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MacWorld SF 2005 Rumor Roundup

iPod Keynote

Odds are in the favor that more than 1 hour of the 1.5 hour keynote will pertain to iPod sales, updates, accesories, iTMS and Mini news. Sorry but thats what there is, it is the single driving force behind Apple right now.
 
rikers_mailbox said:
No mention of the iPhone in the rumor roundup?

I personally doubt an Apple branded phone, but I do expect some announcement pertaining to a mobile version of iTunes.
Click to expand...
There is no iPhone. It's a Motorola phone with iTunes support. Moto has mentioned it already, but it might get mentioned at MWSF. I'm surprised CES didn't have more info.

And I'm still expecting the headless Mac to be more around $600. And the software to be either more expensive, or not have as many features and they have talked about. Either way, I predict people will still complain.
 
solvs said:
There is no iPhone. It's a Motorola phone with iTunes support. Moto has mentioned it already, but it might get mentioned at MWSF. I'm surprised CES didn't have more info.
Click to expand...
Didnt the dude presenting the Moto+apple deal thing say that this isnt the product that they're using?
 
DUH!!!!


Dual-Core powerbooks!!!!

It's obvious. Look at freescale's website. on the same page as the dual core G4, they describe its ultra-low-power derivative... the 7448! Which IIRC is what powers those wonderful new iBooks we got a few months ago. People have been screaming for G5 powerbooks pretty much from the moment the G5 got released, but we all know it's not going to happen any time soon. The dual-core g4 is motorola's make-good for years of f%$king over apple in the processor front, and now we're gonna see the fruit of that.
Another clue: Ever notice how the mac processor market has never exceeded what was available from Apple? (some people would say, what about the powerlogix G3 upgrades! those were faster than the current iBooks at the time... that was cuz the G4 iBook was right around the corner and apple didnt care anymore about g3) Now look at the best processor upgrades we have for macs... 1.7ghz G4!!!!! So, at the very least, on Tuesday we can expect new powerbooks with the PPC8641 chip, which is single core, if not the 8641D... aka G4 Dual powerbooks....


time to retire the pismo....
 
I can't wait.

I also Apple has a few things up their sleeves that nobody is expecting and we will all be blown away.

The last time this happened was in 2003. Keynote, 2 new powerbooks, Safari, etc. It was huge.

Here's hoping there is a ton of suprises and amazing products.
 
AirPort Express update?

I'm predicting an update to the AirPort Express providing greater control over the music played. Not based on any hard facts, just a gut feeling :cool:

The KeySpan remote was a move in the right direction, but I'd like to see something with a display on it...
 
clarify

kwikdeth said:
DUH!!!!


Dual-Core powerbooks!!!!

It's obvious. Look at freescale's website. on the same page as the dual core G4, they describe its ultra-low-power derivative... the 7448! Which IIRC is what powers those wonderful new iBooks we got a few months ago. People have been screaming for G5 powerbooks pretty much from the moment the G5 got released, but we all know it's not going to happen any time soon. The dual-core g4 is motorola's make-good for years of f%$king over apple in the processor front, and now we're gonna see the fruit of that.
Another clue: Ever notice how the mac processor market has never exceeded what was available from Apple? (some people would say, what about the powerlogix G3 upgrades! those were faster than the current iBooks at the time... that was cuz the G4 iBook was right around the corner and apple didnt care anymore about g3) Now look at the best processor upgrades we have for macs... 1.7ghz G4!!!!! So, at the very least, on Tuesday we can expect new powerbooks with the PPC8641 chip, which is single core, if not the 8641D... aka G4 Dual powerbooks....


time to retire the pismo....
Click to expand...

o.k. can someone explain in semi-tech speak (I'm mostly fluent in certain dialects :D )what and how these single core, dual core freescale chips work and why the hype. I've done a bit of reading on it here and there, but not enough yet.
 
quit jinxing the mini mac yall!

quit sayin its gonna be $600...id be bummed and i need a cheap mac cause im a broke fool!

keepin my fingers crossed...

Pete
 
The Third Coming of Steve Jobs

I am really raw at Apple at the moment.

I remember the days when keynotes were closer to 3 hours, and were mac-centric.

Chances are, this years keynote will start off with retail updates, move to music/ipods, and stay there for at least an hour. Then, a short introduction of any new mac products and bang, show over.

Also, Steve seems to have lost his spark. I really doubt if he has as much passion about the music side of things as he does about his Macs and OS. It just seems to me that he acts kinda flat when he knows that he has nothing really to show for why he is up there.

I think Steve needs a third coming.
 
Except, one problem...

kwikdeth said:
DUH!!!! ... Dual-Core powerbooks!!!! ... It's obvious. </snip>
Click to expand...
Except there is a problem. The MPC7448 isn't dual core. sure the 8641D is. However, I doubt Apple will be using the MPC8641D. The MPC8641D is specifically designed for SOC applications. Historically, ALL G4s were of MPC74xx lineage. If you look at Motorola/Freescale's PowerPC products they have listed, you'll also notice the MPC8xxx lineage. I've never seen the MPC8540 used in a Macintosh, ever. Same goes for the other 8xxx series. The new MPC7448s and MPC8641s (including the dual core version of MPC8641) use the same e600 core from the MPC7447/7457s with slight improvements with Altivec. The fact that the MPC7448/MPC8461s are 90nm means that they'll be cooler and require lower power. For the most part, it's just a die shrink with slight improvements and 33 MHz faster frontside bus.

My best bets are for a 1.5 (7.5x multiplier) or 1.6 (8x multiplier) GHz single-core 7448 12" PowerBook and low end 15" PowerBook and 1.7 (8.5x multiplier) or 1.8 (9x multiplier) GHz single-core 7448 high end 15" PowerBook and 17" PowerBook.

