Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Powerbook 15.4" Details?

Originally posted by JBracy


Actually that's not quite correct. While it is true that the new PowerMacs, and PowerBooks won't boot 9, apparently the new iMacs will.

Basically anything with a new motherboard design, will be X only. And as Steve actually mentioned in his Keynote - The new PB's are X only.
Click to expand...

Wrong again. Good grief -- I can't believe how much misinformation is being propagated around here!!!!!!!

The new iMacs do **NOT** boot into OS 9:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86209

Now, there's some rumor out there from macosrumors.com -- the sad site that it is -- that the low-end iMacs will boot in OS 9 because they lack Firewire 800. That said, I'm more apt to trust Apple's Knowledge Base than MOSR.

However, if someone has one of the "new" 15" iMacs and wants to prove me and Apple wrong, go for it...
 
Link and my take

I am holding out for $ and for the new version. http://www.apple4less.com/new_g5.htm
shows a potential design... I like the chrome, as long as the heat is not a problem and it is not painted on, not that I dislike the Ti. I have yet to see with my eyes the Al books... looking forward to beholding the beauty. :D

My take: I think the chrome will be a future thing, but not for the 15 in ch now. We all know that it will be 15.4", obviously it will have bluetooth and A Extreme. There will probably be a speedbump, if they are getting rid of the 867, which seems like it is now time (progress dictates) although it seems the iMac has been the testing grounds for new stuff from what I can tell. I expect 2 maybe 3 standards, a 1 GHz model with combo drive... 512 Ram. Same with superdrive, and then higher GHz with superdrive. Oh yeah, almost forgot... I think we will see this earlier tham March, although it is fast approaching. I think either next week Thursday (go figure most releases are on Tues.) or the last week of the month.. That is my thoughts and hopes...
 
Re: Link and my take

Originally posted by TZADOMI
I am holding out for $ and for the new version. http://www.apple4less.com/new_g5.htm
shows a potential design... I like the chrome, as long as the heat is not a problem and it is not painted on, not that I dislike the Ti. I have yet to see with my eyes the Al books... looking forward to beholding the beauty. :D

My take: I think the chrome will be a future thing, but not for the 15 in ch now. We all know that it will be 15.4", obviously it will have bluetooth and A Extreme. There will probably be a speedbump, if they are getting rid of the 867, which seems like it is now time (progress dictates) although it seems the iMac has been the testing grounds for new stuff from what I can tell. I expect 2 maybe 3 standards, a 1 GHz model with combo drive... 512 Ram. Same with superdrive, and then higher GHz with superdrive. Oh yeah, almost forgot... I think we will see this earlier tham March, although it is fast approaching. I think either next week Thursday (go figure most releases are on Tues.) or the last week of the month.. That is my thoughts and hopes...
Click to expand...

That's a 3D mockup dude. There are literally hundreds of them floating around the web. There's about as good a chance of that being the design as there are of me sprouting wings and flying. Look at the hinges -- the very physics of the design don't work out.
 
Originally posted by john123


Wrong again. Good grief -- I can't believe how much misinformation is being propagated around here!!!!!!!

The new iMacs do **NOT** boot into OS 9:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86209

Now, there's some rumor out there from macosrumors.com -- the sad site that it is -- that the low-end iMacs will boot in OS 9 because they lack Firewire 800. That said, I'm more apt to trust Apple's Knowledge Base than MOSR.

However, if someone has one of the "new" 15" iMacs and wants to prove me and Apple wrong, go for it...
Click to expand...

You could be right, john, but the knowledge base is quite vague with the iMac: do you have any idea what the serial numbers are on the 15" iMac on the Store?? That's the only way to verify/unverify that rumour....

NicoMan
 
...... argh hopefully the NVIDIA part is only vapor....

Darn it would really be a bummer if they downgraded the book from the Radeon 9000 to the NVIDIA chip, I can't see why they are still including them in any mac. Any magazine I read rates them inferior to the ATi Radeons for the Mac... (namely Macwelt, C'T, MacUp)
Otherwise this book might really become a must have, the 17 inch is too big for my taste and the 12 inch lacks in two major categories, namely L3 and a DVI port. Especially the L3 issue is upsetting one would have thought Apple learned its lesson from the 550/667 Powerbook disaster.

