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January 8th through 15th Archives

Saturday, January 13th 2001 10:19 PST

Site Notes

We're taking a break today, as we usually don't update on weekends. However, we noticed this article at MacNN that repeats a lot of what we reported on the Mercury, but also adds a bunch of interesting facts/tidbits/etc.

Have a great weekend!

Friday, January 12th 2001 00:46 PST

New Advertiser

We'd like to welcome TimeShark to the great group of PBZone advertisers. We know the guys over at DangerIsland, TimeShark's parent company and we thought it would be a good fit for PBZone readers, as many of you are creative professionals.

Here's a description from the site:

TimeShark is a simple, yet powerful tool that helps you manage your Special business. TimeShark users can record hours, track expenses, manage budgets, create invoices, store bids and quotes, manage deadlines, and analyze the performance of projects. Whether you work alone or in a large firm, TimeShark is the way to get things under control - and begin to profit from all your hard work. Mac and PC users may share TimeShark over the network. And, if you have a fast connection at home, you can connect to your office TimeShark SERVER over the internet.

We're not being paid traditionally with these ads. We're getting a commission per sale, so if you're interested, make sure they know you found out from us.

Site Notes

A Macintosh website across the Atlantic has asked to translate some of our feature articles from this week. The French version of our Mercury questions and answers has been posted. They're going to post a French version of the "secrets" article soon.

Also, just a little note: we've served 164,523 pages this week so far. Apparently someone thought MWSF was a big deal.

Speaking of MWSF and big deals, the webcast on Tuesday was the largest scheduled streaming web event with over 35,000 viewers and 5.3 gigabits of data per second at the height of the keynote. The story's at Macworld.

Apparently Apple's not the absolute first to use Ti in a laptop: these laptops from IBM use "titanium composite top and bottom covers." However, don't fret too much, Apple is indeed the first to completely construct the PowerBook's chassis from 99.5% pure titanium.

Several readers have noted that the Mercury machines have added a capability that every other ethernet-equipped Mac (except for the iMacs and AP base station) has: auto sensing ethernet. This means you won't need a crossover cable to directly connect two Macs via ethernet. Just another user-friendly feature from your pals at Apple.

Looking for a day 4 PowerBook Zone MWSF picture gallery? Well, don't look too hard, there isn't one to be found. Our photographer there had some trouble with the storms in California (worst in three years) as far as air travel goes and wasn't able to take many pictures for posting today.

We posted several features yesterday, some of which were posted later in the day, so check those out. If enough unique questions come in, we'll post another Mercury Q&A article, though most of the questions we've had are repeats.

Well, that's it for now. We've posted an incredible amount of information about Mercury. We hope you are all more informed and are able to make better decisions about whether to buy them or not. (Shameless plug: if you're going to buy from Outpost.com anyway, use the links from yesterday's news to credit us a bit)

Thursday, January 11th 2001 00:01 PST

UPDATE: 18:30 PST 9.1 Plays Nice with Upgrade Cards

A reader has quite a bunch of processor upgraded Macs. He's installed 9.1 on each without a problem:

Just thought I would let your readers know that Mac OS 9.1 works with upgrade cards just fine. I have quite a list of upgraded machines and have not noticed any problems with any of them since Mac OS 9.1 was installed. Complete list below:

Wall Street 292 upgraded with PowerLogix BlueChip G3 500
20th Anniversary Mac upgraded with Sonnet Encore G3 500
iMac Rev C upgraded with iMaxPowr G3 466
Beige G3 DT upgraded with PowerLogix PowerForce ZIF 500 (overclock to 535)
PowerBook 1400c upgraded with Sonnet Crescendo G3 333
PowerBook 1400c upgraded with Sonnet Crescendo G3 400

So I think no one has anything to fear from Mac OS 9.1 and upgrade cards. Apple probably did not want to take the time to test upgrade cards and have people upset if it did not work (CYA I would imagine). They should have just given me a GM copy to do the verification for them. ;) Great site! Keep up the good work!

