I must admit, I've been a PC users for years, since the days of Windows 3.1 and I sure can say that Microsoft as come a long way in updating Windows and now with XP they've done it right. But a few weeks ago I purchased a Powerbook G4 just for fun and let me tell you, OS X is a beautiful OS!! Getting around doing things as never so easy. The system is incredibly stable and never crash. Nothing hangs, e.g. just right-clicking on the desktop to swith background is smooth, unlike Windows XP where a simple task like that seem so painful. No more surprise. With OS X, everything simply works, rock solid, no b******t! No popups, no viruses, no security patches 3 times a week!! Get a Mac and see for yourselves...

I'm sorry to get off topic here but what is up with all the double underlined words that appear to be ads for Microsoft Wi-Fi service? It appears that flash ad has gone through the article and underlined certain key words and turned them into links for Microsoft products, and this is an article about Apple. Have those scumbags at MS sunk this low?

Back on topic, I'd love to have this if it wasn't so expensive. I can't even afford a G3 yet, let alone this. :(

I don't see what you are seeing in this article, but I do know that there is a new form of advertising being tested on other sites (particularly OSNews).

Basically it makes a big bold underline on words and pops up info about them when you mouse over (or something to that effect)... it's actually a very unobtrusive advertising and much preferred to having huge ads in the middle of the article... this isn't a Microsoft thing.

This advertising only works in IE and, apparently, Opera.

I went to OSNews and they have a thread about it; the company behind it is Vibrant Media. While I agree it is much less intrusive, it can also be misleading for many people. Having one company place these "links" in an article about another companies product I mean. I know that sites like this have to make money some way, but this isn't a good idea in my opinion. I think it would be better to use something like Google does, rather than placing the ads right in the content of the article. Anyway I also found that it's very easy to block these things by adding the following line to your hosts file:

127.0.0.1 itxt.vibrantmedia.com

Mac's are so much better in many ways, and not as good in other ways. I am a PC user and always have been but I feel there is room for both. Mac's are made of quality and I wish we Windows user's got our OS updated even half as much (all we get is security patches and bug fixes). Mac's tend to be more "To the point" which I think is why many industry pro's in graphics or audio use them. With a Mac you don't need to think about anything other than your goal just open up the program and go, no need to fiddle with anything. It's also nice to not be greeted by bios settings when you boot up. PC's are like Hot Rods (take something old and soup it up) x86 architecture is archaic. I like my PC and have no reason to switch, much more software available to me, it's faster, and more fun hardware options available. I would buy a Mac as a second computer for music recording but unless things change drastically I won't give up my PC.

Microsoft used to release a new OS every year, and people complained, now Microsoft is waiting 4yrs to release a new OS, and people still complain.

are there any video encoding performance tests out yet? like how many fps do you get when encoding DVD to DivX?

as much as i'd like to see that, i don't think DVD ripping is on steve's mind right now. when the G5s come out in August or September and someone recompiles the rippers for 64-bit we'll know more

Is it just me but these Microsoft worshipers worry me Im shure they get on there knees every morning and pray towards Microsoft Headquarters, For example Disney are of coarse biast when they use Macs in prefernce to Wintel, George Lucas is biast when he uses Quicktime in preference to everything else, Pixel are of coarse Biast and dont know what there doing do they None of the above companys or Individuals have any importance or relevence to the computer user World do they, I mean to say the Guy that uses Exel on a Pentium 4 is far more important than George Lucas or Disney isnt he ????? NO I dont think so, what a stupid argument In truth no specialist uses Pentium 4's in preference to G4's or G5's, the Music industry (recording) uses Macs exclusivley as does the artists, All of the Reprographic Industries use Macs Pixel use macs, Disney use Macs, Unix people are using Osx now more and more. Ok I give up all the computer beginners of this world use Pentium Pc's for Office and Accounting programs or if you like Game Players so what ???? is that something you REALLY feel proud of, well do you????? Dont belive me go to MGM studios there's a Plaque outside thanking Apple macintosh and Sony not Microsoft or Intel and look on G,Lucas sites for Windows Media or Realtime, go to a Digital Repro house or fast Print place they will have a Macintosh computer. your all so stupid you would rather use an inferior Product just so that you can be true to Microsoft after all they did enable you to get a job didn,t they with Win 95-98

