Apple WWDC predictions • Non-Gaming • Apple, Mac, and iPod • Eurogamer.net

Nemesis 28 Jun 2004 11:32:26 20,312 posts
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Come one, come all. Predictions for the new Apple stuff out today!

Nem Guesses....

iMac G5. Lots of people have said NO, I still think we may see something.

Displays. Pretty much confirmed. Hopefully *not* ADC connections, but moving across to DVI standard so I can plug one into a switchbox for the PC.

iBook. Powerbook. Bugger all.

GrandTheftApu 28 Jun 2004 11:36:11 6,117 posts
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Erm new compilers?
It is a developers conference after all.

Tiger_Walts 28 Jun 2004 11:37:22 16,674 posts
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iKid, Apple step into the genetic engineering market.
iWant, accessories for your iKid.

Angel_Treats 28 Jun 2004 11:40:12 11,070 posts
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If it is an iMac G5, I might very well cry.

Nemesis 28 Jun 2004 11:41:31 20,312 posts
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I've got a gut feeling iMac G5 in January. They've not been restocking the channels, so it's a bit tempting to hope.

Nemesis 28 Jun 2004 21:09:49 20,312 posts
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http://www.apple.com/uk/displays/

BANG.

New displays and quite lovely too.

lost_soul 28 Jun 2004 21:20:59 9,372 posts
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30" LCD monitors??!!!!

Yikes. I want.

Nemesis 28 Jun 2004 21:24:18 20,312 posts
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/whispers

Look at the price mate.

/huddles in corner

sam_spade 28 Jun 2004 21:24:24 15,745 posts
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You can if you've got Ł2.5k

Edited by sam_spade at 20:24:40 28-06-2004

MrWorf 28 Jun 2004 21:36:46 64,187 posts
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OMG!!!

I WANT ONE!!!!

Shinji 28 Jun 2004 21:54:28 5,902 posts
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Um, rhythm - consider the relative resolutions and response times of a 32" plasma and a 30" cinema display, and you'll find your answer. A plasma that size will give you about a quarter of the resolution, so realistically it'll just make the stuff you're looking at bigger, whereas a 30" cinema display will actually extend the space on your screen and allow you to use it more effectively.

lost_soul 28 Jun 2004 23:17:56 9,372 posts
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Apparently you need to get a certain type of Gforce 6800 with dual DVI output to get the 30" monster to work, don't think I'll bother getting one now :-D

How do people feel about OS X.4? The new features don't sound that amazing to me.

striker 28 Jun 2004 23:24:31 2,606 posts
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rhythm wrote:

Shinji wrote:
Um, rhythm - consider the relative resolutions and response times of a 32" plasma and a 30" cinema display...

Yeah - spotted that afterwards

Still don't agree with any aspect of Apple's pricing though TBH. I'd have had an Apple YEARS ago as photo and image manipulation is what got me back into computers after a four year break but they price themselves out of the reach of anyone but professionals IMO.

Except in laptops

striker 28 Jun 2004 23:31:15 2,606 posts
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Not really you don't, I checked both before buying my Ibook.

Well, at least if you want a real laptop, I mean portability.

If you mean a Pentium 4 you'd use as a desktop replacement that wheights twice as much as the Ibook and has half the battery life then yes, there are better PC alternatives than Apple ones.

Edited by striker at 22:36:52 28-06-2004

striker 28 Jun 2004 23:44:59 2,606 posts
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Ok, I'm in Portugal so forgive my ignorance when it comes to UK brands

I just looked at the usual suspects as Dell, Toshiba, Acer and such, and I assure you that for the same price (at least here in Potugal the best I could get would be from Acer:

Similar Pentium Mobile processor
Same RAM
+10GB disk space
double the wheight
half the battery life
everything else similar

Other laptops would be more powerfull, yes but also more expensive, and to reach the same portability I would have to reach something like Ł1200 upwards...

I'd also be carefull when choosing a brand really, this is not as open ended as desktop PC, as I'm sure you're aware.

striker 28 Jun 2004 23:49:55 2,606 posts
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It's just that for that notebook you mentioned, I'd get

-3.8Kg instead of 2.2Kg
-2Hrs battery life instead of 6

and I really wanted portability.

striker 28 Jun 2004 23:51:50 2,606 posts
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Don't get me wrong though!

