Not unlike last year, I visited the Macworld Expo in San Francisco.
For those who don't know:
Apple is migrating to Intel processors. They are calling this the MacBook Pro, which I think is a really dumb name, but these little notebook machines pack quite the punch. Dual core (Apple is calling them Core Duo (to think differently, I expect)) 1.67 or 1.83GHz Intel processors, ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 video, a bunch of other cool interface stuff and a teeny, tiny little camera built into the display (it's the little black dot in the top center that looks like it might be a latch if anyone other than Apple had designed it). It's also got a little remote and an App specifically designed to let you play music or mives or slideshows from across the room. Which seems not-so-impressive, but is really slick. WANT. They also announced the new iMacs will look exactly the same, but will likewise have dual core Intel processors.
The new iLife Apps look cool and they're including a brand new web-layout one I haven't really looked at too closely, but I suspect is geared towards bloggers and the like.
As usual there was lots of cool stuff. And, hey, one booth was giving away free Jamba smoothies and pretzels! I'd never heard of them before, but they got mobbed. I did see one thing a certain Snay would appreciate.
I guess LaCie decided to get literal about the modularity of their designs. Those are a couple HDs and a CD burner if I'm not mistaken. Pretty cool.
I'm going back on Thursday to look at a couple things in more detail and maybe make some purchases. All in all, a very cool trip.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
If I could acquire a copy of OSX that would run on my PC and let me either dual-boot XP or run Windows programs natively (through voodoo magic, if I understand the technical details) I'd buy it in a heartbeat. (Well, once I actually had some spare cash on hand.)
[While we're on the subject of Mactels, I mean.]
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
OK, maybe not in a heartbeat, but I'd be interested in it.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Stick to your guns, man!
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
"If I could acquire a copy of OSX that would run on my PC..."
Well, there are x86-compiled versions of 10.4.x (for x ∈ {1, 2, 3}). You know, out there.
(Soon they will be everywhere.)
Posted by Shakaar (Member # 1782) on :
I just like the lego drives... I've stacked my systems anyway (just two systems and an external drive- a nice stack, but not overly "oh my god that's gonna tip!" -but it'd be nifty if they all plugged together... *ponders different PC case designs with the Lego theme so the drives could snap on top*
Posted by Charles Capps (Member # 9) on :
quote:Apple is calling them Core Duo (to think differently, I expect)
Core Duo is the new marketing name for the dual-core Pentium M / Centrino processor line.
(The Pentium M processors have long been expected to replace the Pentium 4 line.)
Posted by Toadkiller (Member # 425) on :
Did you actually get to mess with the "MacBook"? Notice any difference or was it a typical Mac?
I had been in the market for a point and click web site creator and am waiting for a review of iWeb.
I suspect I'll be getting a mini once they have been intel-ized. I'd hoped they'd go before the iMac but I suppose this makes sense.
I've no desire to run Windows on one, but I suspect someone will figure out how to dual boot an Intel Mac before they crack OS X to run on standard hardware.
You wouldn't get to really test Mac OS on "regular" hardware anyhow as some of the benefit is the lack of hardware "issues".
mmmmm....iiiiiMac
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
By some accounts OSX has been running on Intel platforms since the very beginning.
Posted by Balaam Xumucane (Member # 419) on :
quote:Originally posted by Sol System: If I could acquire a copy of OSX that would run on my PC and let me either dual-boot XP or run Windows programs natively (through voodoo magic, if I understand the technical details) I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
It's funny you should say that. For years I've dreamt of having a stable, compatible and responsive version of XP I could run on a Mac 4 TEH GAMEZ. Given the comparatively limited set of Apple hardware configurations which may bear striking resemblance to PCs using the same Intel chips, I'm thinking some clever person will work out some neato dual boot thing. (Though I can't imagine they'd cooperate too well on the same drive partition, thus limiting docusharing.)
quote:At one point Cartman intoned: Well, there are x86-compiled versions of 10.4.x (for x ? {1, 2, 3}). You know, out there.
Worst. Kept. Secret. EVER. No but do you know anything about the supposed stability of these versions? I expect the hardware restrictions/driver sets would be mighty tight.
quote:And then Charles was all: Core Duo is the new marketing name for the dual-core Pentium M / Centrino processor line.
