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| Architosh News Reports | |
| Architosh Staff ([email protected]) |
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KeyNote: Apple introduces G4, 'supercomputers' for the rest of us
Steve Jobs' Key note from Seybold San Francisco - Live Notes Well, Apple has really done it to us this time! Just as all the rumor sites and even Apple had us believing Sawtooth-based machines would not reach us until later this year (or next) Jobs announces the G4 'supercomputer' for the rest of us Apple introduced a new 400, 450 and 500 MHz -based G4 Power Macintosh lineup. All of these computers use 1 MB of backside Level 2 cache and have a new motherboard architecture. Here are some of the specs:
Why is the new G4 a "supercomputer"? The definition of a 'supercomputer' is any processor-based CPU that can process over 1 Gigaflop. A Gigaflop is "1 billion floating point operations per second". Every new G4 processor can sustain processing performance of 1 Gigaflop with up to a peak performance of 4 Gigaflops. The new G4 is the first 'supercomputer' on a single chip! And these machines start at just $1599! More on Supercomputing As Steve Jobs noted, today's graphics professionals are running Photoshop filters that require (or can benefit tremendously from) supercomputer processing power. Super large graphics and filter manipulations that would take up to hours to process can now be done in minutes. Today's graphics pro's are in need of yesterday's NASA processing power. Daily security task for online data exchange require the security of the CIA. There is a real need for this computer power at the professional level where time is money.
Some highlights from the G4 demo included a 500 MHz G4 Photoshop race against a top of the line Compaq Pentium III at 600 MHz. The G4 ate the Pentium for lunch. Three demos demonstrated why the G4 is now the ultimate Photoshop machine -- over any Pentium chip at any speed. Adobe's CEO and Chairman came out briefly and said that the new G4 is the fastest machine to ever run Adobe's applications and that an advantage of being one of Steve's friends is that he gets to "get in" line early. " ....one of the great advantages of having Apple back is that the industry is no longer boring", remarked Adobe's CEO. Later in the demo a scientist from UCLA demonstrated supercomputing applications in research for such things as the SETI, the search for extraterrestrial life. Her remarked with unbridled enthusiasm that the new G4 was up to 6-8 times faster for these intensive data applications then the previous super fast G3 machines. One demo showed a galaxy with 30,000 stars, dynamically being rendered in real-time according to the Laws of Newton. Another demo done by Steve and Phil showed real-time data from the Mars Pathfinder space craft being received and rendered on a G4 compared to a Pentium III. Many other cool things were both noted and shown about the new G4. The bottom line is: it's a supercomputer! The UCLA scientist remarked that at one time, not too long ago, they would pay up to $1000 per hour to book time on a supercomputer of the G4's power. Supercomputers are used by scientists around the world in such famous labs at NASA, JPL, Livermoore, and other prestigious intitutes and universities. The new G4 processor brings supercomputer power straight to the desktop. The New TV Ad for the G4 Jobs mentioned that the ad should air tonight (but he didn't mention what time or what channel). Apple's press release section should highlight the TV ad campaign in details. The ad was shown to the attendees. It features a G4 surrounded by US Army tanks, threatening it and claiming that the new G4 is classified as a "dangerous weapon" by the US government ... and then goes on to add that, however, the Pentium chip is "harmless". Steve Jobs said they got the idea for the ad when the Pentagon contacted Apple about the G4 and said they were not authorized to ship "supercomputers" [new G4's] to certain "sensitive countries". Can you imagine...your very own, Pentagon-authorized 'supercomputer' ?? More Keynote Notes: Complete coverage summary
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