Rumour Mill

[SPeedY_B]

Ok, this is spinning the rumour mill REAL hard, all the following rumours/claims are from MacShrine.com...

PowerBook G5
The new PowerBooks are to be shown at Jobs keynote on 6th June at WWDC. Currently at Dual Core 867MHz G5, they are expected to be released at 1GHz, 1.2GHz and 1.5GHz Dual Core G5. They currently are 1.7" thick with a large G5 type grill on the bottom to increase airflow into the unit. There is a secondary shield inside, to prevent particles from entering the inside system board. The new PowerBooks will only be released in 15" and 17" sizes. The 12" PowerBook will be replaced by a souped up iBook.

Update: Due to engineering problems within Apple, they will now not be showcasing the PowerBooks. Currently, the "Hardware Engineering" team has only managed a 867MHz Dual Core G5, which is slower than the current top of the line 1.64GHz G4. Also the battery life is roughly only at 1hr 45 minutes. Next dates now, point to MacWorld 2006.

iBook G4
Expected to include a return to colors, the new iBooks are set to be the funnest and fasted yet. Soon to be available in 12", 14" and a new widescreen 15" display. The iBooks will take the specs of the late PowerBook G4 line, and include 1.5 and 1.64GHz G4 processors. They (may) be unvieled at WWDC, but more likely at the Paris Expo, in time to ship for the back-to-school term. The new cases haven't been 100% chosen upon yet, as Apple is devoting 99% of their time to the new PowerBooks. They may be released as a translucent case, with white accents. Bluetooth 2.0 and Airport Extreme will feature in all iBooks.

Special Edition Laptops
Apple may release "All Black" versions of the new iBook and PowerBook line. They will be bundled with the U2 iPod and a new "Tiger" protective sleeve.

iTunes 5
To be released soon with the new iPods, iTunes 5 represents a major stepping stone for Apple. Featuring a new Music Store which will support new international stores and a new "Maintenance Agreement". Pay $2.99 (to-be determined) a month, and if you accidently delete a song you purchased from iTunes, you can re-download it. The delay in iTunes 4.8/5 is due to both the iPhone being late, and also a few problems with record companies in the new international stores.

Mac OS 10.6
Where'd the 10.5 go you say? Well Apple is skipping it out to make this look like a bigger update, when really, it isn't. Set to include the leftovers of Tiger that were never completed on time, the current list of new features include...

• A clone of Windows "Active Desktop".
• A new dock.
• "Dock Switch" - Ability to load multiple docks.

10.6 will be called "Mac OS Lion", because it is the last of the 10.x releases, and a Lion is the top cat. The first developer builds are currently estimated to arrive shortly before next years WWDC, with the GM in 2007 ready for an April 29th release again. Let's hope they don't force another $129.99 out of us...

Mac OS 11
Set to be the "real" next-generation OS from Apple. It will include several 3D features. Work on Mac OS 10.6 and Mac OS 11 are being done at the same time. Very little work has been done on this. At the moment, a few coded features include...

• 3D finder windows - They "flip" when you navigate.
• A 3D dock.
• G5-only support - All product lines (should) will be updated by then.

iWork '06
Apple is busy porting over old AppleWorks modules and improving them. Currently iDraw, iChart and iWord are being developed. A database module is currently last on Apple's list. iWork '06 will not be a free upgrade for iWork '05 users.

The forgotten iPod
Folks wishing on update iPod shuffles will be sad to hear that the Shuffle is known inside Apple as "the forgotten iPod". No one really cares about it, it was just a device to attract buyers to the Music Store and the Mac. But the other iPods, well that's a different story...

5th Generation iPods
Apple is phasing all Mono screened iPods for a complete Color lineup. Featuring a brand new interface deeply inspired from Mac OS's Aqua. Expected in 40GB+ capacity only. Your little iPod will now be able have...
A dock - featuring access to various "apps"
The iPod photo is being phased out for something a little "bigger"...

Apple "iPal"
Following on the "huge" success of the iPod photo, Apple is taking it to the next level. The iPod will only play music, so here comes the iPal. To be released in 3 specifications...
No camera (built-in card reader) - for use in camera-forbidden workplaces.
0.6MP camera.
1.2MP camera.
Using the same new interface as the iPod 5th Generation, but with an extra app in it's dock, iPhoto. iPhoto Mobile will let users navigate through the photos and view them, or take new ones. No editing features. Apple is working on making a "lite" OS X that will instantly load from the Flash RAM, but currently they're having problems. It will be available in silver.

