The G4 and Apple's Second Coming 432
Anyone who's been anywhere near true computer geeks soon comes to realize that the driving ethic behind the Internet isn't pornography, technology or money-making. It's not even freedom.
It's the yen for cool stuff - designing it, programming it, acquiring it or trying it out.
This week, Apple unveiled its Mac G4 series, somewhat exaggeratedly described as the world's first supercomputer for the desktop, with TV spots that show a G4 being encircled by Army tanks while an announcer points out that this is the first personal computer so powerful that it's been declared a military weapon (translation: the federal government has declared certain technologies off-limits to specific foreign governments, including Iran and China, because of potential military applications).
Don't worry about the Pentium chip, adds the announcer. "It's harmless."
You could practically hear countless geeks and nerds inhale sharply and breathe heavily. Judging from Web chatter on tech sites from C-Net to Linux World to Slashdot, the G4 was an instant smash. Geeks are forever on the prowl for the coolest, fastest, most powerful new thing, and the G4, clearly, is it.
In America, corporations often become cultural or even political symbols that transcend the products they make. IBM, AT&T, Ford, Linux - all are icons as much as manufacturers, programs or communications giants.
With the possible exception of Bill Gates's Microsoft, no company embodies a particular corporate approach to the digital world more than Apple Computers; no individual personifies a corporate view more than Steve Jobs.
From the early days of the boom, Gates and Jobs have been the yin and yang of the computer world: Gates is intrinsically corporate, rapacious and big, ferociously competitive, monomaniacally focused, Jobs straight out of the alternative entrepeneurial wing that saw computing as a wondrously liberating tool.
His buddy Steve Wozniak grasped almost instantly that this philosophy was unlikely to withstand the looming capitalist assault on the computer industry and bailed out. Jobs was driven from Apple, but stayed in the game, before a desperately failing company asked him back.
In conventional financial terms, Gates was by miles the more successful, becoming the global poster boy for the Long Boom and the world's richest man.
Jobs, always more quixotic and, if such a thing is possible, even more egotistical than Gates, positioned Apple as the anti-IBM, and the anti-Microsoft, each, at different times, versions of the same thing. In so doing, he created a company that brought millions (including me) into networked computing. But in a corporate sense, he fell far behind and out of grace.
Now it seems the wheel has turned again. If there's an ideology at the heart of computing, it's to be forever on the lookout for the coolest, fastest, most powerful thing. The G4 clearly, is it.
At least for a while.
Apple has been enjoying a remarkable renaissance with the runaway success of the iMac, the G3 desktop and Powerbook series, and, more recently, the iBook. The G4, from early accounts, is an impressive accomplishment, an unprecedently powerful desktop machine that costs little more than the too-cutesy, candy-colored iMacs. Because it is new and powerful, it is cool. Because it is cool, they will come.
Although substantially more powerful than the G3s they will replace, the G4's price increments are the same: $1,599 for a Mac with a 400-megahertz processor; $2,499 for 450 MH available in September, and $3,499 for 500 MH, available in October.
The G4's microprocessor, co-developed by Apple, IBM and Motorola, uses a circuit called the velocity engine, (similar to the vector processors used in supercomputers), that allows it to process 128 bits of information per cycle, compared with 32 or 64 bits in most processors. It can, according to Jobs, tackle tasks, from encrypting Net messages to processing digital video, that are beyond most ordinary PC's.
Apple's engineers and designers have again radically changed public perceptions of computing, offering machines for non-computing professionals as well as loyal Mac-adherents that are colorful, portable, powerful, easy, and/or cheerful, depending on one's tastes.
Apple has always had the strange distinction of being uncool and cool simultaneously. To legions of professionals - writers, artists, designers - the Apple was a godsend, permitting creative work while eliminating the sometimes nightmarish process of struggling with computer mechanics. To geekdom's macho wing, Apples are for ignorant wimps who use graphic interfaces to avoid ever really coming to understand how computing works. For years, no self-respecting geek would be caught dead on a Mac.
Now the G4 signals the return of an Apple Age, or at least Round Two of the original Apple Age, though it's significance may be more metaphorical than real. The new Apple doesn't allow us to think differently so much as it enables us to compute more simply and powerfully, two very different ideas. For some years, Apple alone offered individuals an alternative to corporatism. Now that mantle belongs more to the open source and free software movements. (A telling example of the new, greedier Apple ideology is that the G4 was deliberately built so that owners of the new G3 can't upgrade to it - they have to buy a new one. Doesn't sound like very different thinking after all).
The irony of the Apple story, especially for people like me, is that these machines made it possible for us to use computers, but kept us perennially ignorant about how they really worked. In my own case, this was a mixed blessing. (For the past year, I've been struggling to learn and use Linux, in many ways the antithesis of the Apple experience. It's been rough, but I'm close. I have a working Linux computer and am getting lessons in how to use it. More on that later.)
The G4 is the crowning achievement to date of the Jobs-engineered Apple comeback, because he's not only created a machine the wusses will love; he's pounded the macho geeks at their own game and exposed behemoths like IBM and Microsoft for the clunky and unimaginative entities that they are.
For all that, apart from the fact that Jobs has calmed down considerably and sports a graying beard, this second Apple Age is sadly different from the first one. Mac made its national debut (remember the famous anti-IBM ad?) during the 80s. The computer was presented as an anti-Orwellian device, a revolutionary affirmation of individual creative spirit versus corporate domination.
The Macintosh, Jobs was saying, wasn't about technology, but creativity. It wasn't about big business, but about individual aspiration. Accurate or not, lots of people fell for the line, and the Apple brought part of an entire wary generation into computing. Even the most severely technically-impaired were able to approach computing and participate.
The new Apple Age is more consumer-oriented and profit-driven, and far less honest and idealistic. You have to wonder: Is the G4 really necessary? Do people actually need a desktop that's classified as a military weapon? Or portable computers that resemble translucent toilet seats? Will this generation of Apple computers, like the first, keep affluent computer users happy, more powerful and even more ignorant?
The good news is that the resurgence of Apple is a rebuke to the way big corporations do - or don't - think. No board of directors or mega-company with squadrons of vice-presidents would have come up with the G4, or with anything like the iMac.
Apple's comeback invokes the long-ago days when companies reflected the stubborn, idiosyncratic visions of individuals, instead of the tepid, amorphous conglomerates that dominate new and old media.
If Apple may no longer lay claim to its anti-Orwellian ideological roots - always personified more by Wozniak than Jobs anyway -- it has made computing fun and accessible again, and has provided consumers with more real choices and alternatives.
For that alone, the second coming deserves to be hailed.
Re:Apple is culture (Score:1)
Naive boy. Remember Apple and their high profit margins of the early 90s? That was really atruistic.
