Inside View on Apple WWDC Rumors 231
AppleLurker writes "In a recent interview with DVD newsroom an Apple employee talks WWDC rumors including the iPhone, Blu-ray, MacPro and the Apple Tablet. More realistic about what not to expect next week when Steve Jobs hits the stage." Apple's next move is always a hotbed of debate leading up to a product release and with all the rumors flying this year all bets are off until we see the checkered flag, so take with the requisite grain of salt.
Lots of new system software? (Score:5, Informative)
So perhaps there's going to be quite a bit of new software this time.
Re:Lots of new system software? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Lots of new system software? (Score:4, Interesting)
WebObjects would be very competitive placed head to head with Atlas and ASP.net, especially with a more refined Linux/BSD deployment support. Right now deploying to Linux is a bit difficult. I just wish Apple would get on that more aggressively.
Re:Lots of new system software? (Score:2)
Thread farming? (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Thread farming? (Score:2)
Even when lots of different applications, many of them efficiently multi-threaded, are run on 10.4.5 or 10.4.6 only the first two CPUs are used efficiently while the third and fourth are getting plenty of work....but aren't quite living up to their full potential. Each added core after four seems to drop off in efficiency....not because OS X doesn't handle lots of processors properly, it does. In fact it's an industry leader in terms of being ready for the next g
Re:Thread farming? (Score:3, Insightful)
As an engineer who now concentrates on embedded programming, I can emphatically tell you that just because a programming model looks great on a Turing machine, it does not follow that it is useful on machines constrained by the laws of physics. Indeed the motivation for the actor model was the prospect of massivelly parallel systems: i.e. ones that would effectively have NO context switching since
Re:Lots of new system software? (Score:5, Informative)
Leopard has been incubating for a bit over 15 months from Tiger's release. If it takes the same amount of time as Tiger to release we'll see it go live at the start of November. If it follows the other trend of "prior release + 4 months" we'll see it go live at the start of March 2007. Both of these would fit in with the prediction that Steve made at the last WWDC that we'll see it at the end of 2006 or the start of 2007 "about the time Longhorn is released".
No matter what technology is in the pipeline, the release date is more likely to be determined by when Apple wants to go head to head with the Microsoft PR machine. Apple hasn't made any public technology promises (other than a final version of Boot Camp) so it can delay any project that isn't quite ready until 10.6. If Apple wants to look like an "innovator" and come in "first" with what everyone will think of as the next generation successor to Windows 98, then it may aim for November. If it wants to ride the Microsoft PR wave (rather than appear overwhelmed by it) then it may wait until the same time or just after Windows Vista is declared by some as a steaming pile of poo.
Setting any release date is risky, but I think Leopard's will have less to do with technology and everything to do with what date Apple thinks is the best day to take on Goliath.
Re:Lots of new system software? (Score:2, Interesting)
Lets hope we won't see dedicated pages on versiontracker.com etc for "Leopard Compatibility" again.
For example, I see Realplayer 10+ renders pages in its simple browser via Webkit. They should not have to release a update/bugfix(!) for that function work in Leopard. As a "haxie" etc user, I know you shouldn't expect system hacks to work right. I am speaking about ordinary applications.
Remember dozens of developers
Re:Lots of new system software? (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Windows Vista? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Windows Vista Nouveau 2004^h5^h6^h7... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Windows Vista Nouveau 2004^h5^h6^h7... (Score:2)
-Peter
That means that the keynote would be (Score:4, Funny)
Dear aunt, let's set so double the killer delete select all.
Bets with salt (Score:5, Funny)
I think that the author should take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.
Re:Bets with salt (Score:2)
Re:Bets with salt (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Bets with salt (Score:5, Interesting)
Let us observe:
Q. When will a Mac ship with a Blu-ray drive installed?
A. Some are hopeful with Oct/Nov. Doubt it. 100% Blu-ray will be built-to-order in January 07.
Q. Any changes to the iMac?
A. Externally, the iMac is a homerun. No.
Q. What Apple products will ship with the Intel Core 2 Duo chips?
A. Only Intel and Steve know.
Q. Any cool features expected in Leopard?
A. General unification. Good-bye brushed metal. Mail and iCal integration. Stronger Front Row features. And as I said, more iChat.
This person sounds a bit too... canned, short. Sentences. To be. Real.
Re:Bets with salt (Score:2)
Good-bye brushed metal
Well, there's a pressing need to buy a new OS. I have been disliking that brushed metal look since it was introduced in the Quicktime player, and that was a long time ago. Huuuraaah!!
Re:Bets with salt (Score:4, Funny)
When did William Shatner become an Apple spokesperson?
