TiBook Update?

[Catfish_Man]

The chip...

...in a new TiBook would likely be an MPC7445, which is the low-power version of the MPC7455 in the new PowerMacs. It tops out at 800MHz (while using less power than the current top-of-the-line TiBook), so an 800MHz TiBook seems *very* likely. I'm just not sure when. (btw, I was equally sure that the new iMac was going to have a 750fx in it, so take this with a grain of salt. I don't have any "inside information", just logic.)

 

[rice_web]

Hey Guys,

remember that Apple is releasing financial info on Wednesday. Those figures must be below expectations (I've watched analysts forecasts for Apple), and thus an updated PowerBook is very likely. I actually wouldn't be surprised if a 1GHz chip was placed into the PowerBook.

Look at it this way:
The Apollo that is used in the PowerMac actually uses less power than the processor in the PowerBooks now, so why not?

 

[Grokgod]

yes i agree!

Yea , thats what I was saying that the powermac cpu uses less power!
So isnt it likely that they would just slap that baby into a powerbook.

Doesnt that make sense?, does anyone have any information that disputes this possibility.

 

[maclamb]

TiMacLover and Oracle

You *are* aware there the Oracle database and client (SQL*PLUS) software will not run under OSX. JDeveloper does as it is 100% java.
You can run Oracle DB under VPC/win2k and can use unix to telelnet to a server that has sqlplus......

 

[SPG]

re: burning DVD's externally: Toast 5 with an external Firewire AO3 drive works fairly well, but that setup won't run iDVD since iDVD requires an INTERNAL superdrive. If you have DVDSP on a tiBook you'll be okay though.

Has anyone here thoguht that the rumored "increased thickness" may only be on the top end which would accomodate the DVD burner? And besides since we've all agreed that the current AO3 won't fit and that this would have to be at least a revision of it to be anywhere close to fitting, that the possible increase in thickness might be so small as to be only noticed with a caliper?

I for one have given up on saying what won't happen. I'd like to point out a few recent rallying cries:
A G3 in the new iMac? Never!
Superdrive iMacs for less than $3000? No way!
LCD's in iMacs? Too expensive to produce so it'll never happen!
A bigger iBook? It's meant to be tiny!

There will eventually be a DVD burning laptop, even if it doesn't come out right now. Let's give Apple the benefit of the doubt on this one (although I still have my doubts about Spymac).
_______________________
Bring it on!

 

[emdezet]

Didn't i recently read someone in this forum give specifications of the kind:

733(800)MHz, 133MHz, 1536x1024@15,2", 30(48)GB, Radeon7500 Mobility?

Add Bluetooth and a mouse, as suggested, and I rather like the expansion bay idea with the option to switch between battery and optical drive. If they do get Airport and Bluetooth to coexist peacefully they could as well preinstall them. Slap 10.2 (with major performance improvement) on top of it, and people won't honestly ask about that superdrive issue, that's my guess.

But then again - they made the iBook ugly to accommodate a friggin 14"screen. Why not bloat up the definition of slim by a nifty inch?

 

[gopher]

Re: TiMacLover and Oracle

Originally posted by maclamb
You *are* aware there the Oracle database and client (SQL*PLUS) software will not run under OSX. JDeveloper does as it is 100% java.
You can run Oracle DB under VPC/win2k and can use unix to telelnet to a server that has sqlplus......

Actually someone has made an Oracle SQL interface for Mac OS X that does not require VirtualPC

http://www.macosguru.de/us/

 

[Onyxx]

Re: Re: NOOOOOOOO!!!

Originally posted by SubFredZero


Well the answer to that question is : YES, they are kidding you... It's a spymac rumor so i woulnd't believe it.

The thing I can believe is the 800mhz, it has to be done... But the superdrive : no way. Anyway : a superdrive uses lot's of power so you could only burn when your Tibook isn't on battery power. If you want to burn dvd's buy a iMac...

Exactly. people seem to forget that the number 1 reason for getting a laptop is portability! I do not want to see a thicker enclosure at any cost nor do i want to see a super drive. Who whats to sit around while you tibook munches away at burning a dvd for a half an hour! It's a laptop! What i want to see is Apollo g4's (i don't care about the mHz), larger standard drives, higher res/brightness screen, a second firewire/fw2 port (video people know why), and lithium polymer batteries. The above will add up to an incredible PORTABLE machine. For all you crazies out there saying "I need a super drive in my portable because, well, i want one..." shut up! If you have any idea of the usefullness of a light, powerfull, long battery life portable, you will instantly see the stupidity of including fledgling dvd-r tech into a pro portable. Make it light, powerfull and long lasting and it will sell. If they put superdrives in, people will be selling them.