All you damn hardcore techies (Score:1)
Every clock cycle my ass... (Score:1)
Re:Apple is fun (Score:1)
Re:Apple is fun (Score:1)
*sigh*, Apple Zealots... (Score:1)
- A.P.
--
"One World, one Web, one Program" - Microsoft promotional ad
Different creativity (Score:1)
Re:Give me a break. (Score:1)
Don't like it, put Linux on it. Yes, you can do that.
Hell, imagine the scream here and elsewhere if every 9 months to 1 year you had to pay microsoft for MINOR updates. (which is all the Mac OS ever gets... gee a better internet search engine and prettier graphics)
Mac OS 8.5 added to Mac OS 8 prettier graphics, a better internet search engine, better virtual memory (improving on the already improved vmem of OS 8), improved networking, improved all sorts of other stuff, and just like all the other updates it was faster and more stable. OS 9 will add Carbon compatibility to prepare for OS X consumer, multiuser capability, TCP file sharing, and more. Windows 98 added to 95 a bundled web browser, little sliding menus, and fixes for dozens of security holes for the same price. Which was worth it?
Re:The G4--Wrong Thing Done Wrong at the Wrong Tim (Score:1)
$1500 approx. - PII 400, 17 inch monitor, 128M RAM, 13 gig HD.
$1500 approx - G3 350, no monitor, 64M RAM, 6 gig HD.
Which is the better deal? I'd say even the bare Mac is a ripoff. And don't pull that "but the G3 is a better processor." on me - A fast processor does NOT make a good system. Note that my K6-2/300 kicks the crap out of a lot of those #1500 PII-400s because the rest of the system is fully decked out. Especially note my previous rant about Apple's love affair with ATI.
As far as MacOS support for other video cards - Do you realize how anal ATI is with their specs? If Apple can get specs from ATI, they can get specs from anyone. Especially NVidia, who is not only supporting Linux with an open-source driver, but is also supporting BeOS.
Re:The G4--Wrong Thing Done Wrong at the Wrong Tim (Score:1)
They may or may not be cute.. (Score:1)
For me (and most
Long live the "PC" technology steamroller...
Re:They may or may not be cute.. (Score:1)
Who cares..it's not like anyone is going to benchmark the thing (properly).
the "geeks" who like g4 are not likely to buy aple (Score:1)
for the IBM PPC boards or alpha (EV6 comes on a
pretty sweet board, too bad compaq is greedy with
thier compiler tech. lets hope IBM/motorola
wont be. im certain apple would if it were up to
them).
sad the the g4 macs have only a 2x agp...
maybe apple should look at matrox or number nine.
Re:Buying a mac is like buying a notebook (Score:1)
Until the G3 arrived, Macs ranged from insanely difficult(those stupid "pizza-box" cases on the 6100 for example) to nearly impossible(the SE) to get inside of.
I think you are confusing the 6100 with some other model. I had a Centris 610, which uses the exact same case as the 6100 series and to get into it, you pop two catch tabs on the back and the cover comes off. Everything was completely accessible after that.
Re:Free copy of LinuxPPC for this guy! (Score:1)
Hey, Jason, mail Jobs! Tell him Lnux got him an extra sale!
Re:Finally (Score:1)
Once Apple was decimated, Power Computing had hoped to switch over to x86, and if you recall, at the time Apple shut them down, they tried to go into the x86 market, but it was too soon for them, their designs weren't quite there yet. Had they more time, and more Apple-crunching capital, they could easily have shut down Apple, AND made a successful transition into the x86 clone market, and probably would be a worthy competitor to Dell and Compaq today. But we would have no Apple.
If Apple were to reopen cloning, they would have to simply quit the hardware market, because they simply can't compete on price/performance. Power Computing didn't have to design the motherboard or the ROMs.
I AM glad that Apple's back, but I really wish there was some way to get the great hardware they're making now, out in the open so those of us who don't drive porsches can afford to buy clone systems, or build our own. (as it is, Apple is even afraid of the upgraders eating their lunch, hence the ROM hack to prevent G4 upgrades to B&W G3s. thank god I have a G3 beige!).
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
Re:G3/G4 upgrade deliberately crippled? (Score:1)
As it is, Apple has already shown their dark side when they brutally stomped Power Computing into the dust. (yes, it was self-defense, but if Apple had simply quit the hardware field, because it was obviously not on par with the cloners), we could be in a much better PPC hardware world today, and not have so much trepidation about these very suspicious looking maneuvers.
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
Re:Apple doesn't deserve credit for G4 (Score:1)
(anyone at Moto who disagrees with this statement - please demonstrate otherwise: affordable, open PPC Clones NOW!)
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
Re:G3/G4 upgrade deliberately crippled? (Score:1)
upgrades aren't useful until a year or so into the lifecycle when competition and age have brought the
cost to levels close to the resale difference"
If that's the case, why were people buying B&W G3's last February and slapping CPU upgrades in them right away? Because even Apple's top of the line was not as fast as the fastest upgrade cards, again proving that while the PPC may be faster than the P III (debate, argue), Apple is NOT cranking out the fastest systems they could be. They were behind the curve during the clone wars, and that's why they stomped cloning, and they're behind the curve now, and ONLY the accelerator manufacturers illuminate the truth. Apple's ROM upgrade shuts out the light on that truth.
I love my Macintosh. I hate Apple.
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
Re:Steve Jobs' Reality Distortion Field (Score:1)
to preventprocessor upgrades. .
See? We're back to this one again. It's not whether or not Apple DID disable the upgradability, its the fact that they're so brain dead, as to sit and watch while the press tears them apart and customers jump ship in an information vacuum.
"Only president Clinton is better at warping people's perception of reality than this guy is"
You've been an Apple customer HOW many years, and you've never heard of the "reality distortion field"?
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
Re:Necessity, technical inferiority (Score:1)
I think not.
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
Re:nice, but, (Score:1)
There we go again, back to that "information vacuum" thing. .
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
Re:Give me a break. (Score:1)
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
Re: g4 upgrade block not intentional (Score:1)
Until Apple releases a tech article detailing the hows and why's we're still living in an information vacuum, created by Apple.
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
Re:Geeks just don't get it. (Score:1)
Technically easy, yes.
Politically expedient, no.
Don't hold your breath waiting for OS X x86, it ain't gonna happen, and judging by the information vacuum on the subject of YellowBox licensing for NT, that ain't gonna happen either.
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
Re:Correction about G3 upgrading... (Score:1)
regarding this yet, because they can't afford a fiasco if it takes a bit longer than expected, or doesn't
work right, or what not"
They've already got a fiasco on their hands. What did they think their loyal customers were going to think?
