Remember the snail ad Apple ran to promote the efficiency of the
G3 processor against Intel's Pentium? Several people
commented that it's a good thing the Pentium on the snail's shell
wasn't running - it would have toasted the poor
creature.
Intel continues to build CPUs with higher MHz ratings and higher
power consumption, something the State of California no
longer looks upon with kindness. In an executive order issued this
morning, the state will no longer authorize the purchase of any
computer with a CPU drawing more than 20 watts of power.
That will be a real boon to Apple, since the 733 MHz G4 in their
fastest computer typically draws just 14 watts and peaks at
17 watts. By comparison, the Pentium 4 at 1.5 GHz draws
55 watts - four times as much power as the fastest G4.
Not only does this throw the Pentium III and Pentium 4 out of
the picture, but the state will be auditing all personal computers
it owns for power consumption. As long as the California energy
crisis continues, the state will replace the most power hungry 1%
of its PCs with Macs each an every week.
With an estimated 3 million state owned computers, this
will add significantly to Apple's bottom line in the coming year.
Thirty-thousand computers a week for who knows how long will reduce
power consumption by almost 1 megawatt (30,000 x 30-35 watts
saved per computer) after the first week, and increase the
reduction by approximately 1 MW per week until the crisis
passes.
The state will also be offering tax incentives to businesses
that replace Pentium III and Pentium 4 systems with G3 and G4 Macs
by eliminating sales tax on Apple computers for the duration
of the crisis. Home users may also benefit from this.
With an estimated 20 million desktop computers in the
state, the goal is to see at least 10% replaced within the next two
to three months, reducing the state's power need by at least 50 MW
before the summer cooling season begins.
Nobody anywhere in or near California was available to comment
on this rumor.
- Anne Onymus
