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The Practical Mac
The $299 2 GHz iMac '040
- 2002.04.01 - Tip Jar
The G4 has finally reached the 1 GHz mark. This comes even as chips from Intel and AMD surpass the 2 GHz level. Will Apple ever catch up, let alone surpass its PC counterparts in MHz? The answer may lie in revisiting a decision made over eight years ago.
In the early 90s, Apple decided that the future of the Mac lay in changing the entire architecture of the computer. Macs had always used the 680x0 family of processors manufactured by Motorola. Apple decided to move its computers to PowerPC chips produced by both Motorola and IBM. The reasoning was that this new architecture provided more robustness and greater speed.
This theory proved to be true, at least for a while. During the
mid-90s, Apple often produced the fastest computers
on the market, even measured in raw megahertz. The
PowerBook 3400c was the
fastest notebook on the market when it was rolled out, just as one
example.
Alas, the chip engineers at Motorola and IBM began to fall behind their rivals at Intel and AMD. Gradually, the "PC" chips pulled away in the MHz race.
This could be the end of the story. But did you ever wonder what became of the Motorola 68040, or even the 68030, for that matter? Motorola didn't just say, "Oh well, Apple quit using this chip, let's shut down all production of it." No, quite the opposite occurred.
Motorola continued development, and the chip is now used in a wide variety of embedded and proprietary technologies. In fact, this venerable chip is approaching the 2 GHz level! This fact is not widely known because the chip is no longer used in the manufacture of consumer computers or peripherals. Apple should change this.
The celebration of the PowerPC G4's ascent to the 1 GHz mark has overshadowed the fact that the 68040, whose current top-of-the-line model runs at 1.9 GHz, is poised to double the G4's speed in a few short months. Prototype 68040 2 GHz models have appeared at OEM engineering plants in Taiwan and Malaysia. It is time to return this time-tested chip to the Mac.
Due to the fact that R & D costs for the evolution of the 68040 have been very low (reports suggest that a team of as few as three engineers have been involved in the continuing work), the current 1.9 GHz model costs approximately $19 in lots of 100.
Hard drives of 20 GB can be had for well under $100; 4-6 GB hard drives which, like the 68040 processor, are used only for specialty applications, cost less than $30 in quantity. Apple could use the 68040, a 4 GB hard drive, 32 MB of RAM, a 15" CRT (with the headlong rush into flat-panel LCD technology, they are practically giving away CRT's these days), and a standard CD-ROM to manufacture a true entry-level iMac at a cost of around $140.
Apple could price this iMac at $299 and sell every one they could manufacture. Package it with System 8.1 and AppleWorks, and you have a complete, entry-level consumer system for less than $300!
Eat your heart out, eMachines. A $299 consumer Mac would push Apple
to at least a 25% market share within 12 months, and who knows how high
after that. Sometimes the answers to the questions of the future lie in
the lessons of the past.
Steve Watkins is the Vice President for Information Technology for a mid-sized bank and also an attorney. He has been a Mac user for about ten years. He has owned some PCs along the way - but always came back to the Mac. If you find Steve's's articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.
Recent Practical Mac Articles
- 5 things Apple is doing right in 2008 - and 5 it could do better, 03.24. Apple has made great strides in the past five years, but there are still a few areas that need to be addressed.
- MacBook Air a compelling option for the true road warrior, 02.22. Although it's not intended as a desktop replacement and has a few shortcomings, the lightweight MacBook Air with its 13" display could be the perfect field computer.
- Mailsmith a simple, powerful, spam fighting alternative to Apple Mail, 04.23. Mailsmith is bundled with SpamSieve, integrates with Address Book, and has very flexible scripting tools combined with elegant simplicity.
- Can your spam with SpamSieve, 02.02. "Right out of the box, SpamSieve exceeded the accuracy of the Apple Mail filter I've been training for over a year."
- More in the Practical Mac index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: 17" iMac G4/800 MHz, July 2002 - The iMac 'grows up' with a 17" 1440 x 900 display.
- Group of the Day: LisaList supports Lisa users.
- November 8 in LEM history: 99: OS 9: I think I like it - 01: The simplified Mac life - Soured on Windows - Flea market Mac - 02: Little room for improvement in new 'Books - Combo drive upgrade for iceBooks - 04: Re-Porter - 05: Fix the old iMac or buy a Mac mini? - Apple's Copland project - 06: MacBook Core 2 - MacBook value equation - Cheap is as cheap does - 07: Problems with Classic mode in Tiger - The G4 Power Mac that won't run Leopard
- Support Low End Mac
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Quad-Core CPU Makes Sense in MacBook Pro, OS X 10.6 Causing Overheating, Overseas Power, and More, The 'Book Review, 11.06. Also Late 2009 MacBook reviewed, how to add RAM to new MacBook, 18.4in Acer notebook used Intel i7, and SanDisk SSD chosen for Sony VAIO X.
- Dumping Macs for Google Apps, SSD in iMac, Late 2009 iMac Performance Problems, and More, Mac News Review, 11.06. /newsrev/09mnr/1106.html
- WiFi Paranoia, iMac-O-Lantern, Magic Mouse Does Click, Free Clipboard Managers, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.05. Also strange time stamps, problem with ColorIt on Intel Mac, and the story behind OS X 10.5.4 install discs.
- IDE Is Dead; Long Live SATA!, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 11.04. SATA has displaced parallel ATA. While IDE hard drives haven't disappeared, the best deals are in SATA hard drives.
- QuickTime X in Snow Leopard Imports, Trims, and Publishes Video Quickly and Easily, Alan Zisman, Zis Mac, 11.04. The long, slow process of importing video into iMovie to edit it, then render it to another format, is history as QuickTime X does that much more quickly.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best Mac Pro Deals, 11.03. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 8-core. $2,299; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.26 8-core, $2,799; 2.93, $4,999.
- Best iPhone Deals, 11.03. New 8 GB iPhone 3G, $$99; refurb 16 GB 3GS, $149; new, $199; 32 GB, $299.
- Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.03. Used 867 MHz SperDrive, $348; 1 GHz, $499; 1.33 Combo, $298; SD, $559; 1.5 Combo, $448; SuperDrive, $589.
- Best Power Mac G3 and PCI Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used beige 300 MHz, $25; G4/366, $49; blue & white 350, $80; 400, $90; 450, $105; PCI video cards from $15; shipping additional.
- Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used 400 MHz, $50; 733 MHz, $69; 933 MHz, $209; 1.25 GHz dual, $299.
- Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 11.02. Used 2.0 GHz, $800; 2.2, $900; 2.4, $1,000; refurb 2.53, $1,449; 2.66, $1,699; 2.8, $1,949; 3.06, $2,169; new 2.53, $1,579; 2.66, $1,799; more.
- Best Mac mini Deals, 10.30. Used 1.33 GHz G4 mini, $379; 1.42, $389; 1.5, $419; 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $350; Core 2, $439; new 2.26 GHz nVidia, $580; 2.53 GHz, $770; Server, $990.
- Best G4 iBook Deals, 10.30. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo, $225; 1.33 GHz, $298; 14" 1 GHz, $349; 1.33 GHz, $398; 1.42 GHz SuperDrive, $498.
- Best Classic Mac OS Deals, 10.30. System 6.0.8 floppies, $10; 7.1, $12; 7.5, $20; 7.5 CD, $4; 7.6 $13; 8.1, $11; 8.5, $20; 8.6, $90; 9.0, $20; 9.2.2, $30.
- More deals in our archive.
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