The bits about the machining process were especially interesting to me because of my mechanical engineering background. I can only hope to someday design something so amazing.

(Via DF.)

The config: Two 3.0GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon

The price: $1.5 grand over the base ‘Two 2.66GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon’ config

Shipping now, but no other price drops.

I don’t think that Photoshop or Final Cut can even effectively utilize 8 cores at once so I can’t see how this will be worth it except for the most demanding users doing 3D rendering and using scientific apps (for extremely multithreaded number crunching). Even Apple’s tests only show the 8-core model as being “up to 1.4 times as fast” as a 4-core 3.0 GHz machine.

(Via Engadget.)

As I expected, there’s no word on the little non-pro bros, but those things are selling so well I don’t think Apple is in any kind of hurry.

I figured it must be a software issue because it disappeared when I booted the machine off of my new Mac Pro drive in target disk mode. However a clean install of OS X didn’t change anything even after all the updates were applied.

Somewhat stumped, I did some searching and found this account of the exact same problem (with more technical details). It turns out that because I had installed Boot Camp on my Mac Pro and then booted my Mac Book off of this drive, the iSight firmware had been updated. As such, the Mac Book was unable to communicate with it as it lacked corresponding updated drivers (but the Mac Pro could because it had those drivers). The solution is to extract the iSight drivers from the Boot Camp 1.1 installer and add them to the Mac Book (Boot Camp installation is not needed, but would work too). I imagine this will only be an issue until Apple releases 10.4.8 which bundles the updated drivers, but I thought it was an interesting problem worth discussing. However, this could remain an issue in the future for a computer that hasn’t been updated to 10.4.8 or had Boot Camp 1.1 installed.

The moral of the story is: be careful mixing machines with Boot Camp updates and those without.

I don’t know if the MacBook is really what I want since it doesn’t have a good graphics card to play games (with Boot Camp) but it’s such a tempting little machine (and one really needs a tower for games anyway). I’d rather have something smaller than a 13″ model, but there’s no indication that Apple is ever going to make a smaller laptop (if they do I might have to loose the MacBook).

Intel Dual Core. 13.3″ Widescreen. Black!

…’nuf said, sign me up!

More observations when the dust settles.

Update (4/24/06): Though I did note it this morning when I was checking out the 17-inch MacBook, I didn’t mention the third USB port on this new model. After thinking about it (and having a friend note it to me), I realized this is noteworthy. All previous models of PowerBook G4 & MacBook have only had two USB ports, so this is a very welcome addition which brings the 17-inch model in line with the Intel mini & iMac and is highly appropriate for its role as a desktop replacement machine. Really, this highlights one of the large inadequacies of the 15-inch model (which is severly lacking in ports). I mean, how can 2 USB ports be enough for anyone now days (especially since iPods now only work over USB)?

Also, I wonder if Apple will update Boot Camp with drivers for this machine when it starts shipping out next week. There’s no mention of anything that would suggest that they’ll need to and it uses nearly the same hardware to the 15-inch model so I’m guessing no, but it will be interesting to see.

Update 2 (still 4/24/06): ThinkSecret points out that if you custom order the 15-inch MacBook Pro 2.0 GHz model and then bump it up to a 2.16 GHz processor it costs the same ($2799) as the 17-inch model. This is a little disturbing considering how much more you get on the bigger model: larger, higher-resolution screen, 120 GB hard drive (versus 100 GB in the 15-inch), and all the extra ports mentioned above. On the other hand you also get all the extra size and weight so I’m sure it’s a worthwhile trade off for some. It just makes me wonder if Apple will be dropping the price/bumping the specs of the 15-inch model soon (especially in light of the rumored Core Duo price drops).

This was highly unexpected…

For more info see this FAQ on the Apple KnowledgeBase (Via DF).

My need for a new ICBM just jumped up hugely.

What I have ascertained is not that PCs as we know them lack good design, but that PCs as we know them have hardly any design to speak of. I’m not trying to be insulting. Use a Mac for a week, and we’ll talk again.

[...]

[The Mac] is extremely good at what it does, which is to say, exposing functionality.

Be sure to check out the rest of the post and the comic for some more intriguing (and humorous) insights.

I love to hear these kinds of things, especially from technologically savvy users, because it helps me keep that smug look on my face…

Update (3/6/05): New posts and comic with more on the Mac.

1. iPod Boombox: These little things are cash cows and Apple wants a piece of the pie, but I would expect some differences from the ones already on the market.
2. Intel Mac mini: Probably with a Core Single (perhaps a Duo on the high end) and including Front Row functionality. I’m hoping for even more multimedia options like DVR and iPod docking but I’m not holding my breath since these features would increase the cost beyond Apple’s low target price point. It’s possible we’ll see a Mac mini A/V or something as a higher end option at some point, but again I don’t expect this.
3. More iPod accessories like the FM Tuner Remote and Socks: again, this kind of stuff is a cash cow for Apple.

