Jobs To Keynote MWSF '06

[sushi]

He's talking about the keyboard. SONY puts the keyboard against the front edge of laptop, with empty space by the display. Everyone else does the opposite, with the keyboard by the display and empty space at the fonr for resting hands/hlding the trackpad. The SONY way is totally impractical.

Just think that is how all laptops were before Apple introduced the PowerBook series back in the early 90s.

Sushi

 

[sushi]

I think you'll see more choices, more evolutionary changes, and fewer "big bang" Stevenotes.

For example, about six weeks ago I ordered 4 new Dell workstations. Due to a manager hitting the wrong button during the approval chain, the request went into limbo even though the status was reading "approved".

When I found this out early this week - of course I did not immediately try to fix the problem and get the request out of limbo.

I went to the Dell website, and checked the current configuration and options lists for that model. Since six weeks ago, the price had gone down for memory and a faster CPU was available, as well as dual dual-core. The 24" LCD was also a bit cheaper.

I got a new quote, cancelled the old order, and placed a new order for better tech at a lower price.

No big announcements, just continual technology refresh. That's the new world.

Great move with the Dell equipment.

Everything is a moving target these days. Get what you need today.

It will be interesting to see how Apple makes this transition. Before they could say whatever they wanted to justify their own upgrade cycle with the different architecture.

Now that they will be in the Intel/x86 architecture home, things will have to be different. There will be no excuses for lagging behind the changes. No more toasted bunnies!

Sushi

 

[BruinJohn]

iPod invisa

Remember on SNL a couple of weeks ago when they spoofed Steve Jobs and the fast changing world of iPods? I hope Steve makes a joke about that. It would be funny. "one more thing, the new iPod pequeno, wait, the new iPod invisa...."<p> In terms of computer schtuff, I would love to see a new Powerbook form factor. I like the minor improvements that have been going on, but I think the Powerbook line has become someone stagnant, and the 12" is being treated like the "red-headed stepchild" and getting left behind. This leaves me to believe that the 12" will get the most attention this next MW. But I know that there will be a lot of time spent on the intel transistion. I can't wait!!!

 

[iPhil]

Agree.

I should have been more clear in my response to Lacero's comment about seeing a demo at MWSF.

Like you, I think we will see it at the WWDC, but not before then.

Sushi

It sounded like Leopard was in pre-Beta stages @ WWDC '05 .. So slim chance of X.5 aka 'Leopard' being shown in seven months @ MWSF '06..

The OS upgrade (10.4 -> 10.5) usually takes apple between year to 18 months to launch, so if 'Leopard' is on a 18 month route then WWDC '06 should be a preview time of the OS..

X.4 aka Tiger was launched this year so if X.5 was in preview mode for MWSF '06, Apple would done 1 OS team for Tiger(to tweak itand polish it) and 1 team OS Leopard.. but im thinking that after tiger was released that they started on 'leopard' so they have lil bit more than a year to get a preview package for jobs @WWDC '06..

 

[Qunchuy]

Besides, as they are sharing the stage with other companies (Dell, HP, etc.) then those CEO's can think things like "geeez, I wish we had thought of that." Then they'll get nervous and pee their pants on stage in front of everyone.

Yeah, the HP introduction of their brand of iPod was painful to watch.

 

[giffut]

Refurbished hints

In the german section of the Apple refurbished store they blow out all iBooks, all Powerbook models and all xserve products.

The store usually only opens on wednesday, but is now daily open right until the 4th of january ...

... feel free to guess what that means.

 

[sushi]

Yeah, the HP introduction of their brand of iPod was painful to watch.

What?! You mean that you didn't like the color? 😱 😀

 

[mdavey]

In the german section of the Apple refurbished store they blow out all iBooks, all Powerbook models and all xserve products.

The store usually only opens on wednesday, but is now daily open right until the 4th of january ...

... feel free to guess what that means.

Oh yes, the UK store is the same! Discounts 20%-27% on PowerBooks, 20% on iBook 14" and various Xserve. 20%-32% on iMac G5.

Arrgh - as if it wasn't hard enough to wait before 😡

 

[~Shard~]

It will be interesting to see how Apple makes this transition. Before they could say whatever they wanted to justify their own upgrade cycle with the different architecture.

Now that they will be in the Intel/x86 architecture home, things will have to be different. There will be no excuses for lagging behind the changes. No more toasted bunnies!

Yep, this is pretty much what I said earlier. If component "x" is released and Joe PC-User can go out and buy it from TigerDirect, NCIX, or wherever to plop in his machine, or if Dell starts including it immeditaley in their offerings, it's not going to cut it if Apple doesn't follow suit and makes its user base wait a few months to benefit from that same new technology.

 

[steve_hill4]

This is already killing me, and over a month to wait before we see what really is on offer. I doubt that with all the speculation around intel Macs being released early that we will have to wait beyond MWSF, but I just want to see what else Apple wows us with.

