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Week in review: Glitches, gadgets rule
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Week in review: Googly eyes
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Week in review: Swapping on the ropes
December 16, 2005
Addressing a crowd of the Mac faithful in San Francisco, Apple CEO Steve Jobs served up the first Intel-based Macs, introducing a new high-end laptop and a revamped iMac. The new machines both include Intel's Duo dual-core chip.
The iMac will come in the same sizes and sell for the same prices as the current models, but the Intel chips make it two to three times faster, Jobs said. The new laptop, called the MacBook Pro, will be available in February, he said.
In addition to the crop of new Macs, Jobs announced a new version of the iLife suite that adds a tool--iWeb--designed to make it easier to create Web sites with video, audio and blogs. The updated suite also includes features meant to simplify the sharing of photos over the Web and the creation of podcasts.
The release of the new Macs comes just seven months after Jobs shocked the computer world with an announcement that Apple would move to Intel chips, after years of using the PowerPC hardware made by IBM and Motorola.
As always, reaction to the new products was mixed, with the Mac bashers and Mac defenders squaring off.
"I am a PC user and would love the ability to run iLife on cheap dell box," wrote Rick Termath in CNET News.com's TalkBack forum. "The reason I can't is because Apple is a hardware company--they make iLife to sell hardware. If I could run iLife on my dell I definitely wouldn't be looking so closely at those now iMacs."
The new Macs may have Intel inside, but on the outside they don't advertise the chipmaker's presence. Most brand-name PCs that use Intel processors take part in the "Intel Inside" program, which gives the computer makers marketing dollars for displaying the chipmaker's logo on their products and in their advertising. But Apple decided not to sign on to the program with its new lineup of Intel-based Macs.
In another twist, Apple broke with its usual practice of having its newly launched products completely replace its old ones and will instead continue to sell iMac G5s with IBM processors even as its new Intel-based iMacs are now available.
And even odder may be that the pricing for both sets of computers is the same. The new machines will cost $1,299 for a 17-inch display and $1,699 for a 20-inch, exactly the same price as the previous models.
In the mail
Late last week, President Bush signed into law a prohibition on posting annoying Web messages or sending annoying e-mail messages without disclosing one's true identity. The prohibition is included in the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act. Criminal penalties for such e-mails include stiff fines and two years in prison.
The law says that "Whoever...utilizes any device or software that can be used to originate telecommunications or other types of communications that are transmitted, in whole or in part, by the Internet...without disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any person...who receives the communications...shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than two years, or both."
While this provision was not widely reported by the media, CNET News.com's Declan McCullagh ignited a firestorm with his column criticizing the new
See more CNET content tagged:
Apple iLife, Steve Jobs, hardware company, Week in review, Apple iMac
want to say comparisons with Vista because it doesn't exist and
- by the time it appears - Apple will have probably launched
Leopard), great hardware (is there a better pro/am computer
than the iMac), fantastic software (iLife for beginners, a variety
of pro apps for those who need the power), control of the
download/MP3 market that verges on a monopoly and now the
ability to compete head-on with the PC market (if we've all got
Intel chips then it's a simpler comparison for Joe Public). OK, er,
what's not bright about that little lot then?
The only thing I can think of is that your 40th birthday is so far
in the future that only a fool would suggest what would be
happening then. Mine's in seven years, I expect Apple to have
consolidated its position by then and be an integral part of the
IT/digital home market by then.
RB
out in the mid 80s?
He didn't have anything to do with Apple's choices until 1997 when
he came back through the NeXT acquisition.
The brain dead bought PC's because they were cheap.
By the way, Apple never had a lead in the OS market. Check out
this chart:
http://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/total-share.ars/5
Despite never having more than a small chunk of the market, the
Mac is still alive and going strong while the other non-IBM
systems are gone.
Funny you should say that. Only a small handfull left and Apple is now a 70+ Billion dollar Market Cap company. It grew 59% in 2005 while Dell lost 25% of its Market Cap.
Through the DOJ case vs Microsoft we found out how they got to the top of the heap. Hardly, smart of Bill was it. Microsoft Stock has been flat for 3 years.
want to say comparisons with Vista because it doesn't exist and
- by the time it appears - Apple will have probably launched
Leopard), great hardware (is there a better pro/am computer
than the iMac), fantastic software (iLife for beginners, a variety
of pro apps for those who need the power), control of the
download/MP3 market that verges on a monopoly and now the
ability to compete head-on with the PC market (if we've all got
Intel chips then it's a simpler comparison for Joe Public). OK, er,
what's not bright about that little lot then?