Apple has announced it will hold a special event Tuesday, February 28 to show off some ‘fun new products’. [...] Solid information on what Apple may unveil at the event has escaped sources, but reasonable speculation suggests the debut of further Intel-based Macs or a new video iPod.

“Goody Gumdrops.”

For the awards, hardware winner was the Mac mini and Tiger won in the software arena, both of which were my picks among the nominated.

The relief came because there were some really poor nominations up for awards. I’m thinking specifically of Backup & Opera in the software category (see Daring Fireball as to why), and, to a lesser extent, the Mighty Mouse in the hardware category (because it’s a ergonomics nightmare).

Anyway, ThinkSecret released a scoop on the next version of the Mac mini that Apple is supposedly set to release at the MacWorld Expo in January. It was ThinkSecret that nailed the introduction of the first mini a year ago, so, despite the fact that the specs they list are almost too drool-worthy, they come from a fairly reputable source.

• Front Row 2.0
• PVR Functionally
• iPod Dock
• 3.5″ Drive
• Intel Processor

Check out the report for mote details: Road to Expo: Reborn Mac mini set to take over the living room.

I gotta say, if Apple manages to drop one of these for lest than $700 or so I’ll be hard pressed to keep my credit card in my pants and it probably wouldn’t be the only thing struggling to get out.

First off, let me say that though I think Front Row is an awesome product, it’s still very much a 1.0 version: there’s lots of room for both refinement and new features here.

Perhaps it’s easier to define Front Row in terms of what it is not. Front Row is not a program that you’re supposed to use while sitting at your keyboard. Nor is Front Row aimed at offering a “Media Center” like experience (though it might eventually evolve into something like that if some of the commentary & speculation out there proves true).

Let’s get to the “ises” (can I make that a word?). Front Row is an alternative interface for your computer. It has been designed from the ground up to be usable with a remote from across the room. As I stated above it’s not really meant to be used while sitting at the keyboard, in fact, Apple doesn’t provide users with a way to launch it without using the remote (though of course you can get around this limitation). Apple’s played the keep-it-simple attitude here (which should be a surprise to no one) and only put six buttons on the remote. These serve as up/down & forward/back in the Front Row menu system and volume, fast forward/rewind, play/pause, & back while playing songs or videos. For the most part it works very intuitively though I wish the left & right buttons served as forward and back in the menu system instead of being useless when browsing.

Because Front Row is designed to be controlled with a remote, Apple has designed the interface with very large fonts, icons, and interface elements icons throughout the program in order to maximize usability from a distance. This works very well, but again underscores “don’t use it from the keyboard” (unless you have a wireless keyboard across the room I suppose). The other thing worth noting is that not only are the interface elements large, they are all scaleable (and vector based wherever possible) so the user experience is largely resolution independent. This is exciting because it means that Front Row should look and work great when connected to a TV (which usually have significantly lower resolutions than computer screens) while retaining it’s beauty and usability on a 30″ Cinema Display. Resolution independence with vector graphics is destined to be a key feature of next generation user interfaces, so it’s nice to see Apple really embracing it here (though Tiger already supports it to some extent).

I could wax lackadaisically about where I see Front Row evolving (think Apple Media Center) but I’ll save that for another post. For the time being there are a few more concrete improvements that I’d like to see. Mainly they revolve around Front Row is still being kind of slow. My PowerMac is significantly faster than an iMac in every respect but I’ve seen videos of people running it just fine on a Mac mini or worse, so I don’t think this is entirely processor dependent. There is a lot of room for software optimization here to make it seem much snappier. I’m thinking specifically about more OpenGL optimization and tighter integration with QuickTime, iTunes, iPhoto, and DVD Player. Maybe when they release iLife ’06 Apple can finally allow everyone to use Front Row without hacks. In any case, interesting times lie ahead!

Update: There still seems to be some problems with this install in that it makes it impossible to eject DVD’s after playing them in the updated DVD player (you have to restart to get the disc out). As such, consider this a little warning, if you don’t know what you’re doing then don’t do it.

This, more than any rumors I’ve read, has convinced me that the first ICBMs are due to launch sooner that the originally expected timeframe of Summer 2006. I’ve finally come to terms with the transition and I’m looking forward to both the chaos and wonder.

-They’re faster in every way… well, every way except clock speed where they’re the same… or slower. Other than that little detail it looks like a pretty significant upgrade: 533MHz DDR2 RAM (up to 16 GB of it!), faster front-side bus, 1MB L2 caches per processor core, and PCI Express. Basically what this means is that they get shit done even faster than before. The benchmarks I’ve seen on the PowerMac page are particularly impressive, especially stuff like Photoshop and FinalCut that is multi-processor aware.