With more and more rumour sites reporting them each day, it's going to be a busy holiday season, rumour-wise.

 

[~Shard~]

This is already killing me, and over a month to wait before we see what really is on offer. I doubt that with all the speculation around intel Macs being released early that we will have to wait beyond MWSF, but I just want to see what else Apple wows us with.

With more and more rumour sites reporting them each day, it's going to be a busy holiday season, rumour-wise.

Keep in mind that in previous years, Apple has had so many product updates in the pipeline that they only have announced a few items at MWSF, and then over the subsequent weeks, into February, many other product updates have been released, only announced on Apple's main page. So, I guess all I'm saying is, don't think that just because something isn't announced at MWSF that it won't be coming out for a long time - it might be the week afterwards. 😉

 

[AidenShaw]

early ??

...with all the speculation around intel Macs being released early...

Early?

Jobs said by WWDC 2006, not "at WWDC 2006".

The minute he said that, people should have expected them at MWSF !

When the developer site said "code for Dothan", that should have rung a loud bell <ding>MWSF<ding>. Apple wasn't going to wait for Yonah, Apple was going to use the chips that were available at WWDC 2005 ! <ding>

"Not late" isn't the same thing as "early" 🙄

 

[Yebot]

Since they stopped the live webcasts a while ago, will I be able to wander into an Apple Store and watch the Keynote live?

 

[AidenShaw]

No problem

Since they stopped the live webcasts a while ago, will I be able to wander into an Apple Store and watch the Keynote live?

They had Keynote at the Union Square Apple Store last weekend, you should have no trouble seeing it.

 

[~Shard~]

They had Keynote at the Union Square Apple Store last weekend, you should have no trouble seeing it.

Yep - just keep in mind that it isn't free. I've heard people asking about downloading it for free, too, which is illegal - Apple doesn't like that sort of thing. 😎

 

[SiliconAddict]

Yep, this is pretty much what I said earlier. If component "x" is released and Joe PC-User can go out and buy it from TigerDirect, NCIX, or wherever to plop in his machine, or if Dell starts including it immeditaley in their offerings, it's not going to cut it if Apple doesn't follow suit and makes its user base wait a few months to benefit from that same new technology.

A better question is this: can you upgrade CPU's on your future PowerMac and even PowerBook. The latest mobile CPU's usually come with ZIF sockets so it should be possible to pop the hood on your x86 PowerBook (And PowerMac) and do your own upgrades. That's assuming that Apple doesn't solder the CPU's into place which laptop manufacturers are known to do.
Upgrade cycles on x86 Macs could get really interesting. Even more so if whatever chipset Yonah uses is compatible with Merom to the point that its pin for pin compatible. I could easily see people hacking their Mac to get a Merom chip in there instead of shelling out a few grand for a new laptop.

 

[AidenShaw]

The latest mobile CPU's usually come with ZIF sockets so it should be possible to pop the hood on your x86 PowerBook (And PowerMac) and do your own upgrades.

My Dell D600 is quite a bit faster than it was when it arrived... 😀

ZIF is nice.

 

[~Shard~]

A better question is this: can you upgrade CPU's on your future PowerMac and even PowerBook. The latest mobile CPU's usually come with ZIF sockets so it should be possible to pop the hood on your x86 PowerBook (And PowerMac) and do your own upgrades. That's assuming that Apple doesn't solder the CPU's into place which laptop manufacturers are known to do.
Upgrade cycles on x86 Macs could get really interesting. Even more so if whatever chipset Yonah uses is compatible with Merom to the point that its pin for pin compatible. I could easily see people hacking their Mac to get a Merom chip in there instead of shelling out a few grand for a new laptop.

Very good point. It is so easy in the PC world in many cases to upgrade your machine in this manner, component by component. As I said above, I don't think Apple users will be very happy if they have to wait for essentially a new overall system from Apple before they can "upgrade", whereas a PC user can, as you say, buy a Merom and pop it in their Yonah PowerBook (as an example) and move right along. Interesting times ahead, that's for sure. 😎

 

[AidenShaw]

Another area of change?

Originally posted at https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/1951589/

I agree, the cheapest laptops all tend to have Celeron M's in them. To get to Pentium M, you need to go to prices that aren't much cheaper than iBooks, if at all.

And what's wrong with that? Why can't Apple BTO the CPU that you want, like Dell?

See http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=555&l=en&oc=MLB1610&s=biz:

• Intel® Pentium® M Processor 770 (2.13 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB) [add $400]
• Intel® Pentium® M Processor 760 (2 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB) [add $200]
• Intel® Pentium® M Processor 750 (1.86 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB) [add $100]
• Intel® Pentium® M Processor 740 (1.73 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB) [Included in Price]

Why not give the customer the choice of a $699 iBook with a 1.4 GHz Celeron M, or a $999 iBook with a 2 GHz Pentium M, or a $1299 iBook with a dual-core 2.13 GHz Yonah?

