Apple to update Mac Mini, iBook Tuesday..

Jul 24, 2005
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ThinkSecret reports that they believe updated iBook laptops and Mac Minis will be announced next week. Apparently there will be three Mac Mini price points; $499, $599, and a new $699. Meanwhile the iBook is anticpated to have a widescreen version with price points at $999 and $1,299.

Article at ThinkSecret
 

Eug

Lifer
Mar 11, 2000
24,167
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I ordered a stock 12" iBook today with the free iPod (education promotion).

This is going to replace my 15" TiBook. (I wanted something more portable.)
 

batmanuel

Platinum Member
Jan 15, 2003
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I'm feeling the Osborne effect looking at the new iBooks. I'd love to have one, but I know I'll hate myself next year when the Yonah-derived Celeron M iBooks come out.
 

Hacp

Lifer
Jun 8, 2005
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I would think that apple would offer lower clocked pentium Ms with their ibooks instead of the celeron Ms. They have horrible battery life, and Ibooks right now have half decent battery life.
 

n0cmonkey

Elite Member
Jun 10, 2001
42,936
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Looks like some nice updates. I'm happy with the mini I bought a few weeks ago. The ram update should have happened much earlier though.
 

Hacp

Lifer
Jun 8, 2005
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Ya, defenetly since DDR ram hasn't gotten any cheaper these last few months. Its been stalled pretty badly.
 

bunnyfubbles

Lifer
Sep 3, 2001
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Originally posted by: Hacp
I would think that apple would offer lower clocked pentium Ms with their ibooks instead of the celeron Ms. They have horrible battery life, and Ibooks right now have half decent battery life.

Celeron Ms are Pentium Ms with half the L2 cache, 1MB instead of 2MB, thus performance is still VERY good and battery life is also spectacular. Granted the new Celeron Ms might be different, although they'd most likely be even better than they are now.
 

batmanuel

Platinum Member
Jan 15, 2003
2,144
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Originally posted by: Hacp
I would think that apple would offer lower clocked pentium Ms with their ibooks instead of the celeron Ms. They have horrible battery life, and Ibooks right now have half decent battery life.

The definition of what makes a "Celeron" is always changing. The current speculation I've read is that the Yonah Pentium Ms will be dual core chips and the Celeron M versions will be a single core version of the same chip. With the number of cores being a very clear distinction between the two chips, INtel may not have to cripple the future Celeron Ms as much. If so, it is possible that the future Celeron Ms will have the SpeedStep enabled and a full 2MB of cache so they will be perform just like the current Dothan chips, but with lower clocks.
 

Hacp

Lifer
Jun 8, 2005
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Dude, celeron Ms don't have speedstep(ok I don't know the offical name), so the battery life will be horrible. Thats the only difference between celeron Ms and Pentium Ms. The performance difference, I agree is negligable.
 

bunnyfubbles

Lifer
Sep 3, 2001
12,248
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Originally posted by: Hacp
Ya, defenetly since DDR ram hasn't gotten any cheaper these last few months. Its been stalled pretty badly.

Except the 1GB modules and really fast DDR stuff has seen some pretty good price drops. Perhaps the el cheapo 512MB CAS3 DDR400 hasn't dropped much, but I've noticed DDR going down quite a bit.
 

Hacp

Lifer
Jun 8, 2005
13,923
2
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ya, but Apple uses 2.5-3-3-7 ram for all its computers,so those are the chips we should be looking at(corsair value select anyone?).
 

Pabster

Lifer
Apr 15, 2001
16,986
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Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles
Except the 1GB modules and really fast DDR stuff has seen some pretty good price drops. Perhaps the el cheapo 512MB CAS3 DDR400 hasn't dropped much, but I've noticed DDR going down quite a bit.

It should, seeing as how later this year and in to the first quarter of 2006 both the Intel and AMD platforms will be DDR2.
 

ValuedCustomer

Senior member
May 5, 2004
759
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I'm sorry but what's the big deal about these machines again? Sure, the iBook is gorgeous and the mini is cute but seriously, what's the attraction besides the bling? - is really all about the OS cuz the hardware specs sure do seem mediocre compared to similarly equipped Win boxes.


iBook -
hdd: 4200 rpm
RAM: PC2700
GPU: Radeon 9550 with 32MB

miniMAC:
hdd: ?
RAM: PC2700
GPU: Radeon 9200 with 32MB

 

jpeyton

Moderator in SFF, Notebooks, Pre-Built/Barebones
Moderator
Aug 23, 2003
25,375
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I'm waiting for Apple's Intel-based computers before I give OSX a try.
 

