[DesignByJack]

Hi,

Anyone know when is the next release for the PowerBook? I was thinking to buy the new PowerBook 15" one month ago, but the reseller that I know told me don't get this batch, cos many of the people complained about the white spot issue. I hope Apple release the new rank of PowerBook soon, can't wait to buy now

[DesignByJack]

What about the Powerbook in G5? Is it posible to release for the next round? Since iBook has using the G4 processor now.

[selowitch]

Originally posted by DesignByJack:
What about the Powerbook in G5? Is it posible to release for the next round? Since iBook has using the G4 processor now.

G5 in a PowerBook willl happen this year, but I expect not until MWNY in the summer.

[DesignByJack]

Well!! this will be good! But people always say never get the first release of any range of the new product, it usually cost many problem then the second release.

[Minty Fresh]

Yeah...I got my Powerbook 2 weeks before the Al ones hit, and people were saying to wait...but I was unsure because of Apple's Rev. A history. So I went with a Ti Book. I love it to death....and I'm not really sorry I didn't wait...cuz there's not "too" big of a jump anyway. I'm waiting for the G5 PB to buy my next one! My girlfriend just bought a 15" Al Book, so now we'll have all 3 when the G5's come out! LOL

[ooagentbender]

I have posted about the g5 powerbooks in a lot of other forums and here are the conclusions I have drawn. With the 90 nm process that they have supposedly just finished perfecting, the wattage and therefore the heat output of the processors, if underclocked, is acceptable for laptops. SO- we could see them at mwsf but its doubtful, I think its much more likely that we'll see them this summer. I would say if you can wait I would especially if that is going to be your primary computer because they will make a big leap in speed when they move to the g5 not to mention an even bigger leap when they finally put a 64 bit os together with so that its using its full potential.

////short answer = wait if you can but you won't be disapointed with one if you buy now

[PBAddict]

I thinks we will see a minor bump to the powerbooks in a couple of months and then maybe the G5 in September.

[ruttopia]

Well the latest incarnation of the 'books came out in mid-September. The Powerbook G4 trade-in program runs through the end of March. I agree with most folks that if anything at MWSF it's a speed bump. Of course, with Apple you just never know.

[ae86_16v]

Originally posted by Minty Fresh:
Yeah...I got my Powerbook 2 weeks before the Al ones hit, and people were saying to wait...but I was unsure because of Apple's Rev. A history. So I went with a Ti Book. I love it to death....and I'm not really sorry I didn't wait...cuz there's not "too" big of a jump anyway. I'm waiting for the G5 PB to buy my next one! My girlfriend just bought a 15" Al Book, so now we'll have all 3 when the G5's come out! LOL

Yeah, it is more of an asthetics upgrade. . .

But in terms of the G5 PowerBook. . . who knows maybe Tomorrow?!?! . . . hahahahah

[SEkker]

Maybe we'll see a dual G4 17", using some underclocked CPUs to keep power and heat down.

[Riemann Zeta]

There will never be a dual processor laptop, underclocking notwithstanding. Such a machine simply makes no sense--the amount of cooling, power and space needed to support two G4s could easily be used to support a single 90 nm G5 at 1.8 - 2.0 GHz.

[acadian]

There will never be a dual processor laptop

There most certainly will be a dual proc notebook, Apple might not be the first but they will certainly be the first to market a practical version of it.

[PeteWK]

Originally posted by acadian:
There most certainly will be a dual proc notebook, Apple might not be the first but they will certainly be the first to market a practical version of it.

I agree. It's not a matter of if but when. There are already some very low wattage chips on the market powering other devices (pda's etc) and it's only a matter of time before the technology for laptop chips catches up. I'm looking for Apple to integrate this feature in about two years when laptops really can replace desktops for power users. The second chip would probably go into a proprietary slot and have it's own self-contained cooling system.

PeteWK

[ooagentbender]

I am not trying to be mean but the idea of a dual proc laptop is a little absurd because the amount of battery power and the amount of heat it would use would be rediculous even underclocked. Sorry.

[PeteWK]

Originally posted by ooagentbender:
I am not trying to be mean but the idea of a dual proc laptop is a little absurd because the amount of battery power and the amount of heat it would use would be rediculous even underclocked. Sorry.

I think you're missing the point. The power user doesn't care if his or her main computer only runs on battery power for 1 hour. They care that it will render huge video files in half the time. Look at the Sony behemoths. There is a market for a very fast laptop that's nothing more than a desk top computer one can fold up and move into another room, only to be plugged in again.

