I hope Apple never returns to the nonsensical naming convention + 10
zillion models lineup of the late 90s!
As originally conceived, the models would all be identified by
numbers [giant yawn] and the numbers would follow this formula
1st digit: form factor
2nd digit: processor line
Last 2 digits: model specifics, variants
That's what they said when they released the initial PowerMac
offerings, the 6100, 7100, and 8100. The 6, 7, and 8 referenced the
three form factors (deep dish pizza box, desktop, tower). The 1
referenced the PPC 601 processor. And if they released other
601-powered computers using the same form factor as (say) the 7100,
they'd come out as 7105 or 7135 or something like that.
Of course they broke their own naming convention right out of the
gate with the AV models (7100 AV rather than 7103 or whatever).
Then when the next chips came out, the PPC 603 and PPC 604 lines
ignored the processor digit nomenclature. The 4400 and the 5300 both
used the PowerPC 603 chip. Actually, the 4400 shared the form factor
of the 7100, so it ignored the 1st digit rule for form factor as
well. The 6400 was released with a new tower form factor totally
unlike that of the 6300, which was a 7100ish desktop model.
Meanwhile the Performa lines sat as an overlay, duplicating the
PowerMac lines, sometimes with better stuff (esp. bundled software),
sometimes with inferior stuff (usually hardware shortcomings), and at
any given time there was a numerical peasoup mishmosh of available
models, each of which had their own variants.
Personally I wish they'd return to the approximate level of
complexity and naming convention standards used in the Mac II era: a
low-end limited-expansion model (the IIsi), a mid-range model with 3
slots' worth of expansion (the IIci), and a top-end hotrod with 6
slots (the IIfx). Then duplicate that strategy for the laptop models
(an iBook type, a mid-sized PowerBook, and a huge PowerBook with dual
CardBus cards and full array of ports and upgradeable processor
daughtercard and upgradeable VIDEO card and optional PCI expansion
bay chassis).
--
Allan Hunter
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
http://members.bellatlantic.net/~adhdah/FmPro/fmdevindex.html
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