MacRumors' Mac Blog: Mac Apps, News and Rumors

One reader (mrougeux) reports that his credit card called him regarding a charge from Apple Computer for his Dual 2.0GHz. Online store stats don't reflect shipping, but credit cards are typically not charged until products ship. [Indeed, it's possible that it could have been a preapproval charge placed... but we won't know more until mrougeux can supply some...

MacBidouille claims there is now a 6-8 week delay on PowerBooks, hinting at updates...

Samsung ML-1710 Monochrome Laser Printer. $169.23 at Office Depot. $20 Coupon (via link) $70 Mail in Rebate ---------------- $79.23 Total Readers have recently discussed their experience with this printer. Link: Office Depot: $20 off $100 - (Will appear at checkout) ...

BestBuy is offering a $150 mail-in rebate on all Laptops as well as free shipping. Offer ends on August 9, 2003. $1999 - 15" PowerBook w/ Combo Drive $1799 - 12" PowerBook w/ Superdrive $1299 - 12" iBook w/ Combo Drive [Update: Items have been removed from BestBuy.com]...

MacBidouille claims tht the 90nm PowerPC 970 will start production in November, with volume production by January 2004. The site claims PowerBooks will utilize the smaller processor by Feb/March 2004. In addition, MacBidouille reports that the specs for Altivec 2 have been completed, and should be implemented in 2005, with the PPC...

Dell is now offering 25% off select Dell LCD Monitors and 15% off 3rd Party LCDs until the August 6, 2003. UltraSharp 1800FP, 18" LCD: $599 - $149.75 = $449.25 UltraSharp 2000FP 20" LCD: $1099 - $274.75 = $824.25 Planar 19" LCD: $709.95 - $106.49 = $603.46 They will work with a Mac, but be sure to check the interfaces. Link:

MacWorld.co.uk reports that according to UK resellers... the PowerBooks are in "short supply" ...

Panther Server 7B20 has seeded. No details. Update: Minor Details at...

J&R is selling Final Cut Pro 4 for $899.00. $100 off retail. Due to sales restrictions, the lower price is only displayed once you add the software is added to your cart. Link: Final Cut Pro 4 ...

MacBidouille claims the 980 is coming. Based on the Power5, with 3 Altivec units, 1MB L2 Cache, Hyperthreading, and are currently under testing. Supposedly, a significant performance increase over the PowerPC 970 (also known as the...

PowerPage.org claims that Apple is still having engineering problems with the 15" Aluminum PowerBook. They also report that the PowerBook 17" as been End-of-Life'd...

ThinkSecret offers distributer data from Ingram Micro on the delivery dates of the PowerMac G5's. According to Ingram Micro, dates in August are targetted for the 1.6 and 1.8GHz machines, while "late September" is the expected date of the 2.0GHz model. Meanwhile, those who have ordered their 2.0GHz PowerMacs early from Apple continue to have late August delivery...

One report notes that PowerMac G5 demos will be at most Apple stores in about a week. ...

MacBidouille reports that 7457 production is delaying Powerbook releases until Mid...

Inforworld takes a tour of the Fishkill plant, but notes: Our tour guide confided that the PowerPC 970 chip (Apples G5) is not yet in production in Fishkill, but it takes no time at all to get a new chip into the line. The Fishkill plant was touted as the location for production of the PowerPC 970's. While the article was published on July 25th, 2003 -- it's uclear when the...

TheRegister.co.uk notes that Motorola is selling a product based on the 7457 -- hinting at it's soon...

MacBidouille claims that IBM's production yields on PowerPC 970's greatly exceed those of Motorola's yields on the PPC 7457. According to the French site, IBM is able to produce 105 PPC 970's from a 12" wafer with a 80% certification rate of 1.6-2GHz chips. Motorola, however, is reported to produce 98 G4 PPC's with only 1/5th the yield of IBM on (presumably a similar sized?) wafer. ...

MacOSRumors posts an update claiming that the future Powerbooks will have backlit keyboards throughout the entire line. iMacs are also supposed to get mild case revisions -- slightly smaller and lighter: Whether the shell would actually be made of metal, or would simply be silver-backed plastics similar to previous PowerMac G4 enclosures, is not yet clear; it is definite that the...