New Apple 17" PowerBook Aluminum announced. HARDCORE!
- Thread starter Eug
- Start date
Let's all get together and rob a bank!
New toys!
Me want! esp. the 12" AlBook (i suppose that's the new shortened name, right? since it's made of aluminum).
New toys!
Me want! esp. the 12" AlBook (i suppose that's the new shortened name, right? since it's made of aluminum).
- Mar 11, 2000
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- Mar 11, 2000
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Very nice, too bad it's a mac.
Throw a 2.8 ghz P4 in there with a Ti4200 mobile and I would consider spending that much.
Throw a 2.8 ghz P4 in there with a Ti4200 mobile and I would consider spending that much.
Wolfsraider
Diamond Member
- Jan 27, 2002
- 8,305
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that 17" screen laptop looks pretty sweet, but for the money i'd go with the sony model that has a simmilar size screen (and a 2.2ghz proc.) for more than $1k less
overall though, apple really does a nice job on design, i just wish they'd change their architechture and start using pc chips
overall though, apple really does a nice job on design, i just wish they'd change their architechture and start using pc chips
Im thinking about the 12" version myself. My biggest complaint with the TiBook was the size. I like my notebooks small. The 12" is perfect and not too much more than the 12" iBook I was planning on upgrading to.
Questions and comments:
Anyone know which processor is in these new AlBooks? I noticed they have DDR and I was wondering if this is the 7455 or the 7475 or whatever the next version was supposed to be.
No L3 cache kind of sucks, but if the 12" has the newer processor will it really matter?
The resolution is only 1024x768 so we dont get the widescreen look. Its also the same as the iBook (much like the look in the pics), so maybe we will see the iBook dying soon...
The 12" supports 1gB of memory, but the max it appears you can configure it with is 640mB. Not too bad, but not quite what I want
The hard drives appear to be the 4200rpm versions instead of the 5400rpm versions. Not that it is a huge deal to me, but I would still prefer the faster drive.
The 12" does not get Firewire 800.
Built-in Bluetooth rocks and would go well with my phone
Airport should be built in in the "higher-end" 12" model.
Where is the gigE?
No PCMCIA?!
Im still going to consider purchasing one, but these are the thoughts I have on the machine right now.
EDIT: It only supports 640mB of ram, but their store page is wrong. All of the powerbook drives appear to be 4200, but I almost remember seeing something about 5400rm drives in one at some point.
Questions and comments:
Anyone know which processor is in these new AlBooks? I noticed they have DDR and I was wondering if this is the 7455 or the 7475 or whatever the next version was supposed to be.
No L3 cache kind of sucks, but if the 12" has the newer processor will it really matter?
The resolution is only 1024x768 so we dont get the widescreen look. Its also the same as the iBook (much like the look in the pics), so maybe we will see the iBook dying soon...
The 12" supports 1gB of memory, but the max it appears you can configure it with is 640mB. Not too bad, but not quite what I want
The hard drives appear to be the 4200rpm versions instead of the 5400rpm versions. Not that it is a huge deal to me, but I would still prefer the faster drive.
The 12" does not get Firewire 800.
Built-in Bluetooth rocks and would go well with my phone
Airport should be built in in the "higher-end" 12" model.
Where is the gigE?
No PCMCIA?!
Im still going to consider purchasing one, but these are the thoughts I have on the machine right now.
EDIT: It only supports 640mB of ram, but their store page is wrong. All of the powerbook drives appear to be 4200, but I almost remember seeing something about 5400rm drives in one at some point.
It's all well and good until you get to the line that lists the price...Sweet Jesus! That's a whole bunch of Chingoes!
Not a huge fan of the Apple architecture as I don't do any video editing (I think that's the apple claim to fame) but I will say that they have the best / most innovative exterior designs of ANY computer manufacturer (Yes, even the boutique guys like Alien or Falcon)
I would love to have one of those 17" jobbers with a PC architecture and a nice video card.
Not a huge fan of the Apple architecture as I don't do any video editing (I think that's the apple claim to fame) but I will say that they have the best / most innovative exterior designs of ANY computer manufacturer (Yes, even the boutique guys like Alien or Falcon)
I would love to have one of those 17" jobbers with a PC architecture and a nice video card.
As long as you are not a slave to benchmarks or commercial software packages the price is comparable to x86 based laptops. The high-end stuff is more expensive though, thats why Im personally looking at the 12" version
Neither do I, but I like variety.
I find that funny.