Sonikku

Lifer
Jun 23, 2005
15,911
4,945
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Originally posted by: ValuedCustomer
I'm sorry but what's the big deal about these machines again? Sure, the iBook is gorgeous and the mini is cute but seriously, what's the attraction besides the bling? - is really all about the OS cuz the hardware specs sure do seem mediocre compared to similarly equipped Win boxes.


iBook -
hdd: 4200 rpm
RAM: PC2700
GPU: Radeon 9550 with 32MB

miniMAC:
hdd: ?
RAM: PC2700
GPU: Radeon 9200 with 32MB


LOL You've never owned a Mac have you? :p Not all of a Mac's specs translate directly into PC specs. There are similarities, but the architecture is completely different.
 

ValuedCustomer

Senior member
May 5, 2004
759
0
0
Originally posted by: Sonikku
Originally posted by: ValuedCustomer
I'm sorry but what's the big deal about these machines again? Sure, the iBook is gorgeous and the mini is cute but seriously, what's the attraction besides the bling? - is really all about the OS cuz the hardware specs sure do seem mediocre compared to similarly equipped Win boxes.


iBook -
hdd: 4200 rpm
RAM: PC2700
GPU: Radeon 9550 with 32MB

miniMAC:
hdd: ?
RAM: PC2700
GPU: Radeon 9200 with 32MB


LOL You've never owned a Mac have you? :p Not all of a Mac's specs translate directly into PC specs. There are similarities, but the architecture is completely different.


Actually I've got a Cube that doesn't take up a whole lot of space in the corner of our closet of the guest bedroom. But that's the best thing I can say about it. - and whenever your done dancing around the question maybe you could actually address it.



 

n0cmonkey

Elite Member
Jun 10, 2001
42,936
1
0
Originally posted by: ValuedCustomer
I'm sorry but what's the big deal about these machines again? Sure, the iBook is gorgeous and the mini is cute but seriously, what's the attraction besides the bling? - is really all about the OS cuz the hardware specs sure do seem mediocre compared to similarly equipped Win boxes.


iBook -
hdd: 4200 rpm
RAM: PC2700
GPU: Radeon 9550 with 32MB

miniMAC:
hdd: ?
RAM: PC2700
GPU: Radeon 9200 with 32MB

The OS. The software. The general interface. The looks. The feel (best laptop keyboards I've found yet). The processors. The fact it isn't wintel.

90% is opinion, the other 10% is BS.
 

Eug

Lifer
Mar 11, 2000
24,167
1,812
126
I like the software and the OS. Also, I especially like the fact that Apple controls the hardware. Sometimes it means some options aren't available on the Mac side, but it's nice knowing that the OS and Apple software WILL work with your machine. One thing I've noticed is that I spend much less time futzing around with the OS install config in OS X than I do in Windows.

In terms of the actual hardware, I think the iBook is an excellent value. It packs a lot of punch (slot-load optical drive, powered Firewire, 802.11g, Bluetooth 2.0, Radeon 9550) into a small package (4.9 lb), and it has pretty good battery life, all for a very nice price (< US$ 1000).

I think the Mac mini is OK too, but it's not for me. I got the much faster and much more flexible iMac G5. I think the Mac mini is for those short on cash or who don't want to spend too much to try out a Mac. It's also great for grandma, etc. The 32 MB on it really does suck though if you have a 20" screen. Exposé is quite laggy once you have filled up much of your screen with open windows. Not enough memory. (It's not a big deal on the iBook though, since the screen is only 1024x768 anyway and with that screen size people usually don't keep a gazillion windows open.)

However, the iMac is much more of a computer, and it's a pretty good deal too. I have the iMac G5 with 400 GB drive, 128 MB Radeon 9600, 2 GHz G5, and 20" screen. Excellent package. Exposé is a smooth as silk on this 20" screen.
 

mooojojojo

Senior member
Jul 15, 2002
774
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Pretty disappointing they didn't put in a Core Image capable graphics card in the iBook, isn't it.
 

hopejr

Senior member
Nov 8, 2004
841
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Originally posted by: mooojojojo
Pretty disappointing they didn't put in a Core Image capable graphics card in the iBook, isn't it.

Yeah, and the mini's one is still the same old crap 9200.
 

Eug

Lifer
Mar 11, 2000
24,167
1,812
126
Originally posted by: mooojojojo
Pretty disappointing they didn't put in a Core Image capable graphics card in the iBook, isn't it.
Huh? The 9550 supports Core Image fully.

BTW, my iBook 12" shipped today. :)