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Pressing Ever Forward (8/10/98)
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So the Power Mac G3 continues to do well, and we're all hearing about the next generation using the "Yosemite" motherboard and the "El Capitan" translucent case. And the iMac is selling like gangbusters (even though it's not actually out yet), and we're all looking forward to next year's "eBook" consumer portable. So what about the future of the PowerBook? Just because its last major overhaul arrived only a few short months ago, that doesn't mean that Apple is standing still in the pro laptop world. Mac OS Rumors has early details on next year's successor to the PowerBook G3 Series, alias Wall Street.
Sometime next year, Apple is expected to introduce "Lombard," the next generation in professional-level PowerBooks. According to Rumors, Lombard will pack a G3 processor running between 450 and 600 MHz, plus a full megabyte of backside cache and that wacky set of processor instructions known as AltiVec. Combine those little facts with Lombard's 100-166 MHz system bus, and you can expect performance to completely shatter all records in laptop performance. In step with Apple's peripheral architecture plans, Lombard will include on-board USB and FireWire (replacing today's serial, ADB, and SCSI) and a fast IrDA port. And of course, the case will be fantastic; early prototypes are even curvier than Wall Street's, and are built from the translucent plastics that are fast becoming Apple's trademark.
And Lombard won't just be cooler than Wall Street, it'll also be cooler than Wall Street. Perhaps the best news of all for the high-end road warriors out there, the Lombard architecture reportedly may include a special "cooling duct" system, which will supposedly pipe air away from the PowerBook's internal components via the use of a more powerful (yet quieter) fan. This efficient circulation system, coupled with the probable lower power consumption of next year's high-speed G3 processors, ought to translate into a much cooler working temperature of the overall laptop. That's music to the ears of Wall Street owners, who have single-handedly expanded the market for asbestos chaps by nearly tenfold.
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 8/10/98 episode: August 10, 1998: Who's that waiting in the wings, ready to burst upon the scene next year? Not to worry; it's just Mr. Lombard. Meanwhile, Apple pushes its manufacturing plants to the brink of oblivion in order to create as many iMacs as possible before the launch date, so that they can actually use some of the nifty ads they've concocted, and Microsoft makes a legal move that could be seen either as desperate or foolhardy or both...
Other scenes from that episode: 926: Brace for the Blitz (8/10/98) So, uh, where are all the iMac ads? We've all heard that Apple is spending a whopping $100 million on promotions pushing the little blue guy onto the consumer market, but so far, all we've seen are little brochures, some banners, and empty boxes on display at the local Microcenter... 927: It's Worth a Shot (8/10/98) As they threatened to do last week, Microsoft has gone ahead and filed a summary judgement requesting Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson to dismiss the antitrust lawsuit we've all grown to know and love as "Redmond Justice."...
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