UPDATE: 13:57 PST Using Margi's Display to Go Card

A reader sent in a detailed report on Margi's Display to Go card and the work he's done on it at the show. It can be found here.

The History Behind Apple's Choice of Titanium: International Titanium Association Interviewed

Interestingly, the page we linked yesterday (www.titanium.org) is an association headed by a PBZone reader. We sent him some questions and we've posted the results. Want to know how long Apple's been working on a titanium product? How about competing WinTel products? Read the answers to those questions and more in our titanium interview.

Ultimate MWSF Picture Gallery Day Three Posted

Get your latest batch of pictures here. There are 21 of our best images with detailed captions. For those on fast connections (or those that are that interested in MWSF), there are 31 additional pictures in this directory.

MWSF Articles Summary

To make sure no one's missed anything over the last few days, we're going to summarize all the content we've posted that was placed on a page other than the main index. Note especially the articles we posted towards the end of the day yesterday.

• Titanium Association Director Interview
• Ultimate MWSF Picture Gallery: Day Three
• Mercury Engineering Secrets Revealed.
• All Your Mercury Questions: Asked and Answered
• Ultimate MWSF Picture Gallery: Day Two
• Ultimate MWSF Picture Gallery: Day One
• Mac Media Network Keynote Coverage/Text Summary (4400 words)

Surprise...More Mercury Notes

We've got a few notes, ideas, reader suggestions etc:

• Most interestingly, a reader asked if a Mercury could be engraved. While the titanium is painted to protect it from accumulating too much grime, we think this could be pretty cool. It'd probably go over well in the Japanese market, too.
• The Apple logo still lights up, and Apple has flipped it so it's right-side-up when the PowerBook is opened.
• A reader asked if the Mercury would get cold in an airconditioned office. I think the heat of the G4 would keep it at least comfortable for the hands to be on it. I think we'll be more worried about heat instead of problems of chilly computers.
• No, you can't connect a single one of Apple's current displays to your PowerBook. They use ADC. The new PowerBook still uses VGA. This is because the PowerBook couldn't supply the power as ADC does, nor could it fit on the back of the I/O panel, nor does any LCD projector use ADC. Sorry about that.
• Let's get this straight: RAM upgrades are the easiest. They're right under the keyboard. AirPort is next easiest, under the bottom of the unit's casing, remove 8 screws and put in the card. Hard drive upgrades are tougher, requiring a Torx (size 8) screwdriver to remove the current HD. If you get a Mercury and are unsure of your ability to do any of these, have your dealer do it. Our comment on Apple doing all repairs does not apply to upgrades, just when you screw something up.

Wednesday, January 10th 2001 01:16 PST

UPDATE: 21:58 PST PBZone from 30,000 Feet

Well, after an exciting and tiring 2 days of expo coverage, I'm (me being Doug) leaving San Francisco. However, don't fret too much: I'm leaving two other staff members behind to take pictures and gather news and tidbits of information. We're working on a titanium article that's pretty neat as well as the third gallery. We'll upload each of these when we can connect at something a bit higher than 9600 bps, the limit of the AirFone on this United Airlines-owned Boeing 737.

UPDATE: 16:39 PST So When Can I Get One? PowerBook Production Starting Now

During Steve Jobs' keynote yesterday, he mentioned a "end of January" ship date for the new Titanium PowerBook G4 units.

However, after a chat with an engineer in the PowerBook group today, he confirmed that production preparations are complete and PowerBooks are now being produced in quantity. While your order placed at your favorite dealer in town, favorite reseller online, or the Apple Store may not be shipped for awhile, know that unlike previous PowerBook introductions, units are rolling off the production lines at this time.

Speaking of production, the PowerBooks are again being made at Quanta in Taiwan. Rumors that they're moving to Shanghai, China are incorrect. They're not moving to Shanghai, they're expanding to that location. Apple is very pleased with their relationship with Quanta. PowerBook production levels, as well as quality have gone up since Apple began outsourcing prodution beginning with the Lombard generation of machines. Quanta produces laptops for Apple, as well as other manufacturers, such as some of Dell's machines. They produce about 500,000 units a month.