On another note, I still have a Pismo standing around here which cries for a CPU upgrade. There is 2 available from Powerlogix, either the G3 800 (PPC750FX) or the G4 500 (PPC7410) which would you guys recommend? I do stuff that is non altivec enhanced like MS Office and the likes but also watch movies and do photoshop on the machine (with the 3ivX codec and mplayer being altivec enhanced same as photoshop). What do you guys think will give me the best performance, the G3 or the G4?
Cheers,

Ahmed
 
Re: ...... argh hopefully the NVIDIA part is only vapor....

Originally posted by AhmedFaisal
Darn it would really be a bummer if they downgraded the book from the Radeon 9000 to the NVIDIA chip, I can't see why they are still including them in any mac. Any magazine I read rates them inferior to the ATi Radeons for the Mac... (namely Macwelt, C'T, MacUp)
Click to expand...

Is that a fact? I am really curious. I mean how do we get comparisons, because to my knowledge the 17" has yet to ship and that's the only way you get a GeForce4 Go 440 with 64MB to run on a Mac... Mind you, I am not saying you are wrong, but everyone is jumping to conclusions with those graphics cards, even before seeing what they are capable of. And most of those tests we see about graphics cards come from the PeeCee world where most of the time it's the DirectX performance that is measured. Now about the OpenGL performance , I don't know. I would like to see it with my own eyes.

NicoMan
 
Super-deal

I just talked to the sales rep at the Campus bookstore.

The deal for the 1Ghz 15 incher with superdrive and 3 years APP is $2038.

$1110 off retail.

There has to be something up!
 
Re: Re: ...... argh hopefully the NVIDIA part is only vapor....

Originally posted by NicoMan


Is that a fact? I am really curious. I mean how do we get comparisons, because to my knowledge the 17" has yet to ship and that's the only way you get a GeForce4 Go 440 with 64MB to run on a Mac... Mind you, I am not saying you are wrong, but everyone is jumping to conclusions with those graphics cards, even before seeing what they are capable of. And most of those tests we see about graphics cards come from the PeeCee world where most of the time it's the DirectX performance that is measured. Now about the OpenGL performance , I don't know. I would like to see it with my own eyes.

NicoMan
Click to expand...

Well recent C'T and Macwelt made a comparison between the desktop NVIDIAs and ATis including the Radeon 9000 and the lastest GeForce Card. In all the tests the GeForce cards were significantly slower than the ATis. Macwelt is going to run a comparison between the current 15 inch and the 17inch in the next issue but they said they looked at the new PBs at Macworld and have doubts that the GeForce speed issue will be any different in the mobility version from the desktop version, rather they fear it will be even worse. But I will keep you updated when I got the issue.
Cheers,

Ahmed
 
Re: ...... argh hopefully the NVIDIA part is only vapor....

Originally posted by AhmedFaisal
Darn it would really be a bummer if they downgraded the book from the Radeon 9000 to the NVIDIA chip, I can't see why they are still including them in any mac. Any magazine I read rates them inferior to the ATi Radeons for the Mac... (namely Macwelt, C'T, MacUp)
Otherwise this book might really become a must have, the 17 inch is too big for my taste and the 12 inch lacks in two major categories, namely L3 and a DVI port. Especially the L3 issue is upsetting one would have thought Apple learned its lesson from the 550/667 Powerbook disaster.

On another note, I still have a Pismo standing around here which cries for a CPU upgrade. There is 2 available from Powerlogix, either the G3 800 (PPC750FX) or the G4 500 (PPC7410) which would you guys recommend? I do stuff that is non altivec enhanced like MS Office and the likes but also watch movies and do photoshop on the machine (with the 3ivX codec and mplayer being altivec enhanced same as photoshop). What do you guys think will give me the best performance, the G3 or the G4?
Cheers,

Ahmed
Click to expand...

