Apple WWDC 2004 thread - 30" LCD released. 2560x1600. Also 64-bit Mac OS X.

[Eug]

30" 4 Megapixels LCD ($3299) 2560x1600, requires $599 video card and thus only works with G5 Power Mac.

New version of 23" LCD - aluminum.

 

[Eug]

New displays are DVI (with special nVidia card needed for 30" as mentioned).

Maya Unlimited coming to Mac OS X. (Right now it's just the basic version of Maya.)

 

[ViRGE]

Eug, do you have any spare bibs? I'm starting to run out here.

 

[mikecel79]

Anything about a 4th gen iPod?

 

[Eug]

Tiger ships in 2005 H1. OMFG the Mac sites say Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger is true 64-bit!!!111one If true, that would be awesome for the science and database types. I reserve judgement until I see the official specs.

Originally posted by: mikecel79
Anything about a 4th gen iPod?

No, and I'd be surprised to see it.

I'm waiting for the G5 iMac announcement...

 

[ViRGE]

There will be no G5 iMac, and no 4th gen iPod; count on it.

 

[GTaudiophile]

Apple LCDs = PWNAGE!

 

[Eug]

H.264 codec to be included in QuickTime 7. Hi-def will be doable with current DVD storage sizes and bitrates.

 

[RaynorWolfcastle]

Originally posted by: Eug
H.264 codec to be included in QuickTime 7. Hi-def will be doable with current DVD storage sizes and bitrates.

AFAIK, H.264 has ridiculous encoding requirements (something on the order of < 5 fps on a 3 GHz P4); even, the decoding requirements were pretty stiff: you needed something like a 2 GHz P4 to get DVD resolution videos to playback in real time.

 

[Eug]

Originally posted by: RaynorWolfcastle
AFAIK, H.264 has ridiculous encoding requirements (something on the order of < 5 fps on a 3 GHz P4); even, the decoding requirements were pretty stiff: you needed something like a 2 GHz P4 to get DVD resolution videos to playback in real time.

A high-def 8 Mbps H.264 video will play back fine on a dual G5 Power Mac. Apple demonstrated that at NAB 2004.

It wouldn't work on a current iMac or Mac laptop though.

 

[RaynorWolfcastle]

Originally posted by: Eug

Originally posted by: RaynorWolfcastle
AFAIK, H.264 has ridiculous encoding requirements (something on the order of < 5 fps on a 3 GHz P4); even, the decoding requirements were pretty stiff: you needed something like a 2 GHz P4 to get DVD resolution videos to playback in real time.

A high-def 8 Mbps H.264 video will play back fine on a dual G5 Power Mac. Apple demonstrated that at NAB 2004.

It wouldn't work on an iMac or laptop though.

Requiring a dual G5 as a minimum requirement for playback is kind of stiff, isn't it?
They may very well improve the code significantly, though. Last time I looked into it H.264 encoders/players were very much in a proof-of-concept/unoptimized state.

H.264 is one of the DVD Forum's recommendations for HD-DVD, IIRC so they'll have to work something out to get it to play back on much less powerful DSPs for set-top boxes.

 

[Eug]

Still, it's gonna be very useful in general. iChat in Tiger will use H.264 for example, and will include support for conferencing between several different people.

 

[Eug]

No iMac G5??!?!?!!

 

[Steg55]

Hand my SLIed 6800 Ultra's and a copy of Doom 3. Seal me in a dark room and leave my to play

I want one. Hell I want two....now i just need to find a use for all the screen space

Steg

 

[dcheng]

I've heard on some of the rumor sites that there would be no iMac G5. I was somewhat disappointed from hearing that, and I would love to be wrong, but I guess I've taken to disappointment after the length of time it took for the G5's to be speed-bumped, and the news that PowerBook G5's are still months, if not over a year, away.

 

[Eug]

64-bit.

