Mac Users... I got a question or two for you.

[pisces7378]

Does anyone think that Apple are going to release a bigger, better, faster, flashier, can do whatever you wants plus 10,000 other things machine to replace the G4 Powermac in the next months? The reason i ask is, I am living in Germany at the moment, but will be moving home to America around the first month or two of next year. So that is already at least 6 months from now. Apple has an offer now saying that you get a $500 rebate if you buy a flat pannel screen with the purchase of a new PowerMac dual 1gHz before August 12th. As I am moving back to the states in 6-8 months and will be needing a new computer anyway... would it be wise to go ahead and buy the thing now and take advantage of the $500 rebate on the screen, and let the computer just sit at my mom's house until I come around to get it?
Or do you guys think, that during that 6 months period, Mac will like come out with the G5 or whatever, and the G4 will drop in price by over $500 anyway? I am not so worried about the warranty expiring while I am over here, because I was going to get the Apple extended Care plan anyway... but what do you guys think? I want... let me stress, I WANT that flat pannel monitor. I have the money, I am just wondering if Mac has a history of sudden reduction in prices after a new flasher model comes out?
How long has the Mac G4 poweMac been out there?
And what about this Dual 1gHz Motorola Processor? Intel comes out with a new Pent IV speed every week it seems. 1gHz, 1.3gHz, 1.7gHz, 2gHz, 2.2gHz, 2.2 and a half gHz... blah blah blah... How long will the G4s have only dual 1gHz? When will the 1.5gHz (or whatever) come out?

Also... and lastly, does anyone know why Apple doesn't just outfit their PowerMacs with Intel processors? Or AMDs? I mean, it seems to me that most of the guys out there are more impressed with PCs because of their hardware... I have never heard of anyone going on and on and on about the ease of use of Windows... it has always been, PCs have so many gHz and are expandable blah blah blah.
If the PC guys (myself included) are so addicted to Intel processors, then why doesn't Mac just give them the choice of have an AMD or Pent.?
Just a thought.

 

[M.Brane]

I wouldn't count on seeing a G5 processor any time soon. There is a good chance though that the next generation G4's will get a MHZ bump and DDR RAM. I would wait until after Macworld since it's so close anyway.

The reason Apple doesn't offer Intel chips is very simple: You can't run Mac OS on that architecture (CISC). Mac OS was written to run on RISC processors. You would have to completely re-write all the underlying code. No small feat.

 

[elevate]

The reason Apple doesn't offer Intel chips is very simple:...

No, I think it has more to do with them controlling the platform. Apple has had Darwin (OS X sans GUI) for x86 available for nearly a year. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if they have OS X up and running in house on x86. Can anyone, with 100% confidence, say that Apple will forever continue to get its processors from Motorola?

 

[christiaan]

Does anyone think that Apple are going to release a bigger, better, faster, flashier, can do whatever you wants plus 10,000 other things machine to replace the G4 Powermac in the next months? The reason i ask is, I am living in Germany at the moment, but will be moving home to America around the first month or two of next year. So that is already at least 6 months from now. Apple has an offer now saying that you get a $500 rebate if you buy a flat pannel screen with the purchase of a new PowerMac dual 1gHz before August 12th. As I am moving back to the states in 6-8 months and will be needing a new computer anyway... would it be wise to go ahead and buy the thing now and take advantage of the $500 rebate on the screen, and let the computer just sit at my mom's house until I come around to get it?

Bad idea.
Prices of computers drop all the time (rapidly) and you can count on it that you'll get a better deal 6 months from now.

It is a general rule. Don't buy your computer before you're actually going to use it or you'll be wasting money.

 

[M.Brane]

No, I think it has more to do with them controlling the platform. Apple has had Darwin (OS X sans GUI) for x86 available for nearly a year. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if they have OS X up and running in house on x86. Can anyone, with 100% confidence, say that Apple will forever continue to get its processors from Motorola?

Can you post a link to where you got this info? I'd appreciate it.

 

[Polaris20]

No, I think it has more to do with them controlling the platform. Apple has had Darwin (OS X sans GUI) for x86 available for nearly a year. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if they have OS X up and running in house on x86. Can anyone, with 100% confidence, say that Apple will forever continue to get its processors from Motorola?

Maybe not Motorola, but someone else that makes RISC processors.

I don't see the point to going to an Intel structured chip. That's the whole point of Macs.....to me anyway.

 

[M.Brane]

Maybe not Motorola, but someone else that makes RISC processors.

My G3 chip is an IBM. Kinda ironic, eh?

 

[Polaris20]

My G3 chip is an IBM. Kinda ironic, eh?

I'd like to see that. Do you have a pic? I thought they were all Motorolas.

