Apple Developer's Conference: Big News
Category: Apple/Mac OS...
Posted Monday, August 07, 2006 at 12:38 PM [GMT-6]

I just checked in on MacWorld's live coverage of Steve Jobs keynote address at Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, and even though this conference is not generally about product announcements , there's usually at least one big one thrown out by Jobs just for fun. This year's no exception, as Apple is rolling out its MacPro desktop box sporting two dual core Intel Xeon processors:

"Well, today, the Power Mac is going to fade into history," said Jobs. Apple VP of worldwide sales and marketing Phil Schiller joined Jobs on stage to introduce its replacement.

Schiller introduced the Intel Xeon-based Mac Pro. The processors that power the Mac Pro are Intel's "Woodcrest" design -- dual core processors at speeds up to 3GHz.

The new machines will support up to 16 gigabytes of RAM, and up to 2 terabytes of internal hard drives (via four snap-in enclosures). The standard configuration features two 2.66GHz dual-core Xeon processors, 1GB of 667MHz memory, 250GB storage, Nvidia GeForce 7300GT graphics with 256MB VRAM and a 16x SuperDrive optical drive, priced at $2,499. Upgrades are available to 3GHz processors, a heftier video card, and the previously mentioned maxed-out RAM and hard drive capacities.

The systems go on sale today; interestingly, Apple's website doesn't yet have an announcement, showing just how new this news is.

Hmm. Time to upgrade?

Technorati tags: |

Permalink
Comments

It's a shame the Blogathon is over. Those would make ideal quiz prizes.

Posted by: Brian at August 7, 2006 04:56 PM

Yeah, I just have rotten timing, don't I? OTOH, it's probably just as well. There would probably have been a backlash after I won all of my own quizzes.

Posted by: Eric at August 7, 2006 05:02 PM

Those numbers are mind boggling. I need to think about something else while my internal processor cools down.

Posted by: Jim at August 7, 2006 06:33 PM

I'd hold off pulling out the credit card until the software apps for the Intel Macs catch up with the hardware. A fun machine to have, but for the price, it would be like shelling out for an '07 diesel right now and then trying to find a service station that carries the right type of fuel.

Posted by: John at August 7, 2006 11:56 PM

John, you're exactly right, and I won't be shelling out for the new box until Adobe releases a UB version of Photoshop and Acrobat.

OTOH, even running under Rosetta, I suspect these new machines still run circles around my aged 500MHz G4.

Posted by: Eric at August 8, 2006 06:40 AM

eric - have you had a chance to check out some of the new features on the leopard operating system? they have some clips up at apple.com... looks pretty impressive. guess i'll spending even more money that i've already spent!

Posted by: kyle at August 8, 2006 09:14 PM

Kyle, I read about some of the new features in the MacWorld article, but haven't been to Apple's website yet. I need to do that.

Of course, I'm still running Panther. I'll probably end up skipping Tiger altogether, assuming I can scrape up enough cash to get a MacPro early next year!

Have all of your audio apps gone universal binary?

Posted by: Eric at August 8, 2006 09:18 PM
Post a comment [Take your time...we're in no hurry.]
Note: You must provide either a website URL or an email address...but there's no rule that says you have to tell the truth. If you don't want your email address published on this site, just input a website URL, or make up an email address.









Remember personal info?