A Supercharged Vision of ‘Power and Sex’
The personal computer isn’t dying--it’s going through a lifestyle change.
So claimed Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs in his Macworld Expo keynote address last week in San Francisco. Wearing his traditional blue jeans and black T-shirt, Jobs outlined his vision of the personal computer as the centerpiece of a new “digital lifestyle” era, in which the Macintosh is the hub that augments digital cameras, camcorders, portable music players and other gadgets.
Along the way, Jobs introduced new hardware and software that complement this vision. And when he unveiled a titanium-cased PowerBook portable that “combines power and sex,” the audience of 5,000 Mac zealots swooned.
By Friday, nearly 100,000 people had braved drenching weather to see the latest Mac products. And although Jobs still faces challenges ranging from a sales slump to a major operating system transition, Apple watchers I talked to agreed that he said the right things last week.
Why is there a stampede when the doors open for a Steve Jobs keynote? Maybe it’s the superlatives: “unbelievable” (he said it nine times), “incredible” and “great” (seven times each), “remarkable” and “amazing” and “huge” (five), “killer” and “awesome” and “stunning” (three). Yes, Jobs’ stage presence is “wonderful” (he used that word twice), but it’s his tradition of unveiling new products that makes the keynote a must-see.
This time, Jobs showed a new generation of the Power Mac G4 family--four machines, from a $1,699 model containing a 466-megahertz G4 processor to a $3,499 model running at 733 MHz.
Besides faster processors--previous Power Macs topped out at 500 MHz--all four models share a faster internal architecture and provide one more expansion slot than their predecessors. Although their faster processors only partially close the so-called megahertz gap between Macs and Windows PCs, the new machines often are faster than high-end Pentiums at tasks such as image manipulation and audio and video processing, thanks to the G4 processor’s design.
If you’re looking to buy, aim high--toward the 667-MHz or 733-MHz models that ship next month. These two use a faster version of the G4 chip. And note that you won’t be able to use your current Mac’s memory in the new G4s because the new models require faster memory chips.
Jobs didn’t introduce any new iMacs or iBook laptops. In fact, he never mentioned these mainstream mainstays. But focusing on the high end of the product line made sense. Consumer computer sales are at a cyclical low, and a fresh round of low-end Macs would have fallen on mostly deaf wallets. The new G4s appeal to Apple’s core constituency--graphics, publishing and audio-video professionals. These users demand fast computers and are always eager to upgrade.
The new Power Macs also include built-in CD burners. Apple has tweaked the Mac OS to enable drag-and-drop burning: insert a blank CD, drag files and folders to its icon and then eject the disc to burn the CD.
The 733-MHz Power Mac G4 will include a hybrid CD and DVD burner called the SuperDrive. This Mac will include iDVD, a new program for burning discs that play on consumer DVD players. You also can make DVD slide shows from scanned or digital camera images and create on-screen menus for navigating a DVD’s contents.
Jobs also introduced the titanium PowerBook G4, a new portable that’s thinner and lighter than previous PowerBooks yet sports a larger screen: a panoramic, 15.2-inch beauty that almost deserves the Apple-invented adjective “mega-wide.” Unlike Steve Jobs, I reserve the word sexy for things other than computers--like cool cars.
Still, the PowerBook G4 is seductive. The silvery titanium case is gorgeous. The keyboard is Apple’s best notebook keyboard yet. And the display’s wide-screen format is ideal for video-editing programs and for watching movies using the built-in DVD drive.
The standard G4 processor uses too much power and gets too hot for a laptop, so Apple used a new, low-power G4 chip. Even so, the PowerBook G4 gets noticeably toasty. The titanium case helps dissipate heat, according to Apple, as does a tiny internal fan.
The PowerBook G4 is still portlier than ultralights such as Sony’s 3.7-pound VAIO Z505 series, but it out-features and outperforms them, and it’s still svelte enough for frequent fliers. The new PowerBook won’t ship until month’s end.
Then there’s Mac OS X. Jobs announced that the new operating system will ship on March 24 and cost $129. Mac OS X will be preinstalled on new Macs beginning in July.
Macs cost more than Windows-based competitors and sometimes come in second in software availability. But the Mac also has a superior interface and operating system. The Mac’s plug-and-play reliability, together with iMovie, iTunes and iDVD, also makes it a more capable “digital hub” than a Windows PC.
And the Mac still has the most loyal users in the industry. When was the last time you read about Dell fanatics or Gateway zealots? That loyalty stems in part from a shared sense of being the underdog, but it also comes from an awareness that, despite occasional blunders, it’s Apple that continues to raise the bar in personal computing.
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Jim Heid is a contributing editor of Macworld magazine.