Eliza (Score:2)
Re:Eliza (Score:2)
Re:Bets with salt (Score:2)
Re:Bets with salt (Score:2)
Why does the tablet have to compete with MacBook? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Why does the tablet have to compete with MacBoo (Score:2)
Re:Why does the tablet have to compete with MacBoo (Score:2)
Re:Why does the tablet have to compete with MacBoo (Score:2)
For some reason I wouldn't expect a Mac tablet. Cool as it may seem, I'm placing my bets firmly on an Intel Mac Desktop.
Which Apple is sorely lacking.
Re:Why does the tablet have to compete with MacBoo (Score:2)
Very little was said about software. Front row, iChat, a movie store (if you want to count that as software). Hard to tell if we'll see anything earth-shattering in these or other areas.
Wifi for the iPod? Will Taco finally get his wish? I know lots of people want this,
Re:Why does the tablet have to compete with MacBoo (Score:3, Insightful)
Use a slower processor? Who would buy it?
The whole reason that Windows-based tablets are starting to sell better is that they are now more comparable in performance and features to regular laptops. They have the pen functionality as a bonus. You will notice that there are no major manufacturers making slate-type Tablet PCs anymore, because they were too expensive and lacked the performance capabilities of a convertible-type tablet. The niche is ju
Re:Why does the tablet have to compete with MacBoo (Score:2)
Use a prot replicator (for extra cash) or firewire - they key for me is portability; a jump drive would allow file transfer and conencting camera memory as needed.
Use a slower processor? Who would buy it?
Depends - I would not buy one to try to do video editing but would use one to run Office while I travel - battery life, weight and price are more important than raw speed; so a slower but low power intel chip would be fine. Add in wifi and and a PC-Card
Re:Why does the tablet have to compete with MacBoo (Score:2)
Wasn't the point of not putting an optical drive in the machine to save money, in the original poster's estimation? Why not just buy a tablet with an optical drive in it? Of course, I know you can attach an external device, but that's not the point. If you spent more money the tablet could be another device altogether now couldn't it?
And y
Re:Why does the tablet have to compete with MacBoo (Score:2)
Wasn't the point of not putting an optical drive in the machine to save money, in the original poster's estimation? Why not just buy a tablet with an optical drive in it? Of course, I know you can attach an external device, but that's not the point. If you spent more money the tablet could be another device altogether now couldn't it?
And yes, som
Re:Why does the tablet have to compete with MacBoo (Score:2, Interesting)
I still see no particular reason why Apple couldn't make a tablet AND the MacBook and have both sell well. The main issue is minimizing the "unique" parts of the tablet--by using as much stock componetry as possible from the MacBook, except for the unique display and case, and possibly a very slim Motorola RAZR style low
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Why does the tablet have to compete with MacBoo (Score:2)
As the smart phones get more expensive and more (crippled) features, the market for an ultraportable tablet grows. WinCE just doesn't do it for my needs-- intrinsic limitations of battery, screen, and processor keep it from being a "laptop replacement."
I won't hold my b
Re:Why does the tablet have to compete with MacBoo (Score:3, Interesting)
Despite the low numbers, Apple could be very intersete
Re:Why does the tablet have to compete with MacBoo (Score:3, Funny)
I don't think anyone would want their gynecologist drooling at work ;)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Worst rumor site ever (Score:5, Informative)
Well, in TFA's words: (Score:2)
Why do people watch Apple with bated breath? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Why do people watch Apple with bated breath? (Score:2)
Re:Why do people watch Apple with bated breath? (Score:5, Funny)
Cheers
Re:Why do people watch Apple with bated breath? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Why do people watch Apple with bated breath? (Score:2)
Simon
(who owns a macbook pro because (a) it's unix, (b) it runs business-apps so I can expense it, and (c) it's gorgeous, in that order
Re:Why do people watch Apple with bated breath? (Score:2)
Buy a mac instead, because girlfriends are much more expensive.
Re:Why do people watch Apple with bated breath? (Score:2)
Microsoft is comparatively very open about their future product schedule. Hell, all I had to do to get the beta of their next operating system was make up a name and give them an email address.
Re:Why do people watch Apple with bated breath? (Score:2)
Yeah, about as open as Debian is. Except Debian is more likely to release when they say they will than Microsoft is.
Re:Why do people watch Apple with bated breath? (Score:3, Insightful)
At Apple, they invent, design, and build a product, and then they do the marketing AFTER.
It's very, very, very, very, different. The two methods lead to vastly different product lines.
Re:Why do people watch Apple with bated breath? (Score:4, Insightful)
2.) Apple actually ships its products, so it's exciting to get to see what cool new stuff you'll be able to get your hands on soon and not just read about for another 12 months like Vista.
Re:Why do people watch Apple with bated breath? (Score:3, Insightful)
(1) Steve Jobs is an exciting character in the land of the bland. It's always fun to watch the master go through his paces. And you can see how much he really loves and is excited by what he's selling. In this cynical age, all of this is rare.
