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Powerbook G5 Hints?

ReturnOfTheMac said:
Arggh!

I think i'm going Crazy ! :eek:

I was this close to getting a 1.5 15 inch powerbook G4 (my first dip in to the "other side"). I was just about to sign on the dotted line and I thought that I would just pop into some mac forums to see what was going down.......

Now i've cancelled my order and spent the last few days checking websites and fourums every 2 minutes. I'm going mad, becoming obsessesd even.

I want my Power Book!!! I want it soo bad.......

God help me... :confused:
Click to expand...

Don't worry, you're not the only one who wants it now, look at the rest of us, I have checked the forums recently too many times, as if someone is going to suddenly write "Hurry look at the Apple website! It's right there! What we've all been waiting for: the new PowerBook G...." Poof! The illusion vanishes, every time I check the forums, and then I begin to believe it again when rumors about how the html code on the PowerBook page, indicated that they were preparing for a G5.

Many of us have the money and are or were about to buy a new PowerBook, but we are all still waiting for this update. And the more I think about it, the more I think about getting one right now. I would love nothing more than a G5 or a DC G4, but it really does seem unlikely that that's going to happen in the next couple of weeks. I can't wait another 4 months to finally get a new PB. And if I get one now, hey, it's still a mac. That's all there is to it.

I guess that February 14 is our waiting deadline, for all of us buyers who need a G4 laptop now. I do remember seeing the last keynote and finding it strange when Steve was looking up 'love'. When I read the forums I got all excited with the rumor that it could actually mean something, but I've become every day more doubtful that it does (so why wait until Feb. 14 you ask? :rolleyes: I have no idea).
My hopes were still that there could be a special event like the one where the U2 iPod and iPod Photo were introduced, but that event was announced more than a month before the event took place.

So what to do? What to do? Wait. :(

Good luck to all of us. Don't bite your fingers off. :p



Edit: Oh yeah, for those of you who haven't followed the thread and previous ones about new PB's, the thing about the PowerBook site's source code wasn't a rumor, it did happen. They changed the "g5" to "g4" yesterday. I saw the source before and after. Just to clarify recent posts that say it was fake. If it actually means something, is the question and is what the discussions are about.
 
AidenShaw said:
Why do you think that you need a 64-bit laptop, considering that

...

You might want a G5 laptop because it's *faster* than the current G4 laptops - but much of that is due to the faster memory system, not because the PPC970 is 64-bit. 10.3 isn't 64-bit, yet the PowerMac G5 is faster than the PowerMac G4.

(There obviously are some fringe cases where a 64-bit program might be helpful on a 512 MiB laptop, but I'm describing the overwhelming majority of applications here.)
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The G5 is soooo much faster than the G4 for the main reason that in most systems running the G5 there are 2 F'n G5 processors

...and this is kinda off the topic but when comparing a single P4 to a dual processor system, and than ragging on the P4 because it doesnt perform as well doesnt really seem fair. I would like to see the benchmarks for a dual 3.6 P4 system (if one exists) against the dual 2.5 G5 and see what the outcome would be

I realize that the G5 is faster overall but its not that big of a differance, I seem to remember seeing a benchmark test where the single G5 1.8 was only something like 10% faster than the mac mini's 1.42 G4...but hey what do i know, im still on a PC :rolleyes:
 
I always thought that the "love" conspiracy theories from Steve's Keynote was reaching a little, and seeing the new iPod campain is "Show Your Love" I think it pretty much proves that it was a pipe dream for a PB announcment. It'd be great to be wrong as my current PB gets sold on Monday and the funds will be used on either the new revision or a current Rev C with superdrive... but I guess we'll have to play the waiting game to see....

Just as a footnote, the retailer I was going to order the rev C from (very nice prices!!) has said they are not expecting to get any stock in until the week of the fourteenth.....

Its all getting a bit conincidental....
 
