Time for a G5 only iApp
Yesterday I saw, for the first time, a new G5 iMac. Of course I had seen pictures and specs on the web but this was my first physical encounter with Apple’s latest offering. I’ve got to say the pictures a diagrams don’t do it justice. You can look at all the panoramic QuickTime VR shows you want but until you see an example in person you won’t really be able to appreciate the amount of cool radiating from Apple’s latest piece of plastic and white goodness. The new iMac also seems much more stable in person than you would imagine from merely gazing at online renditions. I’m not implying a determined two-year old couldn’t send the thing stand over screen but it will take a near conscious effort for an adult with reasonable control of their extremities to up-end the device. I’ve been surprised when I saw Macs in person before. Strangely enough the first time I saw the new PowerMac the exact opposite thing occurred, I thought it looked spectacular on the web but in person I was less impressed. Don’t get me wrong, I’d still knock my grandmother down a flight of stairs to get one, I just wasn’t overwhelmed.
I guess my slack jawed gaping is a good thing for Apple. It is also reassuring to know that others who have the fortune of using and seeing the new iMac also found their jaw muscles completely relaxed and unresponsive for moments on end because I would hate to be the only drooling geek around. Loss of mastication ability aside the experience left me very desirous of the new iMac. The problem is that I can’t possibly justify the expenditure. I know the machine is an excellent value compared with a PowerMac or similarly equipped Windows machine (isn’t “similarly equipped Windows machine” an oxymoron?) but it doesn’t really do anything (except look cool) that my computers can’t (1 GHz iBook and a G4 Yikes upgraded to 1 GHz). I realize that the G5 iMac will do everything (except boot into OS 9) faster than my current computers but I’m actually fairly pleased with the speed of my configuration. Well to be brutally honest my computers aren’t holding me back, I’m the biggest bottleneck in this particular man-computer relationship. To put a finer point on it: In this situation the biggest increase in performance would not be gleaned by replacing the hardware but rather by replacing the fleshware.
I suppose if I were young, unfettered by family obligations and joint checking I could just make the financial plunge and splurge on a new machine. I have long passed that worry free time, spouses and two year olds show up you’ve reached a point in life where expenditures must be discussed and dissected. For example my last desktop purchase was justified by the ability of the machine to run iMovie. Every attempt I make to justify a new computer to my wife proceeds along the following lines:
“Well its time to get a new computer” say I.
“Oh did your old one break?” replies she.
“No, it’s just you know getting old. Heck I bought it way back in 2000”
“But you put that upgrade card in it right?” she returns.
“YesÉ” I deftly answer.
“So what will this new computer do that your old one won’t?” She asks.
“Uh, it will do everything faster!” I reply slowly.
“That’s it?” She inquires
“Pretty much” I admit in utter defeat.
“Fine. Just as soon as I get that Jaguar I’ve been wanting. My car is a little pokey you know.” She opines.
And then it’s over, just like that. The problem is that she is completely correct, my computer does do every task I assign with a fair amount of ease. There’s absolutely no reason for me to incur the expense of buying a new machine other than the fact that I’d really, really like one. And honestly that’s not a very good reason. Here it is tempting to blame Apple for building such forward looking computers, computers that will easily outlast the planned upgrade cycle of most folks. Rather than blame Apple for making such a nice machine I’d rather beg Apple to release a G5 only iApp.
Why make an application that positively requires the computing power resident in a G5 chip? Because nothing moves hardware more quickly than “must have” software. By producing an iApp (I only choose an new iApp because they have broad appeal, really any sufficiently useful program will work) that requires a G5 Apple will provide the excuse, errr, justification that thousands need to push them into buying a new machine. Not knowing any computer companies that want to sell fewer machines it can only be a good thing for Apple. I’ll leave the particulars of the program to the software geniuses populating the campus on Infinite Loop. I would only request that it is immediately useful, something no one has thought of yet, indispensable and available next Tuesday. Thanks in advance Apple.
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How about Motion? Just look at the recommended specs at apple.com!
Ok… it’s not an iApp.
Making software specifically for the G5… now that is a VERY STUPID IDEA!!
I will never accept that software applications written for specific chips should be designed to move hardware.
A much better idea would be to make software that works on as much hardware as possible… but take advantage of specific hardware WHERE IT MAKES SENSE.
Chopping off the current user base to support the G5 chip is the worst idea anyone can think of, particularly since Apple went to great lengths just to make the G5 remain compatible with software written for the G4 and G3 processors.
seriousl,y especially when there selling ibook and powerbooks with G4 processors still
(coming from a guy on a bran new ibook)
I think you are missing the point of this very well written essay.
In the Windows world - software is being developed at a breakneck pace which effectively “closes the door” on older machines and incites a “must upgrade” mentality that is driving PC sales.
Every one of us could do 90% of what we do every day on a Pentium III - 700 mhz winbox. The machines that we all turn our noses up on now as being too old were state of the art and huge horsepower machines 3 years ago.
What drives us to snub these machines now? New software that requires more juice. MS Office is getting beefier, Adobe apps are demanding more etc. So we abandon our old, perfectly good machines to upgrade.
The problem is, the Mac is so well designed that new apps aren’t making old machines obsolete. Certainly not at the pace that we see on the PC side.
So what Chris is suggesting is that if you can’t build software that encourages upgrades - write stuff that requires them. He may not be totally serious about his suggestion, but it does point out what we already know - that the staying power or useful life of the Mac that we love, is also a detriment.
The one area where a G5 only app might best be received is in gaming. Time and time again, new games, with new graphics or processor demands drive PC upgrades. The most recent and perfect example of this is Doom 3.
Read the reviews. The plot and playline of the game is nothing different from before - but its the graphics that makes the game fly off the shelf. And Doom 3 is the game that a lot of users are using to justify significant expenditures on graphics cards or complete new machines.
If you ask me - what Apple needs is 1 or 2 killer Mac only games (or Mac first games) Something that is so cool, that is so amazing that people will actually consider switching or consider buying a Mac as their next computer.
Right on the head. Thanks SQLDba. I was not seriously advocating the release of a G5 only program just for the sake of having a G5 only program.
The game idea is very nice. It has long been a practice to release a game system along with a must have game. A game so wanted that people will buy the entire system just to play the game. It’s a stretch to imagine a game could do the same for a computer platform, but it wouldn’t hurt.