-PCI Express is particularly important here because it allows for much faster pipelines to expansion cards. PCI Express comes in a variety of “speeds” called channels. Basically one PCI Express channel is equivalent to 2x AGP. Thus the 8x AGP port that was used for the graphics card on previous PowerMac’s is roughly equivalent in speed to a 4X PCIe slot. The new machines feature two 4x, one 8x, and one 16x slot. From top to bottom the slots are 4x, 8x, 4x, 16x as shown in this picture. One of the payoffs here is that the machines can support up to four graphics cards without limiting the throughput or bandwidth each card gets. Four cards equals eight fucking displays, four of which can be 30-inchers! Now that is some serious workspace. The one downside here is that regular PCI cards won’t work on the new machines so you’re upgrade capacities will be limited for the time being until more PCIe cards are available.

-Apple finally figured out a way to integrate the Bluetooth and AirPort antenna into the enclosure (instead of requiring external, easy to loose, antennas for each). You can see this on this page. The antenna is the gray below the latch and opposite the ports and fan outlets on the back of the machine: nice.

-While you’re checking out the machine’s rear (yes, that is supposed to be sexual), be sure to notice the two Gigabit Ethernet ports and three USB 2.o ports. The two ethernet ports allow you to connect to a secure LAN or XSAN at the same time as an open LAN or modem. As far as the USB ports, it’s nice of Apple to give users another USB 2.0 port (since they now require for current iPods), but there really needs to be six instead of three back there. Seriously, how much extra would it cost? Anyway, these additional ports are both nice new features that I wish my PowerMac G5 included.

-One downside I notice here is that it seems that the size of the cooling system for the processor has expanded. This means the space in front of the fans, which I’ve used to mount three additional hard drives inside my G5 is no longer available. So the G5 only supports two internal drives. This is really unfortunate for those of us who need lots of storage but great news to those who make external HD solutions. I’m guessing PCIe external SATA cards will be popular with this new machine as soon as they’re available. Another minor downside is that there’s still only one optical drive, oh well.

-A little mystery here is that the NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT listed on the PowerMac G5 – Graphics page is strangely not available as a CTO option on the store. I hope that doesn’t mean a large shipping/availability delay, but we can only wait and see I suppose.

-Can anyone tell me about the relative value of ECC RAM that Apple offers as a CTO option in the store? Is this something that pro users should have or is only for servers and such?

-The new machines are fucking expensive. The basic top of the line machine (with the quad processors) comes in at $3,299, or $300 over it’s dual 2.7 GHz processor. Maxed out you can get a machine up to something like $18,000 before display. This shatters the previous fully loaded machine, which was something like $6,000 or $7,000 (if I remember correctly) before display.

-Front Row is not mentioned at all. Bastards!

Overall it looks like an excelent update! There’s lots more details that I’m waiting to hear about (like that NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 with Stereo 3D port; what the heck does it do?). Fun stuff.

Update: The 7800 is now available as a CTO option though it adds several weeks to the expected shipping date if you add it. From what I read about ECC RAM it’s not really that important to individual users but might be worth it for servers or other mission critical applications (if you have a huge grant to blow or something).

This one is a bit more low key than “One More Thing?” though, so I wonder if Steve will be attending. Hmm?

As far as announcements, I would say that updated PowerMacs are a lock. New PowerBooks are likely as well (though there seems to be manufacturing problems with them). I’ve also heard speculation about FinalCut enhancements or a new photo related application as the event is scheduled during the preview for the PhotoPlus Expo though I’m not sure I agree with this opinion.

By the way, does anyone have an invitation they won’t be using? I’d be happy to cover the event for any news-media free of charge.

• The remote uses IR rather than Bluetooth as some sites originally reported. The IR receiver is hidden behind the gray Apple logo behind the screen.
• The RAM is DDR2 SDRAM which enables a maximum of 2GB per chip. This puts the maximum RAM for an iMac at a cool 4GB.
• The new graphics card (an X600, ho-hum) uses a PCI Express interface, this is about twice as fast as the previous 8X AGP interface which should provide more bandwidth than needed for all kinds of 3D applications (especially games).

The last two are particularly interesting because they aren’t available on the PowerMac G5 yet, which can only mean PowerMac updates. Actually, PowerMac updates are way overdue and should have been announced at the special media event yesterday but I guess they aren’t as consumer or press-sound-byte friendly as the new iMac. Here’s to dual-core 3.0 GHz!

Update: Apparently the iMac has a maximum of 2.5GB RAM, not 4GB as I previously mentioned. At least, this is the max that the Apple Store online lets you configure it with. So either there is a hard limit of 512 MB in one slot (as in the 512 chip is soldered on to the motherboard) or Apple’s not game with people getting too much RAM in a consumer machine. Again, we gotta wait for more details (like when someone cracks one open and posts some pics on the “interweb”)…

Additionally, it seem that the VESA mount bracket that Apple had previously sold for the iMac G5 doesn’t work on the new iMac. MacWorld has some details as well as a choice quote from Apple PR. I guess the bracket had to be sacrificed to make it thinner. I wouldn’t say it’s a big deal though; I can’t remember selling one when I worked at the Apple Store.