DUH! be honest! Make the statement through the Tech Article system or thru Apple Developer Connection. The technical people will understand if there are delays. just say SOMETHING!
(and while your at it, let's hear your plan for YellowBox NT licensing too. What? didn't think so.)
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
Re:What about MAC OS X ? (Score:1)
That's complete horse shit - and so we have to wait an extra year and a half for this Carbon bastardization, instead of having had Rhapsody sooner - and continue to listen to the rest of the computing world laugh at dusty, crusty, rusty old Mac OS.
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
Re:The G4--Wrong Thing Done Wrong at the Wrong Tim (Score:1)
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
Pardon? (Score:1)
(joke)
Wow you must be from Microsoft Marketing Dept... I've never seen such a grasp on doublespeak.
(/joke)
Thank you. (Score:1)
Daniel
Re: someone is deluded (Score:1)
unixes = backwater, cheesy, don't-change-if-ain't-broken, hacks rulz,
Thank you for your masterful summation of the situation. Your breathtaking clarity, wit, and insight have enlivened yet another mundane day on Slashdot. Confronted with this burst of genius, we readers can only stand in awe and marvel at the enlightenment being given to us. Clearly UNIX is an obsolete piece of junk, only suitable for complete computer nerds, with no future at all: Xah Has Spoken.
</sarcasm>
Daniel
PS - Apple's next operating system release *is* UNIX.
Macs are for geeks too (Score:1)
Just because we don't like using command lines, makefiles, emacs, etc. doesn't mean we're any less geeks. We just have different tool and environment preferences.
Re:Apple not for most geeks (Score:1)
Also, explain to me how a Macintosh is easier to upgrade than a PC? Here's how I install a new hard drive in my machine. Open case, plug HDD in, reboot into Windows and pick my partition settings. Just because a Macintosh has fewer configuration options doesn't make it better, or easier.
--Conquering the Earth Since 1978.
Re:a little late... (Score:1)
so, why the sudden spurt of belief in apple now that the G4 is out? probably because it signals all the technological merit that the PowerPC really represents... When Tom's Hardware is comparing 10% different rendering times between an Athlon and Dual Celeron, here comes a piece of APPLE hardware that whups them both
Dude, I have yet to see a web benchmark that compares the rendering performance of a 750 / 7400 (G3/G4) against a Pentium anything. Sorry, if Apple wants to get out of just having a 'Photoshop' niche, it should quit spouting photoshop benchmarks and start showing me performance comparision for an app suite and some SPEC marks. Showing some game performance on good, popular games and comparing them with their x86 versions, fine. But show me a useful set of comparisons. Photoshop is heavily abused as a benchmark to favor Macs, as it was designed for Macs in the first place, with a crude port to Windows. ByteMark doesn't cut it either.
Re:What about MAC OS X ? (Score:1)
I agree completely, Alphas can run circles around ANY other competitor and while I haven't tried a K7 yet, they look pretty sweet too!
And while these G4's may be pretty fast, they are still made by Apple and still come with MacOS installed - yes I know you can install Linux later, but why pay for the MacOS if you don't even like it? Also, does Linux even run on G4's (yet)?
LONG LIVE ALPHA!!!
Re:The new Apple is all about marketing (Score:1)
It's worth noting that more than simply the clock speed changes in each of the standard configurations you've mentioned.
Not that this totally excuses the price increases, but it's not as draconian as you paint it.
(There are also other changes between the motherboard used in the 400MHz G4 vs. the one used in the 450 and 500MHz models, but I haven't mentioned them.)
Re:The new Apple is all about marketing (Score:1)
Oops, omitted something. The standard 450MHz and 500MHz models also include Zip drives.
Re:*sigh*, Apple Zealots... (Score:1)
Sorta like you, with your "Apple Zealots" comment.
Re:Buying a mac is like buying a notebook (Score:1)
http://www.newertech.com/ [newertech.com]
http://www.sonnettech.com/ [sonnettech.com]
http://www.XLR8YourMac.com/ [xlr8yourmac.com]
http://www.macgurus.com/ [macgurus.com]
Re:Apple Hype != Reality (Score:1)
That's the best comeback you could come up with? How about something like, "Well... your mother likes it..."
Re:Free copy of LinuxPPC for this guy! (Score:1)
I'll mention your comment to Steve the next time we seem him.
Later,
jase
Free copy of LinuxPPC for this guy! (Score:1)
The 400 Mhz boxes should be running pretty shortly after they're out. The processor already can run Linux, and the patches are making their way to the right people.
The "second age of Apple" (Score:1)
The high end G4, at $3499, is a heck of a lot more than an iMac, and is more likely to attract folks who already have Macs and are looking to upgrade (like me!).
However, I do believe that there will be more folks buying the low and middle G4s to run LinuxPPC....at least until some 3rd party PPC motherboards hit the market.
Not realy, no. (Score:1)
The Motorola PowerPC 7400, which apple calls a "G4" and claims credit for, is a powerful chip to be sure. But it isn't as much faster than a Pentium as the carefully chosen benchmarks would suggest. Apple didn't invent it and had nothing significant to do with the development. All they are doing is riding on the coattails of a good product and claiming credit for it, all the while pushing an overpriced and underperforming system.
Sorry, it's just a product. And the only creative genius at Apple is their marketing. "Think Different" is just a corporate slogan. Just like "where do you want to go today?". Katz seems to have bought it hook, line and sinker - but it just aint so.
Oh my god, did you blow it on this one. (Score:1)
"The new IMac! Now in color!"
I am really disappointed you bought into this garbage. A good quality P3 with well-picked components will run rings around a Mac. The Mac has a processor that does well on benchmarks, but the rest of the technology is second-rate.
Plus, you get all the joy of a closed system, which any self-respecting geek will loathe. Consider their G3s... which Apple has actively prevented from being upgradable by deliberately breaking the firmware. If you plug a G4 chip into a G3 machine, it won't boot up. On purpose.
No PC manufacturer would be able to get away with this, and I strongly suggest that you not let Apple do it either. They're not rebels. They're not making insanely great things anymore. They are, in my opinion, a bunch of thieves extorting way too much money from a captive market.
Yes, you should think different -- think open.
Re:Oh my god, did you blow it on this one. (Score:1)
Oh, "just" sound and video... sound may not be that critical, but video matters. Especially on the Mac, which is supposed to be a graphical machine! Not only do they have slow, outdated graphic cards, they also have that horrible abstraction layer that slows things down even more. You may not like Microsoft very much, but DirectX is really quite good.
In all real-world benchmarks, P3s are consistently faster at everything except raw CPU, and they're only just a whisker behind there. And K7s are just now shipping, and are faster still. You will get more work done faster on a PC, will spend less for it, and will be able to upgrade it much less expensively.