Whats wrong with the video card? I thought nVidia was the way to go... Shows how much I know about this stuff
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The new Fujitsu 60 GB and the new Toshiba 4200 60 GB both are faster (at least for sequential writes) than the old IBM 60H 5400 rpm drive, and use less power of course.
The newer drives have insanely high densities, but of course have higher latency. The cache is 2 MB on all three. If you truly want faster speed though you need to buy something like an IBM 40 GB GNX with 8 MB cache.
No PCMCIA? Yeah I figured. I may just have to keep my 15". Has both PCMCIA and DVI, and of course the faster video card (which uses probably less power), more max memory, and faster CPU. 5.4 lbs though, and definitely more bulky than my previous 12" iBook.
I still say a 13" AlBook would be ideal.
I wouldn't touch the 17" with a 10 foot pole. FAR too big for a laptop. Even my 15" is a bit bulky for me, and it's the smallest 15" desktop replacement in the world.
By the way, X windows for OS X is now out too, along with Safari (brushed metal internet browser). Apple's browser is faster than IE 5.2 on the Mac. Not quite as fast as Chimera I don't think but it's nicer, with integrated Google. iLife (Multimedia suite) will be out soon, and includes updated versions of iDVD, iPhoto, iTunes, and iMovie.
Also, Final Cut Express will be coming out. That bridges the mid-end gap between iMovie 3 and Final Cut Pro.
Also:Little-Known New PowerBook Facts
Here are some hard-to-find interesting details about the new
PowerBooks:
The 17" model's speaker is under the left speaker grille, instead of on
the upper casing.
The 12" model has two stereo speakers and a "midrange enhancing third
speaker.
According to Apple's tech specs, the 12 and 17" keyboards have one more
key than the 15" model's keyboard.
The new AirPort card can only be added to the 12 and 17" PowerBooks.
You cannot add the "802.11g" card to existing AirPort ready macs
because the slot does not have the necessary bandwidth. Check out the
new card for AirPort. It's no longer in a PC Card-type form factor.
The AirPort Extreme base station has a USB port for USB printer sharing
among wireless clients. It also has a port for connecting an external
antenna, which is new. Dr. Bott is already offering an omnidirectional
antenna compatible with 802.11g.
The 17" PowerBook uses new "Lithium Prismatic" batteries, which is a
traditional lithium ion battery cell in a square shape. The 12" machine
continues to use round cells in a square overall enclosure.
Strangely enough though, the fastest card (Radeon 9000) is in the TiBook 15" family.
The newer drives have insanely high densities, but of course have higher latency. The cache is 2 MB on all three. If you truly want faster speed though you need to buy something like an IBM 40 GB GNX with 8 MB cache.
No PCMCIA? Yeah I figured. I may just have to keep my 15". Has both PCMCIA and DVI, and of course the faster video card (which uses probably less power), more max memory, and faster CPU. 5.4 lbs though, and definitely more bulky than my previous 12" iBook.
I still say a 13" AlBook would be ideal.
I wouldn't touch the 17" with a 10 foot pole. FAR too big for a laptop. Even my 15" is a bit bulky for me, and it's the smallest 15" desktop replacement in the world.
By the way, X windows for OS X is now out too, along with Safari (brushed metal internet browser). Apple's browser is faster than IE 5.2 on the Mac. Not quite as fast as Chimera I don't think but it's nicer, with integrated Google. iLife (Multimedia suite) will be out soon, and includes updated versions of iDVD, iPhoto, iTunes, and iMovie.
Also, Final Cut Express will be coming out. That bridges the mid-end gap between iMovie 3 and Final Cut Pro.
Also:Little-Known New PowerBook Facts
Here are some hard-to-find interesting details about the new
PowerBooks:
The 17" model's speaker is under the left speaker grille, instead of on
the upper casing.
The 12" model has two stereo speakers and a "midrange enhancing third
speaker.
According to Apple's tech specs, the 12 and 17" keyboards have one more
key than the 15" model's keyboard.
The new AirPort card can only be added to the 12 and 17" PowerBooks.
You cannot add the "802.11g" card to existing AirPort ready macs
because the slot does not have the necessary bandwidth. Check out the
new card for AirPort. It's no longer in a PC Card-type form factor.
The AirPort Extreme base station has a USB port for USB printer sharing
among wireless clients. It also has a port for connecting an external
antenna, which is new. Dr. Bott is already offering an omnidirectional
antenna compatible with 802.11g.