wow, you gotta relax a little there. if i didn't know better i'd say you were biased towards the mac which makes your argument a little hypocritical. to be upfront, i am biased towards the PC/Windows, but that's because i work with databases, primarily MS SQL. yeah, mySQL runs on OS X but until v5 we still don't even have SPROCS. it's getting there. i also do some video on the PC, nothing too fancy, just camera to VDub and then through Cleaner. if i want to do something more i go to FCP on the Mac and run there. does Mac makes the best video editing software out there? i'd say probably. would i spend $3,000 on a G5? not as my primary, but i think it's a great deal. given the choice between OS X and Windows 2k/XP i would hands down choose MS. OS X, even on the dual 1.4 using GB network at my work i'm still sluggish at times. it's not directly Apple's fault. as an example, Photoshop wants to use tiny thumbnails in the File, Open dialog box. however, in a catalog production environment this could mean OS X trying to generate thumbnails for several thousands of images in one folder. Adobe wants to show off Apple's software which makes Apple look bad. of course Windows has a slew of Q patches that need to be applied, but luckily there's the auto-update feature and the SUS so it's not too bad. so what the heck am i saying? stop bashing. people make a choice, but if you can't admit the faults in your choice you're no better than the rest. both Windows and OS X have their pros and cons, and i think that every situation is different.

I like the snappiness of winxp/2k ... os x on a dual 1 GHz and 1 Gb of ram runs slow... Moving and resizing windows is choppy...just like any other unix system with x windows. the gui is slow.

Oh what a bunch of cork. The dual 1 ghz have Quartz extreme enabled with very good hardware. I dare you to show me an actual system behave that way. I was at frys the other day and for kicks launched 8-9 quicktime movies at once on a power mac G4 and all of them played with out skiping. Even minimizing all of them with the genie effect seemed seamless and smooth and fast. All this while launching itunes and many apps. I moved the QT windows around and it was smooth and the video didn't skip. They continued to play in the dock. You can call this a stress test for the gui if you will.

Same day on a Fry's mulitmedia dream machine PC(the grey and silver one) with 2.53 GHZ p4 I couldn't launch two videos becaue media player wouldn't let me. But I played a video and launched a bunch of apps and the video started skipping

I was amazed at what apple had done with Quartz Extreme. I guess microsoft was too because they decided to copy it in longhorn.

i never really understood the "X copied it from Y" thing. maybe its just a pride in your choice OS or something. if X makes a change to its product and the public really likes it, it only makes sense that Y would do the same, maybe even take it up a notch. expose? how about Windows+M/s***+Windows+M from IE 4.01 desktop update circa 1998(?). expose is the same but 4 times better. iChatAV? how about netmeeting/ICQ/CUseeMe? once again, apple took the AIM framework and extended it and made it easier (although we had problems with Rendevous and panther). quartz engine? maybe microsoft will make it better. don't even look at the alphas/betas and make a comparison. airbags? GM in the 70's. the process of invention is often bettering someone else's product, and some invention/concepts just make sense to include in your product.

If you mean PIXAR, here's a newsflash: they just sunk a load of money into new hardware - Intel machines running Linux. Funny how Macs aren't good enough for the high-and-mighty Steve Jobs.

Im shure alot of peeple are Biast of coarse tey is like Pixel hoo hav a Plaque outside thanking Apple macintosh and the Guy that uses Exel on a Pentium 4 and these Microsoft worshipers your all so stupid.

People, I just want to know where all of you learned to spell. FYI: Biast is not a word. Try biased next time.

Take a look at the "new" Finder. It took Apple only eight years, but they've finally managed to copy Windows Explorer from Windows 95!

GOOD JOB, APPLE, KEEP UP THE AMAZING INNOVATIONS!

Judging from your comments I doubt you have even used Windows 95.

I have been using Windows machines (XP Pro currently) since the days of Windows 3.0. I chose it for the same reason most people choose an Operating System---applications. Windows has more of them and more of the ones I need (electrical engineer). However, I watched Steven Jobs speech on Panther and the G5 Mac. Anyone who thinks this OS is just catching up to Windows 95 (Explorer or anything else) must have seen a different demo than I did. The presentation was nothing short of incredible. I was stunned. I am suffering from a severe case of Mac envy. I will continue to choose OS platforms based on the applications but I plan to carefully check out the Windows app support in Panther. I would jump in a heartbeat if it were practical. The Unix underpinnings make OS X a wonderful base to build apps on. Now with the new more powerful 64 bit hardware & OS, the case is even more compelling. The IBM processor roadmap (970 followed by 980 & 990) will put extreme pressure on the Wintel folks. They are in danger of being lost in the dust.

