Business

Power Macs hit 366

Apple-authorized retailers began selling 366-MHz G3 Power Macs on Wednesday -- even as Apple insisted that its fastest systems had a maximum speed of 333 MHz.Catalog vendors MacWarehouse, Mac Connection and Cyberian Outpost said 366-MHz Power Macs were available for $2,999.

Written by Cameron Crotty, Contributor Aug. 12, 1998 at 5:00 p.m. PT

Apple-authorized retailers began selling 366-MHz G3 Power Macs on Wednesday -- even as Apple insisted that its fastest systems had a maximum speed of 333 MHz.

Catalog vendors MacWarehouse, Mac Connection and Cyberian Outpost said 366-MHz Power Macs were available for $2,999. The speedy new computer comes in a minitower case packed with 128 Mbytes of RAM, 1 Mbyte of Level 2 backside cache, 6 Mbytes of video synchronous graphics RAM, a 4-Gbyte Wide Ultra SCSI-3 hard drive, 24x CD-ROM drive, built-in 10Base T Ethernet port and a floppy drive. The system does not include a modem or Iomega Zip drive. While not confirming the 366-MHz model, Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) did announce other new Power Macs on Wednesday:

- A 333-MHz Power Mac G3 minitower for $2,999 with 128 Mbytes of RAM, 1 Mbyte of L2 backside cache, a 9-Gbyte Wide Ultra SCSI-3 hard drive, 24x CD-ROM and 6 Mbytes of SGRAM.

- A 300-MHz Power Mac G3 minitower for $2,399 with 64 Mbytes of RAM, 1 Mbyte of L2 backside cache, an 8-Gbyte IDE hard drive, 24x CD-ROM, 6 Mbytes of SGRAM and a Zip drive.

- A 300-MHz Power Mac G3 desktop for $1,999 with 64 Mbytes of RAM, 1 Mbyte of L2 backside cache, a 6-Gbyte IDE hard drive, 24x CD-ROM, 2 Mbytes of SGRAM and a Zip drive.

- A 266-MHz Power Mac G3 desktop for $1,599 with 32 Mbytes of RAM, 512 Kbytes of L2 backside cache, a 4-Gbyte IDE hard drive, 24x CD-ROM and 2 Mbytes of SGRAM.

Are they for real?
None of the catalog vendors actually had the new Power Macs on hand, but all said they were expecting shipments later this week.

Apple did not return telephone calls Wednesday requesting comment on availability of the 366-MHz Power Macs. The company said in a statement that the new 266- and 300-MHz desktop models are available now, and the 300- and 333-MHz minitowers are expected to be available Sept. 1.

Apple said 256-Mbyte RAM chips are available from third-party vendors that enable all G3 Power Macs to support up to 768 Mbytes of onboard memory; up from a previous maximum memory of 384 Mbytes.

The new Power Macs include the ATI Rage Pro Turbo 2D/3D graphics accelerator, Apple said. The new DVD Video and Audio/Video card, offering the functionality of the current A/V card with added MPEG-2 hardware decoding, is now available as a build-to-order option via Apple's online store. When combined with a DVD-ROM drive, the card enables users to play the latest DVD-video movie titles. Key features include QuickTime-based Apple DVD Player software and the ability to play DVD movies on a television.

The FireWire Kit, for digital capture, editing and playback on the G3 Power Macs, is also available as a separate option. Previously available only as a build-to-order option via the online Apple Store, customers who bought G3 Power Macs prior to FireWire's introduction can now add professional-quality digital video editing capabilities to their system. The stand-alone kit comes with a FireWire PCI card, cables, QuickTime 3.0 Pro and software.

Apple on Wednesday also announced price cuts on new pricing on its flat-panel Apple Studio Display. The active-matrix LCD monitor now has a retail price of $1,299, down from $1,999, the company said.