Apple Gives Laptops Speed Bumps

sockit2me9000 writes "Apple released their new PowerBook today. They include faster processors across the board (up to 1GHz), Radeon 9000 GPUs, and the top-of-the-line model will include a slot-loading SuperDrive. Price points remain about the same. New iBook was released as well."

This is great!!

[Stefman]

It was a lot more than what the rumor sites were predicting!

ibook

[fuzz6y]

$999 for pretty decent specs, and it doesn't even look like a see-n-spell any more. I want one.

MegaHertz Myth!!

[SuperDuG]

Up to 1Ghz can easily be translated to the same as 5 pentium 4's running at 2.3 Ghz a piece or 8 AMD 2400XP's combined together.

Don't fall into the same trap everyone else does, this thing is a super computer, but we all just believe intel's megahertz myth!!

... BTW Sarcasm ...

iBook still stuck at G3

[elliotj]

I wonder when they iBook is gonna be given the dignity of a G4 processor. The life of the G3 has been remarkable but I can't help thinking that it has been stretched out not by virtue of the chip itself but rather because Apple is having trouble getting better and faster chips from Moto (hence the IBM PPC rumors recently).

This is pretty cool, especially for the TiBook. I'm sure video houses will appreciate the superdive to let them make rough cuts on the road and share them.

Now, sadly, my TiBook is no longer state-of-the-art. I can tell its feelings were hurt: this morning it ask me if it looked fat.

still not cheap enough

[tps12]

It's great to see Apple giving its upper-class customers more for the same price, but it still doesn't solve the real problem. Apple Ibooks are still out of reach for those of us who compromise the working classes.

Just glancing at the Apple web page, I can see that their most "affordable" lap-top is anything but. I could understand them doing this if they already had a large market share--there is value in "luxury" brands--but with MAC sales so low, it seems like a bad idea. As a result, the average consumer won't even consider the Ibook. For example, look at me. I was laid off when the Dot.Com bubble burst, and now work doing manual labor down at the docks. I'm in hock up to my loogies, and have enough trouble just keeping my wife and five children sheltered, shorn, and clod each month. There's no way I could afford one of these things, and neither could most people in my position. The lower classes need something affordable, dependable, and proven, and for this reason we will continue to stick with PC manufacturers such as GateWay 2000 and DELL. I hope Apple figures this out soon.

Re:Oh Dear.. Here come the hokey speedbump jokes..

[sockit2me9000]

Apple, now ribbed for your pleasure...

Re:It's expensive, but ....

[cosmo7]

So why not buy a cheaper PC (yes, even with Windows thrown in) and install OsX over the top?

and then fly around on your anti-grav jetbike.

Re:iBook still stuck at G3

[simong_oz]

I can tell its feelings were hurt: this morning it asked me if it looked fat.

oh you poor, poor bastard. I hope you didn't hesitate in answering...

Say what you will about processor speed...

[mtec]

but I've used a (current) top'o the line TiBook - and it flies. I'm not talking about benchmarks (I know - sacrilege here), just how it feels. The tech-lust gene kicks in a big way when you have your hands on the keyboard. you feel like you're piloting a titanium Lear jet. I know this sounds like a commercial (modders, do your worst..), but the combination of the Ti and the iPod is like a dream come true for me (more so when I upgrade my 550). OS X - Classic - Unix - Virtual PC - and with 6 (count 'em) SIX - unabridged books (from Audible.com) in my iTunes which autosync (and bookmark my spot!) to iPod ranging from A.C. Clarke to business to Ayn Rand.

Closest I've come to tech Nirvana...

Sorry...I'm tech drunk - I've said too much - (but you're some of the few people in the world who can understand).
Forgive me.

Re:Speed Bumps?

[Ford Fulkerson]

Apple would never have used such a title.

No, but the new "windtunnel" PowerMacs have speed holes [apple.com]. They make the mac go faster.

Re:Naturally..

[OwnedByTwoCats]

News Flash: Major computer vendors coming out with faster, less expensive models, better features in the next six months!

Battery life?!?

[Krieger]

Wow for a second I thought this was battery life. I was wondering what secret mojo they had managed to get the most expensive model to run on a single battery charge for three to four weeks.

I can almost see Apple employees doing the voodoo rituals over the new powerbooks and ibooks now...

That's unpossible!

[onShore_Jake]

This must be false because MacOsRumors (MOSR.com) sed:
"In the mean time, one thing we can tell you is that if the announcements do indeed come next week, they will not include Superdrives. ... something which will not come to pass until roughly the first of next year."

Therefor please retract the story until the rumor sites have time to predict it.

Re:Apple's not the problem!

[toupsie]

Yea but he said 5 kids! Unless his wife was popping them out like a machine gun, I doubt they were all concieved during the economic boom of the late nineties.

Re:Apple proves the 'rumours guys' wrong

[foyle]

The most fun I had last year was making up a rumor out of thin air and sending it to MOSR. I waited a few days and then sent him a similar rumor from a different email address. Two days later he printed it word for word and then went on to say "multiple sources have confirmed blah blah blah".

Needless to say, I'm wracking my brains to come up with a good one to send him prior to MacWorld in January.

Re:iBook still stuck at G3

[Anonymous Coward]

Everyone knows you just answer immediately, "you look just as HFS+ as you ever have."