Well, it took them 1 year to get G5 systems:

From: 8" thick / 44 lbs. (PowerMac G5)

To: 2" thick / 19 lbs. (iMac G5).

So, if they can get it down to, say, 1.3" thick / 9 lbs. in another year, they'll be able to pull it off (for comparison, the current 17" PowerBook is 1" thick / 7 lbs.).

Of course, that'd still leave the battery life & heat issues...

Last year, these comments left me sad. This year, I'm actually happy to see them. I just ordered my 1.5 17 inch powerbook yesterday!! I can't wait.

OK, no G5 PowerBook. What about this dual-core G4 Freescale came up with? A dual processor 2Ghz Powerbook would certainly tide me over....

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choard wrote:
OK, no G5 PowerBook. What about this dual-core G4 Freescale came up with? A dual processor 2Ghz Powerbook would certainly tide me over....

Still too much heat and power draw.

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AFCdtLoeb wrote:

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choard wrote:
OK, no G5 PowerBook. What about this dual-core G4 Freescale came up with? A dual processor 2Ghz Powerbook would certainly tide me over....

Still too much heat and power draw.

We don't know that yet (unless you're a mole inside Motorola...are you? Are you?!?). We should find out preliminary specs next month at the microprocessor forum, but even those will be subject to change.

I expect Apple is at least evaluating Freescale's dual-core chip, but don't expect to hear anything from them until the very last moment (unless you're a mole inside Apple...)

Well, it's official. I was wrong when I posted that the G5 laptop would be released in September. Apparently, it bit the dust along with the 3GhZ G5 tower.

Goes to show you how reliable rumors and speculation are.

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dux5 wrote:
Goes to show you how reliable rumors and speculation are.

An important lesson learned.

...is the fact that while the iMac may be "thin" and "halfway there" at 2" deep, its quite a trick and rather an illusion, because the thing weighs *18lbs* people

-K

BlueDjinn said 19lbs. MrKai says 18lbs. BIG difference.

Kai, you're ignoring the fact that the machine has such a big LCD, more shielding, desktop drives....

There's no comparison.

A little bird told me a few weeks ago to look for a "new" powerbook sometime next summer. IBM is working on a bunch of "power saving options" and "other techhnologies" (these guys are just so clear when they speak) that will enable the G5 to finally work in a laptop form factor.

I was also told by this little bird that the next rev of the iMac is the one to get -- not the one that was just announced. The update is also supposed to be next summer.

Of course if you are dying to have a G5 laptop, buy a new iMac and with a little duct tape and a little Red Green Show inspiration you'll soon be computing on the road in no time.

If Apple DOES have a G5 powerbook in the works surely admitting the fact, or even that it was do-able (if its do-able, they gotta do it) would kill sales of the existing G4 powerbook?

Is this the same little bird that didn't give you advance details of the new, new iMac that you didn't post here, there or anywhere?

The same bird that has read countless articles on IBM's CPU roadmap, posted on umpteen web tech sites?

Come clean now. That's no bird, that's a six foot tall white rabbit.

Dropping down to a 15 Inch Screen
Dropping down to a 2.5 Inch Drive
Dropping down to standard power brick
etc.

I am sure Apple Could easily make a hottie semi Lap scorching 1+ Inch Powerbook that would have a very short 1+ hour battery life. Probably would weigh 9 to 10 pounds. Close to Gaming and WorkStation windoze laptops.

Thing is Apple does not like to compromise. They still rememeber the giant 12 pound portable they made all those years ago.

They also are Chip short. They barely have enough 1.8s for the Imac and low end desktops, Let alone Emacs sometime.

I still wish Apple would offer also a headless low end desktop with at least a video and pcix slot.

At least with $1299/$1499 entry point it is a competitive offering:)

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Anonymous wrote:
If Apple DOES have a G5 powerbook in the works surely admitting the fact, or even that it was do-able (if its do-able, they gotta do it) would kill sales of the existing G4 powerbook?

I would say most likely. I'm pretty sure everyone in the industry learned from Adam Osbourne and the glorious tank job he did with his own company. Now, if they were to "run out" of G4 PB's (read, iMac G4) than an announcement could possibly expected.