I would *a lot* rather be editing video on a PC than on a Mac.
Apple isn't any less open than PC manufacturers. The only parts that are kept closed are the ROM chips, the firmware, and the GUI. Every other spec is freely available, along with the code of the operating system.
That, sir, is absolute crap. Apple has refused to provide documentation on their systems to third party developers they don't like for some time now. They shut down the clone market to keep you from getting cheap Macs. You can't run BeOS on a Mac because Apple is a closed system. You can't run Linux very well on a new Mac for the same reason. Apple is even less on your side than Microsoft is. No matter how pretty the interface is, it's a gilded cage.
Well, then Microsoft, Intel and Compaq must be small, two bit companies.
You show me a PC manufacturer that won't let you upgrade a CPU. (Well, except Packard Bell, but they are probably the worst PC clones on the market.) Manufacturers constantly release new BIOS patches to support new CPUs. For the most part, the PC market is a marvel of both cooperation and backward compatibility -- despite the fierce, fierce competition, the consumer rarely gets really shafted. I submit that this is not the case with Apple, which constantly orphans old machines. They do it for their own good, but somehow convince people that it's in their best interest to pay twice as much for a computer that isn't as good to start with, is too expensive to upgrade, and is likely to be orphaned at the drop of a hat.
Apple will fix the firmware once the G4 hype has faded. If they don't do that within six months, you can bitch. Wait, no you can't, because Apple never said the machines were processor upgradable.
Oh, so it's okay for them to disable upgradability because it's good for them? If you want to do business with a company that thinks that way, go ahead.
Apple disabled the upgradability so nobody could ship a G4 accelerator before they shipped a G4 machine. If that's not coldly mercenary, I don't know what is.
They continue to demonstrate that they are not in business to help you, or anyone but themselves. Not even Microsoft is this bad.
I do not understand why ANYONE would do business with a company that has ethics like these... and why a
Um, well.... er... strike that last question. But you get the gist.
Apple ][ ...sigh (Score:1)
Remember 'Nibble'?
Remember peeling the shrink-wrap off the gorgeously decorated box of 'Wizardry'?
Remember when computer manuals ASSUMED you would want to explore programming?
I need a beer.
There's nothing revolutionar about the G4 (Score:1)
The iMac was groundbreaking, yes. OS X was something new too. But the G4 is just another new computer faster than older computers - we've seen it for many years now, and no marketing will make a computer with a faster processor revolutionary.
%japh = (
'name' => 'Niklas Nordebo', 'mail' => 'niklas@nordebo.com',
'work' => 'www.pipe-dd.com', 'phone' => '+46-708-444705'
What I *don't* like about my Mac G3... (Score:1)
What I don't like about it is the dependence on Apple. I'm not worried about them going belly-up -- I also run Linux on it. I've read the G4 rom block is temporary - although if it's NOT my opinion of Apple will nosedive. My problem is someone else still controls the destiny of my computer. This happens in the wintel world also.. look at Intergraph's announcement this week, and this has nothing to do with Microsoft.
I hate the fact the Mac ships with no development tools. Apple has made the Mac Programmer's Workshop C++ compiler a free download, but it's difficult to install, and being a "non-revenue generator" that's still closed source, I doubt it will get many improvements. At least ship a BASIC...
Apple doesn't seem to encourage development by their users (see above). All those free Microsoft development tools look good, even if they are created mainly as a tool to perpetuate API lock-in. Windows is closed source, but an aweful lot of UNIX-based open sourced apps make it there (like GIMP, or FreeCiv).
I'm not decided on the mouse, but I hate the keyboard. At least make the arrow keys bigger so one can control Quake in a manner I'm used to already..
I hate Stuffit. This isn't Apple's fault directly, but by NOT bundling something better we're all hooked on that crappy Stuffit. Almost no one registers, so everytime you use it those sluggish 68000 CPU emulator libraries get loaded. Worse than Java... Bleck!
I also hate paying more for some Mac software. SOME software includes both Mac and PC software on the same disc, but Best Buy or CompUSA decides to mark it up in the Mac section by $10. Smarter users will buy the program from the PC section, which means the numbers are off.
Oh well. Not a perfect world, which is why I rely on more than one computer. I can't wait for SheepShaver for LinuxPPC to arrive so I can run Linux full-time on the thing (and not miss out on Infini-D and Premiere...)
Re:oh please (Score:1)
Except that we're talking about a single consumer level PC here, which even YOU will admit is a different beast than a beowulf cluster.
Oh, and a Beowulf cluster built in the USA would probably suffer the same export restrictions as the G4's been slapped with.
Any questions ?
Re:Apple is fun (Score:1)
Groundbreaking (Score:1)
The IMac took a gamble with USB, no floppy, "fashionable" colours and design. It may or may not have been technically innovative, but it found a market that was so large that it pretty much saved Apple's bacon.
Groundbreaking may be more appropriate in a marketing sense, but I think it definitely applies.
Apple induces everything! (Score:1)
There are some really important diffenrences between the 400 and the 450 model.
The more expensive model got a completely new motherboard, sporting a new ROM-chip, AGP-graphics, three times as wide I/O, twice as fast PC-bus, supports twice the ammont of RAM, 3 Firewire-ports, double USB-busses, UltraATA/66-bus and wireless LAN.
Besides that the more expensive model got twice the RAM, twice as large hard drive, a DVD-drive, 20% faster CPU and a graphics-card with two ports, one digital and one analog.
The cheaper one is crippled but it's cheaper new than the older G3's were on a reabate.
- Henrik
About video... (Score:1)
But tell me, how many people really need a TNT2 to run Microsoft Office? Fast video ain't the be-all and end-all of a high-performance computer. Case in point -- my wife runs Media100 on a Mac 8100/100, and the bottleneck is (you guessed it) the processor. Can't wait to get her a G4! I doubt that the "bottom of the barrel" video will present a problem.
As for preventing upgrades to current G3 systems, I expect the third-party providers to work around that in a hurry.
Finally, I'll repeat what others said about Apple's upgrade prices -- buy what you want mail-order and install it yourself. It's all standard parts these days.
-- Dirt Road
Re:Apple not for most geeks (Score:1)
Seriously, Microsoft "treats their developers like gold" only until it's time to slit their throats or swallow them whole.
-- Dirt Road
Don't forget TCL (Score:1)
With a little care, your MacTCL program will work on Un*x and Windoze too. Nice stuff.
-- Dirt Road
Re:Apple doesn't deserve credit for G4 (Score:1)
Apple doesn't deserve credit for G4 (Score:1)
Apple's contribution is being the biggest customer for the Altivec version of the G4. Giving Apple all this attention is in my opinion quite out of order.
