Yikes, Sawtooth, & Shark Power Macintosh G4s

On Tuesday, Apple officially announced its Power Macintosh G4 product line. The new Pro Models will be available in 400, 450 and 500MHz configurations. The 400MHz configuration, which was code-named "Yikes!," is based on the current Yosemite (Power Macintosh G3) logic board, while the 450 and 500MHz versions are based on the major architectural design, which was code-named Sawtooth. Reliable reports received by AppleInsider suggest that these configurations were a result of some last-minute changes.

According to sources, Apple had originally intended to announce that both the 400 and 450MHz configurations would be based around the current Yosemite logic board, with one high-end 500MHz Sawtooth configuration following. It's unclear exactly what fueled the last-minute alteration, but rumors that 500MHz G4 chips will not be in ample supply for some time may have been an influence. Common sense says that power users, to whom money is not a factor, are always going to go for the more advanced logic board. Therefore, sticking with a single high-end Sawtooth configuration may have resulted in some pretty steep backorders and Apple's inability to meet demand.

During his speech on Tuesday, Steve Jobs took a cheap shot at "the rumor sites," — which will probably come back to bite him in the behind in a couple of months. He alluded to the fact that Apple would begin shipping 400MHz versions of the Power Macintosh G4 immediately, and then begin on the 450s and the 500s "a few weeks after that." This would place Sawtooth shipments before many predictions. But the word on the street backs our previous reports that Sawtooth models will not be ready to ship before Apple's first fiscal quarter of 2000, with shipment in quantity not until sometime in November, at best.

There appear to be three factors currently delaying shipment of Sawtooth-based Power Macintosh G4 systems. First, true to rumors, the board is behind schedule and not in production yet. Second, Sawtooth contains a slot for the so far un-FCC-approved AirPort technology. Lastly, factor in the rumor that the fast G4 chips are not going to be in good supply for some time. And even less substantial rumor suggests that those 400MHz chips that are ready to ship are those that were unable to be clocked to a higher speed, though this report is as yet unconfirmed. However, folks may be relieved by reports that IBM has recently decided to step up and actually produce AltiVec-enhanced G4s. Previously, the consensus seemed to be that Motorola would be Apple's sole supplier.

Meanwhile, there seem to be some ill remarks thrown at Apple for splintering their Pro line into two separate logic boards. As consumers will soon become aware, the 400MHz (Yikes!) configuration will slowly slip below the horizon. These units, as described in our Yikes! reports, were specifically designed to get these machines on the market as soon as possible and at a reasonable price, since Apple knew Sawtooth-based units would not be ready to ship until just prior to the Christmas Holiday Season at the earliest. Eventually, all three model offerings will transition to the new architecture.

Finally there is the issue of keyboards, mice, and 4x AGP. Apparently, Apple is showing the new Pro models on the Seybold floor with the current and very unpopular keyboard and hockey-puck mice. Earlier reports suggested that Apple was indeed producing Yikes! boxes with a new USB keyboard with extended USB keys, and a full-sized professional mouse. If for some unknown reason these new input devices do not begin to ship with the current line of Power Macintosh G4 units, they should definitely ship as part of their successor, which is code-named Shark. Shark is also expected to receive a revision to the AGP graphics bus, bumping Apple's AGP performance to 4x.