PowerBook and iBook Developer Notes

[avkills]

The FSB on the G4 can't do DDR, but the system controller can. I would not touch these things unless I was desperate for a machine.

-mark

 

[miltontong]

from the 12" pb developer notes:
"To lower power consumption and heat generation, the 12-inch PowerBook G4 incorporates an automatic power management technique called dynamic frequency switching (DFS). DFS is designed to run at high processor speed and voltage when the demand on the processor is high, and to run at low processor speed and voltage when the demand on the processor is low. Switching between different processor speeds and voltages is achieved by a transition that operates seamlessly to the user and should not impact system or application performance."

"When DFS is enabled, the processor dynamically adjusts its speed based on the current needs of the system. The processor speed will switch between 1333 MHz and 667 MHz."

is anyone else a little disappointed that the 7447a processor's dynamic frequency switching only switches between two different speeds? i thought they would have been able to make it a little more varied.

 

[joshbuddy]

Also I would check out pccanada.com and kingstoncomputerplanet.com. Both have relatively cheap ram prices are easy stores to deal with. In reailty, a stroll down College St is just as cost effective, as I noticed today, 512 was going for $150.

*j*

I think it's actually just a mistake on my part. I was looking at Canada RAM and they have a special section for iBook G4 ram. Just me jumping to conclusions *blush*.

Klanda and Snowy River, thanks for the suggestions. I'll give OWC and Crucial a look.

 

[Zaty]

I don't see anything about the 12" being able to be put to sleep with the battery removed and unplugged from the mains and stay asleep for 3 mins while a new battery is being inserted, the bigger PB have this but i don't know if the 12" has?

Anybody know?

Revs. A&B don't have a PRAM battery to power the system while the main battery is being exchanged. Unless the changed that, which I doubt, Rev. Cs don't have it either.

 

[Snowy_River]

I just bought my first mac (a 12" powerbook) and it has a dead (glowing blue) pixel. I read about apple's policy on dead pixels and am deciding whether to return the powerbook. Does anyone know any ways I could get the glowing pixel to function again? I heard of a "massage" method but i'm not sure what this entails. Thanks!

Gently rub the pixel in a circular motion until (hopefully) the pixel starts functioning.

You can also "massage" or squeeze the framed edges of the screen straight to the sides and directly above and below the dead pixel. I had such a pixel on my old PB3400 that always glowed red. I found that gently squeezing the frame either directly to the right or directly above it could get the pixel to behave properly. Oh, it still sometimes gets stuck on red, but usually all I have to do is squeeze the frame in one of these spots or rub the screen a bit. Works like a charm...

 

[Snowy_River]

from the 12" pb developer notes:
"To lower power consumption and heat generation, the 12-inch PowerBook G4 incorporates an automatic power management technique called dynamic frequency switching (DFS). DFS is designed to run at high processor speed and voltage when the demand on the processor is high, and to run at low processor speed and voltage when the demand on the processor is low. Switching between different processor speeds and voltages is achieved by a transition that operates seamlessly to the user and should not impact system or application performance."

"When DFS is enabled, the processor dynamically adjusts its speed based on the current needs of the system. The processor speed will switch between 1333 MHz and 667 MHz."

is anyone else a little disappointed that the 7447a processor's dynamic frequency switching only switches between two different speeds? i thought they would have been able to make it a little more varied.

Uh... given the way that's worded, I'd read it as adjusting to any speed between 1.33GHz and 667MHz, i.e. if the demand called for it, it would set itself at 933MHz, or 1.25GHz. However, it couldn't set itself at 500MHz, or 1.42GHz. I think that you get the picture...

 

[thehypercube]

Is this a mistake? I hope so or I'll change my order.... The 17" audio is billed as 16 bit audio capable only.

"The sound circuitry handles audio data as 16-bit samples at a 44.1 kHz sample rate."

