MARCH 6, 2000
musings by Gabriel Black

Can We Have Our Cake And Eat It Too?

A discussion on the G4 VS P3/Athlon debate

My Mac is over a year old, and yet it has very similar, and some superior speeds to a brand new top of the line G4. I have a Beige G3 300Mhz upgraded for $240 to 466Mhz. Yes, with out taking the processor speed into account the new G4 is a amazing machine! In almost every other area the G4's newer technology blows my old machine away. Unfortunately, whatever Apple says differently, CPU speed is important. Very important, I would say the most important specification on your computer. Apple is correct when it says, "That same Mhz between different chips does not equal the EXACT same speed." But, it is very similar. A rough estimate usually puts different manufacturer's chips within 20% of speed at the same Mhz. Of course, huge 100Mhz plus differences in speed render this speed difference obsolete, or rather a non-issue. But, I hear you crying, "What about altivec/velocity engine?" Good question.

Photoshop Madness

Does your mac using experience begin and end with Photoshop, Soundjam or RC5? Is that the only program you use? If you answered yes then, the G4 is faster than the Athlon/PIII for you. But, if you didn't answer yes (and i'm guessing 99% of you didn't answer yes) then the G4 is not as fast as windoze machines. There are 3 programs that use altivec. Just THREE, three programs. Its only a "SUPERCOMPUTER" when it uses one of these 3 programs. And don't talk to me about the future. I am talking today, now this second. The mac is woefully underpowered. And I as a poweruser am deeply disturbed by this. Most reviewers gushing over macs fail to notice that the speed battle between pc and mac is over. Unfortuately macs lost. Apple MUST do something before the gap grows even larger, or its recovery will be put in doubt. Power users/techies will begin abandoning the mac in droves, and unfortunately the consumer base apple will have left will be made up of people who like pretty colors and ignorant people who still think that the fastest mac is as fast as the fastest athlon. Innocent Victims

"When they first introduced the PowerPC it came along with graphics containing the futuristic data of new (and faster) PowerPC's and new Pentium processors based on slower cisc. What happened to those figures? I feel foolish to believe that I'm using a supercomputer. Friends do have the newest Pentiums and they're twice as fast. When comes the 1ghz G4 or better G5/G6? Maybe MacOS X wil impress my friends. It's not my G4! Payed almost twice the price!" -Henk Jan Meenink

This is what really bothers me. When I read something like this. I feel bad for Mr. Meenink, because I can relate to him. As a power user I know, to buy cheap upgrades at for good price performance. I hate to see, people who should be getting good deals on new apple hardware, get less than they would if they bought a PC. How can I, a man who hates to see people waste their money, say in good consciouns, "Yeah, the new G4's are a great deal. Go buy one." Because compared to PC's or even used beige G3's or used clones they aren't. Just 8 or so months ago the story was different. PC processors only went up to 500Mhz, while mac processors went as high as 400Mhz. Only a slight difference. Now the difference is astounding. 500 Mhz vs 1000 Mhz? And the prognosis doesn't look good. Still no sign of salvation from IBM or Motorola. Indeed, the rumors say that 500Mhz G4 chips are scarce and getting scarcer.

Irony

Soon Apple will coming out with OS X. Which seems to have great potential, and granted that it is just a first release, but as this recent article in Ars Technica points out, OS X is lacking in user interface and ergonomics. Is it ironic that just 8 months ago, I read somewhere that, "Apple has great hardware, but the ancient legacy MacOS is holding it down." Now, just a short time later, I think the oppisite will be true. People will say, "Apple has the incredible MacOS X, but the hardware is holding it down." Granted that multiple processors will give Apple more time, but they will just delay the inevitable. Sooner or later more intelligent people will notice the gigantic gap in top speeds between macs and pcs, and the price premium for high-end macs will again be hard to justify. Note I am only refering to high-end professional macs. The price performance of low-end imacs is pretty good especially used imacs.

Solutions or Fantasy?

What should Apple do? Switch to amd or intel for their processors? Yes, if it would be technically feasible, but it probably isn't. The answer IMHO is Apple must start reaming IBM and Motorola. Tell them to get their act together. If the G4 won't go above 500 then redesign it, or boost the G3 past 500. Anything, but for the sake of us all, dont just sit on your laurels a sin which the "old" Apple was best at. Apple also need to stop hiding the multiprocessor machines we all know they have. Release them now for godsakes! What's the point of sitting on them? Release the update to MacOS 9 while your at it. The new powerbooks have it already why don't we? Oh and here's an idea! Why not charge less and have smaller profit margins? Just like all the other PC manufacturers do. They all use the same parts now pci, ata/eide, agp, dvd, cd, usb; heck even firewire is crossplatform now (Sony uses it on it's PC's)! All PCs and Macs are all manufactured in ASIA. Surely, colored plastic is not that expensive. And if it is, then get rid of it. I prefer function over form anyway. It would be different if I drove my computer around the neighborhood, but usually it collectes dust under my desk in my office on the second floor of my house. I could count the people on my fingers who have even seen it. And instead of clogging our landfills with horribly designed see through keyboards and mice, why don't you just refrain from shiping any peripherals at all. Since people who can afford it usually buy new better designed (often beige) mice and keyboards anyway.

Conclusion

Why can we as Macusers have a awesome, fast, and inexpensive computer AND have a great user interface to go with it? It's the year 2000, you would think both would be possible in the same product. In other words, why can't we have our cake and eat it too?