Will your next Mac have this?

[Nachohat]

I will soon need to buy a new computer and I've been looking around on both sides of the fence. I know Apple is struggling with the processor issue and I know that it is not interely in their control but they can still add several other things to their hardware besides a faster processor that would greatly make their products faster and more on par with the Dark Side.

I'm amazed at how many things are now integrated onto PC motherboards but not on macs. Right now you can buy a 150$ US motherboard with USB 2, Dobly 5.1 Surround Sound, Firewire, ethernet and DDR 333Mhz RAM. This would cost close to nothing for Apple to implement in the PowerMac.

I can't blame them for not having the G5 out, but DDR RAM is dirt cheap and more than a year old and all we got is PC 133Mhz crap. Creative is going bankrupt because nobody needs a sound card anymore, except for mac users... It is understandable that USB 2 is forgotten because is competes with Firewire; I'll forgive Apple for that since I don't really need it either. And what about a three button mouse? I would be curious to know how many PowerMac owner replace their one button mouse; the percentage must be pretty high.

I want my next comp to be a Mac but right now I would have to pay more than twice the price to be fed half the technology.

[Snowball]

We'll probably see FireWire at 800 mbps...but not FireWire2/Gigawire...I'm wondering if this is all that the Zayante buyout is providing Apple? Seems like that would be something they could do themselves by just adding another controller...hopefully we will get something more than this...

As for sound, it is traditionally one of Apple's lowest priorities (for example, their OS 9 Sound Manager was really poorly implemented, and while OS X's Core Audio is much better - low latency, very stable - it still needs more work and better developer documentation I hear). More support for that fact is seen in the way they removed the sound input port from all their models and only in the latest PB revision has it come back. (and no, Apple, buying an external USB line-in is NOT just as good) It's not like they use especially high-quality sound cards in the machines anyway, and the internal speakers of the iBook, PowerBook, and iMac are crap as well (even the PowerMac could use an extra speaker so sound output wasn't so darn quiet).
If you want to hear great speakers in a laptop, try a Toshiba - their speakers really churn out great bass! The iMac's lack of decent speaker is understandable though b/c of lack of space, but it would be GREAT if Apple used the same speakers as Toshiba in their laptop line.

DDR RAM is definite since the Xserve has it (i.e. engineering it to be on a Mac motherboard is now done) - I'm too lazy to find out what the MHz are on the Xserve's RAM, but I imagine it would be the same on the upcoming PowerMac. Anyone know?

USB 2 is also unlikely because it is first of all not Apple's product, secondly not especially popular/widely used yet, thirdly owned by Intel, and fourthly, inferior to FireWire in a lot of ways - a biggie being that it requires the computers' main CPU for data transfer between devices whereas FireWire does not.

Multibutton mouse? well, it would be awesome for the pro line. Some think that the new 3 button mouse requirements for Shake suggest that it may be coming (but didn't Shake require a 3 button before Apple bought it out anyway?) Rumors have cropped up about this many times before, but somehow I think that if Apple hasn't changed to a multibutton mouse in the last 18 years, they won't do it now...but, come on Apple, prove me wrong! Please!

you didn't mention one thing: we might see an improved IDE bus as well, but that is only something that should be done, not something that is absolutely required (hrmmmm...reminds me of DDR RAM a year ago...)

[Tigger]

Why only a Front Side Bus of 333?

I want what someP4 PCs have:
533Mhz FSB, with 1066MHz DDR Ram.

Look at the machines from http://www.alienware.com
These PCs really made think about switching to the PC side.
I am really not so sure if my next Computer will be a Mac, it depends on what Apple will have to offer the end of this year...

[r4bid]

alienware == junk!

I currently own one and would never buy from them again.

[Snowball]

I've only heard good things about Alienware (at least as a gaming platform). Apart from the fact that their laptops don't use the P4-M but the desktop P4, I thought their computers were pretty good. Could you elaborate more, r4bid?

[strobe]

What's the point of USB2?

Intel has been promoting it for video. We all know this is going to fail miserably. It's also a pain to mix USB2 and USB1.1 devices, you basically need to buy an espensive USB2 hub.

I don't get it.

[Holmes]

I don't think my next computer will have any of those...But 266 ddr ram MAYBE.

[senne]

I don't think we'll see Firewire 2. Because the new iPods (5, 10, 20) are equiped with the "old" firewire. Or maybe it could be when they use the same port for both Firewire 1 as Firewire 2, but is that possible?

Because i don't want that i can't use my 10GB iPod (bought before MWNY) anymore when i buy a new mac....

Mneih, we'll see.



senne.