Compared to for the 15"

"The sound circuitry handles audio data as 44.1 kHz 24-bit samples."

and one additional input is listed:

"sound signals from the communication (modem) slot"

The headphone output on the 17"

"signal-to-noise (SNR) 90 dB unweighted (typical)"

On the 15"

"signal to noise ratio (SNR) greater than 100 dB A-weighted"

Is this true? Totally different audio capabilities? Why should the 17" buyer get lower specs if so?

this doesn't make sense. dvd audio is encoded at 24 bits. if you can play dvds on the 17", then it seems it can handle 24 bit audio.

regardless, any music you listen to is likely to come from a 16 bit cd. handling audio as 24 bits is not going to change the sound quality of something that came from a 16 bit source. if you are concerned because you are recording your own music, your interface and software would take care of the audio bit rate.

 

[Penman]

this doesn't make sense. dvd audio is encoded at 24 bits. if you can play dvds on the 17", then it seems it can handle 24 bit audio.

regardless, any music you listen to is likely to come from a 16 bit cd. handling audio as 24 bits is not going to change the sound quality of something that came from a 16 bit source. if you are concerned because you are recording your own music, your interface and software would take care of the audio bit rate.

The thing is 17" can't play DVD Audio. They can play the sound on DVD's but not the DVD audio format itself. Given the 15" specs on this paperwork the 15"s can't play DVD audio either. It's very strange.

 

[danman]

Maby it's because the processor runs at a higher clock rate, so it uses more power.

Does this mean I could get one of the new batteries and add a little bit of extra battery life to my 1.25Ghz model?

the order of 7% increase in power is not alot (circa 10-15 mins more).

Why don't apple provide higher Watt-Hour batteries as accessories, if its possible to fit more capacity in the same battery case?

 

[Maxx Power]

difference in audio subsystems ?

I've noticed this since the last revision of the Al-books. And some of you noticed that as well. The 12 inch and the 17 inch gets an 16bit 44Khz audio subsystem, and everything is down/up sampled to that spec when it is outputted. The 15 incher however, features 24bit resolution, and consequencly, a much much higher signal to noise ratio (A-weighted) as compared to the other two units, is it because the 15 inch was developed later and used a different DAC as compared to the other two older units ?

-Any guesses ?

 

[WM.]

The thing is 17" can't play DVD Audio. They can play the sound on DVD's but not the DVD audio format itself. Given the 15" specs on this paperwork the 15"s can't play DVD audio either. It's very strange.

Can any (equivalently-priced) laptops play DVD-Audio?

 

[Penman]

Can any (equivalently-priced) laptops play DVD-Audio?

DVD Audio's part of the DVD standard. Any computer with a DVD player and 24/96 convertors should be able to. I know most of the current audio chips handle this. My guess is yes. Even if not though - why not Apple?

The real point it for audio. With a 24 bit signal path, as someone mentioned earlier, you have more headroom and less noise. To some of us audio's really important.

Apple should think about it - that's why we have THX, dts and the rest. In tests people always choose killer sound and mediocre visuals over killer visuals and mediocre sound. PC notebooks now ship with primitive subwoofers. With the success of iTunes and iPods being used by DJ's (pitch shifting in software would be great there - controlable via the wheel) good notebook sound seems like a great idea to me.

 

[invaLPsion]

Why isn't the ATI Radeon 9700 operating on a AGP 8X bus like all the rest of the laptops with this processor?

Because APPLE is CHEAP. They even underclocked the GPU!

 

[kinema]

I don't get it.

Because APPLE is CHEAP. They even underclocked the GPU!

They didn't underclock the GPU. They are simply running it on a slower bus. The clock rate for the GPU and the speed of the bus are two different things.

Even if they did underclock it how would that be being cheap? Apple would be paing the same price for the part regardless of what the clocked it at.

 

[medusa]

The third speaker.

The third speaker already existed in older Albooks. I own a 12' AlBook and It has the speaker. It's a medium frequencies enhancer.

 

[WM.]

DVD Audio's part of the DVD standard. Any computer with a DVD player and 24/96 convertors should be able to.

But can they, right now? Is the firmware/software there?

I know most of the current audio chips handle this. My guess is yes. Even if not though - why not Apple?

