and browse the web. it runs Microsoft Excel, and Quark Xpress. Everything that I used it for in 1989 I can still use it for today.

I can't run OS X or Tiger on it, and it doesn't use the latest versions of Excel or Quark, but if my iBook died, I'd still be able to check my email, visit MacRumours, co-ordinate my budget, and still earn some money to get a new Mac by doing freelance DTP work using Quark.

And it'll play some really cool games, that won't run on my iBook (even under classic :( )

hmmm... Crystal Quest!!!, I'll be back
 
Ipod will be dead, killed by satellite radio and subscription services. Yes, sounds farfetched. But it will happen. The walkman is dead.

We will see more convergence devices - mp3/phone/blackberry combinations

As far as computers, reliance on PPC will be somewhat irritating as intel/AMD will evolve more quickly. Apple OS and ilife/final cut apps will drive its growth, NOT hardware. Hardware will always be a thorn.
 
sbb155 said:
Ipod will be dead, killed by satellite radio and subscription services. Yes, sounds farfetched. But it will happen. The walkman is dead.

We will see more convergence devices - mp3/phone/blackberry combinations

As far as computers, reliance on PPC will be somewhat irritating as intel/AMD will evolve more quickly. Apple OS and ilife/final cut apps will drive its growth, NOT hardware. Hardware will always be a thorn.


Geez, how about a little optimism? I agree the iPod will be "dead" but just in that the fad will be dead. People will still use them. Incentive to upgrade has been little in the past 6months and I predict that will be the same in the next 6. So people will stop the buying frenzy.

Anyway, I would say in 2-4 years there will likely be a new processor for Apple (one, not two as some predict). I am not so sure that dual core will be as widely used as many on here do. IMO, we'll see a dual core G4 on Powerbooks/Mac Mini and Dual Core G5s in the iMac. The Powermac, however, will not end up with 2x 2core processors so fast. I think the focus will be on better G5s rather than dual core G5s in this series since most of the benefits of Dual Core are outpaced by dual processing, and software is nowhere near ready to take full advantage of dual core/dual processing yet. 4 cores are not better than 2 until software says it is and that wont be for a long time. There will probably be the announcement of 10.5 or maybe 10.6 with OSX and the roadmap for the next OS beyond X well established. The laptops will get higher resolution and quality screens, as they are far behind Sony, Toshiba, and HP in that respect. There may be a new iMac model in the works, but I am not so sure that it'll be as drastic as the previous changes. Quite simply put, the iMac is already as pretty and sleek as it gets, so I simply see the same or very similar model getting smaller, not a drastic case change anymore. There will likely be one redesign for the iBooks and probably a redesign for the Powerbooks. Outside of that, we'll see the increase of Apple's market, as their marketing will play to the ease of use and simplicity of OSX while more grass roots styled campaigns will attempt to win back education and professional markets. Apple will likely come out with one product none of us know about now but will have to have and not know how to live without then.

This is my hopeful, though I think somewhat modest, prediction. In 2009 Apple will be at about 6% of the market, up from it's current share of 3% or so, I think.
 
RAS admin said:
We will see a switch from PCI-X to PCI Express in the PowerMacs. Also, no more shared buses, like PCI slots 1, 2 and 3. Hopefully some extra slots for more than 2 SATA and SATA II drives.

Switch? No. The names seem to give people that impression.

I'd say we'll see AGP replaced with PCI Express. PCI-X needs to stay.
 
sbb155 said:
Ipod will be dead, killed by satellite radio and subscription services. Yes, sounds farfetched. But it will happen. The walkman is dead.