If apple can't produce a G5, they may as well do something to update the current laptops. I can't remember the last time they updated them. I think it may have been almost a year back when they released the 12" DVI model at last year's paris expo

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Anonymous wrote:
If apple can't produce a G5, they may as well do something to update the current laptops. I can't remember the last time they updated them.

Wasn't it updated back in May? Four months. That's not too long ago.

YEAH!! I just got one of those and let me tell you, it hauls ASS. Remember to upgrade to 128 megs of video RAM, cause once you order it, it can;t be changed... Also I added a 5400 RPM drive for faster performance, every litle bit helps... The 17 inch screen starts to look normal after a while and everyone elses laptop looks incredibly small. As a professional video editor (meaning I abuse the processor more than any of you probably do) I am shocked to see so much power in a 1 inch enclosure with a HUGE screen for wide timelines and large images. And remember, until tiger comes out (64 bit processing power) the G5 will still be slower than the G4 at firewire 800 tasks, transfering data from drive to drive, and any app that was designed for the G4. there's still time to get a lot of use out of mobile G4 processors before G5s become optimized, let alone in a one inch thin enclosure.

Has anyone heard something about a g5 emac? Because I was planning on buying an emac instead of an (old) imac because you get almost the same specs for less cash, but now that the imac uses a g5, I'm more interested in that.

I'm about to buy a 1.5Ghz 15" G4 powerbook but I am a bit panicky about it being at the end of its product cycle. The G5 imac simply is not portable enough even though it is half the price and 50% faster. Any advice?

while it is true that some mac software is not optimized for the g5, as stated by a previous poster, it is perhaps worth noting that the g5 system architechture uses a faster and wider system bus, which means improvements in overall system throughput and particularly activities where a g4 processor can be starved for bandwidth due to it's ~167mhz bus. this includes applications like video editing and graphics, audio, etc. large databases perhaps, but mostly media applications maybe. at any rate, if you have work to do, waiting around for a g5 powerbook will not get it done any time sooner. I imagine it's probably at least 6 months if not more; if you have a use for a system in the meantime it does suck that there is not a 'perfect' option available, but the current g4 powerbooks are about the only choice if you want to run OSX. the upside is that the g4 has been through many revisions and the current powerbooks are quite nice regardless of how delicious future products may be. personally I'll be looking for a student discount or a store return or something to try and save, but I'll probably get a 15"/17" powerbook of some sort this month.

Hey guys,

I am a Mac virgin. Want my first time to be special and am looking at getting into a 12" powerbook with superdrive. Couple questions 1. Should I wait until Xmas for a deal or does Apple not have sales? 2. Has the issue about heat been solved on the latest revisions? 3. Is it just me or does the screen suck compared to SONY, Fugitsu etc.? 4. Do I need to upgrade to 512MB of RAM right away? 5. Does office for Apple really work seamlessly?

Thanks for your help.

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Anonymous wrote:
Hey guys,

I am a Mac virgin.

Don't worry, we'll be gentle.

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1. Should I wait until Xmas for a deal or does Apple not have sales?

Apple reduces prices when the next model is about to be released (to reduce stock on hand). They do not, generally, have seasonal sales on their machines. They tend to bundle things instead (printers and such).

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2. Has the issue about heat been solved on the latest revisions?

About as well as the PC world has. They do get warm, but not unusually so.

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3. Is it just me or does the screen suck compared to SONY, Fugitsu etc.?

It's just you.

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4. Do I need to upgrade to 512MB of RAM right away?

I don't know. Are you feeling RAM-deprived?

Seriously, I would recommend getting as much RAM as you can afford. X loves RAM. I also recommend that you don't buy it from Apple. They, like most OEM vendors, charge too much for RAM.

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5. Does office for Apple really work seamlessly?

More so than on the PC side, in my experience.

I'm also new to Macs, and really computers in general. You said that while you should get as much ram as possible, you shouldn't get it from MAC because it's overpriced-- so where do you get it? And exactly what is it? Also, what are the differences between the G4 and G5? I want to get a laptop at some point-- should I hold out? I'm thinking that I'll wait till the G5s come out and then get a G4 to save money? Is that a good plan?