I just got thinking about something and i think a carbon fibre PowerBook G5 would be uber sexy... Apple, I hope your reading this.


... now back to more "0MG T3H N3W P0W3RB00KZ 4R3 C0MM1N6 7U35D4Y!!!"
 
think big apple!! or update the PMs gpu, that would be fine also!

El Duderino said:
The G5 is soooo much faster than the G4 for the main reason that in most systems running the G5 there are 2 F'n G5 processors

I realize that the G5 is faster overall but its not that big of a differance, I seem to remember seeing a benchmark test where the single G5 1.8 was only something like 10% faster than the mac mini's 1.42 G4...but hey what do i know, im still on a PC :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I think actually one of the major important differences is not just clock speed but FSB and most importantly of all, the amount of Ram it can address and the speed of communication. The new G5 1.8 single may well be comperable to the mini, but that's because Apple specifically handicapped it, if you look at the overall specs, the original PM G5 1.8 single (RevA) outperforms the new 1.8 dual!! So I think there is 'some magic' in the processor itself, I would love to see a PB that performs comperably to the G5 1.8 RevA, that and 4+GB of addressable Ram would be a revolution from anything any Mac Notebook can do now. Plus it could play Doom3! :)
"Now introducing a revolution in mobile gaming, every new Powerbook G5 ships with an optimised copy of Doom 3..." (um plus a 2-3 button trackpad/mouse dammit!!)

PS- I've heard (not really being a PC-type) that the upcoming (current) Dorthan is actually more comperable to the G5 than the simply Oc'd rather than evolved P4 3.6's. 'Imho' this would mean Apple would have to introduce something far more advanced than any current G4 just to compete power-wise, and introduce it very very soon!
 
Could the next PB be tablet-ish?

Just a wild idea, I don't think I've seen this posted anywhere. Could the next PB model have some sort of touchscreen or have a tablet feature? Just an idea, I don't know where it came from....I've been reading these rumor forums too much.


Cheers,
 
Monday monday

we need more powerbooks at work and when our mac guy called the reseller we buy ours from they advised him to wait till next week b/c they have heard a rumor about a possible announcement of some sort on monday.

not a tuesday so HOPEFULLY means something more than just a minor speed bump, buuut not a major event either so nothing too big. eh, its probably just the minor speed bump :(

obviously not fact, just a rumor, but this is macRUMORS.com after all, not macfacts.com and obviously we all obsessed with them so i figured i would share.
 
zimtheinvader said:
I think actually one of the major important differences is not just clock speed but FSB and most importantly of all, the amount of Ram it can address and the speed of communication. The new G5 1.8 single may well be comperable to the mini, but that's because Apple specifically handicapped it, if you look at the overall specs, the original PM G5 1.8 single (RevA) outperforms the new 1.8 dual!! So I think there is 'some magic' in the processor itself, I would love to see a PB that performs comperably to the G5 1.8 RevA, that and 4+GB of addressable Ram would be a revolution from anything any Mac Notebook can do now. Plus it could play Doom3! :)
"Now introducing a revolution in mobile gaming, every new Powerbook G5 ships with an optimised copy of Doom 3..." (um plus a 2-3 button trackpad/mouse dammit!!)

PS- I've heard (not really being a PC-type) that the upcoming (current) Dorthan is actually more comperable to the G5 than the simply Oc'd rather than evolved P4 3.6's. 'Imho' this would mean Apple would have to introduce something far more advanced than any current G4 just to compete power-wise, and introduce it very very soon!
Click to expand...