UPDATE: 16:38 PST More Mercury Secrets Revealed

We had a good long chat with a bigwig Apple engineer. He gave us the good info on all the questions you guys asked in response to our first Q&A article. The info's all at pbzone.com/mercurysecrets.shtml.

UPDATE: 14:19 PST Mercury Vs. Gateway Solo 9300cl

PowerBook Zone reviews editor Paul Cesarini worked up a little comparison of the closest Gateway that could attempt to match Mercury's price/performance:

• 750mhz Pentium III
• 64mb of ram
• 15.0" active matrix screen
• 10gb hard drive
• 8x DVD
• 2 USB ports
• Type I, II, & II PC card slots
• 56k modem
• Serial, PS/2, parallel, audio, and VGA ports
• Composite video out
• IR port (I think)

Seeing as how the low-end PowerBook G4 comes with twice the ram, S-video out (with a composite adapter), firewire, 10/100 ethernet, and a processor that's at least as powerful as the one in the Gateway, I think it stacks-up quite well. Did I mention the Gateway is also 2 pounds heavier?

UPDATE: 13:36 PST More on Titanium, the Wonder Metal

A reader who appears to be more educated about titanium than we are (we're employed to write websites, he's employed by the national gov't to know a lot more about titanium than us) wrote in with a little Ti lesson:

The case on the new G4 laptop is made of CP1 (Commercially Pure, Grade 1) titanium. The apple website notes this is the same stuff that supersonic aircraft are made of. Both products have titanium in them, but that is about all they have in common. Aircraft titanium contains about 6 percent aluminum and 4 percent vanadium, while CP1 only has about a half of a percent of impurities, mostly oxygen and iron, with some carbon and nitrogen as well. The added aluminum and vanadium is what gives the aircraft titanium its strength. CP1 titanium is comparatively quite soft (typically one quarter of the strength of Ti-6Al-4V), but this is a good thing because the titanium case has to be shaped by a series of forming operations. In fact, CP1 is the best choice when corrosion resistance and formability are the two principle design factors. Titanium also has good flexural rigidity, so if you push your finger on the backside of the screen, it's not going to flex very much. Who knows, maybe this will stop the vaunted keyboard marks on the screen problem.

Also, since metals tend to have much greater conductivity than polymers, the titanium case might act as a heat sink for the microprocessor, making the case warmer, the processor cooler, and reducing the need for an internal fan. How much of an effect this is though is hard to say.

UPDATE: 13:04 PST Outpost.com has PB G4s Available at Lowest Price Yet

With their no-tax, free overnight shipping policies, Outpost.com traditionally has the best prices on most Mac products. They've added the G4 PowerBooks for preorder, so if you're planning on buying a TiBook/PBG4/Mercury (Or whatever you want to call it), buy it through us! Support the PBZone by siphoning a bit of money away from an already-struggling ecommerce reseller. To preorder and credit us with a percentage of the purchase, use this link for the PowerBook G4 500 MHz and this link for the PowerBook G4 400 MHz

UPDATE: 12:47 PST Sponsors

We'd just like to take a moment out of the excitement (chaos) of MWSF and thank our sponsors, Small Dog Electronics, BookEndz Docking Stations, and FireWire Depot. Please support them as much as they support us.

UPDATE: 10:55 PST Music at Keynote; We Stand Corrected

For those that read our coverage below of the keynote, we noted the classical music was a much different choice than the usual pre-keynote fare. We thought it was quite somber compared to the upbeat tunes played in the past. Well, reader Mark set us straight:

Just a correction to your statement in your keynote coverage that "While in the past upbeat music was used, somber violin music filtered in through the speakers."

First, if the music I was hearing on the Quicktime stream was the same used in the hall, then what was being played was the 1st suite for solo cello by J. S. Bach.

