Vic Lennard gives the lowdown on the new range of Apple computers and accessories...
With the best‑selling iMacs and a powerhouse computer in the G4, it was difficult to see how Apple could improve on their range. But improve they have, announcing a slew of new products at last month's Macworld Expo in New York.
Top of the list is a sexy looking entry‑level G4 — the G4 Cube. Featuring a 20cm cube‑shaped chassis suspended inside a clear plastic surround, the Cube offers either a 450 or 500MHz processor, 64Mb RAM (expandable to 1.5Gb through three PC100 DIMM slots) and a slot‑loading toaster‑like DVD drive on the top, plus two FireWire and two USB ports, 10/100Base‑T Ethernet, AirPort card slot (with built‑in antenna) and a 56K V.90 modem. Pricing will be around £1,300 for the 450MHz version and £1,749 for the 500MHz model — a discount of £450 and £700 respectively compared to the equivalent‑speed standard G4.
The G4 Cube is virtually noise‑free, thanks to the fact that it's convection‑cooled — a feature which is advantageous for use in the recording studio environment. As the power‑supply unit is external, there's no need for an internal fan. Access to the innards is via a retractable handle on the bottom, which is where all connectors reside. Only the power 'switch', a capacitive affair with no moving parts, can be found on the top. The Reset and Interrupt buttons are also found underneath and are rather awkward to get at, if the Cube is placed on the floor.
The video side has, as per the current range, a 16Mb ATI Rage Pro 128 chipset. Output is via the new digital ADC (Apple Display Connector) or standard VGA port, though not both at the same time, which makes dual‑monitor applications currently impossible.
Included are a pair of miniature 20W Harman Kardon speakers that connect to a cigarette‑packet‑sized external amplifier with a headphone output socket. This connects via a USB port and is intended to sit on the desktop. Unlike on the iMac, an iSub subwoofer is not an option, as two independent USB audio devices are not supported.
Apple have also finally abandoned their round mouse and cutdown keyboard. The Cube comes complete with the newly designed Apple Mouse Pro, which uses an optical sensor instead of a rolling ball. It's a shame that a second button wasn't added at the same time, to help with contextual menus and the like. There's also the Apple Keyboard Pro, a full‑size unit that now boasts Volume, Mute, and Disk Eject keys but no Power‑on button. Consequently, new Macs have to be shut down via the Finder's Special menu or the Reset button (remember where that is?) after a crash, while older Macs used with the new keyboard have to be turned on via the computer's Power button.
So what is the Cube missing? There are no PCI slots or extra drive bays, making this as inexpandable as the iMac. The processor appears to be daughter‑card based and possibly upgradeable, though Apple is certainly not advertising it as being so.
The G4 Cube would be suitable for someone starting up a music studio — for someone without any legacy baggage such as SCSI hard disks, Zip/Jaz drives, CD writers or the like. However, anyone wanting to use the professional solution of PCI card‑based serial ports for older MIDI interfaces could not do so. Another omission, presenting dire consequences for the basic digital studio, is the lack of analogue audio ports. This means that an alternative method for audio input and output has to be found through either USB or FireWire‑based devices. Perhaps the forthcoming mLAN protocol (see page 118), which works via FireWire, will provide a solution.
Dual Process
The latest iMac 'flavours': indigo, ruby, sage, graphite and 'snow' (that's white to you and I).
The real surprise is the release of dual‑processor versions of the 450 and 500MHz G4 at the same price as the previous single‑processor versions (£1749 and £2449 respectively). Also included as standard are Gigabit Ethernet and larger hard disks (30 and 40Gb). The entry‑level 400MHz model remains the same (apart from the uprated Ethernet) and retails at £1149.
In his Macworld keynote speech, Steve Jobs ran a series of Photoshop actions to create an Inspector Gadget poster. A 1GHz Pentium III took 124 seconds; the single‑processor 500MHz G4 shaded this at 100 seconds; but the new dual‑processor 500MHz G4 skated in at 61 seconds! Admittedly, the version of Photoshop being used was optimised for the task, but the results are still impressive. However, as with the Velocity Engine, dual processors only have an advantage when software has been designed to recognise and use them. The additional horsepower lends itself to the processing involved in real‑time audio filtering; I'll keep you posted as software companies announce support.
<h3>New iMacs</h3>
It had to happen. Apple's fruit‑gum‑coloured range of iMacs has grown up and taken on a rather more strident colour scheme. The basic indigo (dark blue) model will be available in September, and sports a 350MHz G3 processor, 64Mb RAM expandable to 1Gb, 24xCD‑ROM drive, ATI Rage Pro 128 graphics with 8Mb RAM, 10/100Base‑T Ethernet, two USB ports and an internal 56K modem, as before, plus a larger 7Gb drive. It also comes with the new mouse and keyboard at a reduced price of £649 inclusive of VAT.