 

[emdezet]

TiBook and Superdrive

You guys, seriously, I just had the best idea about how you could use a dvd-r drive in the Titanium:

1. It could be independently powered to save battery.
2. The connection should have firewire speed.
3. And in order not to make the TiBook case too fat
it should be slapped into a seperate...

Wait a minute. I'm talking about an external drive here.
Well, anyway, neat idea, ain't it

JUST GIMME THE 1536x1024 AND THE APPROPRIATE GPU, GODDAMM*T!
AND GIMME IT IN MAY! MY IBOOK'S BIRTHDAY IS COMING UP!

 

[G4scott]

Re: TiBook and Superdrive

Originally posted by emdezet
JUST GIMME THE 1536x1024 AND THE APPROPRIATE GPU, GODDAMM*T!
AND GIMME IT IN MAY! MY IBOOK'S BIRTHDAY IS COMING UP!

Heh, my birthday is in may, during WWDC too... I would like a new PowerBook/G4iBook (who knows, they said there would never be a G4 in the iMac, and the G3 is getting old. My grandma has a G3, and wait, so do I...)

I still believe that the best thing for the TiBook would be hot-swappable removable drive bays!

a 1ghz processor, higher screen resolution, and some other nifty stuff like that would be nice too...

Don't let us down Apple!

 

[ftaok]

Re: Re: Re: NOOOOOOOO!!!

Originally posted by Onyxx


Exactly. people seem to forget that the number 1 reason for getting a laptop is portability! I do not want to see a thicker enclosure at any cost nor do i want to see a super drive. Who whats to sit around while you tibook munches away at burning a dvd for a half an hour! It's a laptop! What i want to see is Apollo g4's (i don't care about the mHz), larger standard drives, higher res/brightness screen, a second firewire/fw2 port (video people know why), and lithium polymer batteries. The above will add up to an incredible PORTABLE machine. For all you crazies out there saying "I need a super drive in my portable because, well, i want one..." shut up! If you have any idea of the usefullness of a light, powerfull, long battery life portable, you will instantly see the stupidity of including fledgling dvd-r tech into a pro portable. Make it light, powerfull and long lasting and it will sell. If they put superdrives in, people will be selling them.

Are you kidding????

There are lots of people who don't want desktops because they're so bulky and the laptop is the perfect solution. I move from place to place, so a laptop is the perfect machine for me.

But I also want a SuperDrive so that I could burn DVD movies wherever I happen to be. Just because you don't want/need a SuperDrive in your laptop doesn't mean that it's not useful to others.

And who says that adding a SuperDrive to the TiBook (or iBook) will require a thicker enclosure? Just because the current ones won't fit doesn't mean they're not working on producing ones that do.

 

[New Guy]

I am interested in,purchasing a new TiBook as soon as the news ones are released. I would absolutely love a SuperDrive (if it would fit). That is the only thing that would be lacking in the PowerBook as far as I'm concerned. I would , however, most likely only burn DVDs when at home/work or when I cold be plugged-in. Therefor, if Apple made iDVD a free download and functional with external DVD burners I wouldn't see the need for a SuperDrive in the laptop.

Apple should get-on-the-ball and make iDVD as compatible with DVD burners as iTunes is with CD-Rs.

 

[mcrain]

Originally posted by New Guy
I am interested in,purchasing a new TiBook as soon as the news ones are released. I would absolutely love a SuperDrive (if it would fit). That is the only thing that would be lacking in the PowerBook as far as I'm concerned. I would , however, most likely only burn DVDs when at home/work or when I cold be plugged-in. Therefor, if Apple made iDVD a free download and functional with external DVD burners I wouldn't see the need for a SuperDrive in the laptop.

Apple should get-on-the-ball and make iDVD as compatible with DVD burners as iTunes is with CD-Rs.

It seems to me that most PC users who are willing to consider apple are looking for something that will do everything that Apple's are famous for. In addition, most or at least many of us want portability and are attracted to the Tibook's case.

So, how many of us who are willing to convert do you all think are willing to go out and buy a TiBook and a G4 tower just so we can burn a DVD.

I am willing to switch to apple, but I'm only going to start out by buying one computer, and I want it to do all that Apple is supposed to be good at, including DVD authoring.

I also want a portable computer, so, I for one am willing to plug my machine in if that means I can burn a DVD.

How hard would it be to make it so that you can't burn a DVD unless you have plenty of battery for the length dvd you plan on burning, or unless you are plugged in.

Either that, or give us the option of using an external dvd-r with the non-pro level dvd authoring software.

New Guy --> Hear hear, I'm with ya man. Give me my all in one machine, and make it portable.

 

[3xtrmn8r]

no SuperDrives in TiBooks, 2 Reasons
fan on drive, too big
burnt palm, 1.5" thick
-----
Not yet anyway.