Maybe the drive doesn't support it? Apple uses standard optical drives, you know. (For example, the 2x slot-load SuperDrive was a Matsush.ita UJ-816; I don't think we know what the 4x one is yet.) If the drive is the limiting factor, Apple is relying on a third party to implement new features.

WM

 

[kbonnel]

it is not the drive, but the ability of the sound hardware to decode DVD-A. For example, my SBLive card cannot decode it, but my Audigy2 can.

But can they, right now? Is the firmware/software there?

Maybe the drive doesn't support it? Apple uses standard optical drives, you know. (For example, the 2x slot-load SuperDrive was a Matsush.ita UJ-816; I don't think we know what the 4x one is yet.) If the drive is the limiting factor, Apple is relying on a third party to implement new features.

WM

 

[aafuss1]

it is not the drive, but the ability of the sound hardware to decode DVD-A. For example, my SBLive card cannot decode it, but my Audigy2 can.

On my PC, my integrated AC97 is good for playing DVD-Audio discs, but the new Powerbooks may not be able to decode DVD-A.

 

[WM.]

OK, I wasn't aware that current PCs could play DVD-Audio. I've never even seen a DVD-A disc!

I still think it's kind of silly to think that one would notice the difference between 16/44.1 and 24/44.1 or 24/48 coming out of a mainstream laptop's analog output (or into its input). We'll probably see optical audio I/O on a PowerBook in the near future, and then better formats will be worth it, IMHO.

Of course, you can always get better quality by using a nice USB or FireWire (or PCI via an expansion chassis) interface. I think you would notice the difference between 16 and 24 bits with Pro Tools HD hardware, for example.

WM

 

[chabig]

given the way that's worded, I'd read it as adjusting to any speed between 1.33GHz and 667MHz, i.e. if the demand called for it, it would set itself at 933MHz, or 1.25GHz. However, it couldn't set itself at 500MHz, or 1.42GHz. I think that you get the picture...

No. It means exactly what it says...that the processor can switch between two speeds--full speed or half speed. From the Motorola 7447A hardware specifications (http://e-www.motorola.com/files/32bit/doc/data_sheet/MPC7447AEC.pdf) we find this...

"A new dynamic frequency switching (DFS) feature allows processor core frequency to be halved through software to reduce power consumption."

Chris

 

[Baris]

G4 or G5???

Hi guys, I just purchased a 17" powerbook on the 13/4 for $5500AUD, apple released the new pb only days later for $1000AUD cheaper. Anyhow, I am in the process of selling my current powerbook and hopefully getting a new one in the future.
I plan to get the next update of PB, I don't want to get stung again though. So does anybody know if there is a planned release of a G5 anytime soon? Also what differences would there be between a G5 and a G4 powerbook, apart from the obvious of course.
I can't really make up my mind on whether I should wait for the G5 powerbooks, does anybody have any information.. even speculations on the release of these things, for example what speed will they be running at? Are the screens going to have higher resolutions?? I hope so.. I think people at apple might be blind judging by the size of things.
Also is it a bad idea to get the first release of a new CPU family? You know.. kinda like a beta test program.

 

[aswitcher]

Hi guys, I just purchased a 17" powerbook on the 13/4 for $5500AUD, apple released the new pb only days later for $1000AUD cheaper. Anyhow, I am in the process of selling my current powerbook and hopefully getting a new one in the future.
I plan to get the next update of PB, I don't want to get stung again though. So does anybody know if there is a planned release of a G5 anytime soon? Also what differences would there be between a G5 and a G4 powerbook, apart from the obvious of course.
I can't really make up my mind on whether I should wait for the G5 powerbooks, does anybody have any information.. even speculations on the release of these things, for example what speed will they be running at? Are the screens going to have higher resolutions?? I hope so.. I think people at apple might be blind judging by the size of things.
Also is it a bad idea to get the first release of a new CPU family? You know.. kinda like a beta test program.

Have you hassled Apple Australia for a discount since it happened in a few days after you got your new PB?

G5? ??? July? Jan 05? July 05?

First rev may have issues...