Different users, different needs!

I just wanted to point out that price difference is as bif in laptops as in desktops, mainly because most people buy branded pc laptops but not branded pc desktops.

Edited by striker at 22:51:59 28-06-2004

TennesseeStiff 29 Jun 2004 01:12:10 372 posts
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For Ł800 you should be able to get a laptop with a Pentium M and a screen with a decent resolution. The battery life will probably match the the iBook and the performance will destroy the iBook...unfortunately. This is why I don't have a Mac yet. I get so close to buying one and then just can't get past the lack of value for money at the low to midum end of their range.

Anyway...is it me or did the old plastic Apple Displays look somehow a lot more glamorous and exciting than these new ones. I really like the fact that they have standard connectors and the design is considerably more practical...I don't think they look bad or anything... just that that the old ones looked a lot more special.

Edited by TennesseeStiff at 00:12:34 29-06-2004

eviltobz 29 Jun 2004 12:47:38 2,609 posts
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just had a bit of a poke around the apple site. i quite like the sound of some of the new stuff in osx tiger personally. the dashboard bit looks like something that i could use a lot, kinda like konfabulator (as in completely ripped off) but better and the meta data file system stuff should be an improvement - doing get info on a folder currently can just hang, or maybe take hours and i'm just too impatient, but either way it gets very very shit, so hopefully this will help. and a new revision of the dev tools has got to be good.

oh, and the monitors. my god i want that 30" one. it makes the 23" screen look tiny, and them 23" screens are a pretty fair size. now i just needs them to make a g5 cube for me to use to power it

and lots and lots of money of course.

Shinji 29 Jun 2004 12:54:38 5,902 posts
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The whole claim that Apple are ripping off Konfabulator is funny. You'd think Konfabulator invented desktop widgets... Oh no, wait, Apple did, years ago, with the Desktop Tools stuff. People have short memories...

Plus, Konfabulator is crap. It's slow, buggy, and not very useful at all - what the hell is the point of widgets that actually sit on the desktop in this day and age? When was the last time you SAW your desktop? The Dashboard concept of using Expose to bring widgets in from offscreen when you need them is fantastic - I can already think of a myriad ways I'll use Dashboard. When I installed Konfabulator, the only thing I could think of was a single way to uninstall the blasted thing.

TennesseeStiff 29 Jun 2004 12:58:53 372 posts
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Have to say, I am very excited about the stuff that was shown in Tiger....just giving me more cause to rue the fact that I don't have a Mac. Oh well, perhaps when Tiger comes out they'll have a good value for money machine.

The thing I am most excited about is Core Video and Core Image....but I think it will be sometime before they are taken advantage of by developers. If you think the demo for those was impressive now, wait till they run on a PCI Express card!

Dos anyone know if Core Video/Image are replacements for the QuickTime Framework? Is there any chance that they will be/can be used to speed up some of the sluggish bits of the UI?

Nemesis 29 Jun 2004 13:00:59 20,312 posts
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I think I'm going to have to phase in the G5 desktop at Nemesis Towers with these prices.

Still, it'll look fucking spectacular when it's done.

ssuellid 29 Jun 2004 13:05:13 19,142 posts
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Shinji wrote:
Oh no, wait, Apple did, years ago, with the Desktop Tools stuff. People have short memories...

IIRC Which evolved from work that the Konfabulator developer worked on when he was part of Apples HID team.

It the second time they have done this to him.

eviltobz 29 Jun 2004 14:26:16 2,609 posts
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Shinji wrote:
The whole claim that Apple are ripping off Konfabulator is funny. You'd think Konfabulator invented desktop widgets... Oh no, wait, Apple did, years ago, with the Desktop Tools stuff. People have short memories...

either that or i've never seen it. one or the other.

please note that i said like konfabulator but better, the better bit being quite important here. i too got rid of it from my machine pretty quick like, but i'm looking forwards to checking this new stuff out.