Hi Ahmed:

Tough call on the CPU upgrade. You may want to check out Mike Breeden's excellent xlr8yourmac.com site. He keeps an exhaustive database from readers detailing their experiences from CPU upgrades with all types of Macs. You can search by type of computer or type of CPU upgrade here

Any G3 or G4 upgraded Pismo is still going to be limited by the 8meg ATI Rage 128 video card though, so you may still not get great movie playback.
 
Re: Super-deal

Originally posted by Glossybear
I just talked to the sales rep at the Campus bookstore.

The deal for the 1Ghz 15 incher with superdrive and 3 years APP is $2038.

$1110 off retail.

There has to be something up!
Click to expand...

Yegads man that's cheap....what university do you go to? I'm switching!!!!
 
Re: Super-deal

Originally posted by Glossybear
I just talked to the sales rep at the Campus bookstore.

The deal for the 1Ghz 15 incher with superdrive and 3 years APP is $2038.

$1110 off retail.

There has to be something up!
Click to expand...

Man, this is reaaaaallllly cheap. And with 3 year APP you are sorted, because it won't lose too much value after a year. That definitely sounds like a bargain to me... (but then again what do I know?)

NicoMan
 
Re: Re: Bad design change

Originally posted by NicoMan

It's pretty much a given that the hinge is going to be changed. I know that aesthetically it is not cool to have the wires on the side. But this is not a desktop, and for access it is way better to have the sockets on the side. You are supposed to carry a laptop around (at least be able to) and having the ports at the back is NOT convenient. Besides, wires or no wires, those machines are still beautiful.

NicoMan
Click to expand...

Before I used my PB, I would have totaly disagreed with you. I think aesthetically it looks horrible compared to behind the computer.

Then I carried my PB with me to class everyday, and used it almost everyday. It is such a pain to go behind the computer and plug in everything. It would be just great to plug in a mouse on the side and such. Now, I know I can get a Docking Station, but I don't want to pay extra money for something that I really don't have room on my desk for. Plus, like I said, I would bring a mouse with me to class, but it really is a pain to connect anything. Well, that's my 2 cents.
 
Originally posted by NicoMan


You could be right, john, but the knowledge base is quite vague with the iMac: do you have any idea what the serial numbers are on the 15" iMac on the Store?? That's the only way to verify/unverify that rumour....

NicoMan
Click to expand...

Actually I just read a report on MacBidouille from a guy who received his 'brand new' iMac 15" and couldn't boot into OS9 (the guy didn't seem to be technically challenged, he sounded like he knew what he was doing).
I stand corrected then... the new iMacs don't seem to be able to boot into OS9 (even the 15").

NicoMan
 
Re: It's true.

Originally posted by moby1
I'm actually thinking of removing the System Folder and Applications (Mac OS 9) folders but then I'm stuck in the future. ;)
Click to expand...

Heh, I guess I'm sorta stuck in the future and the past at the same time -- my 366mhz iBook has been OS X only now for almost 2 years now. I haven't missed it one bit :)

Back to the topic -- when the 15" gets updated, I'll evaluate if I'm going to upgrade to a 12" or 15" -- if the 15" isn't castrated like the 12" (L3 Cache, 640mb max RAM, >867mhz), it just might be what I'm looking for. Of course, by then, maybe there will be a rev. B 12" out... :D
 
Originally posted by RndmAxess
With stuff plugged into the side I'd expect more problems with broken connectors from yanked wires, etc. Working like that would be sort of like trying not to trip over your own shoelaces while you walk.
Click to expand...
Yeah, can't say I was such a big fan of wires-out-the-side when I saw the 'books at MWSF. They seem distracting. Not to mention that it prevents you from having a desk-based work position where you have an external mouse right off to the side of the unit.

Don't really care about the hinge.. the biggest improvement they could make to the 15" (besides getting rid of that horribly chipping paint) would be to make them a little more solid. When you grab a TiBook by the edges you can easily torque it from side, bend it slightly, etc. In comparison, the aluminum machines are as solid as a piece of rock.

I hope an update is good though - 17" is too big for a coach-class seat!
 
Re: Super-deal

Originally posted by Glossybear
I just talked to the sales rep at the Campus bookstore.