Tiger?s new 64-bit features enable developers to address massive amount of virtual memory for command-line applications, server applications and computation engines while continuing to fully support 32-bit applications.

Why do they specify "virtual" memory though?

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: Eug
Why do they specify "virtual" memory though?

Start guess:

The new G5 can only handly 8 GB. Thus it is silly to say the OS can handle 16 exabytes when the hardware cannot. The words virtual memory bring everything back into reality. Sure the software can handle it, but since the hardware cannot, anything over 8 GB must be virtual memory.

End guess.

One question since I don't keep up enough with Macs: was the previous hardware 32 bit memory or 36 bit memory (like the Xeons)?

 

[ViRGE]

Between the new panels and Tiger, I think I'm in love. :Q

PS Dullard, the G5's can currently do up to 8GB, the G4s were 4GB(32bit).

 

[LethalWolfe]

This is a developers conference. That doesn't sound like the proper place to announce an iMac or an iPod.


Lethal

 

[Nebor]

I'd like to see the new 23" LCD... I hated the original Mac design of it, w/ the clear plastic and whatnot.

 

[Eug]

Originally posted by: dullard

Originally posted by: Eug
Why do they specify "virtual" memory though?

The new G5 can only handly 8 GB. Thus it is silly to say the OS can handle 16 exabytes when the hardware cannot. The words virtual memory bring everything back into reality. Sure the software can handle it, but since the hardware cannot, anything over 8 GB must be virtual memory.

Yeah, I wondered about that after I posted it. But I woulda thought that Steve would have hyped up the 8 MB process bit, since some of the science types have already been complaining about the 4 GB limitation in Panther.

Anyways, more info here:

Quite a Bit More Memory
Memory

Tiger provides 64-bit memory addressing for applications that need it most, while continuing to support 32-bit applications. In fact, many 32-bit applications will run more efficiently under Tiger, thanks to over-all system improvements and fine-tuning.

Developers can now dedicate massive amounts of virtual memory to 64-bit applications such as UNIX-style command-line applications, server applications and computational engines. These CPU- and memory-intensive applications crave RAM so they can load large data sets into memory and read and write from them as fast as possible.
Xcode 2.0
Do the Math

As in Panther, both 64-bit and 32-bit applications in Tiger can use hardware-accelerated math functions when running on a Power Mac G5. This speeds performance for math-intensive applications, as well as high-end video and audio applications. New Xcode 2.0 development tools assist in unlocking this acceleration. It handles complex tasks in less time, so the developer experience and productivity are enhanced.
Package Maker
Write Chameleon Code

Tiger simplifies software distribution with support for Fat Binaries, an application that contains both 32-bit and 64-bit binaries within a single file. Using Fat Binaries, network administrators distribute a single version of an application to all users regardless of their system capabilities. Once installed on a user?s system, the Fat Binary automatically selects the appropriate code for the system without user intervention. This greatly simplifies administration, installation and distribution of applications.
Source Code Compatibility

Look to Tiger for strong support for application source code compatibility. Write source code once and then recompile as needed for systems using the PowerPC G3, G4 and G5 processors. This enables you to maintain just one version of your source code, simplifying both development and maintenance.
UNIX
Enhanced 64-bit Support

Tiger ships with 64-bit ready Xcode development tools, so you can take full advantage of the Tiger?s enhanced 64-bit capabilities right out of the box. Tiger?s new 64-bit pointers enable individual processes to access massive amounts of virtual memory. The enhanced kernel, plus a 64-bit version of libSystem, let command-line programs, background daemons and network services directly manipulate up to 16 exabytes of virtual memory. That?s enough to address all the physical memory on an Xserve G5? or a cluster of millions of them.

Tiger?s LP64 model for 64-bit pointers means that developers can easily port code written for other 64-bit UNIX systems. LP64 support in Tiger provides for 64-bit long, long long and void* as well as 32-bit int data types.

