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Anthony Frausto-Robledo ([email protected])
12 July 2001

 

Pre-New York Meditations on the Possible

In the past Architosh has handed out its usual pre-expo predictions with the caution of a neighborhood school crossing guard. Not so this time. Such reserve may stem from the fact that Architosh.com by nature is not in the business of rumor-milling—though admittedly just about every site partakes in it from time to time. It's just good business sense, I suppose.

Making the Grade

Naturally what makes talking about what Mr. Jobs wishes to keep so secret so very difficult is that there is this potential double-edged sword. Get too close and Apple legal will be breathing down your back! Miss by a Texas mile and you may become the laughing stock of the Mac online news community. Ultimately then in the world of pre-show rumor milling, making the grade is all that really counts. [Not that these guys do a very good job]

A Special Macworld

This New York Expo promises to be the best Expo ever at this venue...with or without Adobe. And for traditional Architosh readers this same advice goes to all those CAD/3D vendors who opt to just go to the San Francisco show. Not to fret too much however, this event will have 3D vendors that have not been to this show before—like Alias/Wavefront showing the new and awesome Maya Complete for Mac OS X. We have a special appointment to talk with the folks who are coming back to the Mac with Hollywood's favorite special effects app...and we are going to be asking them some probing questions about Mac support.

Driving Maya

There are other reasons why this show is going to be special. The odds are in favor that Apple will be introducing new 'high-octane' Power Mac G4 towers...and that elusive 1 GHz G4 machine may garner the greatest applause out of a keynote speech that Jobs has heard in a very long time.

There is a bevy of evidence pointing toward much better production coming out of Motorola's chip fab these days. Word has it that the 733MHz G4 chip was originally tied to the ultra-expensive DVD SuperDrive machine to help keep orders down, fearing a poor supply of the 733MHz chips. But yields of the higher megahertz versions improved dramatically over the course of the last few months, leading Apple to implement two options: first allow a non-SuperDrive 733MHz machine to ship out with a CD-R drive (much less expensive) and, two, to eliminate the 633MHz G4 chip altogether.

Yields are reportedly improved so much so that some expect the 733MHz chip (or 750/766Mhz) to become the new baseline Power Mac, with a potential 1 GHz model being, initially the top model. Although there is much controversy about Apple being able to push a 1 GHz machine out the door this summer, this author would bet much on Apple doing just that. In any event, Apple has to push a 1 GHz machine out the door before Intel ships the 2 GHz chips later on in the year. If not now then possibly at Seybold SF.

But the stronger reason is that it's possible. Some are reporting that there are large quantities of 1 GHz G4 chips sitting in warehouses ready for production. That Apple has ordered Motorola to produce as many as possible in preparations for new pro towers. And we have heard directly from a reliable source that Motorola's improved yields have gotten the chip up to 1.33 GHz, but not in reliable enough yields

A Quad Mac?

What about quads? Good question. We initially were going to say that Apple would likely not have quad G4 Power Macs for quite some time. That seemed logical, from what we were hearing. However we have been informed that we may indeed by wrong.

Without Photoshop on Mac OS X ready yet, what would Apple be rushing quads for?

The answer to that may indeed be part of the mystery that seems to be mounting around this year's keynote. And it may come from familiar quarters like video. What most are forgetting to talk about is Final Cut Pro and its ever growing importance to Apple's growth in the film and broadcast industry. Apple has made great strides in the digital video revolution, and it is not about to blow it over perceived slow machines.

We are not saying Quads for sure. Some logic dictates that quads won't come until 2002. But we would love to be proved wrong.

The Big Mystery? Is There One?

Many are getting the sense that Jobs has a big surprise for us and that very few know what it is. Us included. A wild guess says it is Apple's next PDA. What other product could have taken so many years to put together correctly?

Think about it. The last time Apple did the Newton it rushed the product out the door too soon. Steve would never make that mistake. And his PDA would be vastly superior to even the Newton—Scully's wonder machine. When Steve admitted that Apple wanted to buy Palm he basically admitted Apple wanted to be a player in the PDA market. Just don't think about it as PDA though. It may likely be something closer to a cell phone. The only question in my mind is when?

Bill Gates' House Designed on Macintosh?

PowerBook G3's Win at CAD Shootout!

Special Report: Financial Software for Architects

Macworld Expo News and Features

Keynote Predictions: Crystal Ball 2001 New York - [jul 18] Hot!

Architosh Firm Profile: Interview with Luminetik, 3D Macintosh Studio - [jul 17] Hot!

Architosh to Cover Macworld Expo - Notes - [jul 17] New!

Pre-New York Meditations on the Possible - [jul 17] New!

Architosh Feature Interview: Microspot Ltd talks Technical CAD on the Mac - [jul 12] New!


