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If Only Kafka Had Had One (9/15/99)
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Meanwhile, everyone's favorite new computing munition continues to strike awe into the hearts of those who witness its gigaflop performance first-hand. The Power Macintosh G4 even sort of looks like a weapon, with its "graphite" color reminding us quite a bit of gun-metal grey. But even though Apple's G4 commercial plays up the fact that the system is too powerful to ship to several "sensitive" countries, the company is apparently more than willing to give up that dubious distinction in exchange for the ability to sell the G4 to anyone who wants to buy one.
According to an InfoWorld Electric article, during his keynote address at Apple Expo in Paris, General Steve noted that Apple is indeed "working toward getting the U.S. authorities to lift the export restrictions" that prevent the G4 from legal export to the over fifty countries who, according to the government, might turn the awesome power of the G4 against us. Nor is Apple the only entity pushing for an update of what appear to be antiquated export laws; lots of people in the computer field note that, well, a gigaflop just isn't all that fast anymore. Yes, it's blazingly fast for a personal computer like the G4, but modern supercomputers (by industry standards, not government standards) reportedly run about a thousand times faster than Apple's fastest system, and therefore the restriction criteria should be bumped up accordingly. Proponents of the proposed changes hold that the very fact that anyone's released a $1599 personal computer that can't be exported to several countries shows just how behind the governmental "supercomputer" definition really is.
So let's say Apple et al are successful in getting the export restrictions relaxed a bit. That would mean the "Tanks" ad pretty much goes out the window. On the other hand, just imagine what Chiat-Day could do if the G4 turns out to be instrumental in altering government export policy. "G4: The Power To Cut Through Red Tape." "G4: Fast Enough To Change The U.S. Government." It could be sweet...
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SceneLink (1783)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 9/15/99 episode: September 15, 1999: The iBook is shipping, but that doesn't mean you'll necessarily be able to get one right away. Meanwhile, Apple works to lift the export ban on its new G4s, and what happens when you stick a gigaflop into a sleek black case that weighs less than five pounds?...
Other scenes from that episode: 1782: Get In Line, Buddy (9/15/99) So is everybody rejoicing over the news that the iBook is finally shipping? As most of you know, Steve Jobs just announced that the first consumer portables off Apple's assembly lines (or, perhaps more accurately, off the lines of the third-party firm actually building the things) have started on their merry way to retailers all over the country, as well as to customers who placed pre-orders at the Apple Store... 1784: Supercomputer-To-Go (9/15/99) Okay, let's see... Apple's got four product lines. The "Consumer Portable" line was just launched in July, with the debut of the iBook, which is now shipping. The "Consumer Desktop" is the iMac, which has been refreshed with better pricing and/or new features no fewer than three times in the year since its introduction, and a fully-revamped "iMac 2" code-named "Kihei" is reportedly due for unveiling some time next month...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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