apples, hot, 5ive of them
My fortnightly Apple eNews flopped - albeit metaphorically - through my inbox this morning, announcing the popular release of the G5 in the United States. It is released in the civilised world a little later in August, but that's pretty fair, as European and Japanese technology can be withheld from the Americas for suspiciously long periods - one-upmanship against the super-power? Who knows, but doubt it; the greater market economies are too complex for something that petty*.
In any case, if any of you wins the lottery and feels like buying someone less-well-off something really stunning, souped up and generally kickass, then buy them one of these. I really want one too, but am probably too proud to accept your charity. What? No! You've really offended me now. Take your sleekly designed powerhouse of data-crunching, metasexually-charged, ohmygoodness, stone-me-now-with-slaked-pigiron piece of voluptuousness-incarnate and go away!
Sigh. A 64-bit processor based on IBMs server-grade 64-bit POWER4 lies at the heart of this new desktop range; it's a first for the home user, the architecture of which allows for a tremendous leap in memory capacity, bus-speed, and sex appeal. I don't really care whether the machine is the fastest PC out there, as is claimed, though for it's price, it probably is - my 733 Mhz G4 is faster than a 3 GHz Pentium on some fronts, so I'd not be hard pressed to accept that the G5 is, in practice - the point is that Apple have finally come up with a new flagship range more in keeping with what people expect of them, and one which is more readily expandable.
Some saw the company's announcement of the G5 as a pyrrhic event, but not everything need be based on outdoing the competition; more deserved attention seems to be garnered by serving the needs of a faithful clientele, and I am more than happy with the quiet confidence that they impart through the development of a fine product range. Just release Panther already.
*Ack! The Germans and French didn't support our bid for a legitimate attack on Iraq - trade embargo! Trade embargo!
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The speed of computers is quickly becoming ridiculous for the average user. Unless you do 3D graphics (like me) or are seriously into data-crunching for science, I doubt many people would require that much power on a desktop.
I still wouldn't buy a mac though. Price-wise it just ain't fun enough. Though it's real pruddy.
However, I wouldn't be adverse to someone giving one to me. I can be humble. ;)
I suppose the issue of price is a good point; though the prices of Apple machines have fallen faster than ever before, the price of a PC can still be about half. However; when I'm going to be spending that much money, it's good to think in the longterm, and my Macs seem to last forever, my PCs, not.
That amount of power is welcome in my home; I play around with graphics a lot, though not as you do (your prize winning picture is really excellent, by the way), and though they don't generally apply to me, computer games, of all things, do expand to fill the capabilities presented with increased needs. Just look at the latest incarnation of Simcity 4; it's pretty demanding, and it isn't even the most sophisticated of games.
Unless you do video editing or 3D, I doubt that you'd need as much power as the g5 professes to offer. And for the G5's price, I'd probably not only have a great PC but probably my choice of video/3D software to pick from as well. People fail to understand that a computer is one thing, having things to do with it is quite certainly another.
As for Simcity 4, I ran it on my PIII with only a few difficulties, though I doubt my poor tired box would appreciate me attempting to foist the upcoming Dune 3 on it.
That being said, I only wish to point out that games are hardly a reason to buy a macintosh. Only 30% of all games released are ever converted for Mac and even then usually months afterwards after the game has proved successful.
As far as my short-sighted eyes can see, unless Apple comes up with a better price point or something as innovative as the Ipod, the Mac will always remain the domain of the trendy and financially free.
As for me? Unless there exists a charitable soul willing to bequeth upon me the silver shine of the G5, I'm afraid that I'll remain with my trusty workhorse of a PIII (dual though it should be noted).
Hmm... I might just trade in the G5 for a laptop though... *runs from cries of 'SACRILEGE!!'*
I agree entirely; games are hardly reason enough to buy a Macintosh, which is why it's just as well that I didn't say that it was ;) I love 'em both anyhow, just that if I had a choice of equivalent spec machines, I'd go for the 'trendy' one as I prefer reliability over compatibility, and the majority of important programmes exist on the platform anyhow. Most importantly, programming, compiling and exporting is far more simple on the pretty machine, as most codejunkies will readily admit, and that is important - perhaps not to you, but you work in an entirely different field. Then, who really cares, it's all subjective and a matter of opinion.
Incidentally, are you telling me that you actually buy legitimate software; in your neck of the woods, that is *most* unusual, criminal as it may be?
I said you 'probably' could, I didn't _say_ I *cough* did *cough* ;)
And I meant to say Doom 3. Note to self: Stop posting after 11pm. I think I need to go to bed...