 

[SPG]

Jesusfreakinchristonapogostick! A current superdrive won't fit! Duh. We know that. The only way they will get a DVD burner into a laptop is by redesigning the drive or coming out with a whole new drive. That said, the redesigned/new/modified/othervendor DVDR drive in a laptop is a possibility. Whether it comes out soon or not is the rumor.
You guys who scream and cry like the world is going to end if the new incarnation of the tiBook can burn DVD's are probably the same ones who cried about the lack of a floppy on the imac. Get over it, the future is DVDR and DVDRW and as soon as it fits into a laptop it will be there, at least on the high end.
__________________
Whoa, the vent was left wide open.

 

[gopher]

DVD burner for TiBook possible, but only externally

Several companies, including Formac now make an external burner based on Apple's own Superdrive that plug in via Firewire I suggest if you want a portable, and the benefit of burning DVDs from time to time, to consider getting both. The external DVD burners are down to $550.

 

[mcrain]

Re: DVD burner for TiBook possible, but only externally

Originally posted by gopher
Several companies, including Formac now make an external burner based on Apple's own Superdrive that plug in via Firewire I suggest if you want a portable, and the benefit of burning DVDs from time to time, to consider getting both. The external DVD burners are down to $550.

Yes, but Apple, in a manner similar to M$'s anti-competitive behavior, has decided that those who buy non-apple branded external dvd drives can't use apple's iDVD software.

So, the option I'm looking at is I have to go out and buy my first Apple in forever, a TiBook, then I have to buy an external firewire DVD-r drive, and very expensive DVD authoring software just so I can do what a non-portable iMac with superdrive can do. Plus, I don't get iDVD's simplicity and (for a total amatuer like me that's something I must have) I have to figure out all the buttons and menus of some pro-level software. Yeah, that sounds like fun.

What I want is a portable computer that's simple to use. I'm no pro, but that doesn't mean I can't spend money with the best of them. So, an internal DVD-r in a portable would be wonderful for me so I can use iDVD and carry around a lot less, or give me a revision of iDVD that will allow me to use an external firewire DVD-r drive.

I don't think that's asking too much.

Inertia : a mac nut at rest wants all the desktop computers to stay exactly like the one they have, and a mac nut in motion wants wants all the portables to stay exactly like the one they have.

In order to overcome inertia, Apple must exert a force.

Force : no floppy in original iMac; cd-rw in ibook, 14" ibook (as examples)

Just because y'all own a 12" ibook and you like it doesn't mean that a 14" ibook is so bad and others don't crave it.

Just because you mobile professionals like your tibook as it is now doesn't mean there aren't those of us, and even some like yourselves, who couldn't find a use for a mobile computer with a built in superdrive.

Yes, I know it won't fit, but like my father always said, if it doesn't fit, whack it a few times till it does.

 

[mcrain]

Re: DVD burner for TiBook possible, but only externally

Originally posted by gopher
The external DVD burners are down to $550.

So, it's ok for me to pay for a dvd/cd-rw combo drive that doesnt' really do what I want it to do?

 

[drastik]

external DVDR

The external DVDR's are getting cheaper, and I might be wrong, but when we were having this same argument about a week ago, someone mentioned a patch to run iDVD on external drives. I'll go looking for it.

Anyway, I don't think anyone wants to limit the technology in the tibook, we just don't want books that are too heavy and catch on fire. Wait and see, and the technology will get there. I want to rush out and buy every new Mac out there, too. but if you wait just a little while, a matter of months in most cases, a better on will be released.

Me I'm waiting for a g5 tower and atleast a gighz on the TiBook, but I'm greedy and don't make much money.

 

[drastik]

external Patches

okay... I found some external patches, but all of them are third party hacks and seem to be pretty unreliable. I really agree that apple should be making iDVD more accessable. On the other hand, its free if you have the superdrive, so it really isn't anticompetitive. I use Studio Pro, and I love it. It allows you to do a lot more than iDVD and its not really complicated. Of course, the price tag is pretty steep, but that's life. I don't understand how some of you can be glib about dropping three grand on a TiBook and then complain about paying for pro software. Try to get a package that has everything you want for the best price. Soem of you must not be spending your own money.

Of course the best thing to do is go into business for yourself, then you can write off all your gear and software. Of course, some of you are spending daddy's money, and don't have any taxes to write off.

I don't mean to be rude, but the issue of price on pro software is ridiculous, Apple's is cheaper than almost anyone, and its rapidly becoming the standard.

 

[New Guy]

Of course the best thing to do is go into business for yourself, then you can write off all your gear and software. Of course, some of you are spending daddy's money, and don't have any taxes to write off.

I don't mean to be rude, but the issue of price on pro software is ridiculous, Apple's is cheaper than almost anyone, and its rapidly becoming the standard.