(2) Apple rarely disappoints. They always have interesting, fun products. The competition is drab and dull. Interesting and fun products trump drab and dull every time.
(3) Because journalists like products that are interesting and
Working from current news and events (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Working from current news and events (Score:3, Informative)
Woodcrest could show up in the PowerMac replacement if Apple wants to make it a true workstation class system... and it would allow them to maintain a Quad core system. It comes down to price point and components costs. In the case of the iMac it would require no work for Apple to drop in a Merom, they may go with that in the short term (also Merom runs at nearly half the power consumption and heat output o
Re:Working from current news and events (Score:2)
It does need to be bumped from PATA to SATA. PATA for enterprise storage doesn't sit well with me.
Re:Working from current news and events (Score:5, Interesting)
I don't think it's safe to assume Conroe in PowerMacs/Mac Pros. I think it's much more likely they will use an all-Xeon lineup, using Woodcrest (the Xeon version of Core 2). I think this because I don't think they have any interest in inexpensive towers, and using Xeon chips is one of the things they'll have to do to justify towers starting at $2000.
64-bit support on x86 is a lot harder than on PowerPC. PowerPC allows the kernel to remain 32-bit even with 64-bit applications, while x86 does not. They'll essentially be porting the kernel to another architechture, and as a result drivers will be broken etc. Also, they'll have to provide a translation layer for the kernel to continue to run 32-bit applications, which isn't trivial either. They have also yet to provide support for 64-bit GUI applications, which is necessary for things like Photoshop to get useful 64-bit support (a 64-bit worker process doesn't cut it for things like Photoshop, they stuff to run in the same address space).
Basically, it isn't possible for them to have a production-ready x86-64 OS without a significant period spent in beta to debug the new kernel and application support, and to allow hardware vendors to update their drivers. This would, by necessity, be too large to keep secret.
It is entirely possible that they will announce 64-bit support, and they might even pretend it's production ready, but there is very little chance of this being true. My guess is a 64-bit interim release some time after 10.5 has been released, like they did with 10.2 when G5s were released.
Re:Working from current news and events (Score:2)
Re:Working from current news and events (Score:2)
My theory does not preclude a 64-bit beta or something that is otherwise not production ready.
Re:Working from current news and events (Score:2)
This banner at WWDC currently would seem to indicate 64 bit support is coming in 10.5. I am curious as to how they've done it as well...
Re:Working from current news and events (Score:2)
Like I said, they might have a beta, but they won't be production ready. If they announce a beta now, that doesn't contradict my theory on the subject.
Re:Working from current news and events (Score:2)
Re-read what I said please.
-Yes, Conroe does support x86-64.
-Yes, x86-64 can run 32-bit and 64-bit applications concurrently.
-However, x86-64 requires that the kernel be 64-bit for 64-bit applications to run.
-But, PowerPC does not. The MacOS X kernel for G5s is still 32-bit, even thou
Re:Working from current news and events (Score:2)
The current towers are pretty much workstation type systems, which usually means that the Xeon DP should be in some of the successors.
If they go all-Conroe then a quad isn't possible unless they put it off until Kentsfield's release then that means the dual core PPC systems will have gone one year from the previous update, much longer yet for Xserve.
I would expect at least one XServe system to have a Wood
Re:Working from current news and events (Score:2)
Perhaps the new iTunes phone will be one of the new 3G/GSM phones Motorola have debued recently...
Re:Working from current news and events (Score:2)
Re:Working from current news and events (Score:5, Insightful)
The larger issue is with you, me, the grandparent, the article, and the retards who populate every Mac forum (MacRumors, I'm looking at you). We are all just making shit up. None of us knows what Apple's upcoming products are, and while "current news and events" can provide clues, Apple likes its surprises. I have a friend who works at Apple, and he can't tell me anything, because he only knows about his specific project. It's a very compartmentalized company, and anyone claiming to have the "inside scoop" is full of it.
Sorry about the rant. Back to making shit up...
no heat problem... (Score:2)
I think the iMac won't get Conroe for cost reasons. Even if the chips cost the same, there is a quantifiable cost to adding more traces to the motherboard, and since the iMac isn't a top-performer, they don't need to spend that extra money.
Although when Intel's G965 and Q965 express chipsets come out, I think they'll revise the iMac to use those, because the integrated graphics is a lot better than the current 850 stuff
Re:no heat problem... (Score:2)
1) Conroe is cheaper than Merom for a given MHz level;
2) Conroe sits within the 60W thermal envelope of the 970FX in the G5 iMacs;
3) Apple's competitors will have discrete graphics in the iMac's price class.