We shall wait and see. It might, though doubtfully, be G5 instead.
 
Speed bumps are probably coming soon, but if much of this stuff is real, Steve may not mention them in his keynote. Instead, they'll probably just quitely release speed bumps in late January and in Febuary. If the model you're looking for isn't updated at MWSF, I'd wait until March or April(if you can) unless it's an Xserve or the new headless Mac.
 
If the powerbooks were gonna have a g4 upgrade, they would have been released last week with the xserve updates. Roll on G5 Powerbooks.
 
kwikdeth said:
DUH!!!!


Dual-Core powerbooks!!!!

It's obvious. Look at freescale's website. on the same page as the dual core G4, they describe its ultra-low-power derivative... the 7448!
...
So, at the very least, on Tuesday we can expect new powerbooks with the PPC8641 chip, which is single core, if not the 8641D... aka G4 Dual powerbooks....
Click to expand...

I think that is highly unlikely. In Europe we had a remarkable price reduction for all Mac products, including the PowerBooks due to the weak dollar. Only the iPod prices remained the same. I don't see the logic in lowering the prices 10 days before you announce an update for a certain product. In this case they could have waited with the price reductions a few days longer in order announce the product update and the price reductions for the other mac products at the same time.

So I am awaiting new products (maybe a headless iMac) and maybe some movement at the iPod front. But no updates to the computer products line.

And think of it, it also makes more sense from a marketing point of view. The iPod is a consumer product, as well as the headless iMac which would complete the iPod for a lot of private users just perfectly. My guess is that this will be the focus of the show. The pro products will not play a big role at all. That's why the Xserve update was released before with no big marketing event. All other products, especially the Power- and iBooks will be probably updated in spring or summer...

My 0.02€

groovebuster
 
Get on with it already...

Personally I'm hoping that Big Steve announces something no one has even thought about!

Think of it this way... Apple suddenly starts beating the rumour sites up with the big legal stick as a way of getting them to 'behave' which suggests that the rumour sites must have been getting close to something 'big'. It would seem to me to be quite a change in behaviour for Apple that has tolerated the rumour sites for quite a long time without getting all uppity.

A 'productivity' suite from Apple would be good - I've had enough of that piece of cr@p called Excel and something like Lotus Improv would be a welcome change if not the most ideal spreadsheet solution.

Anyway lets see what Steve has in store for us...
 
Ok, I am going to try and tune in to catch whats happening but it seems to me I might as well wait until a few hours after it kicks off/is over because little will be coming out live. What do people think? Has anyone got a live source for the keynote in any form?
 
fatbarstard said:
piece of cr@p called Excel
Click to expand...

actually, excel is a wonderful piece of software. it is THE best app microsoft has ever made, and it was a mac-first by the way. no reason to dislike it because it carries the same brand that so many other crappy apps carry - just the opposite, even if apple released its own i'd still be using excel for what it's good at.

i'd replace word in a heartbeat and have already replaced powerbook and entourage. i'd however not replace excel. it's far from crap.
 
gdj said:
http://www.macitynet.it/macity/aA20181/index.shtml
Click to expand...
crakly said:
"Life is random" - what on earth could that mean? This could be one of those products no one saw coming...
Click to expand...
I think "Life is random" suggests the new 1Gb iPod selects 240 songs at random from your iTunes library every time you connect it to your computer. Makes sense as most people have a lot more than 240 songs on their computer. I would guess there is a manual playlist-like drag-and-drop option as well.
I agree with crakly - excellent find gdj!
 
kwikdeth said:
DUH!!!!


Dual-Core powerbooks!!!!

It's obvious. Look at freescale's website. on the same page as the dual core G4, they describe its ultra-low-power derivative... the 7448! Which IIRC is what powers those wonderful new iBooks we got a few months ago. People have been screaming for G5 powerbooks pretty much from the moment the G5 got released, but we all know it's not going to happen any time soon. The dual-core g4 is motorola's make-good for years of f%$king over apple in the processor front, and now we're gonna see the fruit of that.
Another clue: Ever notice how the mac processor market has never exceeded what was available from Apple? (some people would say, what about the powerlogix G3 upgrades! those were faster than the current iBooks at the time... that was cuz the G4 iBook was right around the corner and apple didnt care anymore about g3) Now look at the best processor upgrades we have for macs... 1.7ghz G4!!!!! So, at the very least, on Tuesday we can expect new powerbooks with the PPC8641 chip, which is single core, if not the 8641D... aka G4 Dual powerbooks....


time to retire the pismo....
Click to expand...

According to Slotorola's own roadmap, dual core PPC G4 for desktops use (i.e. not embeded chips) will not go into production before the END of 2005, which means they would be announced at MWSF 2006 at the earliest.

Of course, this is Slotorola we're talking about, if they EVER come out at all (remember their G5?), it won't be until summer 2006 at the EARLIEST.
 
All I hope for is at least one thing not mentioned here... I hope thats not too much to ask for.
 
crakly said:
wow, good find.

"Life is random" - what on earth could that mean? This could be one of those products no one saw coming...
Click to expand...

I think it means that the new iLife '05 suite is not finished properly and still contains lots of bugs which cause random crashes. They're just warming the crowd up. iPhoto '05 now randomly picks a photo from your 'Dirty Valentine's Weekend' folder and mails it to any address in your address book containing the phrase "Mother", iMovie '05 sometimes splices in clips from any folder in your home directory containing the phrase 'pr0n', and iDVD will sometimes switch the region code of your DVD player. All completely randomly of course.
 
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