The customer can make choices like that from Dell and HP, and pretty soon Apple will be just another Intel shop....

 

[~Shard~]

And what's wrong with that? Why can't Apple BTO the CPU that you want, like Dell?

...

The customer can make choices like that from Dell and HP, and pretty soon Apple will be just another Intel shop....

Yep, it's like what myself and SiliconAddict (and yourself of course too 😱 ) have been saying - Apple is going to have to step up and adapt, or be left in the dust. They're going to be playing a different ball game now, and will have to compete when it comes to things like this. And with OS X being hacked on more and more PCs, there are fewer reasons for people to stay with Macs if Apple does indeed drop the ball on this, as they can simply buy a PC instead with the exact same (or better) components, in a more timely manner, possibly for cheaper - and install OS X on it. 😎

 

[mdavey]

The customer can make choices like that from Dell and HP, and pretty soon Apple will be just another Intel shop....

They can, it is true. But interestingly, much of the industry seems to be moving towards the model that Apple and Sun use: pick a 'small', 'large' or 'ultimate' configuration then customise bits (perhaps change the HDD size, RAM or optical drive). Perhaps Apple will allow customers to 'customise the CPU speed'? I can't see them offering more than 3 different CPU speeds for any model, though.

One of Apple's strengths is keeping things simple. They'll need to tread a fine line.

 

[~Shard~]

One of Apple's strengths is keeping things simple. They'll need to tread a fine line.

Agree, and I think this model is important, yet they will have to adapt once they're playing with the other Intel shops.

 

[AidenShaw]

One of Apple's strengths is keeping things simple. They'll need to tread a fine line.

Look at the Apple store page for the PowerMac at http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APP...7201105/wo/qg53CA3wKmaL2w8DtoF1jb5LV9e/2.?p=0

There's a heading "Memory", and you can click on a list and choose one of 15 different memory configurations.

There's a heading "Hard Drive", and a list with 3 choices.

There's "Graphics Support", with 3 options. "Display" with 4 options.

What's the big change if they add "CPU Speed" with a couple of options ?????

That's what Dell has - there's a list of choices for the CPU chip along with the other BTO options....

 

[mdavey]

What's the big change if they add "CPU Speed" with a couple of options ?

That's pretty much what I said, wasn't it? I think you are vehemently agreeing with me 😉

[Edit: well spotted on the 15 memory configs, though. Do you think Apple is slightly more flexible when it comes to Pro products?]

 

[Yvan256]

mmm, hafta disagree. You say that PDA's are not as high of market share because they run skimpy OS's. Like mp3 players before the ipod.... oh wait, that's why the ipod sells so well. Really simple OS. If you put the full fledged OS on there, not only woudl it be a major resource hog given what you can fit into a PDA, and be ghastly to operate without a keyboard and mouse, but also it would be decidedly complex for the job it needs to do. You aren't going to be able to use all the features of an OS on something that small, so do you want them? No.

But a music player doesn't need a full-fledged OS either. As long as it works, nobody cares what OS is inside the iPods.

And perfect evidence. Mac mini is just barely enough computer to run the OS well, some would argue not given the lack of HD space. You KNOW apple crammed that thing tight. And you argue making it 1/4 the size, while adding input devices and a screen. Asking for a little bit of a miracle.

If you think the Mac mini is "barely enough computer to run the OS well", either you're used to a dual-G5 PowerMac with 8GB of RAM or you've never run Windows XP. My Mac mini (1.42GHz, 1GB RAM) runs OS X without any problems. Sure, video encoding is slow, and I can't play HD Quicktime files, but aside from that, there's nothing to stop that little machine.

As for the size, I'm talking 2/3 the surface of a Mac mini with the thickness of an iBook. Sure, the Mac mini is tighly packed, but remove the DVD drive and you gain at least 20% in volume (IMO). This palmtop wouldn't have any CD/DVD drive (if you need one, you use an external one). If you put a trackball, a trackpoint or a touchscreen in there instead of a trackpad, you also decrease the input area.

Lastly, mix a CompactFlash microdrive with Hitachi's perpendicular recording technology and you get a 20-40GB microdrive. It requires a lot less room and a lot less power (and strangely, could be faster than a 4200 RPM 2.5" hard disk, given the more packed bits, requiring 5-10x less spinning speed).

Give this thing a 1024x600 resolution (widescreen), two USB 2.0 ports, Wi-Fi, bluetooth, maybe a CompactFlash+SD media reader built-in, and you have a winner.

What's the point in having such a machine? Again:
- it's small enough that you don't think twice about carrying it around all the time
- it runs the same software as your desktop/laptop (which means any special app you need is always on the road with you - no more "oh crap I don't have that app for my PDA" situations).
- Apple doesn't have to put much ressources into the OS and software for that PDA (it's nothing more than "yet another laptop model" instead of "a completely different platform").