The iMac is Apple's top desktop Mac. The PowerMac is a workstation line, and will be further differentiated as such by moving to Woodcrest. The Mac Mini will take the lower end of the market. In order to be competitive with other ven
Re:Working from current news and events (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Working from current news and events (Score:2)
the mini is socketed... (Score:2)
I don't actually keep track, but I think the only things that aren't socketed are the laptops.
Paging Strunk and White (Score:3, Funny)
- "Apple's next move is always a hotbed of debate leading up to a product release and with all the rumors flying this year all bets are off until we see the checkered flag, so take with the requisite grain of salt."
Meanwhile, it's full speed ahead for mixed metaphors!Re:Paging Strunk and White (Score:5, Funny)
Hey now, there's no need to be a wet blanket just because you're not ready to drink the Kool-ade. Some people are really revved up about the curtain being drawn back next week. I, for one, am on pins and needles while I'm holding my breath for the big fireworks.
I'd be concerned if my company did this... (Score:2, Interesting)
Frankly, I'd be concerned if I had a CEO that said "we will do this and that" and only then ask the developers who in the end will end up making them, if it is possible, how much it'll cost, etc.
Also, just for a "side-comment", this is a common tactic in politics. They give a false informant to the press who leaks something out saying it's coming from a reliable source near the po
Re:I'd be concerned if my company did this... (Score:2)
Well, if she was calling from an undisclosed location, my bet is that Dick Cheney needed to use the phone. In that case, the only remaining question is, did he shoot her in the face to get her to drop the phone?
Strange take on the tablet, or a typo?? (Score:2)
But this aritcle presents something very different. A $599 target price point suggests that what they've been prototyping is less laptop and more PDA.
Unless it's a typo and they meant $1599? That would make sense, why they would assume everyone would choose a macbook over it. Otherwise, I guess they think people would want the full fu
Re:Strange take on the tablet, or a typo?? (Score:2)
Correction (Score:5, Funny)
More likely... (Score:3, Insightful)
Of course, things like a tablet and iPhone would be nice, but I really doubt it (at least, not yet).
My guesses. (Score:2)
1. A new tower system. Apple needs to move the high end/high profit systems to Intel. My guess is that the G5 towers are not selling well.
2. New XServer see above.
Okay now the higher risk guesses.
1. Media center. Everyone is still waiting for this one.
2. Virtualization in the kernel. Yes run Windows in a window.
3. Games. Apple has been trying to get game makers to support the Mac. Now they will announce some of them have.
Re:My guesses. (Score:2)
Re:My guesses. (Score:2)
I think you meant either Twin dueling care bears Xeons, or maybe Twin dual core Xeons. The former sound a lot cuter.
What I want to see (Score:2)
I really want to see a remake of the Apple Newton with a more modern stylish design.
Some notable feaures could be;
Today's standard pda features.
Wireless VOIP builtin.
Map software with optional GPS.
iTunes for PDA
Bluetooth enabled.
Built on OSX Kernel.
Elevator Photos (Score:4, Funny)
(Anyone who follows these things will know EXACTLY what I'm talking about.)
Article is a bunch of BS!!! (Score:3, Funny)
At the end of the article
AFAIC, this article is a made-up bunch of dog crap. When the other party hangs up on a land-line you don't get a dial-tone afterwards, just a black line. The dial-tone only comes after you've hung-up and picked up the phone again. That's my experience on all phones I've ever used.What Apple really needs... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Hoping for the iPod video update (Score:2)
Re:Hoping for the iPod video update (Score:5, Informative)
Try plugging your iPod into your USB port. It happens automagically.
watch it during a rail-commute
Place your iPod in your hand. Get on trin. Sit. Turn on iPod. Select show. Watch.
or plug it into a friends tv for playback.
Attach small end of video cable to headphone jack. Attach other end to friend's TV. Set iPod TV output option to "on." Select video. Press play.
Either you're the dumbest electronics customer in history, or you don't have an iPod and you're just trolling.
Re:Hoping for the iPod video update (Score:2)
Review the FAQ [apple.com] for more information.
Re:Hoping for the iPod video update (Score:2)
Re:Hoping for the iPod video update (Score:2)
It is just a matter of plugging your iPod into your computer - iTunes does all the rest. If it doesn't do it automatically, check your preferences - make it sync video and music.
Re:mass transit (Score:2, Offtopic)
Re:mass transit (Score:2)
But I would venture to guess that most everyone takes mass transit for air travel.
Most everyone but Steve Jobs.
Re:Oh grow up (Score:2)
Whatever you think about Kyoto, I meant by "Hello! Kyoto!", "Hello! are you caring about environment, apeshit?". I was not trying to argue whether Kyoto works or not. We could argue about it, but this is well beyond the scope of slashdot.
As for the reason for not having a car, well
Re:my iphone!! (Score:2)
Re:my iphone!! (Score:2)
Re:my iphone!! (Score:2)
Re:my iphone!! (Score:2)