Nope i'll be using my iPod still i like being able to control the songs i hear and realy buying the songs,plus iTunes could evolve into a subscription service and iPod could get satelite radio on it. I see the iPod still being around for sometime( my hope it will still lead the market in 2010)

i'd like to see a 17'' apple monitor for 499
An eBook starting price 699( a low end G4 laptop that comes out when ibook and powerbook run on G5)
duel core macs
Apple gains 20% market share in computer amrket
New flash based ipod( more memory and a screen) but keep the shuffle
G5 Powerbooks in 2-3 years
G5 eMacs and iBooks in 3-4 years
duel processors in iMac

When do u think we will see a G5 mac mini

My hope is apple really steps it up in the next 6 years so one day we see a iLife and iWork for windows and no office for mac
 
zap2 said:
Nope i'll be using my iPod still i like being able to control the songs i hear and realy buying the songs,plus iTunes could evolve into a subscription service and iPod could get satelite radio on it. I see the iPod still being around for sometime( my hope it will still lead the market in 2010)

i'd like to see a 17'' apple monitor for 499
An eBook starting price 699( a low end G4 laptop that comes out when ibook and powerbook run on G5)
duel core macs
Apple gains 20% market share in computer amrket
New flash based ipod( more memory and a screen) but keep the shuffle
G5 Powerbooks in 2-3 years
G5 eMacs and iBooks in 3-4 years
duel processors in iMac

When do u think we will see a G5 mac mini

My hope is apple really steps it up in the next 6 years so one day we see a iLife and iWork for windows and no office for mac


Considering you can get pretty damn nice Samsung 17" LCDs for $250, I doubt that a 499 LCD will be very competative still. Apple's LCDs are severely over priced since they really give no actual performance upgrade and simply "match" your setup. It's a shame.

eBook isn't a bad idea, but I think that they should simply being to create a larger and larger gap between the iBooks and Powerbooks as well as increase the iBook line and Powerbook line in size by one model.

I don't know if the G5 will or ever should come to the notebooks. The smartest move Apple could make is creating a low heat dual core processor with a far faster FSB that takes it's cues from both the G4 and G5, call it something like G0 ("on the G0" processors). It's no longer smart to directly port processors. Design something low heat and higher performance specifically for mobile and small applications...
 
Out of the office

I think we'll see a slow shift with computers moving out of the office. And apple should innovate and take the lead.
The media hub is a classic example.

Apple have made loads of cash from their itunes store/ipod business.
I think apple will introduce some kind of set top box in the next 12 months

heres a few points:
1. Apple are pretty damn committed to HD Video at the moment - a huge growth area this year. Steve Jobs is involved with Pixar and has the pixlet and quicktime technologies.

2. The halo effect that the ipod has generated has woken people up to apple (what took them so long) but does everyone want a new computer? The ipod was a new product and people bought it in droves. Perhaps apple should produce a computer that isn't a computer, a media centre box? "I've got a pc already, but wait, what is this! Want one!"

3. Seriously, this is a HUGE market over the next few years, people took a while to realise they could store their music on their computers, next step is video - and with HDs so much cheaper that is more of a possibility. Computer will start coming into the living room. Microsoft are trying so hard but they don't make computers do they? (Xbox excepted).

4. itunes music store could be accessed through a set top box - and then you could sync it with your ipod. Your photos could also viewed on your tv or ipod.

5. Apple are behind, for a change, in this market. Whilst Microsoft steam ahead with their media edition of windoze, Apple have been concentrating on OSX and ilife, iwork. Beware the sleeping giant.

6. Let's face it Apple could make a damn sexy media center. With the ipod apple are now known for innovation and quality. Microsoft have got it wrong again. For media centre to work - you need a SMALL box (about the size of a mac mini :)) that sits in your living room. What you don't want is a tower pc with its associated cheap plastic neon lit chrome trim sitting in the corner sucking the air out of the room.

7. All the technology is there. The mac mini (pc manufacturers are finding hard to price match such a small well specced machine), quicktime, ipod halo effect and itunes store. Bundle it all up and what have you got? A home media solution.

So, ihome may have been a fake, but was the idea such a bad one after all?

Oh and we might see a G5 Powerbook by then!
 
themacman said:
i say this in all seriousness: 3Ghz g5 laptops :D

yeah, at the 4 year mark, but not in the 2 year mark...that's my guess

PC laptops will all be past 3 ghz in 2 years but i would rather have a minimally configured ibook

who needs 3 ghz when 1.5 to 2.0 ghz with os x is infinitely better

the operating system, at this point in personal computing, is the deciding factor for most users...i don't think the average consumer pays much attention to ghz rating anymore

i wish most PC users could test drive the mac os for a week...that would make a big difference
 
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