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Anonymous wrote:
I'm also new to Macs, and really computers in general.

Welcome.

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You said that while you should get as much ram as possible, you shouldn't get it from MAC because it's overpriced-- so where do you get it?

Crucial.com

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And exactly what is it?

"Random Access Memory - A type of memory chip that can be written, read, and re-written. You can write to any part of it, thus the "random access" in the term. The slang term RAM refers to a computer's main memory, or the physical RAM chips installed in the system."

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Also, what are the differences between the G4 and G5?

G5's are faster and use 64 Bit proccesses to accomplish many tasks exponentially faster.

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I want to get a laptop at some point-- should I hold out?

No. Apple will not be releasing a G5 laptop for a goooooooood long time.

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I'm thinking that I'll wait till the G5s come out and then get a G4 to save money? Is that a good plan?

No. Apple does not "fire-sale" to clear inventory. Once the G5 comes out, the G4 will be discontinued.
Also note that Mac is a brand name, like Chevy is a brand name for General Motors. The company is Apple.

Thanks for all your advice. One more question (for now anyway). If APPLE is not going to release the G5 laptop for a long while, how do I know that they will not make further revisions to the 12" G4 anytime soon , like right after I buy one for example?

Thanks again.

PS It's not just me, the screens really do suck compared to some PC laptops.

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AFCdtLoeb wrote:
Apple does not "fire-sale" to clear inventory. Once the G5 comes out, the G4 will be discontinued.
Also note that Mac is a brand name, like Chevy is a brand name for General Motors. The company is Apple.

Usually Apple indicates discontinuation of an older line prior to the announcement of a new product. Apple is notorious for waiting for channel inventory of the old product to clear before releasing a new product.

Apple often stops orders of existing product just before a new product annopuncement and news from Asia concerning Apple component orders can provide clues about new products

.I don't see a G5 PowerBook until 2005. Although the company may provide a speed bump to existing models, I don't see substantial changes to the line until a G5 product is announced.

You think maybe the G5 processor will only fit in an iBook for the time being? Has Apple even tried it on an iBook? You think it'll work, seeming how the iBook is not as thin as the PowerBook?

They will never put the G5 in the iBook before the Powerbook. That would completely destroy the Powerbook line.

And it is not thickness, it is heat dissipation. The plastic of the iBook isn't any better (and probably worse) at dissipating the heat from the processor.

Aluminum is the best heat sink metal for a case. And they will put the G5 in the PB next. The PB is supposed to be a mobile PowerMac.

Today I was told from a well known computer retailer that the G5 laptop is going to be released in a matter of weeks, definately before christmas. Is this true?

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Anonymous wrote:
Today I was told from a well known computer retailer that the G5 laptop is going to be released in a matter of weeks, definately before christmas. Is this true?

Highly unlikely. Apple has specifically said no G5 PowerBook this year:
http://www.macobserver.com/article/2004/09/01.4.shtml

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The article wrote:
Tom Boger, director of Apple's worldwide product marketing, told The Mac Observer that consumers shouldn't expect the G5 in a portable for the forseeable future.

"The new iMac G5 (desktop) is thin, but (the G5) is not thin enough for a laptop right now, "Mr. Boger said. "There are great challenges in putting a G5 processor in a laptop. The issues range from power to cooling and its overall size...You're not going to see a G5 in a laptop anytime soon."

The person who told you this is unlikely to be privy to any official information unless they're the owner or a top exec at a Mac reseller. Their information was probably just based on rumors, as Apple keeps the details of new releases pretty secret until the official announcement.

Despite the article I just read, I am hopeful that the Mac team will produce the G5 notebook sometime soon. Apple is notorious for keeping everything very hush...but
I have the G4 desktop that was discontinued recently and am planning to buy a notebook. Would it e wise to wait for the G5? I'm really in no rush, but would like to have a notebook asap...what does everyone think?

I find iBook suffices for normal use.

Ideally, cases would be made of pure silver, it has the highest heat transfer capacity. Copper is close-ish, and much better than Aluminum.

Of course, aluminum is much better than plastic...

