New items from MacWorld Expo
(C) Alexei Kovalev
(C) Computer Review
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For a year in a row, Apple
at the beginning of January, has its own
exhibition MacWorld Expo in San Francisco.
This event, lasting for four days
usually brings key foreign
producers of software and hardware
software for the Mac platform and serves as a
kind of platform, using which,
Apple says about its future plans and
regular updates.
So, what is presented on the show its
the main instigator. Let's start with the iMac. On
MacWorld'99 to spectators Apple issued
updated version of the blockbuster U.S. retail sales. First,
there was Five new colors iMac (Strawberry,
Lime, Blueberry, Tangerine and Grape),
secondly, the improved filling of new
models - they are now supplied with a faster processor, PowerPC
G3, running at a frequency of 266 MHz, hard disk capacity
increased to 6 GB, with the price of the new model is $ 1199,
ie $ 100 less than the previous iMac was worth at the time
sales start (this, of course, talking about U.S. market). As
for color, then by According to Steve Jobs, Acting CEO for
the bulk of home users, this
parameter is more important than any megahertz, gigabytes, etc.
The company also showed off new
Model Monitor Apple Studio Display -
two with normal tube and 17 "and
21 "LCD with a diagonal of 15".
However, most attention was attracted
new workstations G3 (code name
Yosimite), which even before the MacWorld were a lot of
different rumors. Thus, new Power Macintosh G3 equipped with
processors PowerPC G3 300, and 400 MHz (second-level cache
capacity of 1 MW), is also planned that by the end of this year
there will be a model with frequencies of 450 and 500 MHz. As
for the other stuffing, then armed with G3 graphics accelerator
ATI Rage 128 and 16 MB VRAM have the system bus clock frequency
100 MHz and as many as four USB-ports for connecting
peripherals. Except The machine has a built-in 10/100
Base-T Ethernet interface and features
FireWire. The latter's work has shown himself, Steve Jobs as an
example to connect an external hard drive. He also showed a G3
at work on some applications - A few games and graphics package
Adobe Photoshop. Regarding the latter,
then according to head of Apple, for these applications, the
new Power Macintosh processor 400 MHz copes with the task faster
than PC with a chip Pentium II/450 MHz. By the way,
Apple and several revised pricing policy for its older models.
So, Power Macintosh G3 with minimal configuration
costs $ 1599. But the most important external difference from
the older G3 models - is the new design a la iMac. Power
Macintosh is packaged in a transparent colored plastic, but
unlike the iMac casing G3 (and a mini-tower) is just called
that allows you to easily make an upgrade of any component.
Among other important announcements should pay attention to
the early release of MacOS X operating system for servers (it
the first operating system platform for Apple, constructed on a
microkernel Mach). This product is worth $ 990, regardless of
the number of connected clients. The package includes Apache
Web Server and Web Objects server. MacOS X Server using a
special function NetBoot allows for remote boot OS to connect
to server workstations. Access to files may
carried out both by the network protocol TCP / IP, and with the
use of "native" AppleTalk.
In addition, at this MacWorld Apple
made another almost sensational statement. The company decided
to give preference OpenGL standard to its own
develop QuickDraw 3D. Proposed
Silicon Graphics in 1992, OpenGL will
integrated into future versions of Mac OS 8,
as well as MacOS X, as Apple and SGI on the eve of the
exhibition signed the agreement. By this event was even timed
the first public demonstration of Quake3 Arena, which held by
the head of id Software John Carmack, known supporter API
OpenGL. Worth, incidentally, to note that Jobs is seriously
undertook the conversion of the Macintosh real gaming platform.
He announced that there is an agreement with major
manufacturers of the gaming industry, and This year's MasOS
released over 10 games hits. Another bar to the thesis about
the gaming platform - at MacWorld the company demonstrated the
Connectix emulator Sony PlayStation for the Macintosh, which
called the Virtual Game Station.
Do not leave aside the platform and
Microsoft, immediately announced
Internet Explorer 4.5 for Mac, which
supposed to be even better than the IE 5.0
for Windows. In one of his speeches
Jobs in the course of the exhibition said that since the
release of iMac was released under MasOS 1355 updates and new
applications.
Separate topic at the exhibition held
Peripherals USB and FireWire,
because the other new computers
Apple simply does not.
All in all, was demonstrated at MacWorld
More than forty new USB-products - printers, scanners, data
storage devices and other things.
With regard FireWire, in the opinion
Apple, an hour of this standard, if not yet
struck, then it should happen just about.
It is worth recalling that the FireWire (IEEE 1394)
was developed in the Apple Computer back in the early 90's for
the connection of computer peripherals and consumer
electronics, and to the last time there was more on
paper, rather than specific products.
MacWorld has shown that the FireWire on the sly
begins to take "flesh and blood." Was
shows twenty new products with an interface FireWire.
Castlewood demonstrated his drive Orb, Dicomed - digital
camera, Epson - Special interface camera to connect a printer,
Fujifilm Microdevices - scanner slide film, Indigita - Tape
Drive, Kodak - Digital cameras, La Cie - hard disk drive and
CD-R. The same, plus a hub, showed
MacTell, Newer Technologies - A / V analog-digital converter,
PhaseOne - scanner with high resolution, VST - a hard disk and
magneto-optical drive. K It should be added that today the
company Canon, JVC, Kodak, Panasonic (Matsushita), Sharp and
Sony offer more than 50 different models of digital camcorders
with an interface FireWire.
Well, perhaps, and all of MacWorld'99 -
first computer show in this year.
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