The three DV models have the addition of two FireWire ports, AirPort support and a VGA output for video mirroring. The 400MHz iMac DV in indigo or ruby (dark red) has a 10Gb drive and a reduced price of £799 while the new 450MHz iMac DV+, in indigo, ruby or sage (dark green), houses a 20Gb drive, DVD drive and a price tag of £999. Both have only 64Mb of memory as standard — instant upgrade time!
Top of the tree is the 500MHz iMac DV Special Edition in snow (white) or the previous graphite. With a 30Gb hard disk and 128Mb memory as standard, the price remains unchanged at £1199. From the SOS viewpoint, it still includes 16‑bit stereo, 44.1kHz analogue audio in/out ports plus dual mini headphone sockets and support for USB audio devices. Also, the additional VGA monitor socket on the DV models lets you use a larger screen if you wish, though the standard 15‑inch screen can display up to 1024 x 768 pixels.
And Finally...
Remember three years ago when it looked as if Apple was either going to sink or be the subject of a hostile takeover bid? Well, Apple have just posted their eleventh consecutive profitable quarter, with a net profit of $200 million for the quarter ending 1 July. Revenues were $1825 billion, up 17 percent from last year, and there were sales of 1,016,000 units during the quarter, including over 350,000 G4 systems and nearly 450,000 iMacs, leaving the company with $3.8 billion in cash and short‑term investments.
Interestingly, international sales accounted for 46 percent of the quarter's revenues. Perhaps it's about time Apple paid more attention to getting non‑US system updates on the market a little faster...
Contact Apple Notes
Try out Audiotools 2.2.1 — a set of FileMaker Pro production calculators and utilities that are commonly needed during music production.If you're a manufacturer, software publisher or distributor with a new product, or a reader with a suggestion for a topic you'd like covered in Apple Notes, please email sos@soundonsound.com marking the email for the attention of Vic Lennard.
Other Goodies
Apple also launched three new displays at the show: a flat 17‑inch CRT, a 15‑inch digital LCD and a revised 22‑inch LCD Cinema Display. Unfortunately, all three use the new ADC connector and so work only with the Cube and the new G4. I know that it's a move forward, but it's a shame that Apple is leaving screen support for older machines (including the now 'old' G4) in the hands of third‑party companies.
On the software side, the release of iMovie 2 will interest musos with a penchant for desktop movies. The new effects panel allows users to change the characteristics of video clips, making them look like old films using a sepia tone, black and white, soft focus or water‑ripple effect. The iMovie 2 Plug‑In Pack (a free download for iMovie 2 users) features more new effects such as trails and mirror. Motion effects like reverse and slowmo plus audio extraction and paste‑over are useful and you can even split music and narration tracks, work on them separately, then bring them back together. You can also overlay one or more secondary video clips over a main video clip while preserving the continuous audio track from the main one. To avoid the problem of out‑of‑sync music, audio can be locked to video via a single menu command. Bundled as standard with all new machines, iMovie 2 is likely to give Adobe Premiere a run for its money in the semi‑professional domain.
Downloadable Goodies
Not much on the demo front this month, though here's one little oddity. Tired of listening to MIDI music that doesn't have real quality? Then try Magic Music (www.MagicRobinSoft.com) — real music played on a real piano. It's a compilation of 10 original tunes, though the demo only allows you to hear the first four.
One of the better direct‑to‑disk recording programs for the Mac, the latest Authentic Sound Recorder demo from Interloop Productions (www.innerloop‑prod.com) fixes a number of serious bugs. It can record and playback simultaneously for overdubbing and can mix up to four tracks. Check it out.
SHAREWARE & FREEWARE
Audiotools 2.2.1 (rootsolutions@kagi.com) is a set of FileMaker Pro production calculators and utilities that are commonly needed during music production. Use it to calculate setups for effect processors, conversion factors for loops (time dilation/detuning), any MIDI tuning scale to cents, and sequencer ticks from sample event positions. Comes as a 30‑day trial.
Need a simple utility to test a MIDI interface? Then try MidiTest (www.multimania.com/mabm/), a simple utility that shows individual MIDI messages. Requires OMS and an understanding of French!
Two new VST plug‑ins have appeared as freeware. Cyanide (www.smartelectronix.com) offers variable‑spline distortion with switchable pre‑ and post‑filter.