Silver is a tad too pricey, as well as being too maleable. Copper would destroy any chance of a wireless signal, would conduct electricity, as well as being horrendussly ugly. Heat is one of two issues stopping the G5 from being inside a PB. The other is battery. A G5 crankin at max speed would drain a wearhouse full of LiIon's dry in ninety seconds.

just a thought - have a look at what ibm and others are up to regarding cell/grid processors (eg playstation3). cell processors are going into production now-ish, are 64bit power architecture and are designed for clustering. also ibm now make a blade (constrained size) server with 970 processors...................

Guest above, what is the point you are making? Please think aloud.

IBM, Sony and SCEI power-on Cell processor-based workstation prototype

Workstation provides quantum leap advances in creating digital entertainment content
ARMONK, NY and TOKYO, November 29, 2004

IBM, Sony Corporation (Sony) and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) announced today that they have powered-on the first Cell* processor-based workstation.

The prototype workstation is the first computing application planned for the highly-anticipated Cell processor.

The companies expect that a one rack Cell processor-based workstation will reach a performance of 16 teraflops or trillions of floating point calculations per second.

While an individual Cell processor is capable of parallel processing, a cluster of Cell processors can also act as a huge parallel processing unit, being able to handle massive data required for complex physics simulation and control of digital characters in digital content creation, or can be divided into smaller groups, each carrying out different tasks.

"The Cell processor-based workstation will totally change the digital content creation environment," said Masayuki Chatani, corporate executive and CTO, Sony computer Entertainment Inc. "Its overwhelming power will be demonstrated in every aspect of the development of all kinds of digital entertainment content, from movies, broadcast programs to next generation PlayStation games."

The Cell workstation is designed to deliver tremendous computational power, helping digital entertainment content creators generate higher quality content with richer and more dynamic scenes, much faster than current development systems.

"Our collaboration with Sony is leading to a new era of innovation in the semiconductor and computing industries," said Colin Parris, vice president of product management, IBM Systems & Technology Group. "The supercomputer-like processing and performance of the Cell processor-based workstation is just the beginning of what we expect will be a wide-range of powerful next-generation solutions resulting from our joint development efforts."

Cell is a multicore chip comprising a 64-bit Power processor core and multiple synergistic processor cores capable of massive floating point processing, optimized for compute-intensive workloads and broadband rich media applications, including computer entertainment, movies and other forms of digital content.

Sony, SCEI and IBM aim to offer technology that will accelerate the paradigm shift in digital entertainment.

it would seem that a chip designed to go in the new ps in a 4-way multiprocessor arrangement must have a low power/heat design and thus be pretty good for a next gen laptop

What is not mentioned is the OS for the workstation. AIX? O/S 2? Linux? A new proprietary OS? Cell processor has been in development for more than 3 years. Have Apple quietly adapted Mac OS X to run on Cell too? Tiger can run on Cell? The rumoured entertainment server run on Cell? Will IBM enter the workstation segment? Based on AIX or Linux or Mac OS X? Will Microsoft port Longhorn to Cell?

We need more information before we know whether Apple will benefit or adversely affected by this Cell development.

go and check out http://www.theapplecollection.com/design/macdesign/PBG50.html

If this is anywhere near true it'ss unbelieveble

Not likely as the design is too complicated. What you show is achieved by current iMac G5 model which comprises a display cum cpu unit, a keyboard, a mouse and a mount.

Why dont we just make our own. I dont care if it wehigs 20 pounds I just want the tft in the right place and a big as battery to go with. My 386 laptop was close to 20 pounds. I dont suppose anybody else will want one thought. But I sure do. Mabey I'll just have to buy a tower and carey it aound with me.

There's another issue at hand... Video Chipset and VRAM(from what I've read in other articles) keeping that cool too.

Can anyone comment on Apple's history regarding prices of new models? I'm holding off on buying a powerbook because I don't absolutely need it yet and I'd love a G5, but even with the G4, $2500 for a 15" with a decent amount of RAM is almost enough to send me in the other direction. My biggest concern is not whether it will be released soon, but that once they are I'll have to spend $3000+ for one, and miss my chance on a G4.