While I am a Graphic Designer from 9-5 I am a soon to be Father and wanna be Speilberg (with regards to future baby movies) on my off hours. I do have access to PhotoShop, Illustrator, and other professional Graphics apps but do not see the need to plunk down two thousand dollars of my own money to get FCP and DVDSP when I would be happy with iMovie and iDVD.

The reason I am willing to spend the cash (my own) on a TiBook is:

1. Future compatibility (a G4 is necessary for this . . . in my opinion)

2. I believe (although I amy be wrong about this) that an external DVD Burner (whether it works with iDVD or not) would not be compatible with a G3 iBook at its current speed

3. Screen size

4. Overall speed

 

[mcrain]

Re: external Patches

Originally posted by drastik
On the other hand, its free if you have the superdrive, so it really isn't anticompetitive.

That argument obviously worked wonders for M$'s attorneys when they said that internet explorer was free and therefore not anti-competitive.

The whole argument against "free" bundled software as anti-competitive is that if M$ bundles IE with its windows, and makes it so that that free software has to be on the desktop, it makes it very unlikely that anyone will buy Netscape. As we saw, that is in fact what happened.

Apple puts itunes, idvd, iphoto etc. on its computers, and just like IE worked with windows, those software titles work with OSX. But, unlike IE, those titles are not being released with the OS that is on the vast, vast majority of computers. If they were, there would be companies trying to sell their software to apple owners, but would be failing due to the existance of itunes, idvd, etc...

That would inevitably result in a lawsuit. Whether it would be successful or not, who knows.

 

[ftaok]

Mcrain ...

Mcrain,

I posted this on the other thread, but you didn't comment there. Here it is again, for posterity.

Originally posted by mcrain
So, obviously, M$'s giving away IE and optimizing everything to use its software couldn't possibly be anti-competitive?

The fact of the matter is that if Apple had 95% of the market right now, their business practices would be tested in court. I don't know if they would hold up or not, but I guarantee you an attorney (like me who isn't completely computer literate) will see what Apple is doing as sounding enough like anti-competive behaviour to bring suit.

Just like viruses which are designed to go after the OS that is used in the majority of systems, attorneys for private companies and the government see M$ as the deep pockets, and thus the target.

Right now, Apple isn't really on the radar screen, and I would worry that if the stars all line up and Apple becomes the dominant player in the OS/Hardware/Server market, it will be attacked, because it's actions "look" anticompetitive enough for an attorney with minimal skills to draft a complaint that would survive a motion to dismiss.

macrain,

I hear you on the anti-trust stuff, but to compare what Apple does to what Microsoft has done is really apples and oranges. And I'm not talking about market share either.

What Microsoft has been found doing is optimizing the Windows code to make competitors products as unstable as their own stuff. It would be like Company A making a great word processor for Windows that's super-stable and bug-free. Then, Microsoft would change the Windows code (in some sort of update) to deliberately make Company A's word processor buggy. They've been called to the table for that kind of behavior. To my knowledge, Apple has not done that.

Furthermore, what Apple does with iDVD is their business. Would I like to see it work with external DVD burners? Yes. Do I expect it? No. There is no anti-competitive shananigans here at all. Apple bundles iDVD with their own hardware. Since Apple does not sell external DVD burners, they shouldn't have to add support for such devices. Here's an analogy: Is Apple guilty of anti-trust behavior because they do not bundle Windows software for iPods? Of course not, so why should Apple be expect to support hardware that they do not sell?

 

[drastik]

New Guy

I see your point regaurding compatibility, your right, a G4 is going to be neccesary.

In that vein, you need a new machine. The question is, what machine do you need. You can skip the two thousand bucks for software and spend it on a new imac or even a tower. if you keep the ibook, you've got the best of both worlds and I envy you.

Most people, myself included, can't afford two new machines so close together, though. All I'm trying to say is that apple shouldn't rush the TiBook superdrive. The technology will get there and they will carry the drives.

Mobility for designers is key, even if it means shelling out for an extra monitor on the desk for the hard labor. (this frustrates me since video mirroring only seems to be the creedo of affordable apple laptops) Personaly, I still use my G3 casing with a ProLogix G4 upgrade.

I wish the TiBooks had a superdrive too, but one that works faster on less power and fits in the casing, I'd love tohot swap too, but that seems a little much to ask for.

 

[iGav]

I'd love a superdrive in my TiBook, but I really believe that this could be awhile away....... Years not months.......

The TiBook is a superb machine, and all this talk of making the enclosure bigger worries me and I really hope that Apple don't ruin the form and function of the TiBook by trying to squeeze in the technology and making the case bigger!!!

The superdrive will be reduced in physical dimensions as it evolves and then we shall see its appearance in Apples portable range.......

Talk of hot swappable bays in the TiBook is crazy........ and simply isn't going to happen because of A: the TiBooks size and B: You can't go taking huge chunks out of the TiBook and maintain structural strength, as they're pretty flexible now......