Apple is back. Most of you have probably seen their new publicity campaign either through adverisments on TV or newspaper ads. Apple realized that they weren't marketing their product very well, and that it was the main cause of lost profits. But their new campaign asks the world to "Think Different", and that's exactly what we're doing.

One major part of Apple's comeback is the introduction of their new line of desktop computers, the G3. The G3 features the Power PC 750 processor, designed by Motorola, IBM, and Apple. Between these three companies, the quickest and most powerful processor for home computers was born. Currently, the G3 processor is available in 233-, 266-, and 300mhz versions. The biggest advantage this chip has over older chips is the addition of memory cache on the processor. In effect, this means that the processor and the cache are DIRECTLY connected by its own seperate cache bus. In earlier processors, the clock speed of the processor may have been up to 350mhz, but in some cases, the processor was actually having to wait on the memory and system bus for information. Now, with the cache on a sepaerate and faster bus, there is virtually no holdback, which makes for a VERY efficient system. Speaking of efficiency, the G3 processor is extremely power-efficient. In fact, the G3 comsumes a measley 15% of the power that a comprable Pentium II system takes. This is why you will never see a Pentium II notebook computer. Also in comparison to the PII, the G3 processor itself is about a quarter of the size.

As far as speed, the G3 has already been proven as an obvious speed choice. In a series of benchmark tests performed by Byte Magazine (January '98 issue), the G3 proved itself to be the fastest personal computer. In fact, the G3 266mhz model scored a 9.01 rating, more than twice as fast as the PII 300mhz coming in with a rating of 4.26. Also, the G3 notebook is 80% faster than any other notebook you can buy.

At this point, Apple had already created a smaller, more efficient, and faster processor for personal computers than anything else on the market. But they didn't stop there. At the March 17 Seybold Conference in New York, Interim CEO Steve Jobs unveiled an even faster G3: the 300mhz G3 machine. Jobs then proceeded to do a few speed tests in his keynote speech. Needless to say, this new machine proved to blow the competition out of the water in performing various Photoshop tasks.

In comparing prices to that of comprable-speed Pentiums, the G3's are slightly higher. However, Apple has just this week released a lower-priced line of G3's, called the All-In-One G3's. These models are competitively priced, and are expected to be huge success for eduactional use.