 

[M.Brane]

I'd like to see that. Do you have a pic? I thought they were all Motorolas.

I don't have a pic of my G3 400 copper but a quick Google search netted this.

 

[Polaris20]

I don't have a pic of my G3 400 copper but a quick Google search netted this.

Hmm. interesting that they don't make their own line of PowerPC chipped computers.

 

[elevate]

Can you post a link to where you got this info? I'd appreciate it.

Here's some info, though it's not exactly what I was looking for. It appears that some sections of Apple's site are down (OS X server, sheesh ), but you may want to try this and this later.

Maybe not Motorola, but someone else that makes RISC processors.

I'm not really sure who would be making their chips. I can only think of SPARC, Power4, and PA-RISC. Sparc would be a step backwards, IMO, and besides, they all would add several thousand dollars to the price of a system.

Hmm. interesting that they don't make their own line of PowerPC chipped computers.

You've never heard of AIM? Anyway, IBM's Power series processors are pretty damn similar to a G3 (no Altivec unit) - they've just taken the design and tweaked it for their application; enterprise servers.

 

[M.Brane]

Thanks, dude.

Open source eh? I bet M$ just loves that!

A lot of that stuff goes over my head but I get the basic idea.

 

[Polaris20]

Here's some info, though it's not exactly what I was looking for. It appears that some sections of Apple's site are down (OS X server, sheesh ), but you may want to try this and this later.


I'm not really sure who would be making their chips. I can only think of SPARC, Power4, and PA-RISC. Sparc would be a step backwards, IMO, and besides, they all would add several thousand dollars to the price of a system.

You've never heard of AIM? Anyway, IBM's Power series processors are pretty damn similar to a G3 (no Altivec unit) - they've just taken the design and tweaked it for their application; enterprise servers.

What I would like is the ability to assemble a Mac-compatible for the same money or slightly more than I can a Win-PC. That's the only thing that's kept me Windows-based. I don't actually like Windows, I've just learned to live with it.

 

[M.Brane]

What I would like is the ability to assemble a Mac-compatible for the same money or slightly more than I can a Win-PC. That's the only thing that's kept me Windows-based. I don't actually like Windows, I've just learned to live with it.

It really is a shame that Jobs killed the clones when he came back to Apple. PowerComputing made some kick-ass machines. Many are still in use today thanks to G3/G4 upgrade cards.

You can get an older Mac and upgrade like I did. You just have to weigh the cost against that of a new one. Mac hardware has never been cheaper than it is today. Take the new iMacs for example: in order to get the same features/performance before it's introduction you would have had to get a G4 tower & Cinema display that would have cost 3 grand. Granted, the iMac lacks PCI but there are USB and FW audio setups.

 

[Polaris20]

It really is a shame that Jobs killed the clones when he came back to Apple. PowerComputing made some kick-ass machines. Many are still in use today thanks to G3/G4 upgrade cards.

You can get an older Mac and upgrade like I did. You just have to weigh the cost against that of a new one. Mac hardware has never been cheaper than it is today. Take the new iMacs for example: in order to get the same features/performance before it's introduction you would have had to get a G4 tower & Cinema display that would have cost 3 grand. Granted, the iMac lacks PCI but there are USB and FW audio setups.

Agreed, but I can build a 1.8AGhz P4 with board, PS, chassis, DDR 512mb, sans drives, for like $500. I just swap my old HD's into the new box.

But believe me, I do like Mac OS much much better. That's the neverending dilema.

Me=not loaded with cash

 

[pisces7378]

What exactly is this OS X. And what makes it so dramatically different than the "plain ol`" OS 9? I have personally never seen either one in reality. I have only read a little bit about it being not so compatiable for some music software.

Is it all kinds of solid, or does it crash? What is the big deal about OS X?

 

[Polaris20]

What exactly is this OS X. And what makes it so dramatically different than the "plain ol`" OS 9? I have personally never seen either one in reality. I have only read a little bit about it being not so compatiable for some music software.

Is it all kinds of solid, or does it crash? What is the big deal about OS X?

OS X is solid, and it is based on the Unix kernel.

I really like the OS X interface, much more than any Win GUI, XP included.

 

[elevate]

What is the big deal about OS X?

OS X brings features to the Mac platform that have been missing for years. In somewhat of a bold move, Steve Jobs realized that OS 9 is actually crap and here was his chance to bring his real baby (NextStep) into the limelight, so to speak.

Anyway, it's not that music software isn't compatible, it's just that music software hasn't been written. OS X is a completely different OS and has absolutely nothing in common with previous Mac operating systems. Couple that with hesitant adoption by a platform with a pretty small marketshare already and you don't exactly have a large audience for developers to create apps for. I suspect the next batch of Power Macs may not allow any pre OS X operating systems. This should help motivate developers.