Motorola "iPhone"
With the release of iTunes 4.8/5, along with the new features listed further up the page a few extra ones specifically for the Motorola "iPhone" will be added. One of the features, is the "Address Book Contact Sync". The code is currently embedded in iSync 2 in Tiger, but not usable. "ApplePhoneconduit.syndevice" is the name of the file, go look if you want. The delay in iTunes 4.8/5 is due to both the iPhone being late, and also a few problems with record companies in the new international stores.

Update Peripherals
Updated "Wireless Keyboards" and "Wireless Mouse", no not a 2-buttoned one! They just feature better battery support, which plague the current ones. Your meant to turn off your keyboard and mouse when you go away! To help the lazy people (myself included) Apple are adding a better AutoSleep that actually works. So you don't have to worry about new batterys every few days. The iSight 2, which will be released at WWDC (and given to all Keynote viewers) feature an upgraded camera designed to give you faster frame rates and support for Tigers h.264 codec. Also you can use it with QuickTime Streaming Server.

 

[SPeedY_B]

Ok, and my opinion on some of it

PowerBook G5's... yup, don't doubt it, I know that people inside of Apple are walking round with G4 PowerBooks faster than the retail lines way before they hit the shelves, I don't doubt that G5 PowerBooks are in the works, however putting a date on the release is a bit daft.

iBooks, colors... wouldn't put it past them, would prefer them to remain white though. As for widescreen... yes, it's overdue, nothing should be horrid 4:3 or 5:4 anymore.. NOTHING.

iTunes 5, inevitable

OS 10.6, active desktop... eh, take it or leave it. New dock... can't see why.

OS 11, 3D finder.. probably, Apple like pretty things 3d dock.. god no! G5 only? Bullsh*t! Tiger still supports G3's. I can see the small possibility of them dropping G3 support, but G4 support will hopefully still be in there. It is a possibility though, keep everything on the one platform, and 64bit only. I guess we'll see.

iWork, yip

Shufles, I can see this being true.. amused me too

iPods, as long as they're still profitable, there will always be new iPods with new features.

iPal, etc... moo?

 

[NetRyder]

Currently, the "Hardware Engineering" team has only managed a 867MHz Dual Core G5, which is slower than the current top of the line 1.64GHz G4. Also the battery life is roughly only at 1hr 45 minutes.

Oh hell...with the number of people chewing their fingernails off in anticipation of a G5 Powerbook, I'm sure that would sell too.

 

[SPeedY_B]

Which is exactly why they are in development, as soon as they get the G5 into a notebook without it melting, it's going to be an exceedingly profitable venture scary really

 

[ming]

This is a thread where we can start spreading rumours???

 

[NetRyder]

This is a thread where we can start spreading rumours???

If they sound reasonable...not something like "Steve Jobs leaves Apple and joins the Mozilla Foundation"

 

[gonaads]

If they sound reasonable...not something like "Steve Jobs leaves Apple and joins the Mozilla Foundation"

That could happen. :nervous:

Well he did leave once before.


I seriously doubt they would want him.

 

[Geffy]

he left once before, but not voluntarily

 

[Xie]

The thing I find most interesting is the iTunes 5 "Maintenance Agreement". I think that is all that I find lacking in iTunes.

 

[muzikool]

Too bad about the continuous problems with the G5 PowerBooks. I was hoping to see them unveiled at WWDC.

When will iTunes start offering higher bitrate files? I'm satisfied with the quality of them now, but with such a high adoption of broadband it makes sense that they would offer higher quality tracks. Of course that means more work/storage for them.

iPods moving to color is no surprise. I knew that would happen when I got my mini... I just didn't care to wait.

OS X 10.6 -- "Active Desktop" -- Never really used it much in Windows. Seems to me like it will be an aesthetic feature pleasing to the eye, kind of like Dashboard. Surely there will be some big things considering they are skipping 10.5 altogether.

OS 11 -- Not surprised the 3D element will be included. I used to think that Longhorn would add that... doesn't look likely now. It's also hard to believe they would leave G4 users behind.

 

[Geffy]

OS X 10.6 -- "Active Desktop" -- Never really used it much in Windows. Seems to me like it will be an aesthetic feature pleasing to the eye, kind of like Dashboard. Surely there will be some big things considering they are skipping 10.5 altogether.

I can see this being more useful in OS X than it was on windows. Simply because you can very easily run MySQL and PHP on your system along with apache which comes as default. On Windows it was so much more of a pain to try and do that. I have had a few ideas for things I could do with an Active Desktop on OS X.

 

[SPeedY_B]

I used to have PHPSysInfo on my desktop using Nagara browser.