Secondly, as startling as it might be to mainstream pop listeners, there are many, many people who find Bach's music far from somber and, in this case, I actually was pleasantly suprised to hear such "upbeat" music being played instead of the 60s and 70s rock that usually precedes Jobs' keynotes.

I also assume (but can't say for certain) that the cellist was Pablo Casals, who I think was one of the folks on the "Think Different" posters.

Gallery Two Posted

The second day of our gallery pictures is at http://www.pbzone.com/mwsf2001/day2. The folder with about 40 more raw images we took yesterday is at http://www.pbzone.com/mwsf2001/day2/allpics.

Mercury Q and A

We've posted a Mercury question and answer article here. It's got all the details we know so far. If you have any questions of your own, send them in!

Site Notes

We'll have more news later, stay tuned!

Tuesday, January 9th 2001 00:01 PST

Update: 17:08 PST Mercury Repair

Not surprisingly, based on its complex construction (to access anything like HD and AirPort, you've got to remove the bottom of the unit with these screws...at least they're not Torx screws), all service for Mercury will be done by Apple's facility in Texas, rather than by your local provider.

Update: 16:31 PST Site Notes

We've posted a bunch of raw pictures here for those on fast connections that want to look through them. We've got about 25 really good pictures we're going to gallery up later tonight and post for your enjoyment.

iTunes Shows SoundJam Pedigree

Steve Jobs today introduced iTunes, his all-in-one consumer music application for Macintosh that's available for free download at apple.com/itunes.

As was rumored just before the keynote, the application definitely has Casady and Greene's SoundJam MP as its basis. Several features are the same, especially the visual plugins and ID3 tag editor. Additionally, in the read me, it states:

If you have SoundJam installed on your computer, opening CD tracks in the Finder will open SoundJam instead of iTunes.

• Our feature article on the new Titanium PowerBook G4 is here.
• This page is where you need to go next. Apple is obviously very proud (and they should be) of their Mercury design. This page shows you all the little nuances of the design.
• Lots of magnets used in the design. An Apple guy on the show floor told us the keyboard is held more firmly in place by magnets, while the latch is drawn out as the PowerBook is closed by a hidden magnet.
• The bottom comes off for internal access.
• It has several vents, one on each of the sides and one behind the port door.
• Yes, Virginia, it only has one FireWire port.
• The power button on the right side of the keyboard is machined metal. It's very nice.
• You can see a QTVR of the unit here.
• The screen resolution is 1152x768, a small change from the 1024x768 we've been used to for going on three years now

  Here It Is

  

  Keynote Coverage

  First, the mood of the keynote hall is quite different than previous years. While in the past upbeat music was used, somber violin music filtered in through the speakers. (Later, tribal/island music came on, thoroughly confusing everyone)The media section is large and a new section was opened up to media that wasn't used in past years. A single silver embossed Apple logo, similar to that on the side of the G4, is displayed on the main center screen. Yoko and John smile down from one side, while Charlie Chaplin is on the facing Think Different banner. These are the same banners that have been used in the past.

  At approximately 9:04 AM, Steve walked on stage, wearing jeans and a black turtleneck to no one's surprise. (Jeans are kinda tight though). Lots of clapping. Already tens of thousands watching via QuickTime TV. Three gigabits per second of streaming data going out. "Last 3 months were really challenging for Apple and its industry...we've decided to start 2001 with a bang." Then someone yelled "GO STEVE!" which was slightly amusing.

  He starts to babble a bit about Mac OS X...nothing new yet. 100,000 beta copies sold. 75,000 feedback submissions. "some of them quite long." Steve says "we're listening." New screensaver that uses all your icons. Another cross-disolves and fades your pictures into each other. 400 developers committed, comprising 1200 "brand name" apps. 350 announced to date, 100 this week alone.