I'm much more interested in whether or not an Altivec G4 can run one of the new IBM-spec NON-Apple mother boards that are starting to show up, and how well linux might do on such a system.
Apple is doing the exact thing almost every other big corporation does, which is to work very hard to market a product. I think Steve Jobs gets credit for putting Apple back in black, not the G4 Altivec technology.
Marketing is the root of all confusion.
Re:...it works (Score:1)
Re:Apple is technically superior (Score:2)
The Second Age?!?! (Score:2)
If there is a new era forming at Apple, it's the iMacs and it's relatives that are making it. It's a return to the completely closed, unexpandable, monolithic design, but with a more network-centric approach than before. I'd still be reluctant to call that a new age either.
However you count it, you can't say that Apple is just starting their Second Age now, that is very short sighted.
----
Re:The Second Age?!?! (Score:2)
Apple getting rid of Amelio wasn't the "end of the first age", Amelio wasn't even in Apple until 1996, when the company was already almost 20 years old and already through with several major tranformations, both in product lines and in management. How was the loss of Amelio any more the end of an age than the loss of Scully, or Jobs? Regardless of how you feel about those people, they were far more significant to the company.
For a decent overview of the history of Apple, check out http://www.apple-history.com/history.html [apple-history.com]
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I, for one, was greatly amused :) (Score:2)
The interesting thing is this: given an article that is _so_ much of a troll, and makes it _so_ difficult for any selfrespecting geek to agree, it's expected that the anti-Apple folks are out in force with burning torches, aggravated beyond tolerance. That said, there are still slashdot geeks willing to stick up for Apple despite Katz's shenanigans! That says a lot.
ObSlashdotCred: regarding Altivec vs. MMX: two words for you- context switches. >:)
Be are wanking ... (Score:2)
If Linux runs on a G3 or G4, why shouldn't BeOS be able to? Linux has no secrets, no NDAs with Apple that let it get around lock-in. There is no lock-in. Be's hierarchs are whining about Apple at BeOS's users' expense, while hoping beyond hope that x86 will pull ahead of the G4 in performance and save their asses before Be's user base all turn to Linux on IBM PPC boards, or (worse yet, from Be's perspective) to MacOS X.
(Speaking of BeOS and Linux
There is no PPC Consortium (Score:2)
The "AIM" group broke up last year. Apple has put themselves in the position of relying on Motorola, but the reverse isn't true; Motorola's original intent for AltiVec was embedded systems. From a business standpoint rather than a geek standpoint, Intel isn't competing against the PowerPC at all; chip customers are motherboard manufacturers, and the only way PPC and Pentium could be competing for the same space is to be compatible with one another. Motorola has no competition in their space, and Intel's competition is AMD. (Anyone who thinks the "Intel Inside" campaign was targeted against Apple, call me--I have a 64-bit TRS-80 to sell you. It'll be the next big thing.)
In anti-defense of Intel, our Anonymous friend is not exactly correct that the Pentium III is a tweaked Pentium II--it's even older than that. Both of them are using the P6 core from the Pentium Pro, which was the last major upgrade to the 8086 CPU family. Everything else has been either pushing the speed level or integrating separate units onto the CPU.
However, given that Intel hasn't released any specs for the P7 processor other than noting it's going to be using a .13-micron manufacturing process, it's premature to say that Intel won't be able to "compete performance-wise" with the G4 chip "for the next two years, at least." P7 is due in about a year (Q3 2000), and given AMD's Athlon processor, it's a good bet that Intel will be motivated to keep to that timetable. Let's wait for the P7 specs to be leaked before we slag it, hmm?
(To those not keeping score, by the way, the P7 is not Merced. The IA64 line is a separate dark horse from Intel, and I think Merced's successor, McKinley, is going to be one to watch.)
Re:The G4--Wrong Thing Done Wrong at the Wrong Tim (Score:2)
When there are closed sections of the box, it's more difficult to take advantage of...
Seriously, consider that IBM's release of specs for PowerPC-based motherboards (which includes the artwork...) will make G4 technology (with documented glue logic) more available for Linux-o-philes. Heck, my main system at home is 4+ years old - it's an AMD 5x86-133; I haven't upgraded it since I didn't consider a Pentium as an upgrade path- I wanted an Alpha or a PowerPC (and I had expected cheap CHRP MBs to become available as "commodity parts").
Apple (apparently) did not want to allow for cloning since it'd reduce their H/W profit margins to (effectively) zero- which Steve Jobs wanted to retain. Against BeOS (much less Linux or FreeBSD) the MacOS would show it's senility on open hardware- so there needed to be a software margin too.
Now all I want is to get some PPC CHRP motherboards cheap...
-soup
Re:G3/G4 upgrade deliberately crippled? (Score:2)
OS 8.X get into some VERY funky issues with G4 boards
OS 9 is fine (that's what the G4's ship with, AFAIK)...
with the new ROM, you can boot into a G4 with OS 9.X, but not with OS 8.X
simple, not malicious, and from apple's point of view, no one should be playing with either OS 9 or G4 upgrades, as they are not out! (and all the manufacturers are on NDA)...
Re:G4 (Score:2)
If that's the case, then why is a relatively small-time company like Phase 5 [phase5.de] expecting to ship G4-based processor boards for Amigas [phase5.de] on October 15? If Phase 5 can get specs and chips in quantity for such a small/niche product, then any serious computer manufacturer can. (This is not intended as a put-down against Phase 5. :-)
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Have a Sloppy day!
G4 (Score:2)
If you're right (and I hope you are), then Apple is going to looked pretty bad when 3rd-party non-Mac-clone G4 computers start coming out (and that isn't very far away).
Apple's recent minitower machines really are quite nice (except for the exterior part of the case), but they are also overpriced. Part of this is due to greed (Apple has no competitors) and part of it is due to the development cost of MacOS. PPC machines that don't MacOS licensing or compatability are going to be price competitive with x86 PeeCees, but faster.
So if you want a G4, just wait a little while. Apple's machines are going to be a joke compared to the Real Thing. On the other hand, a lot of people do buy Macs because of MacOS, so I doubt Apple is really in serious danger.
---
Have a Sloppy day!
But Apple has done geeks a big favor (Score:2)
Ah, but look at what the consequences are: Apple is mass-marketing PPC-based machines to consumers in addition to geeks. This is giving the PPC enough economy of scale to avoid becoming another Alpha (fast, but expensive).
Next year when you buy a brand X G4 machine to replace the old stone-knives-and-bearskins x86, remember: Apple (inadvertantly) made it possible.
---
Have a Sloppy day!
Experiment with /. community? (Score:2)
Regardless, no matter what Katz actually says, you had to know there would be some heated discussions here!
