Apple Unveils Power Mac G4

Revolutionary G4 Processor with Velocity Engine Brings Supercomputer Performance to the Desktop

Seybold, San Francisco—Aug. 31, 1999—Apple today introduced the Power Mac™ G4, its next generation of desktop computers designed for professional and “pro-sumer” customers. The Power Mac G4 is powered by the revolutionary new PowerPC G4 chip architected by Apple, Motorola and IBM, and is the first personal computer in history to deliver supercomputer-level performance of over one billion floating-point operations per second. The Power Mac G4s run professional applications like Adobe’s Photoshop up to twice as fast as 600MHz Pentium III-based PCs.

The G4 chip incorporates a new execution unit named the Velocity Engine™—the heart of a supercomputer miniaturized onto a sliver of silicon. In a set of Intel’s own tests published on their web site, the 500MHz G4 chip was 2.94 times as fast as the 600MHz Pentium III processor.

“The Power Mac G4 is not only the fastest Mac ever, it’s the fastest personal computer ever,” said Apple’s interim CEO Steve Jobs. “The revolutionary G4 processor with its remarkable Velocity Engine is the first ‘supercomputer on a chip,’ delivering over one gigaflop of sustained performance.”

The new Power Mac G4 line is offered in three standard models, based on 400MHz, 450MHz and 500MHz processors, and in build-to-order customer-selected configurations from Apple’s online store. The top two standard models feature support for up to 1.5 GB of fast industry-standard PC100 SDRAM, a new 100MHz system bus that delivers up to 800 MBps of data throughput, Rage 128 AGP/2X high performance graphics, an Ultra ATA/66 drive interface, and Apple’s breakthrough AirPort™ wireless networking (optional). All models feature 1MB level 2 backside cache, dual Universal Serial Bus (USB) and 400-Mbps FireWire® ports, internal drives from 10 GB to 27 GB (configurable to more than 100 GB via build-to-order) and removable storage including ZIP, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM with video playback, and DVD-RAM. The Power Mac G4 comes in a stunning translucent clear, silver and graphite minitower that has a side door that swings open to provide the industry’s easiest access to internal components. The Power Mac G4 line starts at an aggressive retail price of U.S. $1,599.

Apple today also unveiled the perfect companion to the new Power Mac G4: the Apple Cinema™ Display. Measuring 22 inches diagonally, it’s the largest LCD-based flat panel display ever brought to market and features a letterbox format of 1600 x 1024 pixels. The Apple Cinema Display will be offered in limited quantities beginning in October.

Pricing and Availability
The Power Mac G4 400MHz, priced at U.S. $1,599, is available now on The Apple Store™ (www.apple.com) and through Apple Authorized Resellers. The Power Mac G4 450MHz, priced at U.S. $2,499, is scheduled to ship in September, and the Power Mac G4 500MHz, priced at U.S. $3,499, is scheduled to ship in October. The Power Mac G4 is available in more than 8,000 build-to-order (BTO) configurations. A complete listing of standard G4 configurations is also available at The Apple Store.

In addition, Apple announced that two new Macintosh® Server G4s and a new Macintosh Server G4 with Mac™ OS X Server will be available in November.

* The G4 processor, with its Velocity Engine, is an average of 2.94 times faster than the fastest Pentium III (600MHz) in selected tests published by Intel to demonstrate Pentium’s speed.

Apple Computer, Inc. ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II, and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Apple is now recommitted to its original mission—to bring the best personal computing products and support to students, educators, designers, scientists, engineers, businesspersons and consumers in over 140 countries around the world.

Press Contacts:
Nathalie Welch
Apple Computer, Inc.
(408) 974-5430
welch@apple.com

Matt Hutchison
Apple Computer, Inc.
(408) 974-6877
hutchison@apple.com

NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Apple's PR website (www.apple.com/pr/), call Apple's Media Helpline at (408) 974-2042, or Dushka Zapata at our PR agency, Edelman Worldwide, at (650) 968-4033, extension 2726.

Apple, the Apple logo, FireWire, Mac OS and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Cinema Display, Power Mac, AirPort ,The Apple Store and Velocity Engine are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of the individual companies and are respectfully acknowledged.

Developers Rally Around Apple's New Power Mac G4

Nearly 60 Hardware and Software Companies To Deliver Products Optimized for G4 Speed

SEYBOLD, SAN FRANCISCO—August 31, 1999—Demonstrating industry enthusiasm for the new Power Mac™ G4, Apple® today announced that nearly 60 industry-leading developers have optimized their hardware and software products to take advantage of the unprecedented speed and performance of the G4 Processor with Velocity Engine. G4-optimized products being announced include high-end graphics applications, non-linear video cards, DVD software, medical imaging software and 3D game engines, with some shipping immediately.

“Our new G4 takes performance to an entirely new level that surpasses even the fastest Pentium III-based PC,” said Clent Richardson, vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. “Developers around the world are realizing incredible improvements in their applications, often at twice the speed, and are creating great new products that customers have come to expect from the Macintosh platform.”

Third-party developers announcing or previewing new products optimized for the Power Mac G4 include 3dfx Interactive Inc., ATTO Technology Inc., Adobe Systems Inc., Avid Technology Inc., Bungie Software, Casady & Greene, Linker Systems, Macromedia, Maxon Computer Inc., Media 100, Research Systems Inc., Sonic Solutions, Synthetik Software, Terran Interactive and TeraGlobal.

“Currently, the G4 is significantly faster than any platform we’ve seen running Photoshop 5.5,” said John Warnock, CEO and chairman, Adobe Systems. “The combination of the G4’s speed, the Apple Cinema Display, and Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator and Acrobat embodies the professional publisher’s dream system.”

“The new G4 is an unbelievable machine for creating compelling content that adds life to the web,” said Rob Burgess, chairman and CEO of Macromedia. “We believe customers will love the performance of Dreamweaver and Flash on the new G4, the next great product from Apple.”

Press Contacts:
Matt Hutchison
Apple Computer, Inc.
(408) 974-6877
hutchison@apple.com

Nathalie Welch
Apple Computer, Inc.
(408) 974-5430
welch@apple.com

Apple, the Apple logo and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Power Mac is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of the individual companies and are respectfully acknowledged.