  He invites Richard Kerris of Alias|Wavefront to demo its Maya product. Maya is a advanced 3D modeling app used for full motion video animation. 26 of the top 50 films of all time used Alias|Wavefront products. Beta in four weeks, shipping the product next quarter. Schedule for Mac OS 10: Saturday March 24th, available for purchase in your favorite reseller. $129 will be the price. Bundled with systems in July.

  Power Mac G4. A whole new generation of PowerMac G4s. The theme of the new generation is "Power to Burn." "You all know as much as I that we've been coasting along at 500 Mhz for almost 18 months." 733 MHz will be introduced. All have CDRW standard. 133 MHz bus. 1 gigabyte/s internal bandwidth, AGP 4X, NVIDIA graphics cards with GeForce 2 MX in the top two models, new audio system with a 10 watt digital amplifier, gigabit ethernet on board, five slots. He's really only adding one PCI slot, since the AGP port counts as a slot. Four models:

  • 466 MHz 128 RAM 30 GB disk Rage 128 video available today
  • 533 MHz (BTO as dual if you want) 128 RAM 40 GB disk GeForce video available today
  • 667 MHz 256 RAM 60 GB disk GeForce video available February
  • 733 MHz 256 RAM 60 GB disk GeForce video available February
  The superdrive reads and writes CD and reads and writes DVD. It writes DVD video machines that can be played in consumer DVD players. It cost $5,000 yesterday for the drive alone, starting today, it's bundled in with every 733 Mhz PowerMac for $3499. "Power to Burn CDs, DVDs, and Pentiums" He then showed a 733 MHz G4 beating the pants off a 1.5 GHz Intel Pentium 4. . Steve then goes on to preach about the Megahertz Myth.

  Next he showed a CDR program that's in the special menu that says "Burn CDR." It'll be in Mac OS 9 and Mac OS 10.

  Pro Speakers are $59, available today. They're like the ones that come with the cube. He dropped the price on the 15" LCD to $799 from $999.

  "What's next?," Steve asks. He replies to his own question: "We're just getting started." Steve begins to literally preach about PC history, the PC industry today, and where Apple is headed. The first golden age from 1980-1994 was the age of productivity, says Steve, then 1995-2000 was the age of the Internet. Steve says the third great age of the PC is the age of Digital Lifestyle. Steve shows a bunch of digital products, all of which are brushed metal. (This hints towards Mercury later). "Mac can become a digital hub " for other devices. Apple says has a "unique strength" to make a digital device worth ten times as much. Music Revolution is digital music on computers.320 million CDR sold in the US in 2000, only 281 million people in the US.

  Steve introduces iTunes. Burns, plays, encodes, interacts with MP3 players, and does internet radio. It also has built in visualilzers like many other popular MP3 players. Runs on Mac OS 9 and it's free. You can download it today.

  "This is part of a dream we've had for a few years." He begins to explain burning DVDs. He's reduced encoding time for a DVD in 2x the time of the source material. He's introducing iDVD, which he calls revolutionary. It's a single window application and it pretty much makes great DVDs, complete with amazingly customizable menus etc. It can get video from anything that can generate a QuickTime file. It'll be bundled with SuperDrive machines. Apple will be selling Apple-certified DVD media, for $10 each, a 5 pack for $49.95. Apple also released DVD Studio Pro to complement Final Cut Pro. It'll be $999 available in $999.

  One more thing.....He gives us a clue. He put up a titanium element symbol off the periodic table of the elements.

  500 MHz G4. 15.2" Megawide screen. Built In DVD, slot load, 5 hour battery life. Airport ready. 1 inch thick. 5.3 pounds. And finally, it's made out of titanium. "like the spy planes." Stronger than steel, yet lighter than aluminum. Real commercial grade titanium metal. They showed a pretty nice ad featuring the voice of Jeff Goldblum. They turned the logo around, one firewire port, IrDA, battery on the bottom, only one, dual airport antennae, 1 MB l2 cache, 128 Rage graphics, s video, 400 and 500 Mhz, both have 15.2" screen, 128 and 256 MB, 10/20 GB, slot load DVD, $2599, $3499. Will be available at the end of January. Final Cut Pro runs 60% faster on the new PowerBook.