YS
Re:Macs aren't toys (Score:2)
--Shoeboy.
Re:a little late... (Score:2)
Regardless, I actually did see the Apple G4s at Seybold, hooked up to gorgeous 22" Cinema Displays playing Q3.
Full resolution, highest detail, flawless framerate. Not that I can claim the G4 is faster, but if I do Photoshop for a living and play Q3 on the side, *nothing* can beat a G4. Likewise anything that does raw number crunching I suspect nothing beats a G4(for now)
-AS
Apple vs Sun (Score:2)
Apple *is* planning to replace MacOS on the Mac, with OS X, which rests atop a (hopefully) stable underpinning of BSD with a MacOS/NeXT hybrid UI. Likewise the G4 seems to be pretty powerful, so I don't see why Apple wouldn't try to market it as a deskstop workstation...
iMacs for the consumer desktop, and G4s for the professional desktop, no? Including researchers, scientists, desktop publications, animation, visualization, etc. Why wouldn't Apple want this market? It's not as if Apple can't compete...
-AS
Re:The new Apple is all about marketing (Score:2)
You get:
64MB ram
20 GB HD
Zip internal
Rage 128 Pro w Digital output(not Rage 128)
DVD drive
plus
2 Airport wireless networking antennas
the ability to use 1.5GB memory(up from 1.0GB)
Three times the memory throughput(so Apple claims)
133MHz AGP 2x
An additional Firewire port(how many PCs have a firewire port anyhow?)
MacOS 9
As well as the price for speed boost from 400 to 450 MHz
I may have forgotten a few items as well.
-AS
Quake is the WORST benchmark you can use! (Score:2)
Quake was ported by Westlake Interactive, not id. While they are good programers, they went for compatibility before performance, so the Mac version lags.
A Quake benchmark is just as biased as a bytemark benchmark. That and the game is four years old! At least use a newer application like Photoshop or Quake 3.
Apple not for most geeks (Score:2)
Where Apple had technical brilliance in the 80s and early 90s, it now possesses amazing marketing skills--it is, in fact, one of the best corporate marketers right now. The iMac's success stems from Apple's ability to seek out a large consumer base (non-techie, aesthetically sensitive persons) and make a computer that aimed right for that mark. However, open up an iMac and one finds little, if any, technical innovations. The iMac, technology-wise, is no different than the $1000 celeron-based offerings of Dell and Gateway--but it was Apple's marketing and attention to design and aesthetics that gave them a winner (although not with the orange ones).
True geeks, technophiles, and the digirati will acknowledge that the G4 is an impressive CPU. But these people will also point out that Apple has coupled their G4 with the same uninspiring graphics chipset from ATI, as well as with the aging MacOS (we are, of course, promised Apple's next OS real soon now). And let's not forget the Apple strategy that has remained unchanged throughout its history: the Apple price premium. Why, most geeks would ask, would I pay 10-20% more for a machine simply because it has translucent plastic and the Apple logo?
Apple's business is not to cater to the needs of diehard geeks, but to cater to the unwashed masses for whom simplicity and aesthetics are more important than one's framerate in Quake.
I think John Katz has it backwards: In years past, "macho" geeks touted their Macs as superior to any Wintel offering, because, in fact, they were. However now, these geeks, and especially the more frugal amongst them shun the Mac not only on technical grounds, but financial ones. And John Katz shows his adherence to the religion of Apple by stating the same old 80s Apple rhetoric of shaking up the rest of the computer industry. The emergence of Apple in the 80s no doubt changed the industry forever, but now, in the 90s, with Jobs' greying beard, Apple is just another entrenched veteran in the most competitive industry around, and has, apparently successfully used its storied past to both sell decent machines at a premium and keep its faithful believing in the myth that is the Apple Computer Company.
Re:...it works (Score:2)
But the real question is: "Is Apple's success due to Job's return or to finally listening to consumers or does the answer fall somewhere inbetween ?"
...it works (Score:2)
Apple was almost dead a couple of years ago, and now it's back on top. I say "bravo". They have managed to answer customer's needs, and we have to remember they are *not* M$ slaves all the way. Most users don't need and don't want to put their hands in the system, and Apple knows that.
Just my
ummm Jon? (Score:2)
So, is Apple just "pounding themselves"?
yeah yeah ok -1 me allready!!!
Re:Apple is culture (Score:2)
Bzzz... Sorry, Apple has about as much culture as an average California corporation. What you mean is that Apple has a good MARKETING DEPARTMENT and spends money to hire good ad agencies. That's a little bit different, I believe.
Apple makes a cutlural statement, a leap into the imaginations of its users.
Again, you are judging a company by its advertising. Not a very good way to go about it. If you want to talk about making leaps into imagination, find out which ad agency made the ads that you liked -- they are making these leaps.
From everything I've seen, Jobs is an evil bastard, even more so than Gates
Hear, hear!
But he's a bastard in the right way. He really beleives that by giving people 'insanely great' technology, he can change the world.
I wouldn't state so confidently my opinions about Job's beliefs. In any case, you are probably thinking of the time long past, time when the computers were only starting to appear and things like Macs were really new and exciting. Now (and for many years already) Apple is just another corporation out to make a buck and Jobs is a CEO with a flair for public relations. I doubt very much that he is thinking a lot about changing the world with Apple technology. Besides, what technology is that? I haven't seen anything radical (except for colors, that is) come out of Apple for a looooong time.
Err... thank you very much, but I don't think I like the idea of changing the world according to Job's ideals (I am pretty sure they include a lobotomy for all non-Apple users like me, among other unpleasant things). And since you are so enthusiastic about changing the world, can you please be a bit more exact about how you will change it and what Apple has to do with it?
Kaa
Katz got a free PC (err, G4) (Score:2)
after I take a quick nap.zzzzzzzzz
O.K., so is JK impressed by this amazing machine (WOW, look at those benchmarks! um.) or by another good commercial? I mean to totally buy into the hype like this is poor journalism, it's even poor consumerism. The same limits being placed on the G4 are placed on the Dreamcast, why, because we haven't adjusted our belief in what makes up a supercomputer. Or maybe they all are supercomputers now. Wouldn't that have been more groundbreaking? Not, ooh, a new color and number, but, ooh, anybody can have a supercomputer on their desk (and play solitaire, yippee!)