The deal for the 1Ghz 15 incher with superdrive and 3 years APP is $2038.

$1110 off retail.

There has to be something up!
Click to expand...


I know UC - Irvine has a similar deal (someone posted it somewhere). $2000 or so for the 1 gig superdrive. I went to the site and it's true. What's funny is the 867 model was not on sale and ended up being more expensive.

I just called my campus rep (Berkeley) and the 867 is on sale for $2100 or so but the 1 gig is $2650. what a bummer.
 
Re: Re: Super-deal

Originally posted by bentmywookie



I know UC - Irvine has a similar deal (someone posted it somewhere). $2000 or so for the 1 gig superdrive. I went to the site and it's true. What's funny is the 867 model was not on sale and ended up being more expensive.

I just called my campus rep (Berkeley) and the 867 is on sale for $2100 or so but the 1 gig is $2650. what a bummer.
Click to expand...

Incredible:

Incredible
 
TiBook still tops

Originally posted by Mr. MacPhisto
The 15" Powerbooks desperately need an update. They look cheap and shoddy when set next to the 12" PB in the Apple Store. The double hinge looks weak compared to the single, sturdy one on the iBook and new PBs, and the Titanium doesn't feel or look as good as the aluminum.
Click to expand...

Sorry, the TiBooks are still the pinnacle of cool design. The AlBooks are nice and when an upgrade becomes necessary for me, I won't be repulsed by the new design. But, the TiBooks remain the more striking design. The AlBook look has been around in high-end audiophile equipment since the early 80s. The TiBook is still one-of-a-kind.

That double-hinge you hate so much gives you a much greater range of screen angles. The 12 AlBook is restricted, just like the iBook.
 
15.4 inch PB and iBook updates next week. (I'm sorta have a weird feeling, I dont know why thought.) Possible new iPods too.
10 for 199, 20 for 299 30 for 399 40 for 499. 199!! That would be perfect. I think that they wont use the 30 gig though, so it will still be 10 for 299.
 
Super-deal

Glossybear:

Do you mind telling me what school you go to that has that rad deal on the 15" PB? I'm trying desperately to see if I know anyone who's a student at one of the colleges with the $1,999 deal, so's I can get them to snag me one. Struck out so far at U. C. Irvine. :(

Seems to be only schools in California that heve this deal going on from what I've seen, too...

thx
 
Re: Super-deal

I'm trying desperately to see if I know anyone who's a student at one of the colleges with the $1,999 deal, so's I can get them to snag me one. Struck out so far at U. C. Irvine. :(
Click to expand...

A much better deal is available to all students at degree-granting institutions ... join Apple's Developer Connection for $99/yr and get a one-time CPU purchase at a significant discount.

From http://developer.apple.com/students/sthardware.html
"ADC Student Program members in the US, Canada, Australia, and Europe may take advantage of a special, one-time hardware discount.

ADC Student Program members are entitled to one purchase of a discounted development system (one (1) CPU with one (1) monitor; or one (1) iMac, PowerBook, or iBook per lifetime (non-renewable and subject to change) at approximately a 10-20% discount. (The discount varies by product and region due to local sales policies, pricing, and availability). Third-party products and software are not available for discounted purchase. Note that not all Apple products are discounted equivalently and some may not be available through the ADC Hardware Discount Program at all.

Please be sure you are adhering to the Terms and Conditions before ordering. In addition, we request that students fax a copy of student identification AND proof of current class registration in developer-related courses. Apple reserves the right to refuse access to this offer by non-students and/or non-developers. "

Example: low-end 12" Powerbook @$1439, hi-end 17" Powerbook @$2639


And, for non-students, I casually mention that I'm a student at UC Irvine ... ;)
 
Re: Re: Super-deal

Originally posted by robodweeb


A much better deal is available to all students at degree-granting institutions ... join Apple's Developer Connection for $99/yr and get a one-time CPU purchase at a significant discount.
Click to expand...

A much better deal? I know of the ADC discount but it in no way will get you a 15" PowerBook with SuperDrive for $2000 or less such as these on campus discounts are.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back