Oh. Well bully for them then. Forgive my continuing blatant ignorance, but are these 64 bit? (Not that 64 bit amounts to a hill of beans for most applications) I've poked around some and haven't seen anything saying either way. And if they aren't, what will that mean for potential future desktop Goliaths?
[ January 14, 2006, 02:37 AM: Message edited by: Balaam Xumucane ]
Posted by Balaam Xumucane (Member # 419) on :
quote:Originally posted by Toadkiller: Did you actually get to mess with the "MacBook"? Notice any difference or was it a typical Mac?
I did get to tool around a little on the MacBook Pro (Still hate this name) and it was entirely, eerily mac-like. So FAST. Made GarageBand look like a walk in the park even with all the other iApps open. They'd maxed out the memory, of course, but it sparkled and moved just like any other mac. The zippiness was pleasantly reminiscent of a recent addition to my little network.
I was astounded at how stable/resilient they were given the gobs of drooling gawkers touching them up and poking at them. The Apple be-shirted guardians seemed to be leery of anyone sleeping them, explaining they were prototypes. I saw one reset, but it seemed voluntary. Came up fast. I know they packed a lot in there, but it seemed a tad heavy. Of course they were cabled down something fierce so it was hard to judge.
quote:Originally posted by Toadkiller: I had been in the market for a point and click web site creator and am waiting for a review of iWeb.
What I'm really hoping for with iWeb is that it will work with things other than just the .Mac service. I understand the need for .Mac to get preferential treatment, but I also think more people (i.e. I) will use it (and like it) if they can choose their own service. And I mean otherwise that's some cheeky, useless, greedy bullshit.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
Actually BX, you have a bit of a Dr. Phlox look going in that picture! How many wives do you have?
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
"No but do you know anything about the supposed stability of these versions? I expect the hardware restrictions/driver sets would be mighty tight."
Yeah, for now you can basically only turn a machine that's equal in hardware (within some tolerance) to one of Apple's development boxes into a Hackintosh. Any unsupported components and you're in a world of hurt. If and when you do get it up and running (alongside Windows) though, you'd be hard-pressed to notice the difference vis-a-vis a "real" Mac, except that a lot of native (as in not yet recompiled for x86) OSX apps have to be funneled through Rosetta and so will be slower. Still, fun.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
Hehehe
Posted by Toadkiller (Member # 425) on :
Yeah, but he's an alien with a quad PowerMac!
I hear round the net that iWeb will work with non-.Mac servers but that you lose the cool RSS features. Since I don't know much about RSS I'm only assuming that has technical as well as greed based reasoning behind it.
Perhaps our resident web-diva knows more?
I also hear that iWeb's code makes purists scream in horror, but that it sure is easy to use. Which figures, I suppose.
I really want to get an iMac but I'm leaving the Navy this year and should probably wait until I figure out what I'm doing next.
Posted by Balaam Xumucane (Member # 419) on :
quote:Originally posted by AndrewR: [QB] Actually BX, you have a bit of a Dr. Phlox look going in that picture! How many wives do you have?
...
Hehehe
(offending image removed for the SAKE OF HUMAN DECENCY)
Ye GODS! My eyes! iPhoto promised they'd never let this happen. *pathetically clings to the Cary Elwes thing*
I hear tell they're 32 bit chips. Meh. What did I expect? Itanium? (You have to admit, iTanium does hold some appeal)
So if iWeb can do some CSS stuff that would be cool (because it's mostly over my head). I suspect that the raw code will be as ungainly as any of the other WYSIWYG editors, but that's why they make BBEdit. I'm not sure I understand the whole RSS thing anyway (nor exactly how it might come in handy for my graphic design business (Update: I'm drawing. Update: I got bored of your drawings and now Dutch children are humiliating me at Halo again. Update: I'm sleeping.) I wonder whether it will be as feature-rich along the lines of Dreamweaver (or GoLive for us octogenarians) or if it will just be templates (albeit pretty ones) like iDVD.
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
i(insert capitalized word here): WAY overused
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
iAgree.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
heheh T.
Oh X - I think it's oddly cool you've got a Phlox thing going on... better than looking like - I don't know... Riker from the final episode of Enterprise! GAH!
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
T? X?
Posted by Siegfried (Member # 29) on :
Texas?
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
TSN... Balaam Xumucane
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
How many wives do you have?