PeteWK

(Who's writing this from my DVI 667 that stays put at home)

[Pierre B.]

Originally posted by ooagentbender:
I am not trying to be mean but the idea of a dual proc laptop is a little absurd because the amount of battery power and the amount of heat it would use would be rediculous even underclocked. Sorry.

Well, things are not that simple. If you talk about G4 at their current incarnation, then you are right, power consumption would be very high, unless one of the two processor is down when in battery. On the other hand, Motorola talked in the past year about a dual core G4, with substantially improved specifications over todays G4's. Not exactly a dual processor but if realized, I think it would be market as such. None knows where they are in producing such a processor.

The other route is to use the available very low power PPC's in special configurations. Some time ago, the possibility of a quad-processor PPC440-based powerbook has been discussed in this AI thread. And before to begin laughing, I tell you that such a configuration is capable of 2.8GFlop @ 1.5 Watt per processor, so in total 11.2GFlop @ 6Watts (FPU performance). Todays G4's consume much more energy for much less FPU performance. And keep in mind that IBM has already a dishwasher-sized prototype, based on PPC 440, that ranks 73rd in the last top500 list.

[DesignByJack]

Well, I think everyone has their strong point. I do believe PowerBoook will have another one last round in G4 then following G5.

But one thing I for sure is next release will be Powerbook, regardless of what has been improve.

I remember after the AL PowerBook, follow by iBook G4, then 20inch iMac.. after that is new revised version of Power Mac G5 in 1.8 Dual... last recent one is Mini iPod.. so Powerbook most probably coming the next update for Apple!!

Cheers for it!!!

[OperaMan]

A trusted source has told me that a preliminary batch of G5 powerbooks has been dispatched to the "Evil Doers" in an attempt to burn their legs, causing extreme pain.
On a more serious note, I just want G5 powerbooks ASAP. The sooner those get here, the sooner the rev B's will, that's when I'm jumping in.

[PBAddict]

On the other hand, Motorola talked in the past year about a dual core G4, with substantially improved specifications over todays G4's. [/B]

Well that should only take Motorola 10 years to deliver, given past performance.

[PeteWK]

Originally posted by PBAddict:
Well that should only take Motorola 10 years to deliver, given past performance.

(Geek Love) - Wow! Only 10 years! I'll be first in line to buy one when they come out. Even if there's a P-IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII that's 80 times as fast. OS XIX will be worth it.

OK, Geek Love is over now.

PeteWK

[DesignByJack]

G5 PowerBook 'a challenge'

Jon Rubinstein, senior vice president of Hardware Engineering at Apple, spoke to Macworld UK about the Apple G5. While declining to comment on unannounced products, he did concede that the possibility of a G5 PowerBook was simply “an issue of good, solid engineering”.


He made it clear, however, that the current crop of G5 processors are designed for desktop machines, and a cooler-running version of the processor would be needed for a PowerBook. But he did point to the fact that a few years ago, nobody thought it would be possible to get a G4 processor in a PowerBook.


Rubinstein also spoke of the capabilities of the G5 processor. He suggested that improving the performance of software to take advantage of the new powerful processor should be relatively easy. The tools Apple provides to developers can help them find the parts of their applications that would benefit most from recompiling with the G5 in mind. Some developers claim to have doubled the performance of their programs using these tools.


Ken Bereskin was also on hand to reveal some more details of the upcoming Panther release of OS X. Like previous versions of OS X, PDF is an integral part of the operating system. But Panther will allow specific settings such as PDF/X, a standard for PDF for print. Panther will also support Dolby Digital 5.1 sound when used with the G5 optical audio output.

[DesignByJack]

Apple is hesitant to detail its plans regarding G5-powered laptops, but overwhelming consumer interest has spawned intense discussion and speculation on the subject. Even company CEO Steve Jobs was recently quoted as saying, "we are working on it and hope to have it by the end of [2004]."

Meanwhile, AppleInsider has received slightly more detailed information -- albeit via unconfirmed reports -- on the PowerBook G5.

One of the major obstacles facing PowerBook engineers is the intense heat emitted by the PowerPC G5 processor. (While a single G4 PowerPC 7457 processor pulls around around 7.5 watts at 1GHz, a single PowerPC 970 G5 requires approximately 18W at 1.2GHz.) To help combat the problem, sources say the company is experimenting with liquid cooling systems in early prototypes of the portables.