The 17" PowerBook uses new "Lithium Prismatic" batteries, which is a
traditional lithium ion battery cell in a square shape. The 12" machine
continues to use round cells in a square overall enclosure.
Strangely enough though, the fastest card (Radeon 9000) is in the TiBook 15" family.
- Mar 11, 2000
- 23,591
- 1,002
- 126
More news about the new Airport Extreme base station (US$250):
"There?s more: if you want to have a private network and would like to
limit its range to a conference room for security reasons, there?s an
easy way. The AirPort Extreme Admin Utility software to increase or
decrease the power level through the internal antenna, and thus control
the range of the base station. Need to turn off computer-to-computer
networking or make the network invisible? You can do either of those
things in an instant, using the Admin Utility software."
The AirPort Extreme Card is about half the size of a standard business
card (smaller than the previous AirPort Card), and costs just $99.
Base Station Modem+Broadband edition comes with a USB port for printer
sharing, a 56K V.90 modem and a range-extending external antenna
connector, for just $249.
"There?s more: if you want to have a private network and would like to
limit its range to a conference room for security reasons, there?s an
easy way. The AirPort Extreme Admin Utility software to increase or
decrease the power level through the internal antenna, and thus control
the range of the base station. Need to turn off computer-to-computer
networking or make the network invisible? You can do either of those
things in an instant, using the Admin Utility software."
The AirPort Extreme Card is about half the size of a standard business
card (smaller than the previous AirPort Card), and costs just $99.
Base Station Modem+Broadband edition comes with a USB port for printer
sharing, a 56K V.90 modem and a range-extending external antenna
connector, for just $249.
Interresting... Good to know. It wasnt a big complaint, just a small one. THe battery life is a great thing to know, I hadnt even thought about it.
The 17" has a PCMCIA slot, but only for Type II cards (which means nothing to me since I have never looked into it).
I really dont care much about the power (speed) of the system, as long as it is usable. I want portability. After I finish reading Shadow Puppets I am going to need something to do on the train and my PDA isnt that interresting. With an AlBook I can load OpenBSD on my iBook and have a great selection with either. Heck, I could bring both with me if I got the 12" AlBook since I dont have to carry them far.
The 12" looks good enough for me. My comments werent all that big of a problem for me, not enough to keep me from buying it anyhow. Im just picky
This is part of Apple's "Year of the Laptop" strategy. They are probably shying away from the desktops and focusing on the laptops. In order to really do that, you need a real desktop replacement. The 17" looks like that piece of the puzzle.
Darwin X11 or whatever it was called was fine for me, but this is looking nice. One of these days Ill get a new Mac or upgrade to 10.2 so I can get some of the newer software.
Its using the KHTML engine instead of gecko, so its pretty interresting.
I wonder what the power consumption difference is between the two...
Well, that would just go against their whole design philosophy. OS X was never designed for the x86 architecture in mind, and you also have to remember what people really buy an Apple for. It's certainly not for gaming, and still a lot of Anandtechers pass that off as a weakness. I own both platforms (an Athlon XP 1700+ and an older G3 300 MHz tower), and each have merits of their own. I use my PC for gaming and MP3 encoding mostly, but the Mac for almost everything else. My Mac is quite a bit slower than my PC, but its interface is far more pleasant. For music and Internet, it's great. There are minor quirks in the Mac OS desktop that are just not emulated by Windows.
Most of what I do anymore (especially on the road) has nothing remotely to do with gaming, so I'm thinking that my next machine is going to be a G4 Powerbook. Though it can cost a bit more, it just makes a little more sense to me.
so you guys watch the keynote? it was fun, but personally i was disappointed. safari doesnt have tabs, i'd rather see g4's go into ibooks rather than the 12" powerbook - and the 17" powerbook, well, i doubt i'll be buying it anytime soon
i find the metal look of the current powerbooks ugly anyways. i like the ibook look alot more.
i find the metal look of the current powerbooks ugly anyways. i like the ibook look alot more.
That just means its the standard pcmcia card form factor, ie, the thin cards you're used to. I believe TypeIII are twice as thick as Type II (think that Zircom pcmcia card with the actual ports on the card).
So basicly, there's one pcmcia card slot on the AlBook.
12" seems so small now, I just went to a 14" screen from a 12" one, personally, I don't think I can go back
So was anything else announced at macworld? A Video ipod perhaps? Archos has done it already, and apparently, it works well.
Add $1k or more to the price of the 12" model if you want it "fully loaded". Ouch.
Still, they do look nice.
Still, they do look nice.
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