The only thing I can think of is that your 40th birthday is so far
in the future that only a fool would suggest what would be
happening then. Mine's in seven years, I expect Apple to have
consolidated its position by then and be an integral part of the
IT/digital home market by then.
RB
out in the mid 80s?
He didn't have anything to do with Apple's choices until 1997 when
he came back through the NeXT acquisition.
The brain dead bought PC's because they were cheap.
By the way, Apple never had a lead in the OS market. Check out
this chart:
http://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/total-share.ars/5
Despite never having more than a small chunk of the market, the
Mac is still alive and going strong while the other non-IBM
systems are gone.
Funny you should say that. Only a small handfull left and Apple is now a 70+ Billion dollar Market Cap company. It grew 59% in 2005 while Dell lost 25% of its Market Cap.
Through the DOJ case vs Microsoft we found out how they got to the top of the heap. Hardly, smart of Bill was it. Microsoft Stock has been flat for 3 years.
I rather be a part of the minority and be save than what I have to do at work and tell consumers that their inexpensive PC can?t run the new apps coming down the pike or that they need major hardware upgrades in order to do meaningful work on their PC?s.
They should have bought a Mac and paid up front what they now pay guys like me to correct.
Yup, I'm laughing all the way to the bank with Microsoft at people who truly believe they can get something for nothing.
provide. Modifying OS X to work with the basic PC platform would
involve losing much of the basic operating features of OS X. So,
Apple is in no position to offer OS X to the PC market. I also don't
think that Apple would really want to. It would just cheapen the OS
X image. It's no opportunity blown, rather it's a quicksand pit
avoided.
I rather be a part of the minority and be save than what I have to do at work and tell consumers that their inexpensive PC can?t run the new apps coming down the pike or that they need major hardware upgrades in order to do meaningful work on their PC?s.
They should have bought a Mac and paid up front what they now pay guys like me to correct.
Yup, I'm laughing all the way to the bank with Microsoft at people who truly believe they can get something for nothing.
provide. Modifying OS X to work with the basic PC platform would
involve losing much of the basic operating features of OS X. So,
Apple is in no position to offer OS X to the PC market. I also don't
think that Apple would really want to. It would just cheapen the OS
X image. It's no opportunity blown, rather it's a quicksand pit
avoided.
not capable of implementing many of the features of OS X - the
PC has a motherboard with a significantly different design and
functions. It works fine for the PC - but not with any known
version of OS X.
I'm not trying to make any claims about which OS/motherboard
is best. Each user can make up his own mind. Just don't go
around blowing smoke about how OS X could run on a PC if
Apple wanted it too. It just wouldn't be the same OS X, and
Apple wouldn't do it.
If you don't believe me, check with Apple.
In the meantime, I'll pretend that you didn't make the above
post.
- What I would do is...
- by rleon January 16, 2006 8:17 AM PST
- ...Just the way it is, but I would allow OS X run on any pc, I would set the Tiger free without adverstising it, and let piratesand warez share it over the net, so everybody will be running it and using iLife. Pretend I don't know OS X is running in every new PC... and ley the leopard do the same, set it free an the wild for 18 months, then, realese the OS X Lion. This would run on Apple only hardware (pretending i found out about the hacking of OS X), so all the people who is running OS X next computer would be... ha ha ha ha! 50% market share in 3 years.
- Like this Reply to this comment
-
-
- sorry, but....
- by Earl Benser January 16, 2006 8:59 AM PST
- ... the point has been made time and time again that the PC is
- Like this
-
(30 Comments)not capable of implementing many of the features of OS X - the
PC has a motherboard with a significantly different design and
functions. It works fine for the PC - but not with any known
version of OS X.
I'm not trying to make any claims about which OS/motherboard
is best. Each user can make up his own mind. Just don't go
around blowing smoke about how OS X could run on a PC if
Apple wanted it too. It just wouldn't be the same OS X, and
Apple wouldn't do it.
If you don't believe me, check with Apple.
In the meantime, I'll pretend that you didn't make the above
post.