As the Apple Turns: Scene 1874: Ask The Magic 8-Ball (10/27/99)

Ask The Magic 8-Ball (10/27/99)

Well, how about that... they're barely on the shelves, yet, and people are already talking about the Next Big Thing. Not a day after we wished for a Graphite iBook Special Edition, rumors have surfaced that the iBook rev. B might be just that. Faithful viewer Michael LeRoux sent us to an iBook-User article which claims to have preliminary specs for the revised iBook, supposedly due a few weeks after January's Macworld Expo. iBook-User claims that Apple will split the iBook line into two distinct models, much the same way that the iMac now comes in three configurations: the "basic" iBook will be much like it is now, but with a 350 MHz processor, a 6 GB hard drive, 64 MB of RAM, video-out, the new ATI Rage 128 Mobility graphics chip, and a slot-loading CD/DVD drive. Well, okay, maybe it's really not all that much like the current iBook after all...

The specs for the "enhanced" model, though, are even more droolworthy; imagine a 400 MHz G3, an 8 or 10 GB hard drive, 96 MB of RAM, and a FireWire port in addition to the features listed above. Oh, and it'll be Graphite and white. Now that's an iBook to dream about. Unfortunately, we have a feeling that dreaming about it is all we'll ever get to do, because we're very skeptical that Apple would sell an iBook so loaded with features. Really, look at the specs for this supposed Graphite iBook. If it became available, would anyone ever have a reason to buy a PowerBook instead? Sure, the screen would still only be 12.1 inches, but with video-out that's hardly a major problem. And remember what the iMac revision B added? A Rage Pro, some extra video RAM, and a slightly larger hard disk-- nothing more. So a rev. B iBook with so many new features sounds unlikely to us.

On the other hand, the folks at Mac OS Rumors have posted their own specs for a new iBook, due "by the early second quarter of 2000," and while they're not identical, they're close enough to iBook-User's list to make you wonder. MOSR lists three models instead of two, processor speeds running from 333 to 366 MHz, hard disks ranging from 4 to 8 GB, RAM from 32 to 96 MB, a possible FireWire port in the high-end model, trayless CD or DVD drive, depending on configuration, and Rage 128 Mobility in the "Best" config. In fact, the biggest difference between the two lists is that MOSR states the iBook will gain a built-in microphone, while iBook-User says it won't. So what do you think, sirs? There's no doubt that Apple's cooking up something in the iBook department, but we sure don't pretend to know just what...

SceneLink (1874)

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The above scene was taken from the 10/27/99 episode:

October 27, 1999: Dell's getting just a little bit too much like Apple, as our heroes are bumped into second place in educational sales. Meanwhile, Apple may be shifting most or all of its sales to the Apple Store-- where does that leave the resellers? And even though some pre-orders for iBooks haven't even been filled yet, some people are already talking about Next Year's Model...

Other scenes from that episode:

1872: We Don't Need No... (10/27/99) Ah-- the student has surpassed the master, grasshopper. We all know that for the last several months, Mike Dell's tacitly recanted his infamously catty comment about Apple ("If I were running the company, I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders") by seemingly trying to make his company as much like Steve's as possible...
1873: So Long, Suckers... (10/27/99) While we've been talking a lot about how Dell's copying Apple, it's worth noting that now Apple's copying Dell-- or at least that's what the rumors say. Not that a bit of Dell emulation is anything new to Steve and the gang...

Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast...


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