Um, dear Mr. Uninformed, ever hear about FREESCALE?
 
dual Xeons (and Opterons) easily beat G5 dual 2GHz

El Duderino said:
I would like to see the benchmarks for a dual 3.6 P4 system (if one exists) against the dual 2.5 G5 and see what the outcome would be
Click to expand...

http://www.digitalmediadesigner.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=28168-1

This report shows a dual 2.0GHz G5 losing in all but one test against a dual 3.06 GHz Xeon, a dual 2.2 GHz Opteron, a dual 3.4 GHz Xeon, and a dual 3.6 GHz Xeon (the 64-bit Nocona) on After Effects and CineBench. (That is, on one test it beat the 3.06, it lost all of them to the Opteron and faster Xeons)

Even if you assume perfect clock-speed scaling for the 2.5 GHz against the 2.0 GHz, it would fail to win a single test against the 3.6 (although it should beat the older 3.06 Xeon at a couple).

(ps: If you follow one of the links you'll see a 2.5 GHz reported as matching the 3.6 on the "comp 1" test. "comp 1" is simple fractal generator test, so it's a sweetheart example for AltiVec - and the 2.5 G5 merely matches the Xeon...)
 
Whatever happens...

I don't claim to know what's going to happen next week, next month, or next major event. But I do know a few things.

Apple hasn't been sitting around doing nothing. They've had a year and a half to work on the G5 chip in a powerbook, and probably even longer. Seeing it happen at WWDC has some very good odds in my book. I also wouldn't be terribly surprised if it happened on the fabled "next Tuesday". The mother of all thermal challenges sounds like something Apple would love to beat, and I'm sure they've been working hard on several approaches for a while now. Apple hid the G5 PowerMac pretty well for a long time, as I remember. They could be doing the same with the PowerBook. Is a G4 speed-boost more likely for "next Tuesday"? Maybe. But I wouldn't put anything past Apple at this point.

And to all those that seem to think that the G5 is just too hot to end up in a laptop, people said the same about the G4. The fact of the matter is that technologies get better with time. The G5 will be in a laptop eventually. And so will the G6, and the G7, and the G8...

Nothing is impossible, especially where Apple is concerned.

In any case, I'll be getting the next PowerBook rev. I don't particularly care if it's a minor speed bump on the G4, a dual-core of some kind, or even the G5. I just need a laptop.
 
Update to news story

The requirements section of Apple's 17" Apple Studio Display page says in French
Configuration requise: L’Apple Studio Display nécessite un Power Mac G5 avec un connecteur ADC ou un PowerBook G5 avec un port DVI vers ADC Apple
Click to expand...
Meaning: The Apple Studio Display requires a Power Mac G5 with an ADC or a PowerBook G5 with a DVI port and an Apple DVI to ADC Adapter.
 
Check out this Google search I just did for "PowerBook G5" within apple.com. Most of the results aren't relavent, but a few pages (such as a couple Italian support pages) include references to a "PowerBook G5" (see the very bottom of said Italian pages, in the small disclaimer text).
 
sahomuzi said:
Oh, the sleeping people, who make in one year the G4 0,167MHz faster?
Click to expand...
:D Yup, that's them.


I don't think Apple would use dual core g4's on a PowerBook. I think they're working like mad to get a G5 processor into a PB. They've never said "there will never be a PowerBook G5", on the contrary they have only said that it is a great challenge and a while back they said that it would be at least until 2005 when they could achieve something like that.
Everybody's bets are that new PowerBooks will be announced until WWDC, but what does that leave Apple with for the next 4-5 months?

Most recent supositions say that new technologies like a possible mobile G5 is still months away and that other technologies are far off as well.
With Apple's well-known secrecy, don't you think that they could have been working on something BIG that they haven't made public, and have done the impossible to have it kept that way?
I mean, Apple had problems with the company that was selling them the 60GB hard drives (I forgot what company it was..) that they planned to put on the iPod Photo. They were angry with them just for revealing the fact that they had sold the drives to them, and the drives themselves gave no indication that they would release a whole new iPod. If any company revealed that they were selling new mobile processors to Apple, it would be more than obvious that Apple was going to use them on the PowerBooks that haven't been updated in quite a while.

