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The Lowdown on the 15" AlBook

- 2003.02.10

It's been over a month since Apple surprised us all with 12" and 17" PowerBooks, their smallest and largest laptops ever. (The Mac Portable still takes the cake for heaviest at nearly 16 pounds!)

Since then Apple has introduced new Power Macs, updated the G4 iMac, dropped prices on the eMac, released a one-third faster Xserve, and done absolutely nothing to the iBooks and PowerBooks.

Nothing. Nada. Zip.

Well, that's about to change. As expected, Apple is about to announce an aluminum version of the 15.2" titanium PowerBook. Between Big Al and Little Al, maybe we should call this one Middle Al?

The most obvious difference is the aluminum casing, which will give all three PowerBooks the same appearance - and should eliminate the griping about paint scuffing, titanium scratching, and paint flecking off.

There are no real surprises here. The 15" AlBook will have the same 1280 x 854 pixel 15.2" display as the current TiBook, will drop AirPort support in favor of AirPort Extreme, will have a FireWire 800 port, and will be just a tiny bit lighter and more compact than the TiBook.

Middle Al will have the same kind of hinge construction as the current aluminum PowerBooks. It will also run at the same speed.

That's right, no speed bump.

Nor will Apple move the ports to the side - with the PC Card slot on the left and the Combo drive or SuperDrive taking up most of the space on the right, there's no convenient way to do it at present. At least that's what our mole in the Apple janitorial services department tells us.

We wonder, though, why Apple can't move the PC Card to the right, leaving the left side for ports. Oh well, the unknown janitor hasn't let us down yet.

Oh, and one more thing, in keeping with recent price reductions, Apple will be reducing the price of the 15" PowerBook G4 from $2,299 for the Combo drive version and $2,799 for the SuperDrive machine to $1,999 for the 867 MHz Combo drive model and $2,499 for the SuperDrive machine.

One way Apple is saving costs on the 15" PowerBook is by using a reduced grade of aluminum - recycled soda cans instead of aircraft grade aluminum. They figure we'll never know the difference unless we drop or bake them....

- Anne Onymus

Recent Rumor Mills

Microsoft Announces Cash for Clunker PCs, 07.29. Beleaguered Microsoft, with declines in profits and market share, is offering cash for old computers to boost sales of new PCs with Windows Vista installed.
StealthMac: 2 Hardware Solutions for Mac OS X on Windows PCs, 01.26. Apple has been working on hardware to put a Mac inside a Windows PC for over a decade. The latest developments, according to our MacMole.
Apple Announces Mac OS X Licensing, 01.14. Apple decided it would rather switch policies than fight Pystar and others. OS X licensing program could change Psystar's future.
New Apple drive supports Blu-ray and HD DVD, 09.11. Tired of being second-guessed and sometimes outmaneuvered by Microsoft, Apple has embraced both next gen DVD formats with its new SuperDrive Extreme.
More in the Rumor Mill index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: iMac Core Duo, Jan. 2006 - The first Intel-based iMacs ran at 1.83-2.0 GHz, came with 17" and 20" displays.
Group of the Day: Mac Pro List is for those using a Mac Pro.
November 22 in LEM history: 99: Gradebooks - 00: Leveraging Apple design - Quadra 630 to Power Mac 5200 - 02: Laptop or desktop? - 04: SuperDuper: Quick, easy, efficient backup - Cross-platform programming for the rest of us - 05: Mac video surveillance on the cheap - Which OS is best for my vintage Mac? - No 'best browser' for the Mac - Sorry state of browsers for classic Macs - 06: Core 2 means cooler running 'Books - 2.0 GHz G4 upgrade
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Recent Deals

Best eMac Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz Combo, $100; SuperDrive, $269; 1.25 GHz Combo, $119; SD, $319; 1.42 GHz Combo, $289; SD, $498.
Best Mac OS X 10.6 and Mac Box Set Deals, 11.18. "Snow Leopard", single user, $25; 5 users, $45; Mac Box Set, single user, $139; 5 users, $180; Server, $414. Shipping included.
Best Xserve Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $649; 2.3 dual G5, $795; 3.0 4-core Xeon, $1,899; refurb 2.26 4-core, $2,499; new, $2,888; refurb 8-core, $2,999; new, $3,449; more.
Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 11.17. Used 1.83 GHz, $750; 2.16, $800; 2.33, $900; refurb 2.4, $1,299; 2.53, $1,449; 2.66, $1,699; 2.8, $1,899; new 2.53, $1,579; 2.66, $1,799; more.
Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.17. Used 400 MHz, $50; 933 MHz, $80; 500 dual, $60; 867 dual, $90; 1 GHz dual, $150; 1.25 GHz dual, $225; 1.42 GHz, $499.
Best Mac OS X 10.5 Deals, 11.17. "Leopard" upgrade, $80; single user license, $135; 5 users, $173; Mac Box Set, 5 users, $230; Server, 10 users, $340; unlimited, $850. Shipping included.
Best Mac mini Deals, 11.16. Used 1.42 GHz G4 mini, $379; 1.66 GHz Core Solo, $419; 2.0 Core 2, $450; new 2.26 GHz nVidia, $580; 2.53 GHz, $769; Server, $990.
Best iBook G4 Deals, 11.16. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo, $210; 1.33 GHz, $298; 14" 1.33 GHz, $398; 1.42 GHz, $479; SuperDrive, $498.
Best iPod shuffle Deals, 11.16. Used 1 GB, $35; 4 GB, $65; refurb 1 GB, $39; 2 GB, $59; new 2 GB, $55, 4 GB, $75. New and refurb prices include shipping.
More deals in our archive.

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