Sorry anytime you just add a number to a product precludes it from being amazing in my book, or anything other than a blip on the big screen.
non-story, non-article, non-event.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Re: What it does differently (Score:2)
Re:..it works (to the chagrin of the technophiles) (Score:2)
That's the kind of thing I like to hear... too many people say the iMac is crap (for the wrong reasons). And always , and without exception, their first reason is that it doesn't have a floppy drive. Usually second is that it doesn't have a lot of upgrade options. I have a floppy drive, and I've used it maybe twice in the time I've used it. Far too many people (usually geeks) forget that "normal" people have to use computers too. People who would rather spend time with other things besides their computers (hell, some people are actually afraid of the things!). Simplicity is what will get more people using computers. As well as Linux runs, someone who doesn't know what to do will be content with using Windows (even through the crashes) or MacOS (they don't care if it's preemptive and memory protected).
But, say what you want about Apple (btw, it's the G3 that was "sabotaged" to not accept the G4, not the other way around)... that they are greedier and more coporate, etc... but then, Jobs isn't a 20-year-old hippie from Berkeley anymore. You can't deny that they haven't tried to bring computers to the more computer ignorant, though. And damn it, I think they did a good job.
The Happy Blues Man
Overlooking the obvious (Score:2)
Go Apple Go (Score:2)
I applaud Apple simply because I appreciate healthy diversity within the market. No single operating system is appropriate for all users. Today we have several healthy choices: NT, Linux, Solaris, PalmOS, and, yes, MacOS. Likewise, not single chip manufacturer should dominate the scene. Today we have Intel, AMD, and Motorola. You may not like Apple's products, but the company has helped maintain a competative and creative environment over the last decade.
Where does Apple go from here? Personally, I'm attracted by the possibility of a multiprocessor G4 running a Unix core with a slick window-based environment - Mac OS X. This vision may not work for everyone, but damnit, it works for me.
G3/G4 upgrade deliberately crippled? (Score:2)
But I wonder about a company that, with version 1.0 of the G3 firmware, allowed a G3 to be upgraded to a G4, but then disabled this option [wired.com] in version 1.1 of the firmware.
If I understand the Wired article correctly - it appears that Apple intentionally crippled its G3 firmware to prevent users from upgrading a G3 to a G4 with a CPU swap, presumably in order to "encourage" folks to buy a whole G4 box rather than just the chip upgrade.
At least with Intel, I may need a new motherboard for CPU swaps... but at least I can keep the video card, sound card, and, umm... plain white case :)
Can any Mac folks out there explain what's up with the G3/G4 firmware issue?
Re:Katz is deluded... (Score:2)
Feh. And generally I like Katz's posts. This one was really lacking, though.
--
"HORSE."
Finally (Score:2)
There are still some things about Apple that they need ot fix. The need to stop the idea of not letting people upgrade their computers. I would be more hesitant about buying a G4 if I knew that there was a good posibility that I would not be able to upgrade the thing. I know that upgrades usually transform into less of a profit, but it is something that the industry is used to haveing. Don't take it away now.
Second, I think that Apple should allow the clones to start up again, although they may not have a choice. I know that the clones did dig a little into Apple's profits, but they also force Apple to inovate and keep prices down. The clone makers were able to create better computers at a lower price, which force Apple to try to do the same. The results was better computers on both sides.
Whether you like Apple's computers or not, you should be glad that the company is comming back. They help create competition, however little, for the rest of the PC industry. Without competition, there is no incentive to create better products or keep the prices low. There are still some things Apple needs to fix, but they are at least on the right track.
a little math reveals G4 hype, no better than PCs (Score:2)
Let's take the 128-bit vector processing operations. Say, best case, you wanted to issue and execute one of those every clock cycle, at 500 MHz, that would require 128/8*500= 8,000 MByte/sec memory bandwidth. The Apple available today has 20x less!
Only 400 MB/sec (half that of today's PII/PIIIs). And next month they'll ship a better 800 MB/sec motherboard, matching today's PCs. Even if execution rates are one every two clocks, or one only uses 64-bit wide data, the 10x gap between chip horsepower and memory bandwidth remains the crucial performance-limiting bottleneck for vector processing operations.
If both PCs and Macs have equivalent memory bandwidths, and memory bandwidths are the single largest constraint on vector processing operations, how does the wider 128-bit circuitry in G4 yield a worthwhile advantage?
(Answer: a few tweaked benchmarks aside, it doesn't.)
Yours for a more educated, critical-thinking populace,
LP
Re:what an idiot.... (Score:2)
> compared to the £20 clones
I assume your £20 clones have gigaflop performance?
Of course they don't.
Check your specs before making a fool of yourself.
Harry
Re:...it works (Score:2)
In addition, supporing apple because they're not microsoft is like courting the lion because it's not the bear. If they're hardware prices had been reasonable oh so long ago, apple would be the $800 pound gorilla, not microsoft, and from the corporate yes corporate policies they have now, would be infinitaly worse to deal with.
The G4 might be really cool, but apple products have never even come close to living up to apple hype, which is at least as misleading as that of the "evil empire" of microsoft.
Don't fool yourselves guys. Apple has always been driven by greed, not creativity. Greed often leads to creativity, but that creativity rarely leads to something that is truly A Good Thing(tm). Greed is the driving force, primary goal, and consuming fire of the fruit company.
Computisation != Freedom. (Score:2)
Computers == freedom
A well used line.
Reassuring for all the freakled 16 year old anti-socilites, sitting in their darkned bedrooms. Busily preparing themselves for the day technology rules and they become the rulers.
Computing is the next step in human evolution . True ? I believe so, but can human evolution be controlled by a handful of charasmatic, singleminded, power-hungry, egotistical evangilists ? Aren't we as a species as a culture as a civilisation greater then this ? When one company controls 90% market share for a product essential to the operation of the single most important tool for out advancement, can we truly believe ourselves to be free ?
The G4 is a new processor. A new way of imprinting etchings on a piece of silicon. There are greater forces at play here.
Re:The G4--Wrong Thing Done Wrong at the Wrong Tim (Score:3)
Difficult to upgrade? What have you been smoking? With the possible exception of a total motherboard replacement, the G4 (and its B&W G3 ancestry) is quite possibly the easiest-to-upgrade machine I've ever seen in every aspect.
As for "loaded with proprietary hardware" I'd watch what you're saying. Pretty much every single thing on that motherboard is now an open standard: Ultra-ATA for hard drives, PCI and AGP for cards, standard PC100 memory (or is it PC133 now?), USB and Firewire for peripherals, 10/100 Ethernet for networking, OpenFirmware for booting (yes, OpenFirmware is itself an open standard; check FirmWorks [firmworks.com] if you don't believe me), and so on. I should, by the way, note that the G4 AGP no longer has a proprietary Mac ROM on the motherboard anymore (the PCI graphics still do, as they use the legacy Yosemite motherboard rather than Sawtooth, but even the ROM's on these no longer contain any OS-level code). Proprietary hardware? Perhaps one or two things still, but don't even think of calling it "loaded" anymore.