Next tuesday G5's? Who knows? We would all be surprised. :eek:
 
Doctor Q said:
The requirements section of Apple's 17" Apple Studio Display page says in French
Meaning: The Apple Studio Display requires a Power Mac G5 with an ADC or a PowerBook G5 with a DVI port and an Apple DVI to ADC Adapter.
Click to expand...

Yet another leak, I mean typo?

This increasing frequency of typos/leaks in itself strongly implies an impending upgrade as the webmasters would typically all be getting their graphics & text sorted out a few days in advance on their development servers.

Getting more likely by the day I think. :)
 
Wow...

... I checked out the archive of that link, and as of 2/15/04 (the most resent cache), it said Powerbook G4.

First off, why is that page still there? Its not on the US English version. OK, maybe the foreign Apple sites get updated less often than the US one. But still.

Second, it required a deliberate act to make that say "G5". Another punk web designer, like probably happened with that 1x1 url? Probably. But he could be trying to point us to Paris Expo, since the page is in French, and there don't seem to be any Canadian events.

Perhaps, though, though, the launch could take place at a Canadian Apple Store. Aren't they slated to be opening around 2H of 2005?
 
At http://www.apple.com/it/support/powerbook/displayprogram/ , we see at the bottom a mention of Powerbook G5, "Programma di estensione della copertura per le riparazioni dello schermo di PowerBook G5 15"". Translated, this means, "Extention of the Display Repair Program for 15" Powerbook G5".

Either they've already got some engineering problems, or its some kind of typo. Could someone have written a program to replace certain instances of "G4" with "G5", and had it accidentily affect Powerbooks?
 
Heres the french text

"Configuration requise
*L’Apple Studio Display nécessite un Power Mac G5 avec un connecteur ADC ou un PowerBook G5 avec un port DVI vers ADC Apple ; Mac OS X v10.1.3 ou Mac OS 9.2.2 ou ultérieur requis"

What's interesting to me is the fact that this doesn't look like a simple copy/paste error. If the Power Mac was one word like PowerBook, it would make more sense to me as being a simple copy & paste error.


EDIT:
In this case the source shows as:
Power Mac G5 avec un connecteur ADC ou un PowerBook G5'

So they have used non-breaking space charcters -   - between Power and Mac and G5, but not between PowerBook and G5. So I thinks its probably not a result of a cut and paste at all.
 
screensaver400 said:
At http://www.apple.com/it/support/powerbook/displayprogram/ , we see at the bottom a mention of Powerbook G5, "Programma di estensione della copertura per le riparazioni dello schermo di PowerBook G5 15"". Translated, this means, "Extention of the Display Repair Program for 15" Powerbook G5".

Either they've already got some engineering problems, or its some kind of typo. Could someone have written a program to replace certain instances of "G4" with "G5", and had it accidentily affect Powerbooks?
Click to expand...

A web master running a sitewide find and replace on "PowerBook G4" with "PowerBook G5" would create that sort of effect, but its hard to imagine such a change being made intentionally to existing pages.

In this case the main text still says PowerBook G4, so its only the breadcrumb trail at the base that's affected.

Maybe they might do such a thing on their development website version as a way of updating the pages or just parts of pages, but then I can't imagine how any part of the development pages TEXT would be visible until the moment Apple presses the go button as it were.

I CAN imagine how images might get accidently mixed up between existing and development pages on a server if they were both linking to the same image.

Still, I don't know their system at all, or how byzantine it all might be.
 
narco said:
Has anything ever come out of one of these typo/leaks from the apple.com website before?

Fishes,
narco
Click to expand...

Pics and specs of the PMG5 were posted the night before the announcement, IIRC. Typos and such from apple.com tend to be both frequent and accurate lately.

And yet another web designer will get "Steved"...the beautiful Circle of Life continues.
 
mcarvin said:
And yet another web designer will get "Steved"...the beautiful Circle of Life continues.
Click to expand...

I imagine Steve has a necklace of ex-Apple webmaster's ears that he takes to certain kinds of parties.
 
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