 

[manly]

Originally posted by: Eug
No iMac G5??!?!?!!

The Power Mac product manager essentially stated as much two weeks ago when intimating how hard it is to get the G5 into a laptop or consumer desktop.

Right now, it would also bite into Power Mac sales as well.

 

[Eug]

Originally posted by: manly

Originally posted by: Eug
No iMac G5??!?!?!!

The Power Mac product manager essentially stated as much two weeks ago when intimating how hard it is to get the G5 into a laptop or consumer desktop.

Right now, it would also bite into Power Mac sales as well.

Yeah, although he specifically made the comment that the PowerBook G5 and the 3 GHz Power Mac would not appear in 2004, but didn't make the same comment for the iMac G5. So there's still hope for this summer.

----

By the way, Tiger's Core Image looks pretty interesting:

Core Image unlocks the performance of today?s powerful graphics hardware. Now, ultra-fast, pixel-accurate image processing is built right into Tiger.
The Power of the GPU
Display

Today?s video cards feature graphics processing units, or GPUs, that process an amazing amount of data ? more than 6 billion pixels per second. This performance continues to grow at an amazing rate, doubling every six months.

Until now, harnessing the power of the GPU required in-depth knowledge of pixel-level programming. Core Image allows developers to easily leverage the GPU for blistering-fast image processing that can eliminate rendering time delays. Effects and transitions can be expressed with a few lines of code. Core Image handles the rest, optimizing the path to the GPU. The result is real-time, interactive responsiveness as you select and apply filters.
Fine-Grain Detail

Core Image is powered by floating-point calculations, which produce extremely fine color accuracy on a pixel-by-pixel basis. You see great detail, quality and range of color that automatically scales with new generations of GPUs and CPUs.
Plugin
Extensible Image Units

Core Image provides a plug-in style architecture for accessing filters, transitions and effects packages called Image Units. Image Units provide centralized management for image processing plug-ins that can be shared across all host applications. Developers can spend more time creating new Image Units instead of porting code to work in heterogeneous applications. Image Units achieve unprecedented reliability and stability as well as performance.

Developers can easily create their own Image Units by describing filters and effects in simple expressions compiled at runtime. Or developers can freely access dozens of Image Units bundled in Tiger, including blurs, color adjustments, distortions, edge sharpeners and transitions.
Ultra High Performance
QuickTime

Core Video provides a modern foundation for video services in Mac OS X Tiger. It provides a bridge between QuickTime and the GPU for hardware-accelerated video processing. This highly-optimized pipeline for video presentation increases performance and reduces CPU load, freeing up resources for other operations.

And Core Video allows developers to apply all the benefits of Core Image to video ? blazingly-fast performance of filters and effects, per-pixel accuracy and hardware scalability.

----

However, it has some pretty hard-core system requirements if you want to make use of these features:

Supported graphics cards:

* ATI Radeon 9800 XT
* ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
* ATI Radeon 9700 Pro
* ATI Radeon 9600 XT
* ATI Radeon 9600 Pro
* ATI Mobility Radeon 9700
* ATI Mobility Radeon 9600
* NVIDIA GeForceFX Go 5200
* NVIDIA GeForceFX 5200 Ultra

My G5 PowerBook in early 2005 will make for a great Tiger machine...

 

[ViRGE]

The Core Image thing is double-plus interesting, since it will be done with AGP cards, even though ATI's been claiming that kind of stuff needs PCIe.

PS Anyone else get the impression Tiger will be 64bit only(i.e. G5 required)?

 

[Eug]

Originally posted by: ViRGE
The Core Image thing is double-plus interesting, since it will be done with AGP cards, even though ATI's been claiming that kind of stuff needs PCIe.

PS Anyone else get the impression Tiger will be 64bit only(i.e. G5 required)?

No, because the Tiger page explicitly states that it has full 32-bit support with support for G3s to G5s, and will support 32-bit/64-bit fat binaries too.