MacCAD news: Nemetschek initiates 2001-2002 Learning Tour - [jul 12]

ArchiCAD used for design of tallest residential skyscraper - [jul 12]

Mac3DNY.org renames and sponsors Teapot Awards - [jul 9]

Mac3D: Mac Cinema4D user creates masterful short film - [jul 9]

MacCAD: Free SPOTLIGHT Training by Nemetschek - [jul 9]

Quesa Group has QuickDraw 3D API on Mac OS X - [jul 6]

OpenDWG Alliance has Mac OS X code libraries available - [jul 6]

Microspot Sponsors Architosh Forum Prize Contest! - [jun 29]

MacCAD news: VectorWorks for Mac OS X news - [jun 29]

Tomorrow last day to get Electric Image (3D Toolkit) for $99 - [jun 29]

Architosh.com - What's Coming Up in the Near Future - [jun 29]

Architosh - Status Reports: Autocad, G4's and Other Info - [jun 29]

Mac3D market needs new Wildcat II graphics card - [jun 28]

MacCAD: Nemetschek NA finalizes VectorWorks 9.0.1 update - [Jun 28]

AEC Newsletter CAD/3D platform poll, go show Mac support! - [jun 26]

OS X news: Autodesk seems to have taken a fancy to dock... - [jun 22]

Mac3D news: Japanese 3D tool, HexaSuper 2 for Mac - [jun 22]

VersaCAD 2001 Mac shown at AEC Systems - [jun 22]

Apple not at AEC Show, inexplicable or not? - [jun 20]

MacCAD news: VectorWorks LANDMARK is now officially shipping - [Jun 20]

MacCAD news: ArchiCAD to implement National CAD Standards - [Jun 20]

Mac3D news: 3D Nature intros Z-Buffer Compositor for LightWave 6.5 - [jun 19]

MacCAD news: Cigraph ships two new ArchiCAD plugins - [jun 19]

Graphisoft intros ArchiFM 7 WebServer in Europe - [Jun 19]

ArchiFM WebServer to be announced by Graphisoft - [jun 15]

Online Design Tools site counting Mac visitors - [Jun 15]

MacCAD news: EON to work with ArchiCAD/GDL - [Jun 15]

MacCAD news: new interactive 3D technology headed for OS X - [Jun 15]

Mac3D news: Get ElectricImage 2.9 for just $198 now - [jun 13]

Mac3D news: Hot new tools from Japan need US attention - [Jun 13]

Mac3D news: TGS/Eovia offer Amapi 3D v4.15 for free - [Jun 13]

Mac3D news: dvGarage intros new 3D Training Kit - [Jun 13]

Dr. Bott's DVIator for ADC-displays now shipping - [Jun 13]

Mac3D news: POV-Ray for Mac OS and OS X - [jun 12]

Macs ousted for CAD Lab at Sacramento High School - [jun 8]

Revit attacks Autocad market, actually good for Mac users? - [jun 8]

Q: Need for Macintosh CNC Milling Software - [jun 8]

MacCAD news: Interstudio announces DigiCAD 3D 6.0 - [jun 6]

Macintosh Facilities Management software options - [jun 6]

MacCAD news: Apple seminar on new ArchiCAD 7.0 - [jun 5]

Map Resources updates site with new map finding facilities - [Jun 1]

Microspot ships new MacDraft 5.0 CAD program - [Jun 1]

Q: Need for Mac Facility Management software - [Jun 1]

Mac3D: LightWave 6.5 presentation, Apple Market Center New York - [may 30]

Home automation software for Mac, useful to architects/builders - [may 30]

280+ Architecture Firms show support of Macintosh - [may 29]

Architosh's AIWUG updated: 300+ member firms and growing - [may 29]

Mac3D news: MCnurbs Creator 2, updated for VectorWorks 9 - [may 25]

Mac3D news: Cinema4D XL 7 offers new radiosity engine - [may 25]

Mac3D news: Strata ships new 'Strata 3DPlus' - [may 22]

Mac3D news: Strata updates Strata 3DPro to v.3.5 - [may 22]

Cool news coming out of WWDC-2001 - [may 22]

Summary of Apple Store Opening Action, Links - [may 19]

Mac3D News: Looks like Blender is coming soon! - [may 18]

Mac3D News: Running Radiance on OS X, instructions - [may 18]

Mac3D News: VRML on the Macintosh - [may 16]

Learning more about Mac OS X - [may 16]

Mac Aircraft design software - part 2 - [may 16]

Architosh is TenLinks.com 'Site of the Week' - [may 15]

Hot Door introduces 'Perspective' for Illustrator 8 & 9 - [may 15]

Mac3D: Aircraft design software and Object-Maker - [may 15]

StudioDESK: Is Autodesk looking at the Mac again? - [may 11]

Q&A: Any Mac software for designing aircraft? - [may 11]

Mac Architect: Apple to host free BOA CAD seminar - [may 10]

MacCAD News: VectorWorks and PowerBooks, map ancient cities - [may 9]

VectorWorks helps student win International competition - [may 9]

A Mac version of MECcheck in the works - [may 9]

MacCAD News: Autocad sales down, Mac CAD up? - [may 9]

Architosh Forums: Multi-Prize Giveaway - [may 9]

New Architosh Highlights:

Firm Profile: Of the Place Itself, A vernacular Modernism in Austin - [may 2] New!

Introducing our Architosh Digital Practice Guide - [may 2] New!

DPG: Finding Macintosh CAD/3D and AEC software - [may 2] New!

DPG: Our Macintosh Hardware Guide - [may 2] New!

DPG: Searching our DPG FAQ Guides - [may 2] New!

DPG - FAQ: What 3D Mac apps are there for industrial designers? - [may 2] New!

DPG - FAQ: What apps are available for managing building projects? - [may 2] New!

New Architosh Site Area Content!

New Digital Practice Guide - [may 2] New!

New Revised CAD/3D Forums - [may 2] New!

New Edutainment Site Area - [Jan 9] Architosh

New Feature: Communication, Design and the Internet - [Jan 9]

Mac OS X Page: Comparative Table - Win2000/Linux - [Jan 9]

Building a Macintosh CAD Workstation - [Jan 9]

Building an Apple Server Solution - [Jan 9]

New Find Facilities and Sherlock Tips - [Jan 9]


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