  Site Notes

  • First, beginning at 9 AM PDT, the keynote's progress will be noted on our live update page at http://www.macmedianetwork.com/mwsf01. It will be a constant update for those that cannot access the video stream.
  • iBook Zone will be updated throughout the day with iBook news released at the show.
  • We'll begin posting MWSF news directly after the keynote.

  Monday, January 8th 2001 00:01 PDT. Days to MWSF: 1

  Update: 19:25 PDT- Come and Get It: MWSF Day One Gallery Posted

  As per usual, we toured around the Moscone Center before the show officially began. Here's what we found. Take a look in the Macworld SF 2001 Day One Ultimate Picture Gallery.

  We'll have more rumors late today....

  Update: 10:36 PDT-Keynote Live Update Page Announced

  For the third or fourth consecutive Macworld, the Mac Media Network is sponsoring a "Live Update" keynote news page. The page is a running account of what's happening in the keynote, in text form, for those that cannot view the keynote stream. Look for it tomorrow at http://www.macmedianetwork.com/mwsf01/

  Site Notes

  We're traveling to SF today, so expect updates later in the day. Here's what we have for today's pre-Expo news:

  Custom Made Expansion Bay Device Cases

  A reader sent this tip in:

  For those looking for some simple protection for their expansion bay devices, thepouch.com can make neoprene cases to your specifications for about $18.00.

  JAM Introduces MacPack, MacCase/PB and JAM-Pack

  Carlsbad, CA JAM, a division of Kusuma Enterprises, Inc., introduces three exciting new cases for Apple portables, following their successful MacCase and just in time for the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco. These new products are MacPack, MacCase for PowerBook and JAM-Pack. MacPack is a backpack for the iBook. They come in two sizes, small and large, and both are available in all iBook flavors as well as JAMıs "stealth" security color theme. They offer fully padded rear, bottom and top/side panels, and a padded pocket-divider that holds the iBook firmly in place, as well as secondary compartments. MacCase for PowerBook is a handheld/shoulder case that features special fabrics that echo the PowerBookıs matte-stain finish. It was designed to minimize bulk while maximizing protection ­ fully padded, with interior and exterior pockets for accessories. JAM-Pack is for either the iBook or PowerBook, offering triple functions of handheld, shoulder or backpack mode. It has places for almost everything, with rivet-reinforced high stress areas offer unparalleled strength. All MacPack, MacCase/PB, JAM-Pack and MacCase will be on display at booth 4643 at MacWorld Expo in San Francisco, and also available at www.jambags.com or 1-866-JAM-BAGS

  Portable printers for PowerBook & iBook

  Reader Andrew wrote up this little bit on Canon portable printers:

  Canon makes two portable color printers that go well with the new USB-connection PowerBooks and iBooks, the BJC-85 & BJC-85W. (Apple’s late, lamented Color StyleWriter 2200 was manufactured by Canon, and functionally identical to the Canon BJC-70; the BJC-85 is the current version.) The two 85 models are identical except for case color; the 85W has a white case with black accent that matches the iBook color scheme (especially the graphite model). Each sells for about $300 via mailorder. According to Canon, both come standard (unlike the StyleWriter 2200) with the AD-360U universal (international) power supply (110-240V). Make sure to get a USB cable the to connect the printer to your Mac. The BJC-85W is a little harder to find than the black 85, but major vendors like Computer Discount Warehouse have it. An interesting option is the IS-12 scanner cartridge ($99), which makes the printer into a sheetfed scanner (similar to the PaperPort Strobe). A battery add-on (#K30083, with NB-300 Battery) is also available ($99).

  For more information, see: http://www.ccsi.canon.com/bjc/bjc85/index.html or http://www.ccsi.canon.com/bjc/bjc85w/index.html. Or call Canon at 800 385 2155