I guess I'm not too familar with Mac processors to beign with, but will 64-bit processors pose any compatibility problems? Isn't that part of the reason we PC users are still using 32-bit processors--the 64-bit OSes and processors *can* run 32-bit programs, but it will be much slower than a "native" 64-bit app? And 16-bit is nearly out of the question?

Mac users, of course, never had Windows 3.1, and even on PCs use of 16-bit programs is nearly gone (except as "stubs" that check OS with some installers). But I know the Mac PPC processors already have emulation for the old 68k (not really needed for OS X, though, I suppose!) so I'm just wondering if 64-bit processors will pose any issues or whether it'll be transparent for most users.

amd says its 64 bit cpu runs 32 bit code FASTER. Intels 64 bit had x86 hardware on its 64 bit chip to execute 32 bit code but was slow and inel is working on software emulation for it.

apple got the right specs on the right machine. I still have this underlying feeling, when using the new g5's, it won't be the snappy quick needed to compete with wintel.

This is a very good step for Apple, however, you are correct it won't hold a candle to a new Intel rig.

Despite being 64 bit and much faster than previous Apple computers, the SPEC marks clearly show that even at 2GHz Xeons and Opterons blow the doors off of the thing. Go here and see for yourself. BTW, SPEC_RATE isnt nearly as important as SPEC_FP_peak and SPEC_INT_peak. http://www.spec.org/cpu2000/results/cpu2000.html Read it and weep, but its kind of too little, too late. I'll grab an opteron when the next set comes out.

sad thing this is probably the last chance for apple...longhorn will prrbably kill it...not because it better but because it will so much cheaper...amd is back and will probably have the best chip for a quarter or two...then intel will respond...ibm will not invest alot of money on the g5's...there is no marekt for it...

maybe, but that's two years off

I beg to differ.

Seeing where as the G5 (aka, PPC970) is just a scaled back Power4 (which is a VERY expensive chip), I'd say that IBM will start using them in lower-end workstations (as compared to their Power4 systems).

If the Mac is killed by Wintel, it is likely to be native app availability not OS features. Native application availability drives purchasing decisions. Longhorn will not be out for several years and Panther will be here this year. Longhorn will have to compete against the grandson of Panther. The rate of innovation at Apple has been very brisk since Steven Jobs returned. It is going to take more than marketing smoke and mirrors to compete with them.

Unless they faked the comparason, the G5 was more than two times as fast than today's best Wintel machines on real world apps. This was done using an OS that is still being refined and apps that were developed before Panther was released. The PPC 980 processor will be out in a year and is reported to be 4x as fast as the PPC 970. Things could get interesting.

Seeing what they did in the benchmarks I'm not sure I put much faith in their other demonstations either. Smoke and mirrors indeed.

"Unless they faked the comparason, "

I think that was the point. When you turn off performance features of the Pentium chip and optimize the G5 test bed for a configuration that will never see the light of day, you're bound to get better scores, even if only marginally.

I think the Mac does quite well on its own merits. But Steve Jobs comes off as a CEO with wintel envy.

I see what you mean. I found the following link to a review of the G5 demo and it looks like the usual marketing games all of the vendors play were in full swing:

http://www.extremetech.c...2/0,3973,1136517,00.asp

I guess we will have to wait for truely independant testing after the hardware (and Operating System) ships and applications designed for it are available to draw meaningful speed conclusions. Still these were 32 bit apps (recompiled?) used in the demo not "from the ground up" 64 bit apps. I wonder how much difference that makes? In the end, it is the available native applications that matter. That has always been Apple's "Achilles Heel".

Still, I can't help but wonder about the IBM processor roadmap (PPC970, 980, 990, 9900). If they were to really deliver on it, they are talking about 25GHz PPC9900 processors in 4-5 years. If Intel is able to keep pace, the real winners will be the users. Anybody want to hazard a guess when the first machine will become sentient (self-aware)?

Opteron is a 64 bit backward compatable processor from AMD and by all indications is very powerful. Intel, on the other hand, seems to be targeting its' 64 bit processors (Itanium 2) at the server market. Have you heard anything about plans for a desktop system using it? They have changed so much with the "very long instruction word" underpinnings that the app vendors may be afraid of backward compatability issues and the cost of rewriting applications. The third generation version of Intel's Itanium 2 processor (Madison) looks to be a real speed domon and many vendors appear ready with server offerings based on it. I have heard nothing recently about any Intel 64 bit backward compatable alternative for the desktop.