The power user demands a machine that he/she can not only be proud of when it first comes out, but can remain potent for years to come (through upgrades to both operating system and hardware).
True, very true. I don't think you'll argue that the G4 isn't a machine to be proud of when first purchased. Now, look to the studies. It's been shown that Macs have a much longer useful life than any other desktop computer (indeed, usually double or triple that of the average PC in a given establishment); I have a seven-year-old machine at home which now has a G3 processor, a good amount of RAM, great storage space, and so on and so forth. Not only that, but it is still running all the latest software out there. In other words, Macs can and do remain potent for years to come, years longer than even most PC's, through upgrades of software and hardware, just as you said.
The G4 is aiming for the geek market, but just doesn't have the features that would make it attractive for more than a few months.
And what, pray tell, are those "features"? I don't see any glaring lack, except possibly that I'd like a couple more PCI slots and there are ways around even that problem.
By attempting to appeal to higher-end users but not changing its hardware strategy to one of modularity and maximum control, Apple will find that it has sown the seeds of bitter resentment.
Not changing its hardware strategy to one of modularity and maximum control? Perhaps we're on different wavelengths. The G4, as I see it, appears to be just about as "modular" as any PC I've ever seen (sure, there's the mobo issue, but that's the only problem I've seen and considering the way Mac upgrades tend to run this problem is actually quite minor). As for "maximum control" I don't see any real trouble in this area here either. Looks to me like I can dictate more or less exactly what does and doesn't go into my machine.
You did a good job of describing what the average power-user wants. Trouble is, the Mac fits your description perfectly. That's rather countrtproductive to your argument, which is thereby reduced to the level of "Macs suck because they're Macs" (since you have no arguments to support your claim). Perhaps you should actually look into these machines, rather than refer to 10-year-old FUD which hasn't been true for quite some time now.
Re:G3/G4 upgrade deliberately crippled? (Score:3)
What folks are forgetting is that this is the one, sole fact that we have. We do not know Apple's motivation. We do not know if it is permanent. However, just about everyone has gone completely mental, accusing Apple of sabotage, threatening class-action lawsuits, and acting like a bunch of rabidly paranoid conspiracy theorists.
Now, worst case, it may have been expressly for the purpose of never allowing B&W G3 owners to pop in a G4 CPU. I highly doubt Apple is this stupid. They may be much more Microsoftian than in the early 80's, but Jobs' Apple ain't dumb. Third-party upgrade manufacturers are already working on getting around the block, and there have been scattered reports of success. Apple ends up in a situation where they don't just lose, but lose big time. I don't think so.
One of the things glossed over in recent months have been stability issues with the G4 and the new "Sawtooth" (the real new G4, with the 2X AGP and the MaxBus memory management chipset) architecture. This is why there's sizable delays on Sawtooth G4 models: they aren't ready yet! It makes sense to me that Apple would not want the bad press of G4 instability right before their introduction, thus the firmware block. When things are ok, then a new firmware update can be released which will remove the block.
This is simply rampant speculation. But I urge everyone else out there to engage those 8lbs of grey matter wedged between their foreheads before they run out and find a lawyer to go sue Apple. I do have problems with the fact that Apple didn't bother to tell anyone about the G4 block in the firmware update, and I'm not excusing them for that. This block can be removed by Apple at any time with a new firmware upgrade.
a little late... (Score:3)
anyway, how do we REALLY see the resurgence? the sales! people LOVE the iMac, and perhaps more importantly, EVERYONE recognizes it, and EVERYONE knows who built it... i have one on my desk in the office here at Rutgers, in a residence hall, and it never ceases to get compliments
so, why the sudden spurt of belief in apple now that the G4 is out? probably because it signals all the technological merit that the PowerPC really represents... When Tom's Hardware is comparing 10% different rendering times between an Athlon and Dual Celeron, here comes a piece of APPLE hardware that whups them both - exotic, fresh, and it has a cool case - who wouldnt want one on their desk?
and one issue not mentioned: soon, the G4 will run a full BSD unix - so even Unix heads and
also, one issue: individual creativity? it took more than a few people to design the 7400 (G4 chip), and a LARGE crew to do the system - you can't hack together a complex beast like that in the same way Steve and Steve did the Apple 1... and AFAIK, Apple has a board, with plenty of hot-shots from much less flexible computer firms sitting on it... so what is apple's resurgence due to, in my opinion? they got back to their original goals: produce powerful, affordable, easy to use computers that REDEFINE how we can use them... With their last few products, they have done excellently, and the world has taken notice... may they continue to do so for a long time, as JonKatz says, i want the cool toys
The new Apple is all about marketing (Score:3)
Apple deserves credit for acting on what has been so obvious for so long, and that is computers are intimidating. Apple has borrowed from other industries (cars, consumer electronics) and carefully crafted a warm and fuzzy way to sell computers. That does not make them technically superior, just more easily marketable.
Re:...it works (Score:3)
Jobs came in and made many many cuts of some rather good-sounding projects. He cut dead wood and still brought out great products that the consumers loved. I seriously doubt that they could have done that without Jobs. If Apple produced the iMac and kept all the other things that were really dragging them down, it wouldn't have had nearly the impact.
Listening to customers is the best way to get them to buy your products, of course, and Jobs did that (really, anyone could have done that, but he did) but to make a company profitable (especially one in the not-so-savory condition Apple was in), you need more than that.
The Happy Blues Man
Apple is culture (Score:3)
From everything I've seen, Jobs is an evil bastard, even more so than Gates. But he's a bastard in the right way. He really beleives that by giving people 'insanely great' technology, he can change the world. Of course it is a world and culture that HE envisions, but at least it is something more than more and more money.
The best thing that could happen is when OSX really gets going that geeks will be attracted to it (Anyone ever used a NeXT machine? Weren't they just THE COOLEST?). Then, between a real OS like OSX, a movement like Linux and OpenSource, and real technology like the G4 instead of X86, we'll do what Jobs envisioned: change the world.
So the new Apple Renaissance is simply a revival of culture in Apple, a thing they have missed since Jobs the Conqueror left (dang he can do a great keynote, can't he?)
Of course, it won't be in Jobs' image, but the geeks....
Apple is fun (Score:5)
Many people would say that having a bunch of consumers start using an Apple would be a bad thing, that they're not seeing how computing really is, but aren't they? I mean, they're hopping on the 'Net where invariably, they're going to learn about computing and general and the philosophies (open-source, closed-source, ie. alternatives) associated there-in and they'll be doing it in a comfortable environment that screams this isn't a work machine, this is a play machine, so have fun. Apple's always been good at that (I remember when my father got his first Mac in 1984), but now they have that image and the success only follows naturally.